The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 3: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, “Star Power"

The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 3: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, “Star Power” Who are some of the most popular preachers in the country today? Regardless of what we personally think about them, they have quite a following. I think of people like John McArthur. Andy Stanley. Chuck Swindoll. Joel Osteen. Alistar Begg. John Hagee. I think all of these guys have multiplied thousands attend their services. And many more listen to their podcasts, streaming and even watch them on the tube. What causes many people today to gravitate toward these guys? Why is it that there are a few “at the top” in the church world, so to speak but there are thousands of smaller, very small, and tiny churches that are unheard of? Why is it that megachurch ministries attract thousands of people who drive past many smaller churches with loving congregations and pastors who seek to lead their flock in the ways of the Lord to get to those megachurches? Now, don’t misunderstand. I did not say this to bash big churches. God uses churches of all sizes to accomplish his purposes. I’m also not saying that small and tiny churches are pleasing to the Lord just because they are small. Also, why is it that some people sort of make their rounds so to speak, where they go to one church because of the preaching, another church because of their music, and yet another one because of their children and youth programs? I’ve actually heard people sort of brag about this. But why is it that attractional churches and ministries have people flock to them? In a word, it’s what I call “star power.” It’s that “it factor” in a church or a leader, godly or otherwise who the Lord has blessed with talent and influence, and people flock to them. Again, there are many good and godly ministries and pastors. But there are others who seem to be anything but godly. I heard one well-known church leader actually say that his ambition was from day 1 to have the nation’s largest church. This was before he was fired from his ministry for misconduct. But who is the latest one with star power today in our country? Kanye. I know. He can say things that aren’t exactly Christlike at times. But he has made the good confession that Jesus is his Lord and Savior. Personally, I’m going to wait and see. Did the gospel seed that Kanye came in contact with fall on rocky soil, thorny soil, or good soil of his heart? But again, regardless of what one thinks of Kanye, I have heard this in relation to him: Kanye makes being a Christian cool again. We can hold our heads up a little higher now because God has claimed one for himself out of the world. And we can feel a little bit better about ourselves as Christians in front of the world. After all, Kanye’s got star power. Now, it’s no secret that star power has been with us for a long time. I think of preachers of not so long ago, like Billy Graham. And a little farther back, A.W. Tozer. Martin-Lloyd Jones. How about Charles Spurgeon? And even farther back, Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley and his brother Charles. Star power. They had it. Star power was also present in the days of the Apostle Paul. It was prevalent in the church in Corinth--this church that sprang up by God’s sovereign hand, started by a servant willing to go to a place that was thoroughly wicked. Idolatry. Immorality. Self-promotion. Violence. You name it, every kind of evil was there. But God wanted to do a work there. And he sent Paul to preach the gospel. And to train the disciples to become like Jesus. For a year and a half he worked tirelessly; as a tentmaker to help him put food in his belly, while he spent the rest of his time pouring out his soul for the sake of Jesus who made Paul’s life brand new forever. He left town after 18 months, thinking everything was OK. Thinking that he left the church in good hands as he appointed elders to oversee the flock. But as some of us know who are in the middle of disciplemaking relationships here at Grace United, growing a disciple to be like Jesus takes a LONG time. Don’t believe it? Let us ask ourselves! Every one of us who have, like the Thessalonians turned to God from idols, and are serving God and waiting the Lord Jesus to return, we know that becoming like Jesus is a life-long task. The continual denying of ourselves, taking up our cross daily and following the Lord is the call he has made to every one of his followers. Christians. Sons and daughters of God. But becoming like Jesus is well worth it! As his disciples, we are in the process of replacing our love for sinning with cultivating a greater love--a love for Jesus. As John tells us, we love him because he first loved us. So, imagine the apostle Paul, reflecting on the report he received from Chloe’s household that things are not OK with his beloved Corinthians. He may have realized they were not as far along in their maturity in Christ as he thought. So, with