Devotional: Christ our Foundation

1 Corinthians 3

“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 3:11, NASB).

Apostle Paul receives a letter from the church in Corinth. The church is divided in several areas. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians addresses the matters that divide the church. One of the issues is leaders. The people are divided because they do not agree on who is the most important leader. Some follow Paul and others follow Apollos. Still others follow Cephas and others Christ (1:12). Paul says that Christ is not divided. Regardless of the leader that the people have an affinity to, all the leaders preach a gospel built upon the same foundation. The foundation is Christ who was crucified for sin (1:13).

Leaders have different personalities. Their preaching and teaching styles differ. We all have our differences. However, in the church, regardless of our differences our salvation results from the death of Jesus on the cross. Regardless of the ministries that we are engaged in, all ministries have as its ultimate goal the declaration that Jesus is Savior of all who believe.

I do not need to be concerned about the differences between me and my fellow church members. If I allow personal differences to separate me from others it probably means that I am thinking that we are building on separate foundations. Paul points out that there are different materials used to build a building. These all work together to complete the structure. All are built on the same foundation. The church is built on Christ our foundation.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to know that there are different materials needed to complete a structure. You are the foundation that the different materials are built upon. Amen.