Friday March 14, 2014
I Corinthians 3: 16-23
Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth is written as a parent or older and wiser sibling might address younger members of a family. The Corinthians have become embroiled in numerous disagreements and points of division – worship, leadership, sexual morality, food, and more. Paul addresses these issues with wise counsel: if the foundation is well-built, these arguments wouldn’t be taking place. And, since Paul built the foundation during his visits with these budding Christian communities, he can call them back to that foundational work. Further, Paul points to the basis of that foundation, which is a firm and grounded belief in the love of Jesus the Christ.
In this portion of the letter, Paul focuses on the leadership issue. Some of the Corinthian Christians, have become divided over who offers the better or wiser leadership. If it sounds a bit like political partisanship, or Christian denominationalism, you are on the right track. Paul states simply that there is only one choice in leader and that choice is Christ: “For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future – all belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”
-The Reverend Paul Kett
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