There is not a single Christian teacher who ever lived who can help us be forgiven one single sin, not one. 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. WebThe members of the Corinthian church we disunited because they were pledging their allegiance to human leaders rather than God. What Was Dividing the Corinthian Church 2 Corinthians He was a rhetorician who was especially capable in the allegorical style of teaching of the Old Testament. "One is your master; all of you are brothers," (Matthew 23:8 KJV). Believers who are joined in heart should not find it difficult to be joined in hand, working together for the common good and for the glory of Christ. Even as Christians, there seems to be the desire of wanting to uphold one pastor over another by comparison and ultimately glorifying certain pastors. In my church it seems like they are all about numbers. What is a clique? 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. The countless denominations and different beliefs of Christianity are often not appealing to non-believers. They are springing up all over the place, including Downunder (Australia) where I live here in Brisbane. I have to admit though that sometimes I think about numbers and recognition and want that. It is sad to see that our world appears just as divided today as it did back in the first century. 6-Members defiling the Lords Supper. There was still a fourth group, and in some ways I think they were probably the worst. WebAnd you know, that gives me some idea of how important this is to God, because from 1:10 to the ninth verse of the sixteenth Chapter, he just talks about the errors in the church. Members follow him blindly and whatever they do seems right to them. 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. 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." Divisions in the Church On Friday of this week we will gather again to consider the cross of Christ. Anyone who claims that he or she has an exclusive part in Christ is wrong. Others bragged that they were followers of Peter (1 Corinthians 1:12). The same viewpoints are still dividing people. Not even a three-fourths vote should carry a motion. Let's get back to the beginnings. I find there are these tendencies right here in Peninsula Bible Church. And some of them are really gross. DIVISIONS IN THE CHURCH I Corinthians 1 Are we willing to love each other as Christ loved us? When the lifeless body of the little one was carried back to the anxious mother, she cried aloud, Oh why didnt you join hands before?. And some of them are really gross. Now, Paul says this is all basically, fundamentally wrong. This is what Paul uses as the basis for unity in this church -- not only the attitude of selflessness, which is the mind of Christ, but the responsibility to submit to his Lordship, the common responsibility that we have together. Whatever you say, I believe." One day in Africa, a small boy was lost. Now, we are similar to the ancient world in that some people do see their pastors/teachers as a source of pride. Conclusion. There were, first of all, the loyalists who said, "We are of Paul. These kinds of things happen when there are divisions in a church. Some considering Paul their authority, other Apollos, others Peter, and still others accepted only Jesus as their authority. Sometimes a church leader can have so much clout that he begins to have cult status. Paul rejects this disunity, telling the church members to focus on Christ. Yes, we have the core beliefs that most Christians will agree upon, but the rest is still very confusing to non-believers. In verses 10-17 of Chapter 1, Paul establishes the fact that there are divisions and begins to deal with them. A young pastor who was facing that problem in his church called me this week from another state. 5-Members going to pagan courts to settle disputes. When I say it gets ignored like an infomercial you probably infer what that means. Webdivided. The divisions of Christendom are the scandal of Christianity. I'm nobody, just like you!" 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." It was expected. Sermon 5: Who is the Most Important? [Then he thinks of another group that he had baptized] (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Obviously sin is at the heart of these divisions, but I am encouraged to hear that at least in your corner of the world there is some unification and revival. All rights reserved. Orators have to be so careful not to let teaching become a pride thing rather than a gift they share to better the other. Each group claimed to be better than the others, and party spirits began to grow in the church. Paul rejects this disunity, telling the church members to focus on Christ. WebPaul rebukes the Corinthians because there are divisions and quarrels in the church. These are not the only causes of divisions in churches today. Its all about who looks the best, how much money is made, and how big our churches are. There are the Calvinists and the Arminians and the Dispensationalists -- these are some of the things that are held up as the "summum bonum," the highest good, in theology. I would like to approach it from an evangelistic standpoint. The word divisions comes from the Greek word schismata, from which we get our English word schism. Some sued their fellow Christians in the secular courts. Maybe if they are getting rid of core doctrine it is a justifiable anger but I can definitely see how the church is very much the same as 2000 years ago. These are two common causes of church divisions in the West. Like Greg, I recognize this tension in some of the churches I have served in and find it appalling (1 Corinthians 3:18-19). Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any one else). I told them that it is a concern of mine as well. In this passage of Scripture, Paul is very careful to focus the attention on Christ and not on himself. Bruises show on her arm! 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. That, of course, is as it should be. WebThe Corinthians were basically making a mockery of Communion. It is well known that division in the church of Corinth was over leadership. My answer was that it all depends on the motive. The first and perhaps biggest is denominations. For a local church to be spiritually healthy and effective, and for there to be harmony in the local church, there must be doctrinal unity. Some considering Paul their authority, other Apollos, others Peter, and still others accepted only Jesus as their authority. Some followed Apollos whom they honored above Paul (1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:4; Acts 18:24 to 19:1). 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. Corinthians "I appeal to you," he says, "by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." 