CDOBC beginning on 1/28/18 Today s Title: Divisions Destroy the Church. January 28, Corinthians 1:1-17

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1 Series: Being the Church in a World Gone Wild CDOBC beginning on 1/28/18 Today s Title: Divisions Destroy the Church January 28, Corinthians 1:1-17 OBJECTIVE: To help believers be unified in the Gospel and maintain unity. Prayer A church can be a really messed up place. A church is not immune to dysfunctional relationships and destructive practices. A church is supposed to be a refuge - a place of health - love, and truth. The Church should be a contrast to the world...to the culture. But unfortunately, as our culture has moved further away from Christian truth and influence, many churches have lost a great deal of their contrast. As our culture continues to move - at what seems like an increasing speed - away from biblical truth and ethics - as chaos increases in the culture - along with confusion about truth and ever-increasing conflict where there is a difference of opinion - where what is true cannot be agreed upon - where what is right or wrong is relative to who / what is being discussed. As the next generations are beginning their life further from God than previous generations, with the rise of The Nones who have no religious affiliation. This past week I came across the latest Barna research which was a study of the youngest generation - the nation s teenagers - 1

2 Generation Z - they found the % of teenagers who identify as atheist is double that of the general population. We...the church...we have a growing challenge before us. The challenge is this: How can we be the Church - how do we live as Christians - in a world that s moving further away from God? How are we - the Church - supposed to interact with each other - and with the unbelieving world? Welcome to week #1 in our new series: Being the Church in a World Gone Wild The ancient city of Corinth was not unlike our current culture. There s a popular view in our modern culture which believes things written long ago are not valid for today s world. But the truth is, humanity hasn t really changed that much over the centuries. Of course, inventions have improved virtually every aspect of life - but the human heart - the way people interact with one another - business practices - how we settle disagreements - human sexuality - how husbands and wives treat each other - technology hasn t changed the way men and women deal with these areas of life. So, what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth still holds a great deal of truth and application for us today - in Oro Valley. 2

3 Let s first begin with a quick primer on Corinth - the context for the church Paul writes this letter to. Corinth was a cosmopolitan city. It was a combination of Paris, London, New York and Las Vegas. Corinth was located on what s called the Peloponnese - or think of it as southern Greece. The Peloponnese and the main part of Greece is connected by a narrow isthmus which is only about 4 miles wide. Due to its location - Corinth was a center of commerce in the Roman world. Ships would dock in its port - and larger ships would often unload their cargo - and have it transported across the isthmus to a port on the western side - loaded onto another ship - and then transported to its final destination. Smaller ships were sometimes lifted out of the water and pulled across the 4-mile wide isthmus on a series of rollers - and then placed in the port on the western side. This was done because sailing down around the southern part of the Peloponnese was extremely dangerous - some of the most dangerous sailing in the ancient Mediterranean. Today, there is a canal cut through the isthmus - constructed in which make this process much quicker and safer. Due to these factors, Corinth was populated by people from all over the world - people there on business - or those who 3

4 wanted to enjoy the sites and pagan temples which dotted the hills and mountains around the city. The temple of Aphrodite - the Greek goddess of love - dominated the city landscape. It stood on a hill, at an elevation around 1,850 feet above sea level - and the temple employed 1,000 priestesses - who were sacred prostitutes. Every evening they would come down into the city - and practice their trade. (The Message of 1 Corinthians, by David Prior, p. 11) At the base of this mountain was the temple of Apollo. The temple of Aphrodite worshiped the female body - the temple of Apollo worshiped the male body - and in this temple homosexuality was celebrated and indulged in to such a great degree it would make San Francisco look a bit prudish. Sex was Corinth s obsession. Materialism and individualism were close 2nds. Not much different from our world today. Whatever happens in Corinth...stays in Corinth would have been a fitting tourism slogan - just like it is for modernday Las Vegas. In addition to the partying and extravagant self-indulgence of Corinth, intellectual thought - intellectualism was also very popular. Intellectualism - much like we see on modern college campus - where any and all ideas and thoughts are celebrated - where truth is simply an abstract idea - this was 4

