Church for the rest of us

Schisms and Divisions

Anyone who has been attending a church for long knows how painful schisms and divisions can be.

News of schisms and divisions travel like wildfire - sometimes catching church leaders unaware of what’s going on.

It’s not just churches. Any grouping of people for almost any purpose can be quickly destroyed by schisms and divisions.

Winston, where I live, has experienced schisms and divisions. Since my family moved here I’ve lost count of the number of ‘fights’ in our community over all sorts of issues. Who should be mayor? Who is qualified to sit on this board or that agency? Should we require students to wear masks during pandemics? What kind of businesses should we allow in the city? What kind of approach is most appropriate to deal with the homeless issue?

I could go on all day identifying the schisms and divisions I’m aware of - and there are more than a few that I’ve not even heard about!

Now that Paul has introduced himself (though since he had been a church planter many already knew him) and prayed for the believers he lobs a request at them.

1 Corinthians 1:10 (HCSB)

Now I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say,

that there be no divisions among you,

and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction.

As the rest of the passage reveals, Chloe - someone with knowledge of the church in Corinth - has shared with Paul a serious issue among the believers in that fellowship.

Read 1 Cor 1:11-16.

Believers were identifying themselves with Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas/Peter. Some, probably thinking they sounded much more ‘spiritual’ claimed that they were simply with ‘Christ.’

Paul suggests that one of the reasons for the identifications had to do with which leader had performed the baptism of the person. Paul remembers that he baptized Crispus, Gaius, and the household of Stephanus.

In the larger scheme of the Kingdom of God we might be quick to dismiss these schisms and divisions as simply silly. And we’d be correct.

However, for Paul to include such a request suggests that there might be more to the issue.

Paper/onionskin/parchment was expensive and hard to come by in the first century. Paul would need to be very careful in what words and phrases he uses in order to make the most of his available resources.

Paul’s request must be important or else he would have waited until his next visit to address the issue.

The request is comprised of three distinct segments, with one primary purpose. Let’s look at Paul’s requests and the reason for his plea.

Agree in what you say...

Corinthians, much like people in every community, like to talk, particularly about themselves!

This hasn’t changed much over the intervening centuries.

Paul will address in this letter how public worship should reflect the nature of God - 1 Cor 14:33

1 Corinthians 14:33 (HCSB)

… God is not a God of disorder but of peace...

It may sound far-fetched, but imagine if someone walked into a gathering of God’s people and the conversations they heard were as Paul describes in vs. 12. You can substitute more contemporary names and the effect is the same.

One might wonder, who are we here to acknowledge? All this talk of this person and that person is confusing.

In his letter to believers in Colossae Paul addresses a similar issue:

Colossians 3:16–17 HCSB

Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Is our conversation focused on who God is, what God is doing, how we see God at work in our lives? Or is it a confusing babble?

No divisions among you...

The Greek word translated ‘divisions’ in most English translations is ‘σχίσμα’ (schism.) In its original use,

it “properly means ‘tear/rent’ … or the plowing of a field....

Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids, MI.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987), 54.

Paul isn’t necessarily referring to factions in the church. Rather he is identifying their language as a symptom of jealousy and quarreling.

He suggests that they end their divisions by being ‘knit’ together in the same mind and judgment.

Be united by the same understanding and conviction

Paul makes these requests “in/by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ....”

Do our conversations, our speaking with one another resonate with one purpose alone - that the name of Jesus might be honored, that God’s name would be magnified above all other names?

The confusing babble of people’s claims reveals hearts and minds that are focused elsewhere.

…so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied…or made of no effect.

One author shares this explanation:

Corporations spend huge sums of money designing logos.

Advertising agencies are hired to conceive a logo which will express the qualities that the corporation wants to be associated with it in the public mind.

These are usually qualities such as stability, reliability, progressiveness, or aggressiveness.

This design will appear on their letterheads, on their products, and be prominently displayed at their national and local headquarters.…

An organization which chose as its logo a hangman’s noose, a firing squad, a gas chamber or an electric chair would accordingly seem to have taken leave of its senses.

It would be sheer madness to choose an instrument of execution as a symbol of an organization.…

And yet exactly such a symbol is universally recognized as the logo of Christianity. Christians are baptized with the sign of the cross.

Churches and other places of meeting do not merely include a cross, they are often built in the shape of a cross.

Many Christians make the sign of the cross in times of danger or anxiety.

The graves of Christians are marked with crosses. (McGrath 1992:115–16)

In Paul’s letter to believers in Rome - most of whom he had never met - he begins with this observation:

Romans 1:16–17 HCSB

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.

The cross was not chosen as a symbol for believers as a strategic marketing move. The cross is nothing less than the most observable part of the good news. On the cross Jesus died - in our place - and through the cross Jesus experienced resurrection and later ascension.

In the next few paragraphs Paul will go into even more detail about the power of the cross.

For now Paul is asking: PLEASE DON’T DILUTE THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS WITH IRRELEVANT TALK

To Preach the Gospel

A recent blog post from a friend included this line:

When we remove the offense of the gospel we nullify the power of the gospel.

We don’t have any insight into the motivations of those whom Chloe reported to Paul. We shouldn’t even speculate.

What we can do is measure our words and deeds against the standard to which Paul called those believers:

In a recent column Ed Stetzer asks:

Does your church obey the Great Commission?

Is it embedded in your culture so deeply that your congregation watches the news to know how better to pray for unbelievers

and how to interact with their neighbors for the sake of the gospel?

Do they see social media as a place for gospel impact?

Do they purse Jesus more than the next discipleship class?

Ed Stetzer, “The Elephant in the Room,” Outreach, January/February 2023, 10.

In a moment we will show a video during which I want you to reflect and respond that what God’s is speaking in your life:

Use the following questions as a guide…but certainly allow God freedom to say all He needs to say...

Is my passion to know God driving my life?

OR is desiring God a component of an otherwise busy life?

Do my words and deeds reveal a desire to make Jesus known?

OR am I focusing on my own identity and purposes?

Is there anything in my life that is hindering the full power of the cross to change lives - beginning with me?

CHOICES:

Have I fully received Jesus as Savior AND Lord -

confess with your mouth, believe in your heart and you will be saved.

Are there activities I can eliminate from my life to give more time to knowing God?

Where is God placing me so that others can hear and learn about the gospel?