Paul
the apostle told the church members in Corinth, when they came
“together”
it was “not for the better, but for
the worse”,
and in chapter eleven and verse eighteen
of First Corinthians, Paul tells the Corinthian church members how he
has heard there are “divisions
among you”,
where we read:
For
first of all, when ye come together in the church,
I hear
that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
The verse begins, “For
first of all, when you come together in the church,...”.
Paul began
with the word, “for”
which means “even as, indeed, no doubt, seeing then, verily,
certainly, surely and therefore” “first
of all” which
refers to “in the beginning, chief and principle order of
importance”, “when”
or “at such time as the church members” “come
together”which
means “assemble or gather together” “in
the church”
or “into the assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a
religious meeting”. Paul began his address as to how the church
members behaved when they assembled together.
The
verse continues, “... I
hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.”
Paul added
the the words, “I hear” which
means “Paul understands, perceives and comprehends” “that
there be”
or “there has come forth, is at hand and has begun” “divisions”
which means “dissensions, rents and schisms” “among
you” or
“by and with the church members”; “and
I” or “and
Paul himself” “partly”
which means “to some degree and part way” “believe
it” or
“think the division are true, have merit, are credible and
confident”. Not only did Paul “hear”
there were
“dissensions and schisms” among the church members, but also “in
part”
believed what he heard.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we can almost hear the pathos in
his words as he appeals to the “dissension” that is among the
Corinthian church members. We are not certain where he heard about
these “dissensions”, but they nonetheless concerned him about the
church. Jesus Christ desires for his church to be unified, and as
we take note of the church in Corinth, perhaps we should take
inventory of our own. Are we “divided”? Is there “dissension”
among us? Are we representing a “unified” church to others who
are around us? May the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit search our
hearts and reveal any ways in which we are not “unified”
before Him.
Next
time Paul tells the church members, “there
must be also heresies among you”,
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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