I Corinthians 3:1-23

 I Corinthians 3:1-23

Paul is not done addressing the issue of divisions within the church. In chapter 3, he addresses three realities of this divisiveness. The first is the impact on their spiritual maturity. Paul says in verses 1-9 that the reason they are spiritually immature is that there is a divisive spirit. The divisive person may know a lot, but they lack the maturity of faith and Spirit because they are motivated by flesh or fallen human nature. The more divisive a person is, the more spiritually immature they are. A preacher of a large church was once asked, “If you were not a _________ (here the questioner named his denomination), what would you be? The preacher answered, “I would be ashamed.” Despite his being a preacher at a large church and famous in his time, he was displaying painfully wicked immaturity.

The second impact of the party spirit is how that attitude will affect that believer on the day of judgment. Without going into too great a detail, we need to understand that in the coming judgment we are saved by grace but will be rewarded for our works. When we are motivated by a divisive spirit, we will do works that will not be rewarded but will result only in loss. Ultimately the divisive person is selfishly motivated and will build on their salvation for their own advancement. And in the day of judgment, the divisive person is seen as saved but losing any reward for their good deeds.

The third impact is that the divisive person will destroy the temple of God. Verses 16-20 address a great loss the divisive person will experience. In this passage they have progressed to the point that they themselves are lost. The temple here is not the individual Christian’s body, but the church or the congregation. The temple is the place where the Spirit lives. But the divisive person has wrecked the temple to the point that the Spirit of God has left. God’s Spirit will not live in or work with, or empower, a wicked, divisive, and fighting church. The divisive person sometimes, indeed often, gets what they want. Most often it is preeminence or control, but there can be other motives as well. But in gaining these, they lose everything; they lose the reward in heaven; they even lose their own soul if they do not repent. Indeed, they lose it all in that God has destroyed them.

“Lord, help me to understand the importance of humble unity in Your church. AMEN”