Today, we're going to try cover the rest of 1 Corinthians 1, all at once. It's a pretty big section, so let's just dive in.
1 Corinthians 1:10:
(10) Now, I urge you, brothers , by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
(in order) that the same thing you may/shall all speak,
and (that) there may/shall not be among you divisions,
now , (that) you may/shall having been prepared (for a purpose) with/in the same mind
and with/in the same understanding.
The first appeal Paul makes in 1 Corinthians is for... what? Paul urges them to become a unity. He wants them all to be on one page, working together as one people. When they speak, they should all say the same thing. It doesn't matter who you talk to you in the church, they are all in agreement. They all have the same focus, the same goal, the same purpose. They have the same mind, the same understanding.
What they shouldn't have, is divisions. Divisions will keep them from fulfilling God's purpose for them.
We find ourselves wondering, what exactly is going on in this church? Paul then strengthens his argument in verse 11, using a "for" statement. This is what "for"s do. They strengthen, or maybe explain, an existing point. So this will help us:
(11) For, it was revealed to me about you, my brothers, by those of Chloe, that rivalry among you there is.
Verse 10 is good advice to any church. There shouldn't be divisions. Everyone should have the same mind, and the same understanding. But verse 10 is not just a general command, or warning. There is a specific problem in the church, and Paul is upfront about telling them that he knows what's going on. Specifically, the "ones of Chloe" told him that there was rivalry among them.
English Bibles usually translate this word "rivalry" here as "quarrels" (NIV, ESV, NRSV) or "contentions" (KJV, Young's). But the idea isn't that people are simply bickering or arguing about something-- like over what the worship songs should be, or how long a service should be, or what a church's name should be. It's the word used in Philippians 1:12-17 (and 2:3). I'm going to use Young's Literal Translation:
12 And I wish you to know, brethren, that the things concerning me, rather to an advancement of the good news have come,
13 so that my bonds have become manifest in Christ in the whole praetorium, and to the other places -- all,
14 and the greater part of the brethren in the Lord, having confidence by my bonds, are more abundantly bold -- fearlessly to speak the word.
15 Certain, indeed, even through envy and contention, and certain also through good-will, do preach the Christ;
16 the one, indeed, of rivalry the Christ do proclaim, not purely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds,
17 and the other out of love, having known that for defence of the good news I am set:
Then, skipping down to Philippians 2:1-3:
2 If, then, any exhortation [is] in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
2 fulfil ye my joy, that ye may mind the same thing -- having the same love -- of one soul -- minding the one thing,
3 nothing in rivalry or vain-glory, but in humility of mind one another counting more excellent than yourselves --
This is a church with divisions. And fighting. And the source of these divisions is rivalry. Different groups view themselves as being in competition with each other. They try to outdo each other. They want to be the best-- the most important. My guess is that there are different house churches in Corinth, and they are fighting over which is best.
I've been in churches that have talked this way. They look at the surrounding community, and they know that there's only so many Christians in town. Christians are a scarce, valuable resource. And some Christians are going to different churches-- or even considering leaving your church, to go to a different one.
This is unacceptable. Your church should be the one that's growing. You should be the best church in town, with the best preaching, the best worship, the best youth group. This church, should be THE church in town-- the successful church, the winning church. And so you find yourself engaged in rivalry with other churches. If you're the teacher/pastor, you find yourself listening to the sermons of other pastors in town. You try to decide, are your sermons better? Is your worship team more gifted? Your goal in everything isn't so much excellence. It's not about serving Jesus to the best of your ability. It's more simply, to be better than the church down the street. To win in the marketplace that we call "Christianity."
Or, maybe, this rivalry is found within a church. Maybe, there are people in this church that you view as rivals. There's two Sunday school classes, and most people seem to prefer the other teacher better. There's two worship teams, and people sing louder, and better, when the other one leads. There's two pastors, and people rave about the other when he preaches. And so you find yourself thinking gross, wicked thoughts. You view the other people--people within your own church-- as rivals. As competition. And you are not going to be the one to lose.
All of this is toxic. All of us should have the same goal, the same vision, the same purpose. We should be working together, united.
To what end? Paul has already told us that we are supposed to be partners with Jesus. There is a job that God has called us for, working with Jesus. And if we are engaging in rivalry, we can't do what God called us to do. What this means, concretely, Paul hasn't yet explained. But rivalry will cripple you.
