In the first chapter of 1st Corinthians, the Apostle Paul
expresses his concern that some of the believers were treating
fellowship with God as a matter of which minister of
the Gospel one is following:
12 What I mean is this: One of you says,
"I follow Paul"; another, "I follow
Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas "; still
another, "I follow Christ."
This is why Paul, just before citing these man-made camps,
touched on the unifying and common thread that runs
through each of us:
9 God, who has called you into fellowship
with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is
faithful.
This oneness in our faith bows to the Oneness of God—
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In this fellowship, God now affirms
to the faithful, His Church, we are one through Christ, as
Paul points out in the same letter to the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 12:12-14
12 The body is a unit, though it is made
up of many parts; and though all its
parts are many, they form one body. So
it is with Christ.
13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit
into one body--whether Jews or Greeks,
slave or free--and we were all given the
one Spirit to drink.
14 Now the body is not made up of one
part but of many.
The Prophet Isaiah expressed this same oneness
that the faithful remnant of Israel had before God,
also showing how this blessing flowed to the
individual who walked in the hope of the coming
Messiah.
In the following, Isaiah starts at the “corporate level”:
Isaiah 44:1-4
1"But now listen, O Jacob, my
servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 This is what the Lord says- he who
made you, who formed you in the womb,
and who will help you: Do not be afraid,
O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I
have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground; I will
pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and
my blessing on your descendants.
4 They will spring up like grass in a
meadow, like poplar trees by flowing
streams.
Leaping forward and apply this to the
“new man” that is the Body of Christ,
Jews and Gentiles, we are…
“Jacob”—servants of Christ and of
One another.
We are…
“Israel”—jointly chosen ones
Jacob, Israel: different names but the
same entity.
The baptizing Spirit mentioned by Paul
Is the same that Isaiah, for God will…
Isaiah 44:3
…pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground; I will
pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and
my blessing on your descendants.
What happens when this unity of blessing
flows to the “individual level”? Isaiah’s
divinely inspired narrative shows that whatever
redeemed ones affix to themselves,
it describes one and the same relationship
with each other and with the Lord God:
Isaiah 44:5
5 One will say, 'I belong to the Lord ';
another will call himself by the name of
Jacob; still another will write on his hand,
'The Lord 's,' and will take the name
Israel.
These names or labels, far from being prideful,
were accomplishing what Paul prescribed
to the same Corinthians in his second letter
to them:
2 Corinthians 10:17-18
17 But, "Let him who boasts boast in the
Lord."
18 For it is not the one who commends
himself who is approved, but the one
whom the Lord commends.
___________
All Scripture text quoted above in italics is taken from the
HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of
Zondervan. All rights reserved. Bold and truncated text are mine.
expresses his concern that some of the believers were treating
fellowship with God as a matter of which minister of
the Gospel one is following:
12 What I mean is this: One of you says,
"I follow Paul"; another, "I follow
Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas "; still
another, "I follow Christ."
This is why Paul, just before citing these man-made camps,
touched on the unifying and common thread that runs
through each of us:
9 God, who has called you into fellowship
with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is
faithful.
This oneness in our faith bows to the Oneness of God—
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In this fellowship, God now affirms
to the faithful, His Church, we are one through Christ, as
Paul points out in the same letter to the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 12:12-14
12 The body is a unit, though it is made
up of many parts; and though all its
parts are many, they form one body. So
it is with Christ.
13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit
into one body--whether Jews or Greeks,
slave or free--and we were all given the
one Spirit to drink.
14 Now the body is not made up of one
part but of many.
The Prophet Isaiah expressed this same oneness
that the faithful remnant of Israel had before God,
also showing how this blessing flowed to the
individual who walked in the hope of the coming
Messiah.
In the following, Isaiah starts at the “corporate level”:
Isaiah 44:1-4
1"But now listen, O Jacob, my
servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 This is what the Lord says- he who
made you, who formed you in the womb,
and who will help you: Do not be afraid,
O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I
have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground; I will
pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and
my blessing on your descendants.
4 They will spring up like grass in a
meadow, like poplar trees by flowing
streams.
Leaping forward and apply this to the
“new man” that is the Body of Christ,
Jews and Gentiles, we are…
“Jacob”—servants of Christ and of
One another.
We are…
“Israel”—jointly chosen ones
Jacob, Israel: different names but the
same entity.
The baptizing Spirit mentioned by Paul
Is the same that Isaiah, for God will…
Isaiah 44:3
…pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground; I will
pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and
my blessing on your descendants.
What happens when this unity of blessing
flows to the “individual level”? Isaiah’s
divinely inspired narrative shows that whatever
redeemed ones affix to themselves,
it describes one and the same relationship
with each other and with the Lord God:
Isaiah 44:5
5 One will say, 'I belong to the Lord ';
another will call himself by the name of
Jacob; still another will write on his hand,
'The Lord 's,' and will take the name
Israel.
These names or labels, far from being prideful,
were accomplishing what Paul prescribed
to the same Corinthians in his second letter
to them:
2 Corinthians 10:17-18
17 But, "Let him who boasts boast in the
Lord."
18 For it is not the one who commends
himself who is approved, but the one
whom the Lord commends.
___________
All Scripture text quoted above in italics is taken from the
HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of
Zondervan. All rights reserved. Bold and truncated text are mine.
