Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a [stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
As I write this posting it is very common to hear pundits opine on cable news programs that our nation has never been so divided. To this I say, really?
During the Revolutionary War, when our nation was being founded, about a third of the people in the Thirteen Colonies backed independence and another third were loyal to the Crown. The balance of the population, the remaining third, remained neutral. Seems pretty divided to me!
During the Civil War we had armies fighting one another. Americans were actually killing one another over political issues. Not only that, but the two sides were divided internally as well. Within the ranks of the Unionists there were divisions over why the war was being fought and riots broke out in New York City over drafting men into military service. Deep rivalries existed among the general officers in the Confederate Army, and shortly after the last shots were fired, U.S. President Andrew Johnson was the first president to be impeached. Again, seems pretty divided to my way of thinking!
Our nation is divided in many ways, but at least we are not shooting at each other!
With the backdrop of the looming Civil War, Abraham Lincoln quoted Jesus when he said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Sadly, churches fall prey to divisions as well, even churches in the New Testament. Just a few years after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, Paul was dealing with division in the Church at Corinth. What he taught them applies to many of our churches today who are in conflict.
What Is Fellowship?
In the preceding verse to our focal passage for today, Paul told the congregation at Corinth that, "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
Often in churches we use the term fellowship to mean a party or meal of some type. This use misses the deep richness of the meaning of the word. The Greek word translated fellowship is koinonia. Koinonia means intimacy, community, communion, and joint participation. So, fellowship is more than just "kool aide and cookies." Fellowship is close friendship and shared trust.
Sadly, true fellowship was lacking in Corinth; church was seriously divided.
How Was Corinth Divided?
The Church at Corinth was apparently divided into several factions based on personalities:
The sophisticated camp (Apollos). Apollos was a wonderful speaker and he was very articulate. Some people in Corinth wanted to claim him as their role model and it seems as if they were trying to bask in the glow of his rhetorical brilliance.
The traditional camp (Peter). Peter, of course, was the first leader of the Apostles and of the Jerusalem Church. He was a bedrock of the faith and it could be that some people at Corinth preferred to admire one of the first followers of Jesus rather than give respect to a leader who came later. For them, the original model was still the best!
The doctrinal camp (Paul). Paul was a very learned man and his many Epistles formed the basis for much of the theology which we still teach in Baptist churches today. Maybe for them, the knowledge provided by Paul made him superior to other leaders.
The arrogant camp (Jesus). It is easy for me to imagine some at Corinth looking down their nose at others and bragging, “I am of Christ!” Probably, we have all come across that person with this "holier than thou" attitude. Or maybe we have ourselves fallen prey to such thoughts?
Truth be told, the Bible does not characterize the attitudes of the people within each camp, but it does make it clear that the congregation was divided. When people follow different leaders, chaos ensues, and the church loses it way.
Crucial Questions:
Is Christ divided? No!
Not only is Christ not divided, He actually unifies! Read how Paul describes this in Ephesians 2:11-18.
Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Was Paul crucified for you? No!
It went unsaid by Paul that neither Peter nor Apollos was crucified for the people in Corinth either.
Were you Baptized in the name of Paul? No!
The members of the Church at Corinth were not baptized in the name of Paul, or Peter, or Apollos, but in the Name of Jesus.
Paul was reminding the Corinthian believers that Christ was what was important, not human leaders and personalities. Even today we see people in churches following human personalities as opposed to Jesus. People will follow a pastor from church to church if they can or sometimes people will leave a church because of a pastor. The truth is the church is not about the pastor and nor is it about the church member it is about Jesus and worshiping him as he deserves. As Paul would tell us, "Brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so!
So what, then, is the answer to these things?
The Cure For Divisions:
Paul gave two cures for the divisions in Corinth:
First is the message of the Cross of Christ.
Before we come to the Cross we have no salvation, no forgiveness of sin, and no hope. Truly, the ground is level at the foot of the Cross for no one brings anything good with them into the Kingdom of God. In fact, we come to the Family of God like a new born babe, and so none of us should be proud. Instead, all of us should exercise humility and meekness. This includes everyone: pastors, deacons, and church members alike.
Second, we must acknowledge the wisdom of God.
The world thinks it is wise and sophisticated and that the simple faith of the Christian is foolish and naive. The opposite is the real truth. True wisdom is seeing life from God's point of view, which brings us to back that simple and humble faith in Christ.
If either cure is applied to our lives, we will be united in grace and peace as we humbly take our place in God's Family!
Conclusion:
A teaching point that I have often used in premarital counseling is illustrated by the diagram below:
As a husband and wife individually grow closer to Christ, they also will grow closer together. It is a simple fact of geometry! The same is true of the members of a church, the Bride of Christ. As we all grow closer to Christ we naturally grow closer to each other. It is only if we remain babes in Christ and distant from God that divisions are allowed to occur.
Let us determine to grow in the nurture and admonition of our Lord. If we do, we will become more and more united at home, and at church!
Every blessing,
Dr. Otis Corbitt
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