Division in 1 Corinthians

Modern Problems Ancient Solutions

Finish this saying:

“The more things change…”

“The more they stay the same.”

What does that saying mean?

As time goes on & things change…

There are certain things that never really change

One such thing is human nature

Time may pass & societies, cultures, & technologies may change…

But people still think, behave, & chase after the same things

We can see that when we look at history…

And when we read Paul’s letters to the churches

Their struggles are not so different from our own

And thankfully, we can read his ancient solutions…

To our modern problems…

Because we aren’t the first people to have them

In this series, David Pearson & I…

Will be looking at problems Paul addressed in his letters…

And discuss how his inspired solutions…

Can help us with our similar problems today

Division In 1 Corinthians

The church in Corinth struggled greatly with division

Do we as Americans struggle with division today?

Cultural & Ideological Division (Politics)

Arguments on Social Media

Divided/Broken Families

Generational Division

Racial Divisions (Not like they used to be but still present)

Social & Economic Division

Do we as Christians struggle with division today?

Denominational Division

What about in the churches of Christ?

Do we struggle with division?

What do we divide over?

Doctrines/Teachings

Opinions

Preferences

People/Leaders/Preachers

Let’s see what the Corinthians were dividing over:

1 Corinthians 1:10–17 LSB

10 Now I exhort you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” 13 Has Christ been 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 would say you were baptized in my name. 16 Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the gospel, not in wisdom of word, so that the cross of Christ will not be made empty.

They were dividing themselves into factions

Seemingly after their favorite teachers/leaders

They seemed to be dividing over who baptized them

Instead of being united in one body under Christ…

They were finding their identity in people or things other than Christ

What might Paul say to the churches of Christ today?

“I am of…”

This particular preacher

This particular Bible college or preaching school

Conservative ideology

Progressive ideology

This Bible translation

Institutional/Non-Institutional churches

This particular view of the Holy Spirit

This particular Eschatological view

This particular style/form of Assembly

Any others?

In the Corinthian church, they divided over:

Preferred teachers/leaders (Chs. 1-4)

Preferred freedoms (Chs. 8-10)

Preferred social/economic groups (Ch. 11)

Preferred Spiritual gifts (Chs. 12-14)

They were dividing over secondary preferences

There are times when division is inevitable & necessary

Jesus knew he would bring division to the world

Division over Core Doctrines/Truths is necessary division:

One Body/Church that belongs to God

One God & One Spirit

Jesus, the Lord/Messiah, died, was buried, & resurrected

Salvation is by Grace through Faith & entered into through baptism

One Hope of resurrection because of Jesus’ resurrection

These are core doctrines that are so central to the Gospel…

That rejecting them would place us in opposition to the Gospel

But those weren’t the things the Corinthians were dividing over

They were dividing over secondary preferences

They were making secondary things primary things

There’s an old saying:

“In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity/love.”

Be united with your brother over things that are essential

Allow your brother the freedom to disagree in things that aren’t essential

And love your brother regardless

That’s a great saying…

But it has one glaring weakness:

“What if we can’t agree on what is essential & what isn’t?

One person says Doctrine A is essential but Doctrine B isn’t

But another person says Doctrine A & Doctrine B are both essential

One person is willing to allow freedom to disagree on Doctrine B

But the other doesn’t allow that freedom…

And therefore severs his relationship with his brother, bringing about division

Who is right & who is wrong?

That’s where the lack of a solution lies, in my opinion

I heard a Bible professor word it this way…

And I thought this wording was helpful in clearing things up:

There are things we know we know:

These are the core, primary doctrines/truths

The things the Scriptures speak often & clear about

There are things we think we know:

These are the secondary issues

The things we may be convinced of…

But recognize that the Scriptures are sometimes difficult or unclear…

And we could possibly be wrong in our conclusions

There are things we know we don’t know:

These are tertiary issues

The things the Scriptures simply don’t say a lot about

Good rule of thumb:

The more clear the Scriptures are on something…

The more dogmatic we can be

The less clear the Scriptures are on something…

The more humble we should be

When dealing with convictions: things we know we know…

There must be unity

When dealing with conclusions: things we think we know…

And opinions: things we know we don’t know…

There must be liberty

And when dealing with all the above…

There must be charity/love

So, what is Paul’s solution to making this happen?

“Remember who was crucified for you.”

Jesus died for you to be saved & a member of his body

Jesus also died to save the person you disagree with

Jesus wants them in his body

We shouldn’t be so quick to kick them out

Especially over secondary & tertiary issues

Whenever we keep the focus on Jesus…

And being united on Him & the core teachings concerning Him…

We will be doing well

Whenever we allow any little difference in conclusion or opinion to divide us…

We are in sin

If Extra Time:

1 Cor 13

or

Romans 14