I am of Jesus Christ - I Corinthians 1-4

by Diana Durrill

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge -- even as the testimony about Christ as confirmed among you -- so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." -- I Corinthians 1:3-9

Paul is extending a message of grace and peace to the Corinthians that I believe we need to be reminded of today.  In the opening of this two part letter to the body in Corinth, Paul reminds them that they have been extended God's great grace through the finished work of Jesus Christ.  This means, says Paul, that they are not lacking in any way as they journey through the Christian life.

On these grounds he exhorts them to:

• Stop emphasizing divisions (I am of Paul, I follow Apollos) (1:10,12-31)
• Be united in the same mind and judgment (1:10)
• Be overcome by the work God has done in their lives, through Christ Jesus (1:25-31)
• Rely on the Spirit of God to reveal truth and give understanding (2:8-16)
• Stop behaving in the flesh (3:3)
• Again, stop emphasizing the divisions (or schools of thought and training) among men and understand that Jesus Christ is the all-important and essential foundation in our lives (3:4-11)
• Know that what is built on that foundation will be tried by fire (3:12-15)
• Live in the knowledge that God's Spirit dwells within you (3:6)
• Understand that spiritually they have nothing that God has not given them (3:21-23)
• Behave as faithful servants, good stewards of what God has entrusted to them (4:1-2)
• Stop judging others and leave that to God (4:3-6)

The Corinthians were arguing, dividing, judging, and gossiping about one another as a result of pride in their lives.  They boasted of who they were trained under and who's school of thought they follow.  They condemned others for not doing things the way they "should be done" rather than focusing on their point of unity -- Jesus Christ.  They failed to respond to the Holy Spirit in their lives, Who was their Counselor and Guide in all truth.  Rather, they puffed themselves up in human understanding.

Sound familiar?  The church today (all stripes) is guilty as charged.  My, how things could change if we'd begin building on the foundation of Jesus Christ, giving up our emphasis on divisions and arguments by uniting where we can:  in Him and His finished work.  

As we have been given an extraordinary measure of grace at salvation, so let us walk in grace with one another and see the church grow - in all ways - as a result.