Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro:

Although the church was quite gifted (1:4–7), it was equally immature and un-spiritual (3:1–4).

Paul wanted to restore the church in its areas of weakness.

Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he expounded the Bible’s clearest exposition on the Lord’s Supper (11:17–34), the resurrection (15:1–58), and spiritual gifts (12:1–14:40).

Dockery, D. S. (Ed.).

(1992).

Holman Bible Handbook (p.

687).

Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

The recipients were primarily “the church of God in Corinth” (see Acts 20:28; 2 Cor 1:1).

Generally, however, the letter was addressed to “all those everywhere who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:2)

Transition:

9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”

11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

Fee draws a modern-day parallel by suggesting that “Paul’s Corinth was at once the New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas of the ancient world.”

In a nutshell, Paul teaches them (and us) how to live in this present world in community with other believers and in relation to unbelievers in light of the age to come

Context:

Here we meet a church that faces issues much like the ones we face.

How are we to handle disagreements among God’s people?

What does a Christian sexual ethic look like when promiscuity is the cultural norm?

In what ways does the gospel shape the institution of marriage?

How should we relate to the cultural customs and practices of those with whom we disagree on matters of faith?

How can the gospel tear down barriers that we have built between others and ourselves?

We could go on.

1:13 Three rhetorical questions reveal that it is absurd to proclaim loyalty to individual teachers, because (1) there is only one Messiah; (2) Paul was not crucified and thus is the basis of no one’s salvation; and (3) believers are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ—not in the name of Paul (Acts 2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5; see Matt 28:19).

In 6:9, 10, Paul lists some of the specific sins for which the city was noted and which formerly had characterized many believers in the church there.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses a church that, like many in our day, is both deeply flawed and greatly loved.

Agan, C. D., III.

(2013). 1 Corinthians.

In B. Chapell & D. Ortlund (Eds.),

Gospel Transformation Bible: English Standard Version (p.

1531).

Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

As the letter proceeds, however, it becomes clear that the main basis for division derives from differences of social stratification within the congregations.

One type of ancient speech (known as a homonoia speech) lamented divisions and called for unity; Paul’s readers would immediately recognize the nature of his argument.

1:13 Three rhetorical questions reveal that it is absurd to proclaim loyalty to individual teachers, because (1) there is only one Messiah; (2) Paul was not crucified and thus is the basis of no one’s salvation; and (3) believers are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ—not in the name of Paul (Acts 2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5; see Matt 28:19).

wrong living always stems from wrong belief.

What happens in Corinth stays in Corinth...

The church was a picture of converts who had come out of this background (see 1 Cor 6:11).

The church had several problems, among them a leadership problem producing divisions in the church (1:10–17).

Immoral practices were not being dealt with (5:1–6:20).

An enthusiastic group in the church flaunted their spiritual gifts (12:1–14:40).

A legalistic group was concerned about dietary laws (8:1–10:32).

Some were abusing the Lord’s Supper (11:17–34), and others were offering false teachings regarding the resurrection (15:1–58).

These matters—in addition to its multiethnic makeup of Greeks, Romans, and Jews and a mixture of social classes including rich, poor, and slave—made for a unique and troubled congregation.

If you want to know what Corinth was like, read Romans 1:18–32.

Paul wrote the Roman epistle while in Corinth, and he could have looked out the window and seen the very sins that he listed!

Apollos, we know from Acts 18:24–28, was a gifted orator.

Perhaps those inclined to be impressed with lofty rhetoric and speculative wisdom rallied around him.

I love Jesus, I hate the church…

Surely the most striking feature of this thanksgiving is how positive Paul can be about a church torn with strife and abuses of the very gifts he thanks God for having given its members.

The word “divisions” (schismata, literally “tears” or “cracks”) graphically conveys the idea of the dissensions that were rending the church.

He makes this exhortation through (dia) the authority of Jesus Christ (10a), whose name they revere.

