Conflict: Who is the greatest?
Do churchgoers ever play spiritual king of the mountain? Of course! It happens every day. Even Christ’s disciples got into this. They were fully concerned about which one of them would have the greatest position in the kingdom Christ was saying He was going to establish. They apparently got into quite an argument about it.
Matthew 18:1-4
1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. [Emphasis added]
The jockeying of the disciples for position was ongoing much as it is with so many people today. Their false assumption was that such a position would be based on such things as courage, strength, oratory skills, knowledge, and wisdom. But our Lord promptly helped them understand that it would be based on the attribute of humility. He then used a child to illustrate His point because children are totally dependent upon their parents for their sustenance. The disciples could have learned this principle from the Scriptures, but they obviously had not. Here are some examples of where it is taught there—
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. [Emphasis added]
Proverbs 16:18-19
18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. [Emphasis added]
Proverbs 29:23
23 A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. [Emphasis added]
Micah 6:8
8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? [Emphasis added]
James 4:10
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. [Emphasis added]
The apostle Paul, of course, also speaks of this.
Colossians 3:12
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; [Emphasis added]
The greatest examples of all in this is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:7-9
7 But [Jesus Christ] made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: [Emphasis added]
It was the determined absence of such humility that brought about Satan’s fall from his position of prominence.
Isaiah 14:12-13
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars [speaking of the angels] of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: [Emphasis added]
For more information about Satan, please see my other articles about him. He’s not at all how most of mankind and even believers depict him.
Satan: What are the basics about him?
Satan: What does he look like?
Satan: What is his origin, name, and/or titles?
Satan: Why does God allow him to exist?
Whether you agree or not, probably the two greatest men of history besides our Lord Jesus Christ are Moses and the apostle Paul. These men faced conflict and rejection nearly all their lives as adults. Is this unusual for God’s people or should it be expected? The Bible answers that question many times and, in many situations, but here’s a clear statement about it.
2 Timothy 3:12
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. [Emphasis added]
This should tell you that if you’re not having to deal with some conflict, some form of persecution for the things you believe, you need to take another look at your life and the things you believe. Suffering of one kind or another proves to be normal for progressing believers. Therefore, if you want to be a great person by God’s standards, get ready for this. ALL the great “heroes” of the faith had to deal with it. Tradition, true or not, gives us details about the manner of death for The Twelve Apostles of our Lord—
Peter was crucified upside down.
Andrew allegedly suffered a similar death to that of his brother, Peter.
James, the son of Zebedee was executed with a sword [Acts 12:1-2].
John died of old age as a prisoner on the Isle of Patmos.
Philip died by some form of martyrdom. The precise manner is uncertain.
Bartholomew was apparently flayed and beheaded.
Thomas apparently was martyred by being stabbed with spears in India.
Matthew was martyred but there’s disagreement about how and where?
Thaddaeus who is also called Jude is said to have been clubbed to death.
Simon the Zealot was martyred but there’s controversy over how and where.
James the son of Alphaeus was stoned to death by Jews in Jerusalem.
Judas Iscariot hanged himself [Matthew 27:5].
Matthias who replaced Judas Iscariot is said to have been crucified.
But hardly any of this about them is completely reliable information. Of the many things I learned in seminary it is the fact that church history, unless it is something recorded in the Bible, it cannot be trusted. What we do know for sure is that suffering of one kind or another is common among mature believers.
Again, 2 Timothy 3:12
12 Yea, and ALL that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. [Emphasis added]
However, all these people would tell you that the blessings of salvation and those of spiritual growth and maturity far outweigh all the suffering that was experienced.
1 Peter 3:14
14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; [Emphasis added]
Besides, all the suffering is temporal. What we’ll get to enjoy in Heaven is everlasting. What is said in this next verse applies to us as well as those of regenerate Israel.
Revelation 21:4
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. [Emphasis added]
The compensation in everlasting reward will make it all quite worth it.
2 Corinthians 5:10
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. [Emphasis added]
For more information about these rewards please see my article about it—
Rewards: For what will God wish to reward you in eternity?
The exact nature of these rewards we’ll receive is not given. Nearly all that you read in the book of Revelation and many other places outside the apostle Paul’s epistles is about rewards for regenerate Israel, not us as members of the Body of Christ. But it is safe to assume that our rewards will be far better than any rewards we’ve ever received in this life now. What we must realize is that a lot of these rewards will be dependent upon how we handled the conflict and opposition we experience now.
As I’m sure you know, conflict of one kind or another is a normal part of life for everyone, not just believers. There are always churches that even go so far as to split because of conflict over a variety of things. It involves everything from doctrinal issues to the selection of the color and/or the constitution and design of the fabric they want used on the refurbishing of their church pews. There’s just no end to the reasons for conflict in churches.
I remember how even over fifty years ago I faced conflict with church people who were simply jealous of me. Conflict was common then among church leaders even as it is now. I have even written a whole article about this for this website—
Jealousy: Where is it often found?
So, how are we to address conflict when we’re faced with it? The first step is that of prayer for yourself and for all who are involved in it. Then we need to work at being objective about it and consider if we ourselves have contributed to it to be at least a part of the cause for it. If we find that we have, we need to be the first to apologize to any we’ve hurt by it. Such a move can be a big step toward resolving the conflict and moving on to better things.
Inordinate competition and conflict happen in every area of life with both believers and unbelievers. Your objective is to avoid it as best you can but not compromise principles of truth in the process.
Romans 12:16-18
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. [Emphasis added]
Generally, we should seek to avoid conflict. We are to love people, even the unlovely. As in the case of our Lord and mature believers like the apostle Paul, conflict was inevitable. But the conflict should come from the impact of the Word of God, not as an expression of our sinful nature.
