1 Corinthians 11:17-22 

¹⁷In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. ¹⁸In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. ¹⁹No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. ²⁰So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, ²¹for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. ²²Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!

Thanksgiving Cactus

If you are indoor gardening enthusiast, you may have Thanksgiving cactus. Thanksgiving cactus blooms from November to March. If Thanksgiving cactus blooms, it brightens your living room, dining room, your festival mood when you celebrate Thanksgiving Day and Christmas season. Consider about that and you may start propagating Thanksgiving cactus, if haven’t explored yet.

Well, it’s not very difficult to maintain Thanksgiving cactus because it does not require meticulous attention or watering. It is also very simple to propagate Thanksgiving cactus. All you need to do is take few healthy segments or divide the Thanksgiving cactus and plant them in a clay pot and water them; that’s it.

Propagation by division could be very painful to the Thanksgiving cactus.

Likewise, church division or church split could be very painful process of church propagation. In the past, disgruntled church personalities breakaway to start another church and bring with them church members with similar mindset. Does the Lord anoint ugly church split so that another church could be planted?

If church split is effective strategy to plant churches, how can we avoid the pain of church split? Can we agree to plant another church through split? Yes! Cordially, be civil to express your intention to start another church, so that the congregation may give our blessings or financial support. Isn’t that wonderful?

Well when everything is doing great in the church, everyone wants to stay somehow. Historically, the first Christian church in Jerusalem had enjoyed being together for quite sometimes. Let us reflect on what it narrated in Acts 8:1, 4, ¹On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria… ⁴Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

When we stubbornly ignore our Christian mandate to make disciples of all groups of people, painful lessons are necessary triggers for us to respond. While planting another church might be painful result of church split, persecution is also essential episode in Christian experience somehow. Persecution is divine stamp from God for his approval of our effort, when we actively make disciples, testify of his transformational work in our life and proclaim the gospel of Christ. 

How do you interpret Acts 5:41-42? ⁴¹The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. ⁴²Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

The Jewish leaders persecuted the apostles and put them in prison. Yet, the apostles rejoiced that they suffered disgrace for Christ, instead of complaint.

Persecution is painful but inspires glorious feeling in the innermost being.

Persecution is godly approval that we had been counted worthy to called children of God. Can you sincerely accept that with gladness without hesitation?

Seriously together, let us reflect on what our Lord Jesus Christ wants us to personally remember what he declared in John 15:20, ²⁰Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

It is glorious feeling to be persecuted and be counted worthy as Disciples of Christ when we obey and follow him our Lord. When we preach about Christ and listener disregards what we say, it is not very pleasant feeling to be ignored. We try to be friendly and civil, but we cannot expect everyone to agree with us all the time. Nevertheless, can you seriously believe that God had already chosen who believe in Christ as their Lord and Savior? Seriously reflect on Ephesians 1:4-6:

⁴For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Do you sense such glorious feeling that God has chosen us to believe in Christ even before we were yet to be born, even before he created the world? No matter what others may think or say about us, genuine Christians are set apart to be blameless on God’s sight. God chose us to be holy and blameless in his sight.

Personally reflect now! Do you still entertain blame games that others love to play? Limited human ability cannot discern what God can see through us. God sees believers as holy and blameless. By faith in Christ, we believe it. Amen?

Believers are holy and blameless in the sight of God, but different opinions can trigger disagreement or views. We can agree to unite and not divide. Right?

1.  Not Divide

¹⁷In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. ¹⁸In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 

It is not surprising anymore that there are church divisions nowadays. In the first century Christianity, specifically in the Corinthian church, Apostle Paul said that he cannot praise them for there were divisions among them. There were multiple factions in the Corinthian church. Division among them was obvious.

Originally, when Apostle Paul and his mission team were still leading the Corinthian church, they had no problem about division. But after Apostle Paul left for another mission endeavor some personalities joined the church of Corinth.

And, they cannot agree whose teaching and leadership they should follow. Why? Most possibly, those personalities introduced different doctrine and belief. Probably, teaching from different leaders may have impressed some attendees who joined the church after Apostle Paul and his mission team left the church. The same groups doubted the authority of Paul as apostle of Christ because they did not hear him or meet him personally. Divisions in the Corinthian church were apparent during their worship services and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

Before Christian churches were established, Jesus Christ our Lord prayed for unity recorded in John 17:20-23, ²⁰My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Jesus prayed for unity. Did he foresee that church division will eventually happen? The problem of division in the church serves as eye opening for us that in this world, we will struggle with problems. Why can we not avoid problems?

