Of Christ
1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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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. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 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? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 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. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Continuing in 1 Corinthians
Last week we saw Paul greet the Christians in Corinth by placing an emphasis on the Lordship of Christ. These Christians were called out of the world and unto Christ. They belong to Christ.
And Paul wanted to make that clear, because they were not living as if they belonged to Christ. And this was not just the common plight of many Christians - and perhaps all of us at times - where when we are in the church we live like Christians but when we are out in the world we live like the world.
No. For the church in Corinth, they were living out being the church as if they belonged to the world. Because instead of striving for holiness and to use their gifts to further the kingdom of Christ, they were instead dividing the church. They were divided over the use of spiritual gifts, over their Christian liberty, and a bunch of other things we’ll see as we go through the letter.
And as we will see today, they were divided into factions claiming for themselves different leaders among the Apostles and even denying Christ Himself as their head.
They were not seeking to be united as a church, with Christ as Lord.
You know, there are so many times that we - and I include myself in this - so many times we look at our world and think to ourselves “it can’t get much worse than this. Christ must be coming soon.”
Look at the world today. It’s a terrible place, quite frankly. And our world is all about division. In fact, many people find their identity in which side of any given division they are on. We are divided over politics. Over whether or not all life should be protected. Over sexual ethics. Over race.
But none of this is new. I know, we tend to think the hot-button topics of our day are so much more important than what past generations have dealt with - but we’re wrong. These issues stretch back thousands of years.
And what also stretches back thousands of years is that God calls His people out of all that. He calls them to live holy lives that seek to further His kingdom. That seek to bridge those gaps caused by worldly division.
That seek to show unconditional love to even those who would be their enemies so that the love of Christ may be evident to all. That seek reconciliation, most importantly between lost sinners and God.
But what does the world see when they look at Christianity? Now, they don’t have a good definition of Christianity, but nonetheless, in our day, Christianity is as divided as the world is.
And the fact of the matter is, even if they had a good definition of Christianity, I don’t know how much different it would be. It isn’t like true churches - I’m talking solid churches that believe Christ is Lord - it isn’t like most churches today live out the oneness of the universal church.
It is regrettable, but it’s true.
And within those churches? Well, I have heard horror stories. Every church seems to have a story of a split of some sort, or a mass exodus where a bunch of members leave over this or that disagreement.
Look back in our history: MCC has not been completely immune to this.
Why is that? If we all agree on Christ’s Lordship, and we all agree on our mission, and we all agree that we are called to be united under Christ - what’s the problem?
The human heart. Pride. Sinful ambition. Liking things our own way. Thinking our opinion is the only valid one. Insecurities that lead to an unhealthy desire for validation however we can get it.
You know, just like the world.
And that is nothing new either. Paul was dealing with all of these things in the church in Corinth. So as we go along today, let’s keep in mind that what plagued this church in Corinth can easily become a problem here in Montclair.
Let’s keep an eye on our own hearts, and let’s not be too quick to judge these Christian brothers and sisters Paul is dealing with.
And what does Paul begin with to address their issues?
He says:
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 moves from his affirmation that Christ is Lord over everything and moves right into the issue at hand. There is a glaring issue - a problem that shows that the Corinthians are not living with Christ as Lord.
And this begins an argument that Paul is really making through chapter 4. Again - we need to think in large units remembering that this is a letter. Paul heard of three issues in the Corinthian church. One was that they were settling disputes in the public courts. One was the mishandling of church discipline with an openly sexually immoral man.
But the one Paul spends the most time on is this problem: divisions within the church.
And notice how Paul addresses these Christians: “brothers.” And this is an inclusive term here. It means “brothers and sisters.” This isn’t just men. This is everyone.
And the fact that Paul addresses this problem church - this church that is failing to be unified under the Lordship of Christ - as “brothers” is very telling. In fact, Paul addresses them that way 23 times in this letter.
Because it is a term of endearment. Paul is writing not in anger, but in love. He is lovingly admonishing this church. Go read Galatians to see how Paul writes when he’s angry. And even there, he refers to the Christians in that church as “brothers.”
