Daily Devotions
1 Corinthians
"By the name of our Lord Jesus Christ..."
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:10
MAKING REFERENCE TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
The Apostle Paul made references to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ ten times in ten verses! This was done deliberately. The significance must not be lost!
“Now I plead with you, brethren,
by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
1 Corinthians 1:10
Let us ponder why and what Paul hoped to achieve when he invoked the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!
1. “By the name”
a) The authority of the Lord Jesus was invoked.
b) There was an appeal to remember the place of the Lord Jesus Christ in the church.
i) He was the Foundation Stone.
ii) He was the chief cornerstone, who deserves pride of place.
iii) He was the Living Stone upon which other living stones are built.
iv) He was still personally involved in confirming and establishing the Church.
v) He would one day return for His own and they must be found blameless when He comes back.
vi) The role of God the Father must also be remembered.
2. “Our Lord Jesus Christ”
a) His formal name was invoked.
b) Some of the reasons why this was done:
i) Perhaps people had forgotten His Presence.
ii) Perhaps people had side-lined His authority.
iii) Perhaps people had lost their consciousness of why Christ built the Church.
c) There was a strong appeal to the people to return
i) To how they started the church.
ii) To the earlier principles of faith and practice.
iii) To the challenge of living and bearing witness for the Lord Jesus.
THE DANGER OF FORGETTING
This was a danger that Moses warned about (Deuteronomy 4-5). With the passing of time, it was all too easy to forget the Person and Place of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Church! Paul appealed to the Corinthians to return to its roots! The danger posed to the Church was schism. The unity of the Church could be severely affected if people forget what a Church represents!