“Be united not divided!”
Thesis: We need to united in Christ not divided in Christ! The church was formed by Christ to serve one another and not to focus on ourselves. The church is not about me but about the message of Jesus and about service to the Kingdom of God!
Introduction to the book of 1 Corinthian’s series:
The following outline was adapted from Sermon Outlines on 1 Corinthians
Original work copyright © 1995 The Standard Publishing Company in Quick Verse 2007.
This letter was sent to the church at Corinth. Everything about this letter is relevant to the church today and the struggles we face. This “Born Again” Acts NT Christian church had many problems even though it seemed to have all the spiritual gifts (v. 7). The majority of the attitudes and problems that cause trouble in all churches of today are addressed in this letter. There was dissension, division, disagreements, immorality, arguments, prideful people, critical spirits, gossip, people unwilling to repent of their sins, church discipline issues and a real lack of love for one another in the Body.
Paul is the author of this book and it was written in 55 Ad from Ephesus.
Paul’s background and conversion are recorded in Acts 9:1:31, Acts 22:1-21
and Acts 26:1-29. Paul was an apostle. He met the resurrected Christ as revealed in his conversion experience in the book of Acts. The word “apostle” means “one sent.” Paul was sent, or commissioned, by Christ in Acts 9:15. In writing this letter to the Corinthians Paul was fulfilling His divine call. The book of Acts is a historical record of a lot of Paul’s missionary journey’s and church planting activities. Paul wrote a major part of our New Testament and was used by the Lord to bring correction and sound teaching to the Acts New Testament Church.
The Corinthian Church: A record of the establishment of this church is found in Acts 18.
Ryrie notes the following about this church: “The gospel was first preached in Corinth by Paul on his second missionary journey (A.D. 50). While living and working with Aquila and Priscilla, he preached in the synagogue until opposition forced him to move next door, to the house of Titius Justus. The Jews accused him before the Roman governor Gallio, but the charge was dismissed, and Paul remained 18 months in the city (Acts 18:1-17; 1 Cor. 2:3). After leaving, Paul wrote the church a letter, which has been lost (5:9), but disturbing news about the believers and questions they asked Paul in a letter they sent to him (7:1) prompted the writing of 1 Corinthians. Problems there included divisions in the church (1:11), immorality (chap. 5; 6:9-20), and the questions concerning marriage, food, worship, and the resurrection. Aberrant beliefs and practices of an astonishing variety characterized this church.”
Parsons notes the following about this churches present struggle:
“In spite of their problems, Paul said they were “called to be holy” (v. 2). There is positional holiness. We are set apart and positioned in Christ when we accept him as Savior. The Corinthians had this positional holiness. There is practical holiness. This applies to our Christian growth and lifestyle. The Corinthian’s were not doing well with this aspect of holiness. Positional holiness must come first. We must be in Christ before we can grow in Christ. This phrase, “called to be holy,” is translated “saints” in other translations. A Christian is a saint, one set apart to one. It originally referred to a committed marriage relationship.’
The letter addresses the many interpersonal problems the church was struggling with. The Christians in this church were tearing the church apart because of self-centeredness, pride, and disunity. They were actually killing their own church and dishonoring the Lord Jesus in the process. In a sense they were making God and Jesus look bad not good! Paul writes to correct the people and call the leaders to step up to the plate and deal with the Spirit of offense and the flaunting of sin!
The City of Corinth is described by Ryrie as follows: “Located on the narrow isthmus between the Aegean and Adriatic Seas, Corinth was a port city and wealthy commercial center. Ships wanting to avoid the dangerous trip around the southern tip of Greece were dragged across that isthmus. The city boasted an outdoor theater that accommodated 20,000 people, athletic games second only to the Olympics, a Greek, Roman, and Oriental population, and the great temple of Aphrodite with its 1,000 prostitutes. The immoral condition of Corinth is vividly seen in the fact that the Greek term Korinthiazomai (lit., to act the Corinthian) came to mean “to practice fornication.” There were taverns on the south side of the marketplace, and many drinking vessels have been dug up from those liquor lockers. Corinth was noted for everything sinful.”
Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians chapter One
1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
2To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge—6because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
10I 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. 11My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas“; still another, “I follow Christ.”
13Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? 14I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. 16(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
Opening Video Illustration: “Me Church” clip from Sermon Spice.com. This clip takes a humorous look at a self-centered church called “Me Church.”
But behind the humor is a tragic message of what many churches and Christians expect the church to be like. The Corinthian church had fallen into the demise of a self-centered church and this book –letter by Paul seeks to address these huge problems.
