Divisions in
the Church
1 Corinthians 1:1-4:21
by Paul George
The Fact of Divisions – 1:10-17
Paul first preached the gospel message in Corinth on his second missionary trip.
He preached in the synagogue until opposition forced him to move to the house of
Titus Justus. After leaving, Corinth Paul wrote a letter to the church, which
has been lost (1 Corinthians 5:9). Disturbing news about the behavior of the
members of the church at Corinth and questions they asked Paul in a letter they
sent him prompted the writing of the letter before us this morning.
In the salutation of the letter, Paul identifies himself as, “Paul, called as an
apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.” He identifies the believers in
Corinth as “saints, by calling.” Paul’s calling was by the will of God, the
Corinthians calling was by the will of God.
The word “church” generally refers to a local church or the church universal.
The local church is the body of believers who gather regularly in one place. The
universal church consists of all believers in every place and in the whole
course of church history.
The phrases “the church of God” identifies the One who brought the church into
existence through the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the One who
sustains the church, the body of believers, “which is at Corinth” identifies the
church as a local church, “saints, by calling, with all who in every place call
on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” identifies the local church as part of the
universal church.
In the salutation of the letter, Paul demonstrates his love and concern for the
church. Many of the members of the church at Corinth were the fruit of his
ministry (1 Corinthians 9:2; 2 Corinthians 3:1-4).
Considering the situation in the church at Corinth thanks is something most
people would not expect from Paul. The Corinthian are listening to false
teachers who are challenging Paul’s authority. They are condoning immorality.
Personal conflicts are being aired out before unbelieving eyes in secular
courts. How can Paul possibly give thanks?
Paul’s expression of thanks is not a condoning of the sins and failures of the
members of the church; Paul directs his thanks toward God for what God has done
and for what He will ultimately do for the Corinthians. Paul first gives thanks
for the grace God has extended to the believers in Corinth. God’s grace to the
saints in Corinth was boundless. He enriched them in everything, in all speech
and all knowledge. The false teachers who claimed the Corinthians were lacking
and that they needed something more were liars. God had provided all that they
needed. No gift was lacking in the church. God had provided just the right gifts
for the growth and maturity and ministry of the saints in Corinth. If the church
at Corinth was failing, it was not due to any failure on God’s part to provide
for their needs, but rather a failure on their part to appropriate these means.
They had God’s promise that they would be in Christ’s presence when He returns
and that they would be blameless, based on the faithfulness of God.
The problems in the church were causing the Corinthians to lose sight of a very
important fact, those who God sets apart have an obligation to be devoted to the
One who provided their sanctification, our Lord Jesus Christ and not men. Just
as the Corinthians, needed to be reminded they were a people set apart for a
higher purpose and end and the gifts they have received comes from our heavenly
Father and our Lord Jesus Christ there are times when we need to be reminded who
we are. We are people set apart for a higher purpose and end, the worship of the
Lord. The gifts we receive come from our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus
Christ and we are to use them in the building of His kingdom and not to satisfy
egos. The gifts we receive are due to the mending of the broken relationship
between God and man.
There are also, times when we need reminding that every good thing in this life
comes from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The ungodly and unrighteous
of this world do not realize or understand they also benefit from the blessings
God pours out on His children. Those who want to rid the world of those
troublemaking Christian do not realize or understand if there were no so-called
troublemaking, intolerant Christians on this earth this earth would be a
wilderness filled with evil and terror. If the anti-Christian movements of this
world would face reality, they would see the troublemakers and intolerant are
not the Christians they are.
The Corinthian lost sight of the fact that through the grace of God, they have
fellowship with Jesus Christ and brothers and sisters in Christ. They are part
of family. We also know, from experiences, the members of a family have
different viewpoints on any given subject and they express their viewpoints. The
problem is not the expressing of a viewpoint. In fact, it can be a good. It can
build a stronger relationship. They problem arises when a family member’s
viewpoint creates division in the family. Division weakens the family structure.
Division in the church weakens the structure of the church. It weakens the
influence of the church upon society. The true worship of the Lord cannot exist
where there is division.
Jesus addressed the problem of division in the Sermon on the Mount. He said,
"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty
before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall
be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be
guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember
that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before
the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present
your offering” (Matthew 5:22-24).
