Followers of Men

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he was concerned
that some of the churches were followers of men. He mentions it several times:

“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that
there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and
thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me
that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I
follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still
another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?
Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize
any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized
in my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I
don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to
baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross
of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Cor. 1:10-17).

“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who
live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I
gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you
are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and
quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?
For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you
not mere human beings? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only
servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his
task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow”
(1 Cor. 3:1-6).

“In 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” (1 Cor. 11:18).

The problem of men-followers did not get solved, even though it
was addressed. It still has not been solved. We can pray for God to fix it, and
if we are part of the problem, we can confess our part in this disunity.

This post coordinates with today’s reading in the Same
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