In her book, The Key to a Loving Heart, Karen Mains includes a parable about the church entitled The Brawling Bride. The members started to develop division following different leaders. I dont remember Paul seeing any thing like these issues as other than trivial. This word was normally used to refer to a tear in a garment. Instead of tearing themselves apart, he urges them to be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. Now, here the apostle makes very clear that the tendency among groupies is to distort the meaning of symbols. Galatians: Freedom through Gods Grace (Wipf & Stock, 2019). It was a glorious work. These are not the only causes of divisions in churches today. The same viewpoints are still dividing people. In the body of Christ at large there are many who can make a contribution to the understanding of Christ. 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. 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. It is a serious threat to the life of a church to find people choosing favorite preachers, to the degree, at least, that they do not want to listen to anyone else. In fact, Paul never claims disciples. There were, first of all, the loyalists who said, "We are of Paul. The individual leaders should only point them to Christ. But it is the exclusiveness that Paul is concerned about here -- people who do not even want to come to a service if someone other than their favorite is preaching. The Corinthian Church. 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). 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.. So we have the possibility for this very thing right here. It is well known that division in the church of Corinth was over leadership. As we do, I hope every one of us will understand more and more fully the character of this radical principle that God has turned loose among us, this revolutionary idea represented in the cross of Christ that wipes out all these distinctions among men. There was still a fourth group, and in some ways I think they were probably the worst. There has been no other cure that I know of through the years. The elders should make their decisions with the same mind and the same judgment. I think today if church leaders focus on Jesus and only Jesus we would be so much healthier. For permission to use this content, please review The church is never called to having everybody think exactly alike. There should be oneness of mind, no matter how long it takes. In fact, there are still many divisions that exist today in modern churches. These are not the only causes of divisions in churches today. 6-Members defiling the Lords Supper. (1Corinthians 1:13b-16 RSV). The Protestant Reformation had its beginnings in 1517 (see Chapter 1 0). Sermon 5: Who is the Most Important? WebThe Christians at Corinth were dividing the church by pledging their loyalties to different celebrities. Therefore, the only basis upon which you can get Christians to agree is by setting before them the Person of the Lord Jesus, and calling them back to that fundamental base. And there were some who said, "Well, when Peter came through, he baptized me. I Corinthians 12:12,13 says, For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. I find there are these tendencies right here in Peninsula Bible Church. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 7-False zeal for spiritual gifts. The word divisions comes from the Greek word schismata, from which we get our English word schism. One day in Africa, a small boy was lost. If Paul could see the divisions between the various denominations of today, what would he say? God wants the local church congregation and the local community to see the beauty of a church that is unified and fitted together in love. 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). Webdivided. 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? 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." They embraced the values of their Roman society, which divided over ethnicity (e.g., Jews vs. Gentiles) and social rank (wise vs. foolish, powerful 1-False prophets (2 Corinthians 11:13). It was expected. These are two common causes of church divisions in the West. I understand the fact that people have different beliefs and would like to stick to those (it is good to sick to what you believe) but when you get so segregated that you cannot work together anymore, it becomes a serious problem. A second issue that seems to keep the church divided (the whole church and individual churches) is the little things such as the structure of the service, the type of music played for worship, whether a pastor should always wear a tie, and what color should be used in the bathroom. 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. In verses 10-12, Paul begins by giving an appeal for unity. With Pauls harsh criticism of said divisions, you would think that we might have learned how to move beyond that in the 21st Century, however, that is not the case. I personally experienced this at work about a year and a half ago. In what ways have we failed to de-paganize? (Phil Long). Now to this, there should be a division that exists considering that there are some denominations that do teach correct biblical doctrine, while other churches deviate from correct biblical doctrine in order to teach their own false doctrines. The third danger of groups is given in the latter part of Verse13, and on through the next few verses: Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? The first noticeable division would be among differing denominations. 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. It took four viewpoints to report his earthly life and ministry accurately enough to us. We pray that it may be rich and real in our hearts as we live this week together. What is a clique? For example, in the first section from 1:10 to 4:21, it's errors regarding division. In Jesus' name, Amen. Help me walk from day to day, with its shadows o'er me. If it is to expand the congregation and further the work of the Lord in that area, and he had the whole agreement of the leadership of the church behind him, then it is fine to take part of the congregation and go away and begin another work. It is those who have a financial interest in their own wellbeing, that divide the sheep up into different folds. There are many other things that do cause serious problems stemming from the outside world. There are several important terms in this passage. 4-The churchs failure to discipline. It is possible that these divisions represent competing house churches, some founded by Paul, some by Apollos. On Friday of this week we will gather again to consider the cross of Christ. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. All that mattered to Paul was Jesus! Because I am a little defensive it seems like they are almost my enemy. Their relationship to Christ was the unifying factor of the church. That, of course, is as it should be. They are springing up all over the place, including Downunder (Australia) where I live here in Brisbane. 