This Western Church soon became known as the Roman Catholic Church. I Corinthians 12:12,13 says, For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. Conclusion. Instead of tearing themselves apart, he urges them to be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. Their divisions, lack of church discipline, lawsuits, abuse of Christian liberty and over-emphasis of the gift of tongues, all illustrate this root problem. We feel some sense of connectedness to the teachers (pastors/leaders) whose teachings we sit under while they count us as proof of their effectiveness (numbers). However, I would like to approach this in a different way than the comments already present here. Its pastors, bishops and others who fear the loss of their livlihoods as their former sheep move on in God towards the new wine skins of revival that want to maintain the old wine skins which brought them an income. I hang on every word you say. The Gentiles coming into this new Church do not seem to be able to see the differences between it and a Greco-Roman philosopher gathering disciples and educating them in a particular philosophy. I lead a small group so I sometimes have to sit in meetings where the pastor shares things about the vision of our church. Dio Chrysostom visited Corinth about A.D. 89-96. He appeals to them in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. When I say it gets ignored like an infomercial you probably infer what that means. In verse 11, Paul gives the reason for his appeal for unity in the church at Corinth. I will jump on the bandwagon here and say that division is definitely an issue today. Polhill says, every Corinthian had their own favorite preacher (237). (I have been trying for a long time to get my wife to accept that!) I told them that it is a concern of mine as well. When you follow one man you are getting a view of Christ, but there is no teacher in the church who has ever come along -- including the Apostle Paul himself -- who has ever had a totally complete view of Christ. I have been in many places where they were having church fights and almost invariably the thing that gives away that a church is in trouble is when people start talking about "my church," not in the sense that is perfectly proper as meaning, "The church where I go," but leaders of the church actually saying, "This is our church," and telling other people they have no rights to do something because the church belongs to them. Who are we, that we should put our interests and our desires ahead of that of the Lord for his church? For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. All that mattered to Paul was Jesus! The search went on until nightfall, but no answer came to their urgent calls. They were also not afraid to be mentioned in Pauls letter to the church. We tend to fall out along doctrinal lines or because we are drawn to one charismatic pastor over another. But even if there are multiple house churches founded by different leaders, Paul passionately argues that the body of Christ cannot be divided in this way. I told them GBC and they said something along the lines of, Oh a Bible college? Sermon 5: Who is the Most Important? In conjunction with this, some people were questioning Pauls character and authority ( 1 Corinthians 14 ). He then goes on to describe for us the mind of Christ, which is a willingness to give up rights and personal privileges and give in and take a lower place. It wasnt even about secondary doctrine (the second coming, the nature of baptism). To all of this Paul would say to us, as he says to Corinth, Is Christ divided? Because the Holy Spirit has but one will, and because a church must be in complete harmony with His will, the leaders must be in complete harmony with each other in that will. Its a lot harder! So they said, "When Peter came, we really felt that we were on solid ground. Unity in the church is something that requires cooperation with each other and with the Spirit of God. If it is to expand the congregation and further the work of the Lord in that area, and he had the whole agreement of the leadership of the church behind him, then it is fine to take part of the congregation and go away and begin another work. I always have, and always will believe that this overly exaggerated concept of denominations is a problem. We are all equally undeserving of salvation and a relationship with Jesus Christ. He described the activities of the disciples of the Sophists the professional orators who were able to command large audiences, high fees for educating youth, and often a great deal of power within the city. All are mere teachers; there is only one Lord. 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. When you call them back to an understanding of the meaning of the cross, you will find all the divisions disappearing; they fade away like the morning mist. Others bragged that they were followers of Peter (1 Corinthians 1:12). If you limit yourself to one speaker or one teacher and feed only on him, you are getting a distorted view of Jesus Christ; you are chopping Christ up, dividing him and taking one little portion as one man reports it and ignoring the rest, thus your view of Christ is deficient and unable to satisfy you as it was intended to do. The Navigators in those days did a great work in the Navy throughout the whole of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and hundreds of young men were led to Christ through their efforts during the war years. As we do, I hope every one of us will understand more and more fully the character of this radical principle that God has turned loose among us, this revolutionary idea represented in the cross of Christ that wipes out all these distinctions among men. Paul wants the Corinthian church to mend the broken relationships that have been caused by the divisions among its members. 