Introduction of chapter 1: Paul’s Greeting to the Corinthians (vv. 1-9) “Grace and peace to you....” If you have ever read Paul’s letters in the Bible He almost always opens up talking about grace and concludes his letters referring back to grace. Paul always stressed the importance of grace in his books to bring the focus always back onto Jesus great gift to the church.
Paul in this chapter is addressing the differences that exist between denominations today and the divisions within churches of today. Paul, in this passage, is striking out against division in the Body of Christ. He addresses this local congregation and the universal church as a whole. Parson’s notes, “Most division in the local congregation today is not over matters of faith, but rather the result of personalities that are in conflict.”
Jesus in John’s Gospel prayed for us as the church and asked that we would be united not divided. Listen to Jesus’ own words again:
John 17:20-23:
20“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that 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. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I 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.”
Jesus wants us united so that the world knows that He was sent by the Father to save us from our sins and that the message of His love is real, powerful and life changing.
Paul uses this book or letter to bring the focus of our lives back to Jesus life, death, resurrection and His imminent return. He is challenging the Corinthian Christians and us today to focus on the future hope and not the current problems. He is reminding all of us that we need to have the right focus – the focus is on eternity and Jesus not on what we want here and now.
So as we enter into this wonderful book of the Bible my heart is drawn to Paul’s thoughts in
1 Corinthians 1:4-8: “4I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge—6because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”
Paul tells this group of Christians to re-focus on Jesus – on His grace – on His testimony revealed through their changed lives – on His strength – on His faithfulness – on His imminent return: The truth is when we have the right mind set in life it changes the way we deal with others over minor issues.
Video Illustration: “There is coming a day!” movie maker illustration created by Pastor Mike.
This video clip reminds us that we must remember that Jesus is coming back one day and that one day we will leave this place for a glorious place. This hope for the future is to be driving us to be holy, even today in a fallen world filled with sin on every corner. It is also the hope that should compel us to be united and not divided. When our focus is on pleasing the Lord then we will seek to root out the spirit of offense in our lives.
T.S. - Let’s focus today on Paul’s message to the problematic Corinthian church of the book of Acts and see how he addresses the problem of division within the Body of Christ.
I. The Problem: The Divisions within the Corinthian Church (1 Cor. 1:10-12).
a. The word division means to “rip” or “tear” (v. 10).
i. The Christians in this church were tearing the church apart – they were allowing the spirit of offense to rip out the heart and the life changing power of the church.
ii. This sin of dissension is the one of the sins that does the most damage to the Body of Christ and to the spread of the Gospel in a community.
1. I would like you to turn to Proverbs 6:16-19: These verses contain a list of the seven sins God most detests: 16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”
a. I want you to take a moment and think about these sins named by Solomon that rip the heart out of the Body of Christ.
b. Do they sound familiar?
i. Are they happening in the Body of Christ today?
ii. Should they be found within the church?
2. As we now turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, I want you to think about these sins which God hates the most; and lets read verses 10-13: 10I 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. 11My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas“; still another, “I follow Christ.”
a. I want you to notice which of these sins were being committed by the Corinthian believers.
b. How many of the seven were being acted out in this church?
c. It is Paul’s appeal that they be united in mind – having the mind of Christ and focused on the same thought – Jesus is coming back soon – am I ready – am I fulfilling my divine purpose with my life and my daily actions?
b. We might sum up the divisions in this church this way according to Parsons:
i. I follow Paul—This group may have taken the attitude that Paul started this church and he will always be the leader. These are the traditionalists.
1. They always live in the past and never want to move on into the future: They like saying leave everything the way it was this is what the Lord wants! Paul saw Christ so we will only listen to what He tells us to do! He is the founding apostle and we need to do church the way he does it!
2. McLoed from sermoncentral.com states: The “claim to fame” of the first group was this: “We are of Paul and therefore better than you! Anyone knows Paul is a great doctrinal preacher, and that’s the only kind to have.”
ii. I follow Apollos—These people may have put great emphasis on the knowledge of Scripture. Apollos was mighty in his use of the Word (Acts 18:24, 25). These may have been the Bible intellectuals.
1. Listen we need to follow after Apollos because man that guy can preach with charisma! Paul is dry and boring and people have even fallen asleep in his meetings! So church is all about the preaching of dynamic messages that are powerful.
2. Mcleod from sermoncentral.com states: “The second group would probably retort, “We are of Apollos, and anyone with any sense at all will agree that Apollos is an eloquent preacher and can preach circles around Paul any day.”
iii. I follow Peter—These people may have put great emphasis on the church and were taking the attitude that Peter had been given the keys to the kingdom, instituted the church on Pentecost, and they would follow him. They may have been great “church” men without going further.
