1 Corinthians 1:10-17 - Is Christ Divided?
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
If you have your Bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of 1 Corinthians.
We have worked through Paul’s greeting,
We have worked through Paul’s introductory prayer of thanksgiving,
and now its time to transition into the body of this letter.
we will begin reading this morning in verse 10 and we will read all the way down to verse 17.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Lets pray.
Our two year old Amelia has learned that when we say her full name, middle name included, we mean business.
She knows that when she hears, “Amelia Grace” that what follows is important correction.
So much so that when any one else does something that she thinks deserves rebuke… she now will insert her own middle name after their first name.
so when she means business she very boldly proclaims…
Owen grace. Or Daddy grace. Or Momma grace.
1 Corinthians 1:10 is that middle name included kind of address.
1 Corinthians 1:10 (ESV)
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The language is strong.
It immediately indicates to the reader that we have now transitioned from pleasantries to business
It immediately indicates that what is coming is a correction of sorts.
1 Corinthians is a letter of love written to correct errors that are corrupting the church from within and harming their witness without.
Everyone needs someone who will “appeal to you, as a brother, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Everyone needs someone or a group of someones who will write the hard letter or say the hard thing from a place of love.
Paul writes not because he enjoys conflict, but because he desires something better for this church.
Some scholars believe that verse 10 is actually a kind of thesis statement for the broader and more recognizable issue, namely that the church at Corinth was a divided church.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
Paul emphasizes unity in the church by repeating the Greek word for “same” three times.
The phrase - “that all of you agree” is more literally… that you speak the same thing.
then again, that you are united in the same mind.
then again, that you are united in the same judgment, or opinion, or thought.
There is an undergirding theological conviction that drives Paul to write. here it is.
Truth #1 Unity is Essential for Christ’s Church
Truth #1 Unity is Essential for Christ’s Church
Verse 10 provides us with Paul’s ideal for their life together in Corinth.
He desires their unity and he condemns their divisiveness.
The word for “division” here in verse 10 is the Greek word schismata from which we get our English word “schism.”
Paul is urging that there be no rift, no tear, no camps, or factions, that would divide their church into separate groupings of competing ideas.
Paul desires that they be united in their speech or more literally that they might speak the same.
The church must be a place where people use their words in a way that is unifying.
In a way that builds up.
In a way that makes peace.
In a way that does not disparage, but in a way that is constructive.
In verse 11, we are told that the people in Corinth are quarreling.… meaning that they are using their words to tear down not just arguments, but people.
This happens when you go from disagreeing with someone’s position to attacking them personally
Words are powerful and they matter to God.
As we saw in the proverbs words can be powerful tools for destruction, or they can be powerful tools for giving life.
Quarrelsome speech is speech that provokes.
It is speech that does not have the listener’s best interest in mind.
It is speech designed to build up self at the expense of the other.
Paul is concerned that the Corinthian church no longer “speaks in sameness” or in “harmony”
Rather his concern is that they have now weaponized words not for the sake of clarity,
but for the sake of exerting self over the other.
This was very much a part of Corinthian culture.
The celebrities of the day were what was called the sophists, the wisdom speakers, the debaters .
Corinthians would gather for entertainment purposes to watch these great philosophical debates where the rhetorical usage of words and the ability to destroy and humiliate your opponent was more important than even the content of your position or argument.
Worldy wisdom and the ability to turn a phrase would earn a particular teacher his following.
He might have his own cheering section as he debated other wisdom teachers.
People would tribalize behind their favorite orator.
Not so different from the world stage of politics and social media today.
People love the one-liners
People love the zingers that humiliate the intellectual opponent.
Twitter and facebook are very much like Corinthian culture broadcasted 24/7 only perhaps with less eloquence.
It is no wonder that such divisive speech made its way into the church in the first century…,
and thus, it is always a danger, that such divisive speech might make it into the church today.
Paul wants them to have kind of sameness to their speech…, but its not just that they would have unifying speech…
he actually wants them to be unified around their common belief.
Paul is concerned that they would have sameness in mind and sameness in judgment or opinion.
Paul understands the church of Jesus Christ to be a common unity, a fellowship, a gathering, that unites around the same truth.
This is very important.
One of the great lies of our age is that doctrinal truth divides.
The lie is that to hold to Biblical truth firmly is a divisive position.
