Is Christ Divided?

“Focusing on Christ”

We looked at the 1st 9 verses last week where we found that

Christ Summons Us; Christ Sanctifies Us; Christ Supplies Us

The point is that “You are who you are because of the Grace of God”.

God saved you, God set you apart for service, and God supplies everything you need to preform the task He has given.

However, as we have studied this last year, that Christ also brings all of us individuals together in the church, and we have the tendency to yield to the flesh and become earthly minded rather than spiritual and heavenly minded.

As we are going to see today, Paul is going to jump right into the heart of why he is writing this letter. The church at Corinth has become earthly minded and carnal. They seemed to have lost focus on Christ, who saved them, sanctified them, and supplied them for service.

The question that I want us to focus on this morning is the same question Paul asked the Corinthian believers.

Is Christ Divided?

Division within the church is one of the most serious problems a church can face, if not the most serious. It can devastate the church’s fellowship, worship, mission, and witness to the world unless it is solved quickly. Paul knew this; therefore, he sought to solve the problem immediately.

Jesus said,

Matthew 12:25 MEV

25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. And every city or house divided against itself will not stand.

Notice what the Apostle Paul says:

1 Corinthians 1:10–17 MEV

10 Now I ask you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak in agreement and that there be no divisions among you. But be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now this is what I mean: Every one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ 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 lest any should say that I had baptized in my own name. 16 I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides them, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with eloquent words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

1 Corinthians 1:10 MEV

10 Now I ask you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak in agreement and that there be no divisions among you. But be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

The Challenge for Solidarity

You all speak in agreement -

Notice he ASKS, KJV - beseech - means to come alongside. Let’s share and talk about this issue.

Notice he refers to them as brothers - family, not enemies.

by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ - He pleads with them to consider their love for Christ. They must do away with their divisions and be unified once again—for the sake of Christ. For Him and His cause they must obey Him and be united in one spirit and one mind.

Our approach to divisive and disruptive people is not one of attack or censure, but rather a spirit of love and tenderness.

The heart of Christ is always love and restoration.

John 3:16–18 MEV

16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned. But he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

However, the objective is strong and straightforward. There is no misinterpreting or problem in understanding the purpose of Paul.

The challenge for solidarity begins with,

Agreeing in Dialogue:

reach agreement, quit talking against each other, accusing, attacking, murmuring, grumbling, griping, complaining, gossiping. Quit using the tongue to stir dissension and division.

Allowing no Divisions:

The word division (schismata) means to split, to rend, to tear apart.

Note the words “among you.”

The division or dissension is not outside the church; it is not out in the world. It is inside the church. The divisive church is not working to bring peace, love, and brotherhood to the world; the divisive church is not seen out in the world ministering to the starving, diseased, and lost masses of the world. The divisive church is seen fuming and fighting. The sinful and devastating problems of dissension are within the divisive church. The divisive church is splitting, rending, and tearing itself apart.

Altogether Duplicate

The exhortation is to be “perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” The words perfectly joined together mean just what they say: to be in perfect union with each other; to be perfectly united and joined together; to be restored to the perfect union of being together.

The idea behind the Greek word is that of a torn net being repaired and mended (Mt. 4:21), or a man’s broken and dislocated limb being restored to its proper place.

The union is to be in both mind and judgment.

The mind would involve thoughts, reasonings, affections, emotions, motives, and intentions.

Judgment would involve conclusions, purposes, goals, and objectives.

The exhortation is for the Corinthian church to restore itself, and note: they are not just to be joined together—they are to be perfectly joined together in mind and judgment.

The Concern of Strife

1 Corinthians 1:11 MEV

11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

Individual Contentions

The tragic report is that contention is within the church. The contention was so severe that some believer went to Paul about the matter.

The depth and seriousness of the division is again brought out by the word contentions (erides). The word means wranglings, strifes, quarrels, factions.

Note: the nature of division is more clearly defined by the word. The church was arguing and splitting into groups, contending and quarreling over something. There was a severe strife between factions and cliques in the church. Contention is one of the terrible “works of the flesh.”

1 Corinthians 1:12 MEV

12 Now this is what I mean: Every one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.”

Irreverent Cliques

Note the outline of the Scripture: practically everyone was exalting some former minister over the other ministers of the church. The few who were not were becoming super-spiritual, claiming they were followers of Christ and not of man. There were probably three basic problems causing the division within the church.

a. There was the problem in PREACHING ABILITY AND STYLE. There was no difference in the messages preached by Paul and Apollos. They both preached the gospel of Christ, but there was a difference in their style of preaching and ministering.

Apollos was an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures (Ac. 18:24).

Paul was not a great orator (2 Co. 10:10; 11:6); therefore, some undervalued Paul as a preacher and surrounded Apollos. They failed to see God’s distinct call and gifts to each minister.