1. This group claimed divine apostleship as the only link to doing church the right way. They were for using a style that peter promoted an emphasis on Jewish tradition mixed with Christianity. A in your face type church that was bold and aggressive a true apostolic church – one that followed the leading of Peter only because he lived with Jesus.
2. Mcleod states: “The third group might then answer, “We are of Cephas, and you can brag about doctrine and eloquence all you want to, but there’s just nobody as down-to-earth and practical as Peter.”
iv. I follow Christ—These people may have been saying, “We don’t need anyone or anything but Jesus.”
1. This group was the spiritual elite who said “We only do things Jesus’ way and the rest of these idol worshippers need to repent! We know the truth it’s all Jesus and these others are people chasers not God chasers!”
2. Mcleod states: “The fourth group could thereupon be pictured as looking down their long spiritual noses at the other three and piously saying, “We are of Christ, and therefore look to no human preacher to lead us and feed us.”
c. Reality Check for the this church and for the church today: Division and dissension never comes from the Spirit of God but from the spirit of offense rooted in the “Bait of Satan” who wants to divide and conqueror:
d. The reality is God designed the church of today and He knew that the church would be filled with imperfect people. But a church filled with imperfect people needed to learn how to get along, how to forgive each other, how to die to self, and in process mature in the faith for the glory of Kingdom of God:
i. Mcleod notes:
1. To live above, with saints we love,
Will certainly be glory!
To live below, with saints we know,
Well, that’s another story!
a. I love when I read John Ortberg’s book, “Everybody is normal until you get to know them.”
i. This is so true – the reality is you can pick anyone a part – They did the Apostle Paul, they did Peter, they did Apollos and in the Gospels they did Jesus too!’
ii. We are not here to rip each other apart and focus on differences but to build up the Body of Christ!
2. Illustration: A news story from Wales told of a feud in a church looking for a new pastor. It read: “Yesterday the two opposition groups both sent ministers to the pulpit. Both spoke simultaneously, each trying to shout above the others. Both called for hymns, and the congregation sang two—each trying to drown out the other. Then the groups started shouting at each other. Bibles were raised in anger. The Sunday morning service turned into a bedlam. Through it all, the two preachers continued trying to out shout each other with their sermons. Eventually a deacon called a policeman. Two came in and began shouting for the congregation to be quiet. They advised the forty persons in the church to return home. The rivals filed out, still arguing. Last night one of the groups called a let’s-be-friends meeting. It broke up in argument.” The story could have been headlined, “Two Factions in One Fellowship.” This story may be amusing, but it is also tragic. God hates this kind of discord among Christians.
3. The psalmist exclaimed, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1).
a. The Psalmist would agree with the words, “How detestable to God it is for brethren to dwell together in discord.”
b. Dissension dishonors God and does make God look good – this is why he detests this type of sinful behavior!
i. The truth is it drive people out of the church rather than into the church.
T.S. – Paul rebukes this church after hearing about all the divisions. He lets them know this is not from God and this not does not make God look good. Paul then questions them on their motives and challenges them to look at who the author of these actions really is – it’s not God.
II. The Questions: Paul questions the Corinthian church about the spirit of disunity (I Cor. 1:13-17).
a. Paul’s three wise questions:
i. Is Christ Divided? This means, “Has Christ been split up with different parts given to different groups?” Would He want His body, the church, fragmented?
1. Paul asks if, “Jesus would be happy at their attitudes of disunity and their pride filled mindsets?”
a. Comes back to another famous question, “What would Jesus Do?”
2. Would Jesus want His body tore apart? Would He want to have an arm ripped off and a leg ripped off because of personal differences and disagreements?
a. Then say, “God’s on my side!”
ii. Was Paul crucified for you? Paul directs them to the cross. He focuses on the atonement.
1. Paul then tells them to reflect back to their conversions and to their baptisms – who was the focus of their salvation and who set them free?
2. Was it anyone of the personalities mentioned or was it Jesus?
iii. Were you baptized into the name of Paul? They had been baptized into the name of Jesus Christ. In verses 14-17, Paul makes a statement that refers to some who had tried to downplay the necessity for water baptism. Paul is not against baptism because it is a command of the Lord. They had been baptized. In all of this, the people were guilty of putting the messenger ahead of the message. They were being selfish and creating a “Me Church” rather than “A Jesus Church.”
1. The church had split over who the leader should be – Paul brought them back to who the leader really was. “It’s the Lord Jesus!” He is the head of the church not a person or personality!