Division is one of Satan’s weapons. Confession is the weapon used to overcome
Satan’s weapon. You will note Jesus did not say if you have something against
your brother, He said if you remember your brother has something against you go
and be reconciled to your brother. What would keep a person from doing this? The
answer is a one-word answer, “pride” and this was a problem in the church in
Corinth and in the twenty-first century church. The Corinthian were letting
pride rob them of the gift of peace and the members in the twenty-first church
are letting pride rob them of the gift of peace.
Finally, Paul expressed his thanksgiving for the faithfulness of God that He
would complete that which He had begun in the Corinthian saints (verses 7-9).
While the Corinthian may not consistently be faithful, God is faithful. It is
through His faithfulness that each believer will enter into His kingdom,
blameless “in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 8).
No wonder Paul is thankful. In spite of the stumbling and sin in the Corinthian
church, God has sufficiently provided for their every spiritual need. He has
purposed to present them faultless when He establishes His kingdom. Paul
therefore is assured that his ministry is not in vain, because the salvation and
sanctification of the saints in Corinth and elsewhere are the work of God. The
God who called these saints and destined them for glory is the God who called
Paul to be an apostle and to minister to these saints. Paul’s work is not in
vain, for his work is ultimately God’s work.
The church at Corinth has come to a point that will determine the future of the
church. What they decide will have an impact on their society and their
relationship with the Lord. They know where they stand. The Lord is calling them
through Paul to repent from their evil ways and return to Him, so that He can
return to them.
Paul began his letter expressing his thanksgiving to God for the Corinthian
Christians, for the sufficiency of God’s provisions for them, and for the
certainty that God will complete what He has begun in them by calling them to
faith in Jesus Christ. Based upon this foundation, Paul now moves on to
reiterate the call to Christian unity (v 10). He then points out the ways in
which this unity has broken down in the Corinthian church (verses 11-12). In the
remainder of chapter 1, and in the next three chapters 2-4, Paul shows how
disunity is a contradiction of the gospel and how unity is a manifestation of
the gospel.
The lessons Paul has for the Christians of his day are applicable to our own
lives as well. The conflicts that existed then are still with us today. We have
conflict and strife in the church, in the home, and at work. Paul will have us
see that not only are such divisions contrary to the gospel, the gospel condemns
them. The gospel strikes at the heart of inter-personal conflicts, then and now.
Let us learn, for the lessons Paul has for us here are those that we should
apply moment by moment.
Paul does not begin with the problem of divisions but with a positive
exhortation to maintain Christian unity. His call to unity in verse 10 sets the
standard. His exposure of divisions in the church at Corinth in verses 11-12
shows a specific deviation from God’s standard. Paul defines unity as the
absence of division. Paul does not refer to formed groups in the church, but to
divided opinions over their various leaders, which according to verse 11 and
chapter 3:3 have developed into jealousy and quarrels, having the “same mind”
refers to the more general disposition or way of thinking. To have the same mind
is to have the same outlook or perspective. To have “the same judgment” is to
agree as to a particular decision, to agree on a particular issue.
When the apostles and the rest of the 120 saints gathered in the upper room
(Acts 1:12-14), they were all like-minded. They were one in spirit and in focus.
When they selected Matthias as the replacement for Judas, they came to the same
judgment. They reached a particular decision with unity. Unfortunately, the
Corinthian saints were not living up to the standard Paul set for them. There
were quarrels and divisions in the church, which he had heard about from
“Chloe’s people.” This probably does not mean each member, without exception,
but those who are not guilty of this evil are the exception and not the rule.
The problem is so prevalent that it seems to be well known. Even as far away as
Ephesus.
The source of the quarrels and divisions in the church was the focusing on
personalities rather than doctrine. Each of the personalities—Paul, Apollos,
Cephas, and Christ, is viewed as the one leader that the individual member has
chosen to follow. None of these leaders was responsible for the problem or
encouraged any of the members of the church to follow them. The problem is a
follower problem rather than a leader problem. The true problem was not one of
loyalties and allegiances to different leaders in the church it was pride. The
first three groups take pride in the leader they have chosen to follow. The last
takes pride in thinking he or she is following Christ. It is true that we all
should be followers of Christ. However, we should not be proud of ourselves for
doing so. Those who think of themselves as being “of Christ” also think of the
rest as not being “of Christ.” Those who boast of their following Christ are
effectively declaring themselves the leader. Those who are “of Christ” do not
need Paul, Apollos, or Cephas. They do not need an apostle. They can discern
Christ’s mind by themselves without any outside help from others. These are the
most frightening group of all, and Paul makes this clear.
