daily bible readings

The Corinthian Church was pretty messed up. They had adopted the ways of the world. More particularly, they sought to follow certain leaders in the church, based on their oratory performance and ability. Worldly orators would stroll into the larger cities and give a public performance with the goal of gaining students and devotees. The individuals in the church were assessing Paul and the other elders in the light of the worldly orators.

This is why Paul states in Corinthians 2:1–5, “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” Paul refused to play the worldly game. He refused to put on a showy performance, even though he was well trained and could wrestle with the big boys on oratory and philosophical performance.

The problem in today’s church is not so much following various leaders, but diversity. We seem to congregate around people who are like us and distance ourselves from people who are different. We reject people who do things differently to us and who think differently to us. While the source may be different, the end result is very close to what happened in Corinth. Factions were formed.

The Christian church needs to realise that diversity is a blessing and a bonus. Churches, leadership teams, and management committees that can learn to work together can be a powerful force for kingdom effectiveness and kingdom growth.

Having spent over 20 years in ministry and having talked with many leaders and lay people, it appears that the same pattern is repeated over and over in different churches. Personalities and characters clash in meetings and divert energy and action away from the kingdom into in-house issues that should not really be issues. Rather than focusing on the kingdom and working as a team, the group ends up focusing on one individual or one faction to bring them into line, or to slow them down, or to show them who’s the boss. The energy that should have been kingdom energy is wasted.

As leaders, committee members, team players, and so on, we need to learn to refocus. When an issue or idea is brought to our particular group, our goal should not be to put a stop to it immediately, to manipulate others to get our own way, or to do anything else that kills the idea before it’s discussed and prayed about.

Rather, our goal should be to seek the Lord’s will and to see if this issue or idea is part of God’s will for the church or group we are in.

This goal can be forwarded by focusing on the idea or issue and by letting go of our own interests. Rather than saying, “We can’t afford this so we can’t do it,” we can say, “Money is tight at present, is there a way that God could bless this?” Rather than saying, “Pointing out all the problems and issues in the hope that the idea is jettisoned, we could say, “I can see lots of road blocks and barriers. Let’s work through them so that we can find God’s will.”

In our various groups, we need to learn to keep openly and honestly discussing an issue until we come to a consensus on God’s will for the church or group. Agreeing to disagree often causes dissent and anger to go underground. The person holding onto the disagreement will, consciously or subconsciously, seek to sabotage the idea or issue. At the least, they will be passively resistant to the issue. As a group continues to discuss the issue and to explore all avenues, the best solution for the Kingdom can be discovered. As everyone participates, buy-in happens and mere consent morphs into commitment.

The differences we find in churches today can be a source of unity or disunity, victory or defeat, strength or weakness. Which one the differences become, or are in our churches, really depends on what we as a church do with them.

PRAYER

Adoration:

· Adore God that the Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) exist in perfect unity and oneness.

Confession:

· Take time to confess your sins to the Lord and to ask for forgiveness

Thanks

· Thank God that He calls us into a body that is diverse and full of different characters, different personalities, and different backgrounds.

· Thank God that you have a body of believers around you to support you, to spur you on, and to urge you to greater heights of kingdom work.

Supplication:

· Pray that God would bring unity and oneness to the congregation in all things.

· Pray that the Lord would bring a deep and lasting other centredness to each person in the congregation.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What passages in 1 Corinthians encourage us to rejoice in our diversity and to use it for the glory of God’s kingdom?

2. What is the defining factor in whether diversity works for, or against the kingdom?

SMALL GROUPS

Scripture

Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-17.

Sing songs of adoration and praise.

What are the key words in 1 Cor 1:10? What does each one mean?

Restate 1:10 in your own words.

How does Paul argue against divisions and factions?

Why does Paul mention baptism in his counter argument?

Observation

Discuss the following:

What standard of unity is Paul calling for?

Why does hie call for this standard?

What are the theological implications of divisions in a church?

What is the effect on the gospel witness when there are divisions on the church? 

Going Deeper

What causes divisions and factions in the church today?

What is the antidote to divisions and factions in the church?

Why is the attitude “agree to disagree” unhelpful?

Application

Summarise what Paul is saying in this section.

How does this apply to your church?

When a church reaches a stalemate and can’t find a way to agree, what should it do?

How can we cultivate an attitude of finding God’s will in the congregation before conflict or division arrives?

PASTOR’S COMMENT

There are many things that cause divisions and factions in a congregation. Personally, I have heard divisions and factions forming in churches  and leaderships because of issues over biscuits, carpet colour, finances, where to spend or not spend finances, structures, forms for worship, whether to sing hymns or  choruses and so on.

Conflict often arises because one or more individuals have decided before hand what should or should not happen.

Congregations can avoid a lot of heartache and conflict if they approached each idea or issue with the resolve to find out God’s will regarding the issue.

If each person in a congregation resolves to pray and seek God, perhaps even praying and fasting over important issues, many conflicts could be resolved before they even start. Great unity is gained as individuals pray, and sometimes fast, seeking the will of God.

As the congregation comes together to discuss the issue, it can do so with a firm desire and resolve to find the will of God rather than to just do what “I think” is best. Rather than having different sides attacking each other, they can attack the problem together, using the skills and wisdom of each individual to solve the dilemma and to find the will of God.

Paul’s standard in 1 Corinthians 1:10 is unequivocally high. “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.” Paul is not putting forth a pie-in=the-sky ideal. He is giving a command that has no fine print and no exclusion clauses.

Each congregation can work towards this high standard by encouraging every single believer to prayerfully seek the will of God.