1 Corinthians 1.10-17

Exegetical Idea: Paul asked that the Corinthians cease division and restore unity in the church.

Theological Idea: Believers must seek to cease division and restore unity in the church.

Preaching Idea: A church divided against itself cannot stand for Christ.

Notes:

I.        Introduction

A.      Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech.

1.       [Read speech portion]

2.       Lincoln feared that division between the North and South over the expansion of slavery would lead to a crisis of the Union.

3.       He believed that one day the division would come to an end but only at the expense of one side being totally overcome by the other.

4.       Lincoln’s words were almost prophetic, predicting the greatest crisis this country has ever seen; it was within three years of giving this speech that the first shots of the Civil War were fired.

5.       Lincoln’s seven words became one of the most famous lines ever spoken in American history; “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

B.      Can the same principle be said about the church?

1.       On the one hand we know that Jesus stated the promise before Peter that he would “build [his] church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matt. 16:18)

i.         The church of Jesus Christ will never cease to exist.

ii.       There is no doubt that the church always has and always will be faced with challenges.

iii.      There may be times when the church seems to be at its weakest point in this world.

iv.     But if Jesus builds his church, then no power will be able to overcome what Christ is doing.

2.       However, the church can cause itself to become ineffective in this world.

i.         As Paul begins the body of his letter to the church in Corinth, he does so with an appeal to the believers there to come together as the church in the name of Jesus Christ.

ii.       If Paul were to rephrase Lincoln’s words, he might have said something like this to the believers in Corinth, “A church divided against itself cannot stand for Christ.”

iii.      Paul too saw a crisis on the horizon that had the potential to drive a wedge through the church.

iv.     His purpose in writing was to encourage the church to do away with the things that divided them and to seek to restore unity.

3.       Because the principles Paul was addressing still hold true for any church at any time in any place, this morning we are going to we are going to look at three symptoms of a divided church.

4.       And, because no church desires to remain unhealthy, we are as well going to look for three treatments that can be applied in order to heal a divided church.

5.       These symptoms and treatments can all be found in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17. [Read]

II.      What are the three symptoms of a divided church that Paul mentions in this passage? (vv. 11-17)

A.      A divided church loses its favorable reputation. (v. 11)

1.       Paul had received word about the church situation in Corinth.

i.         The report had come from Chloe’s people.

ii.       Paul had received more than rumors; he was receiving reliable testimony.

iii.      The news reported various discords among the believers in Corinth.

2.       Those around us will form an opinion of the church based on what it sees and hears.

i.         On the inside, many churches have the skewed view that everything is fine.

ii.       On the outside, division in the church can be easily detected.

3.       What kind of a reputation is being formed about our church in our communities?

i.         What might an outsider report about the things they see taking place here?

ii.       What might an outsider report about the things they hear about our church?

iii.      How are we contributing to the reputation that is being formed about our church?

4.       As a church we should be concerned about maintaining a favorable reputation, not because of how it reflects upon us, but ultimately because of how that reputation reflects upon Jesus Christ.

B.      A divided church loses its fellowship in Christ. (vv. 12-16)

1.       The reports that Paul had received told him that people were dividing and forming cliques.

i.         These cliques were formed as individuals within the church began to ally themselves with a particular church leader.

ii.       Each group selfishly promoted themselves and denounced the other three.

iii.      Although the groups devoted themselves to these leaders, none of the leaders advocated the group formed in their name; for example Paul never agreed that those who claimed to his followers were the right group.

2.       Paul didn’t discuss much of the details about these various groups, but we can piece together some generalities about these groups that can help us make application to our own situation.

i.         The groups were not dividing over doctrinal issues; the divisions were over these church personalities.

ii.       The group that attached themselves to Paul were likely made up of those who we might call “founding members” of the church in Corinth.

iii.      Their focus was likely on the way things had been since the days when Paul first planted the church and began preaching in Corinth.

iv.     There was another group that identified themselves with a leader by the name of Apollos.

v.       We know from Acts 18 that Apollos ministered in Corinth after Paul had left.

vi.     We also know that Paul recognized Apollos as coworker in the gospel.

vii.    Those that identified themselves with Apollos likely were attracted to his style and personality, and probably came to faith under his ministry.

viii.  The third group mentioned claimed allegiance to Cephas.

ix.     Cephas is the Aramaic version of the Apostle Peter’s name, so these would have been believers who likely had some connection with the ministry of Peter.

x.       Finally there was a group who seemed to claim that they had no need for any human leaders, that they were committed to Christ alone, and men like Paul, Apollos, or Cephas were not necessary for the furthering of their faith.

