Christ Church Daily Devotion June 13 2024

In 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, Paul addresses the issue of division within the Corinthian church. He urges the believers to be united in their thoughts and not divided based on the Christian teacher they follow. Paul emphasizes that the name of Jesus should be the unifying factor of the church. He points out that personal thoughts and preferences can be a danger to church unity. This passage highlights the importance of church unity and encourages believers to be peacemakers rather than contributing to disunity. Welcome to Christ Church's Daily Devotion for June 13, 2024. Today, we will be reading from 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 10 through 17. I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this. One of you says, I follow Paul. Another, I follow Apollos. Another, I follow Cephas. Still another, I follow Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Chrysippus and Gaius. So no one can say that you were baptized in my name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 1 Corinthians 1, verses 10-17 is about Christian unity and the divisions that can threaten it. In this passage, the Apostle Paul urges the Corinthians to stop dividing themselves into factions based on which Christian teacher they follow, to instead be unified around Christ. Our individual human thoughts can be the biggest danger to church unity and that it can lead to a formation of dividing groups. Church unity is a very important matter. Paul puts it first in the list of problems he had to deal with here at Corinth. Many problems were coming out of this division within the congregation. Here in verse 10, he briefly shows us the ground of unity and that is the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Their relationship to Christ was the unifying factor of the church. There is no other name big enough, great enough, and powerful enough to gather everyone together. Despite the diversity of viewpoint and the differences of background or status in life, than the name of Jesus, it is interesting that we have the same issues in our church today. Your personal worship option? Here's a question to ponder. Are we confusing equality with authentic unity in Christ? Do we need to rethink our personal responsibility for building walls of disunity rather than being peacemakers?