Paul never stops emphasizing the oneness of the church. He is writing to the Corinthians as someone who is in this with them. He is united with them.
Yes, he is an Apostle and he has God-given authority over this church. But he is still one of them. He is still one called out of the world under the Lordship of Christ just like them.
So even his rebuke is done in love.
There is nothing within a church that should not be done in love. Even the hard conversations. Even admonishments for sin. Even in church discipline.
You see, difference and disunity are not the same thing. Paul had a lot of differences to hash out with this church. They were doing a bunch of things wrong. But he never for a moment forgot that they were still one in Christ, and nothing could change that.
We need to remember that. We may have disagreements among us - and we will! But that doesn’t change the unity we have in Christ.
If we would remember that, small problems would not turn into big problems. If we would remember that, pride, sinful ambition, insistence on our own way, valuing our opinion above each other - there would be no occasion for any of these to take a foothold in our hearts.
Let’s remember that we are one.
This is why Paul appeals to the Corinthians as “brothers.” They are all one.
And that “appeal” - well, here is where translation choices sometimes lose the impact of what the Biblical writer is actually saying. The word here has the same root as all those “calls” we read about in the greeting. It is actually an intensified calling here. That’s why some translations use “urge” or “entreat” here.
Remember, this letter comes from one called by God to be an Apostles, who is speaking to those called to be holy by Christ.
And he is intensely calling them - his brothers - by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ - the very name they call upon as those called by Him, as we saw in verse 2.
So Paul is continuing with this calling theme to lovingly give a command. This is a command. Paul has authority because God called him as an Apostle. These Christians have been called unto the Lord Who they call upon, and He has called them unto holiness - so Paul calls them to unity.
He commands them in the name of Christ to remember that they are one.
And Paul is staying on theme here throughout. This “agree” in “I appeal to you...that you all agree" - the word translated “agree” is actually the word for “speak.” He wants them to speak as one.
And that they be united in the same mind and the same “judgment” - that “judgment” is the word for comprehension. He wants them to think as one.
These are the same roots Paul used for “speech” and “knowledge” back in verse 5, when he said:
1 Corinthians 1:5 (ESV)
...in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—
Remember, Christ gave them all they need. And they did not need speech the world’s way and knowledge the world’s way. They already had these things Christ’s way.
So when Paul says:
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 is telling them that they need to be united in using the riches Christ gave them. They have to all speak the same things, and think the same things. And what they need to speak and know is the truth of Christ and what that means for them.
That’s what we all need to speak and know - and we need nothing more because Christ has given us these riches.
And remember that this relates to the gifts God gave them - the heavenly riches - in order to carry out their calling as a unified church.
So Paul jumps right in and calls for unity in the Corinthian church. They need to be unified in speech, in conduct, and in service to Christ.
Just like every church.
Just like us.
And why this focus on unity by Paul?
For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.
This is one of the things Paul heard through the grapevine about the Corinthian church. There has been quarreling among them. There has been strife. There has been dissension. There has been rivalry.
And this was reported to Paul by Chloe’s people. It literally says “by those of Chloe.” Now, this could mean a number of things - people of her family, people under her authority - or it can simply refer to the fact that she sent people to Paul to give him her message.
But I want us to notice two things here.
First, Chloe - a female - sent word to Paul about what was going on. And Paul doesn’t hesitate to tell the Corinthian church that it was her. But he isn’t throwing this woman under the bus, here.
And realize: in most contexts, a woman and her accusations would be dismissed. Women weren’t even allowed a say in most matters in the ancient world.
It was not like that in the church.
Think about it, it would be counterproductive for Paul to invoke the name of a woman if the Corinthians could dismiss her. This Chloe clearly carried some weight with those in the church.
Because again, part of being called out of the world and unto Christ was putting away the divisions of the world.
As Paul said elsewhere:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Race doesn’t affect who is united in Christ.
Social standing or economic class do not affect who is united in Christ.
