Sinners Made Saints — Let There Be No Divisions Among You

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17; 3:1-9

Theme: Christian have been so blessed by God that divisions over trivial matters have no place among us.

Date: 07/04/2021 Title: 1_Corinthinas_02 ID: NT07-01

The small community of Centerville, in south-central Georgia has a population of just over 7000 people. But with a total of 48 Presbyterian Churches, they also hold the record for the most Presbyterian Churches per capita of any town in America. The high number of churches has to do with multiple splits that have taken place over the years because of one issue or another. Originally, in 1899, only one Presbyterian church existed, simply known as "Centerville Presbyterian Church." With about 20 families, the church was, at that time, the largest in the Centerville area.

In 1911 a dispute arose within the congregation over whether-or-not the offering should be taken before or after the sermon. Thus the first split took place, with the dissenting congregation forming "Centerville Reformed Presbyterian Church."

In 1915 a dispute arose amongst the members of Centerville Reformed Presbyterian Church over whether-or-not to have flowers in the sanctuary. As a result the Centerville Reformed Presbyterian Church split and Trinity Reformed Presbyterian Church of Centerville was organized.

Several more splits took place over various issues between the years 1915 and 1929. In 1931 a dispute arose amongst the members of the Seventh Presbyterian Reformed Covenantal Church of Centerville over an issue that no one can seems to remember. The result was the formation of the Third Westminster Trinity Covenant Presbyterian Reformed Church of Centerville.

Again, more splits took place between 1931 and 1975 when a major split took place within the Presbyterian Church of the United States. At that time the Eleventh Westminster Covenant Presbyterian Church of Centerville voted to remain in the PCUS. Fifteen members broke off and formed St. John's Presbyterian Church. One week later, St. John's Presbyterian Church split over the choice of name for the church. Several members objected to using the word "Saint" in the name of a Reformed Church.

Since 1975 several more splits have happened with the most recent occurring in 2008, when a dispute arose amongst the members of Second Street First Ninth Westminster Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church over the issue of the observance of the Lord's Day. The issue in question was whether or not it was acceptable for someone to check their email on Sunday. Those who objected split off and formed "The Presbyterian Totally Reformed Covenantal Westminsterian Sabbatarian Regulative Credo-Communionist A-Millennial Presuppositional Church of Centerville. One member said: "I think we've finally got it right now. We now have a church with 100% doctrinal purity."

The natural inclination for people seems to be to divide, not unite. We see it in every sector of society from politics, to marriage to rock bands, and yes, even churches. At the same time the 133rd Psalm declares, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (Psalm 133:1, ESV). Most of us know from personal experience that the sweetest moments in church life is when the church is united in fellowship with Christ and with each other. The Church as Corinth is not experiencing that sweet fellowship as Paul writes this letter. Let me share three points and then a few closing words of application

Paul’s Call for Unity

Paul’s Contempt for Division

Paul’s Cure for Disunity

Lessons

I. PAUL’S CALL FOR UNITY

“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.” (1 Corinthians 1:10–11, NIV84)

1. we live in a culture where division is great and a growing problem

ILLUS. A survey from late 2018 revealed that 8 of 10 Americans polled say they believe the country is mainly or totally divided. That’s 80% agreement. It seems that the one thing Americans are in agreement on is that Americans are divided!

2. strife and division within a society should not surprise us

a. if you’ve lived any length of time at all you realize that quarrels and problems and troubles are a part of life — you can’t avoid them

1) as toddlers you stomp you feet and throw your toys when you don’t get your way

2) as teenagers you fight and rebel against authority and your parents, you divide with friends over boyfriends or girlfriends

3) as adults we divide over sports, and politics, the economy and business

b. strife is a problem throughout the whole spectrum of life’s experience — on both small and large levels

1) the source of our division is the same for everyone — it’s a problem because we are sinners — we’re depraved, egotistic, and selfish

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.” (James 4:1–2, NIV84)

3. unfortunately, as we see in 1 Corinthians, the church is not exempt from quarreling and divisions

a. Paul writes, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you

b. when division affects the church we need to remember two points

1) sin is almost always the root cause of division — in particular the sin of pride

2) we have a resource for dealing with division that the larger culture does not ... Jesus

4. quarreling in a local New Testament Church always, always, always, dishonors the Father, disgraces the Son, quenches the Holy Spirit, and demoralizes the majority of the church

a. it’s a high price for a congregation to pay so a handful of people can be on an ego trip

b. the church at Corinth is guilty of many sins, but the quarreling is the one the Apostle is going to deal with first

