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4000 E.
Collins Rd. “Preaching
the Living Word through the Written Word (2Tim 4:2)” |
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DIVISIONS IN THE CHURCH - PT 1 1Co 1:10-25 (6/8/11) Grace Bible
Church, Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl
Hilbert I.
CORINTHIAN DIVISION OVER BAPTISM (1Co 1:10-17) A. The
Exhortation to Be of the Same Mind (1Co 1:10) 1. [1Co 1:10] - Paul begins with an
“exhortation” (parakalé́ō - call alongside), which is stronger
than encouragement (same word) concerning divisions. Strong biblical
exhortation is as necessary as tender encouragement. a) Note that
Paul first calls them “brethren” (adelphoi), a reference to the fact that they are believers
(used some 27 times in 1
Co 1:10f,26; 2:1; 3:1; 4:6; 6:5,8; 7:24,29; 8:12; 10:1; 11:33; 12:1;
14:6,20,26,39; 15:1,6,31,50,58; 16:11f,15,20). b) He exhorts
them through Christ (“by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ”) so that they
would all “agree” (to auto legête - say the same thing, i.e
agreement). This would include being complete (katartízō - equipped, complete, or mature), in the
same (fr autos)
mind, and in the same (fr autos) judgment. They were to have
the same purpose and goal which would be edification for the whole body. c) He also
exhorts them that there should be no divisions among them. “Division” is translated
from the Greek word schisma (Eng.
schism) and means to split ( B. The Evidence
of Divisions (1Co 1:11-12) 1. [1Co 1:11] -
Paul was informed about divisions and quarrels from Chloe’s (only mentioned
here) household,
but should have come from the elders. Specifically they reported that there
were quarrels among them. Quarrels (eris) can mean anything
from strife to debate, from in-fighting to rivalries. All
of these stem from acting out the sinful nature (Gal 5:19-21). 2. [1Co 1:12] -
What exactly were they quarreling over? They were
quarreling over who was baptized and by whom. a) One might
have thought that it would have been over doctrinal issues like baptismal
regeneration or the meaning of the “baptism for the dead.” b) Instead they
digressed to fighting over which apostles had more clout and who was baptized
by him. c) They
obviously formed splinter groups and some claimed to be of Paul’s group, some
Apollos’, some Peter’s, and the purists claimed to be of Christ, though
Christ did not baptize anyone. C. The Exposition
of Error (1Co 1:13-17) 1. [1Co 1:13] - Paul
reveals their absurdity. He asks the rhetorical question, “has Christ been or
continued to be divided (perfect
passive participle - merizō divide or
apportion)?” a) How could
they ever compare Paul, Apollos, or Peter with Christ? Were any of them
crucified on the sinner’s behalf? b) Whose name was
used in baptism? Was it Paul’s, Apollos’, or Peter’s? Though Christ cannot be
divided, their divisions were attempting to do just that. 2. [1Co 1:14-16]
- Paul was thankful that he baptized very few believers at Corinth. Otherwise they would have said they were
baptized in “Paul’s name.” He names some of the ones he did baptize, Crispus (Act 18:8) and Gaius (Act 19:29;
20:4). He also baptized the household of Stephanas (mentioned only in
Corinthians, 1Co 1:16; 16:15, 17). 3. [1Co 1:17] - Paul
makes a declarative statement that Christ did not send him to baptize, but to
preach the gospel. a) Not only does
this quell their immature wranglings, but it shows
how far off the Corinthians were from thinking
spiritual thoughts. b) It also
teaches that baptism has nothing to do with the gospel or salvation. The
contrast shows that baptism is not part of the gospel’s equation. c) Otherwise,
Paul would have made the gospel void (kenos
- empty and ineffective) either by erroneous doctrinal content or
erroneous human effort (“cleverness of speech”). II. GOD’S DIVISION
OF HIS WISDOM VS. THE WORLD’S (1Co 1:18-25) A. The Contrast
of the Two Categories (1Co 1:18) 1. [1Co 1:18] - Paul picks up the subject of
the cross. He will begin to talk about the only division that the Bible
recognizes, namely the division between God’s wisdom and the world’s wisdom (i.e between believers and unbelievers). It is the “cross”
(metonym for gospel) that is the dividing line. a) In regard to
unbelievers, they are described as the ones who: (1) think the preaching (“word” logos)
of the cross is “foolishness” (mōría fr moros, dull, stuid, irrational, intellectually weak, Eng. moron). (2) are presently “perishing” (appollumi - coming to destruction, spiritually lost). b) In regard to
believers, they are described as the ones who: (1) are presently “being saved” (present passive participle - sōzō). (2) believe that the gospel is the power of God (cp. Rom 1:16). B. The Consequences
of the World’s Wisdom (1Co 1:19-22) 1. [1Co 1:19] - Paul
quotes from Isa 29:14 to substantiate his thoughts on the biblical division.
