Paul knew this and said in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony about God. 2 Corinthians Then there were the stylists, those who were attracted by the different kinds of preaching, and they had especially been drawn to Apollos. Then comes that great Christological passage where he describes how Christ, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. in the Corinthian Church There was nothing wrong with Paul baptizing people, but Paul didnt want people to boast about the fact that he baptized them. If someone comes on preaching the doctrines that were emphasized during the Reformation, he will get a great following of people who think that the Reformation was the whole sum and substance of all great Christian truth. Her hair is messed up! I would like to close this service by reading what one man wrote about the cross: It is well that we should think sometimes of the Upper Room and the Last Supper, and of his soul, "exceeding sorrowful unto death"; of Gethsemane and the deep shadow of the olive trees; his loneliness, prayers, and disappointment with his disciples; his bloody sweat; the traitor's kiss; the binding, the blow in the face, the spitting, the buffeting, the mocking, the scourging, the crown of thorns, the smiting; the sorrowful way and the burdensome cross; the exhaustion and collapse; the stripping, the impaling, and the jeers of his foes, and the flight of his friends; the hours on the cross; the darkness, his being forsaken of God; his thirst, and the end. This division in the church was over their own selfish ambitions evidenced in what they wanted. Religious snobs want to be a part of a small group who He started this church. At that time it was under the leadership of its founder, Dawson Trotman, and it was my privilege and delight to be a close friend of his, to have spent a good deal of time with him and to come under the influence of his teaching and his methods. What is a clique? Now, you do not have to be very old to recognize that that is still a problem in the church. Divisions There are those who are emotionally attached to some great Christian leader who has helped them, and they will only listen to him. This is what Paul uses as the basis for unity in this church -- not only the attitude of selflessness, which is the mind of Christ, but the responsibility to submit to his Lordship, the common responsibility that we have together. The individual leaders should only point them to Christ. DIVISIONS AND PERSONALITIES IN THE CHURCH What is a clique? 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. This consumerism that we face today in the end doesnt seem all that much different from the way the Christian faith was treated like just another philosophy back in the days of Paul. The ground, of course, is the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. To resolve this issue, he encourages communal love. And he speaks in the name of or by the authority of, our Lord Jesus Christ. That is the mind Paul is talking about. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. There are three different causes of divisions in churches that Paul mentions in I Corinthians. It is not merely that the Church is everywhere split up into sections, but that this has led to party strife and jealousy. We have our theological view points, and even our philosophical ones (even though we could have less of that in our churches today in my opinion) but we also have our social dimensions as well. In this parable, the groom is Christ. A gasp bursts from the guests! These are not the only causes of divisions in churches today. So he says, "I didn't baptize many of you. I always have, and always will believe that this overly exaggerated concept of denominations is a problem. This Western Church soon became known as the Roman Catholic Church. Corinthians In what ways have we failed to de-paganize? Paul continues in verse 10 by saying that, MANS WISDOM VERSUS GODS WISDOM I Corinthians 1:18-25, WHY DONT PEOPLE BELIEVE? I personally experienced this at work about a year and a half ago. He had received a report from the household of Cloe that there were quarrels among the members of the Corinthian church. This is really what is behind his disclaimer on baptism in 1 Cor 1:14-16. This also brings up another Pagan influence which is naming the days of the week after the planets. Sermon 5: Who is the Most Important? There are the Calvinists and the Arminians and the Dispensationalists -- these are some of the things that are held up as the "summum bonum," the highest good, in theology. Webdivided. What Was Dividing the Corinthian Church But you could always tell a Navigator because there were three things that he always had: First, he had a Scofield Reference Bible tucked under his arm. I agree with Greg, I see a lot of times where Pastors begin to care more about the number of the congregation rather on the connectedness of it. Gods people who are moving in revival (like we have been to experiencing right here in Brisbane these last few months) have no qualms about getting together to