There are several kinds of marriages, we have the monogamous marriage, polygamous marriage which are the most common types, and of course, we are familiar with these two. While monogamy has to do with one man to one woman or one woman to one man which is the ideal pattern for believers, polygamy has to do with one man being married to more than one woman or one woman being married to more than one man. When a man marries more than one woman, it is called polygyny, and when a woman marries more than one man, it is called polyandry. These are the two types of polygamous marriages we have. Praise God.
You would agree with me that in a monogamous family, it is very much possible to observe unity, and the whole issue of division would be easily taken care of, isn't it? There would be no one to say my father is not your father or your mother is not my mother, and so I am not your sister or brother. There would be no one to say I am not your father or I am not your mother, and so I can't take care of you. You see, this is the problem many polygamous homes experience. There's division, and the people most times refuse to dwell together in unity. The ideal marriage for any believer is that of one man to one woman or one woman to one man till death separates.
Do you know that in the body of Christ today, we have divisions here, and there? Many people claim to be from here while others claim to be from there. We live and behave the same way the polygamous family operate. We ridicule, ignore, fail to show forth concern to people because we feel they are not of us. Should this be? Is Christ divided? We shall be looking at the passage of scripture below,
"For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. [12] Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. [13] Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" ( 1 Corinthians 1:11-13).
The apostle Paul in the opening chapter of his first epistle to the saints in Corinth had to correct something in them that he had received report about, the fact that they were beginning to have contentions amongst themselves which ought not to be, why? Because they were believers, and were to show forth the nature of Christ, and contentions are a product of division; the inability for brethren to accept, and see each other as one just like the way it is in a polygamous family just because through Paul, some came to know the Lord, some through Apollos, some through Peter, and some claimed to belong to Jesus.
So you see, in essence, they were saying we are not brethren. It's just like today, we say because you do not attend my Church, you are not a Christian. Because you have a pastor different from mine, you are not a believer. It's as though we say because some people don't teach the way we teach, they are not of Christ. That they shouldn't be associated with. There could be denominational sentiments but it still does not deny the fact that the body is one; Christ Jesus. This is not to support extremities, or unfaithful adherence to truth of scripture, but that anyone who loves Christ genuinely, shouldn't be considered as an outcast even if there are lapses.
The goal is to minister to one another in love. Apollos was a man who loved the Lord, and preached what he knew, and lives were blessed even with the limitation, yet Aquila, and Priscilla didn't condemn him, but taught him in love, why? They didn't see the lapses, they saw Christ. If we would see Christ in all true believers irrespective of what church they attend, what things they know or don't, what limitations they have, we would consider them as brethren indeed, why? Because we are one in Christ, and there's no division in him.
Thought for the day: Do you condemn? Do you judge? Are you of Apollos? Is he of Paul? He is still your brother in Christ Jesus because Christ is not divided.
Gospel Today is a comforting, exhorting, edifying and inspiring devotional published by the Delightsome Land Christian Ministry. For questions, enquiries/testimonies, please call/WhatsApp: 08174915361, 08053662272 or Email: [email protected].
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