I Corinthians 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. 11. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 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." 13. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? 14. I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15. so 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.) 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. 18. For 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. (NIV).
CONTENTION INTERVENTION
Text: I Corinthians 1:10 - 18
“In the late 1800s, there were just two deacons in a small Baptist church in Mayfield County, Kentucky. The two deacons hated each other and always opposed one another. On a particular Sunday, one deacon put up a small wooden peg in the back wall so the minister could hang his hat. When the other deacon discovered the peg, he was outraged that he had not been consulted. The church took sides and eventually split. The departing group formed a new church, called The Anti-peg Baptist Church. (Raymond McHenry. ed. McHenry’s Quips, Quotes And Other Notes. [quoted from: Doyle L. Young. New Life for Your Church, 1989, p. 63]. Third Printing. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004, p. 270). The identity of this church----the “Anti-peg Baptist Church” bears a hint of its history in its name.
The kind of conflict---contention that the Apostle Paul addressed in the early part of I Corinthians is very similar to that that existed in the split that resulted in the formation of the “Ant-peg Baptist Church”. It seems that Paul was trying to address the problem before it got any worse. Paul was trying to do some what we call in modern day----“damage control” or “intervention”. If we were to put a label on what Paul was trying to do we might call it “contention intervention”.
WHAT CAUSES CONTENTIONS?
One of the things that comes to mind is what we call a clash. Paul was addressing the clashes when he spoke those who claimed their allegiances to Paul himself, Apollos, or Cephas. Someone (Kenneth L. Chafin) has noted what the agenda of each of these factions were. (Lloyd J, Ogilvie. General ed. Mastering The New Testament: 1, 2 Corinthians. Volume 7. Kenneth L. Chafin. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1985, pp. 33 – 34). Those who associated themselves with Paul were more then likely Gentile converts who were charter---founding members of the church of Corinth (Chafin. p. 33). The second group who associated themselves with Apollos because “they were drawn to his preaching” (Chafin, p. 34). The third group associated themselves with Cephas (Peter, [see John 1:42]). The Cephas group was more than likely a group of Jewish converts. It seems that when Paul mentioned the last group----“those who belong to Christ”, he was illustrating the point that Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is the only One who can sanctify us and justify us and make us right with God. It is in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior that we are both justified and sanctified who washes us (I Corinthians 6:11) and saves us from our sins (Matthew 1:21).
Another cause that comes to mind is competition. The story of those two deacons whose conflict caused a split that resulted in the formation of a new church----Anti-peg Baptist Church runs parallel to the point that I am trying to make about competition. The story of Anti-peg Baptist Church even reminds me of two churches I once served. The history of those two churches that I once served is that one church came out of the other. A faction happened that caused a split in the original congregation. That split eventually rivaled enough support for the establishment of the other church. Now the split that I am talking about had happened over some fifty years ago. But, even still, the churches tried to compete with one another. One got a gymnasium and the other one got a gymnasium. It was the same thing with a church van. One got a van and the other one went got a van. The vans and gymnasiums were in existence even before I got there. There were times when the relations between these churches resembled a sibling rivalry more than they did a Christian fellowship in the ways that some of the members of these two congregations would relate to one another.
Perhaps, the biggest cause is pride. Proverbs 16:18 says: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (NIV). When pride exceeds the bounds for which God intended it to have, it has the tendency to become arrogant. I read of a story where people were too proud to stand beside someone who was different than themselves. “When Charles Evans Hughes was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, he moved to Washington and transferred his membership to a Baptist church there. His father had been a Baptist minister, and Hughes had been a lifelong witness to his own faith in Christ.
“It was the custom in that Baptist church to have all new members come forward during the morning service and be introduced to the congregation. On this particular day, the first to be called was a Chinese laundryman, Ah Sing, who had moved to Washington from San Francisco and kept a laundry near the church. He stood at the far side of the pulpit. As others were called, they took positions at the extreme opposite side. When a dozen people had gathered, Ah Sing still stood alone.
“Then Chief Justice Hughes was called, and he significantly stood next to the laundryman. A Christian who only associates with people of the same intellectual, academic, or professional interests is not living up to what Scripture mandates.” (David P. Barrett. ed. More Perfect Illustrations For Every Topic And Occasion.. [Citation: Donald Gray Barnhouse, God's Covenants, God's Discipline, God's Glory (Scripture Truth); reprinted in Men of Integrity (3.3), p. 55] “Chief Justice Stands By Laundryman”. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 2003, p. 45). Here is what one of those Biblical mandates is in the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: Matthew 5:46 “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47. And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48. Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (NIV).
Sometimes it is possible that the reason or reasons for possible contentions are mixed. It may be a little bit of jealousy and pride, ambition and/or ego. It might exist between two people or two or more groups of people. Just think about how Paul pointed out the three groups that he was addresses in I Corinthians 1:10-18.
CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED TO BE COWORKERS IN CHRIST.
Christian coworkers are called to be their brother’s keeper. We are called look out for one another, to serve one another and to love one another. Sometimes there are obstacles that get the way of our devotion or our need of devotion for one another. Sometimes we create the obstacles ourselves and there are other times when the obstacle or obstacle is part of the circumstances that we must strive to overcome as the keeper of our brothers and sisters. I read the story of an seventy-three-year-old man who refused to let distance and his lack of eyesight keeping him from his devotion to his brother.
“Alvin Straight, aged seventy-three, lived in Laurens Iowa. His brother aged eighty, lived several hundred miles away in Blue River Wisconsin. According to the Associated Press, Alvin’s brother had suffered a stroke, and Alvin wanted to see him, but he had a transportation problem. He didn’t have a driver’s license because his eyesight was bad and he apparently had an aversion to taking a plane, train, or bus.
“But Alvin did not let that stop him. In 1994, he climbed aboard his 1966 John Deere tractor lawn mower and drove it all the way to Blue River, Wisconsin. Devotion finds a way.” (Craig Brian Larson. Ed. Contemporary Illustrations For Preachers, Teachers, & Writers. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996, p. 47). It seems that the Apostle Paul was emphasizing how the people of the church at Corinth ought to be the kind of people who make a difference. Paul seemed to stress that they ought to find ways through their devotion to each other as each others’ keepers to overcome obstacles. They needed to overcome obstacles when they were doing the opposite. They were creating obstacles to the unity.
Coworkers are teammates. We are called to work together in our service in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success”. (Roy B. Zuck. Ed. The Speaker’s Quote Book. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997, p. 375). Jesus has called us to be His disciples---His modern day “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19) to work together in the way we live, love (John 13:34,35) and witness in his name. How does our success and teamwork measure up? Are we using all the talent that God gave us?
