ES1COR02 1 Corinthians 1:10-16
Notes
Transcript
10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)
Now, after such a praiseworthy start in the first nine verses, Paul changes tact. Last week he set a foundation for the letter which continues in this passage for he will return to this topic in chapter 3.
Division had come to the Corinthians in such a way that Paul was compelled to write and correct the errors that had arisen. For schisms and splits have no place in a fellowship. Stop, Paul is saying, stop following people like you did as part of the world. Follow Christ instead and Him alone.
The situation in this Church was such that they had formed factions under different religious leaders. It would be like us saying: I follow Malcolm. I follow Phil. I follow Ian. I follow Jesus. And bickering about it. It is plain to see by using my name or anyone else’s how ridiculous the whole idea is. In fact, there are those who follow particular pastors and move church when they move church and so on, I think that has happened here. If the doctrine is right then this should not happen. Doctrine is really the only reason allowed for division. The fact is Jesus cannot be divided - the Church is one body – not many, and He is the head.
Religious leaders are not the head of the Church. Now I know the Pope claims this title very presumptuously. And that is because he would seek to create a one world religion under himself…even the title Pope is against Scripture. But what does the Scripture say?
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
and the nail in the coffin that either the Pope or the Queen or any other can claim to be the head of the Church:
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Listen - the Church is not a two-headed monster. That is gross. No Pastor, Assistant Pastor nor any Pastor to be or any other can be the head of the Church. It is Jesus’ body and therefore He alone is the head. You often find that churches split because of people’s personalities – as I’ve said, they will follow one particular person and the other half will follow another. Churches lose members when there is a change in the leadership of a Church because the Pastor who left was a strong personality that the people were following him rather than following Jesus. Sometimes this cannot be avoided as often the Pastor is the glue that keeps things together but the job of a Pastor is to do himself out of a job so that the Church can get on with the function of maturing and becoming like Jesus. We all have our roles to play but we should always be looking out for others who can do certain things better than ourselves and allow people to grow and make mistakes. Not one of is indispensable. Yet everyone here is invaluable.
All Paul is doing is reminding the fellowship of the teaching of the cross.
So, let’s look closer at these seven verses:
.10
Now, I beseech you...come on now, listen carefully and don’t ignore this for it is of utmost importance
By the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ...this is the name above all names and set against Him is no other and no other can stand. The name means the character and purposes of said person which, of course, is perfection and one of the finest descriptions of Jesus is found in what we also read this morning:
13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
In the name of this Jesus who is also the lamb that was slain for sinful people demonstrating God’s love to the very end.
Then Paul says ‘speak the same thing’. This does not mean that we all have to be in agreement about everything but to put aside differences, speaking the truth in love. These differences are not so important that you need to fight or quarrel for them. Unity is based upon the common acceptance, knowledge and acknowledgement of the truth. Now join together and restore order. So come to a right frame of mind – come to the same opinion or judgment. With this common mindset comes a common purpose and that is glorifying Jesus and proclaiming the Gospel.
Note again that this is tenth time in ten verses that Jesus is mentioned: Jesus is What and Who we are about and should reflect his character and unity in the Godhead.
.11
Chloe’s household had made clear to Paul what was going on at the Church so that he was in no doubt. Chloe was probably a patron in whose house a church group met. Paul mentions her name simply to tell the church that he is responding not to rumours and hearsay but to a direct report from trustworthy church members. They were obviously concerned enough to say something for the disputes in the Church were having a dire effect upon the rest of the Church – in fact, most, if not all, were involved in it! When these things happen we should also be concerned about the welfare of individual Christians as well as the whole fellowship and seek out solutions for we are not out to bring down but to build up. Listen again to a verse read last week:
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
It is interesting how v9 and the Fellowship with Jesus is contrasted here with the division – these are opposites. Fellowship with Jesus means loving and caring for others in that fellowship.
.12
All these are saying that I am a disciple of Apollos, Peter, Paul or Jesus. Whilst there was no difference in WHAT was preached among them it was probably their style that marked these teachers out whether it was for their Greek or their Jewish culture and sensibilities. It helps to put into context how things were in ancient Corinth. When pupils were out and about they were encouraged to show their loyalty to their teacher by promoting and defending him publicly. This mind-set may have transferred to the Corinthian church as they announced which church leader they would follow. Unfortunately, this led to divisions within the church. These were power struggles that had found their way into the fellowship. The church ceases to be church in the true sense of that word when the larger culture around it sets its agenda and determines the way it does things. Today, we see this happening in the Chinese Church who are having an unprecedented onslaught from the Government and Communist Party where they demand that President Xi’s ten commandments replace God’s and where Christian funerals cannot take place anymore as worship can only be done inside one of their own Three-Self churches. The capitulation, understandably, of many churches is allowing culture and the world into the Church, and when that happens it is no longer the Church.
