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… 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 2 of 2] Would it not be marvelous if all of today's Christians realized that they had been called into this fellowship? However, the actual situation among Christians today is altogether different. Many things have come in to replace Christ as the unique portion of the believers. Even demonic and satanic things have come in. Nevertheless, God has determined that in His economy [plan] one Person--His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ--must be everything. Christ must be the reality of the church. He must also be the reality of every doctrine and practice. The reality of our baptism is Christ, and the substance of our communion is also Christ. If this were the experience of Christians today, how excellent would be the situation among us all! The actual situation among believers is very sad, even tragic. Christians may have many things, but lack the reality of Christ, the living Person. For this reason, in 1 Corinthians Paul points out to them that it is wrong to say that they are of Paul, Apollos, Cephas, or even of a narrow Christ. That is altogether contrary to God's economy. In God's economy there is room only for Christ. Why then do we pay attention to so many other things, even other persons, in place of Christ? Certain of the believers in Corinth devoted their attention to Paul. To them Paul would say, "Why do you pay attention to me? I am not worthy of your attention. And why do some of you prefer Cephas or Apollos? They should not be the objects of your attention either. Neither should you concentrate on practices or doctrines. No person, practice, or doctrine is worthy of your attention. Your attention must be focused solely, wholly, and absolutely on Christ, the One into whose fellowship we have been called by God." (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. 32-33. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
To unsubscribe from the mailing list, either: Send an email to: [email protected] (No subject or message needed; a blank email will work) or visit www.emanna.com and fill out the unsubscribe form there.
