True Unity in the Church

The Church in Corinth was probably not all that big. It was probably about the size of the average AFLC congregation or congregation here in Chamberlain yet it was divided into at least four different factions. The church was planted in a city with an oversexualized culture and it was overly proud of its intellectual prowess.

The factions were formed around pastors. Some folks in the church remembered and were drawn to Paul’s simple and powerful approach to teaching and preaching. Some were drawn to Apollos’ eloquent sermons which likely had beautiful rhetorical flourishes. Then there were those drawn to Peter whose apostleship was absolute. (No more so than Paul’s apostleship, which scripture clearly shows.) We do not really know a lot about these distinct groups, but what we do know is that the factionalism in the church was potentially devastating.

To address these issues and others, Paul desired to remind the church of the Word of Christ Crucified. It is the preaching of Christ Crucified which will draw the church into unity and maintain its unity. That is because unity comes only from Christ who is the head of the church.

Different congregations have different preachers at various times. This is not surprising. God has gifted pastors and lay people to serve the congregation in diverse ways and at specific times. You might have a pastor with a forceful personality like Paul or one like Peter who preaches simply and in a straightforward manner. You might have someone like Apollos who is able to wax eloquent and preaches with a silver tongue. Or you might have a pastor who reads his manuscript in a monotonous voice and never looks up from his sheets of paper (or tablet).

Regardless of your pastor’s God given charisma or preaching style, real unity in the church is not found in him. Real unity is found through the preaching of Christ crucified for you. If you have a pastor who preaches Christ crucified, pray for him, and give thanks to God for sending you a faithful shepherd.