Transcript

Dividing Christ's Unified Work-Part One

1 Corinthians 1:10-17
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Pastor Randy Smith

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There is many times in life that we get something just the way we want it only to see our hard work destroyed. Despite the investment of resources such as time, effort and money, circumstances beyond our control often consume the masterpiece we created. Once we finish the sandcastle, the tide comes in. Once we clean the house, the kids come home from school. Once we complete waxing the car, it begins to rain.

God built a masterpiece too. He called it His church. Everything about the creation of His church is flawless. It was purchased by the blood of His Son. It has a perfect Owner, a perfect Lord, a perfect Helper and a perfect operational manual. Everything was just right until God allowed it to be occupied by imperfect people. The place that was intended to bring healing, has at times brought much hurt. The place that was intended to bring God glory, has at times brought Him much grief. His perfect creation has been marred by imperfect people. Has the hard work of God been destroyed?

Well, God has not been caught off guard. His perfect plan has been designed in such a way that God would receive the greatest degree of glory. Through the infinite display of His grace, God would save these sinners and sanctify them in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 1:2). He would enrich them with all they need to serve Him (1 Cor. 1:5). He would guarantee their blamelessness before His throne of judgment (1 Cor. 1:8). And while they tarry in this life, through grace, He will continually transform these sinners into the likeness of His holy Son (1 Cor. 1:3).

That is God's plan for His church. And that is a brief summary of our sermons from the past two weeks. The Apostle Paul made these incredible truths clear to the Corinthians in verses 1-9. He wanted them to be aware of all they have been given for God-honoring change. He wanted them to know that their identification as saints should motivate a corresponding lifestyle. There was much error in the Corinthian church and Paul wanted them to "grow in respect to (their) salvation" (1 Pet. 2:2b). So here's where grace comes in. Grace has been provided for the purpose of spiritual growth - both the desire and ability to enhance biblical change and righteous living.

So now in verse 10 Paul begins his correction. He starts to show them how they have fallen short of God's expectations. Beginning in verse 10 he commences his specific exhortations and continues them throughout this epistle. And grace will be the foundational principle to bring forth this God-honoring change.

There were a lot of problems that needed to be addressed in the Corinthian church. Where was Paul about to begin? There were some "big sins" that needed to be mentioned - sins such as fornication and divorce and serious doctrinal error. Yet these issues for now took a back seat. They had to wait because Paul began with a sin that could be more devastating and is still often overlooked by much of the evangelical community today.

This morning we'll examine the pressing issue, the chief concern that Paul deals with initially as he begins his letter. We'll look at the problem and the principle to remedy this situation - a situation, related to all the sins mentioned in this letter and a situation that still has a destructive effect both on individuals and the church in general.

1. THE PROBLEM

Let's first begin with the problem. But before we look at the problem, the mechanics of the exhortation itself demand our attention. In the beginning of verse 10 Paul said, "Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The Greek verb for exhort is parakaleo. The noun form of this word, parakletos is translated "Helper" and used in reference to the Holy Spirit. You'll remember from our study in John that the Holy Spirit was called the Parakletos, the Paraclete, the Helper (Jn. 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). Paul does not bring forth a demand, although as an Apostle he has every right to do so. On the contrary he appeals to them. He urges them. He stands by their side as their helper and pleas with them to respond to grace.

Furthermore, he doesn't exhort them as strangers, but rather he refers to them as "brethren" (twice in verses 10 and 11), an affectionate term denoting brothers and sisters in Christ.

He reasons with them. He treats these saints with gentleness, but lest the Corinthians think his commands are mere suggestions, he follows his exhortation with the phrase "by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." The words off Paul's lips are the words off Christ's lips. They come in the authority of Jesus Christ - The Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ! Paul is gracious with the Corinthian church as he is situated roughly 300 miles east in Ephesus. Nevertheless his exhortation is not optional. The Lord of all lords through the Apostle is calling this church to obedience. And through the inspired Scriptures, the Lord is calling us to obedience as well. But obedience in what? What was the specific problem?

See if you can identify it yourself as I read verses 10-11. "Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you" (1 Cor. 1:10-11).

An author once said, "Quarrels are a part of life. We grow up in them and around them. Infants are quick to express displeasure when they are not given something they want or when something they like is taken away. Little children cry, fight, and throw tantrums because they cannot have their own ways. We argue and fight over a rattle, then a toy, then a football, then a position on the football team or the cheerleading squad, then in business, the PTA, or politics. Friends fight, husbands and wives fight, businesses fight, cities fight, even nations fight - sometimes to the point of war" (MacArthur, 1 Corinthians, p. 24).

We've come to expect these quarrels in the world, however there's no place for them in the church. Immediately, Paul got all over the Corinthians because they had a major problem with disunity. Let's pinpoint the nature of their disunity. In verses 10 and 11 Paul characterizes it by using two different words.

First in verse 10 we find the word "divisions." Paul says there are to "be no divisions among you." The Greek word is schismata. It is where we get our English word "schism." Literally it means to "tear" or "rent." In this context it refers to having a difference or dissention or division with one or more individuals. Paul commands that there be no divisions in the church.