a heavy heart, but full of zeal to help his brothers and sisters in Christ, he set out to disciple them by letter. In his discipleship letter I love what he does. First he reminds his Corinthian brothers and sisters who they are: they are sanctified--set apart unto the Lord who saved them in this life, for his purposes, and God will sustain them in the end, guiltless in the day of the Lord Jesus. In other words, God changed them. They went from being separated from God to being alive to him. They were called out from the world and into fellowship with the one who saved them, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul also reminded them that they were, together, the church. In God’s mind, in Paul’s mind, and it ought to be in our minds as well, there is no such thing as a so-called Lone Ranger Christian. As we will see later, God has placed every follower of Jesus into the church, which he calls by various names: a bride, a temple, a body, a flock. I’ve heard it said that a Christian without a church is a contradiction. As I mentioned, Paul did not receive good news about his beloved Corinthians. There were massive problems. So, which problem to address first? Some might be tempted to “wade” into the problems till they get to the heart of the issue. Not Paul. He immediately goes for the jugular. The problem that is at the root of all others. And that root is disunity. Every problem in the church in Corinth is in reality is a symptom of disunity--as described by Jesus. In John 17:17 Jesus tells us his vision of unity. Right before he prayed for the unity of his 11 disciples and then for our unity, the Lord Jesus prayed this: Father, sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. In other words, Christian unity does not center itself around a cause, or even a task. Christian unity centers on truth--the truth as God has revealed in his word. And every problem the Corinthians have is because the Christians in the ekklesia of Corinth lack unity around the truth of God’s word. Whether it is relational, moral, doctrinal, or anything else, the issues the Corinthians had were because the entire church was not looking at Jesus and his ways; they were looking elsewhere. And in this first section, 1:10-17 we see Paul addressing a lack of unity in how the people saw their leaders. And Paul will address this issue in various ways all the way through til we get to end of chapter 4. So in these first 8 verses, we see Paul’s appeal, Chloe’s report, and Paul’s purpose. In 1 Corinthians 1:10, Paul writes: 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 begins to take his Corinthian brothers and sisters to task because he loves them enough to tell them the truth, but even more importantly, because Paul loved the Lord and was obedient to him. Paul’s appeal is given in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is key--Paul is not coming on his own authority, but in the name, the authority of the Lord Jesus. Paul gives them a 3 fold appeal: that all agree, there be no divisions, and they would be united in mind, having the same judgment. Let me say a word here. We love to hear positive things from God’s word: how much he loves us. How he blesses us, encourages us. But we are not so keen on God telling us what to do, how to live. But lest we forget, Paul just finished telling the Corinthian Christians who they were: set apart for God and his ways in this life and by God’s faithfulness will render the true Corinthian Christians blameless on the Day of Judgment. That is how powerful the death and resurrection of Christ is! Powerful enough to take care of every sin and to change every heart who turns to him from idols. And that is what I love about the Lord. Whenever God tells his people to do something, he first tells them who they are, and then he tells them how to live. So, because the Corinthians are in a living relationship with the living God, they, and we by extension, are to live out God’s ways. And one aspect of God’s ways is listed here: no divisions. All are to think the same way. All are to be singing from the same sheet of music. But what exactly what is Paul talking about when he says no division? In what area are they singing off key? It is found in Chloe’s report: 1 Corinthians 1:11–12: 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.” Now Paul begins to deal with 4 factions in the church: the Paulites, the Apollosites, the Cephasites and the Christites. Now, how in the world did things get so divided in so little time? It had been only a couple of years since Paul left the city! See if you can resonate with this: Ex-smokers so I’ve been told, are the most ruthless on smokers. Those who were morbidly obese and have lost a lot of weight often are on a crusade to “encourage” every overweight person they see to lose weight: “it’s for your own good.” I personally have been greatly helped by chiropractors over the years. There is a lot a chiropractor can help with: Migraine headaches. Even breathing problems. So, when I see a person hurting, the first question I ask