Sermon Tone Analysis

What…should unite us?

What is it that should bring the church together, to live in community (common-unity)?

That’s essentially the question that Paul is answering for us in this passage today.

If you have a Bible, please take it and go with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 (and for those using the church bibles, I haven’t been telling you the page numbers....so here it is.....).

We are on week 3, of our study through 1 Corinthians.

Thus far, we have considered Paul’s introduction, which taught us that he is writing this letter, “TO THE CHURCH.”

Which is the title we’ve given our series of sermons.

The church we noted, was the “ekklesia,” the called out gathering, or the assembly of people that God summoned and brought together.

Paul writes to GOD’s assembly....the assembled people of God in Corinth.

He will address MANY problems within this assembly, but as we noted last week, he began with offering thanksgiving to God.

He thanked God for the grace He had given to these Corinthian believers…and he expressed the truth that GOD is faithful!

It was by this faithful God, they had been called into this COMMON-UNION (or this “fellowship”) with Christ.

Today…we pick up in verse 10, and we’ve titled this morning, “CHRISTian Unity.”

I think it’s probably pretty obvious to us, that the church, generally speaking, is often prone to division.

Even within Roman Catholicism, who boasts of her unity, there are many, many factions and groups divided and separated from one another.

Even within Roman Catholicism, there are many, many factions and groups divided from one another.

And in Protestant circles, there are thousands of denominations and little groups of churches.

And within those groups, there are groups.

Take the baptists for example.

Someone says, “I’m a baptist.”

That could mean A LOT of different things.

There are: Southern Baptists, American Baptists, Conservative Baptists, Calvinistic Baptists, Free Will Baptists, General Baptists, Landmark Baptists, Primitive Baptists, Old Regular Baptists, Old Time Missionary Baptists, Seventh Day Baptists, and Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists.

Why is it, that we’re so divided?

Well…that’s really an impossible question to answer with a simple answer.

There are theological reasons, historical reasons, geographical reasons, and there are sin reasons.

There are times when division is right, and it is the will of God.

Take the Protestant Reformation for example

Rome had ceased preaching the gospel…and they would not repent of their power-seeking, money loving, sheep fleecing message…so there was a forced split.

It wasn’t that Luther and others were seeking power, or fame to their own name…it was that they loved God and His gospel and wanted it kept pure in the church.

This is a GOOD and justifiable division in Christendom.

There are clear times when individuals, or groups of individuals, must leave congregations or denominations in our day, because the denominations or the individual congregations, have left the truth to embrace a lie.

The PCA which left the PCUSA over matters of biblical sexuality several decades ago

There are also secondary doctrinal differences, or even SOME cultural differences, which cause us to congregate separately, but do not necessarily divide us.

For example, one group of believers teaches that we should baptize our infant children…another group believes we should only baptize believers.

Both groups preach the gospel.

Obviously, they won’t be able to function together in covenant membership in one place…but they can clearly show their partnership in the gospel in other ways (T4G)

Cultural differences would certainly include things like language barriers…and maybe some cultural preferences that carry over even after the language switch, such as Asian Christians here in America.With much wisdom and discernment employed, it may be beneficial to meet in separate congregations sometimes, but still be partners in the gospel in real, tangible ways.

But in Corinth, it’s not the permitted divisions that Paul had heard about.

It wasn’t necessary separation, yet not spiritual division, over secondary doctrinal issues.

In Corinth, Paul is dealing with divisions over SIN REASONS.

In other words, the divisions in Corinth themselves, were sinful.

And Paul writes to appeal to them, based upon their “common-union,” or their, “fellowship” in Christ, that he just mentioned in verse 9, to instruct them to have the same Christ-centered mindset, instead of creating factions within God’s assembly.

And that’s our main idea today.

We can sum up this text’s appeal to us this way:

God’s Assembly, Comes Together, in the Power of the Cross

So I want to walk through this text and get a sense for what Paul was revealing as wrong, as well as to get a feel for what he’s calling them to…so that we can learn as God’s Assembly, we too will come together, in the power of the cross.

Let’s first consider....

1.

The Makeup of the Divisions

And we can see this in verses 10-12

Brothers: NOTICE…the familial language with which Paul writes

It was noted by one commentator that this is the letter, this letter filled with corrective teaching, that he uses these familial terms the most

He writes as the apostle of the Lord…but also as their brother in Christ

Verse 10

Paul teaches them to be united, by giving them this instruction from the positive, then the negative, then positive

Agree (literally means to “say the same thing”)....no divisions (schisma; tear; split; division)....be united; prepared; complete

Notice where their unity is to be:

So…be complete, Paul says, in....

Same mind: same way of thinking; same mindSET

Same judgement: same opinion; same purpose; same mission if you will

Paul tells them…that their mission, their message, and their mindset, is to be the same.

Then Paul gives the reason for his offering of this particular appeal to them...

For: because

Chloe’s people: possibly a house church meeting here

Quarreling: strife; contention

Among you: in you all (the letter is written TO THE CHURCH....to God’s gathered, God’s assembled people)....so there’s quarreling IN THE CHURCH

My brothers

Then Paul gets somewhat specific with identifying this quarreling

There are many possibilities as to what exactly these statements convey.

Recent scholars are even beginning to agree that Paul was not using the names of the actual faction leaders, who would be in Corinth hearing this letter read, and using these church leaders as examples to show the folly of the divisions.

Regardless…we take his words here as he wrote them, for the points are obviously still conveyed.

Paul, had some with allegiance to him above others.

Apollos is the brother mentioned in that Priscilla and Aquilla helped better understand the gospel, in order to more accurately proclaim it to others.

He was apparently highly educated and was schooled in Alexandria.

Cephas is Peter, one of the 12 original apostles.

And those claiming, “I follow Christ,” have the most amount of ink on paper concerning who they are.

Some believe these are the right ones.

Some believe, that in their sanctimonious pride, they concluded “we are Christians, and we don’t follow a man.”

Some believe these are Paul’s words, as in “you claim allegiance to all these, but I follow Christ.”

Many people believe it to be that second option, that their pride says, “we follow Christ, and no man.”

And this is wrong

Not only because of their pride, or the wrong spirit…but also because, it is literally impossible not to be influenced by others

Paul himself would call them to, “follow me, as I follow Christ.”

But it’s not so much the statement itself that would be wrong, “We belong to, and we follow, Christ.”

Paul will tell them as much, later in this very letter....it would be their spirit behind it

For Corinth, these factions aren’t driven by good motives.

These divisions, are not over theological/doctrinal matters, which Paul actually calls for in other letters.

These are divisions, centered entirely around, polarizing personalities.

These divisions probably had far more to do with ministry styles and preferences, than anything of real value

and based on other portions of the letter, it may even have something to do with a financial situation and a power grab by the people

Creating these factions, with personalities at the center, is certainly normal for humanity....but it is not in line with those who have been called into COMMON-UNION in Christ

And it’s also important to note, that these aren’t FORMAL divisions.

Meaning, they aren’t causing physical, geographical splits from one another.

They’re still meeting together.