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September 15, 2022

Christ, Our Unique Center (1)

1 Cor 1:9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 10 Now I beseech you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion. 12 Now I mean this, that each of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?

[Part 1 of 2] In 1:1-9 Paul impresses us with the fact that in God's economy Christ is the unique center. God's intention is to make Christ His Son the center of His economy and also to make Him everything to all the believers. This is why Paul tells us in verse 9 that we have been called into the fellowship of the Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. It is also the reason he points out in verse 2 that Christ is both theirs and ours. In His economy God's intention is to make Christ everything, to give Christ to us as our portion, and also to work Christ into us. In verse 10 Paul begins to deal with the divisions among the Corinthians. First, he beseeches them through the name of our Lord, which is the name above all names (Phil. 2:9) and should be the unique name among all His believers. However, by ranking the names of Paul, Apollos, and Cephas with the name of Christ, the divisive Corinthians made the same kind of mistake Peter did on the mount of transfiguration when he ranked Moses and Elijah with Christ (Matt. 17:1-8). To keep the oneness in the Lord and to avoid divisions, we need to uplift and exalt the unique name of our Lord by dropping all names other than this highest name. Christ was the One who was crucified for them, and the believers were baptized into the name of Christ. Here Paul seems to be saying, "Actually, you did not receive anything from Paul, Apollos, or Cephas. You should not even be limited to a narrow Christ. You must pay your full attention to the unique Christ. This Christ is not only yours and ours--He belongs to everyone. He is theirs and ours, for He is the portion of the saints in every place. God has given this Christ to us, and He has called us into His fellowship." (c) Living Stream Ministry.

Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of 1 Corinthians, pp. 29-30. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].

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Life-study of 1 Corinthians