MPC, 25th November 2001.Acts 18; 1 Corinthians 1 - "Crisis in Corinth"
Phil Campbell MPC, 25th November 2001.
It's often said about life that THE WAY YOU START isn't nearly as important as THE WAY YOU FINISH. And I guess it's true about lots of things, isn't it?
Like a cricket test with a last innings collapse. Like Greg Norman, who they say can always snatch DEFEAT from the jaws of victory. It's not how well you start. It's how well you FINISH.
And it's the same with CHURCHES as well. Because STARTING WELL isn't enough. The way we FINISH… is a whole lot more important than the way we start. And so it will do us no good at all with our great new building and a great new start if in the end we're not going to LOVE EACH OTHER. And be united.
Here in Acts 18, we're looking at THE BIRTH OF A CHURCH. The first days of the church in the city of Corinth; and let me tell you, in a lot of ways it's a GREAT START. But then this morning as well we're going to look at Paul's first letter that he writes back to them. And see how quickly things have gone down hill. That their GREAT START is in danger of coming to nothing. Falling in a heap.
Corinth was a city in a very unusual place. Corinth was built on a strip of land 10 kilometres wide, like a land bridge between two seas; and the Corinthians were smart. I guess they could have built something like the Suez Canal. But what they did instead was they built a wooden railroad system right across the strip between the seas; and for the right price, they'd drag your ship across the strip, and save you 300 kilometres of ocean. A nice little earner. And it guaranteed that Corinth was sort of like the HUB of the whole area. Top tourist spot; people from everywhere. The city between the seas.
And so Paul arrives there. And as we look quickly at the way things unfold in Acts 18, I just want you to notice that compared to what Paul's been up against so far, things in Corinth go PARTICULARLY WELL.
We saw Athens last week. A few converts there. But not a huge result. Back in Philippi and Thessalonica there'd been prison; and riots. By comparison, here in Corinth it's SMOOTH SAILING.
When he gets there, AQUILA AND PRISCILLA are there already; Christians from Rome who make tents. Paul's a tentmaker as well. And straightaway, there's a partnership. Partners in the gospel. And partners in tents as well. And so according to verse 4, Paul's making tents during the week. But every Saturday, he's reasoning in the synagogue, trying to persuade the Jews. And the god-fearing Greeks.
Now if you've been following our series, you'll know there's a trend. And the usual thing is, Paul preaches to the Jews, and then they KICK HIM OUT. And he preaches to the Gentiles. And then if it all follows the trend, the JEWS COME AFTER HIM. And beat him, or have him arrested, or try to stone him and run him out of town.
Verse 6, it's all going to the usual pattern; a few weeks in the synagogue, telling them Jesus is the messiah; and they kick him out. At which point Paul says, I'M GOING TO THE GENTILES. But have a look what happens THIS TIME. He moves next door, into the house of Titius Justus; and have a look at verse 8.
Because even though a majority of the Jews want to boot him out of the synagogue, LOOK WHO GOES WITH HIM. Crispus, THE SYNAGOGUE RULER… and his entire household… they've believed in the Lord Jesus. And we're told there MANY of the Corinthians who heard Paul have believed, and are baptized as well.
These are great results. This is HUGE PROGRESS. And even better, verse 9, Paul has a DIRECT MESSAGE FROM JESUS; a word of reassurance. The Lord speaks to Paul in a vision. And you can read what he says in verse 9; "Don't be afraid. Keep speaking. DON'T BE SILENT. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you – BECAUSE I HAVE MANY PEOPLE IN THIS CITY.
Here's a church that God's already got planned. HAND PICKED ALREADY the people who are going to respond. And all Paul has to do is KEEP ON PREACHING. And not be frightened.
And so you see there in verse 11, Paul stays on there in Corinth for eighteen months; TEACHING THEM THE WORD OF GOD.
Things in Corinth are going very, very well. And this is unusual, isn't it – to have Paul as your own personal pastor for a year and a half, teaching God's word week by week. Under the promise of GOD'S PROTECTION.
And even when things start looking dangerous, just to show God keeps his word, when the Jews do their usual thing and haul Paul up in court in front of Gallio the proconsul – it turns out Gallio's on PAUL'S SIDE. And the Jews are laughed out of court. And instead of Paul copping a beating, verse 17 says the crowd turns on the JEWS. And Sosthenes the new Synagogue ruler cops a beating. While Gallio just turns a blind eye.