First: God have designed that we can only find no problem in heaven and never in this temporary world. Difficulty and painful experiences of problems are also partial reality that should reveal eternal pain and warn us of agony in hell.

Second: God may allow problem in the church and among Christians, so that, when we seek help from God through prayer, his glory is revealed. Although God has been revealing his glory through creation, humans continue to ignore it.

Lazarus

One friend of Jesus was Lazarus. When Jesus was informed that his friend Lazarus was sick, he did not rush and go to cure him. Let’s reflect on John 11:4,

⁴When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

It is painful and uncomfortable to be sick. It’s not very funny. We want to be healed when we are sick. We want sick loved ones to be healed. Yet, Jesus did not bother to heal his friend Lazarus who was sick. And as a result, Lazarus died. Lazarus died for the glory of God to be revealed in Christ. Truly, everyone who saw it praised God after Christ miraculously resuscitated Lazarus back to life.

Death is the worst problem of human, and Christ solves this worst problem of death. He brought Lazarus back to life from the dead as practical proof that he can solve even our worst problem. By faith, we trust Christ, we do not doubt.

2.  Not Doubt

¹⁹No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. ²⁰So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, ²¹for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. 

Anyone won’t doubt that there was problem of division in the church of Corinth. Everyone was focused on their faction; they did not mind if other groups were hungry or not. Apparently, such indifference had worsened their problem of division; and their leaders condoned factional uncaring behavior. It’s a shame; it’s not admirable, if some church attendees have food and others were hungry.

Be careful, especially to the family of believers. All Christians are essential part of the church, the body of Christ. Let’s reflect on 1 Corinthians 12:22-27,

²²Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Armpit

Have you solved the foul smell of your armpit? During their childhood, our children slept on my arm as pillows. They slept well, not because of foul smell of my armpit. You may ask them if they ever complained about my armpit.

Every time after I take a bath, I spray rubbing alcohol on my armpit first before using underarm deodorant. I prefer ethyl over isopropyl alcohol.

Well, do you know why our armpit is hidden? Not because it has foul odor; the armpit is delicate. A slight touch of the armpit causes the entire body to react.

Similarly, new believers are spiritually delicate; they easily react to slight touch of a sermon; so we have to be careful when dealing with young believers.

How do you personally interpret what it warns us in Romans 12:3-5?

³Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.  ⁴For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Have you grown mature spiritually or still delicate infant Christian? It shows maturity, if you take tough spiritual food of rebuke and obediently follow Christ. If you demand special modesty, you’re still delicate infant Christians. Nevertheless, we pray for each other regularly and focus and seek approval from God. We must aim for spiritual maturity, and we should not despise delicate Christians.

3.  Not Despise

²²Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!

Certainly, we praise and not despise when everyone behave in harmony in the church. Right? We can never completely agree with each other, but at least, we should not despise anyone who disagrees with our opinions or views. Unless someone intentionally disagrees just to gratify their ego, disagreement could be divine intervention for us to discern the proper timing for anything we plan.

The Holy Spirit himself inspires to have harmony among us in the church.

The church of Corinth struggle with the problem of division because they cannot agree of the leader they should follow as a church. One group followed Paul. Another followed Peter; others followed Apollos; still, others followed Christ. The problem of division was apparently displayed during worship in Corinth.

Christian churches struggle with similar problem of division these days, how can we avoid it? When one group leads a ministry, another group should be involved. When leaders are punctual, we should be punctual. When it’s you turn to lead a ministry punctually, we should be punctual also and avoid getting late.

It was already foretold in Jude 18-19, ¹⁸“In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” ¹⁹These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

Partisan Politics

The problem of partisan politics causes slow progress in many countries. If the president and the legislative body belong to the same political party, it can be favorable to the country but also unfavorable, if politicians are corrupt. Corruption in the government can be minimized if not eliminated when we seek God’s help.

As Christians, it’s our obligation to pray regularly for government officials.

We believe that God established all authorities. So we pray for wisdom and unity among our leaders; that God bless them so that they would focus on their duties and responsibilities and not to be bothered by personal or private concerns.

We also pray that God bless our church leaders to always rely upon him so that their lives bring praise and glory to God, no matter what concern may come.

Together, let us meditate on Ephesians 4:3-7, ²Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. ⁷But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

Wherever we are situated could be divine opportunity for us to testify of the grace of God in our life. Prayerfully seek inspiration of the Holy Spirit always. We pray that the Lord will always inspire us so that every moment we are awake we chose to rely upon the Holy Spirit. We’ve got to prepare always. Anytime sooner than we expect, Christ may return. Well, we cannot control what others think or say, but we pray that our behavior as children of God will earn his approval.

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