…together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ – their Lord and ours:

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Satan always hates Christian fellowship; it is his policy to keep Christians apart. Anything which can divide saints from one another he delights in.”C.H. Spurgeon.

How beautiful is the story of the disciple, Ananias, going to visit the newly converted Saul of Tarsus and calling him, “Brother…” (Acts 9:17). There is a kinship between all those who own Jesus as Lord. You don’t have to agree with them on every single point. Their churchmanship may differ from yours. You may not particularly like their style of worship. But you have a common experience of “Grace” and so there can be “peace” between you.

The truth is this: the church of God is found not only “in Corinth”, but it is “everywhere” there are people who confess Jesus as Lord. The church is much bigger and wider than my local expression of it. When you go somewhere else and bump into a fellow-Christian, doesn’t it make your heart jump with excitement? You don’t particularly obsess over the denomination they are linked to. (At least, I hope you don’t). You are just thrilled to meet a brother and sister in Christ; and that is exactly how it should be. You share much more in common than any trifling differences there may be.