MPC, 14th April 2002.1 Corinthians 1:1-17 - "Divided... We Fall"
Andrew Richardson MPC, 14th April 2002.
There are few things worse than a divided church. If you've ever been in one then you'll know what I mean. People can't agree, everyone starts to take sides and soon the whole place is split down the middle. A church that's supposed to be a place where christians are encouraged and built up in their faith becomes a place where they're hurt - where their faith is destroyed. I remember one church I went to that had been through a big split. It had all happened a few years before I got there but it still wasn't hard to tell. You could see the damage. People were still bitter and tender. And there was a whole generation that was just missing. It was the kids who'd been teenagers at the time. They'd all left. Didn't want anything to do with church anymore. They'd seen the bitterness and the hurt and it had turned them off completely. If that was what church was about then it certainly wasn't for them.
Divisions and splits in churches are a terrible thing. And so it's easy to see why Paul is so concerned. He doesn't want the Corinthians to go down that road. He doesn't want them to argue and fight. He doesn't want them to end up bitter and hurt. He wants them to agree with each other - to be of one mind - to get on together. Paul's so concerned that he writes the whole letter of 1 Corinthians to urge them to be united. If you look at 1 Corinthians 1 v 10 you'll see what he wants them to do. This verse is like a heading for the letter. It's the big idea that Paul wants to get accross to them and he says
10I 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.
It's urgent. Peace missions normally are. Just think about Colin Powell's mission to the middle east. If he can't get the Israelis and Palestinians talking it could lead to disaster. The whole region could get drawn into the conflict. And if Paul can't get the different parties to agree it'll be a disaster for the church. So he appeals to them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's worried. And he's got good reason to be. He's had a report from the church and there are problems. Factions are forming. People are playing favourites with their church leaders.
It's like kids with their popstars. If you don't like Britney Spears then you're not cool. You're not welcome in our group. You can see what's happening in v 11:
11 My brothers, 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."
It's a grim situation. A faction ridden church on the brink of a big split. Not the kind of church you'd want to take your family to on Sunday morning. On Thursday at college John Nicol came and told us about churches we might be able to work at next year. But if Corinth was on the list I'd be steering clear. Who'd want to go and get mixed up with all those factions...? Terrible place.
At least it sounds like a terrible place if you only start reading at v 10. But if you go back to v 1 and start reading there, you get a different picture of the Corinthians. The church we meet in verses 1-9 doesn't sound too bad at all. First of all, you can see the Corinthains are real Christians. No doubt about it. Paul says they've been sanctified. Set apart for God. Made holy. Look how he writes to them in verse 2:
2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy.
Now that's the kind of thing you can only say about real Christians. No one else has been made holy by Jesus. Only people who are trusting his death and resurrection.
But there's more. It's not only that they're real Christians. They're also gifted Christians. God's been generous to the Corinthians. He's given them all kinds of gifts. He's given them people who can speak well. He's given them smart people who can understand the finer points of theology. He's given this church every spritual gift they need to keep going until Jesus comes back. This church has got so much. You can understand why Paul's thankful. In v 4 he says:
4 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way-- in all your speaking and in all your knowledge-- 6 because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
That sounds a whole lot more attractive. From verses 1-9 Corinth is the kind of place I'd love to go next year.
But what do you think Paul would say about us?
Well, you don't have to think very hard to come up with a long list of gifts that God's given Mitchelton Presbyterian Church. When we were talking about this at our Bible study on Monday night there were plenty of suggestions. We've got great musicians, we've got people who can lead bible studies, people who can teach at Kidzbiz, people who can handle technology. And I'm sure you can think of more. God has been amazingly generous to us. You might think this is all normal, but its not. I heard about one church in Brisbane the other day who haven't even got a piano player. They have to sing along to a CD player. God has given us so much as a church, and maybe when you pray you should take a look at Paul's prayer in these verses and echo it for yourself.
Things sound so positive in these first 9 verses. Here's a group of Christians who are smart and gifted and looking out for Jesus to come back. It's hard to believe that a church like this could be full of factions and in danger of splitting up. It doesn't sound like that kind of place at all.
