November 18th~The Kingdom of Self

Acts 18:24-19:20


1 Corinthians 1:1-3:23

Paul began his third missionary journey, essentially retracing the path of his second trip. While he was in Ephesus (Asia Minor), he wrote a letter to the church in Corinth, addressing some of their issues. Evidently, the new believers there struggled with worldliness and spiritual immaturity. Paul wrote to them, “When I was with you, I couldn’t talk to you as I would to mature Christians. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. I had to feed you with milk and not with solid food, because you couldn’t handle anything stronger” (1 Corinthians 3:1, 2).

The first issue Paul addressed, regarding their immaturity, was the division in their church. “Stop arguing among yourselves,” he wrote. “Let there be real harmony so there won’t be divisions in the church. I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose... You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other... You are acting like people who don’t belong to the Lord” (1:10; 3:3).

Division among God’s people is a sign of selfishness. We are all one in Christ, and as we emphasize our common bond in Him, we will yield our own sinful, selfish preferences and strive for unity. Disunity should never be a trait of a group of believers; yet, Satan has had great success dividing us on so many issues — doctrinal differences, ministry focus, programs, styles of worship, social and political issues, etc. — when we are all on the same team.

On this issue of seeking out the fulfillment of our selfish preferences in the church, Paul gave a stern warning — use caution when building on the foundation of Christ. We must make sure that what we are building is a structure that glorifies Him and not ourselves. “Anyone who builds on that foundation may use gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. There is coming a time of testing at judgment day, to see what kind of work each builder has done. Everyone’s work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value...” (3:10-15). The bottom line is this — all that we have done to honor Christ will be rewarded, but all that we have done to honor ourselves will burn up.

Daily Reflection

How would you describe your influence in the local church? Have you been an agent of unity or disunity? Have you sought to honor Christ with your words and actions, or have you worked hard to get your way or make yourself look good? Explain your answer.

What about in your own Christian life? What have you built on the foundation of Christ, since coming to Him in salvation? Have you built a life for yourself or for Him? Will your works survive the test of judgment day or will they burn up?

We are all building something in our lives.

It is either the kingdom of self or the Kingdom of God. How can we build the Kingdom of God together, if we focus only on our own structure?

BiAY.org |Day 322 — 43 Days to Go