2. How many churches can you name today who have still fallen prey to this type of mindset?
a. We have the churches and denominations which have formed over following personalities not Jesus!
b. We have divisions and dissension in the Body of Christ because of personal preference.
c. This is not how the church is to be acting according to Paul and Jesus.
b. Paul uses the methodology of questions to get the Christians to take a honest look at their attitudes, at their hardened hearts and at their misguided mindsets.
i. Paul wants them to examine their own mindsets and see if it aligns with the teaching of God’s Word.
ii. We need to learn to do the same in our own life as well – we need to check our mindsets against the teachings found in the Word of God.
iii. Many of us need to read through the book of 1 Corinthians and see what God’s word says about – division within her ranks!
T.S. – Paul used questions to get the Corinthian church to refocus on what matters the most. He points to who we should be following and what we should be doing with our lives. He brings them back to what is most important in the life of the church. What is most important is the cross of Jesus and its power – not the natural abilities of men – not your own personal preferences of worship, or preaching or methodology of ministry.
III. The spiritual reality check: The significant facts Paul reminds this Church about (1 Cor. 1: 18-31).
a. We could obscure the message of the cross by flaunting our own intellect and eloquence (v. 17). Paul depended on the simple message of the cross even though he had great intellect.
i. Too many today can get caught up in the intellectual side of the Bible and miss the simple message of the power of the cross.
ii. These individuals become pharisaical and lose the relevance of the message of the Bible for today.
iii. These people want the focus to be on their great philosophies and beliefs rather than on the simple message that Jesus preached.
b. The message of the cross is absolute foolishness from the standpoint of the world (v. 18).
i. Message doesn’t refer to the preaching, but to the fact that many think the idea that you can be saved by believing on Jesus is too simple.
ii. Foolishness is from the root word for “moron,” “dull” or “stupid.”
1. In the time of Acts many looked at the crucifixion as a just punishment for criminals but they could not even link that Jesus would use the act connected with criminals to redeem mankind from sin.
iii. Power is from the word for “dynamite.”
1. Paul reminds us that there is power in the cross, there is power in the blood that was spilled on the cross, there is also resurrection power that flows from this ridiculous way to get delivered from sin.
c. God’s ways always seem foolish to the intellectuals of the world. They just do because they do not always make sense. His ways are not always 2+2 = 4. Sometimes His way is 2 +2 = 1,000. But God does this to show that he is God and that he is in control of this world, that He is the author and creator of this place in which we dwell. Because we are to follow Him by faith not by intellect.
i. This is a faith walk and the truth is all the answers to life will not be answered in this lifetime but we still need to follow and serve God anyway! He is the wise one not us – it’s done His way not our way!
d. The bottom line according to Paul is this, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord - not in themselves.”
i. We need to refocus on Jesus when we are faced with disunity and dissension. We need to get the right perspective back into our hearts and minds.
ii. We need to look to the future and see that He is coming and live our lives in light of His imminent return and our imminent face to face encounter with Him.
iii. We need to let go of the past differences and focus on what really matters in life – and that is Serving Jesus with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength.
Conclusion:
John 19:23-24: “23When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, “They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” So this is what the soldiers did.”
Notice that the Roman soldiers divided the earthly belongings of Jesus, but they gambled for His seamless robe rather than tear it. These were hardened men, but they saw the beauty of that robe and refused to tear it. I have heard that the early church used this seamless garment as an illustration of the unity of the church.
The Problem in the church was: They were dividing the church and were “tearing it apart” and in the process destroying something of great value and beauty that belonged to Christ. His church and many are repeating the same sin today.
We need to decide to not allow the enemy of the church, which is the spirit of offense, which is the spirit of division and dissension to tear it apart. We need to be committed to honoring the name of Jesus and doing what He called us to do! We are to be the light of the world and the preservative of this world. We need to fulfill the Great Commission and fulfill our divine purpose in life.
The question was: What do you think Jesus thinks about all this disunity in the church? Is Christ divided? The goal of the questions was to refocus the church onto Jesus and our imminent face to face encounter with Him one day.
The reality check was: We need to boast in the Lord not in the gifts or the intellect of men! We need to live in the power of the cross and be what the church was called to be. We need to do our job and work together to see lives transformed through our faithful ministry to the Lord. This is what the church is to do!
Closing thought on who is leading our lives today:
Who is influencing your life and your choices? Are you following Biblical teachings and Biblical values or something else? Parsons notes, “Many are led by peer pressure, religious opinions formed without knowledge and ideas without Biblical foundation, etc.” Paul tells us we need to be influenced by Jesus’ life and death – we need to be united – bonded together so as to reach this lost world. We need to be committed to Jesus, we need to follow His example, we need to get back to the foundation of our faith and then bring that truth to a lost and dying world! Why? Because that is why you and I are still on this earth!
Closing video Illustration: The Interview from www.goodnews.org
This is why we need to be the light in this world. This interview tells us that we need to be united not divided. This interview tells us that we need to be the Acts New Testament church and reach the lost because they are looking for truth not lies.
