| “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.” |
| —1 Corinthians 1:10 |
The Church at Corinth was in trouble, serious trouble. In fact, the Church at Corinth was in so much trouble that the Apostle Paul was moved to write one of his most direct and declarative letters. Why? The people at Corinth could not seem to get along with one another. They had divided into factions. Instead of coalescing around a common purpose, they had divided and set off in a dozen different directions.
They identified with different leaders, even leaders who weren’t present. And, they began arguing with each other about which leader’s direction was best—even when the leader’s in question had not issued any Corinth-specific instructions. They also allowed serious sin to come into the core of the church and chose to pretend that nothing was wrong. By tolerating this sin in their midst, they opened themselves up to even more sin.
Through his first letter to the Church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul was determined to begin a process of setting things right. He certainly had the spiritual authority to do so, backed fully by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul began with Lesson No. 1 for the church leaders and church members in Corinth. It’s important to note that this also happens to be Lesson No. 1 for church leaders and church members today. Notice what Paul wrote, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 1:10:
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.
Paul’s message is a simple one: no divisions allowed. Furthermore, brothers and sisters in Christ should be perfectly united in mind and thought.
Now, no group of humans can do this alone. It takes full submission to the power of the Holy Spirit to bring about such a faithful commitment, and such unity. Nevertheless, this is a goal that absolutely must be achieved. As we begin a new day, let’s remember that we believers are one in Christ. We must learn how to bring that oneness into fruition in all the aspects of our daily lives. Nothing must divide us. Unity must prevail.
Based on a blog originally posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2018