A. NO DIVISIONS AMONG YOU

1. Paul pleads with the church, not on his own authority as an Apostle — which he could have done — but by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ

a. if they won’t unite for the good of the church ... if they won’t unite for the sake of the one who planted the church ... then please, in the name of all that is holy, unite around the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Head of his Church

2. the word division in vs. 10 is an instructive word

a. Paul is not referring to simple disagreements among church members

ILLUS. When the church is redecorating, the decorating committee may choose certain carpeting or wall color that you really don’t like. You come to the business meeting, you explain why you don’t like the choice, but the church votes and you’re on the losing side. A spiritual Christian would simply say, “OK” and move on, and hopefully the new carpet grows on you.

b. but Paul uses a word that reveals a deeper problem in the church at Corinth

1) he uses the word we translate as schism

2) it is a word that means to tear or to rip apart

ILLUS It is what you do to an old t-shirt when you’re turning it into rags. You grasp both sides and, with a mighty tug, you rip it into pieces.

3. something is going on in the Church at Corinth that has the possibility of rending the church into pieces, and it must end if the church is to survive and thrive

a. the indication is that the schism has not yet taken place

1) the Apostle writes, that there be no schism among you indicating that the tearing and ripping has not yet taken place

2) but if they don’t stop quarreling, it will

b. instead, Paul encourages them to be united in the same mind and the same judgment

3. Paul’s call to unity is clear

a. Paul appeals for unity

1) the word is literally implore or urge and the verb tense means that Paul is going to keep on urging, and keep on imploring the Corinthian believers to put their petty differences behind them and get along

b. Paul appeals to brothers

1) this is not some unknown group of strangers Paul is appealing to but to fellow Christians who are like family to him

2) yes, families squabble, but when they actually begin to divide it’s sad and dangerous, and so Paul implores them to fix relationships before it’s too late

c. Paul appeals to brothers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

1) ultimately this is the Lord’s Church, and woe to those who would divide the Lord’s very own body

4. so what threatens to rend this church into multiply pieces?

II. PAUL’S CONTEMPT FOR DIVISION

“What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”” (1 Corinthians 1:12, NIV84)

1. the church is coming apart at the seams

a. allegiances and alliances have formed around certain personalities

b. Paul bravely names them

c. some are saying ...

1) I follow Paul ... I follow Apollos ... I follow Cephas ... I follow Christ

2. cliques or parties have formed in the church around the leadership of various outstanding men

a. there is some vicarious ego-boosting going on here

ILLUS. All people like feeling important. The problem is that, in the grand scheme of things, most of us are nobodies. I’m not trying to be demeaning here by any means, but every one of us here this morning are just “common folk” who know and associate with other common folk. When you die, common folk will come and (hopefully) mourn your passing, and then come back to church to have ham sandwiches and potato salad. I doubt if the U.S. President will send a personal representative to your funeral. Hollywood entertainers will not twitter about how they will miss you. The intellectual elite of American universities will not eulogize the loss of your mind and laud your academic accomplishments. All this said, there is something within human nature that makes us want to feel important, and one of the ways we do that is by attaching ourselves to those people who really are important. The worst scenario is that we become toadies.

In my office hangs a picture of myself with Gov. Parsons and his wife. A couple of years ago, I had lunch with the Governor of our state. Yea, me and a dozen other pastors. I’m sure Mike remembers me. One of these days, when I’m dead and gone, and my nieces and nephews are going through my stuff, they’ll find that picture and say, “Wow. Our uncle knew the Governor of Missouri. How cool is that!”

Honestly, the Governor of Missouri doesn’t know me from Adam, (but there hangs the picture) and it boosts my ego to show all the world, “I had lunch with the Governor! (and you didn’t).

3. something similar is going on at Corinth

a. in Greek culture of that day philosophers were a-dime-a-dozen ... you couldn’t turn over a rock, but half-a-dozen philosophers would scurry out

1) there where five great schools of philosophy — Platonism, Aristotelianism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Skepticism

a) each had their various off-shoots and adherents

b. the way a Greek philosopher made a living was to entice followers — what we would call students or disciples — to attend his lectures

1) a particularly good philosopher with a significant following would often rise to the title of theioi anthrōpoi or divine man

c. even within Judaism Rabbis had their own schools, and disciples normally propagated their teacher’s views

ILLUS. For instance, the Apostle Paul was a student of Gamaliel, one of the greatest Jewish scholars of the 1st century.

d. the Corinthian believers were gathering themselves around various theological heavy-weights and identifying with them as secular philosophy students gathered around a master philosopher or “divine man.”

