The church in Corinth was a group of people who were tearing themselves apart! This is not what the Church was meant to be like, and I fully believe that Paul would be appalled by our actions today as a Church of believers in Jesus Christ. To an unbeliever, this looks like we cannot agree on our own religion. And I say that because some people focus on PREACHER instead of THE SAVIOR. He started this church. I would like to close this service by reading what one man wrote about the cross: It is well that we should think sometimes of the Upper Room and the Last Supper, and of his soul, "exceeding sorrowful unto death"; of Gethsemane and the deep shadow of the olive trees; his loneliness, prayers, and disappointment with his disciples; his bloody sweat; the traitor's kiss; the binding, the blow in the face, the spitting, the buffeting, the mocking, the scourging, the crown of thorns, the smiting; the sorrowful way and the burdensome cross; the exhaustion and collapse; the stripping, the impaling, and the jeers of his foes, and the flight of his friends; the hours on the cross; the darkness, his being forsaken of God; his thirst, and the end. There are three different causes of divisions in churches that Paul mentions in I Corinthians. This issue was so important that Paul devotes the first four chapters of I Corinthians to divisions in the church. In verse 11, Paul gives the reason for his appeal for unity in the church at Corinth. They were boasting over who had baptized them. I was taking my break and a person I work with asked where I went to college. But if it is to escape pressures and difficulties and problems in the congregation, then it is absolutely wrong and the worst thing he could do, because it sets before the watching world a false testimony concerning the church of Jesus Christ. Near the cross, O Lamb of God, bring its scenes before me. Phil Long is correct, we have not improved much since the first century. Anyone who claims that he or she has an exclusive part in Christ is wrong. It wasnt even about secondary doctrine (the second coming, the nature of baptism). Orators have to be so careful not to let teaching become a pride thing rather than a gift they share to better the other. The members started to develop division following different leaders. We do not know who the people were who belonged to the house of Cloe, but we must commend them for their courage and devotion. Some Corinthian Christians were dividing over church teachers. It is the popular thing today to cry, "Back to the Reformation!" 1 Corinthians 1:10: I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any one else). WebDivisions in the Church. The Lords Supper was affected by the divisions between rich and poor and an overall general misunderstanding. It is popularized in the movie Mean Girls. No man would ever have planned the cross. There are even discrepancies inside single denominations (which means we have division inside our divisions, great). And he speaks in the name of or by the authority of, our Lord Jesus Christ. I think the letter to the Philippians helps us here, because in that passage I just quoted from, Paul goes on to say, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus," (Philippians 2:5). This introduces one of the greatest passages in the Bible, setting forth the difference between the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God. The Greek word used here literally means to say the same thing. The word divisions comes from the Greek word schismata, from which we get our English word schism. There are three different causes of divisions in churches that Paul mentions in I Corinthians. (I have been trying for a long time to get my wife to accept that!) He had received a report from the household of Cloe that there were quarrels among the members of the Corinthian church. I told them that I do not foresee and end to these divisions anytime soon (sadly). Like Greg, I recognize this tension in some of the churches I have served in and find it appalling (1 Corinthians 3:18-19). The church at Corinth had divided loyalty to different leaders. God, therefore, has designed that there be many teachers, many preachers, many viewpoints, in a church. Dio Chrysostom visited Corinth about A.D. 89-96. You only have to listen around you today and you find outstanding leaders being held up by their congregations as almost the equal of the Lord himself in their value to the church. He says, in effect, "You don't cure divisions in a church by identification badges. Four groups had formed in the Corinthian church. It is well known that division in the church of Corinth was over leadership. Are we willing to love each other as Christ loved us? They were caused by Cliques (1:12; 3:4). 3- The presence of an immoral member. Some considering Paul their authority, other Apollos, others Peter, and still others accepted only Jesus as their authority. When the Corinthians divided into factions, it wasnt so much about core doctrine (nature of God, nature of Christ, the Gospel, the nature of man). Peter was an uneducated, common man and may have appealed to that group of people in Corinth. These are not the only causes of divisions in churches today. So he says, "I didn't baptize many of you. There was still a fourth group, and in some ways I think they were probably the worst. This applies also to the leadership in the church. In fact, these divisions are a sign of worldliness. We become followers of out Pastors and churches rather than of Christ. 