3.       Paul wanted these believers to see how silly it was for them to divide over such things. (vv. 13-16)

i.         It would be absurd for the church to think that each group could make a claim to Christ yet have nothing to do with the others.

ii.       It would be unimaginable for example that the group claiming allegiance to Paul could think they had any kind of an inside track because they were of Paul.

iii.      This is why Paul reminds them that he had not been the one crucified on their behalf, nor had they been baptized in the name of Paul.

iv.     Even if some could claim that they had been baptized by Paul, and only a few could say that, Paul’s ability to baptize was no more effective than anyone else’s.

v.       No one could make any claim that they had a greater claim to the real church because they had been baptized by Paul, or had been under the leadership of Apollos, or had been converted as a result of Cephas’ teaching.

4.       Can you begin to picture what this church must have looked like as they came together for worship and prayer?

i.         Illustration: Siblings dividing their space in the car.

ii.       What happened was that the Paul group found fellowship with their own, the Apollos group had fellowship by themselves, the Cephas group maintained their own fellowship, and the group that claimed Christ all to themselves believed fellowship with the others was impossible.

iii.      I imagine that their church looked a lot like churches still look today.

iv.     The various groups may have acted civil toward one another, but deep down inside each one knew that they were the group that held the greatest claim to being the real church.

5.       Division causes a church to ignore its common fellowship in Jesus Christ.

i.         The problem was that these believers had forgotten what Paul had just reminded them of back in verse 9, that they were all called by God “into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”

ii.       God has clearly defined fellowship in his Word as sharing a common identity in Christ.

iii.      When people try to redefine fellowship according to their own ideas they must ignore what God has said in Scripture.

6.       Perhaps we too could be guilty of forming groups or cliques within our own church.

i.         We all want to shout no, but what does the evidence tell us?

ii.       Do I find that my allegiance is to a particular pastor, evangelist, or teacher?

iii.      Ask yourself; are there certain people I tend to seek out on a Sunday morning and not others?

iv.     Who am I in contact with during the week from this church?

v.       Have I actively sought to cross over lines that often divide such as age, gender, family groups, and background?

7.       Jesus has not given his church the option to redraw the lines of fellowship.

C.     A divided church loses its focus on the cross. (v. 17)

1.       At first glance we might be surprised by what Paul says about his own calling.

i.         He says that Christ did not send him as an apostle to perform baptisms.

ii.       We might wonder what’s wrong with performing baptisms? The answer is nothing in itself.

iii.      But Paul knew that as an apostle, there would always be some who might think their conversion and baptism to follow was a work of Paul himself.

2.       Paul’s real calling was to preach the gospel.

i.         But Paul noted a potential danger there as well.

ii.       It was especially true in the Corinthian culture in those days that a speaker was highly valued for his eloquence.

iii.      What a speaker said wasn’t as important as how he delivered it.

iv.     That’s what Paul means when he says that he had not been called to preach “with words of human wisdom.”

3.       It would have been easy for Paul to fill the church by giving people a great experience.

i.         He could have easily built a church full of Paul-ites who claimed loyalty to him.

ii.       He could have used his speaking skills to fill people’s ears with what they wanted to hear, so that they would keep coming back for more.

iii.      But Paul knew that doing so would bring about no real spiritual transformation.

iv.     As Paul says, “the cross of Christ [would] be emptied of its power.”

v.       Paul’s point was not that the cross was powerless to transform lives, but that when the cross is not in central focus then transformation won’t occur.

4.       How do we know if we’ve taken our focus off of the cross?

i.         We know we’ve taken our focus off of the cross when our preferences become our purposes.

