Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor. 1:10-17 A Church Divided Over Leaders
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean in this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel -- not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
A lot going on here. Paul had gotten word from a devout household in Corinth that the church there was divided by different followings of Christianity. Paul addressed this first because nothing else could be done until the church was united. Eph. 4:16 says, From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in Love as each part does its work. The body of Christ can only grow when every member is united and building each other up in Christ's Love. The body must be connected to Christ. This goes back to the last post where we found Paul thankful that the church in Corinth were saved and had the Holy Spirit working in them. They have the Spirit, now it's time to use it.
The division among the church seems to stem from members saying one teacher's way is different and more right than the others. Whether it's Apollos', Cephas', Paul's, or Jesus'. Paul finds this division so ridiculous that he asks his equally ridiculous rhetorical questions. "Is Christ divided?" "Was Paul crucified for you?" That's my personal favorite. Imagine your pastor having to ask you and the congregation, "Was I crucified for you?" Paul then takes the moment to take himself off the pedestal the church put him on. He tells them that Christ sent him to preach the Gospel. Now Paul was not an eloquent speaker. He saw that, and used it to God's advantage. He went out and preached the truth of the Gospel in its raw form of humble Love and mighty Grace. Paul let the Gospel speak for itself when he preached through the people who received it. The Spirit is the Gospel's own spokesman. Paul's job was to preach it in order to introduce it, like an announcer for the main event if you will. Paul also told the church that to preach it any other way would empty the cross of Christ and the Gospel of their power. The more man gets involved, the less that can be accomplished.
Division is dangerous because it is caused by an excess of human involvement and robs the Gospel of its power. Today the modern day church has division in both large and small scale. There are different types of Christianity and different churches based on the wants of man. Some of these followings are deemed unbiblical because of how worldly they are. They are focused on the single person's comfort. It's "feel good theology." The small scale is much more dangerous. This affects even the most Biblical church. I found that the largest source of division is in worship music. Of all things, music. Music that was gifted to the church by God through the hands of His musicians and writers. I've heard that one of the most stressful jobs in ministry is being a worship leader. You can't have too many hymn or too many contemporary songs or you could offend someone. And if you do offend someone, you hear about it in person or in letters or e-mails. When did a WORSHIP service become our personal Music Player? There's my "Paul question."
That was an example of what can break down a church. When man gets too involved, it can have consequences. We are one body and should be united as one. Without complaining or arguing or trying to get ours. So if we're not focused on us, what should we focus on? Each other. I've heard said that Christians should go to church not to be filled, but to fill others. We need to go in order to serve others and build them up in Love. When everyone does this, the body is made full as a whole and grows together. Division destroys the church, but service and Love unites and grows it.
When you get down to it, there was one reason the church of Corinth came together, and it's the same reason we do so today: Jesus Christ our Lord, and everything He did, is doing, and will do. My own church has been working on all of this for a while now. And it's growing even more awesome by the week. The more we step out of the way, the more God takes over and works. It takes a lack of worry and a Love for others to accomplish this. We can't be selfish, but selfless. Now I look around the sanctuary during a service and see 500 different faces and backgrounds around me and I think, we all have Jesus Christ in common. And if Jesus Christ is everything, we all have everything in common. Which is how we can all be deemed one in Christ. We all come from God, we are all living for God, and we are all going to God. Remember each part must do its part in the Spirit for the rest of the body, and then it will be united in Love and grow. Now let's each do our part. If you don't know what that is, seek God's Wisdom and guidance through prayer and follow Him patiently as you search for ways to serve Him. That's what I'm doing now. Join me in this Joyful walk.
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
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