Blog
We were getting nowhere, fast.
I was inside the camper and could hear voices arguing outside. I raised the blind just a tad and peered out the little window. Several workers were in a heated “discussion.”
The masons we had hired were defending their right to be there to begin work on the fireplace. The builders were angry because they felt the stone guys were in the way.
“I don’t answer to you. I answer to my boss.”
“Well, I answer to a boss too!”
My husband stepped in.
“We have one goal — get this house built. We’ve got to work together to get this job done. If you don’t, my wife is going to be upset because we are living in this camper until you get it done.”
The division was costing us time and money… and a little frustration. We needed unity. I didn’t care who they thought their boss was. I wanted to remind them who was paying their checks. And nobody was getting any money until we got this resolved and they could work together.
I needed a house!!
1 Corinthians 1:10-17
“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.
11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.
12 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.’
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name.
16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)
17 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.”
Don’t you love Paul? I can just hear him saying, “What are y’all doing? We don’t have time for that!”
Ok, maybe not with those exact words, but you get the message.
This group of believers was supposed to have been using the gifts God had given to each of them to work together and accomplish the will of God. Instead, they were arguing amongst themselves about who was greater and had the “best baptizer.”
What did it matter????!
As Paul said, we serve one God. We are united in Christ; He is not divided. He has given us His Word, His commission, and His Spirit to guide us. There is no place for self-centered pride and ego.
They were arguing over who had baptized them, and Paul mentioned that he didn’t care — he wasn’t sent to baptize people anyway.
He was sent to share the gospel.
Paul wasn’t saying that baptism isn’t important — it is. Otherwise, Jesus wouldn’t have been baptized as an example for us. It’s a public declaration that you have been saved by the Father and are following Christ.
Paul knew what God had called him to do, and he was determined to do it.
The church is made up of people. We are all different — different personalities, different gifts, skills, and talents. But those are to be used in unity to accomplish the mission Christ gave the church. There is no place for division. This is the house of God, the place for training up disciples, for sending people out to be a light to the world, to worship the Lord.
Who are we serving? We’ve got work to do, church.
Copyright © 2025 Lifeword.org. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from Lifeword.org