We are prone to build community on something other than Jesus, on something weak. Even as Christians, there is a proclivity in our sinfulness to drift from Jesus as the unifying foundation of our community. When we don’t build community on Christ and His work for us, we will build community on something less.
In Corinth, Paul was concerned that divisions were occurring because the people were saying things such as, “I follow Paul” or “I follow Apollos” or “I follow Peter.” The people were building community on something less than Jesus—on their allegiance to a subgroup of people in the church. Paul was known as the Apostle to the Gentiles, so it is possible that Gentile believers in Corinth viewed Paul as “their guy.” Peter was known as the Apostle to the Jews, so some scholars have suggested that Jewish believers thought of Peter as the one who represented them. And Apollos was a wise and gifted orator, so perhaps the educated and sophisticated in the church really identified with Apollos and pulled away from the others.
There is really nothing new under the sun. The same sub-groups, the same pseudo-communities, form in churches today. Let me introduce you to them, and perhaps you will recognize them.... Read more
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