what caused divisions in the corinthian church

what caused divisions in the corinthian church

I would agree that we find ourselves in much the same situations as those listening to the Greek philosophers/orators. It is possible, though, that the divisions among But when it comes to the clear teachings of Gods Word, there cannot be two conflicting views that are both right. How important was unity to our Lord Jesus Christ? Weve seen how important unity was to the apostle Paul. We came to life in Christ by Paul, and Paul is the one we're going to listen to above all others." 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. You could spot the Navigators going up and down the streets of Honolulu. Whenever this attitude of gathering around a man is allowed to perpetuate itself, it is the source of much trouble and difficulty. We have Jesus only groups even today. The elders should make their decisions with the same mind and the same judgment. 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. They were caused by Cliques (1:12; 3:4). In what ways have we failed to de-paganize? It seems like it would be better to ask in what ways have we been re-paganized. There is not a single teacher who ever lived who can heal the hurt of a broken heart, or supply energy and adequacy to someone who feels worthless and unable to function in society, not one. 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." 4-The churchs failure to discipline. Their relationship to Christ was the unifying factor of the church. There should be unanimous agreement. I would like to approach it from an evangelistic standpoint. He started this church. 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. The Corinthian Church. In verses 10-17 of Chapter 1, Paul establishes the fact that there are divisions and begins to deal with them. We go back to the Lord alone. Some boasted of their special spiritual gifts; others felt left out. 3- The presence of an immoral member. Let's go back to Jerusalem. He come to Corinth to create a community of disciples from which he might receive patronage and prestige. Today we have followers of Rob Bell, Rick Warren, and even Joel Osteen (for some reason). 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. Some Corinthian Christians were dividing over church teachers. There are even discrepancies inside single denominations (which means we have division inside our divisions, great). 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. The bridesmaids have come down the aisle. In verses 14 to 16, Paul uses himself as an example. 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. Paul, however, was a good leader. WebDivisions in the Church. Webdivided. It wasnt even about secondary doctrine (the second coming, the nature of baptism). They failed to take seriously the power of evil; their behavior caused divisions in the church and led to a lack of concern for other members. Acts 18:24 says that Apollos was an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man. He begins the process of developing them into leaders who will also preach the gospel and found more churches. This word was normally used to refer to a tear in a garment. There has been no other cure that I know of through the years. A. It was expected. Not when one part of the congregation meets in one part of the building, and the other part of the congregation meets in another spot. We all know what a clique is. For a local church to be spiritually healthy and effective, and for there to be harmony in the local church, there must be doctrinal unity. In the year 1 054 the Church was divided into two parts: 1) The Greek Eastern Church 2) The Roman Western Church. How important is it that there be unity in the Church where you fellowship? WebDivisions in the Church. This applies also to the leadership in the church. It builds him up too much; it makes him a rival, to some degree, of the Lord himself. It is well known that division in the church of Corinth was over leadership. So he says, "I didn't baptize many of you. The church at Corinth had divided loyalty to different leaders. You may be reminded by his words in Verse10 of the similar passage in his letter to the Philippians where, in Chapter2, he says to that church, "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord, and of one mind," (Philippians 2:1-2 RSV). They forget, of course, that the church never belongs to anybody but the Lord. The groom and his attendants are in their places. I hang on every word you say. Everybody has their denomination and they cling relentless to their doctrinal beliefs. (1 Corinthians 1:12 RSV) Now, there was the trouble at Corinth. What is a clique? On opening it you found a loose-leaf notebook with many of the small, half-page materials that the Navigators printed their Bible helps on. And some of them are really gross. You only have to listen around you today and you find outstanding leaders being held up by their congregations as almost the equal of the Lord himself in their value to the church. For permission to use this content, please review Paul goes right on, in Verse12, 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." 11My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. WebWhat were the causes of division in the Corinthian Church? Some Corinthian Christians were dividing over church teachers. In the year 1 054 the Church was divided into two parts: 1) The Greek Eastern Church 2) The Roman Western Church. I'm nobody, just like you!" He says, in effect, "You don't cure divisions in a church by identification badges. I do not identify my self as being a follower of anybody but Jesus (although there are certain theologians that I do hold in higher regard than others). There is no other name big enough, great enough, glorious enough, and powerful enough to gather everybody together, despite the diversity of viewpoint and the differences of background or status in life, than the name of Jesus. Let's get back to the beginnings. The Protestant Reformation had its beginnings in 1517 (see Chapter 1 0). 