Many of us are familiar with this common phenomenon in human psychology of thinking that some symbolic thing that is of use to us is so important that we finally make it a badge of the group to which we belong. 3- The presence of an immoral member. The cross of Christ cuts across all human value systems. Some are of Ritchie, and some are of Roper, and a few of Stedman! How many of you have ever put together a jigsaw puzzle? Corinthians WebPaul rebukes the Corinthians because there are divisions and quarrels in the church. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. It is the popular thing today to cry, "Back to the Reformation!" That is why Paul calls us back to it. This is the result of a religious snobbery associated by cliques that produced pride and conflict. I have been in many places where they were having church fights and almost invariably the thing that gives away that a church is in trouble is when people start talking about "my church," not in the sense that is perfectly proper as meaning, "The church where I go," but leaders of the church actually saying, "This is our church," and telling other people they have no rights to do something because the church belongs to them. But that is a very dangerous attitude, and yet we tend to think of people as being the channel by which deliverance can come to our heart. Divisions We go back to the Lord alone. We see similar situations today, with political debates often devolving into a shouting match in which the person who yells their opinion the loudest and the longest is the winner. For a local church to be spiritually healthy and effective, and for there to be harmony in the local church, there must be doctrinal unity. Like the world, Christians are too concerned with being right and having our way. In the body of Christ at large there are many who can make a contribution to the understanding of Christ. In Jesus' name, Amen. To all of this Paul would say to us, as he says to Corinth, Is Christ divided? It wipes out all the petty distinctions that men make among themselves. Ridiculous? The Corinthian church had many problems, and most of them were the result of pride and placing so much emphasis on social status. This Western Church soon became known as the Roman Catholic Church. 1 Corinthians 1:10: 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.. Luke says in Acts 4:12, And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved. The ground is level at the cross. Some Corinthian Christians were dividing over church teachers. While there can be problems with some (no recognised leadership, disorganised, isolated, cultishness, lack of cohesion etc) they can also produce some of the strongest disciples Ive seen for many years, and yet, they could easily claim to be that fourth division like the one at Corinth the I am of Christ division, where they have no name (no favoured preacher/teacher) but are still divided off. Message transcript and recording 1978 by Ray Stedman Ministries, owner of sole copyright by assignment from the author. Let's go back to Jerusalem. the background of the Corinthian Church His dissertation was published as Jesus the Bridegroom by Pickwick Books in 2012. Members follow him blindly and whatever they do seems right to them. It is sad to see that our world appears just as divided today as it did back in the first century. WebAccording to Paul, the communitys problems were the consequence of the Corinthians mistaken belief that they had already been exalted. If I was not raised in a Christian home, I think that I would have the same concerns. So Paul is insisting that the Corinthians, and all believers, have doctrinal unity that is clearly based on Gods Word. I personally experienced this at work about a year and a half ago. Phil Long is correct, we have not improved much since the first century. Let it do its great work of cutting down and eliminating from our lives those things over which we take pride and which separate us from others; these distinctions that make us dislike our brother or sister, and turn our backs on them. The basic meaning is to put back together and make one again something that was broken or separated. 5-Members going to pagan courts to settle disputes. I think that if you put the teachings of a man over the teachings of Scripture then you have a problem. In the year 1 054 the Church was divided into two parts: 1) The Greek Eastern Church 2) The Roman Western Church. WebPaul goes right on, in Verse 12, to describe the forms that these divisions were taking in the church of Corinth: What I mean is that each one of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas" [another name for Peter], or "I belong to Christ." They forget, of course, that the church never belongs to anybody but the Lord. That was the mark, that was the identification badge. Their divisions, lack of church discipline, lawsuits, abuse of Christian liberty and over-emphasis of the gift of tongues, all illustrate this root problem. Paul, however, was a good leader. The church at Corinth had divided loyalty to different leaders. 2- The Churchs division. Gods people who are moving in revival (like we have been to experiencing right here in Brisbane these last few months) have no qualms about getting together to see the nation of Australia come to Christ. I remember a few years ago being at a family congress in St. Louis, Missouri, when one of the evening speakers was Dr.Oswald Hoffman, the very capable and powerful preacher on the Lutheran Hour radio program. In verses 14 to 16, Paul uses himself as an example. (1 Corinthians 1:12 RSV) Now, there was the trouble at Corinth. There is not a teacher among us today, or at any other time, who is able to open the mind and open the eyes of the heart and reveal to us the glory and majesty of God, not one. His most recent book is The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World (Rockridge, 2022). Not when we hear of churches with factions or cliques of people who sit on opposite sides of the aisle. Paul enters this world of wretched Sophists and preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The divisions of Christendom are the scandal of Christianity. The Corinthian church had many problems, and most of them were the result of pride and placing so much emphasis on social status. They take an innocent teaching medium, in this case baptism, and make it into an identification badge. Long has taught full time at Grace Christian University since 1998, specializing in Bible and Biblical languages. We had some great meetings and great times together. You may recall also that in writing to the church at Ephesus, he exhorted the elders there to be careful to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," (Ephesians 4:3 RSV). They love to listen to someone because he turns them on emotionally. