1 Corinthians 1:14-17 says...
Today's verses are 1 Corinthians 1:14-17, which read,
v.14-16 - I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other.
Crispus was the leader of the synagogue in Corinth. Gaius was a host to Paul, so he gave Paul housing. Nothing is known of Stephanas and his family.
Paul is continuing on about the first thing he is pointing out where the Corinthian church has diverted from the gospel. The members of the church have divided over the sin of pride. They are using "who they know" to distinguish them over each other. Paul's name and even Christ's name is used in this sin. Even though Paul is trying to point out this sin and thankful that he did not baptized more than he did so it could be used in this negative way, it is great to see these names and get an insight on how the gospel did start to take hold in Corinth.
The history of a church is important and the names that are given help us to understand the progress of the gospel. It is interesting how one person comes to Christ. Who are the people that God used to reach out to this one? We should be able to draw lines from person to person in the church when we are sowing the gospel. "I came here because of..." and you fill in the blank. The point here is that this is not to divide us but unite us because our common factor is Christ and how we come to Christ is on our knees in the knowledge that we are a sinner, an utterly sinful sinner.
v.17 - For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.
Paul did baptize Christians in Corinth but his reason for coming to them was to tell them of Jesus. He didn't come to start a "Paul's club" where only Pauline Christians could assemble. He didn't come with speech that only the Pauline Christians would understand. He didn't come to impress them with who he was. He came to tell them about the cross of Christ and Christ alone. If he was to add anything to that then Christ's sacrifice was not enough.
We need to somehow recognize pride in our lives and in the church. We need to see this sin when it pops up in us elevating ourselves over others. At that point we have stopped sowing Christ and started sowing ourselves. "If you could just be like me" is what is being heard and what is being seen. The sin of pride steals the power and the message of the cross of Christ and people will cling to it. They will follow someone who is pointing them to something else other than Christ and we have plenty of examples of this over the years. So... how important is it to be humble in our spirit of unity over the message of Christ and Him alone.
"Lord, You and You alone are the message that we preach. Convict our souls when we start to add ourselves into the mix as some type of contributor to Your sacrifice and salvation. As we sow, let us sow You and none other. May all of our fingers be pointing to You. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.14-16 - I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other.
Crispus was the leader of the synagogue in Corinth. Gaius was a host to Paul, so he gave Paul housing. Nothing is known of Stephanas and his family.
Paul is continuing on about the first thing he is pointing out where the Corinthian church has diverted from the gospel. The members of the church have divided over the sin of pride. They are using "who they know" to distinguish them over each other. Paul's name and even Christ's name is used in this sin. Even though Paul is trying to point out this sin and thankful that he did not baptized more than he did so it could be used in this negative way, it is great to see these names and get an insight on how the gospel did start to take hold in Corinth.
The history of a church is important and the names that are given help us to understand the progress of the gospel. It is interesting how one person comes to Christ. Who are the people that God used to reach out to this one? We should be able to draw lines from person to person in the church when we are sowing the gospel. "I came here because of..." and you fill in the blank. The point here is that this is not to divide us but unite us because our common factor is Christ and how we come to Christ is on our knees in the knowledge that we are a sinner, an utterly sinful sinner.
v.17 - For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.
Paul did baptize Christians in Corinth but his reason for coming to them was to tell them of Jesus. He didn't come to start a "Paul's club" where only Pauline Christians could assemble. He didn't come with speech that only the Pauline Christians would understand. He didn't come to impress them with who he was. He came to tell them about the cross of Christ and Christ alone. If he was to add anything to that then Christ's sacrifice was not enough.
We need to somehow recognize pride in our lives and in the church. We need to see this sin when it pops up in us elevating ourselves over others. At that point we have stopped sowing Christ and started sowing ourselves. "If you could just be like me" is what is being heard and what is being seen. The sin of pride steals the power and the message of the cross of Christ and people will cling to it. They will follow someone who is pointing them to something else other than Christ and we have plenty of examples of this over the years. So... how important is it to be humble in our spirit of unity over the message of Christ and Him alone.
"Lord, You and You alone are the message that we preach. Convict our souls when we start to add ourselves into the mix as some type of contributor to Your sacrifice and salvation. As we sow, let us sow You and none other. May all of our fingers be pointing to You. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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