May 15
“I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Cephas,’ or ‘I am of Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” 1 Corinthians 1:10-13.
The Holy Spirit established a Christian congregation in Corinth through the teaching and preaching of the apostle Paul. Corinth was the commercial trade center of ancient Greece. Because of all of the various businesses, many of the people were wealthy. Corinth flourished economically. The temple of Venus was a popular place for the citizens of Corinth and also for the many people from other countries who visited the city for business purposes or for pleasure. Many of the people were engaged in the worship of heathen gods. Corinth was also a sports center to which people flocked to participate in or to watch the athletes participating in the various games.
It is assumed that the members of the Corinthian congregation were converts to Christianity who came from the lower classes of people. Living in those surroundings, the members of the congregation were tempted to participate in activities that were unchristian. The congregation was of rather recent origin, and the members were newcomers to Christianity. To a degree, it was also a congregation of cliques, which resulted in division and dissension. There were those who boasted that they were followers of Paul; others boasted that they were followers of Apollos; others boasted that they followed Cephas, another name for Peter. Then there was a fourth group whose members claimed to be the true followers of Christ. Each group had a different mindset, and they sat in judgment of what others were doing. The result was that they could not work together toward the same goals in the congregation.
How can such cliques develop in a congregation? How does it happen today? Frequently, it happens when people in their pride fall in love with the man instead of the message! Sometimes, pastors contribute to the division or even are the cause of it when they become more concerned about being popular with the people than they are concerned about teaching and preaching according to the Word of God. They forget their calling to feed the flock! Ultimately, you have little cliques, each working according to its own self-appointed agenda. And the result is division and dissension and the congregation ceases to grow, not only numerically, but worse than that, spiritually! Everybody starts blaming everybody else for what is going wrong! It is the devil’s tactic: Divide and conquer!
To solve the problem, the apostle Paul directed their vision back to the Lord Jesus Christ. To restore unity and harmony in a congregation, members must lift up their heads and look to the cross. Behold the price Christ paid for all our sins, including our sins of division and dissension. Look to Christ and pray for a change of heart on your own part and then on the part of others. “The love of Christ compels us,” 2 Corinthians 5:14. In his Epistle to the Philippians, the apostle addressed the same subject: “Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others,” Philippians 2:2-4. The God of love and peace promises to lead and guide us.
Blest be the tie that binds, Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds, Is like to that above.
We share our mutual woes, Our mutual burdens bear,
And often for each other flows, The sympathizing tear. Amen.