Gender doesn’t affect who is united in Christ.
Are there defined roles for men and women in the church? Yes. Paul will get to that later in the letter.
But do race, social standing, or gender affect our unity as brothers and sisters? No. At least, it isn’t supposed to.
So that Paul says:
For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.
…shows us that Chloe was held in high regard in the Corinthian church. She was held in high regard by Paul who is addressing issues based on her appraisal of the situation. He is invoking her name to add weight to the seriousness of the situation for those receiving this letter.
This was part of what made Christianity so different and counter-cultural in the first century. In the world, women were second-class citizens. Some might say this is still true.
But when it came to the unity of the church - the calling of the church - gender didn’t matter. Women had gifts, men had gifts. The gifts differed, but all were necessary.
Women had a responsibility to the church, men had a responsibility to the church. In some cases, the responsibility differed, but all needed to fulfill their responsibility and serve according to their gifts.
When it came to the unity of the body, there was no male and female for they were all one in Christ Jesus.
Second, Paul uses Chloe’s name for another reason. Paul is about to admonish the church for dividing over who they followed. In the next verse he writes:
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.”
There were parties - factions - within the church. There were those who were Paul’s people, those who were Apollos’ people, those who were Peter’s people, and those who identified as Christ’s people.
By saying:
For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.
…Paul is being very careful and very shrewd. He is saying that this report of their division did not come from within any of these factions. It wasn’t “Paul people” that reached out to Paul. It was Chloe. It was someone who did not identify with or even wanted to take part in these divisions.
It was someone who wanted unity in the church.
But there wasn’t:
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.”
The first thing to note is that only one of these factions had it right. That Paul includes a Christ faction here points to the fact that there were those who were not part of this divisiveness. Because they followed Christ.
Remember Paul’s emphasis: Christ is Lord. Over the church and over everything. So that there were those in Corinth saying “I follow Christ” - or literally, “I am of Christ” - means that there were, in fact, Christians in this church that were seeking to live with Christ as Lord of everything.
The second thing to note is that Paul does not want there to be any “Paul people” in the church at Corinth. No more than he wants “Apollos people” or “Peter people” - Cephas being the Aramaic name for Peter.
He wants every Christian in Corinth - and every Christian, everywhere - all to be “of Christ.”
That’s what I want for everyone here.
I don’t want “Lee people.” I know, I’m so awesome that might be difficult.
Seriously, the founding pastor of this church, Ed Banghart - who many of you knew - he spent 30 years here pointing people to Christ. He never wanted there to be “Ed people” in this church. So he labored to hold Christ up as Lord. As supreme over all.
I can only hope to do the same.
Because, look, there are churches out there where people are part of that church because of the pastor. Some of the pastor’s even like it that way. And if that pastor leaves, they leave. They are not there for Christ. They are not there to be part of the unified whole.
We saw here at MCC, there were those that left this church when my predecessor left. Some of them outright said they were only here because that pastor was here.
While I doubt this would be the case with any of you here, with the exception of my wife, I want to tell you, if you are here because I am here, you are here for the wrong reason.
If any of you are here, wives excepted, because Dave is here, or Joe is here, or Eric is here, or David Langford is here, you are here for the wrong reason.
Because this church belongs to Christ. He is the head of this church, not me. He is why we are here together.
The church in Corinth belonged to Christ. He was the head of that church - not Paul, or Peter, or Apollos. But some there didn’t understand that. And that was causing division.
Third, I think it is important to note that these divisions were not between Paul, Apollos, and Peter. They were not divided. Paul calls Peter a brother later in this letter. He talks about how he actually wanted to send Apollos to them:
Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.
Paul may have even wanted Apollos to come to address this issue. And maybe Apollos said to Paul he didn’t want to.
But the division is not between these men. It is between those who claimed them as their leader:
For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 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.”
And they should all be saying “I follow Christ.”
As Paul says next:
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
Remember, to be part of the true church - the called out - you have to be called by Christ and you have to call upon Him. And that makes you His. And that means that there is, by definition, no division in the true church, because we are all “of Christ.”
