Epiphany 3 (4)
Notes
Transcript
10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers, 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 into the name of Paul? 14 I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
1 & 2 Corinthians Paul Appeals for Harmony / 1:10–17
FAN CLUBS
Paul wondered whether the Corinthians’ quarrels had “divided” Christ. This is a graphic picture of what happens when the church (the body of Christ) is divided. With so many churches and styles of worship available today, believers can get caught up in the same game of “my preacher is better than yours!” They follow personalities and even change churches based on who is popular. To act this way is to divide Christ again. But Christ is not divided, and his true followers should not allow anything to divide the church. Don’t let your appreciation for any teacher, preacher, speaker, or writer lead you into intellectual pride. Believers’ allegiance must be to Christ and to the unity that he desires.
Paul’s appeal to the Corinthians at first glance seems to be an impossible task. “Be perfectly united in mind and thought.” This is because we live in a culture of diversity and an appreciation that “variety is the spice of life”.
Examples: Car, pickup, SUV, or mini van?
Ford or Chevy?
Coke or Pepsi?
Favorite sports team, school, color, type of entertainment, breakfast food, clothing style . . . and the list goes on.
Certainly, it seems apparent that people cannot be perfectly united in mind and thought.
Well, I have taken the verse out of context as though St. Paul were saying that all people everywhere have to agree on all things at all times. This verse is speaking to a specific topic and should be regarded as applying to that and not to all things, activities, beliefs, etc.
Paul is addressing an issue that was going on in Corinth and which still occurs even now within congregations and groups of congregations. Corinth was a diverse congregation (different types of people, different spiritual gifts, even different spiritual leaders.) Paul mentions several of them here: Himself, Apollos, Cephas (better known as Peter), and Christ. They all had an impact on the religious views and lives of the members either directly or indirectly.
Application: We perhaps don’t see it in our own local congregation. We have one pastor for two congregations. But in other congregations there may be two, three, four, or even more pastors serving the members of the congregation. And even though we don’t have more than one “in house” pastor, we have access to other pastors in the area and certainly religious instructors through the media. Just as we may have a favorite author such as Clive Cussler, Stephen King, Nora Roberts, or Tom Clancy; we may have a favorite spiritual leader. It is OK to have favorites, but if following one diminishes the effectiveness of others and produces quarrels and divisions among what is to be a cohesive group of people in the congregation, St. Paul says that is a problem.
And this is what was happening in Corinth. It had been reported to Paul by some from Chloe’s household that there was quarreling going on among them.
Aside: Why was this reported to Paul? Was it proper for these people to “narc” on the members in Corinth? Should we go to the authorities about problems in our own congregation?
Protocol: First level: Try to get things settled at the entry level.
Second level: Speak to those in authority about it in an open and honest way.
Third level: Accept their counsel.
Although Paul was not able to go to them in person at this time, he includes this issue in a carefully written letter to this congregation. 1 Corinthians deals with many problems in that congregation but which are not limited to that congregation at that time. (List of other problems).
1 Corinthians: Problems Solutions Growing Church Introduction
Divisions, sexual immorality, and lawsuits
By addressing this one first, Paul is showing how important it was to deal with.
He describes how that problem was showing itself. People were identifying closer with their favorite teachers and this led to disagreements with other members. It is not as though those people were teaching different things (that is another topic worthy of discussion), it is that the members were using their own personal opinions and likes or dislikes to influence how they responded.
