1. An Irresistible Community: 1 Corinthians
March 7, 2010
Unified
1 Corinthians: Unity and Division: (1:10-17)
1 Corinthians chapter 1 starting in verse 10. Last week we made our way through Paul’s introduction and greeting in his epistle to the Corinthians. It is apparent that Paul has some bond with this church even in the first few verses. Paul is thankful that his testimony was confirmed in the lives of the Corinthians.
Paul tends to be a passionate person. His zeal for God and love for the church are obviously seen throughout his writings. Paul truly loves the church, and he truly loves the people in the church. So our text today will reveal a definite passion and sort of desperate plea from Paul to the people of Corinth.
Since the Holy Spirit started working in the world it has worked toward one great purpose: to bring unity to the church. If you follow through the book of Acts to see when the Holy Spirit shows up and gives gifts to people it gave gifts so that the church would accept people of different groups. First it was to approve of Christianity as the path to God, then to the Samaritans as able to be part of the church, then even the gentiles. The Holy Spirit has been working since its arrival to bring the church to a unified relationship with God, and with each other. You can almost see Paul’s struggle as he writes this section. He has been working, pouring out himself for the church. It is by his blood, sweat, and tears that the church has been founded in many places and now: the church is caving in on itself. For Paul this is like watching his very own child destroy his or her life with bad decisions. The church in Corinth is Paul’s child. He lover her and cares for her like she were an actual child of his. So when he hears report that she is dividing and there is conflict in the church you know he is less than happy. You can almost feel Paul’s heart in this text: So let’s get started with verse 10:
1Co 1:10 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.
One of the major problems facing the Corinthian church is disunity. The Christians are loyal to different leaders and fighting among themselves about it. The reasons for these divisions are not stated explicitly nor are the nature of their disagreements. From verse 11 we learn that there are quarrels among those in the church. Paul’s appeal, his earnest request is for the church to be unified. In fact this is so important that Paul pleads with them in the name of the Lord Christ Jesus Himself. This is not the reluctant request of a timid man, this is a powerful besiege in the name of Jesus Himself. Paul is not only passionate about protecting church unity, Jesus is too. Unity is extremely important to God.
The church congregation in Corinth was divided into cliques. They split following different leaders. Paul rebukes this harshly. He states very strongly that believers ought to be one in mind and thought. He will go into more details in later verses as to why, so we will talk about that when we get there.
1Co 1:11 My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.
We do not know much if anything at all about Chloe’s identity or importance. In fact if it were not for the patriarchal culture of that day it would not even be clear if Chloe was a man or woman. Anyhow what appears to have happened is some members of Chloe’s household bumped into Paul while he was in Ephesus. These members may have mentioned the troubles in causal conversation as they just so happened to bump into Paul, or they may have left Corinth to find Paul and report these issues. Either way Paul gets the message. The church is quarrelling and divided.
Paul takes this division seriously and so he sits down and begins to pen an epistle to the church. After Paul’s greeting he moves right into his primary reason for righting. The most important issue on the agenda…church unity. Paul knows just how dangerous division can be, and he means to deal with it before it gets any worse. So straight off the papyrus Paul begins pleading, besieging the church to be unified.
1Co 1:12 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.”
The Corinthian church had formed some cliques. Not totally unlike our churches today, the people were grouping with others who shared their views and bickering with those who disagreed. The church then was suffering from at least four separate divisions.
Some follow Apollos who we met in Acts 18. Now Apollos is a minor player in the Biblical account but very obviously a major player in the early church. He pops up from time to time in the scripture with cameo size notation. However, he definitely is a key player judging by the frequency of his being mentioned. Apollos is an Alexandrian Jew, very well educated being that one of the greatest schools in the ancient world was in Alexandria. He had a great knowledge of Scripture. He also was very well educated on Jesus for he was said to teach about Jesus accurately. He may have even been one of the disciples that followed Jesus from time to time. He was a very gifted speaker and bold in teaching. In Acts 19 Apollos is found in Corinth when Paul heads to Ephesus. In fact Apollos very possibly could have still been in Corinth when this epistle was sent to the Corinthians. While Paul is founder of the Corinthian church Apollos has been helping lead it. As we learn from 1 Corinthians 3:6
1Co 3:6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
While not much may be known about Apollos other than that he is definitely an important figure in the first century church at Corinth. There is even some speculation that Apollos could be the author of the book of Hebrews. While that cannot be proven, there is a good case for it.
