Jigsaw puzzles can be much...
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Jigsaw puzzles can be much fun. They provide entertainment for hours on end. The lesson they teach is that it takes many parts to present a finished picture. Each one of the dozens of jigsaw parts must be in its rightful place in order to make the picture complete. And when parts are lost it is a catastrophe, for the picture cannot be brought to completion. Paul is pointing to the inter-relatedness of many contributors, or individual functions produced by various people, and he says all are needed to build a complete church. While the work of each Christian is important, only when it is connected with the work of others can it count for good. So when people in the church at Corinth were taking sides and causing divisions within the church, Paul pointed out how the contribution of many was what moved the church forward. So they were not to say "I am Paul's follower," or "I am a follower of Apollos." Like the parts of a jigsaw puzzle, the work of all was important and needed. One person's work was to be joined to the work of another to build the complete church. But there was a final lesson. After Paul had done the work of planting a congregation, and Apollos had followed with his nurturing of it, it was, as Paul rightly points out, the blessing of Christ upon their united, human efforts that produced the completed picture of a church. -- Lentz
