1 Corinthians 3:3-9
New International Version (NIV)
3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?
5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
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Why can’t we have one unified church in Christ? There are so many Christian-based religions that it makes my head spin.
This scripture makes me stop and think. The Apostle Paul is giving the early Christians guidance on whom to follow. He advises not to follow human beings, we’re all supposed to follow Christ. Christ’s laws are built upon a strong foundation – a foundation that will stand the test of time – surviving forever.
When I look at various supposedly Christ-based religions, seeing the differences in beliefs, some differences causing divisions between households and families, I wonder why can’t we all be unified in the body of Christ.
Why do you think we can’t be unified into one body under Jesus Christ? Is it due to the fact that we’re human – and it’s virtually impossible to unify all Christian humans into one body? Is it because there are supposedly Christ-based churches out there who neglect Paul’s advice and follow other men, instead of following Christ? Is it all of the above, in addition to other factors?
Please comment!
~Cecelia Dowdy~
Its because we are carnal
One person values one thing more than another but if we follow Gods leading completely it would no issue
Some always desire to be first so that is why so many broken..Christ is not divided ppl are
And refuse to stay in their lane
Allison, thanks for commenting.
That’s so true. From what I understand, that’s why the Protestants came to be, they were protesting against the Catholics, didn’t accept Catholic beliefs.
It’d be nice if all would simply follow Jesus.
I have been really enjoying your blog Cecilia. 🙂
In my understanding (try to preface that way because I am always learning hopefully) one of the main culprits is the formation of assemblies under a clergy/laity system which is not found in the NT. Most people don’t study very deep on their own and are content to be spoon fed by their teacher, pastor and denominational by-laws and statement of faith. God wanted the Hebrews to be a nation of priests. But essentially they preferred a list of rules. We as the Bride of Christ are kings and priests, free to boldly enter the holy of holies. Yet we sit on the pew and not only never question the leadership in a given assembly, but often vehemently defend their teaching without looking to the Scripures to see if it’s true.
Kay, that’s so true. There are so many things that some organized religions teach, which I think are based upon man-made rules, more so than the Bible. I was raised Jehovah’s Witness and it appeared, to me, that they were more interested in what “the Society” said more so than what the Bible taught. We weren’t allowed independent thinking – we had to rely on their rules for everything. Challenging the leaders was not something that was done often, it was frowned upon to challenge the leaders.