That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
1 Corinthians 12:25
‘Have you heard the latest album by _____?’ ’I just love _______’s teaching!’ ‘I just devour anything that ________ writes!’
It is a mark of carnal Christianity to be divided over personalities.
The most carnal or fleshly church of first century Christianity would have to be the church at Corinth. It is no coincidence that the most carnal church was divided over such things as popular preachers, immorality, lawsuits, marriage and divorce, meats offered to idols, the conduct of women in the church, the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection.
Division marked this church.
What was the Lord’s cure for this division?
The twelfth chapter of 1 Corinthians teaches about church membership. The word comes up no less than fourteen times. Church membership is clearly not a man-made idea. It is God’s plan, and followed properly, it cures any divisive church.
The key, God says, is to see a church like we see a body. All of the body parts cooperate together for the common good.
Your toe and your eye are not competitors vying for prominence. Nor is there need for a poll to determine whether your nose or your knees have more followers or more ‘likes.’
In the same way, every believer should do their utmost to find a body of believers that most closely resembles the first century New Testament churches, and join it. Become a participating body part. Commit to functioning in that body like each of your body parts do, working for the benefit of others.
New Testament Christianity is church-centred. Nearly every epistle was written to a specific church or church-centred leader. Christ died for the church (Ephesians 5:25), promised it success (Matthew 16:18), and proclaimed it the sole entity tasked with promoting Christian truth (1 Timothy 3:15). In fact, this glorious entity is God’s instrumentality in instructing the angels about His wisdom (Ephesians 3:10).
Therefore to be like the original followers of Christ, we too must be church-centred. Join it. Love it. Be loyal to its members. Guard it from dangerous errors and selfish sins. Help it to be successful in its Great Commission work. Heartily participate in its worship of our precious Saviour!
Father, in this late hour of the Church Age, too many of us want a Christianity that is not like what You designed, which is a church-centred focus. Bring more of Your people to see it as a matter of obedience. Protect us from carnal division. Encourage those who are doing all they can to build one another up. In this dark world, make Your churches to be glowing testimonies to the excellencies of our Lord Jesus Christ.