Daily Devotions
1 Corinthians
"That you be perfectly joined together..."
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:10
ADDRESSING PROBLEMS
The Apostle Paul began his epistle to the Corinthians with glowing words of praise. It would have been wonderful if things had developed wonderfully for the Church. The reality was that the Church had been badly affected adversely. The best and the wisest thing to do would be to address the problems forthrightly.
1. “That you all speak the same thing”
a) Paul had commended the Corinthian Church as being blessed “in all utterance” (1 Corinthians 1:5).
b) Paul expressed the desired goal in 1 Corinthians 1:10– “oneness”.
c) The concern here seemed to be that the gift of utterance had somehow gone wrong.
d) How could this be?
i) People who are gifted can be caught up with their gift of eloquence.
ii) Others may be jealous and attempt to outdo the skilled speakers.
iii) Rivalry could arise and the danger could be one of not speaking the same thing.
iv) Some may apply the truth in different ways; confusion could arise.
2. “And that there be no divisions among you”
a) Divisions could result.
b) The Church could be adversely affected.
c) The problem of schism must be dealt with effectively.
3. “But that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind”
a) The phrase “be perfectly joined together” is a translation of one word in the Greek text.
b) A number of nuances may be highlighted: –
i) They were perfectly joined together in the past.
ii) The word is sometimes used to describe the repairing of fishing nets (Mark 1:19).
iii) Somehow a state of disrepair had come in.
c) “In the same mind”
i) They had the same mindset once.
ii) There was the danger of disunity and schism now.
4. “And in the same judgment”
The word “judgment” comes from the word “knowledge”. This word simply means “an expressed opinion”, or “conviction”.
The threat was very real in the Corinthian Church. Schism could hurt the unity of the Church adversely! Every effort must be made to avert this disaster!