1 Corinthians 11:18-19 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.
I'm not at all suggesting that we try and create factions in the body of Christ, but rather, is it God's design that a church have a certain amount of divisions for the purpose of exposing false Christians? - Christians who may look (and even act) the part, but are not truly born again.
What do we cling to when divisions are evident among us? Where do we look for answers? Do we look solely to the Word for it's wisdom, or do we think that our wisdom and what we value, personally, has some say in the matter?
I've found it good to consider these verses.
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4 comments:
Indeed the passage that you quoted sounds like the divisions exist to manifest the approved. As if in dealing with divisions our mettle is tested, shall be "revealed in fire" as chapter 3 mentions.
To see the kind of divisions he's referring to, note that from here he launches into a discussion of the Lord's Supper and how we practice this (11:20-34). Here is the division that requires instruction. At the end of 34, he pulls back for a moment, noting that "And the rest, whensoever I should come, I will set in order." He's dealt with one source of division (both directly and indirectly), though evidently there are other issues that need resolving.
And you're right that we often rely on our own private interpretations, on personal explanations, on our own wisdom when dealing with these divisions. I pray that God shows us the better way.
Not that God hasn't shown us the better way, only perhaps that we need to be recalled to it. For Christ himself is that better way. And of course we are guided on that way, on that Exodus by the Spirit, by whom we see the light.
Nick: I appreciate your call to context here. In that vein, it's also interesting to look at what comes before verse 18 that leads Paul's thoughts into the topic of divisions regarding the Lord's table.
You're absolutely right, Luke! And we could probably find all sorts of other practices discussed throughout 1 Cor that are part of that bigger context as well. Maybe it's just me, but I think 1 Cor is more interwoven than it's often given credit for.
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