Verse 12:
(12) Now , I say this: that each of you says,
"On the one hand , I am of Paul,
now on the other hand, I am of Apollos,
now on the other hand, I am of Cephas,
now on the hand, I am of the King."
Here, we find out more about the divisions in the Corinthian church. The Corinthians are identifying themselves as being "of" different leaders (see KJV, Young's). What does it mean, if I say, "I am of Paul."?
This construction is a simple genitive , and it can be used in different ways, with different senses. First year Greek students are taught that it basically means "of," and this works pretty well usually. But what does it actually mean? English Bibles all handle it a little differently. But Paul just deliberately set it up, so we'd know how to understand this. Let's reread verse 11:
(11) For, it was revealed to me about you, my brothers, by those of Chloe, that rivalry among you there is.
In verse 11, Paul is talking about Chloe's household-- people who would identify, as being hers. Maybe it's her family. Maybe it's her household slaves. I don't know. But if you picture Chloe as being like an umbrella, it's people who would place themselves under her. They are hers. They are identified as hers.
What's happening in the Corinthian church is people are so closely identifying with different leaders, that they are considering themselves as part of their group. The NRSV translates it, "I belong to Paul." I think that's helpful. "I am Paul's."
Now, it's normal for you to identify more with some leaders than others. You're going to feel a special bond to the person who led you to Christ. In this church, Paul would be that person. So we'd understand that. Other times, there will be a particular teacher that just grabs you. I've had a few teachers/authors in my life, who know how to preach with blood earnestness, whose words grab you in ways you can't explain, and who you are incredibly grateful for. They shaped so much of your understanding of who God is, and what he wants-- you can't really thank them enough.
Apollos was a gifted teacher. Truly. We read in Acts 18:24 that he was eloquent. He knew his Bible. He was brilliant. And if you have a teacher like that, it'd be easy to identify yourself with them. "I'm of Apollos." "I'm of Ed Neufeld." "I'm of John Goldingay."
Let me pick this back up, starting by rereading verse 12:
(12) Now , I say this: that each of you says,
"On the one hand , I am of Paul,
now on the other hand, I am of Apollos,
now on the other hand, I am of Cephas,
now on the hand, I am of the King."
(13) Has Christ been divided?
Paul wasn't crucified for you, right?
Or into the name of Paul were you baptized?
(14) I give thanks that none of you I baptized, except Crispus and Gaius,
(15) in order that no one might/shall say that into my name you were baptized.
(16) Now, I baptized also the household of Stephanas.
Beyond that, I don't know if anyone else I baptized.
For, Christ didn't send me to baptize
but to proclaim the good news,
not with a skillful/eloquent/wise word,
in order that the cross of Christ may not be made empty.
What you are supposed to say, is that you are "of Christ." You belong to him. He is the one who was crucified for you. You can be grateful for the Christians who have poured themselves into your life. You can find some people more helpful than others. But you can't identify yourselves with them. Your loyalty belongs to Jesus alone.
And Paul is absolutely determined that none of them will say, "I am of Paul." Everything he does, points toward God. It's points toward Jesus. Nothing he does is designed to point toward himself. He is not making disciples of himself. He's not making a new group. Paul points people to Jesus, and his desire is to help people grow up and mature in Christ, living in the obedience that comes from faith (Romans 1:5; 16:26).
Most Christians who serve God up front in church struggle with insecurity. We know we aren't amazing. We know other people do it better. We wonder what people think about us. What we'd really like, truthfully, is praise. We want people to gush over us, and tell us we are amazing. We want people to identify with us. We want groupies. But this is toxic. You point to Jesus. This is not about you. It's about serving God, working with Jesus.
In verse 16, Paul strengthens his point about baptizing people. Let me reread, starting with the "for":
For, Christ didn't send me to baptize
but to proclaim the good news,
not with a skillful/eloquent/wise word,
in order that the cross of Christ may not be made empty.
Paul isn't saying that baptism is unimportant. He's saying, baptism is not the job Jesus gave him. That's something other people did, for the most part. The job Jesus gave him was to proclaim the good news about Jesus.
And when he tells people the good news about Jesus, how does he do it? Paul doesn't try to be clever in sharing the gospel. He doesn't try to play on people's emotions. He doesn't try to create a rhetorical masterpiece.
And he deliberately avoids doing this, so that the cross of Christ isn't emptied. How does eloquence, and cleverness, get in the way of the gospel? How can it "empty" the cross?
