God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His
Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.(1 Corinthians 1:9)
Now I beseech you brothers, through the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, that
you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that
you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion. Now I mean this, that
each of you says, I am Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of
Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul
crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:13)
Paul impresses us with the fact that in God's economy Christ is the unique
center. God’s intention is to make Christ His Son the center of His economy and
also to make Him everything to all the believers. This is why Paul tells us in
verse 9 that we have been called into the fellowship of the Son, Jesus Christ
our Lord, it is also the reason he points out that Christ is both theirs and
ours. In His economy God’s intention is to make Christ everything, to give
Christ to us our portion, and also to work Christ into us.
Paul begins to deal with the divisions among the Corinthians. First, he
beseeches them through the name of our Lord, which is the name above all names
(Philippians 2:9) and should be the unique name among all His believers.
However, by ranking the names of Paul, Apollos, and Cephas with the name of
Christ, the divisive Corinthians made the same kind of mistake Peter did on the
mount of transfiguration when he ranked Moses and Elijah with Christ (Matthews
17:1-8)
To keep the oneness in the Lord and to avoid divisions, we need to uplift
and exalt the unique name of our Lord by dropping all the names other than this
highest name. Christ was the One who was crucified for them, and the believers
were baptized int the name of Christ. Here Paul seems to be saying, “Actually,
you did not receive anything from Paul, Apollos, or Cephas. You should not even
be limited to a narrow Christ. You must pay your full attention to the unique
Christ. This Christ is not only yours and ours—He belongs to everyone. He is
theirs and ours, for He is the portion of the saints in every place. God has
given this Christ to us, and He has called us into His fellowship.”
Where [in the new man, the Body of Christ] there cannot be Greek and Jew,
circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but
Christ is all and in all. ( Colossians 3:11)
I believe that as Paul was writing this Epistle to the Corinthian
believers, he was saying,
“Dear brothers and sisters, you need to realize that
neither Paul, Cephas, Apollos, nor any other person is the the unique center
among the believers. This center is not even a narrow Christ, the Christ of
your preference. The Christ who is the unique center of all center of all
believers is the One who is both theirs and ours.” If we see this, we shall not
care for persons, localities, or nationalities. Instead we shall care for
Christ as the unique center of all the believers.
We all have been called into Him, called into the fellowship, the
enjoyment, the participation, in Him. We have been called into a mutuality in
which we are with Him. Only this can swallow up divisions and eliminate all the
differences and preferences among the saints. Consider the situation among
Christians today: there is preference after preference. Some prefer to be
Presbyterians, whereas others prefer to be Baptist, Methodist, Lutherans, or Pentecostals. Some say, “I like this.” And other say, “I like that.” Some
declare, “I like this pastor,” and others say, “I like that minister.” “I like…I
like,” is commonly uttered by believers today. You may like certain thing, but
God may not like it. God is only please with Christ. God has one center—Jesus Christ—and
He has called you not into the denomination of your choice, but into the
fellowship of His Son. No individual or group must be our preference, our one
choice, must be Christ as the unique center, the Christ who is theirs and ours,
the Christ into whose mutuality we have been called by God. Oh, we all mus see
that God has called us into the fellowship of such a Christ!
The Christ-Centered Life
One of the phrases thrown around in Christian circles is “Living the
Christ-Centered Life.” Well, that sounds good, but what does it really mean?
Allow me to share with you my perspective:
To begin, “a Christ-centered life” starts with an understanding, and an
acknowledgement, of this one fact / principle:
“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live
in it.” (Psalm 24:1 NIV)
Another version puts it like this, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything
in it. The world and all its people belong to Him.”
What this means is that EVERY…THING and EVERYTHING belong to the Lord.
This includes our bodies, our minds, our tongues, our hands and feet, the money
we possess, the vehicles we drive, the jobs we have, the clothes we wear, the
friends we have, the time we have, the parents we have, the church we attend,
etc… EVERYTHING belongs to the Lord. Therefore, we should treat everything with the utmost respect and care – because we know it doesn’t belong to us. It belongs to the Lord!
Here’s another way of looking at it:
When we borrow a friend’s car – maybe it’s a really nice car – we treat it
with great respect because we don’t want something bad to happen to it while it
is in our possession. Well, this same principle applies to the things of the
Lord. We should be mindful – and respectful – of how and where we spend the
money that has been given to us; the time we have been given; the possessions
we possess (e.g. house, car, clothes, toys, etc…) because they all belong to
the Lord, AND, we will one day give an account for how we used them (because we
are stewards of these things)!
By understanding and acknowledging that everything belongs to the Lord, we
can begin the process of living a Christ-centered life with a proper
perspective.
