Divisions within the Body

House of God
Today’s Topic: Spiritual Households, Spiritual Families and the Body of Christ: Divisions within the Body
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17; 1 Corinthians 4:14-15; 1 Corinthians 11:29-33; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 3:10-15

Greetings Kingdom Citizens:
Now when we look at the church at Corinth after Paul’s salutation to them, he informs them the problems that have been made aware to him. In 1 Corinthians 1:11 Paul tells them that there are divisions among you. Let’s look at what was dividing the church at Corinth.

1 Corinthians 1:12,13:”Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”

Now the reason these people were saying that they were of this certain person was because these were the people who the gospel were brought to those in Corinth. The people were dividing along the lines of the persons who brought the gospel to them but Paul asks a great question, Is Christ divided? What was Paul hinting when he asked the question?

Later in 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 Paul explains this situation to help the church at Corinth to understand how they are arranged as it pertains to Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14:”For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member but many.”
So Paul used the analogy of the human body to describe the Body of Christ. The Scriptures say that the body is not one member but many made into one. Paul was teaching even though you may belong to different households you are still a member and a part of the universal Body of Christ. Why is that important to know? For example let’s use Paul’s discussion on the Lord’s Supper.

1 Corinthians 11:29,30,33: “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, NOT DISCERNING THE LORD’S BODY. FOR THIS CAUSE many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 33-Wherefore, my brethren, WHEN YE COME TOGETHER TO EAT, TARRY ONE FOR ANOTHER.

What is Paul saying, when we as believers, sons of God, Kingdom citizens come together we should discern the Body of Christ together. Why? Because maybe people there who have evil motives, or maybe sick (sin or physical) but the point is for Holy Spirit to show us who is in need. But when we fail to discern the Lord’s Body (Body of Christ) then people who are sick and weak die prematurely and in some cases we allow the evil spirit to roam unchecked when we could have discerned that and allow Holy Spirit to give us protocol on how to cast the demon out. But if we are so concerned with who’s house or denomination we are a part of, how can we come together and discern. Good question here, many of us take communion. Some do communion, weekly, every month or every three months for example, how many of us take the time to discern the Lord’s Body before eating and drinking? Do we remember it was at the Lord’s supper that the hearts of the disciples were revealed, in particular Peter and Judas. One was told he would deny Christ and the other was told he would betray him, but that is what we are to do every time the Body of Christ comes together in a particular city. It is not only confined to communion even though when we do communion we should discern the Body, but every time during worship, bible study, sunday school, we should discern the Lord’s Body. This is why we are our brother’s keeper and the scripture says tarry one for another because Holy Spirit discerns for us who is in need and with counsel from Holy Spirit we are to do as commanded.

At the church at Corinth they had a slight understanding of spiritual households but they were allowing the household to cause division and that is not the purpose of the spiritual households in the Earth. In the next message we will look at the function of spiritual households in the Earth and how it promotes unity in the Body of Christ. If you have not noticed 1 Corinthians is a letter that speaks about unifying the Body of Christ from individualized thinking to corporate thinking which makes the son aware that he or she is of the House of God and a citizen of the Kingdom of God.

At the Father’s Service,
Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.