Scripture
I appeal to you dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
Observation
There was division in the church in Corinth with various factions claiming adherence to various leaders- Paul, Apollos, Peter, Christ.
Paul is outraged by this. Christ has not been divided into factions, so His body, the church, must remain in unity.
Paul was not crucified – that was Jesus. The gospel is not about the ministry of different leaders- it is solely about the message of the cross.
Application
If Paul thought things were bad in Corinth, what would he think of the church today?
The issues are the same- different groups claim allegiance to various leaders and, because of their commitment to their faction, they miss the greater loyalty to Christ,
It's not about denominational unity because the love of God rises above human structures. What Paul is saying is that we need to love our brothers and sisters who are not in our group.
We need to have a vision of the church that is bigger than our group. If God only sees one church in a place then we have a responsibility to look to the bigger picture.
Prayer
Help me Father to resist the temptation to believe that my church, my group, is better than others. Help me Lord to pursue the path of loving all my christian family. Amen.
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