4. in the Corinthian church there were four contenders for personal allegiance — Paul, Apollos, Cephas (that is Peter), and Christ

A. THE NATURE OF THE DISUNITY

1. people were polarizing behind their favorite teacher

a. they isolated particular strengths of their favorite preacher and began looking only to him for wisdom and theological understanding to the exclusion of others

2. there was the Paul crowd

a. this is easy to understand; Paul had planted the church in Corinth

1) this took place on his second missionary journey

b. by his own admission, Paul was not much to look at, nor was he a great speaker, but his intellect was brilliant, and there would be those would naturally gravitate toward him

3. there was the Apollos crowd

a. Apollos was a learned Jew from Alexandria, Egypt who had come to faith in Christ

b. at some point he shows up in the city of Ephesus while Priscilla and Aquila are there and they taught him the way of God more accurately

“Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.” (Acts 18:24–28, ESV)

c. he also came to Corinth and preached and worked with Paul

1) his eloquence in preaching, and his skill in biblical interpretation made a deep impression on some members of the church and they gravitated toward him

4. there was the Peter crowd

a. now honestly, we have no historical record of the Apostle Peter ever having been in the city of Corinth

1) he may have passed through at some point — just long enough to preach and teach a few days or a few weeks and then to have moved on

b. Peter, or course, had been one of the Twelve who followed Jesus for three years, and there were Christians in Corinth who believed that he had the greatest insight of all into Christ

1) it’s easy to understand how some in the church would gravitate toward him

5. there was the Christ crowd

a. Paul uses this phrase in a pejorative sense

1) these are believers who sincerely believe themselves to be deeply spiritual, and a spiritual notch above the others because they are relying on the one and true source of wisdom and spirituality — not mere men like Paul, or Peter, or Apollos!

2) but in believing that, they’ve set themselves above the others who they perceived were less spiritual than they were since they were merely following after men and they were following after Jesus

6. schism is threatening the church

B. DISUNITY IS A SIGN OF CARNALITY

“But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.” (1 Corinthians 3:1–5, ESV)

1. here is the Apostle’s point ... as long as the Christians in Corinth behave as humans and not Christians, unity in the Church will remain impossible

a. Paul gets blunt — he cannot address them as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh

2. the promise of the New Covenant is that when we come to Christ, the Holy Spirit replaces our heart of stone with a heart of flesh

a. that means that when we become a Christian we also become a new creation, with a new nature, a new inner being, and a favorable disposition toward God

1) instead of hating God and the things of God, we love the Father, and the things of the Father

2) yes, we’re still “human” with an old sinful nature, but in Christ we’re something more — we’re “Christians” with a new nature that is Christlike

3. but if we do not grow in the faith, if we do not abide in Christ, we remain fleshly or carnal

a. according to Paul the result is jealousy and strife, i.e. we are behaving only in a human way

4. a congregation will never be a healthy congregation unless it has a love for Christ that is so deep that we come to love the brethren even when they are not just like me, or don’t always agree with me, or don’t think just like me

C. CHRIST IS NOT DIVIDED NOR SHOULD HIS CHURCH BE

1. the Apostle is going to ask the Corinthians three rhetorical questions

a. 1st rhetorical question, Is Christ divided? Answer? No

1) later in his letter Paul uses our own body as an illustration of the unity that the church is to have in Christ

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:12–13, ESV)

2) just as we consider our body one body, but with different parts or members so, too, the local church is one body — the Body of Christ — but with many parts or members

b. 2nd, rhetorical question, Was Paul crucified for you? Answer? No

1) Paul is being shrewd here ... instead of asking Was Peter crucified for you? or Was Apollos crucified for you?

a) the Apostle picks on his groupies

2) some of the Corinthians may have the highest esteem for the founder of the church in Corinth, but they will have to admit that Paul did not die on a cross to deliver them from sin

a) and by inference, neither did Cephas or Apollos

3) our allegiance is never to a man (or woman) in the church, but the Christ who is Head of the Church

a) anything else dishonors Christ

c. 3rd, rhetorical question, Were you baptized in the name of Paul? Answer? NO!

1) no matter whether it was Paul, Apollos, Cephas, Chloe or Stephanus or Erastus, believers then or believers now, rich believers of poor, educated believers or illiterate, members of the nobility or believers of peasant stock, all have one thing in common — an attachment to our Lord Jesus Christ

III. PAUL’S CURE FOR DISUNITY

1. OK ... how do you overcome quarreling that produces jealousy and strife that leads to schism?

A. THEY NEED A MIND IN UNITY WITH OTHERS

1. in 1 Corinthians 1:10 the Apostle appeals for a unity of mind and judgment

a. does this mean that believers in a local church can never disagree?

