Some Cures For Divisions In The Church
1 Corinthians 3:16-23
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and {that} the Spirit of God dwells in you? [17] If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. [18] Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become foolish that he may become wise. [19] For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “{He is} the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”; [20] and again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.” [21] So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, [22] whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, [23] and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God” (NASB).
In this third chapter of First Corinthians, Paul continued his discussion on divisions in the church. In verses ten through fifteen, Paul let his readers know that all workers in the church will be rewarded for their labors. However, all workers will not be rewarded at the same level. This is so because all workers do not produce the same quality of work.
There are some workers who produce a superior quality of work that may be pictured as gold, silver or precious stones. There are others who produce an inferior quality of work that may be pictured as wood, hay and straw. There will be some whose works will be so inferior in quality that their works will be burned in the day of judgment and the worker will be saved. The saved worker will however, have the smell of smoke in his clothes. This means the worker will be barely saved.
In our efforts to produce works of gold, silver and precious stones, we must be sure that we have the right motives for doing what we do. If we do a right thing with the wrong motive, the good of what we did will be ruined in the sight of God.
Paul wanted these Corinthians to know that there will be many things done in the name of God that will not stand in the day of judgment. There are many things that will be done in the name of God that are inferior in quality based on God’s standards.
There are many works that seem to be of high quality that are in reality wood, hay and straw. This is so because the workers are doing things that are outside of God’s will for their lives. This is a reminder of the fact that God does not honor our work just because we are sincere and hardworking. God honors that work that he has assigned to our hearts and hands.
I. Properly Evaluating The Church, 16-17.
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and {that} the Spirit of God dwells in you? [17] If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.”
In verse five of this chapter, Paul began to try and redirect the focus of the Corinthians from church leaders to God. Paul said to the Corinthians that he and Apollos were only instruments used by God to lead them to believe the gospel. Here in verses sixteen and seventeen, Paul was trying to raise the level of understanding of the church in the minds of the Corinthians. Paul wanted the Corinthians to know that the church is the temple of God.
Paul asked the question in verse sixteen because the Corinthians had not perceived who they are and their relationship with God. Paul asked, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and {that} the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
Every Christian is a temple of God (6:19). Therefore, every church is a temple of God. Paul was warning the Corinthians against defiling the temple of God with inferior materials. The temple of God is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Those who destroy the temple of God will be destroyed by God. This is a further statement concerning the lack of rewards for workers who produce inferior works.
This means that members of a church must be very careful how they bring about division in the church. God will not allow them to go unpunished. The church belongs to God and any divisions people bring into the church is an act against God.
II. Properly Evaluating Self, 18-20.
“Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become foolish that he may become wise. [19] For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “{He is} the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”; [20] and again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.””
Church members need to understand that the problem of divisions in the church is due to the thinking of church members. Many church members have a tendency to deceive themselves. Far too many church members are impressed with their own wisdom. They are impressed with their training from colleges and universities. They have deceived themselves. The word “deceived” (exapatao) means to beguile. It speaks of self-deception. It suggests leading astray. Paul was telling the Corinthians not to lead themselves astray by an improper evaluation of self.
Rather than deceiving themselves, Paul challenged his readers to become foolish. He challenged them to recognize the fact that human wisdom is foolishness without God. In the sight of God, human wisdom is moronic. It can never supersede the wisdom of God. When church members live by their human wisdom rather than the wisdom of God, there will always be divisions in the church.
Human wisdom can never replace the wisdom of God because the wisdom of God is spiritual truth. It is truth that can only be understood by the help of the Holy Spirit. This makes human wisdom useless. It does not have any way of discovering and understanding divine things.
One great challenge of the church is the fact that church members live and work according to their opinions about the things of God. Since everyone has an opinion, we cannot help but have divisions in the church. When it comes to human wisdom, Christians do not have any more human wisdom than sinners. For that reason, the human wisdom of the Christian creates division in the church rather than cure them. This is why it is important for Christians to become foolish before God. Christians can never afford to display human wisdom if they expect the church to maintain unity.