In verse 13, Paul asked three questions, “Has Christ been divided? Paul was not
crucified for you was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” These are
closed end questions and require a single word answer, no.
Paul’s point is, salvation is not about the work of men but about the work of
Jesus Christ. All four of the groups mentioned by Paul in verse 12 were
man-centered. The fourth group was a little more subtle about it, but all of
these individuals took pride in themselves, based upon their perceived
allegiance. Paul wants to make the point clear and unmistakable; our salvation
is totally about Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins. Just as it was necessary in
Paul’s day, it is necessary today, those who are man-centered need reminded
salvation is Christ-centered. Since Christ is not divided, how can His body, the
church, be divided? It was not Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or any other mere
man who died on the cross of Calvary. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, shed His
blood on the cross to cleanse us from all sin. Baptism testifies to this fact.
Baptism is in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and not in
the name of any man. This is because salvation is through Jesus Christ and not
through mere men, regardless of their position in the church.
Baptism is a prominent theme in verses14-17; Paul mentions baptism six times in
this passage. Some people in the Corinthian church appeared to take great pride
in and looked down on those a celebrity did not baptize. This deadly pride is
present in people today. I have heard more than one-person brag about the fact
that some prominent religious baptized them some prominent location, such as the
ocean, popular lake, or river. Paul lets the air out of the tires of these proud
namedroppers by telling them that baptism is not a celebrity affair, and
compared to the preaching of the gospel, baptizing is a lower priority to him.
Do they take pride in the one who baptizes them? Paul is glad he has not made
baptizing a priority, and that he has baptized very few of the Corinthians.
It is thus evident that Paul viewed his preaching of the gospel as having a much
higher priority than baptizing new converts. Paul saw salvation as something
that occurs independently of baptism. True, baptism is important. It is the
believer’s public identification with Jesus Christ. However, baptism is not the
means of one’s salvation; rather it is the outward manifestation of salvation.
Paul rejects the doctrine of baptismal regeneration. If he thought baptism was
the means of salvation, he would have made it a much higher priority. Baptism
took second place to preaching in Paul’s life and ministry.
The Causes of Divisions,
The Misunderstanding of the Gospel Message 1:18-31
Paul reminds the church the gospel does not appeal to human pride; it cannot
even co-exist with it. The gospel informs us that there is only one thing to do
with pride, crucify it. The “word of the cross,” that is the message of the
cross, the gospel of the cross to unbelievers is foolishness. For those of us
who “are being saved,” the message of the cross, the gospel of the cross is the
power of God (see also Romans 1:16). For the unbeliever, the cross is a shame;
for the Christian, the cross is glorious.
The conflict between divine wisdom and power and the secular world’s view of
these matters should come as no surprise. Throughout history, God has worked in
ways that the world would never have imagined or believed. God’s purpose in
history is not to glorify man but to glorify Himself by demonstrating the
foolishness of man’s wisdom. The text that Paul cites in verse 19 is but one
indication of God’s intention of proving man’s wisdom to be folly. He refers to
Isaiah 29:14 to show that God has always worked in a way that is contrary to
human wisdom. Would human wisdom have chosen an insignificant people like the
Jews to be the nation among whom God would dwell? Would human wisdom have chosen
the land of Canaan over other places on earth? Would human wisdom have led the
Israelites into a trap between the Red Sea and the on-coming Egyptian army?
Would human wisdom have instructed the people of God to use their power to help
the weak, rather than to use their power to take advantage of the weak? Would
human wisdom have purposed to save Gentiles through the rejection and failure of
the Jews, rather than through their triumph? Would human wisdom have declared
that the coming Messiah was to be born of a virgin?
In verse 20, Paul asks a series of questions. Where is the wise man, the scribe,
the debater of this age? Where are they in the church, in the outworking of
God’s plans and purposes? Paul would have the Corinthians look around them to
see where the intellectual and scholarly giants are. Mostly, those so highly
esteemed in the world are absent from the church and absent so far as the
outworking of God’s purposes in human history. In addition, even when God may
draw one of the “greats,” He first humbles them. Does the world think that God’s
wisdom is foolish? God has set about a course that will prove man’s wisdom to be
foolish. God will use foolishness to prove the ungodly to be fools. Since the
world has not come to know God through its wisdom, God will make Himself known
to some through means that the world regards as foolish. God has chosen the
cross of Christ as the means to save sinners.