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. All that mattered to Paul was Jesus! Here are our first clues as to what is wrong with this kind of cliquishness in a church. I think we have failed to de-paganize the art of preaching/teaching if pastors/leaders are looking for patronage, prestige, and numbers over relationships, service, and transformation. Some followed Apollos whom they honored above Paul (1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:4; Acts 18:24 to 19:1). How important is it that there be unity in the Church where you fellowship? Are we willing and ready to pray for unity in His Church, and work at building a stronger unity among fellow members of the congregations where we fellowship and serve? We, as the modern church, say that we hold to Pauls message that we shouldnt be conformed to this world, but when we look at the world, there seem to be just as many divisions. One of the celebrities was Paul himself some believers at Corinth actually claimed to be his followers. I. PAULS APPEAL FOR UNITY (verses 10-12). The congregation then is to submit to the elders because it has confidence that their decisions were made under the Holy Spirits direction and power. Furthermore, would the apostle not also be concerned with other divisions within the individual church body? Since I was working at that time in the ship's service department in Pearl Harbor, we ordered great quantities of these Bibles. This is really what is behind his disclaimer on baptism in 1 Cor 1:14-16. In the year 1 054 the Church was divided into two parts: 1) The Greek Eastern Church 2) The Roman Western Church. 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospelnot with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. Obviously, here at Peninsula Bible Church we cannot do that. Paul exhorts them to agree. And I say that because some people focus on PREACHER instead of THE SAVIOR. One of his biggest goals is to double our congregation so we have 5,000 members. Sermon 5: Who is the Most Important? We must allow him the privilege of doing that. What is a clique? There are the Calvinists and the Arminians and the Dispensationalists -- these are some of the things that are held up as the "summum bonum," the highest good, in theology. If you will turn in your Bibles with me to John 17:20-23, I will read the passage to you. When daylight again appeared, they looked for him with renewed energy but still without success. That is the mind Paul is talking about. These kinds of things happen when there are divisions in a church. Its pastors, bishops and others who fear the loss of their livlihoods as their former sheep move on in God towards the new wine skins of revival that want to maintain the old wine skins which brought them an income. He come to Corinth to create a community of disciples from which he might receive patronage and prestige. I still have at home the Scofield Reference Bible with the index ladder drawn by him. There are many other things that do cause serious problems stemming from the outside world. (1Corinthians 1:10 RSV). I have had to do some degree of battle with this myself. When I say worn out I mean people say that it is not usable in the modern world so its words become little more than foot rests in the pew. Now, church unity is a very important matter, and, because of its significance, Paul puts it first in the list of problems he has to deal with here at Corinth. Ones honor and reputation were valued highly and if someone attacked your reputation it was expected that you would defend yourself and retaliate by publicly bashing your attacker. It seems so bland compared to all the other choices out there when really it presents and encourages people to live out a very different and exciting life in the opposite direction of the world. Splits and Quarrels in the Church In other words, there must be agreement with Christ, with His will, and with His Word. WebThe Corinthians were basically making a mockery of Communion. Subject to permissions policy, all rights reserved. His followers in the Corinthian church may have viewed Christianity as a philosophy rather than a relationship with a Person Jesus Christ. Paul gives the church a stern warning about their actions and the proper way to participate. 1 Corinthians 1:10: 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.. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. Paul rejects this disunity, telling the church members to focus on Christ. Paul gives the church a stern warning about their actions and the proper way to participate. I have had people say to me, "Oh, Mr. Stedman, when you speak I see so clearly! He didnt focus on himself being superior to all the rest of the church leaders. We may not all agree on the way to do church but there is definitely more than one effective way. Only the Lord Jesus Christ could pay the penalty for our sins because only He is the Son of God. I am thankful that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius; lest any one should say that you were baptized in my name. Austin Hellier Brisbane Queensland Australia. It is well known that division in the church of Corinth was over leadership. Her hair is messed up! The families have been seated. This is the result of a religious snobbery associated by cliques that produced pride and conflict. The minister is waiting, Bible in hand. Everybody has their denomination and they cling relentless to their doctrinal beliefs. We have Jesus only groups even today. Corinthians Just as there was competiveness for honor and prestige among the orators of the first century, it also seems like there is competition between the pastors and churches of today. There he indicates that the problem with cliquishness is that it tends to overemphasize the significance of the human leader. Something shows up sooner or later as an identifying badge that marks them as "special," with special privilege and special status in that group. Paul rejects this disunity, telling the church members to focus on Christ. Some boasted of their special spiritual gifts; others felt left out. One of the celebrities was Paul himself some believers at Corinth actually claimed to be his followers. 7-False zeal for spiritual gifts. In what ways have we failed to de-paganize? (Phil Long). This also brings up another Pagan influence which is naming the days of the week after the planets.
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