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. We tend to deify men, and people look at them as if they can do no wrong, can made no errors, that they know everything and can settle all questions. This issue was so important that Paul devotes the first four chapters of I Corinthians to divisions in the church. He addresses them as brethren. This is the result of a religious snobbery associated by cliques that produced pride and conflict. Like Greg, I recognize this tension in some of the churches I have served in and find it appalling (1 Corinthians 3:18-19). Religious snobs want to be a part of a small group who His Word does not disagree with itself. 5-Members going to pagan courts to settle disputes. People begin to think things about him that are not true, and expect things from him that he is unable to deliver. Will we do so by the strength which God alone can and will supply? The news went out but no one had seen the little fellow. And I say that because some people focus on PREACHER instead of THE SAVIOR. 4-The churchs failure to discipline. 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. WebThe Christians at Corinth were dividing the church by pledging their loyalties to different celebrities. The first and perhaps biggest is denominations. It is not merely that the Church is everywhere split up into sections, but that this has led to party strife and jealousy. Its pathetic that people should get so angry about whether drums are used or if the AC unit is kept at 71 or 70. We are of Peter." We all know what a clique is. One of his biggest goals is to double our congregation so we have 5,000 members. 2 Corinthians The Lords Supper was affected by the divisions between rich and poor and an overall general misunderstanding. WebThe spirit that wrought such mischief at Corinth has been busy in the Church ever since. This Western Church soon became known as the Roman Catholic Church. 2- The Churchs division. The individual leaders should only point them to Christ. In other words, there must be agreement with Christ, with His will, and with His Word. All rights reserved. 2- The Churchs division. The search went on until nightfall, but no answer came to their urgent calls. He had received a report from the household of Cloe that there were quarrels among the members of the Corinthian church. Thats not the way a jigsaw puzzle was meant to be put together. In Matthew 12:25 the Lord Jesus says, Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand.. The Corinthian church had many problems, and most of them were the result of pride and placing so much emphasis on social status. A. The Corinthian church had many problems, and most of them were the result of pride and placing so much emphasis on social status. 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. So Paul is insisting that the Corinthians, and all believers, have doctrinal unity that is clearly based on Gods Word. Now these things were good. These kinds of things happen when there are divisions in a church. 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. I have had to do some degree of battle with this myself. Sermon 5: Who is the Most Important? Four groups had formed in the Corinthian church. 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. 1 Corinthians 1:10: I appeal to you, brothers, 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.. Only the Lord Jesus Christ could pay the penalty for our sins because only He is the Son of God. 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. It is not merely that the Church is everywhere split up into sections, but that this has led to party strife and jealousy. Every piece of that jigsaw puzzle is different, isnt it? 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. Offshoots had disturbed the church. Thank you, Father, for this time here contemplating the cross. It tells about the most climactic moment in a wedding ceremony. Her nose is bloody! 1-False prophets (2 Corinthians 11:13). To all of this Paul would say to us, as he says to Corinth, Is Christ divided? They may have carried Pauls teachings of justification by faith and freedom from the Law to an extreme and felt free to do whatever they wanted. He then goes on to explain that it was the Corinthian wisdom that created so much disunity. The most well known one is having worship on Sundays instead of the Sabbath. Members follow him blindly and whatever they do seems right to them. Todays church is a lot like the church of Corinthians. Now, in one verse he introduces to us the cure for these divisions (Verse17): For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom [literally, "wisdom of words"], lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 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). In conjunction with this, some people were questioning Pauls character and authority ( 1 Corinthians 14 ). 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. I lead a small group so I sometimes have to sit in meetings where the pastor shares things about the vision of our church. 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. Phil Long is correct, we have not improved much since the first century. He chooses various channels through which to work. He has Masters degrees in Biblical Exposition and Old Testament from Talbot School of Theology (BIOLA) and a PhD in New Testament from Andrews University. Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? He appeals to them in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I personally experienced this at work about a year and a half ago. There is not a single Christian teacher who ever lived who can help us be forgiven one single sin, not one. Others were saying, "Well, Apollos himself baptized me." RayStedman.org/permissions. 