But there's something missing. Something Paul doesn't mention when he's thanking God. It's something you only notice if you look at what Paul writes in his other letters. You'll have looked at this if you were at a growth group this week, but let me remind you. When Paul writes to the Ephesians he says he's thanking God for their love. When he writes to the Colossians he thanks God for their love. And both times he writes to the Thessalonians it's the same. If a church is a loving place Paul is thankful for it. But with the Corinthians love doesn't even get a mention. He's thankful for lots of things about them, but love isn't one of them.
And that helps explain why this group of Christians can't get on together. Even with all their gifts and abilities, there's no love. They're using their gifts in the wrong way. Instead of serving each other in love, they're using them as status symbols. You can see the problem all the way through 1 Corinthians. Things like speech and knowledge and spiritual gifts. Things which God has given the Corinthians to serve each other. Those are the things that Paul has to keep telling them to stop boasting about.
The corinthians are fixated with their gifts. All that matters is how well someone speaks, or how wise they sound or how spiritual. They've forgotten that they didn't earn their gifts. That Jesus gave them to them to serve each other. And they're thinking the more gifts you've got, the more spiritual you are. That's why they're fighting over their leaders. They've turned leadership into a gifts competition. And the leader who speaks best and sounds smartest... wins. The only problem is they can't agree on the winner.
It's a sad situation. Something that was supposed to be so good. Gifts that God had given to help build up the church are being used without love. They're being used to cause arguments and divisions. And so Paul has to remind the Corinthians about the realities of being a Christian. He has to remind them that everything they've got has come from Jesus. The only reason they've got anything at all is because He died on the cross for them. And if they remember that they won't keep boasting about their gifts. They won't keep having leadership competitions. They'll be humble and use their gifts to serve Jesus.
You can see Paul's strategy in v 13. His response to their divisions is to get their focus off their human leaders and point them back to Christ. He asks them a series of questions. And they're all aimed at making the Corinthians see that Christ is more important than their human leaders. He's showing them that it's crazy for Christians to split over their leaders.
First he asks them, v 3, "Is Christ divided?" Well the answer to that is obviously NO - and the implication is if HE'S not divided then they shouldn't be either.
Then Paul uses himself as an example of a human leader. And he says, Stop and think about it. There's no way you should be boasting about me. He says, "Was I crucified for you?" No... that was Jesus.
"Were you baptized into my name?" No.... that was Jesus too.
He says, "I didn't even baptize most of you at all. Don't follow me. Don't get caught up in boasting about your human leaders. It's Jesus who died for you. Follow Him."
Finally Paul says to them, if you really wanted to follow me, you'd follow Jesus anyway. That's all I ever wanted you to do. That's what my mission was. It wasn't to impress you with my gifts. It wasn't to get a fan club. He says, I didn't even use the fancy speech you're all so impressed with. My mission was simply to tell you about the Gospel...about Jesus. Verse 17:
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel -- not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
The Corinthians need to stop worrying about who's the most gifted leader. They need to stop fighting about who can speak best or who knows most.
That's what is splitting them.
The Corinthians need to focus on Jesus. They need to remember He died for them and gave them their gifts. He's the leader they should all be united under.
And we need to remember that too. It's great there are so many gifted people in our church family. God's given them to us to help us keep following Jesus to the end. But gifts themselves aren't going to keep us strong and united. There is only one thing that'll do that. Remembering what Jesus has done for us and working together to serve him. And that means your gifts might take second place.
Maybe you've got gifts of leadership. Praise God for them. But that doesn't mean you can't help with the morning tea sometimes. Or maybe you can arrange the flowers. That's also something to thank God for. But you can still help to put the hymn books away.
Whatever your gifts are, your priority should be to serve Jesus, not just indulge your gifts.
Maybe you're a great musician. Thank God for it. But it doesn't mean music has to be the only thing you do at church. It doesn't mean the music has to be done exactly the way you want it or that you'll only play on a handpicked music team. That's the kind of thing the Corinthians would have jumped up and down about. But if you remember its JESUS who's made you good at music and your focus is on serving Him. Well, it's ok to do the morning tea some weeks instead of music. It's ok to play music someone else's way instead of your own. Your priority will be serving Jesus in whatever way you can, not just indulging your gifts.
And can you imagine a church like that. Where everyone had that attitude. There would never be any divisions. Everyone would be united in using their gifts to serve Jesus. That's the kind of Church Paul wants for the Corinthians and that's the kind of church you and I need to work at making here.