Paul
the apostle desired that there be “no
divisions” within
the Corinthian church, however, he had been told by the “household
of Chloe”
there were “contentions among”
the church members, and in chapter one and
verse twelve of First Corinthians, Paul the apostle continued his
letter by sharing how the
church members were “divided” between “Paul,
Apollos, Cephas and Christ”
where we read:
Now
this I say, that every one of you says, I am of Paul;
and I
of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
The
verse begins, “Now
this I say, that every one of you says, I am of Paul;”
Paul began
with the word, “Now”
which means “moreover, and also” “this
I say” or
“Paul spoke, affirmed, maintained and taught”, “that
every one of you”
which means “each and any of the church members” “says”
or “spoke, affirmed, maintained and taught”, “I
am of Paul”
whose name means “the church members truly, surly, certainly and
indeed exist, happen and are present with Paul or “small or little”
who was the most famous of the apostles and wrote a good part of the
New Testament some fourteen epistles”. Part of the church members
were under and had allegiance to the teaching of Paul.
The
verse goes on to say, “and
I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.”.
Paul
continued with the words, “and I of
Apollos” whose
name means “the church member truly, surly, certainly and indeed
exist, happen and are present with given by Apollos who was a learned
Jew from Alexandria who was mighty in the scriptures and became a
Christian and a teacher of Christianity” “and
I of Cephas”
or “the church members truly, surly, certainly and indeed exist,
happen and are present with stone which was another name for the
apostle Peter” “and I of Christ”
or “the church members truly, surly, certainly and indeed exist,
happen and are present with the anointed one, the Messiah and the Son
of God”. Others church members were under the teachings of “Apollos
and Cephas”,
and still others claimed to be under the teaching of “Christ”.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we easily recognize the
“divisions” that caused “contention” within the Corinthian
church. Each of the church members was clinging to these different
teachers of the gospel, and the implication is that they clung to
their own teachers and excluded the others as though their teacher
was superior. Those who thought themselves ultimately superior to
everyone were under “Christ” which implied they were the
most high of all. Obviously, this caused great “division”
in the church of Corinth, and Paul purposed to address this problem.
Jesus Christ has one church, and He is not divided. Let us remember
this as we study Paul's words and search ourselves to discover
whether we have divisive ways and preferences among us.
Next
time Paul asks the Corinthian church members, “Is
Christ divided”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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