Jews and Gentiles may agree on few things, but they mutually hold that the cross
of Christ is foolish. The Jews are into power through signs and wonders. All
through our Lord’s life, they wanted to see signs and wonders. They expected
their Messiah to be a wonder worker, here to do their bidding. Even the
disciples bought into this frame of mind, so that Peter rebuked the Lord for
speaking of His cross (Matthew 16). The Gentiles were into a different kind of
power, mind power, human wisdom. They took pride in following great intellectual
thinkers or powerful orators. The message of a humble carpenter’s son, who died
as a common criminal on a Roman cross, was not popular among the Jews and
Gentiles. To the saved, the preaching of the cross of Christ is a manifestation
of the wisdom and the power of God.
Beginning with verse 26 Paul directs our attention toward the church; Paul wants
the Corinthians to give thought to who is present in the church. Granting the
possibility of a few exceptions, Paul reminds the Corinthians the church is not
composed of the wise, the mighty, or the noble, when judged by fleshly
standards. Instead, God has chosen to save the foolish, the weak, and the base
and despised, the “nobodies.” The word “chosen” in verse 27 is very significant,
because it underscores that God chose those on the lowest rung of the social
ladder.
Following the principle set down in verse 19, Paul explains why God selected the
undesirables of this world for salvation. God has purposed to nullify the wisdom
of the wise and to humble the proud. He has chosen to do so by employing means
and people that the world rejects as weak, foolish, and worthless. God chose the
foolish things of this world to shame the wise, the weak things of this world to
shame the strong, the base and despised things to humble that which is highly
esteemed (vv 27-28).
If God were to achieve His purposes through the worldly wise and powerful, we
would be inclined to give the praise and glory to the men He has used rather
than to God. However, God chooses the opposite, those whom we expect to fail
that when His wisdom and power are evident, and there are no wise and powerful
men to take their bows before men. Instead, men must bow before God, giving all
the glory to Him. To God be the glory, great things He has done!
Obviously, there are just as many divisions in the church today as there were in
Paul’s day. Some of us might argue that there are more divisions today than in
his day. The amazing thing is the difference in the way we deal with those
divisions and strife. In the church and in Christendom in general, we deal
psychologically with the divisions in the church and in Christendom, turning to
God and His Word is the last resort.
Psychologically the root of divisions and evil in the secular world, and in the
church and in Christendom is poor self-esteem. It should come as no surprise
that Paul identifies pride as the source of divisions and evil in the church and
Christendom. It is not that the professing believers in the church think too
little of themselves; they think too much of themselves. The root of the problem
is not “poor self-esteem” but “inflated self-esteem.”
Why are the church and Christendom embracing secular cures for the sickness in
the church and Christendom? Why when we seek to heal conflicts and strife, do we
turn to a psychology book rather than to the Word of God? When Paul deals with
strife in the church, he begins at the beginning, the gospel of Jesus Christ and
His sufficient provisions for salvation and godly living.
In his letter to the Corinthians Paul sets a standard of Christian unity
rejected in the majority of the twenty-first century churches and Christendom.
If we are a Christ-centered people and not a man-centered people, why do we let
Satan plant the seeds of pride in the church. Paul seeks to correct the ungodly
divisions in the church by turning immediately to the gospel. We were saved in
the name of Jesus Christ; how is it that we now take pride in the names of the
men we follow?
The Bible teaches us many truths, but the one truth that overshadows all truths
is the message of the cross. If any other truth begins to overshadow the gospel,
something is wrong.
Paul identified pride as the root problem among the Corinthians. He does not
advocate months or years of therapy. He does not see the need to know the
childhood, the background, or the individual struggles of each Christian. All
they need to know is the gospel. It is by means of the gospel that God removed
the conflict, the enmity, between sinners and Himself. It is also by means to
remove enmity between men because the gospel is incompatible with human pride.
When Christians strive with other Christians out of pride, the cure is not to
enhance their pride, to improve their “self-esteem”; it is to crucify pride. Do
you wonder why our Lord instructed His church to remember His suffering and
death by the observance of the Lord’s Table? Communion is the commemoration of
the work of Christ, the gospel. Communion is not simply a remembrance of an act
that our Lord accomplished in the past; it is a way of life that we are to
emulate every day of our lives.
The gospel that saves is the gospel that humbles, and that humbling gospel is
the basis for Christian unity and harmony. If you have never accepted the gospel
message, and the gift of salvation in Christ of which the gospel speaks, I urge
you to do so this very moment.
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