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. I would agree that we find ourselves in much the same situations as those listening to the Greek philosophers/orators. Not when we hear of churches with factions or cliques of people who sit on opposite sides of the aisle. The church at Corinth had divided loyalty to different leaders. When you get men's eyes off all these status symbols, and call them back away from following men to the Person of Christ and his cross, all the divisions will disappear. Peter was an uneducated, common man and may have appealed to that group of people in Corinth. In the year 1 054 the Church was divided into two parts: 1) The Greek Eastern Church 2) The Roman Western Church. Each group claimed to be better than the others, and party spirits began to grow in the church. It seems so bland compared to all the other choices out there when really it presents and encourages people to live out a very different and exciting life in the opposite direction of the world. In my experience though, I find that it is carnal and unspiritual leaders that put up walls and fences between members of the body. How important is it that there be unity in the Church where you fellowship? Faith rests on Gods shoulders alone- its not by our wisdom and ability (Polhill 237). 7-False zeal for spiritual gifts. That, of course, is as it should be. So, just a few texts and there are so many more. Within our churches, and even in our own denominations (sophisticated name for divisions), we argue about church funds, whos on the worship team, and whether the youth should have long hair. If you will turn in your Bibles with me to John 17:20-23, I will read the passage to you. Its pathetic that people should get so angry about whether drums are used or if the AC unit is kept at 71 or 70. 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. This is the result of a religious snobbery associated by cliques that produced pride and conflict. We all know what a clique is. The members started to develop division following different leaders. The real problem behind the divisions is that the church continues to act like Christianity is just another philosophy, and teachers are in competition with each other just as the Greek orators competed. Just as there was competiveness for honor and prestige among the orators of the first century, it also seems like there is competition between the pastors and churches of today. Are we willing to love each other as Christ loved us? There are still others today who follow after some school of thought. Although the modern church has improved in many ways compared to the ancient churches, there is still the issue of division that exists among differing churches as was in the ancient churches. The church at Corinth had divided loyalty to different leaders. WebThe members of the Corinthian church we disunited because they were pledging their allegiance to human leaders rather than God. WebPaul rebukes the Corinthians because there are divisions and quarrels in the church. And some of them are really gross. 2 Corinthians He gathers disciples and establishes a church, a meeting place for educating his disciples. Everybody has their denomination and they cling relentless to their doctrinal beliefs. I have to admit though that sometimes I think about numbers and recognition and want that. All rights reserved. Perhaps, in their individual efforts, they had missed some spots; so the suggestion was made, Lets all join hands and go through the long grass again. Finally, the child was found, but it was too late. WebWhat were the causes of division in the Corinthian Church? I've not forgotten that incident because it seems to me to capture the very attitude Paul is describing here. Now, he is not saying that it is wrong to baptize; he himself did it, and acknowledges that he did. God wants the local church congregation and the local community to see the beauty of a church that is unified and fitted together in love. Thats not the way a jigsaw puzzle was meant to be put together. (Philippians 2:6-8 RSV). This is a radical principle that we need to understand, because, when you understand the cross, there will be no room left for the divisions of men. (1 Corinthians 1:12 RSV) Now, there was the trouble at Corinth. 4-The churchs failure to discipline. 2- The Churchs division. Religious snobs want to be a part of a small group who Some boasted of their special spiritual gifts; others felt left out. So, just a few texts and there are so many more. I was unaware of this connection before now but it really makes sense. In verse 17, Paul says that his calling of God was to preach the Gospel, and the focus of the Gospel is the cross of Christ. The Greek word used here literally means to say the same thing. WebPaul goes right on, in Verse 12, to describe the forms that these divisions were taking in the church of Corinth: What I mean is that each one of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas" [another name for Peter], or "I belong to Christ." I do not think things have improved much since the first century. Four groups had formed in the Corinthian church. It is not merely that the Church is everywhere split up into sections, but that this has led to party strife and jealousy. A young pastor who was facing that problem in his church called me this week from another state. I used to attend a Navigator group which met in Honolulu on Sunday afternoons. Whatever you say, I believe." One of these influencing factors is consumerism which finds its way into even the way Christians think. The elders should make their decisions with the same mind and the same judgment. Religious snobs want to be a part of a small group who 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. Each group claimed to be better than the others, and party spirits began to grow in the church. So they were splitting and arguing and quarreling over the relative merit and authority of these various teachers. This is what Paul does here. It is possible that these divisions represent competing house churches, some founded by Paul, some by Apollos. I understand the fact that people have different beliefs and would like to stick to those (it is good to sick to what you believe) but when you get so segregated that you cannot work together anymore, it becomes a serious problem. He had received a report from the household of Cloe that there were quarrels among the members of the Corinthian church. Like the orators wanted more money from the fees they charged, many pastors just want more people to look better and have a bigger budget. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any one else). In verse 11, Paul gives the reason for his appeal for unity in the church at Corinth. But when each piece is fitted together into its proper place in the puzzle, you have a beautiful and complete picture. And some of them are really gross. This division in the church was over their own selfish ambitions evidenced in what they wanted.
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