Now that we have the perspective that everything belongs to the Lord, where
do we go next? What comes next is putting our Lord in front of all our major
decisions.
For example, we should:
– Pray for, and about, a spouse. We
ask for direction and leading.
– Pray for, and about, a home we are considering purchasing. We want to
know God’s perfect will for where we live.
– Pray for, and about, a job.
– Pray for and about any major financial decision we are about to make.
In short, because we have a proper perspective (i.e. “Everything belongs to
the Lord”), we go to The Source of all that has been given to us and we ask Him
for direction, leading and guidance on how best to use it FOR HIS KINGDOM and
HIS GLORY.
Some go a little farther and include Christ in on the minor decisions of
life. (However, this is a much deeper devotion) And some go quite far by asking
God if it is OK to spend five cents on a piece of bubble gum. Now, I am not
suggesting that we all have to go that far, but….I am suggesting that all of
your “major” decisions involve talking with Him about it first!
Why should we do such thing? Well, a
part of what we are called to do – as Christians (followers of Christ) – is to
submit our will to the will of our Heavenly Father. Consider Jesus’ prayer in
the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew His hour had arrived, and His prayer was VERY
revealing. He prayed, “…Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from
me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Here we see Jesus’ crying out because
He knew He was about to suffer. He was asking His Father if it was possible for
the suffering (“this cup”) to be taken away from Him. THAT was the first half
of the prayer. The second half of the prayer was more revealing. After asking
for something His earthly flesh wanted, He finished His prayer by saying, “Yet
not as I will, but as you will.” THAT is what I believe is one of the greatest
examples of prayer in the bible. The flesh wanted one thing (i.e. to escape
from suffering), yet the Spirit wanted something else (i.e. to do God’s perfect
will).
So, by acknowledging that everything belongs to the Lord, by asking Him for
specific things, AND by telling our Lord “We want His perfect will to be done
in our lives”, we begin to live the Christ-centered life.
Here’s another way to look at this equation:
Notice that I have said nothing about reading one’s bible or going to
church more often or trying to live a decent life or become a good person! This
is by design. All too often, people misunderstand the difference between
“religion” and “relationship.” Consider this:
When a woman gets married, her mindset shifts from “I, me, mine and myself”
to “we, us and ours.” In other words, many women place their man at the center
of their lives. For example, when she stops by the grocery store after work,
instead of buying certain groceries and getting what she wants, she texts or
calls her husband and asks him, “Hey, I’m at the grocery store. I’m thinking
about getting some hamburger for dinner. I was thinking hamburgers on the
grill, spaghetti or meatloaf with some veggies and garlic bread. What do you
think? Do any of these choices sound good to you? Or would you like something
different? Let me know. I’ll be here for another 15 minutes.” Because she is
thinking “WE”, and NOT ME, she brings her husband to the center of her life and
includes him in on many of her decisions.
THIS is how we should live a
Christ-centered life. When we are about to purchase a car, or a home, or date
some guy or gal, or get a new job across town, or any other major decision in
life, we should FIRST consider Christ and His will for our lives. If a person
wants to devote more of their life to Him, they can also include Him in on the
minor decisions of their lives.
Why do we do all of this? We do all of this because we are “married” to
Him. We are “The Bride of Christ”, and He is our first choice! In other words,
the relationship we have with Him takes precedence over everything and everyone
else!
Do you see how living a Christ-centered life has little to do with
“religion” (i.e. going to church, reading our bible, being involved in
ministry, etc…), but it has everything to do with our daily “relationship” with
Him?
So, begin your journey by acknowledging that everything in your life
belongs to the Lord.
Next, dedicate everything in your life to the Lord! Pray over it and give
it back to Him, OR, ask Him to use it for His Kingdom and His Glory!
Finally, bring everything to the Lord’s attention in prayer (e.g. “Lord,
should I continue to date this guy? Should I buy this house? Should I rent,
lease or purchase this car? Should I accept this job offer on the other side of
town? Should I talk with my friend right now about her destructive habits, or
should I wait? Please lead me Lord. Guide me. Direct my footsteps. I need your
leading. May your will be done!”)
Is the picture of leading a Christ-centered life becoming clearer? I hope
it is. I hope this helps you in your journey with Christ.
My purpose in writing this article was to encourage and inspire you to draw
nearer to Jesus Christ. By placing Him at the center of our lives- and
decisions – we are guaranteed to find His will, as well as find some joy,
contentment and purpose along the way!
Be blessed and be a blessing!
In Christ service,
Bro. Nick Flores
JesusNet-worker
