This is going to be one of those posts that might rub some people the wrong way, but when the Spirit prompts me to speak or write about something, I do so and leave the results up to God. Please read this in it’s entirety and with an open mind to the Spirit’s conviction and prompting.

In the opening chapter of his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul writes:

[11] My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. [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.” [13] Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?

1 Corinthians 1:11-13 NIV

According to Chloe’s household, believers in the church were arguing over who they were following in their faith. Some followed Paul, some Apollos, some Simon Peter and others Jesus.

Those that followed Jesus were the ones following the correct person. We are disciples of Christ, not Paul or Apollos or Peter.

Eleven chapters later, Paul said:

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:1 NIV

Let’s break this sentence down to its raw meaning: Copy what I do ONLY if it is what Jesus does. Paul didn’t say to follow him, he said to follow his example. But he also said to make sure, first, that his examples were Christ like.

There is an abundance in the church today of people doing exactly what Paul was correcting the Corinthians for, however, it is more subtle than following a particular person.

Let me ask you two questions:

1. How much of what you believe comes from what someone else has taught you?

2. How much of these teachings have been passed down, for decades or even centuries?

At this point some eyebrows are likely rising and some of that being “rubbed up the wrong way” may be taking place. Please, stick with me for a bit.

Passed down theology isn’t inherently bad, but passed down theology that isn’t checked correctly against the scriptures is potentially dangerous:

[11] Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. [12] As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

Acts 17:11-12 NIV

As a teacher and preacher myself I will say this: If I can’t prove what I preach or teach from the scriptures then I shouldn’t be allowed to preach and teach. Any preacher or teacher that becomes offended when you “examined the Scriptures every day” to see if what they said was true has a pride problem that does not belong in the pulpit. They should be ENCOURAGING you to do this!

Let’s dig even deeper into examining the scriptures to check for truth:

Jesus made the following promise:

[13] But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. [14] He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

John 16:13-14 NIV

One of the Holy Spirit’s purposes is to pass the wisdom of Jesus on to us: the truth.

The scriptures were written by the hands of men under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, effectively, the “Word” (See John 1:1) spoke through the Holy Spirit to these men to inspire them to write the books of our Bible.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

2 Timothy 3:16 NIV

(20) Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. (21) For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:20-21 NIV

The best person to ask about the true meaning of any book is the author, in this case, the author was the Spirit. If we want to know the true meaning of any scripture, we need to be open to the Spirit teaching us the truth as we read. In order for this to take place, we must have a deep relationship with all three members of the trinity: God the Father, God the Son & God the Holy Spirit.

Its not enough to check other peoples suggested theology against the Bible with our grey matter, we must have a committed relationship with the Holy Spirit that results in our being led by Him on a continuous basis.

Maybe it is a little clearer now as to why we have so many denominations and a lack of unity (John 17:11, Ephesians 4:11-14).

Let’s get the church back to being full of continuously Spirit-led believers. This is what will create unity. The body of Christ needs its nervous system (the Holy Spirit) that will communicate between the head (Jesus) and the body (us).