Quote:
Originally Posted by Cap'n_Sparrow
Ohio,
But you did choose a side!
You chose your own side...I AM (of Christ)...
Let me explain. I think perhaps that we have traditionally gone about the interpretation of this verse all wrong. It appears to me that Paul was inferring to the Corinthian believers that in their saying that "I am of (whoever it may be...Christ, Paul, Lee, or whoever else), they were also INVERSELY saying "I am (NOT) of (you other brothers and sisters and whoever you lot are "of"). This is the real point! i.e. the Corinthians dividing themselves not necessarily on the basis of who they were "of", but on the basis of who they were "not of". This way of looking at Paul's discourse on this subject travels a long way in adequately explaining his seeming condemnation of even those that claimed that they were "of Christ"! They were inadvertently saying "we are not of you other believers" Yet, Paul admonishes them by saying that those other believers who follow Apollos, and Cephas, etc, ..Christ was also CRUCIFIED FOR! ..They were also baptized into His name! (there is no claim here that anybody was baptized into the names of any of the apostles).
And so, Ohio, when you state that you chose not to choose a side, but left, because you were "of Christ", what is it that you REALLY mean? Really?
|
Hi Jack,
I did not choose
my side, I chose
His side, and by choosing His side, I separated myself from that minuscule divisive sect with their petty quarantines, and attached myself to the greater body of Christ. I actually took the same position that Apostle Paul took, and wrote about in Corinthians. Paul was for Christ and His body. That is what I REALLY meant. The "traditional interpretation" you mentioned above is one manufactured by exclusives, and promoted by Witness Lee, which actually reinforces the problems exhibited in Corinthians. No where did Paul condemn them for being "of Christ." It was Lee who added to scripture by asserting that these ones who were "of Christ" had rejected all the apostles. Not so!
If declaring that being "of Christ" was wrong, then why did Paul go on to extol Christ, who died for us, and exalt Him throughout the entire epistle, especially in the detailed account between first mentioning their divisions (1.10) and his conclusion to the matter (3.23)? Where did Paul accuse the Corinthians of rejecting the apostles in order to be "of Christ?" I think you may be reading things into the epistle that are not there.
Regarding
the "real point," the matter of being
against those we are not "
of," once again exclusive bias is all too evident. I spent 30 of my best years hearing Lee and company bash every minister outside of the Recovery. If these claims are true, Anaheim is the first place that should hear this message. They have always rejected all outside ministers in the entire body of Christ! They even rejected Billy Graham, the most fruitful evangelist of our time. I now have the liberty to receive from every gifted member in the body of Christ, without being "of" any of them.
Brother
Jack, I understand your points all too well. I lived, breathed, believed, and even taught them myself. That was because I was ignorant of the hypocrisy of LC leaders. Remember the admonition of our Lord Jesus, "
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees." The quarantine of Titus Chu and the GLA caused me to re-examine everything. Then I learned the true history concerning other so-called "storms" in our past. I encourage you to read further on this forum, and learn "the rest of the story" which LSM has kept from its members.