is, “have you seen a chiropractor?” And when people push back hard because I suggest it, and largely because it has not helped, but only hurt them, I tend to get upset. How can they rebuff my suggestion when the chiropractor has helped me so much? This can happen spiritually as well. I wasn’t the easiest person to get along with when I first became a Christian. I became a Christian when I was in the Air Force while a tech school student. Someone befriended me, shared the gospel with me and my life changed. Well, I was bold. And hardheaded. And hotheaded. I could not figure out why everybody wasn’t out there sharing the gospel like I was. They were spiritual slackers! I had deep needs for friendship, though. I was lonely. Didn’t know how to make and keep friends. And part of the reason I didn’t keep friends was because I was so insistent that everybody share Christ like I did! I ended up pushing many people away. So, where am I going with this? When we have a profound, life changing experience, spiritual or otherwise, we want everybody to experience it. And we all do that. It stands to reason. Because it helped me so much, it can help everybody. It is true in our day. It was true in Paul’s day. Paul heard from Chloe’s household--probably those who attended the church that met at her house, that there were 4 denominations in the church at Corinth. There were Paulites. Apollosites. Then there were the Cephasites. And the Christites. Now, Chloe didn’t say exactly what it was about these guys that caused the division. But we know how things go, don’t we? Different people gravitate toward different leaders who have different styles. Perhaps some gravitated toward Paul because after all, he began the church in Corinth. He stayed with them for about a year and a half. During that time, Paul poured his life into them. He taught the mostly gentile believers how to see Christ in the Scriptures. He gave them a proper spiritual orientation toward the ways of God. He loved them. Spent time with them. Some were profoundly affected. And the Paulites talked him up! Apollos was of a different sort. Dynamic. Powerful individual. Persuasive in a godly way. He could hold an audience spellbound for hours. Luke in Acts 18:24-28 describes him this way: He was a Jew from Egypt. Eloquent. Competent in the Scriptures. Doubtless had a lot of charisma. He was fervent in Spirit and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus. But he only knew the baptism of John. He was missing something in his teaching. There was something a little deficient there. A husband and wife team, Priscilla and Aquila, took him off to the side and let this spark plug of a preacher know that he was just a little bit off. After that little gentle tweaking, if those thought Apollos was effective before, now he was a thousand times more effective in the proclamation God’s ways. So, he left Ephesus, the city where he met Priscilla and Aquila and eventually came to Corinth. But not without an endorsement from the brothers who were mature in Christ who could vouch for his character and his teaching. And as an aside, what a great picture Luke painted about the body life in Ephesus! Priscilla and Aquila trained Apollos, and the brothers got to know him and were able to vouch for him. In short, it’s all about discipleship relationships. It’s all about true fellowship. It’s my prayer that we look more like Ephesus as time goes on. Will you join me? So, when Apollos burst on the scene in Corinth, some of the people latched on to this powerful, eloquent, knowledgeable leader. And some of the people were profoundly affected. The Apollosites talked him up! Then came Peter, either Peter himself or perhaps his representatives. Not much is said about him here, though he did carry with him a bit of Jewish legalism. Paul tells us in Galatians 2 that he had to confront Peter because he was being 2-faced: when he was with Jewish Christians, he acted one way, and when he was with the gentile believers, he acted another. He was doing harm to the unity of the fellowship. Perhaps Peter, or maybe Peter’s disciples, or even false teachers who claimed to represent Peter came to Corinth and taught some of the people a new way of Christianity--one that “made sense”. They basically said, “gentiles have to become Jews in order to become Christians.” Peter seemed to struggle with this kind of thing throughout his life. Remember in Acts 10, his famous oxymoron pronouncement? When the Lord told him to eat unclean food and Peter said, “no, Lord?” Obviously he learned his lesson that gentiles can be Christians without becoming Jews. At any rate, some house churches were profoundly affected by Peter’s ways and style. They talked him up! And then there were the Christites. They were probably mystical, who thought they had an immediate hotline to God. Now, about that time, a new, but off-the-rails approach to spiritual things was just beginning to take hold: gnosticism. This approach dealt with secret, enlightened special knowledge. And it sort of worked this way: God gave