As for the ‘I am of Jesus camp’ it was just as contentious and fleshly in the way they declared it even if they were in the right camp, so to speak. There are to be no camps or parties in the political sense – we are all working for the good of the fellowship to be disciples of Jesus. The fact that these people had come to faith in Jesus through Paul did not mean that there should be a party for Paul in the political sense. And, to be honest, there is far too much politics even here, for even here I hear of factions where 2 or 3 or 4 discuss things in opposition to others and maybe against me. This needs to be cut out. Not that no one can criticise me or anyone else but we are not to form cliches which are like the super spiritual against the spiritual. I’m sure you get the idea.
[ILLUSTRATION: Being much concerned about the rise of denominations in the church, John Wesley tells of a dream he had. In the dream, he was ushered to the gates of Hell. There he asked, "Are there any Presbyterians here?" "Yes!", came the answer. Then he asked, "Are there any Baptists? Any Episcopalians? Any Methodists?" The answer was Yes! each time. Much distressed, Wesley was then ushered to the gates of Heaven. There he asked the same question, and the answer was No! "No?" To this, Wesley asked, "Who then is inside?" The answer came back, "There are only Christians here."]
.13
Who was crucified for us? Paul is saying, Look! I, Paul and the others are insignificant so start behaving! Who were we baptised into? Our allegiance should only be to Jesus. Baptism was our open commitment to follow Jesus. Fairly obvious this but it is so often missed in the personality culture of today. There are so many vying for our attention. But we belong to Jesus – Baptism was our response to the cross declaring we follow none other. It is the recognition of the authority of One only – Jesus – in and over our lives.
.14-16
Here Paul is glad he had baptised so few because He doesn’t want people following him, but Jesus; Paul just wants to be an example to them. Paul hadn’t baptised people into Paul’s name. And ‘name’, of course, means who he is and his position.
It is also clear that while Paul had baptised some he had left room for others to fulfil their duties. We are not a one-man-band show, for we are all working together for the cause of each other and the gospel. One is not above another. One might be more public but that is not the same. Paul
1 Corinthians Interpretive Insights
tries to downplay the role of the minister. His point is to say that ministers who exalt themselves—even in the name of faith—do not proclaim the gospel. Paul’s aim is not to gain a following for himself but to establish a Christ-empowered community.
When the reformer Martin Luther heard his followers were called Lutherans, he was infuriated, saying, “What is Luther? The teaching is not mine.… How did I, poor stinking bag of maggots that I am, come to the point where people call the children of Christ by my evil name?” Disgusted with the vainglory of some pastors, he goes on to say, “May God protect us against the preachers who please all the people and enjoy a good testimony from everybody.… Hearers should say, ‘I do not believe in my pastor, but he tells me of another Lord whose name is Christ.’ ” Today, as in ancient Corinth, competition for fame, honor, and a large following reigns supreme. Today, as then, it is easy for pastors and spiritual leaders (subconsciously?) to be caught up in the same pursuit. This text reminds us that in the Christ community, anyone other than Christ is a mere undeserving servant.
Personal agendas have no place and must give way to the greater purpose of creating a community that imitates Christ and exists to give him glory.
In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn't. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus.
"These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they're nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold."
"Which channel do you want?" asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why can't you guys get organised like that?"
The things that we can achieve simply by agreeing to work together for and because of Jesus we will not be able to imagine just what or how much can be achieved.
Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look at what they can do when they stick together.
We don’t advocate unity at the lowest common denominator for that is simply superficial. No we have unity based on the fact that we are in the faith and we hold to a certain set of teachings in Scripture. There are things that we must believe but there is a wide spectrum of Christian understanding and we should respect that we can have different views for not one of us have got it right 100%.
Augustine, who lived over 1600 years ago said: “In Essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, love.”
We have to remember that Augustine was no push over and exposed false doctrine and he himself did not get everything right.
But we have to remember love for we ourselves have been forgiven through Jesus Christ and the work of the cross which is a clear demonstration that God is love.
Hear out Paul as we finish:
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Communion
Communion
This time we are now coming to is called ‘communion’ which suits the message this evening for it was about communion with God and with each other. But the only reason why this is even possible is because of the cross where Jesus was reconciling us to God by paying our debt in full. It is said that we have been given the ministry of reconciliation now for we are following in the steps of Jesus. It was Jesus alone who could truly satisfy the holiness, wrath and justice of God.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast.
The only work we can boast in is the cross of our Lord which made the way possible to have fellowship with God in the Son.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
Benediction
Benediction
11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice. Become mature, be encouraged, be of the same mind, be at peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.
13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Brown, D. R., & Twist, E. T. (2013). 1 Corinthians. (J. D. Barry & D. Mangum, Eds.). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Boettner, L. (1962). Roman Catholicism. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company.
Vang, P. (2014). 1 Corinthians. (M. L. Strauss, Ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 14:18 02 February 2020.