It is of utmost importance that the church keep the word of God first and foremost. We must study the word, know the word and practice the word. When we study the word, know the word and practice the word, we become truly wise. The word of God is an all important unifier of the church. A church that lives by human wisdom rather than the word of God is bound to be a divided church. Our wisdom and knowledge can never be substituted for the word of God. The word of God gives the church common ground on which to stand.
People who elevate their own wisdom will always have a low estimate of the word of God. Despite the value we place on human wisdom, God knows the value of our wisdom. Our wisdom is foolishness. It is completely unreliable and useless. God will eventually trip up those who oppose his word. Human wisdom does not have the power to save. It leaves man empty and useless. Paul quoted Job 5:13 and Psalm 94:11 to prove this point.
III. Properly Evaluating Others And Things, 21-22.
“So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, [22] whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you...”
The members of the Corinthian church were glorying in men. They were comparing men and as a result, the church was being divided. If the church is to serve without divisions, the members of the church must properly evaluate others. In chapter one and earlier in chapter three, Paul had spoken against church members having special loyalties to him, Apollos and Cephas (Peter). These men were important in the life of the church but they were not to be worshiped. They deserved to be loved and respected because they were sent to Corinth by God to teach and preach. They taught the same things and were meant by God to be sources of unity, not divisions.
The divisions that were developed around Paul, Apollos and Cephas (Peter) were due to the spiritual immaturity of the church members. Because of the spiritual immaturity of the Corinthians, they began to boast of Paul, Peter or Apollos. The church members were giving honor to one over the other. This caused the church to become divided.
The Corinthian church was a blessed church because they had known preachers like Paul, Apollos and Peter (Cephas). These were men whom God had given special gifts and abilities to preach, teach and lead. These men were persons whom God used to bless the Corinthian church. Yet, the members of the church were divided because they were trying to place one of their leaders above the other. Again, this was not a Paul, Apollos or Peter (Cephas) problem. It was a problem that was due to the spiritual immaturity of the Corinthians.
In verses twenty-one and twenty-two, Paul wanted his readers to know that they should rejoice in what they had gained from Paul and Apollos and the influence Peter (Cephas) had on their lives. All things belonged to the Corinthians. There was nothing that was not theirs. All things were given by God for their good and his glory. Paul assured his readers that Christians will one day possess the earth in a richer way.
Here in these verses, Paul wanted his readers to know that life is theirs. This means that new life is theirs. Eternal life is theirs. But Paul also said that death belonged to the Corinthians. This meant that death has been overcome. Jesus Christ conquered death through his resurrection from the dead. All Christians who die will pass through death as a master of death and not a slave of it. The only thing death can do to a Christian is transport him into the eternal presence of Jesus.
Paul even said that we possess the things in the present and the things in the future. It does not matter what it is we experience in life, those things belong to us. God causes them to work for our good and his glory. This includes the good and the bad, the pleasant and the unpleasant, the joys and the sorrows. God has made us more than conquerors through Jesus Christ.
IV. Properly Viewing Christ, 23.
“And you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.”
The final thing Paul mentioned in this passage that is a cure for divisions in the church is a proper view of Christ. This is the most important of all cures for divisions in the church. Jesus Christ is the source of unity and the healer of divisions in the church. Paul wanted his readers to know that all Christians are the property and possession of Jesus Christ.
All of us belong to the same Lord. This makes us all one with the other. When we do not have the proper view of Christ as Lord of us all, we will have divisions in the church.
Not only do all Christians belong to Christ, Christ belongs to God. This means that all Christians are tied together in an eternal unity with God the Father and Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are all one with each other in God and Christ. This means that we do not have any reason to have divisions in the church.
Since we have a common Lord and Master, there is no need for divisions in the church. There are divisions in the church when we fail to understand the reality of our spiritual unity in Jesus Christ.