As Paul says elsewhere:
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Note the calling. Note the unity Paul is describing. And if you know this passage, Paul leads this right into the use of gifts and how everyone is to use them for the betterment of the body and for unity:
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
You see, Corinth wasn’t the only place that had problems. Other churches needed to be reminded of these same things. We need to be reminded.
Brothers and sisters, we are all of Christ. We belong to Him. And He is Lord. If we can submit to Him as Lord, and we can follow Him instead of our own hearts, we will remain united in Him.
Because Christ - the Lord of the church - cannot be divided.
So when Paul asks:
1 Corinthians 1:13 (ESV)
Is Christ divided?
…it is a rhetorical question. Christ is not divided. There is one Lord. There is one church.
And there is one call into that one body.
And when anyone says they are of “Paul” or of “Apollos,” or of “Ed” or of “Lee,” instead of saying they are “of Christ,” you know what? Christ remains undivided.
And it is they who claim anyone else that have divided from Him. From His Lordship. And I do not mean loss of salvation. Remember, Who He calls He justifies and He will glorify.
I am saying you turn your back on Jesus as Lord. When you cause divisions in Christ’s one church - you turn your back on Him as Lord. When you identify with any man other than Jesus of Nazareth, you turn your back on Him as Lord.
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
These are all rhetorical questions. Christ is not divided. Paul was not crucified for any of them - neither were Apollos or Peter. Christ was.
That is why He is Lord. As God the Son, Christ was always Lord.
But in His humanity - which He took on for our sake - He was just like us. Exactly like us in every way. Except for sin.
So, when He went to the cross and that humanity yielded itself to death to pay for our sin and overcome the enemy who is the ruler of this world - He became our Lord in His humanity.
Jesus is Lord. Not the world. Not the ruler of this world. The now risen and ascended Lord of heaven and earth and everything - He is our Lord.
Because He alone was crucified for us.
And He, not Paul, was crucified for the Corinthians.
And they were not baptized in Paul’s name, either. They were not baptized in any other name than that of the triune God. As Jesus said:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
All authority is His - He is Lord.
And those that follow Him are to be baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
And they are to observe all that Jesus has commanded.
This is everything Paul has been talking about. They are called by Christ, Who is Lord of all. They are called to holiness - to observe all that the Lord has commanded.
That is why they are not baptized in the name of any other. They are not baptized in the name of Paul.
They are baptized in the name of God - of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
So, the crucified Jesus is Lord in His humanity, and He is Lord as God the Son.
And claiming to be “of Paul” or “of Peter” or of any other man is dividing from the One and only Lord of all. And that affects not only the one dividing - but the whole church.
You see, that was the heart of the problem. As we saw, there were those who maintained that they were “of Christ.” How many? We don’t know.
How many were causing divisions? We don’t know.
But this church was divided. So maybe, it was by the actions of very few.
As Paul will point out later, every member of the body - no matter how small or seemingly insignificant - every member is crucial to the body functioning as it should.
So dividing the church, is dividing from Christ, but it is also dividing the other members from a functioning body.
In other words, this wasn’t just about those specific people who were divisive. This was about each and every member of that Corinthian church. What each did affected the whole.
But even worse, it affected the name of Christ.
(Steve Lawson) - and the blemish on his ministry detracts from Christ’s glory in the eyes others - I applaud the elders of that church
Do we think about how our actions - within the church and without - how they affect the name of Christ in the eyes of others?
In Corinth were those who wanted to claim to be of Paul or Apollos or Peter. But Paul points them back to Christ. Because they weren’t just wrongly trying to exalt these other men where they don’t belong.
They were lowering Christ - the name upon which they called, the name by whom Paul calls them to unity - they were lowering that name where it doesn’t belong. They made it just one name among many.
That is living the world’s way, isn’t it? The world wants to take the name of Jesus and make Him just like any other man. They want to take the name of God and make it one among many names that all lead to the same place.
That is what those in Corinth that were claiming any other name were doing.
