Scripture:
1 Corinthians 1:10-13 ESV
[10] I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. [11] For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. [12] What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” [13] Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
Observation:
This is what is to be known as Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, and he doesn’t waste a lot of time. He gets right to the point. Basically, saying don’t lose sight of how you got here. Appealing to them in the name of Jesus to stop the division and agree on the fact that the teachers they were listening to didn’t save them. Paul knew it was dangerous to the church. The interesting thing about the bible is that a lot of it is open to interpretation and can be interpreted wrong. Paul saw a division in the church due to the Corinthians defending or standing up for their teacher and forgetting how their teacher even got to his position. In a sense, their teacher became their object of worship. This is a very dangerous spot to be in. Not one of these teachers had given their lives. The only one that had done that was Jesus Christ himself. I mean, sure, they may have had some good things to say. But when it came down to brace tax, Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the church. In fact, there is no church without HIM. So let me bring this argument to today’s terms what the Corinthian church was saying and arguing over is this one was saying I’m a Baptist another was saying I’m a Pentecostal and yet others were saying I’m a Presbyterian. They were following someone’s idea of what the bible says and not Jesus Christ HIMSELF. They had lost sight of the black and white and started arguing over the gray. Paul was attempting to bring unity back to them, bringing the Corinthians to the understanding that none of the people they were placing their hope in did anything close to what Jesus Christ did for them. They had to come together and build on that foundation, nothing and no one else would be stable enough to support the weight of the church. Christ and Christ alone.
Application:
The enemy is very crafty. He knows that if he can get the church (that’s you and I) to take our eyes off of Jesus Christ and focus on the men who are preaching and teaching or the gray areas in the bible it will cause division. It is my belief that a church that is divided will certainly be less effective. His tactics haven’t changed. There is only one doctrine that matters, and it’s covered from the first page to the last page…it’s all about Jesus. If the man in the pulpit that you sit in front of says any different, then you are listening to the wrong man. So let me tell you how this breaks down in my life. When I first got saved. I was hungry to learn about what had just happened to me. My life was changed seemingly overnight. So, I started trying to listen to a lot of different teachers and preachers. To find out what had happened. I heard a lot of good stuff. But each one had a different take even if it was just slightly different it was different none the same. So, I started to develop my favorites. I was thinking that this guy was better than that guy and started labeling myself a Baptist or a Pentecostal. Those labels automatically drew a line between myself and other believers. I need to say this to qualify my point. If any one of these denominations thinks they have the bible completely figured out, they are wrong. How can a finite man understand an infinite GOD? My point is this have to pay attention to the black and white. Peter, when he took his eyes off of Jesus Christ, started to sink. That’s the point the Baptist did not reach down and pull him out of the water. Jesus did. We can not lose sight of that. Over the last 14 years, I have listened to a lot of great teachers and heard a lot of good sermons. In fact, I sit under one of the best, in my opinion. However, he is just a man. Do I seek his attention for wise counsel yes. But he is not the one who saved me. Jesus did that. Without HIM, the whole thing falls apart. To put it as straight as I can, I do not follow a man or a denomination. I follow Jesus Christ. There are a lot of great teachers out there. But do not be deceived. Jesus Christ is the only one who died for you so that you could be reconnected to the Father. They may say the right thing and live the right way. BUT it’s GOD who sent HIS one and only SON to pay the price for your sins. No one else did that GOD and GOD alone through CHRIST and CHRIST alone.
Prayer:
Father, help us to keep our eyes on you and not lose sight of what you have done. We know that you have placed good godly men in front of us. Let us not make them our object of worship. It’s you and you alone that we want to focus on. Help us to live our lives according to your desire for us. Help us to know your word and stand on it rather than man’s opinion of it. We do not want to be deceived. We do not want to fall to a lie. It’s so easy to be 1 degree off from your truth, and most of us wouldn’t even notice 1 degree. Help us to focus on you so that we can know what it is that you are saying to us. We want to see the 1 degree. We want to live by your truth. We do not want to be deceived. Our life is not our own. You paid a price that we could not pay because we owed a debt we could never pay. Let that be the foundation of the church and nothing else. We do not want to be divided but united as one body of believers. Understanding that we all need each other. Each one of us serves a purpose. We know that you will continue to reveal yourself as time draws near. Show us your face. We want more of you and less of us. Help us to die to our opinion of what the word says and see the truth of what your word says… on Christ the solid Rock I stand anything else is sinking sand. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.