special, mysterious knowledge to those who were saved. They were spiritual, special, elite, enlightened people. Sort of like those today, who say that in order to be saved you have to, for example, speak in tongues. But the learned guys are all over the map on this as to exactly who the Christites were. But most say that they were the “super spiritual”, hotline-to-God guys who didn’t feel the need to follow a certain teacher. See, they had these spiritual experiences. And the Christites talked this up! So, can you imagine when the people came together for certain events, like big fellowships? Or group communions? Or combined, open air worship services like we have with Church in the Field every year? Because remember, they didn’t have a central meeting place—they all worshiped in smaller groups in various houses around Corinth. And the outspoken of the Paulites, the Apollosites, the Cephasites and the Christites, all who have profound experiences would try to convince the others of their particular ways. It’s like some of the stuff we have to day. Worship wars! What kind of music should be used during a service? Or how about a certain version of the Bible, for after all if the King James Version was good enough for Paul it is good enough for me! And what about way people dress? Or even the operation of spiritual gifts? See, all of these kinds of things can affect the unity of Christians if we are not careful. Now Paul rebukes the Corinthians for their trusting and following their leaders, instead of following Christ in vv.13-16: 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.) What’s Paul saying here? Something like this, “my brothers and sisters! Don’t you remember who you are? You have become distracted from Jesus and focused on the leaders of your little groups! You have taken your eyes off Jesus, the very reason you are together in the first place. I did not try to amass followers. And Christ is not divided! It is Christ who died for you, not me. You who are true Christians were baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Certainly I baptized a few of you, but I don’t even remember who I baptized. That does not matter to me.” But what did matter to Paul? What was Paul’s aim? What was his conviction? What was his purpose? To build a religious following for God? To build a great church? Let’s see. 1 Corinthians 1:17: 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. In this verse Paul says what the Lord did not send him to do and then he declares what the Lord did send him to do. First, Paul says the Lord did not send him to baptize. The Lord Jesus did not want Paul to build followers after him. Paul did say later in the correspondence, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” But that is a far cry from where Paul is going here. I think of cult leaders who demand unquestioned obedience. Or popular preachers who seem to revel in the spotlight. But not Paul. He knew what he was about and it was not to build a religious enterprise. Later he comments regarding the massive responsibility and privilege he had of being a servant of Christ and asked, “who is sufficient for these things?” We might put it this way: Paul never took personal advantage of his position or influence. Well, if Paul was convinced that Christ did not send him to build a big church and start a religious movement, then what was Paul all about? In a word: preaching the gospel. The good news of how the true and living God reigns--this is the gospel Jesus preached. In the days of Jesus’ ministry when he said, “repent and believe the gospel,” he was not referring to his upcoming death and resurrection. He was actually referring to Isaiah 52:7: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” Paul came preaching this message. But how to make the reign of God gloriously true in one’s life is found in the next part of 1 Corinthians 1:17 and it has to do with the cross of Christ. Paul had a passion: to put the power of the cross of Christ front and center in a big picture so that the Corinthians could not miss it. And how did Paul do this? He explained it in what he did not do. He did not preach the reign of God and salvation through the death of Christ with eloquent words--he kept it simple, powerful, with the focus on him who is the main thing. Paul was a master at rhetoric--at knowing and using words to convey powerful eternal truth. Think about it. After almost 2,000 years, we are still studying his words--words inspired by the Spirit, and written through the mind and personality of the Apostle. See, he could have dazzled the Corinthians with his oratory skills. He could have had them eating out of the palm of his hand. Paul was truly dangerous to the powers of darkness with the natural talent he had. But combine that with the Holy Spirit speaking through him, and the miracles he performed and what do you get? A man who could have stood as a mountain among molehills. But what did God do? Kept Paul humble. What did Paul do? Kept himself in the shadow of the cross. Why? Because Paul was a man on a