Do we need to be looking for results? Let it do its great work of cutting down and eliminating from our lives those things over which we take pride and which separate us from others; these distinctions that make us dislike our brother or sister, and turn our backs on them. Just as there was competiveness for honor and prestige among the orators of the first century, it also seems like there is competition between the pastors and churches of today. 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? 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. It is well known that division in the church of Corinth was over leadership. We pray that it may be rich and real in our hearts as we live this week together. To all of this Paul would say to us, as he says to Corinth, Is Christ divided? WebDivisions in the Church. If Paul were to visit one of these churches, he would see a good-looking man in a custom suit standing over everybody else, and his mind would go straight to the orators of his day. 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! Offshoots had disturbed the church. 2 Corinthians So they were splitting and arguing and quarreling over the relative merit and authority of these various teachers. A. One eye is purple and swollen! Were you baptized into the name of Paul? Others bragged that they were followers of Peter (1 Corinthians 1:12). It is possible, though, that the divisions among Not when we hear of churches with factions or cliques of people who sit on opposite sides of the aisle. Going off of what Cody is saying, in todays church everything needs to be just right. This division in the church was over their own selfish ambitions evidenced in what they wanted. Was Paul crucified for you? That was the mark, that was the identification badge. Like the world, Christians are too concerned with being right and having our way. That is the problem, and it is still going on today. They are still acting just like the world. This is the challenge of the divisions in 1 Corinthians how does the modern church act just like the world? He then goes on to describe for us the mind of Christ, which is a willingness to give up rights and personal privileges and give in and take a lower place. The cross strips away our illusions and brings the pride of men tumbling down from that high place where it exalts itself against the knowledge of God. There were: the followers of Paul, the followers of Apollos, the followers of Cephas or Peter, and the followers of Christ. It is possible that these divisions represent competing house churches, some founded by Paul, some by Apollos. When you get men's eyes off all these status symbols, and call them back away from following men to the Person of Christ and his cross, all the divisions will disappear. Why? Today we have followers of Rob Bell, Rick Warren, and even Joel Osteen (for some reason). The Protestant Reformation had its beginnings in 1517 (see Chapter 1 0). WebAccording to Paul, the communitys problems were the consequence of the Corinthians mistaken belief that they had already been exalted. These kinds of things happen when there are divisions in a church. We may not all agree on the way to do church but there is definitely more than one effective way. For instance, in the Greco-Roman culture the practice of teacher-disciple relationships was often common and so many Christian converts in Corinth would associate themselves with a particular teacher and be under their discipleship. Paul rejects this disunity, telling the church members to focus on Christ. The basic meaning is to put back together and make one again something that was broken or separated. The church is never called to having everybody think exactly alike. The Lords Supper was affected by the divisions between rich and poor and an overall general misunderstanding. I would like to approach it from an evangelistic standpoint. He started this church. 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. A young pastor who was facing that problem in his church called me this week from another state. Why are these thing SO important? The elders should make their decisions with the same mind and the same judgment. 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. The facts in the gospel are what will set us free, and particularly, he says, the word of the cross. WebThe Corinthians were basically making a mockery of Communion. And there are others who are drawn to some speaking style that has attracted them. Obviously, here at Peninsula Bible Church we cannot do that. I. PAULS APPEAL FOR UNITY (verses 10-12). That is why Paul calls us back to it. Its a lot harder! 6-Members defiling the Lords Supper. 10 I appeal to you, brothers,[ a] 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. WebDivisions in the Church. Because the Holy Spirit has but one will, and because a church must be in complete harmony with His will, the leaders must be in complete harmony with each other in that will. In my church it seems like they are all about numbers. His followers in the Corinthian church may have viewed Christianity as a philosophy rather than a relationship with a Person Jesus Christ. Conclusion. Public arguments were commonplace in the Greco-Roman world at the time that Paul was writing to the Corinthian church. That is not the work of men; that is the work of God himself. Their divisions, lack of church discipline, lawsuits, abuse of Christian liberty and over-emphasis of the gift of tongues, all illustrate this root problem. Ridiculous? Near the cross, O Lamb of God, bring its scenes before me. They were caused by Cliques (1:12; 3:4). In this passage of Scripture, Paul is very careful to focus the attention on Christ and not on himself. I will jump on the bandwagon here and say that division is definitely an issue today. Paul, however, was a good leader. Some Corinthian Christians were dividing over church teachers. 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. It is possible that these divisions represent competing house churches, some founded by Paul, some by Apollos. It would be great if all of you would think like me, but unfortunately there are stubborn ones among you, there are depraved ones among you, there are those who have different backgrounds than I have, and some of you just do not think like I do! We see similar situations today, with political debates often devolving into a shouting match in which the person who yells their opinion the loudest and the longest is the winner. He begins the process of developing them into leaders who will also preach the gospel and found more churches. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. It was expected. Who are we, that we should put our interests and our desires ahead of that of the Lord for his church? Now, here the apostle makes very clear that the tendency among groupies is to distort the meaning of symbols. 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. The first and perhaps biggest is denominations. They were burdened about them, and they went to the right person with them. The members started to develop division following different leaders. In my experience though, I find that it is carnal and unspiritual leaders that put up walls and fences between members of the body. The other reason is the division among churches of the same denomination. Some considering Paul their authority, other Apollos, others Peter, and still others accepted only Jesus as their authority. If you survey the church scene all over America today, you find people dividing up this way. I thank God that only a few of you can say that about me." These are two common causes of church divisions in the West. Paul does not want to be considered a philosopher who is gathering disciples, nor does he want that for Apollos or Peter or any man. Conclusion. 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." This is the result of a religious snobbery associated by cliques that produced pride and conflict. The Corinthian Church. Paul here introduces that which can cure divisions, both negatively and positively. Doesnt He deserve better than this? the author asks. We came to life in Christ by Paul, and Paul is the one we're going to listen to above all others." They were also not afraid to be mentioned in Pauls letter to the church. WebThe spirit that wrought such mischief at Corinth has been busy in the Church ever since. 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. Yes, we have the core beliefs that most Christians will agree upon, but the rest is still very confusing to non-believers. Some boasted of their special spiritual gifts; others felt left out. 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. They did not try to hide the problems. If you limit yourself to one speaker or one teacher and feed only on him, you are getting a distorted view of Jesus Christ; you are chopping Christ up, dividing him and taking one little portion as one man reports it and ignoring the rest, thus your view of Christ is deficient and unable to satisfy you as it was intended to do. The church at Corinth had divided loyalty to different leaders. We are so proud of them when they look right, but when things start to fall apart, the church begins to fall apart as well. It is the popular thing today to cry, "Back to the Reformation!" It is popularized in the movie Mean Girls. 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. That is the mind Paul is talking about. 2- The Churchs division. WebWhat were the causes of division in the Corinthian Church? It seems unbelievable at first to think that this kind of division exists within the modern church, but more often than not it is actually one of the most common reasons for division.