1 & 2 Corinthians (Paul Appeals for Harmony / 1:10–17)
Some of the believers followed Paul, who had founded their church. Although Paul was Jewish, he had been called as a missionary to the Gentiles, so he probably attracted many of the Gentile believers. Paul used great logical arguments but apparently did not have powerful speaking ability (2 Corinthians 10:10). Others chose to follow Peter (Cephas). A Jew and one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, Peter probably attracted many of the Jewish believers who had come to doubt Paul’s apostolic authority. It is unknown whether Peter had ever been to Corinth, although some of the Jews may have heard him in Jerusalem at Pentecost (Acts 2). Or it is likely that the believers simply knew that Peter was the leader of the apostles. A third group chose to follow Apollos, an eloquent and popular preacher who had had a dynamic ministry in Corinth (Acts 18:24; 19:1; Titus 3:13). Apollos was from Alexandria and had become distinguished for his speaking ability. Oratory and eloquence were highly valued in the culture of the day, so Apollos probably attracted the highly educated and distinguished believers in the congregation. Finally, a fourth group claimed to follow Christ. This group may have boasted a special relationship to Christ, or they may have been positioning themselves above the fray, saying that they had chosen to follow Christ alone, not any human leader (see 2 Corinthians 10:7).Paul used a series of rhetorical questions. First he asked whether Christ could be divided. This is a graphic picture of what happens when the church (the body of Christ) quarrels and argues. Christ is one; the church is one. No church ought to split into warring factions. Then Paul asked if he, himself, had been crucified for them. Again the answer is obviously no. Only One had been crucified for the believers—indeed, only One could be crucified to pay the penalty for sins. Third question: Were the believers baptized into the name of Paul (or even of Peter or Apollos)? Again, the answer was no. They were baptized into the name of the One who had been crucified for them. This whole idea of factions was wrong; Paul did not exempt those who desired to follow him, nor did he point out any flaws in the teachings of Peter and Apollos. They all taught the same thing—the gospel—but their demeanor and delivery were different. This had caused the cliques—and Paul refused to go along with any of it. Such divisions had to be stopped.
One aspect of baptism and being baptized in the name of the Triune God is that it identifies us with God as we become sons of God through baptism. It is also described as “clothing ourselves with Christ”. A secular similarity is found in wearing the team colors or the jersey of a favorite team or player. It is more than recalling that someone was baptized by a certain pastor, it is identifying with the teachings and ministry of someone.
In the public ministry, you may see this in this way. One important decision that a man who is about to be ordained into the public ministry is this ” Who is going to be the man who ordains me?” I recall making that decision way back in 1986. I chose the pastor who had confirmed me to preach the sermon at my ordination service out of respect for him and his influence in my life. For the part of the worship service of when I was ordained, I chose a well known pastor who was influential in the evangelism program of our synod and always impressed me as a very outreach minded man of integrity. Both men has a great influence on me.
Years later, the man who ordained me expressed views that are not 100% in line with some of the teachings of our synod. Had I been like one in Corinth who caused divisions because they followed Apollos while others followed Paul, Cephas, or Christ, I could have been wrapped up in such factionalism because he ordained me and become divided with those who walk together in our teachings.
Again, the case in Corinth is dividing over teaching but personalities. So even if we favor one spiritual leader over another, our agreement with the common teachings of Christianity should supersede personal preference.
Well, if it isn’t a leader’s personality that unites us or how we react to it, what is it that we are to be perfectly united in mind and thought in?
Although not listed in our text, we gain insight from other passages that speak of unity.
Jesus prayed for unity among Christians:
“that they all be one”
Paul writes about what Christians have in common.
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Illustration of harmony from a symphony. The sounds and characteristics of the various instruments though different are all woven together in one harmonious song.
As members of the Wisconsin Synod, we emphasize the unity we express even in our name.
Symphony = sound together. Latin symphonia "a unison of sounds, harmony," from Greek symphonia "harmony, concord of sounds," from symphonos "harmonious, agreeing in sound," from assimilated form of syn- "together" (see syn-) + phōnē "voice, sound," f
Synod = walk together.
Although our synod is diverse, we strive to be united in doctrine and practice.
Conclusion: You may not agree on everything with your fellow members. But when it comes to spiritual unity, may the Lord inspire us all to be completed united in faith.
Our unity is based on the teachings of Jesus and agreement on who he is, what he has done to save us, and how he continues to bless his church. Amen.