So they affected the Corinthian church as a whole. They affected the universal church, as we saw last week. They affected each and every member of that church. And they affected the name of Christ.
And here’s the amazing thing: this didn’t stop. About 40 years later Clement of Rome wrote to this same church, and they were having the same problems.
Here is part of his letter - from chapters 46 and 47:
Ante-Nicene Fathers 1: The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Chapter XLVI-XLVII)
Your schism has subverted [the faith of] many, has discouraged many, has given rise to doubt in many, and has caused grief to us all. And still your sedition continueth.
Take up the epistle of the blessed Apostle Paul. What did he write to you at the time when the Gospel first began to be preached? Truly, under the inspiration of the Spirit, he wrote to you concerning himself, and Cephas, and Apollos, because even then parties had been formed among you.
But that inclination for one above another entailed less guilt upon you, inasmuch as your partialities were then shown towards apostles, already of high reputation, and towards a man whom they had approved. But now reflect who those are that have perverted you, and lessened the renown of your far-famed brotherly love.
It is disgraceful, beloved, yea, highly disgraceful, and unworthy of your Christian profession, that such a thing should be heard of as that the most steadfast and ancient Church of the Corinthians should, on account of one or two persons, engage in sedition against its presbyters.
And this rumour has reached not only us, but those also who are unconnected with us; so that, through your infatuation, the name of the Lord is blasphemed, while danger is also brought upon yourselves.
Ooh. And look how he ends this. Their failures caused the name of the Lord to be blasphemed. And what’s more, he tells them: danger is also brought upon yourselves.
You see, Paul was also concerned with the spiritual condition of those causing the divisions. That’s why Paul wanted this problem solved and the divisions to stop. He could have just told the church to throw out those being divisive. As we’ll see, Paul had no problem finishing the process of church discipline and removing someone from the church.
But Paul understood that those causing the divisions were doing damage to themselves. They were separating themselves from Christ. They were removing Him as Lord of their lives. That can only ever lead to misery. That made them susceptible to even more sin.
It made them susceptible to the schemes of the enemy and the pride of their own hearts.
And we see by Clement’s letter that things only got worse though there were but few causing divisions. They had convinced others to turn on the elders of the church. They were causing some in the church to doubt their faith.
You see, this is what happens when a problem is allowed to fester. When even just a few are causing problems. Paul wanted to stop this and get the Corinthians back in agreement on all things so that this would not grow into a larger problem.
This is how we need to deal with problems in the church. We can’t just turn a blind eye to problems. That’s how differences evolve into disunity.
We can’t think problems will resolve themselves. No, they are the result of taking Christ off the throne of our lives, and then we are left to follow our own hearts that without Christ are full of pride, insecurities, ambition, and insisting on our own way.
We need to keep Christ on the throne and strive to keep His church holy.
I am going to stop for a second and encourage you all: is there a problem between you and someone in this room? It has to be dealt with. Jesus is Lord over this church and over each and every one of us. And Christ is not divided.
Are you here because you are running from a problem at your last church? Christ is building one church. And Christ is not divided. That problem still needs to be dealt with.
Paul wanted the divisions to stop because he knew that it would only get worse. And he was right.
He wanted those causing divisions to remember that Christ is on the throne, and they needed to follow Him. They all needed to be of Christ and no one else.
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)
Paul points them back to Christ. He is not divided. He is the only One who was crucified for them and us. And it is in the name of God that we have all been baptized.
And then Paul has this curious “thank God” here. He thanks God he only baptized Crispus and Gaius so that none still there in the church can say they were baptized in Paul’s name. And this may seem like an aside that has nothing to do with what was going on in Corinth, but it does.
We will look at this in more detail when we get to chapter 15 and Paul talks about some of the Corinthians being baptized on behalf of the dead. Some in Corinth were being baptized “in the name” of others, including dead believers.
So this baptism part of Paul’s admonishment does not come out of left field. He is referring to the fact that some in Corinth misunderstood baptism and what it means.
So Paul is thankful that he did not baptize many of them and add to their confusion.
