If you will turn in your Bibles with me to John 17:20-23, I will read the passage to you. I was taking my break and a person I work with asked where I went to college. Sometimes a church leader can have so much clout that he begins to have cult status. It is popularized in the movie Mean Girls. They embraced the values of their Roman society, which divided over ethnicity (e.g., Jews vs. Gentiles) and social rank (wise vs. foolish, powerful Then comes that great Christological passage where he describes how Christ, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. If it had been left up to us to plan the program by which God would change the world we would never have included a cross. Todays church is a lot like the church of Corinthians. God only sees one fold, (John 10) and there is only one faith, one Lord, one baptism etc. 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?. Paul rejects this disunity, telling the church members to focus on Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:12 RSV) Now, there was the trouble at Corinth. The Corinthian church had many problems, and most of them were the result of pride and placing so much emphasis on social status. They were boasting over who had baptized them. They will not all be the same flavor; they will not all have the same characteristics. Each group claimed to be better than the others, and party spirits began to grow in the church. Now, we all have our favorite preacher, and up to a point that is not wrong. But even if there are multiple house churches founded by different leaders, Paul passionately argues that the body of Christ cannot be divided in this way. Offshoots had disturbed the church. You may be reminded by his words in Verse10 of the similar passage in his letter to the Philippians where, in Chapter2, he says to that church, "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord, and of one mind," (Philippians 2:1-2 RSV). Here in Verse10 he briefly shows us the ground of unity, and the nature of unity in a church. Now these things were good. Thank you, Father, for this time here contemplating the cross. Everybody has their denomination and they cling relentless to their doctrinal beliefs. These are two common causes of church divisions in the West. 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. In verse 11, Paul gives the reason for his appeal for unity in the church at Corinth. The Lords Supper was affected by the divisions between rich and poor and an overall general misunderstanding. In Matthew 12:25 the Lord Jesus says, Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand.. 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). Religious snobs want to be a part of a small group who Doesnt He deserve better than this? the author asks. Anyone who claims that he or she has an exclusive part in Christ is wrong. And I say that because some people focus on PREACHER instead of THE SAVIOR. It wasnt even about secondary doctrine (the second coming, the nature of baptism). This Western Church soon became known as the Roman Catholic Church. WebThe members of the Corinthian church we disunited because they were pledging their allegiance to human leaders rather than God. Now, Paul says this is all basically, fundamentally wrong. And some of them are really gross. The church is never called to having everybody think exactly alike. Some considering Paul their authority, other Apollos, others Peter, and still others accepted only Jesus as their authority. Conclusion. Some pigged out at the Lord Supper; others had barely enough to eat. In verse 11, Paul gives the reason for his appeal for unity in the church at Corinth. It is possible that these divisions represent competing house churches, some founded by Paul, some by Apollos. 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." 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. What is a clique? I agree with Greg, I see a lot of times where Pastors begin to care more about the number of the congregation rather on the connectedness of it. To an unbeliever, this looks like we cannot agree on our own religion. If so, what results are we shooting for? Each group claimed to be better than the others, and party spirits began to grow in the church. I do not think things have improved much since the first century. They take an innocent teaching medium, in this case baptism, and make it into an identification badge. Having listened to Pauls words and the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ, how important is unity to each of us today? That does not mean that everybody has to think alike. 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. To all of this Paul would say to us, as he says to Corinth, Is Christ divided? How many of you have ever put together a jigsaw puzzle? That is the mind Paul is talking about. But when doctrinal beliefs keep churches from working together to further the gospel. 5-Members going to pagan courts to settle disputes. Its not just the denominations per se any more theres also a proliferation of house churches too. That is why the apostle appeals to it. A gasp bursts from the guests! He was a rhetorician who was especially capable in the allegorical style of teaching of the Old Testament. 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. 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. In conjunction with this, some people were questioning Pauls character and authority ( 1 Corinthians 14 ). The individual leaders should only point them to Christ. 1-False prophets (2 Corinthians 11:13). Like I talked about in the first posting, the emerging church makes me question a lot of things they are doing. They did not try to hide the problems. Who are we, that we should put our interests and our desires ahead of that of the Lord for his church? Other divisions were to follow. One eye is purple and swollen! These are not the only causes of divisions in churches today. 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. WebAccording to Paul, the communitys problems were the consequence of the Corinthians mistaken belief that they had already been exalted. Their divisions, lack of church discipline, lawsuits, abuse of Christian liberty and over-emphasis of the gift of tongues, all illustrate this root problem. It wasnt even about secondary doctrine (the second coming, the nature of baptism). Not when one part of the congregation meets in one part of the building, and the other part of the congregation meets in another spot. It is well known that division in the church of Corinth was over leadership. In what ways have we failed to de-paganize? It seems like it would be better to ask in what ways have we been re-paganized. Not when we hear of churches with factions or cliques of people who sit on opposite sides of the aisle. Sometimes two or three hundred sailors, all of them Christians, would be there. 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. For example, in the first section from 1:10 to 4:21, it's errors regarding division. One of the celebrities was Paul himself some believers at Corinth actually claimed to be his followers. Thanks for the thoughtful comment Austin. 6-Members defiling the Lords Supper. Webdivided. Peter was an uneducated, common man and may have appealed to that group of people in Corinth. One of his biggest goals is to double our congregation so we have 5,000 members. 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? Paul exhorts them to agree. Paul then goes on to give us three very carefully stated clues in Verse13 as to what is wrong with this kind of thing. He come to Corinth to create a community of disciples from which he might receive patronage and prestige. Will we do so by the strength which God alone can and will supply? Now, the second thing Paul says is, "Was Paul crucified for you?" Every Navigator had to have a Scofield Reference Bible; that was the only "Authorized Version." Polhill says, every Corinthian had their own favorite preacher (237). A. It is possible, though, that the divisions among 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. So, just a few texts and there are so many more. We go back to the Lord alone. In fact, there are still many divisions that exist today in modern churches. This issue was so important that Paul devotes the first four chapters of I Corinthians to divisions in the church. These kinds of things happen when there are divisions in a church. It is possible, though, that the divisions among 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. Take the various mega-churches for example, whose charismatic pastors live in mansions. WebAccording to Paul, the communitys problems were the consequence of the Corinthians mistaken belief that they had already been exalted. In 2019 he published a commentary. While there can be problems with some (no recognised leadership, disorganised, isolated, cultishness, lack of cohesion etc) they can also produce some of the strongest disciples Ive seen for many years, and yet, they could easily claim to be that fourth division like the one at Corinth the I am of Christ division, where they have no name (no favoured preacher/teacher) but are still divided off. Unity in the church is something that requires cooperation with each other and with the Spirit of God. The members started to develop division following different leaders. Four groups had formed in the Corinthian church. They were also not afraid to be mentioned in Pauls letter to the church. The Corinthian church had many problems, and most of them were the result of pride and placing so much emphasis on social status.