Dealing With Division

Rory Mosley

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

August 17, 2008

Two weeks ago, we began this study of 1 Corinthians,

And we talked about some of the major problems that this Church had.

We won’t list them again here, but only to say

THAT TONIGHT PAUL BEGINS TACKLING THAT LIST OF ISSUES.

And the first issue Paul approaches is that of disunity.

Corinth had a major problem with quarreling inside their Church.

They could not get along, and various factions were arising.

When Paul scanned the body and took inventory of all their deficiencies,

It was not their sexual immorality, or their drunkenness,

Or their extortion, or even their idolatry that Paul dealt with first.

THE FIRST THING PAUL DEALS WITH IS THEIR UNITY.

That in itself should help us see how important unity is for the Church.

On the night before Jesus died, he prayed one prayer, and this was it.

John 17:20-23 "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”

Jesus wanted His church unified,

And there is a very good reason why.

OUR UNITY IS OUR CREDIBILITY IN THE WORLD.

Even occults are attractive because of their unity.

And let me also say quickly here that

UNITY IS POSSIBLE.

WHY?

There are at least two good reasons.

THE STANDARD OF OUR UNITY

God had given us His word, so the subject matter is not an issue.

Ephesians 4:1-6 “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”

THE STRENGTH OF OUR UNITY

(who provides the ability to unify)

And of course this is the Holy Spirit.

Quoting from the passage we just read, Paul wrote, “There is one body and one Spirit”

While we all have different gifts, we all have the same Spirit.

We all have the same fruit.

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

None of those qualities are possible in our fleshly nature, but thanks to the Holy Spirit we have the ability to do what it takes to unify.

It is because of truths like these,

That Paul can be very direct in his dealing with the Corinthians.

And tonight, as he deals with their division, we will look at

Three main aspects that teach us how to deal with division.

#1 THE SOLUTION

1 Corinthians 1:10

Now it may seem odd that we list the solution first,

Seeing as though we haven’t even seen the problem yet.

But the order is this way on purpose.

We will in a minute see what the specific problem of the Corinthians was,

But in the grand scheme, it doesn’t matter what their problem was.

Unity is commanded regardless of what causes the division.

So before we deal with the Corinthians,

Let’s just look at the solution to all unity problems.

Paul begins by saying, “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,”

“exhort” translates PARAKALEO,

From where we get our word for Paraclete, which is a name for the Holy Spirit.

It signifies coming along side in order to help,

Which is what the Holy Spirit does for us, and what Paul is doing for them.

Notice that Paul calls them “brethren”.

This is to remind them that we are all in this thing together.

Despite their problems, he still considers them to be brothers in Christ,

And therefore this letter is written in Christian love.

“by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ’

It literally sounds as though Paul

Is simply delivering a word directly from Jesus for this Church,

And certainly since Scripture is inspired, we can see it in such a way.

Paul is simply asking the Corinthians

To follow the One they pledged to submit to,

And he is here helping them do that.

And notice what he says.

“that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

Now looking at that statement as a whole,

It is obvious that the point is UNITY.

“all agree” “no divisions” “made complete” “same mind” “same judgment”

I think it is impossible to miss what Paul is saying.

But let’s look a little deeper and see that in this overall exhortation,

THERE ARE THREE THINGS PAUL WANTS THEM TO DO.

1) FOCUS

“that you all agree”

That in itself must seem like an impossible task,

And where it not for the power of the Holy Spirit, it might be.

But regardless of the difficulty, it is commanded none the less.

Paul says, “that you all agree”

Literally (KJV) “speak the same things”

We are predominantly talking about agreement in doctrine.

A Church body, must have one doctrine, and walk in unity in it.

If multiple doctrines, are endorsed,

It leads only to confusion and ultimately chaos.

The Church is called to come together

And find unity in doctrine which is revealed in God’s word.

Paul wrote to the Philippians.

Philippians 3:15-16 “Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”

We all start searching this book to find out what God thinks,

And then we all agree that it is true.

NO DOUBT IT REQUIRES FOCUS

Sit yourself down, and focus on learning the truth of God.

Focus

2) FELLOWSHIP

“and that there be no divisions among you”

It is tragic when it happens, but no doubt it does.

That sometimes people in Church get so far out of harmony

With one another, that it actually leads to “divisions”

Little groups begin to form, and segregate to their respective corners.

Regardless of what causes them

(and there is no acceptable reason)

Paul says to stop them.

Unity comes when we focus, and when we fellowship.

3) FIT

“but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment”

“made complete” translates KATARTIZO,

And it literally means “to make yourselves fit together”

It was the word used of repairing nets, or putting a bone back in socket.

And the reason is obvious.

No two of us are alike.

At the very least we all have different spiritual gifts.

Paul’s admonition now is that

We make ourselves fit together,

And make it work.

It is the art of the jigsaw puzzle.

No two pieces are exactly alike,

Yet before the picture can be made complete,

They have to learn to fit together.

The command is for unity, and to achieve it,

We must focus, fellowship, and fit.

And you will notice that this is a command.

Paul is not wishing that unity was possible,

He is commanding for unity to happen.

(It carries the idea of when your kids are fighting in the car,

And you turn around and say, “It’s a long way to where we are going, you are just going to have to learn to get along.”)

Unity isn’t natural, but it is possible, make it happen.

Now lets look at the specific problem of the Corinthians.

Why Paul would preach this way to them.

#2 THE POLUTION

1 Corinthians 1:11-15

When you read this, you almost get the idea

That Paul expects the Corinthians to deny that division exists.