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.". Paul continues in verse 10 by saying that, MANS WISDOM VERSUS GODS WISDOM I Corinthians 1:18-25, WHY DONT PEOPLE BELIEVE? They failed to take seriously the power of evil; their behavior caused divisions in the church and led to a lack of concern for other members. He's a great preacher, a warm, capable, eloquent man, who can make the Old Testament come alive!". WebAccording to Paul, the communitys problems were the consequence of the Corinthians mistaken belief that they had already been exalted. Was Paul crucified for you? He said so himself. The minister is waiting, Bible in hand. The church at Corinth had divided loyalty to different leaders. I remember a few years ago being at a family congress in St. Louis, Missouri, when one of the evening speakers was Dr.Oswald Hoffman, the very capable and powerful preacher on the Lutheran Hour radio program. Have you ever tried to put a jigsaw puzzle together with the pieces turned upside down so that they are all blank? This division in the church was over their own selfish ambitions evidenced in what they wanted. There are still others today who follow after some school of thought. He recognizes that we share a common life if we have come to Christ; we are brothers and sisters because we have his life in us. [Then he thinks of another group that he had baptized] (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Religious snobs want to be a part of a small group who There was nothing wrong with them, they were very helpful, but it was not very long before they became status symbols, and they were used to put down, not always intentionally, those who did not have them. Only the Lord Jesus Christ could pay the penalty for our sins because only He is the Son of God. 2 Corinthians The Lord Jesus is praying to the Father, and this is part of His prayer for us: I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that You sent Me. If you survey the church scene all over America today, you find people dividing up this way. And more than that, we have a responsibility to obey him, to follow his Lordship. Even though the churches within a certain denomination agree to the same biblical teachings, some churches within those denominations may begin to disagree with the biblical teachings and break away from the denomination to become affiliated with another denomination that aligns with their beliefs. And just as the Corinthian church was not above the petty rivalries of its time, neither is the modern church above becoming involved in such shouting matches. We have our theological view points, and even our philosophical ones (even though we could have less of that in our churches today in my opinion) but we also have our social dimensions as well. WebDivisions in the Church. We need to be perfectly joined together in the love of Christ. My impression is that the same sorts of problems evident in Corinth are clearly evident in the contemporary church, whether that is West Michigan or Brisbane. They were burdened about them, and they went to the right person with them. He does not say we should stop baptizing because of this problem. 7-False zeal for spiritual gifts. It seems so bland compared to all the other choices out there when really it presents and encourages people to live out a very different and exciting life in the opposite direction of the world. Christ belongs fully to every believer in His spiritual body, the Church. But that is a very dangerous attitude, and yet we tend to think of people as being the channel by which deliverance can come to our heart. Paul continues in verse 10 by saying that there be no divisions among you. As a young Christian in my early twenties during World WarII, I was stationed in Hawaii, and I became acquainted with the work of the Navigators. Paul gives the church a stern warning about their actions and the proper way to participate. The anxiety of the childs mother continued to grow, for she knew that her boy was somewhere out in the darkness where wild animals were constantly on the prowl. Then youre a Christian right? Even though our conversation could only continue for about 10 more minutes, this issue of divisions within the church arose. Who are we, that we should put our interests and our desires ahead of that of the Lord for his church? There is not a single Christian teacher who ever lived who can help us be forgiven one single sin, not one. We feel some sense of connectedness to the teachers (pastors/leaders) whose teachings we sit under while they count us as proof of their effectiveness (numbers). There is not a single teacher who ever lived who can heal the hurt of a broken heart, or supply energy and adequacy to someone who feels worthless and unable to function in society, not one. Ridiculous? The Gentiles coming into this new Church do not seem to be able to see the differences between it and a Greco-Roman philosopher gathering disciples and educating them in a particular philosophy. So, just a few texts and there are so many more. It is possible that these divisions represent competing house churches, some founded by Paul, some by Apollos. How can the presence of divisions be described as worldly?, Bruce Winter details the Greco-Roman practice of discipleship in the second chapter of After Paul Left Corinth. The facts in the gospel are what will set us free, and particularly, he says, the word of the cross. The groom and his attendants are in their places. I lead a small group so I sometimes have to sit in meetings where the pastor shares things about the vision of our church. Paul says that he does not preach in cleverness of speech because the power of the gospel lies in the facts of the gospel, and not in any mans presentation of them. Here are our first clues as to what is wrong with this kind of cliquishness in a church. How important is it that there be unity within the Church? Now, here the apostle makes very clear that the tendency among groupies is to distort the meaning of symbols. How many of you have ever put together a jigsaw puzzle? Unless its mended, the tear gets bigger and bigger, doesnt it? He has Masters degrees in Biblical Exposition and Old Testament from Talbot School of Theology (BIOLA) and a PhD in New Testament from Andrews University. Her hair is messed up! Galatians: Freedom through Gods Grace (Wipf & Stock, 2019). 