5 the intellectual climate of Corinth and the surrounding cities (i.e. Athens). Enter into the city - the Apostle Paul. Acts 18 records Paul s arrival and work in Corinth. Acts 18:1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. Paul arrives at Corinth - the year is 49 or 50 A.D. - and he ended up staying in Corinth about 18 months. While he was there, many believed in Jesus - and this new church in Corinth grew to be a large group of believers. Silas and Timothy joined Paul in Corinth, and they were occupied with the Word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. (Acts 18:5). About 3 or 4 years after Paul left Corinth, he begins to hear about some problems the church was having...and the list of problems was long and disturbing. So, he writes a letter to the church - to encourage them - give them guidance - and to correct them. In essence, he needed to remind them how they were to live as the people of God, in the midst of the Corinthian culture. Turn to 1 Corinthians 1: Read passage Our identity and unity are in Christ vs. 1-9 As Paul begins this letter, he has a long list of issues he will address - disunity, immorality, marriage, Christian liberty, the Lord's table, spiritual gifts, resurrection, and 5

6 money. But he doesn t start with the issues...he starts with reminding them of their identity, which has a lot to do with their unity. Sothsenes is probably acting in the role of Paul s secretary - writing the letter as Paul dictates it. In (vs. 2), he says, To the church of God that is in Corinth. This is an important reminder for us...especially in our day of celebrity pastors and brand-name franchise churches. Never lose sight of this truth: The church is God s church, and He doesn t share with anyone. The church in Corinth was planted by Paul - most of the people were saved through his witness and under his ministry, but this was God s church - not Paul s church. This is an important truth for what he will develop in vs This is why the mission Jesus gave the Church in Matthew 28 - is still the mission we have today. It s not up to us - or any local church - to decide what the mission is. Jesus has given us our mission - it s His Church - end of discussion! Look what he says next...this is also huge! (vs. 2) to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours... Knowing that the Corinthian church was very carnal/fleshly - living in sinful ways - even with that 6

7 reality, Paul says they are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints. Sanctified means to be set apart, and the believers in Corinth had been set apart by God - by His calling of them - called to be saints. Remember, saints is a term which identifies every believer in Jesus - not just those who are super-star Christians. saints simply means holy ones - and each believer is in Christ - and therefore each believer is holy - due not only the forgiveness of our sins when we put our faith in Christ, but due to the imputation of His holiness which each of us receive the moment of our faith. This is what s referred to as positional holiness. This doesn t mean the believers at Corinth were living holy lives, but positionally - judiciously - when God looks upon His children, He sees them as forgiven, and with the holiness of His Son - Jesus. Vs. 2 reminds us we don t live on an island - in this church we re not isolated from other churches/christians - we re not better or worse than believers in other bible-believing churches. We are part of a bigger whole - what s referred to as the Universal Church. 7

8 Then, in vs. 4-9, Paul reminds them of their many blessings because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus... They are rich in speech and all knowledge, they re not lacking in any gift, God will sustain you to the end, guiltless. Then in vs. 9, he points their thoughts heavenward - to the faithfulness of God - who called them into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. This is another important reminder. If you re a Christian, you are saved because God called you - He chose you to be saved. You had to make a choice...but He enabled you to make that choice (see also Eph. 1). All believers are called into the fellowship of His Son. This is communion - fellowship - harmony - relationship. When a believer...when a group of believers in a local church drift away from these truths - whether on purpose or simply by drifting away - problems in the church will follow. We are set apart - sanctified - called by God - along with others in churches around the world. We ve been enriched by the grace of God in so many ways - lacking nothing we need to be the church God calls us to be. 8

9 And God is faithful...he will sustain us in His love and forgiveness to the end. But the church in Corinth forgot / set aside many of these things - in the same way many churches today have set aside these things. As a result, problems followed. The worst problem...the most serious problem was the problem of divisions...disunity. We must be unified vs Jesus prayed in John 17 that His followers would be one - that they would be unified. He prayed that His followers love for one another would be an undeniable proof of the power of the Gospel. In Acts 2, when the Church began, we read how this love and unity was put into action as they were of the same heart and mind, meeting together daily -- and the Lord added to their number. Paul says we should be unified: In the truth of the Gospel vs. 10 The NIV has a more accurate translation here in the first part of vs that all of you agree with one another in what you say... The reference is to our words - our speech - but he s not saying we need to agree in everything we say. 9

10 If I said, ASU is the best college in AZ - you re not obligated to agree with me. About 4 weeks ago (12/30), ASU was in Tucson to play U of A in basketball, and a friend invited me to the game - and I wore my ASU shirt! But my team lost...and the next morning, as I was preaching God s Word - someone in this church did a very unloving and dis-unifying thing - they defaced my car during church! Terrible! (Ha ha!) Different sports allegiances, different food preferences, different music preferences are not what Paul is talking about. Are you a Patriots fan? Eagles fan? Don t care or even know what I m talking about? Doesn t matter. What does matter is we are unified in the truth of the Gospel we proclaim. Philippians 3:16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained. Romans 16:17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites... Too often people in a church will not agree with the doctrinal positions of the church. I m speaking here of the essentials of the faith - Inspiration of Scripture 10