Paul explains this, strengthening this point, in the next verse:
(18) For on the one hand, the word of the cross [to the ones being destroyed] foolishness it is,
now on the other hand, [to the ones being saved] -- to us -- (the) power of God it is.
For, it has been written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the intelligence of the intelligent I will reject/nullify.
(20) Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Didn't God make foolish the world's wisdom?
A lot of Christians maybe struggle to share the gospel, in part because it seems like a ridiculous message. Let's say you truly value what God has done for you in Jesus. And you truly love people the way that God does-- you want to see people forgiven of their sins, freed from the power of sin, and enter into God's family.
But when it comes time to actually open your mouth, and share the good news, you get stuck. You think to yourself, this is going to come out stupid. I can't explain this the way I should. There must be a better way-- a more eloquent, skillful way to say all of this.
There isn't. And the reason that there isn't, is because God set it up to sound like foolishness. God designed all of this so that the good news would a stumbling block to Jews, and so that it would sound like foolishness to Gentiles. So if your presentation of the gospel comes out slick, and well-packaged, and logical-- well, it's possible that you've emptied the cross of its power.
But here's the thing. The cross may sound like foolishness to people who are perishing, but it can't sound like that to you. When you hear the message of the cross, what do you here? Let me reread the first part of verse 18:
(18) For on the one hand, the word of the cross [to the ones being destroyed] foolishness it is,
now on the other hand, [to the ones being saved] -- to us -- (the) power of God it is.
You understand that the word of the cross is God's power. What are the biggest enemies to humanity? You're maybe tempted to say, "we are our own worst enemy," but that's not really true. The biggest enemies we have are sin, sickness, death, and Satan. These are the enemies that keep us from having the dominion over the world that God created us for (Gen. 1:26; Rev. 2:24-28).
When Jesus died, and rose again, God gave him authority over humanity's worst enemies. Jesus received the keys to Death and Hades (Rev. 1:18). He defeated Satan (Eph. 1:19-23). He was given all authority on earth (Matt. 28:19-20). This authority wasn't his while he lived on earth. This authority is something that was given to him, because he obediently went to the cross.
And Jesus doesn't simply use this authority and power for us. He actually gives us this authority and power (Matt. 10:1; 28:19-20). We are seated with Jesus in the heavenlies (Eph. 1:19-23; 2:6). We have authority over all disease and illness (Luke 9:1-6), as we are filled with his Holy Spirit. Satan is at our feet (Eph. verses). We are no longer slaves to sin; Jesus freed us (Rom. 6:7).
So the word of the cross is not a message of weakness. Jesus isn't still hanging on the cross. He's not still buried. Jesus is risen! And because he is risen, and has received all authority, and given that authority to us, the word of the cross is a message of power.
But if this is the case-- that the good news is a message of power, and not foolishness, why did God set up the gospel so that it sounds like foolishness to those who are perishing?
Paul strengthens his argument in verse 21, explaining this:
(21) For since in God's wisdom, the world didn't know through wisdom God, God was pleased through the
foolishness of the proclamation to save the ones giving allegiance.
(22) Since also Jews a sign ask for, and Greeks wisdom they seek.
(23) Now, we preach Christ having been crucified,
on the one hand, [to the Jews] a stumbling block,
now on the other hand, [to the nations] foolishness,
(24) now, on the other hand, [to them, to the chosen/called ones-- to both Jews and Greeks]-- God's
Christ/King [is] power and the wisdom of God,
(25) because the foolishness of God wiser than men it is,
and the weakness of God stronger than men [it is].
Why did God set up the good news to come out this way? God is determined to make it so that no one can boast before him. God didn't want to set it up, where people could carefully pick their way through the maze of philosophy, and then move through comparative religion, and then to Christianity, all on their own. Becoming a Christian isn't like solving a puzzle, or like climbing Mount Everest. You don't get to look back, and think, "I did it. Yup, I'm amazing. I figured it out." God is determined that He will be the one to receive glory and honor. And every time someone gives their allegiance to Jesus, all they can do is point to God's grace, and praise Him. They don't pat themselves on the back.
Paul then continues his argument, strengthening it, in verse 26:
(26) For consider your calling, brothers, that not many [are] wise according to the flesh,
not many powerful,
not many are well-born/nobles
(27) but the foolish things of the world God chose,
in order that he would put to shame the wise,
and the weak things of the world God chose,
in order that he would put to shame the powerful,
(28) and the insignificant things of the world and the despised things God chose--the things not
being--
in order that the things being he would abolish,
(29) so that no flesh would boast before God.