So there it is. A church that's off to a GREAT START. A church that has PAUL THE APOSTLE as their very own pastor for a year and a half. A church where God has guaranteed that he's already got people ready to RESPOND TO THE GOSPEL. And they do. Compared to some of the other places Paul's been, this is a dream run. But the big question is, how are they going to finish?
Well, in a moment we're going to turn over and look at the LETTER Paul writes back to the Corinthians after he leaves. But before we do that, I just want you to notice what's going on in verses 18 to 27; one of those sections in Acts where there are lots of comings and goings, and if you don't have a map in front of you, it's all a bit confusing.
So if you follow it from the little map on your service sheet, Paul sails across from CORINTH – to Ephesus. The dark line. And Aquilla and Priscilla go with him. The dotted line.
Paul drops them off in Ephesus; and then in verse 21 and 22, he sails this long journey all the way back to HOME BASE. It's taken him the last three chapters to get to here from Jerusalem; and now you get him all the way back there in a single verse.
But while he's gone, there's something I want you to notice. Stuff happening back in Ephesus. And Corinth. That you'll see in verse 24 to 28.
Paul leaves Priscilla and Aquilla in Ephesus. And while they're there, a guy called APOLLOS turns up. You can see him in verse 24. Jewish background, from Alexandria in Egypt; and the thing about Apollos is he's an EXPERT on the SCRIPTURES. This guy is HOT STUFF. And it says if you read verse 25, he's been instructed in the way of the Lord Jesus as well; it says "he spoke with great fervour and taught about Jesus accurately;" except there's one problem. He's only got PART 1. He's missed the second half of the story.
Apollos has heard about the things Jesus did and said back in Galilee. But only up as far as the baptism of John the Baptist. So when it came to the death of Jesus, and his resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, Apollos is totally in the dark.
And that's something that Priscilla and Aquilla want to fix. So they invite him round to their place in verse 26; and they fill in the rest of the details.
Now Apollos is a fast learner. And when he's got it together, he wants to do something useful. Apollos heads back across to Achaia, to the CITY OF CORINTH. To the church Paul has just left behind.
Pricilla and Aquilla encourage him to go. And it says in verse 27, when Apollos gets to Corinth, he's a smash hit. Apollos is just what Corinth needs. Have a look. Verse 27 says he was a GREAT HELP to those who by grace had believed. Because, in verse 28, he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, stood right up to them; proving from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
Now for Corinth, how good is this? 18 months of Paul. And then APOLLOS. To keep things going.
I wonder if you can guess, though, what's going to go wrong. After a great start like that. I guess it's a reminder that Christians back then were just as weak as we are today. Because all you've got to do is change the names and you could see the same story over and over again.
Here's where it's time to turn over and take a look at 1 Corinthians. Paul's FIRST LETTER back to Corinth. And a very disappointed letter it is too. Because in Corinth, they've turned a GREAT START into a disaster. They've turned their PRIVILEGE of having one great pastor after another into an excuse for DIVISION.
And we need to take it as a warning.
Have a look at what's happening in Corinth.
Turn over to 1 Corinthians. And see what's happening. It's got the usual opening that letters did back then. And a thanksgiving, as Paul looks back at how they took on board the gospel.
But by the time you get to verse 10 in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, there's trouble, isn't there?
And it's the old problem of FACTIONALISM. In a church that ought to be UNITED. Busily self destructing. When they'd started out so well.
A few years ago our Susie bought herself a pet bird with the money she got for Christmas. A yellow cockatiel. Nice, friendly little bird. Except a bit LONELY in the cage on its own. So Maddie bought a bird with her money as well. A grey cockatiel to keep the yellow one company. And we sat back, and we thought, great; we've done them both a favour. A bird matchmaking service. But it's not a story with a happy ending. Five minutes, and they were into each other. Claws and beaks everywhere. Not lonely, that's for sure. But clawing each other to bits. In the end, the grey bird wouldn't let the yellow one eat. And it gradually starved.
Let me tell you, the church in Corinth is something like that bird cage. As you read right through the letter, it's like that birdcage in more ways than one. Here's what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 10. "I appeal to you brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ALL OF YOU AGREE WITH ONE ANOTHER so that there may be no divisions among you, and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought." Keep reading. "My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are QUARRELS among you. What I mean is this." And look at it carefully. One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas" – that's Peter – still another, "I don't want anything to do with you lot, "I just follow Christ."