But Paul NEVER emphasizes unity at the expense of doctrine.
He NEVER emphasizes unity at the expense of truth rightly believed.
Paul ALWAYS emphasizes a unity that is primarily founded upon doctrine and truth rightly believed.
To be a Christian you have to believe particular truths.
You have to believe that you are a sinner,
you have to believe that you need a savior,
you have to believe that Jesus lived, died, and rose again as your substitute,
you have to believe that Jesus is the only way of salvation by God’s grace through faith in him.
to be a member of this church you have to believe:
that the Bible is God’s word
that God is Father, Son, and Spirit
that eternal life is received by faith alone in Jesus alone.
To be a member of this church you have to have been baptized as a believer symbolizing your faith in these things.
Truth unites us as a church now…, because we believe that it is truth that will divide all people on the day of judgment…those who believed the truth will go on to eternal life…, and those who embraced the lie with go on to eternal death.
It is our common belief in the eternal truths of God that makes our unity possible right now… and its into that unity we invite other people into.
To be a biblical church, we must be a church that unites on the foundation of the Word of God fully believed.
Listen to Paul’s descriptions of the church elsewhere:
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. 16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
It is our common confession.
Our devotions to the apostles teaching,
Our sameness in mind and in judgment on eternal things
that unites us as a church.
This is why we require a membership class for you to join and serve in any official capacity in our church.
We want to make sure that our unity is founded upon what we believe Together.
We want to make sure that we are united in the same mind and the same judgment On matters of eternal significance.
For Paul unity around the RIGHT things was essential for Christ’s church…
Christ is NOT divided…
His message is not multiple messages…
He is not a loosey goosey your truth is your truth and my truth is my truth….
No Jesus Christ has one message that is true in all places, at all times, for all people….
Therefore the message of Christ unites diverse people who agree: Christ was crucified for our sins, and through faith in him we may have eternal life.
Now, Why is unity so essential for the Christian church?
Because the unity of the Christian church displays for the watching world the power and unity of the Christian message.
In verse 13, Paul is going to ask a rhetorical question, “Is Christ divided?”
The obvious answer is no…
The maybe not so obvious implication is that, if the Corinthian church allows divisiveness into the church, they will communicate to the watching world that their message is not a powerful and unifying message of grace to all sinners in the one Lord Jesus Christ.
In other words they will communicate that Christ is divided
They will communicate That the gospel is not good enough to unify sinners.
Unity around and on sound doctrine is essential for showing the world the legitimacy of our message To save and transform lives.
Paul is making this appeal in verse 10, because it has been reported to him that divisions have arisen within the church.
For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.
It is telling that Paul has heard about the situation in Corinth third-hand even though, some of the internal evidence of this letter shows that Paul and the Corinthians had been exchanging letters back and forth.
One commentator makes this important point.
“The point is that Paul has now been informed about the true condition of the community, which probably differs considerably from what he would have picked up form their letter.” (Fee, 55)
This scene is too familiar
The Corinthians had not told the apostle, their founding church planting pastor if you will, what was going on in their midst.
They had not communicated to him any of the perspectives or teachings that were developing in the congregation.
Paul had to find it out from a third party, Chloe’s people.
Chloe was likely a business person of sorts with servants who would travel with consumer goods back and forth from Corinth to Ephesus where Paul was.
It is not clear whether she is a member of the church their in Corinth or just someone who visited with the believers there..
Whatever the case, she recognizes some serious problems that the Corinthians had not been upfront about.
Let me pause here and just offer a side note.
If you are doing something in your life, or making a decision in your life, and you are avoiding the people whom you know will give you wise counsel…. Then you are probably doing something foolish and you probably know it.
If you go around asking everyone whom you know will give you the advice you want to hear,
but you are avoiding the person you know will give you the advice you NEED to hear…
your likely acting a lot like the Corinthians, trying to handle things on your own without hearing the words you know you need to hear.
Paul has heard now about the situation in Corinth by way of third party and he goes on to clarify what he has heard.
What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
Now we are not given any more details than this.
We have to fill in the blanks with what we know of the rest of 1 Corinthians In order to understand what the undercurrents were that were causing these divisions to develop.
Paul says that different groups were boasting over and against one another based upon which Christian teacher they identified with.
They were doing what Corinthians did with their wisdom teachers and their politicians and their community leaders based off of there rhetorical skill and oration abilities.… only now they were doing it with Christian teachers.
