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Filled with the Holy Spirit

Filled with the Holy Spirit 
Day 
Day 66

"By one Spirit we were all baptised into one body..."

Text: 1 Corinthians 12:13

THE THREAT OF SCHISM

The Apostle Paul took the threat of schism very seriously. He saw how the oneness in the Corinthian Church was severely threatened. He took great pains to address the problem of schism.

1. He rebuked

2. He warned

3. He corrected

He devoted much time and effort to deal with this dangerous sin problem in 1 Corinthians. The danger of schism may arise from a secular and worldly spirit!

But the fact is that schism may also arise when people misunderstand and misuse the gifts of the Spirit of God. Paul turned his attention to deal with the threat of schism in 1 Corinthians 12-14.

AN IMPORTANT REMINDER

Paul wrote vigorously to teach emphatically this great truth- that we are one body in Christ!

“For as the body is one and has many members,
but all the members of that one body, being many,
are one body, so also is Christ.
For by one Spirit we were all baptised into one body-
whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-
and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 12:12-13

1. “The body is one and has many members”

a) Paul used the imagery of the human body.
b) The Church may be described as the Body of Christ.
c) It is made up of many members.
i) Jews and Greeks
ii) Slaves and free
d) Together, we form one Body.

2. “By One Spirit”

a) Through Him we are baptised into Christ.
b) This is a powerful and essential truth that must be borne in mind.

3. “Made to drink into one Spirit”

a) The word “drink into” may be a little confusing.
b) Literally translated (from a textual variant), it may read “we are all made to drink (by) one Spirit”.
c) It is the Lord who gives us the water of eternal life; the Spirit of God helps us to drink that water.