1Cor 3:10 According to the grace of God given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid a foundation, and another builds upon it. But let each man take heed how he builds upon it. 11 For another foundation no one is able to lay besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1:12 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?
Paul realized that by saying that they were of Paul, Apollos, or Cephas, the Corinthians were actually laying another foundation. Here Paul seems to be saying, "Believers at Corinth, you should not say that you are of anyone or of anything. Christ, the unique foundation, has already been laid. This Christ is the One who is both theirs and ours and also the One into whose fellowship we have been called by God. This Christ is the unique foundation." It is common for Christians to lay foundations other than Christ as the unique foundation. For example, when someone declares that he is for [baptism by] immersion, he is laying immersion as a foundation. The same is true of someone who is for tongues-speaking. Whenever you claim to be for a particular person, doctrine, or practice, you are laying another foundation. This is the right meaning of Paul's word in verses 10 and 11. Christians have been divided by the many different foundations. Thousands of foundations have been laid, and more are being laid. Thus, we should be careful not to say that we are of a certain thing or of a certain person. To speak in this way is to lay another foundation; it is also to cause division. Furthermore, in the church in our locality we should not say that we are of anything or anyone or that we are for anything or anyone. We are only of Christ and for Christ. It is possible that even the saints in the local churches are laying different foundations. (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. 229-230. 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.