Paul was a small-framed missionary, gifted in the understanding of the Scriptures and gifted as an administrator in church order. Both gifts, although not so much out in the forefront of public recognition, were of immense value. Paul excelled in strengthening believers, in growing disciples, and in establishing churches. There is a good possibility that the Apollos party began to intellectualize and socialize Christianity, to turn it away from the doctrine of salvation in Christ, and to deemphasize the utter necessity to walk in Him day by day.

b. There was the problem of TURNING LIBERTY INTO LICENSE. Peter’s emphasis had to deal with the traditions and rituals of the church, for he was the apostle to the Jews (Ga. 2:7). Some believers preferred that the traditions and rituals be stressed more, and that Paul’s emphasis upon doctrine, salvation, and the daily walk of the believer be stressed less. The two groups began to gather around the name of the two apostles and form cliques.

c. There was the problem of those who claimed to be “of Christ.” These were probably fed up with the other groups and set themselves up as being MORE SPIRITUAL THAN THE OTHERS. They looked upon themselves as being too spiritual to lower themselves to the level of becoming identified with any clique. They probably began to think of themselves as the only true spiritual Christians in Corinth. They claimed to follow Christ alone, and they denied needing or receiving the help of any man.

The Corinthians considered themselves to be so advanced in maturity that it gave them a privileged position. They set themselves up as the judges of others. They usurped God’s authority.

They took it upon themselves to judge teachers (1 Co. 1:12f), to judge the wise and the unwise (1 Co. 1:19; 2:1f), to establish moral standards (1 Co. 5:1f), and to judge the gifted and their gifts (1 Co. 12:1f).

1 Corinthians 1:13–16 MEV

13 Is Christ 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 lest any should say that I had baptized in my own name. 16 I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides them, I do not know whether I baptized any other.

Insulting Conceit

In three short questions Paul shows the critical nature of divisive cliques.

Cliques strike …

• at the Person of Christ or His Lordship.

• at the crucifixion or death of Christ.

• at the baptism or witness of the believer.

Note how clearly this is seen as each of the three problems with divisive groups is discussed.

Is Christ divided?

Cliques divide Christ. A clique always thinks it is right, no matter how divisive its position is, and it wants its way—too often at any cost.

→ A clique dethrones Christ. It sets itself up as the Lord, as the persons who are able to judge what is right and wrong for the church.

→ A clique attempts the impossible: it tries to divide Christ, to take Christ over to its side. A clique often claims that Christ supports its position, that Christ would hold the position and do exactly what the clique is doing.

Note the question asked by Scripture: Is Christ divided?

Is part of Christ over here with this group and part of Him over there with that group?

Who rules the church?

Who is Lord?

Who has the right to judge and say what is right and wrong, the Lord within the church, or cliques within the church?

Jesus Christ cannot be divided. There is only one Lord, only one Person who is called the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not two persons. He nor His will can be split into two divisive cliques. He is one Person and He has one will.

Was Paul crucified for you?

CLIQUES ELEVATE MEN TO BE SAVIORS. Paul was not crucified for the Corinthians; therefore, he was not the savior of the Corinthians nor of any other body of believers.

This is certain: if Paul was not a savior, then no other preacher nor any other leader of a clique is a savior. Believers do not owe their allegiance to preachers and leaders of cliques; they owe their allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. It was Jesus Christ who died for us, not preachers and leaders of churches.

Therefore, we are to obey and follow the will of Christ as dictated in Scripture, and we are to support the servants of the Lord whom He places in our midst to minister to us. The Lord places a particular minister in our midst because he has a unique gift to offer to the church and ministry—a very special contribution that is needed during a particular time.

Were you baptized in the name of Paul?

CLIQUES MAKE A PERSON A MAN-FOLLOWER. This is tragic, for a genuine believer is always baptized in the name of the Lord, not in the name of some minister or church leader.

In your baptism you confessed the Lord and gave testimony that you were committing your life to follow the Lord. You did not confess loyalty to some man, no matter how great and wonderful the man might be. However, when you form or join a clique, you disassociate yourself from Christ and the rest of the believers; you betray your baptism and commitment to Christ and His church, and gives your loyalty to the leader or position of a divisive clique.

Notice, Paul adamantly denies ever attempting to form or secure a following of believers. He thanks God that he actually baptized very few believers.

1 Corinthians 1:17 MEV

17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with eloquent words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

The Cross of Singularity

The cross is the primary mission of the preacher. The minister of God is to preach the cross.

This means two things.

a. The MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL is the cross of Christ. The content of preaching and witnessing is to be the cross. The main subject of our lives and conversation is to be the cross of Christ. All the other subjects of the Christian life are due to the fact that we have been reconciled to God and brought near Him by the cross of Christ. The cross demonstrates the love of God, the fact that He accepts us and allows us to walk with Him day by day. In all our preaching and witnessing, the glorious love of God revealed in the cross is to be the dominant theme.

→ The preacher is to preach the cross

→ The believer is to bear witness to the cross

b. The MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL should never let the rituals of the church take the place of the cross in our ministry—no matter how important they may be.

Regardless of their importance—and none are more important than baptism—the central focus of the preacher’s message and ministry is to be the gospel, that is, the cross of Christ (v. 17).

The point needs to be constantly driven home to our hearts:

The MAIN FOCUS of our lives, conversation, and ministry is to be THE CROSS of our Lord Jesus Christ!

—the cross that demonstrates the glorious love of God.

The cross is the primary mission of the preacher, not the rituals and ministries of the church.

Again, I will ask the question

Is Christ divided?

Are we divided?