(a)     The picture we get from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is a picture of a self-centered church.

(b)     The temptation is easy to want to point fingers at their example, but unfortunately many churches find themselves struggling with self-centeredness.

(c)     We can easily take our personal preferences and make those our purpose.

(d)     But we know that the Lord’s purpose for the church is not to find self-satisfaction, but to point men and women to the cross of Christ.

ii.       We know we’ve taken our focus off of the cross when real transformation is stagnant.

(a)     Every believer should be able to point to evidence of their spiritual growth in Christ.

(b)     Churches should also be able to see evidence of people coming to faith among them.

(c)     If the evidence points to stagnant transformation in the church, chances are the church has taken its focus off of the cross.

III.    What treatments must be applied to a divided church to become healthy again? (v. 10)

A.      A divided church is healed when it forms one voice.

1.       Paul appealed to the church to agree with one another.

2.       To agree with one another means that we are in unison with the voice of Christ.

3.       Forming one voice does not mean singing the same note, it means creating harmony out of discord.

4.       The challenge comes when we hear discord to decide who is on the right note.

5.       Often times it takes a dose of humility for us to realize that we are in discord with the Lord’s voice.

6.       But there is joy when we the church find ourselves speaking with one voice in unison with Christ.

B.      A divided church is healed when it forgives one another.

1.       Paul was not only calling the church to avoid division, he was calling them to end any division that continued.

2.       In order to heal division we must be willing forgive one another.

3.       Repairing broken relationships may be painful but may be necessary for healing

i.         Illustration: Setting a broken bone.

4.       Perhaps as you hear these words this morning you may come to realize that there is someone you need to forgive.

5.       Perhaps you’ve experienced division and you’ve allowed those feelings to grow into bitterness.

6.       Let me encourage you if you find yourself in a situation like that to pursue forgiveness immediately.

C.     A divided church is healed when it fastens the pieces together.

1.       In addition to ending their division, Paul called these believers to become reunited in mind and thought.

i.         To be united in mind meant that the church needed to be able to see things from the same perspective.

ii.       Note that Paul never calls them to see things from his perspective, but his appeal is made in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

iii.      Similarly, to be united in thought meant that the church needed to be united in purpose.

iv.     They weren’t to determine their own purpose, or seek the purpose of Paul; they were to be united in Christ’s purpose.

2.       In order to heal division we must be united in purpose, the purpose of the Jesus Christ.

i.         What would you say is our purpose as a church?

ii.       Do you think others here would agree with your answer? Do you think you would agree with their answer?

iii.      How do we determine what our purpose is?

iv.     You should know that as the leadership of this church gathers together, that question is always behind every discussion and decision that is made.

v.       In fact, that is how our mission statement came about; do you know our mission statement?

vi.     If not let me encourage you to ask someone who does.

3.       To help us understand the picture Paul was trying to leave with his readers, I’ve brought with me something I believe illustrates this point.

i.         When Paul says to the Corinthians that they are to be “perfectly united in mind and thought”, he uses a word that describe things being knitted or mended together.

ii.       It’s the same word that is used in the gospels of fishermen mending their nets.

iii.      Illustration: The Quilt

iv.     When a church faces division it is if each individual takes their little square and goes home.

v.       But when a church commits to one voice, one mind, and one purpose, that church is like a quilt that is sewn together.

vi.     The quilt is made up individual pieces, but as a whole the quilt is able to cover the whole body.

vii.    I’m going to leave this quilt up here this morning; feel free to come and take a look.

viii.  As you do, take a moment and ask yourself, do I see myself as a piece sewn into the whole, or I am taking my piece out and keeping it to myself?

IV.    Conclusion

A.      When Lincoln gave his now famous speech, he was not concerned that we might be talking about him today so many years later.

1.       Lincoln’s greater concern was the looming crisis of division that seemed inevitable.

2.       Lincoln believed that a house divided against itself could not stand.

B.      As we desire to become the church God desires us to be, it is our responsibility to identify those symptoms of disunity before they spread.

1.       A church divided against itself cannot stand for Christ.

2.      We must be committed to the right treatments so that we too might become the healthy church God has called us to be through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.