Second in verse 11 we find the word "quarrels." The Greek word is eris and it is often translated "strife." Frequently we find this word included in the "sin lists" scattered throughout the New Testament (i.e. Rom. 1:29; 2 Cor. 12:20; Gal. 5:20). It refers to fighting or backbiting or arguing or discords or contentions.

So now that we have identified the problem, we need to ask the text what was causing these "divisions" and these "quarrels" amongst the believers? Verse 12 provides the answer. "Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, 'I am of Paul,' and 'I of Apollos,' and 'I of Cephas,' and 'I of Christ.'

The church had divided opinions over her various leaders, which led to this disunity. Fellowship became a "popularity contest." Each group claimed their favorite pastor and pridefully pitted their group against the others. The unity was shattered as factious cliques were established and mere men became the primary focus of attention.

"Paul's our man! He's the one who planted our church. He's our spiritual father. We've chosen to follow Paul!"

"Oh, you guys are wrong! Apollos is the embodiment of the wisdom we esteem. He's from Alexandria. He's intellectual and eloquent. He's mighty in the Scriptures. We've chosen to follow Apollos."

"We can't believe what you folks are saying! After all, Cephas (or Peter) was one of the original 12. He was even the primary leader of the Apostles. He ministered with Jesus and functions as a pillar of the church. We've chosen to follow Peter."

"Oh, you folks are all mistaken! We follow Christ. We have no need for any human instruction. There's no place for human leadership in the church. We're submissive to Christ and Christ alone!"

All of these groups are mistaken. All of them were motivated by personal pride. Issues of power and prestige were at the heart of the problem. Their search for power and status was fractionalizing the church. Boasting in mere men is destructive for the church. Even the final group that boasted in Christ did so with a false piety and an immature spirit.

How did Paul respond to these divisions? Attacking the other groups would have played right into the hands of those who followed him. So in humility he went after the faction that identified him as their hero. In humility, he diminished his own status. He wanted to become less as Christ became greater.

Verse 13-15, "Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name."

My paraphrase: "You want to put me on a pedestal? Away with such nonsense! I didn't go to the cross to remove your sins. I'm a fellow sinner and fellow servant of Christ just like you. Were you baptized in the name of Paul or the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? As a matter of fact, I'm thankful that I baptized very few of you. The last thing I would want is to give you an opportunity claim any false allegiance with me. Boast in my name? Just as it is written, 'Let Him who boasts, boast in the Lord'" (1 Cor. 1:31).

Paul returns to this subject again in chapter 3. "For you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building" (1 Cor. 3:3-9).

We still embrace these fleshly pursuits through an unhealthy allegiance to mere men. "He doesn't preach like Spurgeon." "We're a MacArthur church." "He my favorite elder." "I'm Calvinistic." It is as if you don't match up 100%, you're out! I told the prospective new members yesterday that I never want to make the standards for church membership greater than God's standards for heaven. And speaking of heaven, and this may come as a surprise; there will be no Catholics in heaven. Neither will there be Presbyterians or Baptists in heaven. Calvinists and Evangelicals will not be in heaven either. Listen, heaven will be populated by one group and one group alone: Christians - men, women and children bought by the blood of Jesus Christ demonstrated by a commitment to follow Him.

Listen to what Martin Luther said when he caught wind that some were referring to themselves as "Lutherans." "I pray you, leave my name alone, and do not call yourself Lutherans, but Christians. Who is Luther? My doctrine is not mine. I have not been crucified for any one. Saint Paul would not that any one should call themselves of Paul, nor of Peter, but of Christ. How then does it befit me, a miserable bag of dust and ashes to give my name to the children of Christ? Cease, my dear friends, to cling to those party names and distinctions -- away with them all and let us call ourselves only Christians, after Him from whom our doctrine comes."

Paul identified the major issue bringing disunity and division to the Corinthian church. There are many other issues that have divided Christ's body throughout the past 2,000 years and we will cover them later. But for now I want you to see how division in the church is a cancer that must be removed. I want you to see how this situation was the primary concern of the Apostle. I want you to see how Paul was willing to forsake his own ego and his own following in order to bring unity to the church. I want you to see how fewer things produce greater destruction to the bride of Christ. We should all be concerned about divisions and do our utmost to prevent them and remove them.

The church father, Clement had his concerns. He wrote to the Corinthian church roughly 50 years (AD 96) after they received Paul's letter. It seems the divisions had yet to be rectified. Listen to his concerns. He said, "Why is it that you harbor strife, bad temper, dissention, schism, and quarreling? Do we not have one God, one Christ, one Spirit of grace which was poured out on us? ...Your schism has led many astray; it has made many despair; it has made many doubt; and it has distressed us all. Yet it goes on! ...It is disgraceful, exceedingly disgraceful, and unworthy of your Christian upbringing, to have it reported that because of one or two individuals the solid and ancient Corinthian church is in revolt against its presbyters. ...The result is that the Lord's name is being blasphemed because of your stupidity, and you are exposing yourselves to danger" (1 Clement, 46-47).

