The Main Thing

How many have ever seen or heard of a “church split”?

Typically, these arise in very peculiar circumstances: color of paint, whether to have the Christmas play on this day or that day, etc.

Fighting and quarrels are a part of life, it is in the human DNA.

We fight about everything, football teams, favorite shows, political parties, everybody fights with somebody about something!

The reason for this is: we are depraved, egotistic, and selfish.

James 4:1–2 “1 What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? 2 You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask.”

Why do we see so much fighting int he church? Because we have so many people in the church, and where there is people: there are fights.

Yet, this does not mean that this is okay… in fact it is the opposite.

Because we are predisposed to fight with one another, it is all the more important that we carefully guard our unity - this is the will of Christ.

Paul gives an exhortation to the Corinthians regarding this very thing in 1 Cor. 1:10-17

I. Doctrinal Agreement

1 Corinthians 1:10 “10 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, 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.”

The first word we see Paul use is: παρακαλέω or “to help”

This word means to “come alongside of” - it is the same word used of the Holy Spirit in John 16.

Paul is not “getting on to” the Corinthians, though their divisions is serious.

He is genuinely desiring to help them in this struggle.

The first step toward having a truly unified church here at Corinth, is that they have the same “Doctrinal Agreement”.

In other words, they need to believe the same thing about the important stuff.

*Speak on theological triage.

To be united in “speaking the same thing” literally means just that. We have a “confession” of faith as a Church.

That “confession” is a statement of what we believe as a body, it seals us together and provides barriers to dangerous doctrine.

We “confess the faith” by affirming that confession. In doing so, we are literally abiding by what Paul is commanding here: Churches ought to have a robust understanding of what they believe.

If not, we open ourselves to confusion.

For the local church to be unified, there must be spiritual harmony - not cherry-picking what we think feels good this week versus the next.

Paul emphasizes the importance of having unity by saying in v. 10, “the same understanding and the same conviction.” In other words, you need to have a unified internal belief and external belief.

We ought to have genuine unity. Not carbon copies of each other, as we are still individuals.

But, we should have a “one-mind and one-accord” congregation.

Growing up, I can remember being in churches where projects or decisions would come up and half the church wanted to do ot, and the other half didn’t. They would put it to a vote, and as soon as the one party got “just enough” votes to carry the motion they jumped on it.

This kind of attitude is damaging to the body of Christ. IT places my wants and desires over the priority of the Spirit… which is unity.

But He does not desire unity for the sake of unity there is a purpose: the glory of God. Unity glorifies God, because it reflects the fellowship within the Trinity.

But our unity must have one source: God Himself. What good is not to be unified in some temporal things. We may all be Georgia fans, thats not unity though. The source of our unity must be The Lord.

II. Divisions Abounding

1 Corinthians 1:11–12 “11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by members of Chloe’s people, that there is rivalry among you. 12 What I am saying is this: One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.””

Paul had went to Corinth for a year and a half, then he sent Apollos. There were Jews there who had been saved under Peter’s ministry, some didn’t want a pastor at all (of Christ.)

Here’s the thing, all the men in that list were unified. Yet, confusion and chaos led to factions forming within the church unbeknownst to the men who were the leaders.

This can so easily happen, and the point is this: we have no “loyalty” to particular men. This church belongs to Christ, not a preacher, nor a deacon, nor a SS teacher, nobody but Christ.

III. Disciple’s Aim

1 Corinthians 1:13–17 “13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 I did, in fact, baptize the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t recall if I baptized anyone else. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.”

Paul corrects their misguided notion that there should be any divisions by using the example of the fact that he didn’t baptize anyone in his own name. Rather, he did everything in the name of Christ.

Lastly, notice this: Paul’s aim was to accomplish what The Lord gave him to do.

The people at Corinth were taken with baptism: “Apollos baptized me, Paul baptized me, etc”

They used this baptism (a good thing) to create factions and divisions within the church itself.

Through this, the temptation would be for Paul to get caught up in all of this scandal with them… if he were a weaker man.

Yet, Paul says this: “I came, not to baptize, but to preach the gospel”.

What’s significant about that? Paul knew what his calling was, and because of that - he didn’t get distracted by the divisions.

So, whats the key to unity: we need to have the right priority in our life to do what God has called us to do, and this will help us be determined to serve the Lord in truth and unity, not in confusion and division.