And then we see what happened in the ancient world long before backspace buttons were invented.
Paul is dictating this letter. Maybe to Sosthenes or maybe even to this Stephanas he refers to here. But he says what he said, it was written down, and then he remembers, or was reminded, that he also baptized Stephanas and his household. And given that had slipped his mind, he points out that there may have been others, but he doesn’t remember.
And this is where I remind you again that the Bible did not fall from heaven. It is both from God and from men. And we see here that inspiration is a process, not a momentary event. In other words, the Spirit carried men along to write the inerrant and infallible Scriptures, but He did it as men wrote like men write.
So Paul is dictating, and then remembers that he baptized this Stephanas guy. And who is he? Well, we see at the end of the letter Paul says:
I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence,
So Stephanas is one of the envoy that brought the Corinthian letter to Paul.
Why spend the time explaining all of this? Because, again, I want us to see that God works in history, through the very ordinary works of very ordinary people.
Paul heard from Chloe’s people some bad things were happening in Corinth. Then, three men show up with a letter for Paul written by some of those in Corinth, so Paul decides to write a response to send back with them.
As he’s writing, he says he baptized only two men, then - maybe because Stephanas is sitting right there - Paul corrects himself.
Regular people, doing what they do. And the power of God works through it.
But why does Paul point out that he baptized only a few people?
I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)
Because there were some misunderstandings about baptism in Corinth, as I said, but also because Paul is again reorienting the Corinthians. He is pointing them back to Christ:
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.
The cross of Christ. What Paul will now talk about for the next couple of chapters. Paul is pointing the Corinthians back to Christ and the cross. He is reminding them of the centrality of the Gospel.
It isn’t baptism. It isn’t who taught who. It is Christ and Him crucified.
So Paul says, after making his correction about Stephanas, that who he baptized is completely beside the point.
He is an Apostle called by God - literally a “sent one” - and He says here he is sent by Christ. But not to baptize. To preach the Gospel. This is where he wants the attention of the Corinthians to go now. The Gospel.
And note that when Paul preaches the Gospel, he does not use words of “eloquent wisdom.” Actually, the “eloquent” is interpretation and not translation. The word isn’t there. Paul simply says he preaches “not with wise words.”
Remember Paul’s earlier emphasis on speech and knowledge. Here, he again uses the same word for speech and adds to it wisdom. Remember he is writing to a church in Greece, a place that had a great love of wisdom - the literal meaning of philosophy.
Paul is saying for a third time now that the ways of the world - and now the wisdom of the world - have no place in the church. Because the Gospel is not like the worldly philosophy around these Christians. It isn’t just another way to understand the world.
It is the only way to understand the world correctly.
So it isn’t in the words he used to preach the Gospel, it is the fact of the Gospel he preached that has the real power. And to try and put a worldly spin on the Gospel would empty the cross of Christ - or the Gospel - of its power.
As Paul says elsewhere:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
It is the message of the Gospel that has the power for salvation. Not the preacher. Not the words. The message of the Gospel.
And it is contrary to the world and its wisdom, as Paul is about to expound upon beginning with verse 18:
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
And we will unpack this more next week.
But Paul’s point leading up to this, is that those who were causing divisions in the church had forgotten who sits on the throne. And the only way to get Christ back on the throne of their hearts, is to go back to the Gospel. That is where God’s power is - the Gospel.
Who Christ is and what He has done.
We need to return to the Gospel - over and over again. We often need to be reoriented like the Corinthians and be reminded that Christ sits on the throne and that we belong to Him.
We need to constantly return to the Gospel because it is the power of God for salvation. It is what makes us “of Christ.”
So I ask: can you say “I am of Christ?”
---maybe you came in here not “of Christ” - usually of ourselves - but as Paul said, there is only One Who was crucified… resurrected… ascended… One Whose righteousness makes us right with God. (something we all know deep down we can’t do ourselves)
We need to be of Christ.
---if can say you are of Christ: let’s check ourselves: what is on the throne of your heart? It must be Christ.