As
the apostle Paul referred to the “assembly” of the church members
in Corinth, he told them they did so “not
for the better, but for the worse”.
He also shared how he “heard”
and “partly believed”
there were “divisions”
among them. In
chapter eleven and verse nineteen of First Corinthians, Paul shared
with the Corinthian church members how “there
must be heresies among you”,
where we read:
For
there must be also heresies among you,
that
they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
The
verse begins, “For
there must be also heresies among you,...”.
Paul began
with the word, “for” which
means “even as, indeed, no doubt, seeing then, verily and therefore
“there must be also” which
means “there is a necessity of law, command, duty and equity in
addition indeed and verily” “heresies”
or “dissensions arising from diversity of opinions and aims”
“among you”which
refers to “with and by the church members”. Since there were
“divisions”
among the church members in Corinth, there were also “false
teaching which commanded “duty and equity” among them.
The
verse goes on to say, “... that
they which are approved may be made manifest among you.”
Paul
continued with the words, “that they
which are approved” which
means “those who are accepted, pleasing and acceptable” “may
be made”
or “shall arise, appear in history and come upon the stage”
“manifest”
which means “apparent, evident and known” “among
you” or
“with or by the church members”. These “false teachings” were
employed by people within the church who desired to be pleasing and
acceptable to others would be exposed by those who are “approved”.
When
we meditate upon these words from Paul, we realize how he exposed
those who were pretending to be “great teachers” and promoted
“heresies” within the church. There were “divisions”
among them, and they were caused by people who were spreading
“false doctrines” or “heresies”. Jesus Christ desires
for His church to be “united” and free from “false doctrine”,
and we who are reading Paul's words should examine ourselves and take
heed.
Next
time Paul asks the church members concerning whether, “this
is not to eat the Lord's supper”,
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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