Truth #2 Division Invades Christ’s Church from a Variety of Sources
Truth #2 Division Invades Christ’s Church from a Variety of Sources
I think there are three interconnected sources for this divisive movement that was beginning to take root, and I want to move through them quickly.
Firstly, a Divided Church Exalts their Own Preferences
at the most surface level of this issue,
members of the Corinthian church began to prefer one leader over the other…
Though each of the leaders preached the same gospel…,
This is speculation…, but allow me to provide possible examples from the context:
for one reason or another, some members may have respected Paul and theological nuance and precision, or perhaps just felt a special loyalty to him because he founded the church in Corinth,
some members respected Apollos who was known for his skill in presentation and in his handling of the Scriptures.… it appears that he was a bit more entertaining then Paul.
whatever the case may be, the members began to let their personal preferences dictate their interactions and devotions within the church…,
but those preferences were deeper then just preferences… they were preferences based off of worldly perspectives.
A Divided Church Embraces Worldly Perspectives
Why did they have these particular preferences…
Well, I think from the context of the letter, they were valuing particular leaders based off of what the world values, rather than based off of what the Lord values most.
Consider the argument that Paul will make in just a couple paragraphs and it will help you to see the perspective of the people he is writing too.
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Why would Paul emphasize such things immediately after confronting their divisiveness unless it was their worldly standards and their boasting that were contributing to their divisiveness.
Paul continues in verse 1 Of chapter 2.
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Again in chapter 3 verse 3.
3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
All of this context begins to help us fill in the gaps of the Corinthian psyche.
They had embraced a worldly perspective where they valued most:
strength
prestige
eloquence or as Paul puts it, “lofty speech or wisdom”
and worldly impressiveness
They were grading their leaders by the world’s standard and values rather than Paul’s.
For some no doubt Paul’s weakness in physical stature and in speech was off putting.
Paul had a lot of scars from his beatings, and imprisonments.
He was not impressive enough to win the Corinthian culture.
They exalted their preferences because they had embraced the world’s perspective, but there is a deeper source of their division even still.
and this really is the crux of the matter I think
A Divided Church Entertains Their Pride
I use the word entertain purposefully here because pride is an enjoyable thing that can be entertained in the recesses of our hearts apart from our realization.
The division in Corinth was not as simple as dividing over whose leader was their favorite.
The division was fueled by the fires of arrogance in the soul.
As individuals argued for Paul to be identified as the greatest and most authoritative teacher, they thus identified with him over and against the other People.
As individuals argued that Apollos was the greatest they identified with him as the greatest.
We do this all the time,
We give glory to something or someone with whom we identify closely and we feel a sense of the glory ourselves.
When we demean one party and identify with another, we identify with the better party, and we get a sense of self satisfaction that we are on the winning team.
You and I do this all the time in sports…
I am a fan of the Georgia Bulldogs, when they win and LSU loses, there is something inside of me that rejoices that I am among the winners, though I have done nothing to contribute to their success…
I just love the feeling of being associated with the better, the strong, the smarter, the faster, the winner…
This is the reality in sports, and this the reality in our politics. There is a sinful itch that is scratched to be associated with the more glorious leader when we publicly mock one leader and uplift our leader.
and its that sinful itch that we scratch that causes almost almost all division in families, in relationships, or in the church.
We can’t stand the amount of humbling work it would take to look past the differences, the sins, the failures, the wrong doings, the weaknesses of the other…
We can’t stand not availing ourselves of the opportunity to prove ourselves right and on the right side of the issue.
It feels much much much better to disparage with words while we simultaneously identify ourselves among the wise, the true, and the righteous.
This has gone so far in the Corinthian church that people are actually boasting in which teacher baptized them.
They are boasting in their baptismal association with whom they deem to be the best wisdom teacher.
And Paul wants none of that.
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)
Paul wants nothing to do with being idolized as THE Christian teacher whom they can identify with as their baptizer.
He argues that this misses the point of baptism entirely!
Baptism is an association with someone elses glory… but not Paul’s!
Baptism is an association with the glory of Christ JESUS…
He is the winning team, the righteous one, the wise one, whom we identify with and associate with.
When I cheer for the Georgia bulldogs two Saturdays from now, I will contribute nothing to their victory… I will in a meaningless way associate myself with their victory and will feel some measure of joy because of it.
