The causes of the church's conflict (2)

“You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?”  (1 Corinthians 3:3)

            There is a conflict in the church because we are still "worldly" (1 Cor. 3:3).  In other words, there is jealousy and quarreling among us because we are “mere infants in Christ” (v. 1).  There is quarreling in the church because we are the ones who take “milk” and aren’t ready for “solid food” (v. 2).  

Those who are worldly aren’t taught by the Spirit (2:13).  They don’t accept the things that come from the Spirit of God because they are foolishness to them (v. 14).  Also those who are worldly cannot understand the work of the Spirit because they aren’t spiritually discerned (v. 14).  Therefore, not only they don’t participate in the works of the Holy Spirit in the church but they cannot do so.  One of the works of the Holy Spirit is to keep the unity of the church (Eph. 4:3).  Clearly, God commands us to make every effort to keep they unity of the Holy Spirit, but those are worldly don’t obey the command.  The reason is because they don’t follow the Holy Spirit but walk like mere men (1 Cor. 3:3).  Like the saints in the Corinthian church, those who are worldly who walk like mere men say “I am of Paul” and “I am of Apollos” (1:12).

                This is also happening in churches these days.  Those who are worldly in the church say 'I am of my senior pastor' and 'I am of my assistant pastor.'  The senior pastor or assistant pastor, like Paul and Apollos, are just servants through whom we believed, “even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one” (3:5).  I think the bigger problem is the church leaders, not the laymen.  Although we, the church leaders, like Paul and Apollos, are just the Lord’s servants, through whom people come to believe - as the Lord has assigned to each his task” (v. 5), we tend to forget this often and thus cause the congregation members to be divided and the church to be in conflicts.  In other words, we, the church servants, are causing the Lord’s church to be in conflicts and to be divided because we think that we are something even though we are nothing (v. 7) and are only those who plant the seed like Paul and water like Apollos (v. 6).  We are just planting the seed and watering it.  It is God who makes it grow (v. 7).  We are nothing.  We must not think that we are something.  God is everything.  But we are forgetting this fact and causing church to be in conflict.  After all, we are seeing the conflicts and divisions of the church because of the church leaders, who are worldly, rather than the worldly lay people.

                In order to prevent church conflict, we all need to be “spiritual” men and women (v. 1).  We must all grow up in Christ and put childish ways behind us (13:11).  We are no longer to drink milk (3:2).  We must be spiritual people who can eat solid food (v. 2).  We must live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit who searches all things, even the depths of God (2:10).  The Holy Spirit who dwells in us helps us to know the things freely given to us by God (v. 12).  We must discern the divine grace that God has given us (vv. 13, 14).  We who know the mind of the Lord (v. 16) are to love the church just as the Lord loves His body.  We must love His kingdom, His house of Thine abode, the Church our blest Redeemer saved With His own precious blood” (Hymn “I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord” v. 1).  We are to humbly serve His church with the heart of Christ.  Although we may have the strain of toil and the fret of care, we must walk with the Lord in lowly paths of service free (Hymn “O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee, v. 1).  Victory!

“For her my tears shall fall, For her my prayers ascend; To her my cares and toils be given, Till toils and cares shall end.” (Hymn “I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord” v. 3).