If there is one thing that is
common to every religion upon the earth, it is the notion that
a man can adopt its precepts and gain an understanding of
its doctrines through the power of his free will and the proper
instruction in its doctrines by those who are its teachers
and holy men. We can see this false concept
creeping in among the sheep quite soon after the establishment
of the Lord's Church in the earth. This is the common path of the
flesh. The Lord sent his apostles into
the world with a commission to declare the truth to all who
would hear it and to baptize them in his name. It was not
long before there arose contentions and divisions among them based
largely upon preferences of personalities towards those who were sent with
this commission. Paul warned the Ephesian elders
of this reality. Sadly, many who find themselves
in places of leadership often capitalize upon this position
to seek out those who will follow them as they establish congregations
who are taught to rely upon the pastor's expertise in obtaining
knowledge of heavenly things, rather than being encouraged
to scrutinize their teaching and to seek truth for themselves.
False doctrine gains its foothold through strong personalities
who love followers and promote the notion that great reliance
should be placed upon what they say and how they say it, rather
than inviting scrutiny and questions from their hearers. Out of this
arises the cult of the authoritarian preacher, whose word is to be
received as inviolable. Those who raise questions are
usually viewed as troublemakers or worse. The preaching of the
truth is one of the great blessings which the Lord has given to His
saints. Yet men will always corrupt that which is holy, and because
of the weakness of the flesh will turn that which is of great
service to the sons of God into that which serves the flesh.
Because of this, the flesh will usually gravitate toward strong
and oratorically gifted men. Divisions will arise over these
performers and their performances as more emphasis is placed upon
the ability of the preacher than upon the ministry of the members
of the body one to another. Paul was disappointed at the
report of such divisions which had arisen among the Corinthians,
and he admonished them about these departures from the basis
of the Christian faith. He plainly exhorted them that
the basis of true faith is not that which is conveyed by men,
but rather through the power and operation of the spirit of
truth. Thus he declared his determination to preach only one message, Jesus
Christ and Him crucified, which was not enhanced by flowery phrases
or orations which were designed to tickle the ears and impress
the hearers in order to get them to follow him like the Pied Piper
of preaching. Even as Paul solicited no monetary
gain from his hearers, so too should all who were given teaching
gifts be diligent to deflect all praise of those gifts to
the only one who is worthy of praise, and to encourage their
hearers to have no confidence in any man, regardless of his
gift. In addition, the encouragement
of each part of the body to minister to the whole must be emphasized
even as Paul did to the churches which he ministered to. The only
authority that exists among the saints of God is that which is
found in Christ and manifested in the activity of the body as
a whole. Paul demonstrated the difference
between that religion which is completely of and in the Spirit
and that which is of the flesh. In doing this, he used the example
of two quite diverse groups to manifest the fact that regardless
of what religious or non-religious men may have, they are nonetheless
united in their opposition to the truth of God and consider
the declaration of the gospel to be foolishness. Though their
perspectives are quite different, their conclusions are the same.
He said, first, the Jews require a sign. This is descriptive of
the superstitious nature of man in the flesh, which seeks some
experience in the flesh or some tradition which he might rely
upon. Then, he said, the Greeks seek
after wisdom. The Greeks were those who relished
in intellectual pursuits and loved to debate about great matters
of philosophy and worldly wisdom. That wisdom which is from above
is not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord of Hosts.