See what they're doing? Petty factions. Playing off one leader against another. And can I tell you, THEY'VE ALL GOT IT WRONG. Because the reality is, Paul, and Apollos, and Peter, they're all playing for exactly the same team. Following Jesus. United.
You know, when there are those sort of factions in a church, when there are people who are trying to stir up splits and divisions, it only means one thing. And Paul spells it out in chapter 3. He says, what it means is, you're not the mature Christians you think you are at all. You're spiritual BABIES.
Turn over a page or so and pick it up in chapter 3 verse 1. See what he says. "Brothers," says Paul, "I couldn't address you as SPIRITUAL… but as worldly. Mere infants, babies in Christ. He says, I had to feed you Heinz baby food and mushed up pumpkin; you weren't mature. And you're still not. And the proof of that comes in verse 3. "You are still worldly. For since there's jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like MERE MEN? For when one says "I follow Paul," and another "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?
That's not what CHRISTIANS DO. That's what the WORLD DOES. It's one thing to have factions in the Liberal Party or the Labor Party or the office or the tennis club. But NOT IN THE CHURCH.
And Paul goes on to say, Apollos and I, we're just servants. We're just God's fellow workers. He says, I planted the seeds there in Corinth, Apollos came and watered them, and GOD gives the growth. Exactly like we saw back in Acts 18; Paul and Apollos are on the SAME TEAM. There's no competition AT ALL.
Now friends, we need to learn a lesson from all this, don't we? And I guess one lesson is, we can never afford to be COMPLACENT. Things in Corinth got off to a great start. The only stuff you read in Acts sounds so positive. Paul sows the seeds. Apollos follows on after him and he's doing a GREAT JOB watering. Encouraging the church.
And yet from that good start… grows something very ugly. As the Christians there can't help themselves making comparisons. Forming into cliques. Pressure groups. Sharing their DISCONTENT.
And my fear is, if we're not ALWAYS very, very careful as a church, exactly the same thing can happen to US.
Can I urge you, don't have ANYTHING TO DO WITH STUFF LIKE THAT. Because in Paul's words, if you DO, you're just proving you're a spiritual BABY. And you're not acting like a Christian at all.
We're a church that's in the great position of having lots of leaders. Growth group leaders. Youth leaders. And a ministry team as well. Can I urge you to work very hard at not USING THAT as a way of causing factions. And I know as I say this that most people here this morning DON'T fall into this trap. But you can help keep an eye on it. And discourage it more widely. So we don't end up with the same situation as Corinth. With "I follow Phil." Or "I follow Maurie." Or "I follow whoever else."
It happens so easily. And I've experienced it. In our last church down south, as soon as we added to our ministry team. People saying things like, I REALLY PREFER MARK'S PREACHING to yours. Or else the opposite. Easing up along side me, hand on the shoulder… you know, we really prefer YOU. To Mark. And then we added a third part time worker; same thing. More often than you'd expect. I prefer John. I prefer Phil. I prefer Mark. And that was just the times I got to hear about it. Let alone the number of times it must have been murmured in the background and passed from ear to ear.
Now folks, that's dangerous stuff. There's a scene in the new movie ZOOLANDER which is a really dumb movie about MALE MODELS. And the classic scene showing how dumb male models are, three of the guys are filling up their car at the service station, and they start larking around spraying petrol on each other. Huge joke. And then one of them without even thinking about it lights a cigarette. In a church, THIS IS LIKE THAT. And so when you hear people doing that sort of stuff, when you hear the I PREFER MAURIE, I PREFER PHIL stuff… WALK AWAY FROM IT. They're spraying petrol around. Don't be in it. When you hear people trying to stir up other sorts of discontent – walk away from it. Because the reality is, there are always going to be things in the life of a church that some of us won't be happy with. Whether it's one minister or the other minister. Or the new carpet. Or the way more morning church people turn up at working bees than nightchurch people. And with every issue like that, there's always the potential for ONE SIDE to be left nursing a HURT. That can grow into a division.
Can I say, too, and do this quickly. If you've been HURT… GET OVER IT. FORGIVE. Mend the cracks before they grow.
Because DIVISION IS DANGEROUS. Any sort of division. For any reason. And the lesson of Acts chapter 18 is that even when you're off to a great start – you need to always be careful. To maintain unity; to avoid factions; and to keep on growing from baby Christians; into maturity. Because it doesn't matter how well we've started. The much bigger thing is the way we finish.