In a similar…. I contribute nothing to the victory that Jesus has had over sin, and death, and Satan…, but in a different way, a very meaningful way I am the benefactor of his victory…
as he is more glorified, I am more satisfied in him, he is my joy and my strength and my salvation… the greater he is magnified in my life and soul, the more I rejoice in all that he has done and will do.
My association with Christ is a humbling one.
The more I associate with him as my all in all, the more I see how much I needed him and still need him.
His message destroys my pride, and leads me to destroy my pride every time I can spot its sneaky head in my life.…
Really thats the ticket that Paul comes back to.
Paul’s aim in this book, is to re-center the Corinthian church on the center of it all, the message of Christ crucified for them.
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
in other words, if you have made your Christianity about me or my giftings or my words…., you have missed Christianity all together.
Truth #3 Unity is Empowered by Christ Crucified
Truth #3 Unity is Empowered by Christ Crucified
The Corinthian church was dividing:
by exalting their preferences
by embracing the world’s perspectives
or by entertaining their pride
And Paul warns that such a divisiveness, such a Christianity that focuses on the wrong things, actually robs the cross of Christ of its power.
It renders the cross of Christ powerless…,
And as we will see,
the cross of Christ is NOT powerless for those who are being saved.
It is the very power of God and it is the very source of empowerment for the unity of our church.
It is the content of the gospel message preached that saves a soul no matter the voice or style of the one who preaches it.
It is the gospel message preached, believed, and obeyed that shows us how to crucify our preferences, perspectives, and pride In gospel community.
The gospel frees us from the need of proving ourselves.
It frees us from needing to have the last word
It frees us to disagree on secondary things BECAUSE of the strength of our commitment to the most primary things.
It calls us to crucify flesh and our arrogance as we follow the steps of our savior who humbled himself to crucifixion on our behalf though he had never sinned.
Quote from a gospel primer”
The Bible is not simply the story of. “Christ and Him crucified”; it is also the story of my own crucifixion. For the Bible tells me that I, too, was crucified on Christ’s cross. My old self was slain there, and my love affair with the world was crucified there too. The cross is also the place where I crucify my flesh and all its sinful desires…
I should expect every day to encounter circumstantial evidence of God’s commitment to my dying; and I must seize upon every God-given opportunity to be conformed more fully out Christ’s death, no matter the pain involved… When my flesh yearns for some prohibited thing, I must die. When called to do something I don’t want to do, I must die. When I wish to be selfish and serve no one, I must die. When shattered by hardships that I despise, I must die. When wanting to cling to wrongs done against me, I must die. When enticed by the allurements of the world, I must die. When wants that are borderline needs are left unmet, I must die. When dreams that are good seem shoved aside, I must die.
Not my will, but yours be done, Christ trustingly prayed on the eve of His crucifixion; and preaching his story to myself each day puts me in a frame of mind to trust God and embrace the cross of my own dying also… The facts surrounding Christ’s resurrection stand as proof positive that God will not leave me for dead, but will raise me similarly, if I would only allow myself to die. Indeed, on the other side of each layer of dying lie experiences of life with God that are far richer, far higher, and far more intimate than anything I would have otherwise known. (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, p. 40-42)
For Paul… division in the church… was a sign that the church was not believing or living out the crucified life in faithful thanksgiving over a crucified savior.
Conclusion:
I want you to pause for a moment.
Consider tumultuous relationships in your life.
Perhaps it is division that has made its way into your household.
Perhaps it is division with your spouse.
Perhaps its division with your children.
Perhaps its a distant relative or a close friend in this church.
What would it look like if you interacted with that situation In full faith that God is sovereign,
that Jesus expressed his love for you by being falsely accused, beaten, bloodied, mocked, blasphemed, and spit on. That Jesus who endured that kind of treatment for the sake of love… has commanded you with two simple words…, “follow me.”
Following Jesus will not allow you to exalt your preferences, embrace the world’s persepective, or entertain your pride.
It will be temporarily painful and eternally glorious.
Truth #1 Unity is Essential for Christ’s Church
Truth #2 Division Invades in a Variety of Ways
Truth #3 Unity is Empowered by Christ Crucified
lets crucify our flesh, lets enjoy the unity of resurrection life Together.
Lets pray.