1 Corinthians 1:12-16 – 1Co 1:12 “Now this I mean, that each one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos: and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, save Crispus and Gaius; lest any man should say that ye were baptized into my name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other”.
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I agree with Albert Barnes (1798–1870), who had this to say about the verses above: “It can scarcely be doubted Paul meant to say there were parties existing in the church at Corinth, who were called by the names of himself, of Apollos, of Cephas, and of Christ. This is the natural construction of these verses; and this was evidently the information which he had received by those who were of the family of Chloe. Why the parties were ranged under these leaders, however, can be only a matter of conjecture. John Lightfoot (1602-1675) suggests that the church at Corinth was composed partly of Jews and partly of Gentiles; see Acts 18. The Gentile converts, he supposes, would range themselves under Paul and Apollos as their leaders; and the Jewish under Peter and Christ. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, and Peter particularly the apostle to the Jews Gal_2:7; and this circumstance might give rise to the division.”
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First, let’s not take the above Scriptures out of context. Paul is addressing a church where there were different opinions about who was the right person to listen to and follow. He is not talking to a group of churches with different doctoral beliefs. Nevertheless, the general theme and sentiment of Paul’s writing can also be applied to Christians of different denominations.
Secondly, all Christians surely must agree on one important doctrine: Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior of all Christians. He is not the exclusive property of one denomination, race or nation. When a Christian prays he prays in the name of Jesus Christ no matter what his denomination, race or country, amen? Another thing all Christians should be in agreement on is the Bible has no denominational stamp on it. The Bible belongs to all Christians no matter their denomination, race or country. Another common ground we can all agree on is when a person puts their faith in Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior he becomes a brother/sister of Christians from every denomination, nation and race.
Allowing all I’ve said above to be true, let me ask a question… will God separate us into denominations when we enter heaven? I know my question sounds a bit facetious and silly, but think about it a moment. Do we live and speak as if God favors our denomination over another? Do we reason, speak and live as if God is on our side and against those who oppose us in our doctrine?
You may be thinking there is no way all denominations can agree on every doctrine of the Christian faith and you are right. We most likely will never reach a point where we all agree on everything we believe to be true about different doctrines in the Bible until we enter heaven. However, we can learn to understand the other person’s reasoning and with understanding comes the ability to love and forgive in spite of our differences. I believe it should work like this: I will not become angry with you when you disagree with me about doctrine – and you will not become angry with me when you disagree with me on doctrine. When you think about it… our pet denomination and/or doctrine isn’t as important as understanding each other and disagreeing with each other in love and forgiveness, amen?
Let’s allow God’s Holy Spirit to enlighten us (or the other person) as to what is true, or untrue. I believe our job as Christians is to defend what we believe is the Truth with a humble heart full of love and forgiveness. I believe this is what Paul was addressing in the Corinthian church… each person had their pet ‘person’ (denomination) and were fussing and fighting as if it were up to them to ‘prove’ who was right and who was wrong.
I believe all Christians should be perfectly joined together in the same mind, at least as much as we possibly can (in the great doctrine’s of our faith we should be of one mind). Great doctrines like Salvation, Grace, Jesus Christ (His birth, death and resurrection), the Holy Spirit and His work in a Christian’s life. These things we can all agree on – or we should be able to agree on them.
Nevertheless, even if we have no doctrinal unity (on the lesser doctrines), we should have an alliance of affection, compassion and patience for each other. The consideration of being agreed in the greater doctrine’s of God’s Word should extinguish all feuds and divisions about minor doctrines. Not that we don’t have a right to defend what we believe is the truth about any doctrine – but rather that we should defend what we believe is true in a spirit of humility and love.
What I have come to understand about God’s love is this: if we must disagree (and we will) we should do so with a great deal of humility along with an understanding of where others are in their walk with God. That’s why God tells us to evaluate where others are in their Christian walk – are they a mature Christian, or are they a baby Christian? You see, baby Christians haven’t learned all the truths in the Bible so they should be treated with tender care – like we would treat a real baby!
Each person’s spiritual growth is an on-going, learning, school-type situation. One person may be more mature than another person so we need to always remember that even though we may be a grade higher in our understanding in one doctrine… our brother or sister may be a grade higher than we are in understanding another doctrine. Therefore, we should always examine each person’s opinion with a heart full of charity, understanding and a willingness to admit they may be right, amen?
Pride and being uncharitable are common sins we all must fight to overcome. What we need to be doing is living and reasoning together like the Bereans in (Acts 17:11) “…Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so.”
Do we ever stop to consider that what our brother or sister has to say about the Bible may be true? Do we truly want God’s truth above our own pride and prejudiced? This is what the Bereans did — they took into consideration the fact that what Paul was saying may be true so they searched the Scriptures to make sure. They were not so full of pride they refused to study the Scriptures to be sure Paul was wrong, amen? We should have the same manner of handling what others tell us is the truth about a doctrine. We should never lightly dismiss their opinion and what they claim is the truth! Can we be so prideful we will not admit when we are wrong? Yes, we can be, and quite often we do this very thing! I’ve been as guilty as anyone about being so prideful I refused to accept the truth about a certain doctrine… so don’t think I’m sitting on my high-horse looking down my nose at everyone else.
Do we immediately become angry or upset when a brother or sister makes a doctrinal statement we disagree with? If our immediate reaction is to spout off an angry reply then we are speaking from a prideful heart! If we immediately search for a theologian who agrees with us so we can ‘prove’ our doctrine is correct (by what some man says) — then we’re not being a Berean! What we need to do first is what the Bereans did… search the Scriptures to make sure what we think is true; really is true! Amen?
Now, don’t misunderstand me, please!
I’m not saying it’s wrong to double check with others about what we believe… NO! It’s a good thing to do and an important thing to do because all great theologians are Bereans and they usually know what they’re talking about. However, that doesn’t mean they are always correct in every doctrine so we MUST always search the Scriptures for ourselves – with MUCH prayer and a humble, willing heart to learn the truth.
We should agree to disagree agreeably… what that statement means is I will respect your opinion, knowing I don’t have a corner on all the Truth, and you will respect my opinion because you don’t have all the Truth either. I believe this is how God wants us to handle all our disagreements.
(James 4:6) “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore the scripture saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.”
(Matthew 23:12) “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.”
(James 4:10) “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you.”
(1Peter 5:5) ” Likewise, ye younger, be subject unto the elder. Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility, to serve one another: for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.”
(1Pe 5:6) “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time…”
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Let’s agree in prayer:
Father God, I desire to be in Your will not my own, so I’m thankful to know You will correct me when I need it. I desire to know Your truth above my own, so I’m thankful You are molding my heart so it will be humble and willing to accept Your Truth. I desire to be a servant to those You send my way… a servant who knows where I was and what I was before YOU saved me. I desire to belong to You and to never claim a denomination over Your Truth. I thank you, Father God, that You will continue to humble my heart and break my willful spirit so I will be conformed into the person You want me to be. In the name above all names, Jesus Christ, I offer this prayer to You.
God bless you dear reader as you mature in His Grace and wisdom.
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