see the nation of Australia come to Christ. Members follow him blindly and whatever they do seems right to them. They were dividing over this whole issue, and Paul says it is all wrong. In this passage of Scripture, Paul is very careful to focus the attention on Christ and not on himself. In what ways have we failed to de-paganize? (Phil Long). Lewis.". When the lifeless body of the little one was carried back to the anxious mother, she cried aloud, Oh why didnt you join hands before?. It is well known that division in the church of Corinth was over leadership. Her nose is bloody! Polhill says, every Corinthian had their own favorite preacher (237). We pray that it may be rich and real in our hearts as we live this week together. in the Corinthian Church When the Corinthians divided into factions, it wasnt so much about core doctrine (nature of God, nature of Christ, the Gospel, the nature of man). Many of us are familiar with this common phenomenon in human psychology of thinking that some symbolic thing that is of use to us is so important that we finally make it a badge of the group to which we belong. Now, we all have our favorite preacher, and up to a point that is not wrong. Therefore, the only basis upon which you can get Christians to agree is by setting before them the Person of the Lord Jesus, and calling them back to that fundamental base. By focusing on Jesus we can see how important the parts of church really are. WebDivisions in the Church. It wipes out all the petty distinctions that men make among themselves. Not when we hear of churches with factions or cliques of people who sit on opposite sides of the aisle. Divisions So, just a few texts and there are so many more. WebThe Corinthians were basically making a mockery of Communion. (1 Corinthians 1:12 RSV) Now, there was the trouble at Corinth. Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? They love to listen to someone because he turns them on emotionally. Behind Divisions But that is a very dangerous attitude, and yet we tend to think of people as being the channel by which deliverance can come to our heart. in the Corinthian Church To resolve this issue, he encourages communal love. I've not forgotten that incident because it seems to me to capture the very attitude Paul is describing here. He recognizes that we share a common life if we have come to Christ; we are brothers and sisters because we have his life in us. To an unbeliever, this looks like we cannot agree on our own religion. I remember a few years ago being at a family congress in St. Louis, Missouri, when one of the evening speakers was Dr.Oswald Hoffman, the very capable and powerful preacher on the Lutheran Hour radio program. Webdivided. (I suppose that if Dio were commenting on the modern world, he would describe the wretched bloggers shouting abuse at the temple of WordPress!). I do not think things have improved much since the first century. The first noticeable division would be among differing denominations. God is all about people, not money, and I feel sorry for anyone who tries to take over the current move of God, put it in a box, stick a label on it, and own it they will be swept away. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any one else). These are two common causes of church divisions in the West. When it comes to seeking the spiritually lost for Christ, we can be much more effective if we are perfectly joined together in an unfailing zeal for Gods glory, not our own. 13Is Christ divided? Yet, in reality as long as correct biblical doctrine is being taught no pastor should be viewed in comparison to one another. The followers of Jesus may have believed in Jesus words only, and did not believe that the writings of Peter, Paul, and the other apostles were really Scripture. We do not know who the people were who belonged to the house of Cloe, but we must commend them for their courage and devotion. Unlike most of his other epistles, Paul plunges right into the heart of the practical problems that were affecting this church, and the first of these, the problem of divisions within the church, he begins to deal with in Chapter1, Verse10. We may not all agree on the way to do church but there is definitely more than one effective way. The Factions At Corinth When I say worn out I mean people say that it is not usable in the modern world so its words become little more than foot rests in the pew. Why are these thing SO important? For example, in the first section from 1:10 to 4:21, it's errors regarding division. A. 10 I appeal to you, brothers,[ a] by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. One of the celebrities was Paul himself some believers at Corinth actually claimed to be his followers. To resolve this issue, he encourages communal love. Here in Verse10 he briefly shows us the ground of unity, and the nature of unity in a church. It would destroy the unity of the congregation and split them up and provide an inaccurate testimony to the Person of Christ before the watching world.
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