Spend time in prayer and silence with God, asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? Who after all, is Apollos? And who is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord as assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So, neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
– 1 Corinthians 1:10, 3:1-11
Devotion
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church was very corrective. The believers in Corinth were very carnal, and Paul writes to rebuke and correct them. The keynote of this letter is the supremacy of Christ. This is important to note, because that is the solution to the problems in the church. Jesus is the solution to correct moral, social, and church disorders. In the above text, Paul writes concerning divisions in the church. Paul knew that for the church to accomplish its mission in the world it must be “perfectly united in mind and thought.” Division is caused by fighting, gossip, criticism, hatred, jealousy, or bitterness. When Christ is lifted up as Lord, it is very difficult to foster disunity in the community of believers. When Jesus reigns supreme, love and unity flourish in community. Jesus is the only foundation!
The Big Question
Paul saw unity as a crucial element if the church was to carry out the Great Commission. Do you foster division within the Body of Christ? Does Christ reign supreme in your life? What is one thing you can do to foster unity at Oak Pointe Church?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.