2. the Bible teaches that our faith in Christ unifies us spiritually with our Savior

a. this is one of the most fundamental facts of our faith, but perhaps the most difficult to grasp

b. the Apostle Paul speaks of this spiritual union when he writes about the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but now has been manifested to His saints, (Col. 1:26)

1) that mystery, he tells us in Colossians 1:27, is “Christ in you, the hope of glory”

c. the Lord of Creation, the Savior of the World, lives in us by faith

1) our union with Christ is real

2) and our union with each other is real

d. that union is defined by what we have come to call the “Seven Togethers” of the New Testament

1) Paul tells us that we are

a) crucified together with Christ

b) we have died together with Christ

c) we are buried together with Christ

d) we have been made alive together with Christ

e) we have been raised and seated together in the heavenlies with Christ

f) we even suffer together with Christ

g) we have been glorified together with Christ

3. Paul is not pleading for uniformity of opinion but rather for a unity that comes from experiencing these things together in Christ

a. the things that unite us in this body ought always be deeper than the things that divide us

B. THEY NEED A MATURITY IN CHRIST

1. it’s time for some of these believers in Corinth to simply grow up!

a. according to chapter three some of the believers in Corinth are acting like infants

ILLUS. Every Lord’s Day they show up for worship with their sippy cups.

2. if you’ve been a Christian for a few months or maybe just a few years it’s understandable when you make immature decisions that adversely affect the witness of your church

a. and the church ought to be patient with new believers

b. but if you’ve been a Christian for twenty or more years and your still throwing tantrums at a business meeting when you don’t get your way, or your causing strife in the church let my share the Apostle’s advice ... GROW UP!

C. THEY NEED THE MEAT OF THE GOSPEL

1. Paul wants to be feeding these people the meat of the gospel, yet he finds that he is needing to still bottle feed them with Jesus 101 — “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so! Don’t confuse me with anything more than that!”

a. can I be honest? there are confessing Christians in this auditorium whose only biblical nourishment comes from what you get from the morning sermon

1) this is the bottle feeding Paul is talking about — you suckle on the sermon for about forty minutes, and you don’t eat for the rest of the week

2. mature Christians are those believers who are alive in Jesus Christ, are filled with the Holy Spirit, and who feast on God’s Word

ILLUS. In the field of pediatrics when a physician sees a child that is not gaining weight, not growing like they should, or not receiving the right diet to their physical detriment, they refer to it as Failure to Thrive. It’s used to describe inadequate growth or the inability to maintain growth, usually in early childhood.

a. America’s churches are full of believers who are spiritually failing to thrive because they are not receiving the proper diet

1) some of it is the Pastor’s fault since many pastors religiously avoid the Scriptures in their preaching

2) but there is also the responsibility among the faithful to learn how to feed themselves

3. you’ll never move beyond spiritual infancy if you don’t get into the meat of the Word

IV. LESSONS

1. Christ Wants His Church as Unified as He and the Father Are Unified

“that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:21–23, NIV84)

a. the Godhead — the three-in-one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are in perfect harmony and unity with each other

1) I know that’s hard to grasp

b. but the same unity that exists in the Godhead is the kind of unity Jesus prays for our church

1) you can be an answer to that pray, or you can be a hindrance to that prayer

c. when a local church is unified around the Christ and his gospel, fellowship will be sweet and the testimony of the gospel will be confirmed

2. We Can Appreciate the Ministry of Churchmen, but Our Loyalty Is to Christ

“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:5–7, ESV)

a. God uses good, godly men and women to grow his church

1) some of them will never be known outside their local congregation

2) some of them will be world-renowned evangelists and teachers

b. all are instrumental to the work of the Body of Christ, but in the end it is God who gives the growth, who gets the credit, and who receives the glory

3. Putting Others First Solves the Issue of Disunity in the Church

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3–4, ESV)

Unfortunately, history tells us that the believers at Corinth never learned the lesson and came together. In A.D. 95, forty years after Paul wrote to the Church, another churchman named Clement wrote to the Church at Corinth because these cliques and division were still in the church. Clement mentions the party of Paul, and the party of Apollos, and the party of Cephas. But strangely, he doesn’t mention the party of Christ. You know why? There was no Christ left in the Church at Corinth. The local church is always in danger of division if we are not diligent in guarding the fellowship of the saints.

1) Maybe next Sunday, you need to greet and shake hands with someone you’ve never greeted before, or perhaps it’s been a long time.

2) Maybe, just maybe, you need to invite a couple out to lunch who you really don’t know very well.

3) Maybe, you need to pray for that fellow saint who you don’t like all that much, or who doesn’t like you all that much.