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. 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. One day in Africa, a small boy was lost. No man is the Savior; no man can deliver us except Jesus. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. I appreciate the perspective given by the author and agree 100% that the body of Christ is divided. That is what they were doing with baptism here in Corinth. WebAccording to Paul, the communitys problems were the consequence of the Corinthians mistaken belief that they had already been exalted. What is a clique? Paul is putting his finger right on the problem when he asks, "Was Paul crucified for you?" They embraced the values of their Roman society, which divided over ethnicity (e.g., Jews vs. Gentiles) and social rank (wise vs. foolish, powerful Webdivided. This division in the church was over their own selfish ambitions evidenced in what they wanted. So undoubtedly there was a big group that followed Paul. If Paul were to visit one of these churches, he would see a good-looking man in a custom suit standing over everybody else, and his mind would go straight to the orators of his day. 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. In verses 10-12, Paul begins by giving an appeal for unity. It is well known that division in the church of Corinth was over leadership. I think we have failed to de-paganize the art of preaching/teaching if pastors/leaders are looking for patronage, prestige, and numbers over relationships, service, and transformation. Now, here the apostle makes very clear that the tendency among groupies is to distort the meaning of symbols. The basic meaning is to put back together and make one again something that was broken or separated. In her book, The Key to a Loving Heart, Karen Mains includes a parable about the church entitled The Brawling Bride. They did not try to hide the problems. That was the mark, that was the identification badge. Alexandria was a center for learning and philosophy. I have had people say to me, "Oh, Mr. Stedman, when you speak I see so clearly! 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. Paul rejects this disunity, telling the church members to focus on Christ. There he indicates that the problem with cliquishness is that it tends to overemphasize the significance of the human leader. The families have been seated. Unity in the church is something that requires cooperation with each other and with the Spirit of God. 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. 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. It is possible, though, that the divisions among 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. I told them GBC and they said something along the lines of, Oh a Bible college? Yes, we have the core beliefs that most Christians will agree upon, but the rest is still very confusing to non-believers. The Lords Supper was affected by the divisions between rich and poor and an overall general misunderstanding. The better the orator, the higher the fee, and the more disciples he will attract. In verse 11, Paul gives the reason for his appeal for unity in the church at Corinth. The human condition is, unfortunately, one of comparison that seeks to place oneself or their beliefs over another. 16(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) These are not the only causes of divisions in churches today. If we sacrifice quality for numbers I dont think we are being good stewards of our gift of leadership. It is those who have a financial interest in their own wellbeing, that divide the sheep up into different folds. And if you were really on the inside circle, your ladder was drawn by none other than Dawson Trotman himself! That, of course, is as it should be. Why? We get so off track of what Christianity is all aboutMark 12:30-31 and begin focusing on worldly things like Rob Bell debated are actually being held to see if this Pastor is even Christian! Do we need to be looking for results? Thanks for the thoughtful comment Austin. This is really what is behind his disclaimer on baptism in 1 Cor 1:14-16. There are many other things that do cause serious problems stemming from the outside world. To an unbeliever, this looks like we cannot agree on our own religion. Other divisions were to follow. Some followed Apollos whom they honored above Paul (1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:4; Acts 18:24 to 19:1). Website 2023 by Ray Stedman Ministries. It would be great if all of you would think like me, but unfortunately there are stubborn ones among you, there are depraved ones among you, there are those who have different backgrounds than I have, and some of you just do not think like I do! He was introduced in a rather extended and flowery way, but he came on and in his great, booming voice said, "I'm not Dr.Oswald Hoffman, the great preacher of the Lutheran Hour. The content of their messages was in agreement, but the followers of these men probably focused on personality differences and distorted their teachings. 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. Then youre a Christian right? Even though our conversation could only continue for about 10 more minutes, this issue of divisions within the church arose. In verse 11, Paul gives the reason for his appeal for unity in the church at Corinth. Divisions never really ended with Pauls letters; they just appear to have evolved into having more sophisticated names. In these cases, there should be freedom to agree to disagree. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any one else). Sometimes a church leader can have so much clout that he begins to have cult status.

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