Day By Day - 1 Corinthians 3
By John Horsburgh
Overview:
As we begin to read through this first letter to the church in Corinth, we find Paul chastising the believers over a few issues and in this chapter it starts with him addressing the problem of division within the fellowship. This is followed by a brief discussion liking the apostles to builders as they teach the body the ways of Christian living.
This chapter is divided into a few different segments and also contains some notes on testing and reward before concluding with a warning about conceit.
1. Paul Vs. Apollos
This is an issue that reminds me so much of the jealousies and divisions within the modern church. We don’t only have the division between the Orthodox, Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, but within those broad factions we even see distrust and infighting within the Pentecostal stream. Paul’s comment is that some in Corinth claimed to be disciples of Paul and others were supporting Apollos. The two men in question were not seeking to be glorified and Paul is quite vocal about their different rolls in spreading the gospel and that it was all for the glory of Christ and the Father.
We really need to be taking a strong look into our own hearts and making sure that we are not bringing the gospel into ill repute by disparaging other denominations and taking aim at other believers. Scripture tells us that the proof of our discipleship is the love we show for one another. What I find to be the saddest issue here is that so many times the differences we find come from God’s ability to reveal slightly different facets of His truth across the wider body of believers and we strenuously defend the “truth” revealed to us without checking to see if the different facets actually dovetail together to reveal a greater truth than the individual portions.
Unity will only come when we strive for it and we may even have to yield our own perceived high ground to see it happen.
Foundations:
The foundation that Paul laid is quite simple - the message of Christ and Him crucified. The reality here is that if we take that true foundation and build on it we need to be careful not to stuff it up. Our foundation today is still the same... Jesus Christ.
I would suggest that if we can agree with another believer that Jesus Christ was born of the virgin, was suffered and crucified under Pontius Pilot and raised to live for evermore on the third day, then we have a firm foundation even if there are some variations in how and what we build. Paul’s warning here is that each man must be careful how he builds. As I write these words, I know that I often vary from other people in how they interpret scripture or how they choose to worship but I am sure that I want to be known as a true believer rather than to insist that I am acknowledged as being “right”.
Love the Lord, love His word – even if the word offers correction... (ouch)
Tested by fire:
What are you building? Circumstances have made me critically aware that not all that I have built in this life is going to pass through the fire and survive. Are we building for eternity or are we adhering to the concept of “he who dies with the most toys wins”... It’s OK to have things that make living possible and its even OK to have things that make living more comfortable, we just need to be aware that when we pass through the fires of judgement that the “things” that we possessed do not go through with us.
Paul’s encouragement here is to warn us to have lived a life that sends ahead of us those things that will survive the fire. I, for one, do not wish to scrape through by the skin of my teeth...
Conclusion:
Paul sent this letter to the people of Corinth because he loved them like a father and he wanted the best for them. Down through the years I can still hear my own father’s voice telling me that the punishment I was facing was only because he loved me so much that he wanted me to learn right from wrong. At the time I may not have appreciated it but as an adult I realised that mum and dad shaped me into a person that was able to live a life worth living. Paul’s letter is still shaping those who are prepared to heed his words.
Overview:
As we begin to read through this first letter to the church in Corinth, we find Paul chastising the believers over a few issues and in this chapter it starts with him addressing the problem of division within the fellowship. This is followed by a brief discussion liking the apostles to builders as they teach the body the ways of Christian living.
This chapter is divided into a few different segments and also contains some notes on testing and reward before concluding with a warning about conceit.
1. Paul Vs. Apollos
This is an issue that reminds me so much of the jealousies and divisions within the modern church. We don’t only have the division between the Orthodox, Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, but within those broad factions we even see distrust and infighting within the Pentecostal stream. Paul’s comment is that some in Corinth claimed to be disciples of Paul and others were supporting Apollos. The two men in question were not seeking to be glorified and Paul is quite vocal about their different rolls in spreading the gospel and that it was all for the glory of Christ and the Father.
We really need to be taking a strong look into our own hearts and making sure that we are not bringing the gospel into ill repute by disparaging other denominations and taking aim at other believers. Scripture tells us that the proof of our discipleship is the love we show for one another. What I find to be the saddest issue here is that so many times the differences we find come from God’s ability to reveal slightly different facets of His truth across the wider body of believers and we strenuously defend the “truth” revealed to us without checking to see if the different facets actually dovetail together to reveal a greater truth than the individual portions.
Unity will only come when we strive for it and we may even have to yield our own perceived high ground to see it happen.
Foundations:
The foundation that Paul laid is quite simple - the message of Christ and Him crucified. The reality here is that if we take that true foundation and build on it we need to be careful not to stuff it up. Our foundation today is still the same... Jesus Christ.
I would suggest that if we can agree with another believer that Jesus Christ was born of the virgin, was suffered and crucified under Pontius Pilot and raised to live for evermore on the third day, then we have a firm foundation even if there are some variations in how and what we build. Paul’s warning here is that each man must be careful how he builds. As I write these words, I know that I often vary from other people in how they interpret scripture or how they choose to worship but I am sure that I want to be known as a true believer rather than to insist that I am acknowledged as being “right”.
Love the Lord, love His word – even if the word offers correction... (ouch)
Tested by fire:
What are you building? Circumstances have made me critically aware that not all that I have built in this life is going to pass through the fire and survive. Are we building for eternity or are we adhering to the concept of “he who dies with the most toys wins”... It’s OK to have things that make living possible and its even OK to have things that make living more comfortable, we just need to be aware that when we pass through the fires of judgement that the “things” that we possessed do not go through with us.
Paul’s encouragement here is to warn us to have lived a life that sends ahead of us those things that will survive the fire. I, for one, do not wish to scrape through by the skin of my teeth...
Conclusion:
Paul sent this letter to the people of Corinth because he loved them like a father and he wanted the best for them. Down through the years I can still hear my own father’s voice telling me that the punishment I was facing was only because he loved me so much that he wanted me to learn right from wrong. At the time I may not have appreciated it but as an adult I realised that mum and dad shaped me into a person that was able to live a life worth living. Paul’s letter is still shaping those who are prepared to heed his words.
Posted in 1 Corinthians