1 Corinthians - Part 3

Introduction

Review: A few weeks ago we began a series on 1 Corinthians. Just to remind you what we’ve covered so far:

Corinth was a major City - very large, cosmopolitan

Corinth was a beautiful, yet wicked place.

Corinth was located at a major commercial crossroads - this is why it is so prominent.

The Church at Corinth had been planted by Paul - He had spent 18 months there working.

He has written back and forth to them once and he’s now received word from one of the House Churches that there are some problems in the Church. He’s also received a letter from them to ask him some pastoral questions.

He writes 1 Corinthians to respond to the issues in this Church and to answer their questions

Our First week, we said he begins dealing with their issues by reminding them of their identity. He reminds them who they are

They are set apart and sanctified in Christ Jesus

They are “Saints”

They are members of a bigger body of believers all over the world.

Our Second week we said that Paul moved to reminding them of Who God is and what he had done for them.

Paul reminds them to be thankful to God.

Paul reminds them God had given them everything they needed to live as Saints

Paul reminds them that the Faithfulness of God is their foundation

God had called them into fellowship with himself. This idea of fellowship means and intimate sharing. A better word might even be “communion.”

Setup: Tonight and moving forward, we are going to begin to get into the issues that this church is facing. Paul is going to begin hitting them head on.

Opening Story/Illustration:

Transition to the Text:

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

1 Corinthians 1:10–17 LEB

10 Now I exhort you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all say the same thing and there not be divisions among you, and that you be made complete in the same mind and with the same purpose. 11 For it has been made clear to me concerning you, my brothers, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 But I say this, that each of you is saying, “I am with Paul,” and “I am with Apollos,” and “I am with Cephas,” and “I am with Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I give thanks that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 lest anyone should say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Now I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Beyond that I do not know if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the gospel, not with clever speech, lest the cross of Christ be emptied.

Transition to Points: Let’s look at this text tonight. Remember that this letter is written in response to their troubles and a letter that they sent to him asking him questions. Before he can deal with their questions, he’s got to deal with their troubles. And their first problem - Disunity.

Points

They are supposed to be in fellowship with God and one another

Remember the Verse from 2 weeks ago? 1 Corinthians 1:9

1 Corinthians 1:9 LEB

9 God is faithful, by whom you were called to fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Remember that this idea of “fellowship” is more than friendliness - They are called to share in the life of God - and this, also means they are called into fellowship with each other. To Share life.

He begins by appealing to them as family - “I appeal to you dear brothers...”

And he appeals to them, not based on his own authority, but on the authority of Jesus! This is the 10th time since verse 1 he has used the name or Term “Jesus Christ.” He’s pulling from the authority of Jesus and reminding them to be unified!

He begins by using the word “same” three times.

They are to say the same thing

This means they are to speak with one voice!

This is like beautiful harmony of a choir! They are to be like a chorus singing from the same sheet of music following the lead of the director - The Spirit of Jesus!

Be in the same mind

They are to take up the mind of Christ.

They are to think on the Same page and embrace Christ’s way of thinking - Which we are going to get into soon. It’s a way of thinking that is opposite the world.

Have the same purpose

Instead, they are divided.

But, instead of sharing life, they are divided into different factions or groups.

The problem here is that apparently different groups within the church have decided to follow different leaders. He mentions a few of them:

One Group - “I Follow Paul.” This group was possibly a group of Gentile (Non-Jewish) Christians.

Another Group - “I Follow Appolos.” This group was possibly a group of Christians who were very intellectual or even philosophical. Appolos was an eloquent speaker and a deep thinker and this group had rallied around him and his teaching.

Another Group - “I Follow Cephas.” This is another name for Peter. This group was possibly a group of Jews who had decided to follow in step with Peter.

Another Group - “I Follow Christ.” This group was possibly trying to be super spiritual and act like they were the only real Christians in the group. One commentator put it this way - This group’s problem was not that they belonged to Christ, but that they thought Christ belonged to them.

What they’ve done here is treated their faith as buffet - Pick the teacher or group I like the most and follow them.

They lived in a world that was divided into groups and factions - and they took that into the church and let it divided them there.

In other words, they look like the world they live rather than like the new world and the new life that is theirs in Christ.

Some commentators argue that the Corinthians were influenced by a secular model of leadership that was personality-centered, and they associated themselves with certain high-profile figures.

Paul rebukes them by asking a series of rhetorical Questions:

Is Christ Divided?

The idea here isn’t just divided but distributed.

So he’s saying - Was Christ sliced up and then given out among you? Did only some of you get him? Did you only get a piece of him?

Get the image Paul is trying to paint - A sliced up Jesus split into parts and fragments or pieces of him given out.

Later in the letter he’s going to refer to the Church as “the body of Christ.” So their divisions and fighting are ripping apart the Body of Christ.

Was Paul Crucified for you?

Were you baptized into the name of Paul

THE ANSWER TO ALL THOSE QUESTIONS IS “NO”!

Who are they to have allegiance to? JESUS

We are called into fellowship with God and with one another - But instead, we are often divided

Our church should be a beautiful harmony of sounds - Where we aren’t all singing the same part, but everyone is singing from the same page and singing their part following the Choir director - The Holy Spirit!

As a youth pastor I got the privilege of going to a few hight school and middle school band concerts. If you’ve ever been to a middle school band concert - They can be rough. It’s a joy though to watch students progress. I had a couple of kids in particular - Who started out in middle school. One played the saxophone the other played the cello. I remember hearing them the first time they played - It wasn’t the best. But I watched them as they progressed from sixth grade through high school - they got better and better. And then they progressed to college - then I went to their concert and I was moved by the beauty and the skill with which they played. How did they get there? They submitted. They submitted to practice. They submitted to learn their part. They submit to each other - They don’t play over one another. They submitted to the conductor. They would never have gotten where they were if in middle school they said “Who cares about all this! I’m going to do my own thing!”

But this is what we do in Church! I’m going to play this my way! Instead of playing Jesus - We are all playing our own songs. Instead of sounding like beautiful harmony, we sound like cats or dogs trying to howl over one another.

When we live in harmony and unity with God and one another there is an anointing that comes!

Psalm 133:1–2 LEB

1 Look, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity. 2 It is like the fragrant oil upon the head, running down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron, that runs down upon the edges of his robes.

When we fail to do so we forfeit the anointing!

I want to point out one more idea here in this passage. The word for division is like a garment that’s been ripped up.

It’s like this dress - What they have done is ripped it apart. Now it’s useless. Cut into fragments. It’s no longer whole.

Paul says “There should be no divisions among you...” Instead, he reminds them that they must “be made complete...”

Perhaps a better translation would be “They they be refurbished...” That they be put back together!

1 Corinthians Exegesis and Exposition

The phrase “you may be refurbished” (ἦτε κατηρτισμένοι, ēte katērtismenoi) is a perfect passive periphrastic that means to be “put in order or proper condition,” to be “restored.” It was used as a surgical term for setting bones and as a metaphor for “resetting” broken relationships and reconciling factions (Lightfoot 1895: 47; M. Mitchell 1993: 74–75).

Jesus goal is to sew us back together..not to further divide and fracture!

Conclusion

In the coming weeks we are going to get into more specifics of what this looks like - But tonight, hear the heart of Jesus - Not to divide. Not to go our own way - But to be united. To be on the same page. To be restored and put back together. When that begins to occur, there will be an anointing. When that begins to occur there will be healing.

Tonight, can we gather together and pray for unity. That we would be united - on the same page - Playing Jesus!