11 / Deity of Jesus / Necessity of salvation - personal faith / Saved by faith, not by works As a result of their different opinion, they will begin teaching their own version of the Gospel - and they will begin to gather a crowd around them - and pretty soon there is a division in the church. We must be unified in what we say about the Gospel - the essentials of the Faith. vs no divisions = schizmata - this Greek word means to tear or rip a garment (see Matt. 9:16), but it also has a metaphorical meaning, in reference to a difference of opinion, a split opinion. Paul says, let there be no divisions - no split opinions. He's obviously not talking about garments, but opinions. Then, at the end of verse 10,...but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. The word united = katartizó is not just a biblical word, but it s used in classical Greek, to speak of mending nets, the mending of bones, dislocated limbs, joining something together that was torn apart, sewing a garment. It means get back together - to grow together again. You are to have the same mind and the same judgment. When it comes to the Gospel, we are to think alike - agree. 11

12 Romans 15:5-6...that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:2...complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Ephesians 4:3 Vs 10 is the solution - the fix to their problem. Vs give the details of their division. Paul s point: We should be unified... In our allegiance to Christ vs vs Is Christ divided? The answer is NO. There were groups who started to become groupies of their favorite preachers. Since Paul planted the church in Corinth, and many in the church were saved under his ministry, this group put Paul above the others. Peter was another favorite - especially of the Jewish groupies. Apollos was a great public speaker - probably a very intellectual and passionate speaker. Some favored him, and not Paul the broken record who kept talking about the resurrection of Jesus. Then there was the ultra-spiritual crowd - the Jesus groupies. Of course, all of us should be favoring Jesus - but this was a group which was likely dismissive of all 12

13 the other church leaders. We have people like this today. They only see the faults of church leadership, and so they distance themselves from the local church and they do church on their own - in their own house - watching, listening or reading whoever catches their fancy - and they are not involved with the local church and they don t submit themselves to the leadership of any local church. Paul makes it very clear - we don t have different teams or allegiances in the church. 1 Corinthians 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him. Ephesians 4:4-6a There is one body and one Spirit -- just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call -- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all... 1 Corinthians 12:25...that there may be no divisions in the body (the church)... See also: Deuteronomy 6:4 & John 17:20, 22 Lastly, Paul says we should be unified: In the priority of the Gospel vs. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. Is Paul minimizing baptism or intelligent preaching? 13

14 No. He s putting baptism in its proper place. The most important thing isn t baptism...it s the preaching of the Gospel. So often something important, like baptism, becomes the main thing - the priority, and the preaching of the Gospel is minimized. Baptism is a result of the preaching of the Gospel. The preaching of the Gospel - which proclaims the reality and necessity of the cross of Christ - is the highest priority in the church. The Gospel is where the power of Christ is held! He s also not saying when preaching the Gospel, you should never use eloquent language. He s saying, don t let your eloquent language get in the way of the clear, plain truth of the Gospel! On Christmas morning - at birthday parties, little toddlers - 1, 2 and 3 years old - have a pile of presents. As mom or dad help them open the presents, it often happens that the little kid is more captivated by the packaging - by the wrapping paper and bows - than by the gift inside! This can happen when you present the Gospel. If you think the Gospel is somehow insufficient, and you wrap it up with all this eloquent speech and 14

15 Apply it... wisdom, the focus will be on the eloquent wisdom, and not on the simple, clear Gospel. The Gospel does not need our help...it doesn t need us to adjust it for modern ears...it doesn t need to be softened or hardened and we don t need to accommodate the Gospel to us, we need to accommodate ourselves to the Gospel! The Gospel is not meant to impress, it s meant to convict of sin and offer forgiveness. Know your identity in Christ. In the eyes of God, you are a sanctified saint. You are an important part of the universal church. Through His grace, He has enriched you with many spiritual blessings. God is faithful - He has called you into eternal fellowship with His Son. Know the priority of unity in the church We must be unified in the Gospel. Our allegiance must be to Christ alone. We must stay faithful to the mission - to preach the Gospel to unbelievers. I pray we will enjoy God s blessing, as we stay faithful and unified in these things. Close in prayer 15