It states that God will destroy (appollumi , same word as vs. 18) the wisdom of
the “wise” of this world (and the world with it) as well as “set aside” (athetéō - reject) their
cleverness (same word as in vs. 18). 2. [1Co 1:20-21]
- Paul probably is paraphrasing from Isa 19:12 where the powerful and wise of
the ancient world did not know the Lord or His will, and therefore became
fools. a) Paul explains
his analogy as the foolish of this world who scoff at the gospel. But the
wisdom of this world was unable to have a relationship with God and therefore
will perish. b) However, God
was well-pleased to use the foolishness of the gospel to save those who
believe. 3. [1Co 1:22] - The
Jews and the Greeks are examples of the wise of the world who
reject God’s wisdom. a) The Jews
sought signs and asked Jesus to perform them (Mat 12:38-39; 16:1). Signs
themselves are not bad. The Jews were told to look for signs (Isa 7:14). They
were even given signs by Jesus but they still would not believe the message
of Jesus. b) The Greeks (Hellên - Greeks and Gentiles) sought for
wisdom. But in their own human wisdom, the gospel was intellectually weak and
even foolish (cp. Act 17:18). C.
The Consequences of God’s Wisdom (1Co 1:23-25) 1. [1Co 1:23] - In spite of what the world
thinks, Paul continued to “preach” (kerússō - herald or proclaim) Christ
“crucified” (perfect passive participle
- stauróō - lit. “having been and continued to be
crucified” emphasizing the finished and sufficient work of Christ on the
cross). a) However, the
crucified Christ and the message of the gospel was a stumbling block (skandalon - a stick for bait (of a trap),
generally a snare,
a stumbling block, an offense, cp. Rom 9:31-33; 1Pe
2:8; Gal 5:11) to the Jews. They were not only looking for a ruling
Messiah, but they did not see their need for an atoning Messiah (Mat 5:20;
Rom 10:2-3). b) As for the
Greeks, they were enamored with new ideas and the acceptance of most ideas.
Such a dogmatic belief in the cross of Christ as the only way to salvation was
foolishness to them. Furthermore, they were without the Spirit and could only
perceive spiritual truths as foolish (1Co 2:14). 2. [1Co 1:24] - In
contrast are the ones who are entitled, “the called” (cp. 1Co 1:9). They were
made up of both Jews and Greeks who believed on Christ. There is no division
in Christ only a unity. Unfortunately the Corinthians
were attempting to start one. a) Christ is the
power of God in that His death on the cross had the power to bring
forgiveness to men and give them eternal life. b) Christ is the
wisdom of God in that He solved the eternal dilemma of how to reconcile
sinful men with a holy God. 3. [1Co 1:25] - In
conclusion, God’s foolishness of the gospel is wiser than the wisdom of this
perishing world. God’s weakness in the gospel is stronger than man’s pseudo
strength to pull himself up by his own boot straps. III. OBSERVATIONS
AND APPLICATIONS A. Many
divisions are over the most ridiculous things and mean nothing in the light
of eternity. B. The worst
thing about divisions is that they attempt to divide Christ and His body. C. Unity among
the brethren calls for maturity, servanthood, and preference to one another. D. Note: The
truths of biblical principles are never to be set aside for the sake of
unity. E. Counseling
Principle: We must seek our answers from the Scriptures over conventional
wisdom, biases, and emotions. F. Counseling
Principle: We must direct people away from their carnal notions to the
spirituality of the Word. G. Counseling
Principle: The objective of the biblical counselor is to preach the gospel to
the unbeliever and bring the believer to maturity in Christ through biblical
principles. |
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