Sometimes you'll hear people say, "Wouldn't it be amazing if Warren Buffett, or Bill Gates, or LeBron James became a Christian? It'd be amazing if we had powerful, rich, influential people become Christians."
But that's usually not how God works. Most Christians are nothing special in the world's eyes. We aren't much to look at. And the reason God did it this way, is to make sure that He gets the honor. No one gets to say, "I'm hot stuff." Everyone needs to point to God-- to God's glory, and his power, and his love.
Verse 30:
(30) Now , from/out of Him you (plural) are in King Jesus,
who became wisdom to us from God-- righteousness and dedication and redemption--
in order that just as it has been written,
"The one boasting, in the Lord must boast.
It's not a bad thing to boast. To brag. But, if you're going to brag, brag about Jesus. What did Jesus do for you? Jesus died on the cross for your sins. Jesus freed you from sin. Jesus forgave your sins. Jesus gave you entrance into God's kingdom, God's family. Jesus became your righteousness, and dedication, and redemption. Jesus is God's power, for you.
Let me leave you with this. What sharing the good news means, at its heart, is bragging about Jesus.
When you find yourself talking to your friends, or family, or complete strangers, about Christianity, use that as an opportunity to brag about Jesus. Jesus did for people, what no other person, and no other religion, and no other elohim, ever did. And the sacrifice Jesus made, to make this all happen-- we couldn't be more grateful to Jesus, for what he did.
So don't boast in yourself. Don't engage in rivalry. That's toxic. Understand that God called you into his one family to work together, as a unity. To work with Jesus, serving God. And when you find yourself with an opportunity to share the good news, understand that this is your chance to brag about Jesus. Boast in Jesus, who is God's power.
Translation:
(10) Now, I urge you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
(in order) that the same thing you may/shall all speak,
and there may/shall not be among you divisions,
now , (that) you may/shall be established in the same mind
and in the same understanding.
(11) For, it was revealed to me about you, my brothers, by those of Chloe, that quarrels among you there.
(12) Now , I say this: that each of you says,
"On the one hand , I am of Paul,
now on the other hand, I am of Apollos,
now on the other hand, I am of Cephas,
now on the hand, I am of the King."
(13) Has Christ been divided?
Paul wasn't crucified for you, right?
Or into the name of Paul were you baptized?
(14) I give thanks that none of you I baptized, except Crispus and Gaius,
(15) in order that no one might/shall say that into my name you were baptized.
(16) Now, I baptized also the household of Stephanas.
Beyond that, I don't know if anyone else I baptized.
For, Christ didn't send me to baptize
but to proclaim the good news,
not with a word of wisdom,
in order that the cross of Christ may not be made empty.
(18) For, on the one hand, the word of the cross [to the ones being destroyed] foolishness it is,
now, on the other hand, [to the ones being saved] -- to us -- (the) power of God it is.
For, it has been written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the intelligence of the intelligent I will reject/nullify.
(20) Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Didn't God make foolish the world's wisdom?
(21) For since in God's wisdom, the world didn't know through wisdom God, God was pleased through the foolishness of the proclamation to save the ones giving allegiance.
(22) Since also Jews a sign ask for, and Greeks wisdom they seek.
(23) Now, we preach Christ having been crucified,
on the one hand, [to the Jews] a stumbling block,
now on the other hand, [to the nations] foolishness,
(24) now, on the other hand, [to them, to the chosen/called ones-- to both Jews and Greeks]-- God's King [is] power and the wisdom of God,
(25) because the foolishness of God wiser than men it is,
and the weakness of God stronger than men [it is].
(26) For consider your calling, brothers, that not many [are] wise according to the flesh,
not many powerful,
not many are well-born/nobles
(27) but the foolish things of the world God chose,
in order that he would put to shame the wise,
and the weak things of the world God chose,
in order that he would put to shame the powerful,
(28) and the insignificant things of the world and the despised things God chose--the things not being--
in order that the things being he would abolish,
(29) so that no flesh would boast before God.
(30) Now , from Him y'all are in King Jesus,
who became wisdom to us from God-- righteousness and dedication and redemption--
in order that just as it has been written,
"The one boasting, in the Lord must boast.