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. I have had to do some degree of battle with this myself. There were: the followers of Paul, the followers of Apollos, the followers of Cephas or Peter, and the followers of Christ. Four groups had formed in the Corinthian church. Some people will pick other matters of doctrine to affirm. Other divisions were to follow. Take the various mega-churches for example, whose charismatic pastors live in mansions. There is no other name big enough, great enough, glorious enough, and powerful enough to gather everybody together, despite the diversity of viewpoint and the differences of background or status in life, than the name of Jesus. He is the ground, always, of unity. 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! Many of the other problems were flowing out of this division within the congregation. God only sees one fold, (John 10) and there is only one faith, one Lord, one baptism etc. Paul gives the church a stern warning about their actions and the proper way to participate. Although the modern church has improved in many ways compared to the ancient churches, there is still the issue of division that exists among differing churches as was in the ancient churches. These preachers draw in masses of people every week who are eager to hear them speak. Some Corinthian Christians were dividing over church teachers. This also brings up another Pagan influence which is naming the days of the week after the planets. There should be unanimous agreement. The ground, of course, is the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. If someone comes on preaching the doctrines that were emphasized during the Reformation, he will get a great following of people who think that the Reformation was the whole sum and substance of all great Christian truth. Aside from this acceptable division within the modern church, there are also two other reasons for division which should not exist. 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). The Protestant Reformation had its beginnings in 1517 (see Chapter 1 0). How can the presence of divisions be described as worldly?, Bruce Winter details the Greco-Roman practice of discipleship in the second chapter of After Paul Left Corinth. They were burdened about them, and they went to the right person with them. It is possible that these divisions represent competing house churches, some founded by Paul, some by Apollos. WebThe Corinthians were basically making a mockery of Communion. In verse 17, Paul says that his calling of God was to preach the Gospel, and the focus of the Gospel is the cross of Christ. The members started to develop division following different leaders. I would agree that we find ourselves in much the same situations as those listening to the Greek philosophers/orators. Sermon 5: Who is the Most Important? So rather that detailing their accomplishments as orators, Paul describes their functions (Paul planted, Apollos watered, etc.) When everybody decides to put the things of Christ first, and is willing to suffer loss that the honor and glory of Christ might be advanced, that is what brings harmony in a congregation. Paul always expresses great concern about the possibility of a split in the church. He's a great preacher, a warm, capable, eloquent man, who can make the Old Testament come alive!". The words made complete mean to be perfectly joined together, like a jigsaw puzzle. Apollos was an intellectual. It is not merely that the Church is everywhere split up into sections, but that this has led to party strife and jealousy. Yes, we have the core beliefs that most Christians will agree upon, but the rest is still very confusing to non-believers. In conjunction with this, some people were questioning Pauls character and authority ( 1 Corinthians 14 ). He had received a report from the household of Cloe that there were quarrels among the members of the Corinthian church. 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. What happens when you get a tear in a piece of clothing and you keep washing and wearing that piece of clothing with the tear in it? [Then he thinks of another group that he had baptized] (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. 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. For example, in the first section from 1:10 to 4:21, it's errors regarding division. Each group claimed to be better than the others, and party spirits began to grow in the church. Some considering Paul their authority, other Apollos, others Peter, and still others accepted only Jesus as their authority. Some say, "I am of Gothard," and others say, "No, I am of Bright." I have had people say to me, "Oh, Mr. Stedman, when you speak I see so clearly! Then there were the stylists, those who were attracted by the different kinds of preaching, and they had especially been drawn to Apollos. WebDivisions in the Church. I am sure there were many in Corinth who were saying, "Oh, I love to hear Apollos! The basic meaning is to put back together and make one again something that was broken or separated. But you could always tell a Navigator because there were three things that he always had: First, he had a Scofield Reference Bible tucked under his arm. There are three different causes of divisions in churches that Paul mentions in I Corinthians. Phil Long is correct, we have not improved much since the first century. One of the celebrities was Paul himself some believers at Corinth actually claimed to be his followers. Now, we are similar to the ancient world in that some people do see their pastors/teachers as a source of pride. This is not what the Church was meant to be like, and I fully believe that Paul would be appalled by our actions today as a Church of believers in Jesus Christ. He begins the process of developing them into leaders who will also preach the gospel and found more churches. Something shows up sooner or later as an identifying badge that marks them as "special," with special privilege and special status in that group. We feel some sense of connectedness to the teachers (pastors/leaders) whose teachings we sit under while they count us as proof of their effectiveness (numbers). Her nose is bloody! In desperation, they returned and held a meeting. Religious snobs want to be a part of a small group who The news went out but no one had seen the little fellow. He didnt focus on himself being superior to all the rest of the church leaders. Are we willing and ready to pray for unity in His Church, and work at building a stronger unity among fellow members of the congregations where we fellowship and serve? There was nothing wrong with Paul baptizing people, but Paul didnt want people to boast about the fact that he baptized them. It wipes out all the petty distinctions that men make among themselves. 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. This Western Church soon became known as the Roman Catholic Church. 2 Corinthians So they said, "When Peter came, we really felt that we were on solid ground. His followers in the Corinthian church may have viewed Christianity as a philosophy rather than a relationship with a Person Jesus Christ. God is all about people, not money, and I feel sorry for anyone who tries to take over the current move of God, put it in a box, stick a label on it, and own it they will be swept away.