It seems as though at least twice he proves that he knows it does.

(Verse 11 & Verse 12)

But Paul here exposes their division,

And even the root problem behind it.

And while looking at what is happening, let’s also look at why it is happening.

1) SELFISHNESS (11-12)

Apparently Chloe had sent some messengers to Paul, and they informed him “that there are quarrels among you.”

To get specific.

“each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.”

Apparently the people are picking their favorite past pastor

And division is occurring over whose was the best.

“I of Paul”

You had Paul come and plant the Church.

And perhaps those who were saved under his ministry

Went around as the charter members.

They were here when the whole thing started,

And they were their own little click.

“I of Apollos”

Now after Paul left, and new preacher came in.

Acts 18:24-28 “Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.”

Unlike Paul (whose speech was contemptible),

Apollos was “an eloquent man”

And he was a debating master. He made opponents look silly.

He must have brought in a new wave of converts,

They weren’t the charter members,

They were the new and improved members.

If Corinth had two services, Paul’s followers went to the traditional service, and Apollos’ followers went to the contemporary service.

“I of Cephas”

On top of that, you had another group walking around

Who were most likely Jews who still sought to hold their heritage a little higher than anyone else.

They were most likely converted at Pentecost.

They had actually heard Peter preach.

Today, they were the group who had sat under Adrian Rogers, or John MacArthur, and because of their privilege they didn’t really have any use for either of those insignificant Christians.

“I of Christ”

The Spiritual elites who claimed to need no man or preacher,

For they heard directly from God.

And so you get the picture of the divisions occurring.

THIS WAS NOT DENOMINATIONAL DIFFERENCES,

These were all occurring inside one local Church.

WHY WERE THEY OCCURING?

Selfishness.

They all sought to have their own ego fed.

They were all looking for ways to look and feel important.

They were all hungry after personal glory.

And anytime selfish ambition is present, so is division.

James 3:13-4:2 “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.”

They all wanted a little notoriety,

They all wanted to have their ego fed,

And because of that, division was everywhere.

John MacArthur wrote:

“Quarreling is a reality in the Church because selfishness and other sins are realities in the Church. Because of quarreling the Father is dishonored, the Son is disgraced, His people are demoralized and discredited, and the world is turned off and confirmed in unbelief. Fractured fellowship robs Christians of joy and effectiveness, robs God of glory, and robs the world of the true testimony of the gospel. A high price for an ego trip!” (1 Corinthians commentary, pg. 24)

And it is selfishness we see here.

In fact, selfishness is one of the pollutants anywhere there is division.

Paul said that the solution was “that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

And to do that, you must let go of your ego, and desire to gratify self.

You must be willing to “Take one for the team”,

And selfishness never is willing to do that.

Philippians 2:1-4 “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

So part of the Corinthians pollution was selfishness

2) SEPARATION (13-15)

Not only was their selfishness in their hearts,

But it was clearly manifesting itself in their actions.

They had become a separated Church.

They shared a tent, but not common love.

That is why Paul wrote:

“Has Christ been divided?”

WHAT A STATEMENT

Paul is sarcastically speaking here by asking

If Christ actually determined that He did not want His Church to be unified.

The way many Churches look, one would have to wonder.

And then Paul shames them for their foolish divisions.

“Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or where you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name.”

Most preachers brag about how many baptisms they have,

Paul did just the opposite.

Their separation made him irate.

And separation is another pollutant that attributes to division.

Disagreements come and go, but the answer is NOT – separation.

People want to quit church…

People want to quit going to certain functions…

Even in marriage, people always want to “separate”

HOW DO YOU EVER EXPECT TO SOLVE A PROBLEM IF YOU NEVER SEE EACH OTHER TO WORK IT OUT?

Separation is never the answer.

Hebrews 10:24-25 “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

Have you ever seen “The Parent Trap”?

“Either you’ll learn to get along,

Or you’ll punish each other far worse than I ever could.”

She knew what Paul knew, and that is that separation solves nothing.

Do not be selfish, and do not separate.

Those where the two major pollutants at Corinth.

The solution…The pollution

#3 THE RESOLUTION

1 Corinthians 1:16-17

I love what Paul does here.

He takes the focus of the Corinthians

Off of their petty skirmishes and elevates them to a higher plane.

Maybe you don’t agree about football…

Maybe you don’t agree about cheerleading…

Maybe you don’t agree about ice cream…

THEN QUIT FOCUSING ON THOSE THINGS

Corinth was consumed with things that did not matter,

And it was tearing that Church apart.

Paul refocuses them on the one thing that does matter.

(17) “For Christ did not sent me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.”

“I didn’t have time to think about who I baptized, nor did I care.

I had more important things to do,

Namely to elevate the cross of Jesus.”

And that is the resolution we must come to.

So you don’t agree on petty little things that do not matter.

Get over it and come together anyway.

We are here for a greater purpose,

And that is to lift high the cross of Jesus.

And if our divisions inhibits the growth of the kingdom

Then our divisions have to go.

That was the essence of the verse we read earlier.

Focus on what matters, and get over everything else.

So tonight, I don’t know if you have issues with anyone,

If you do, get over it.

Quit being selfish, and quit separating.

You get with them and make unity work.

FOCUS, FELLOWSHIP, AND FIT

For if the word of God is our standard,

And the Holy Spirit is our guide,

Then unity is possible, make it happen!

1 Corinthians 1:10 “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.”