Division distracts from the person of Jesus

“Fellowship” means much more in Greek than it does in current English idiom.

In Pauline usage the term carries the idea of participation and sharing, expressed also as being “in Christ.”

Their calling into participation with the Son sets the stage for the opening exhortation of the letter body to follow in 1:10, where Paul addresses the looming problem of a divided church, which is the antithesis of those called into intimate union with God’s Son.

v.10 starts with BUt a contrastive, what isHe contrasting?

Fellowship… Before Paul introduces the problem of division he was praising God for fellowship with Jesus.

But the genitive of a person is more likely to be subjective and we should accept fellowship with his Son as the meaning (Ellicott thinks it is both, fellowship ‘in Him and with Him’).

The word is the direct opposite of ‘divisions’ in v. 10.

It is fellowship with (and in) Christ to which we are called, not divisions from one another.

10.

The adversative conjunction de, ‘but’ (which NIV omits) sets what follows in contrast to the preceding.

So far from fellowship being realized there is division.

Saying Chloe’s name here is so strong imho… we have a policy as elder team no “they” talk… who with names so we all know who we are talking about...

The basis of Paul’s appeal for unity is a report received from Chloe’s household regarding “quarrels among you.”

The mention of the informants gives credibility to the report.

Unity is not uniformity… (100 pianos tuned to the same fork) focus on Christ

The appeal to unity, however, is not an appeal to uniformity at all costs.

There is no room for disagreement on the fundamental nature of the gospel, which is the heart of Paul’s argument to follow in 1:18–4:13.

The call to unity is linked tightly and logically to the previous section where Paul reminded the Corinthians that they not only number themselves among others who call up the name of the Lord (1:2), but that they also were called by God into fellowship with his Son (1:9).

Their disunity is the very antithesis of their fellowship with the Son and status as God’s holy people.

No one has to teach us to fight each other...

Quarrels are a part of life.

We grow up in them and around them.

Infants are quick to express displeasure when they are not given something they want or when something they like is taken away.

Little children cry, fight, and throw tantrums because they cannot have their own ways.

We argue and fight over a rattle, then a toy, then a football, then a position on the football team or in the cheerleading squad, then in business, the PTA, or politics.

Friends fight, husbands and wives fight, businesses fight, cities fight, even nations fight—sometimes to the point of war.

And the source of all the fighting is the same: man’s depraved, egoistic, selfish nature.

Writing to fellow Christians, James asks, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?

Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?

You lust and do not have; so you commit murder.

And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel” (James 4:1–2).

The cause for all conflicts, quarrels, and fighting is selfish desire.

Quarreling is a reality in the church because selfishness and other sins are realities in the church.

Because of quarreling the Father is dishonored, the Son is disgraced, His people are demoralized and discredited, and the world is turned off and confirmed in unbelief.

Fractured fellowship robs Christians of joy and effectiveness, robs God of glory, and robs the world of the true testimony of the gospel.

A high price for an ego trip!

In His high priestly prayer the Lord prayed repeatedly that His church would be one (John 17:11, 21–23).

The implication of the oneness of nature and communion with God for which He prayed for His disciples was a “fleshed out” oneness in life.

They weren’t all the same but their unity bore fruit...

“day by day continuing with one mind in the temple … praising God, and having favor with all the people.

And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:46–47).

Their unity bore great fruit in their ministry to each other, in their witness to the world, and in their pleasing and glorifying God.

NOt the same but ONE IN the Lord.

They have one Lord, so they can be one… but when eyes off of Jesus we divide into differences...

by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to agree, to eliminate divisions, and to be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Because they were one in fellowship with their Lord, they should be one in fellowship with each other.

Their unity in Jesus Christ was the basis for Paul’s appeal for unity among themselves.

Christ’s name represents all that He is, His character and His will.

To pray “in Jesus’ name” is not to expect God to bow to our wishes or demands simply because we use that phrase.

To pray in His name is to pray in accordance with His Word and His will.