Passage Read: 1 Corinthians 2-3
Meditation Verses: 3:3-4
Thought
Boasting about men, boasting about who we follow, there should be none of this among mature Christians, wise Christians. Mature Christians recognize that all honorable teachers are each given by God. There is no need to divide ourselves by whom we claim to follow, because each of those teachers should recognize that they all serve one Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. They do not preach and teach in order to amass their own followers and groupies; rather, everything they do is to gather and train more and more followers of Jesus Christ, even as they continually seek to know Christ better and better. Every great and valuable teacher belongs to the whole body of Christ, and both those teachers and those who benefit from them should recognize that we are all one body and each belongs to all the rest. So when we divide ourselves by whom we follow, we're as worldly as unsaved men; we're as unwise and immature as godless men. This does not mean that we must not discern between those teachers who are in fact following Christ and those that are following worldly ambition. There are false teachers and faithful teachers. The false do not belong to Christ, and we should stay as far from them as possible, but those who faithfully teach God's Word and model godly behavior, these belong to all of us, regardless of what church or denomination they serve.
Application
I belong to Jesus Christ, and I need to know know Him as best I can. There are teachers who recognize that and labor to that end. There are also teachers who are self-serving, whose efforts and teachings are more to gather people about themselves. A church will suffer under their leadership, yet that teacher may survive to heaven, but all his work will be wasted and count for nothing. So every teacher needs to be careful what he teaches. But there is no reason for me to blindly follow anyone who claims to speak for God. I can read the Scriptures for myself and know what God desires of His people. I can and should discern between the honorable teachers and the dishonorable and the false. And the real test is who they point me to and who I find myself pointed to under their influence. Is it Christ? Or do find myself quoting and exalting that teacher as much or more than Christ?