1 Corinthians 1:11-13
For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
While it is quite normal in political circles for people to belong to various “camps”, this is NOT acceptable in the body of Christ! We must beware of carrying over worldly habits into the church. The various ministers of the Gospel among us should not be viewed as faction leaders.
The tendency to compare, compete and choose robs us of the rich diversity of blessings the Lord deposited in His fivefold ministries that collectively represent Him. The Bible says, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ep 4:11-12).
That means we can only be fully equipped through a PLURALITY of ministries. Only Jesus Christ has the perfect measure of the anointing, wisdom and skill to build His church. Yet although He chose to equip His church through human vessels, He is still its Architect and Builder. Beloved, when divisions manifest among us, let us know that we are no longer following Christ as we should. Factionalism is a symptom of an unhealthy church.
According to our text, factionalism does not make sense simply because Christ is not divided. If we have one Lord, we cannot have different loyalties. As we have one Saviour who died for us, we cannot preach different gospels. If our leaders truly follow Christ, and we all truly follow Christ, divisions are impossible! Today let us repent from the sin of tolerating factionalism in the Church. Let us repent from discriminating in favour of or against fellow believers or servants of Christ.
Pastor Josh