But when it comes to the clear teachings of Gods Word, there cannot be two conflicting views that are both right. They were drawing themselves up and saying, "Well, you may be of Paul or of Peter or of Apollos, but we are of Christ! And some of them are really gross. Offshoots had disturbed the church. His bride, the Church, has been fighting again!. Others bragged that they were followers of Peter (1 Corinthians 1:12). We reveal our immaturity when we insist that only those with certain characteristics are the ones we will listen to, or we feel can bless or strengthen our lives. Paul enters this world of wretched Sophists and preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Peter was an uneducated, common man and may have appealed to that group of people in Corinth. I think that some of the ways we have failed to de-paganize is because we are still so focused on the little things that make up the church. 2 Corinthians RayStedman.org/permissions. 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. Ones honor and reputation were valued highly and if someone attacked your reputation it was expected that you would defend yourself and retaliate by publicly bashing your attacker. 7-False zeal for spiritual gifts. Webdivided. The Lords Supper was affected by the divisions between rich and poor and an overall general misunderstanding. 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. And he speaks in the name of or by the authority of, our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, however, was a good leader. That, of course, is as it should be. Some boasted of their special spiritual gifts; others felt left out. But when doctrinal beliefs keep churches from working together to further the gospel. Some followed Apollos whom they honored above Paul (1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:4; Acts 18:24 to 19:1). Lovelessness among Christians is not a light thing.. This is the result of a religious snobbery associated by cliques that produced pride and conflict. 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. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, and whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. You and I cant have more of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we can give Him more of ourselves, and experience more fully what is already ours as children of God. Christ belongs fully to every believer in His spiritual body, the Church. Now, he is not saying that it is wrong to baptize; he himself did it, and acknowledges that he did. (1 Corinthians 1:12 RSV) Now, there was the trouble at Corinth. Believers who are joined in heart should not find it difficult to be joined in hand, working together for the common good and for the glory of Christ. Her nose is bloody! It is a serious threat to the life of a church to find people choosing favorite preachers, to the degree, at least, that they do not want to listen to anyone else. They were hard to get in those war years, and every shipment that came in went out like hot cakes. We tend to fall out along doctrinal lines or because we are drawn to one charismatic pastor over another. Something shows up sooner or later as an identifying badge that marks them as "special," with special privilege and special status in that group. But it is the exclusiveness that Paul is concerned about here -- people who do not even want to come to a service if someone other than their favorite is preaching. Webdivided. His dissertation was published as Jesus the Bridegroom by Pickwick Books in 2012. Others were saying, "Well, Apollos himself baptized me." It wasnt even about secondary doctrine (the second coming, the nature of baptism). Paul is going to go on to describe this radical force that is so different than anything else there is nothing like it in the world. 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. The facts in the gospel are what will set us free, and particularly, he says, the word of the cross. To resolve this issue, he encourages communal love. WebThe spirit that wrought such mischief at Corinth has been busy in the Church ever since. Its a lot harder! Dio Chrysostom visited Corinth about A.D. 89-96. In conjunction with this, some people were questioning Pauls character and authority ( 1 Corinthians 14 ). The Lords Supper was affected by the divisions between rich and poor and an overall general misunderstanding. WebDivisions in the Church. In my experience though, I find that it is carnal and unspiritual leaders that put up walls and fences between members of the body. 2 Corinthians Now, it cannot. Many of the other problems were flowing out of this division within the congregation. WebThe spirit that wrought such mischief at Corinth has been busy in the Church ever since. Paul rejects this disunity, telling the church members to focus on Christ. Faith rests on Gods shoulders alone- its not by our wisdom and ability (Polhill 237). Todays church is a lot like the church of Corinthians. 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). WebThe members of the Corinthian church we disunited because they were pledging their allegiance to human leaders rather than God. No man would ever have planned the cross. They would have the Scofield Reference Bible and a notebook under one arm, and you knew that if you examined their Bibles you would find the ladder index on the pages. The word divisions comes from the Greek word schismata, from which we get our English word schism. My answer was that it all depends on the motive. For permission to use this content, please review 3- The presence of an immoral member. The families have been seated. 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. 1-False prophets (2 Corinthians 11:13). There are many other things that do cause serious problems stemming from the outside world. The same viewpoints are still dividing people. This word was normally used to refer to a tear in a garment. In fact, Paul never claims disciples. 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. Subject to permissions policy, all rights reserved. It is possible, though, that the divisions among 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. We tend to fall out along doctrinal lines or because we are drawn to one charismatic pastor over another. Then there were the traditionalists (there always are), those that say, "Well, I don't know about Paul or Apollos. The church was divided into factions, and one group was urging him to take half the congregation and go to another part of the city and start a new church. (1Corinthians 1:17 RSV). There are even discrepancies inside single denominations (which means we have division inside our divisions, great). WebAnd you know, that gives me some idea of how important this is to God, because from 1:10 to the ninth verse of the sixteenth Chapter, he just talks about the errors in the church. The Corinthian church had many problems, and most of them were the result of pride and placing so much emphasis on social status. I dont remember Paul seeing any thing like these issues as other than trivial. God only sees one fold, (John 10) and there is only one faith, one Lord, one baptism etc. 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). WebWhat were the causes of division in the Corinthian Church? So rather that detailing their accomplishments as orators, Paul describes their functions (Paul planted, Apollos watered, etc.) With that spirit of self-righteous smugness, they were separating from the rest, dividing up the congregation and quarreling with one another over these things. 4-The churchs failure to discipline. 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. It is popularized in the movie Mean Girls. They were dividing over this whole issue, and Paul says it is all wrong. There are several things that split the church today. By focusing on Jesus we can see how important the parts of church really are. And if you were really on the inside circle, your ladder was drawn by none other than Dawson Trotman himself! The Protestant Reformation had its beginnings in 1517 (see Chapter 1 0). There are several important terms in this passage. Each group claimed to be better than the others, and party spirits began to grow in the church. Their relationship to Christ was the unifying factor of the church. 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. Each group claimed to be better than the others, and party spirits began to grow in the church. WebDivisions in the Church. This issue was so important that Paul devotes the first four chapters of I Corinthians to divisions in the church. How important was unity to our Lord Jesus Christ? One eye is purple and swollen! Now these things were good. And there are others who are drawn to some speaking style that has attracted them. It is possible that these divisions represent competing house churches, some founded by Paul, some by Apollos.