Listen to the concerns of others: The Puritan Thomas Manton said, "Divisions in the church always breed atheism in the world." According to John MacArthur, "What the Lord laments and opposes, Satan applauds and fosters. Few things demoralize, discourage, and weaken a church as much as bickering, backbiting and fighting among its members. ...Because of quarrelling the Father is dishonored, the Son is disgraced, His people are demoralized and discredited, and the world is turned off and confirmed in unbelief. Fractured fellowship robs Christians of joy and effectiveness, robs God of glory, and robs the world of the true testimony of the gospel. A high price for an ego trip" (MacArthur, 1 Corinthians, p. 24)!

2. THE PRINCIPLE

So now that we have identified the problem and highlighted it's dangers, what is the principle solution? Paul gives us some positive instruction in our text.

In verse 10 he commands "that (we) all agree." We are to be united in truth and grace and love. But how do we do that when we have different convictions and different doctrinal opinions on secondary issues? Are we called to be carbon copies or clones of each other? Am I to seek no rest until every Christian thinks and believes exactly like me in everything? What are we to "all agree" upon? In an effort to "all agree," should we continually quarrel and divide in order to cease quarrels and divisions? I'll get to this later as well, but for now allow Holy Scripture to burn into your heart. We are called to "all…agree with one another" (NIV).

Later in the verse, Paul also exhorts us to "be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment." The word we translate "complete" in the English text (katartizo) was commonly used in the Greek culture in reference to the mending of a fishing net or the setting of a dislocated bone. Factions in the church body are to be healed. We are to seek oneness. We are to be of the same mind and same judgment. As Paul said in Philippians, we are to be "of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose" (Phil. 2:2).

Now these are some extremely lofty standards! If we are serious about obeying them, we will never make it by acting like humans. We will have to act like Christians. We will have to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. We will have to stop following other humans like the Corinthians, or our own egos like many today and begin following Jesus Christ. God is not about to lower His standards, but He will give us the sufficient grace, about which we have spoken much, which comes only when we look to Him (Heb. 12:2).

Pursue Christ's Desires - Corporate Unity

You see, when we focus on Jesus we will pursue His desires. Carnal man pursues his desires and the result is divisiveness. Spiritual man pursues the desires of Jesus and the result is unity. Is unity a desire of Jesus Christ? Allow me to recite His prayer to the Father recorded in John 17.

"I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. …That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me" (Jn. 17:11, 21-23).

We have all been called into fellowship with the triune God (1 Cor. 1:9). It is theologically impossible to be unified with Him and divided from His members. John Flavel concurs, "What! At peace with the Father, and at war with His Children? It cannot be." For His own glory and our joy, God wants His body unified. He wants us to express the same unity amongst ourselves that He enjoys within the Trinity (the tri-unity). We are not called to look out for the big number one called "self," rather we are called to be at one with God and His children. That's what Christ desires. Do you desire it?

Pursue Christ's Nature - Personal Holiness

When we focus on Jesus, we will pursue harmonious fellowship with His children. We will also pursue personal holiness in an effort to be like Him. We will delightfully forsake sin and chase after Christlikeness!

Did you know that the primary cause of divisions is sin? The root of all sin is pride, and it is never more evident than in these situations. I can't get my way, so I'll leave the church. She was mean to me, so I'll refuse to reconcile. He won't follow my plans, so I'll quit the ministry. They didn't include me, so I'll quit talking to them. On and on, it is boiled down to the same source: our depraved, egotistic, self-willed, self-centered natures (see James 4:1-2).

John Stott said, "Self-love vitiates all relationships. Diotrephes (3 John 9-10) slandered (the Apostle) John, cold-shouldered the missionaries and excommunicated loyal believers-all because he loved himself and wanted to have pre-eminence. Personal vanity still lies at the root of most dissensions in every local church today." He's right! Look behind every departure, division and quarrel and you will see at least one person that didn't get his or her way.

The solution comes only when we look to Christ. When we look to Christ, we will pursue His desire for a unified church and His nature of holiness. We will forsake our pride and pursue His humility, the glue that bonds all relationships together.

There is much more that I need to say on this subject. As promised, I want to provide some current situations that have been very divisive for the modern church and then include the biblical remedy so we can follow Paul's command to all agree and be of the same mind and the same judgment, yet we will need to conclude that thought next week.

But for now, may God give you the grace to understand the need for a unified church. And may God give you the grace to play your part in contributing to the unity. The world has mastered quarreling, running away from our problems, disliking someone, fighting for our rights, stewing over an unmended relationship, backbiting, quitting, gossip and the list goes on. We should expect these in the world because the world does not have grace. On the contrary God has given the church grace to act differently than the world. We can die to self (2 Tim. 3:2). We can "regard one another as more important than (our)selves" (Phil. 2:3b). We can forsake our rights. We can be humble and "do nothing from selfishness" (Phil. 2:3a). We can put the grace of God on display. We can talk about a unified Godhead and show the world what it means. We can bring this church much joy. And we can bring God much glory

There is no room for divisions. We are one in Christ. We are members of His body. We are saints. We are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. We are the family of God. For God's sake and ours, let's be sure were acting like it!