I Follow

I Follow…

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.  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?  I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.  (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)  For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1 Corinthians 1:10 – 17 (ESV)

How applicable has this passage been over time?  Division over theology is nothing new. Before the Reformation, some could have said that they follow Augustine, or Aquinas. During the Reformation they could said that they followed Luther, Calvin, or Zwingli. During the 19th century, they might have said, "I follow Spurgeon," or "I follow Moody." Today, we can say that we follow Graham, Laurie, Piper, MacArthur, Driscoll, Chandler; the list goes on and on.  I realize people are always going to prefer some teachers over others; I question whether the church can really keep its focus on Christ rather than whose teaching and theology we follow?

If you read the entire first chapter of 1 Corinthians, you see that Christ appears 17 times, the first ten times are in the first ten verses.  Just by this repetition, this shows the source of what the church’s unity should be.  Given the diversity of the Corinthian church, it should have been like a colorful quilt; but unfortunately, it was ripping at the seams.  Paul explains that Christ Himself is not divided, so the church should not be either.  Christ alone is the reason they have salvation, so they should be united and act as family because of that.  Due to this, it does not matter who was baptized by who, but why they were baptized; because of their testimony of Jesus Christ.

We, as the church (both local and universal) have to show love for one another.  If we disagree on what can be considered “open-handed” issues, then we should not fight about it or cause division.  No two members in a family are exactly alike, this is also true in the church.  If we believe that Christ is the only way to salvation, then we are family and should be striving towards unity, not heading towards splintering.

I love you all,

Justin