6-Members defiling the Lords Supper. Paul here introduces that which can cure divisions, both negatively and positively. They read only his books or listen only to his tapes. 1-False prophets (2 Corinthians 11:13). Others bragged that they were followers of Peter (1 Corinthians 1:12). He begins the process of developing them into leaders who will also preach the gospel and found more churches. We get so off track of what Christianity is all aboutMark 12:30-31 and begin focusing on worldly things like Rob Bell debated are actually being held to see if this Pastor is even Christian! Some followed Apollos whom they honored above Paul (1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:4; Acts 18:24 to 19:1). 3- The presence of an immoral member. So, just a few texts and there are so many more. I used to attend a Navigator group which met in Honolulu on Sunday afternoons. Unlike most of his other epistles, Paul plunges right into the heart of the practical problems that were affecting this church, and the first of these, the problem of divisions within the church, he begins to deal with in Chapter1, Verse10. Some say, "I am of Gothard," and others say, "No, I am of Bright." This is the result of a religious snobbery associated by cliques that produced pride and conflict. "One is your master; all of you are brothers," (Matthew 23:8 KJV). This is what Paul does here. He gathers disciples and establishes a church, a meeting place for educating his disciples. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. So rather that detailing their accomplishments as orators, Paul describes their functions (Paul planted, Apollos watered, etc.) Now, he is not saying that it is wrong to baptize; he himself did it, and acknowledges that he did. The Lords Supper was affected by the divisions between rich and poor and an overall general misunderstanding. To resolve this issue, he encourages communal love. These are not the only causes of divisions in churches today. To all of this Paul would say to us, as he says to Corinth, Is Christ divided? Since November 2021, Reading Acts is edited by Sarah Westphal. Thanks for the thoughtful comment Austin. When I say worn out I mean people say that it is not usable in the modern world so its words become little more than foot rests in the pew. It is interesting how quickly we forget where our gifts come from and think we are the cause of success. Therefore our boasting should only be in the Lord (1 Corinthains 1:26-31). Website 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries. This Bible was pushed by the Navigators, and everybody had to have one. They embraced the values of their Roman society, which divided over ethnicity (e.g., Jews vs. Gentiles) and social rank (wise vs. foolish, powerful The cross of Christ cuts across all human value systems. Each group claimed to be better than the others, and party spirits began to grow in the church. Each group claimed to be better than the others, and party spirits began to grow in the church. On Friday of this week we will gather again to consider the cross of Christ. Obviously, here at Peninsula Bible Church we cannot do that. That is not the work of men; that is the work of God himself. So they said, "When Peter came, we really felt that we were on solid ground. Religious snobs want to be a part of a small group who Unity in the church is something that requires cooperation with each other and with the Spirit of God. Divisions never really ended with Pauls letters; they just appear to have evolved into having more sophisticated names. Not when we hear of churches with factions or cliques of people who sit on opposite sides of the aisle. The words made complete mean to be perfectly joined together, like a jigsaw puzzle. That is what they were doing with baptism here in Corinth. With that spirit of self-righteous smugness, they were separating from the rest, dividing up the congregation and quarreling with one another over these things. In the year 1 054 the Church was divided into two parts: 1) The Greek Eastern Church 2) The Roman Western Church. God is not confused, and He does not contradict Himself. Then not only did they have the Bible, but every Navigator who was anybody at all had to have an index drawn in on the pages of the Bible, a kind of a ladder that gave you a clue to where the books were so that with your thumb you could turn up any book in the Bible almost instantly. There is not a teacher among us today, or at any other time, who is able to open the mind and open the eyes of the heart and reveal to us the glory and majesty of God, not one. 5-Members going to pagan courts to settle disputes. That, of course, is as it should be. This is the result of a religious snobbery associated by cliques that produced pride and conflict. This is a very propitious time for us to consider the cross for this is Palm Sunday, commemorating the day when our Lord entered Jerusalem for his last week. They were caused by Cliques (1:12; 3:4). Public arguments were commonplace in the Greco-Roman world at the time that Paul was writing to the Corinthian church. Verse 12 tells us the source of this problem. They embraced the values of their Roman society, which divided over ethnicity (e.g., Jews vs. Gentiles) and social rank (wise vs. foolish, powerful That is what Paul speaks about. It is not merely that the Church is everywhere split up into sections, but that this has led to party strife and jealousy. Lewis.". It is well known that division in the church of Corinth was over leadership. 