Divisions in the Church

Meditations in First Corinthians 

April 19, 2022

Divisions in the Church

Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

1 Corinthians 1:10b

Read: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

It was commonplace in the time when Paul was writing this letter, for traveling philosophers to visit the cities. The most well-known, and highly regarded of these speakers would draw huge crowds who gathered to hear the imparted wisdom from the speakers, and thus they were known as sophists. Sophia in Greek means wisdom. This cultural phenomenon was influencing some of the local churches. The personality and style of the preacher became a drawing card for the congregation and often the Christians would be identified by which preacher they were following.

Fast forward two thousand years, and in the US, we have preachers such as:  Franklin Graham, Steven Furtick, Joel Osteen, Andy Stanley, John F. MacArthur, and many, many more. In Paul’s time, he was concerned about competition and division among the churches, and his concern is still relevant today.

Paul’s answer to his concern, “be of one mind, united in thought and purpose” is also the answer today. I am not so naive as to think all the many denominations, and non-denominational churches can all gather together and play nice. I do believe each and every Christian can take ownership of their faith and strive to ensure their core Christian values align with the historic creeds of the Christian faith.

My Takeaway: In just over twenty years, the world has been revolutionized by the digital age bringing personal computers, smart phones and TV’s. The world’s culture has also been revolutionized in this time frame; there have been more changes in mores and cultural values in the last twenty years, than the rest of my seventy-five years combined. As for me, I find my affirmation of the historic and traditional doctrines of the church comforting to my soul in these turbulent times.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.