mission--to exalt Christ and Christ alone. And why was that? In essence, anything that distracts from the cross diminishes the power of God to save. That’s why Paul demanded of himself and of others that the star power be placed on the cross and nowhere else. Because the cross of Christ is the power of God for eternal salvation. And the simpler and plainer Paul could make it, the more glory Christ received. And next week we are going to see just what the cross of Christ meant to the culture of the day—and a little sneak peak, it was not very flattering. So, what do we do with this? How do we, as the church of God, meeting as Grace United apply this? Is the star power here placed on the cross or on something else? Here’s a way of how we might be able to tell. The boredom factor. The desire for something new, something different than the “old, old story.” Something fresh, exciting. Or coming to hear the speaker for the day, especially if the one is different than normal. Over the years, we have had and continue to have much by way of solid preaching. Rudy. Greg. Myself. Each one of us has appealed to a certain group here. And human nature being what it is, when Greg or Rudy are scheduled to preach, or we have something different like the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, or even Youth Sunday, there is a certain excitement. That is normal. But how often are subtle comparisons made between Greg, Rudy and me? Like Greg, who is a master story teller and I am somewhat lacking in that area? Or Rudy who is very personable? And all those Rudy-isms? And if we are not careful, what do we do? Because one person’s style is more powerful to a given person than another’s we can begin to prefer one over the other. Or when we have an event, like the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church? How often are we tempted to say, “Well, it’s only prayer?” Be careful! That may be star power at work—and the spotlight then has been taken off the cross of Christ and placed on Christ’s servant or special event. C.S. Lewis’, “The Screwtape Letters” is a treasure trove of very helpful insights revealing how the enemy works. In one of his letters, Screwtape, a senior demon, mentors his understudy Wormwood about the necessity for church people to engage in star power: My dear Wormwood, You mentioned casually in your last letter that the patient—a new believer—has continued to attend one church, and one only, since he was converted, and that he is not really pleased with it. Why have I no report as to the reasons he still attends that church? Surely you know that if a man can’t be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighborhood looking for the church that ‘suits’ him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches. There is good reason to send him on this search. The search for a church that is a “good fit” for him makes the man a critic where the Enemy—as in God—wants him to be a student. What the enemy—God—wants of everybody in church is an attitude that rejects what is false, but humbly and wholeheartedly accepts the truth, regardless of who presents it. There is hardly any sermon, or book, which may not be dangerous to us—the demons—if the Christian receives truth in this way. So get busy and send this fool to the neighboring churches as soon as possible. Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape. The lesson from Screwtape? Get prepared on Saturday to receive from the Lord on Sunday. Let me challenge you to pray and ask the Lord for 2 things on Saturdays and even Sunday mornings before you come here—but coming for Sanctuary prayer at 7:30 would be an ideal time to do this! First, pray that the Lord would speak through me, or whoever is preaching the word. That what is said up here is what God would be saying. This would leave no room for distractions as to the style, or the “gotcha moments,” where I sometimes mess up in my trying to communicate. Or even the length of time of the messages. Many people in many churches treat this as a major concern. Second, pray that you would receive the message as coming from God himself, speaking through the servant. Remember what Paul said, “I appeal to you brothers in the name, the authority of the Lord Jesus” as he addressed the issues of the Corinthian church, and be responsive and open to what he would communicate to you. Perhaps you need encouragement. Or rebuke. Or correction. Or further training in righteousness. If you commit yourself to hearing from the Lord, then you can walk away saying, “The Lord wants me to do or to think this or that,” not “Glenn wants me to do or think this or that.” What every man up here desperately wants—is for you in the pew to be open and responsive and obedient to his ways, not ours. For we all are under his authority. So today, may we, like Paul have one vision, one goal, one passion: to lift up the cross of Christ. May we put the complete spotlight on him. May the beauty of the Lord be the place where the real star power is found, even if the Lord has snatched Kanye from the world.