7-False zeal for spiritual gifts. Members follow him blindly and whatever they do seems right to them. We reveal our immaturity when we insist that only those with certain characteristics are the ones we will listen to, or we feel can bless or strengthen our lives. I find there are these tendencies right here in Peninsula Bible Church. Now, we all have our favorite preacher, and up to a point that is not wrong. I think that if you put the teachings of a man over the teachings of Scripture then you have a problem. It is those who have a financial interest in their own wellbeing, that divide the sheep up into different folds. 7-False zeal for spiritual gifts. WebWhat were the causes of division in the Corinthian Church? Paul is putting his finger right on the problem when he asks, "Was Paul crucified for you?" Ones honor and reputation were valued highly and if someone attacked your reputation it was expected that you would defend yourself and retaliate by publicly bashing your attacker. Perhaps, in their individual efforts, they had missed some spots; so the suggestion was made, Lets all join hands and go through the long grass again. Finally, the child was found, but it was too late. The individual leaders should only point them to Christ. Offshoots had disturbed the church. In other words, there must be agreement with Christ, with His will, and with His Word. This doesnt mean that they have to agree on the minutest points in areas where there is no clear teaching in Scripture. Members follow him blindly and whatever they do seems right to them. They take an innocent teaching medium, in this case baptism, and make it into an identification badge. He addresses them as brethren. Since I was working at that time in the ship's service department in Pearl Harbor, we ordered great quantities of these Bibles. 11My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. The third thing that every Navigator had was a little black notebook covered in rough-grained leather. Like the orators wanted more money from the fees they charged, many pastors just want more people to look better and have a bigger budget. They embraced the values of their Roman society, which divided over ethnicity (e.g., Jews vs. Gentiles) and social rank (wise vs. foolish, powerful Apollos was an intellectual. It would destroy the unity of the congregation and split them up and provide an inaccurate testimony to the Person of Christ before the watching world. My answer was that it all depends on the motive. Paul condemns their behavior in verse 13 by saying, Has Christ been divided? In other words, have different amounts of Christ been given to different people? In verse 17, Paul says that his calling of God was to preach the Gospel, and the focus of the Gospel is the cross of Christ. He chooses various channels through which to work. There was extreme competition among the orators for honor and power. Thats not the way a jigsaw puzzle was meant to be put together. Members follow him blindly and whatever they do seems right to them. The words made complete in verse 10 are translated from a Greek word that was used to speak of mending such things as nets, bones, dislocated joints, broken utensils, and torn garments. If we are, all our differences and difficulties would soon come to an end. I believe that if people would take their eyes off man and stop putting man up up so high and put THE MASTER BACK FIRST in their lives it wont be so much division in our churches. The congregation then is to submit to the elders because it has confidence that their decisions were made under the Holy Spirits direction and power. These kinds of things happen when there are divisions in a church. Now, how could that be? In this passage of Scripture, Paul is very careful to focus the attention on Christ and not on himself. And there were some who said, "Well, when Peter came through, he baptized me. We worry about how the power points are going to look, if we should have one or two singers, drums or no drums, electric guitars or none at all (I feel like you get my point) its almost as if we worship these things! There are several important terms in this passage. I am thankful that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius; lest any one should say that you were baptized in my name. I dont remember Paul seeing any thing like these issues as other than trivial. Sometimes a church leader can have so much clout that he begins to have cult status. 1-False prophets (2 Corinthians 11:13). As we read through First Corinthians, I think we will see how very much like modern day churches this ancient church of Corinth was. In verse 11, Paul gives the reason for his appeal for unity in the church at Corinth. Webdivided. 