Let’s get back on track: Some Jews are following Apollos, others will follow Cephas. Now here is a character we might not recognize. Cephas…anyone know who this guy is?
Jn 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter ).
This is Simon Peter, the rock on whom Christ Jesus would build his church. So the three men Paul will mention in verse 12 are all key player to the foundation of the church. They all have had some connection with the church in Corinth and they are all important leaders.
Others claim to be special adherents to Paul’s teaching. And others claim to be special followers of Christ Himself.
Four major division, four leaders, four separate styles. As for the reasons the people divided it may be unclear. However it is likely a result of personal preference. Those who followed Paul were likely advocates of his ministry to the gentiles (meaning they were likely gentiles). These people would have related specifically to Paul because he was more actively working on raising up gentiles than any other church leader. Others found that Apollos was more pleasing to their standards. He was a well educated, talented speaker from Alexandria. His eloquent speech likely won some followers to claim to follow him. Whether or not he wanted it or knew about it is unclear but because he was a gifted speaker many people likely resonated with his leadership. Any of these sounding like things we do today? Some follow Cephas, which is Peter’s Hebrew name. Peter apart from being the rock was still very focused on ministry to the Jews. So those Corinthians from Jewish background would have found him more to their liking. Hebrews following a man who served the Hebrews, Gentiles following a man who devoted himself to the gentiles, and intellectuals following an eloquent speaker. Hmmm…that doesn’t sound like the church today at all. The church was divided over personal preference. Each followed a leader that fit their style better and thus created cliques in the church. Even though they are working for the same mission, the groups quarreled among themselves as to which of them had the market on truth.
1Co 1:13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?
For all of their arguments and disagreements Paul summarily dismantles their reasoning. Is Christ divided? Of course not. If all who follow Christ are Christians and all Christians are one in Christ then there should be no division in the church. Paul drives the point home: the division is absolutely foolish. There is no excuse, there is no pardon- they were dead wrong.
You can imagine how frustrated Paul would be that the church he started, his baby, is fighting among itself over who they follow. As if that was not enough however, he learns that part of the division is actually people who claim to follow him. That his teachings and work have been corrupted and his name is being used to cause disunity. This certainly would have fired Paul up. So Paul breaks down any chance and a refute or even a debate with one question. Was Paul crucified for you? The answer is obviously no. The listeners would hear this and realize the same of their own actions. All those who claimed to follow Paul…shamed. Of course the same is true of Peter and Apollos, neither of them were crucified for their sins. Paul doesn’t have to state that plainly, everyone who heard this knows that the pride they had in their position is broken down now. They were likely ashamed…or at least they should have been. It is in Christ and Christ alone that anyone is saved. All who are saved are saved through Christ. And all who are saved through Christ are one in Christ. Therefore division has no place in the church. It has no place in our lives. It has no place as a Christian.
1Co 1:14 I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 1Co 1:15 so no one can say that you were baptized into my name.
1Co 1:16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 1Co 1:17 For 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.
Paul points out the foolishness of this division and strongly appeals to the church to shape up. He does not want them to be divided but united. Paul attacks division head on and without mercy. It is offensive to the holy spirit, painful to God, and shameful to the gospel of Christ. We are all one.
I think you can see the similarities between the Corinthian church and the church today. People separating over personal preference and claiming to follow God as they do it. It is shameful and not what God intended, and not from God. Division is a corruption of man, unity is a creation of God. Where there is unity God may be found, but God has nothing to do with our divisions.
We should not accept division. We should attack them aggressively. For if we don’t the bride of Christ will fall. It is our job to maintain unity. It is our job to maintain peace. If there cant be peace in the house of God with His bride…where can their be peace?