13Is Christ divided? is the history and significance of the church No, he says that is not why he was sent: "I was not sent to emphasize symbols, but, positively, I was sent to preach a whole gospel, not one emphasizing style, not in wisdom of words, but that which emphasizes content." At that time it was under the leadership of its founder, Dawson Trotman, and it was my privilege and delight to be a close friend of his, to have spent a good deal of time with him and to come under the influence of his teaching and his methods. The individual leaders should only point them to Christ. We all know what a clique is. Its not just the denominations per se any more theres also a proliferation of house churches too. Paul always expresses great concern about the possibility of a split in the church. I used to attend a Navigator group which met in Honolulu on Sunday afternoons. 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.. Corinthians (1Corinthians 1:10 RSV). This also brings up another Pagan influence which is naming the days of the week after the planets. We all know what a clique is. Sometimes a church leader can have so much clout that he begins to have cult status. In comparison to modern churches, its easy to say that there are hardly any divisions among Christians and differing churchesbut could these divisions still exist today? 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. In 2019 he published a commentary. Everybody has their denomination and they cling relentless to their doctrinal beliefs. WebThe Corinthians were basically making a mockery of Communion. 2- The Churchs division. 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? These are two common causes of church divisions in the West. One of the celebrities was Paul himself some believers at Corinth actually claimed to be his followers. Something shows up sooner or later as an identifying badge that marks them as "special," with special privilege and special status in that group. 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. Ridiculous? In fact, there are still many divisions that exist today in modern churches. The church at Corinth had divided loyalty to different leaders. Other divisions were to follow. WebThe Christians at Corinth were dividing the church by pledging their loyalties to different celebrities. Members follow him blindly and whatever they do seems right to them. 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. That is the problem, and it is still going on today. Chapter Summary It is not merely that the Church is everywhere split up into sections, but that this has led to party strife and jealousy. 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. (1 Corinthians 1:12 RSV) Now, there was the trouble at Corinth. They would have the Scofield Reference Bible and a notebook under one arm, and you knew that if you examined their Bibles you would find the ladder index on the pages. the Problems in the Corinthian Church Each group claimed to be better than the others, and party spirits began to grow in the church. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. We may not all agree on the way to do church but there is definitely more than one effective way. The first thing Paul says is that it tends to chop up Christ and parcel him out as though his person and his work came in various packages, thus you lose perspective of the whole of Christian theology. Not when we hear of churches with factions or cliques of people who sit on opposite sides of the aisle. Now, you do not have to be very old to recognize that that is still a problem in the church. Sometimes two or three hundred sailors, all of them Christians, would be there. He come to Corinth to create a community of disciples from which he might receive patronage and prestige. So, just a few texts and there are so many more. 14I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. Their conflicts undoubtedly had its theological and philosophical dimensions, but it was social as well, human and petty, high on pride and low on love (Polhill 233). Since November 2021, Reading Acts is edited by Sarah Westphal. Sometimes a church leader can have so much clout that he begins to have cult status. 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospelnot with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. DIVISIONS AND PERSONALITIES IN THE CHURCH In the same way, thats not the way the Church was meant to be fitted together. 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. 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. 3- The presence of an immoral member. Dio Chrysostom complained that Corinth was filled with wretched sophists, many of whom were debating one another with shouting and abuse near the temple to Poseidon. And more than that, we have a responsibility to obey him, to follow his Lordship. 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. The members started to develop division following different leaders. 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. On opening it you found a loose-leaf notebook with many of the small, half-page materials that the Navigators printed their Bible helps on. This issue was so important that Paul devotes the first four chapters of I Corinthians to divisions in the 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. (Philippians 2:6-8 RSV). Offshoots had disturbed the church. Their divisions, lack of church discipline, lawsuits, abuse of Christian liberty and over-emphasis of the gift of tongues, all illustrate this root problem. Then there were the stylists, those who were attracted by the different kinds of preaching, and they had especially been drawn to Apollos. It is not merely that the Church is everywhere split up into sections, but that this has led to party strife and jealousy. Whenever this attitude of gathering around a man is allowed to perpetuate itself, it is the source of much trouble and difficulty. He described the activities of the disciples of the Sophists the professional orators who were able to command large audiences, high fees for educating youth, and often a great deal of power within the city. Apollos was an intellectual. The Corinthian Church. 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. Some boasted of their special spiritual gifts; others felt left out. I appreciate the perspective given by the author and agree 100% that the body of Christ is divided. One of the celebrities was Paul himself some believers at Corinth actually claimed to be his followers. This unintentional mindset causes people to treat the Bible and its words like it is a product that can wear out, and ignored like an infomercial.
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