2- The Churchs division. WebDivisions in the Church. Paul, however, was a good leader. The Protestant Reformation had its beginnings in 1517 (see Chapter 1 0). I personally experienced this at work about a year and a half ago. In my opinion, this is one of the main reasons our churches are so split and why we act more like the world rather than more like Christ. One of the celebrities was Paul himself some believers at Corinth actually claimed to be his followers. The Protestant Reformation had its beginnings in 1517 (see Chapter 1 0). Paul rejects this disunity, telling the church members to focus on Christ. Like the world, Christians are too concerned with being right and having our way. When you follow one man you are getting a view of Christ, but there is no teacher in the church who has ever come along -- including the Apostle Paul himself -- who has ever had a totally complete view of Christ. These are two common causes of church divisions in the West. The human condition is, unfortunately, one of comparison that seeks to place oneself or their beliefs over another. That is why we have four gospels, because not even one of the disciples who was with the Lord was capable of giving us a complete enough view of Christ. He was a rhetorician who was especially capable in the allegorical style of teaching of the Old Testament. These were not schisms yet; they had not split off into other congregations, but there were four cliques, or factions within the congregation. They did not try to hide the problems. They will not all be the same flavor; they will not all have the same characteristics. We, as the modern church, say that we hold to Pauls message that we shouldnt be conformed to this world, but when we look at the world, there seem to be just as many divisions. I think we have failed to de-paganize the art of preaching/teaching if pastors/leaders are looking for patronage, prestige, and numbers over relationships, service, and transformation. Why are these thing SO important? The families have been seated. 3- The presence of an immoral member. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. All that mattered to Paul was Jesus! Are we willing and ready to pray for unity in His Church, and work at building a stronger unity among fellow members of the congregations where we fellowship and serve? When you call them back to an understanding of the meaning of the cross, you will find all the divisions disappearing; they fade away like the morning mist. Furthermore, would the apostle not also be concerned with other divisions within the individual church body? Now, almost every group does this. Some Corinthian Christians were dividing over church teachers. John 12:37-50, THE PARADOX OF LIFE FROM DEATH John 12:20-26, THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM JOHN 12:9-19, SPIRITUAL LIGHT AND DARKNESS John 9:35-41. Their relationship to Christ was the unifying factor of the church. He had received a report from the household of Cloe that there were quarrels among the members of the Corinthian church. One day in Africa, a small boy was lost. Its pastors, bishops and others who fear the loss of their livlihoods as their former sheep move on in God towards the new wine skins of revival that want to maintain the old wine skins which brought them an income. WebAccording to Paul, the communitys problems were the consequence of the Corinthians mistaken belief that they had already been exalted. It was a glorious work. I thank God that only a few of you can say that about me." So they were splitting and arguing and quarreling over the relative merit and authority of these various teachers. (1Corinthians 1:13b-16 RSV). Many of us are familiar with this common phenomenon in human psychology of thinking that some symbolic thing that is of use to us is so important that we finally make it a badge of the group to which we belong. In Philippians 2:9 Paul said of Christ, Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name. No Christian, no Christian minister, is to put himself in Christs place, or allow himself to be put in Christs place, and take the authority and honor that is due to Christ alone. After all, he was one of the first apostles that Jesus himself called." In conjunction with this, some people were questioning Pauls character and authority ( 1 Corinthians 14 ). The real problem behind the divisions is that the church continues to act like Christianity is just another philosophy, and teachers are in competition with each other just as the Greek orators competed. Paul knew this and said in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony about God. These are not the only causes of divisions in churches today. Paul, however, was a good leader. In what ways have we failed to de-paganize? Its pathetic that people should get so angry about whether drums are used or if the AC unit is kept at 71 or 70. I told them GBC and they said something along the lines of, Oh a Bible college? For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, and whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. You and I cant have more of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we can give Him more of ourselves, and experience more fully what is already ours as children of God. They love to listen to someone because he turns them on emotionally. I have been in many places where they were having church fights and almost invariably the thing that gives away that a church is in trouble is when people start talking about "my church," not in the sense that is perfectly proper as meaning, "The church where I go," but leaders of the church actually saying, "This is our church," and telling other people they have no rights to do something because the church belongs to them. Something shows up sooner or later as an identifying badge that marks them as "special," with special privilege and special status in that group. His most recent book is The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World (Rockridge, 2022). Sometimes a church leader can have so much clout that he begins to have cult status. Todays church is a lot like the church of Corinthians. WebPaul goes right on, in Verse 12, to describe the forms that these divisions were taking in the church of Corinth: What I mean is that each one of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas" [another name for Peter], or "I belong to Christ."