CORINTHIAN ISSUES – MESSAGE 2
June 22, 2003

“Choosing Teams”

1 Corinthians 1: 10 – 17
1 Corinthians 3: 1 – 4

Two weeks ago, we were introduced to the Book of 1 Corinthians, beginning a journey that will take us into the winter.  The Apostle Paul ministered in the city of Corinth for one and one-half years, and helped to begin a church.  He wrote this letter to the people there about three years after he had left.  Many issues had arisen in the church during those three years.  Paul had heard of them both by word of mouth and by letters he received.  The Book of 1 Corinthians was his effort to address those issues.

Today, we will begin looking at the first issue.  We will continue studying it for a few weeks as we work through Paul’s writings in Chapters 1 through 4.  Our text for today is two short passages.  The first is in Chapter 1, verses 10 through 12:  “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.  For I have been informed concerning you, my brethern, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you.  Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, ‘I am of Paul,’ and ‘I of Apollos,’ and ‘I of Cephas,’ and ‘I of Christ.’”   

Now turn to the first four verses of Chapter 3:  “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ.  I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it.  Indeed, even now, three years later, you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly.  For since there is still jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?  For when one says, ‘I am of Paul’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not mere men?”

The contest

The competition is great in the fast food world.  The top four fast food chains are Burger King, Hardee’s, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s.  What order do you think they are in as being the top four chains?  Who is Number 1, and how do the others rank?  Here are the answers:  The top fast food chain right now is McDonald’s.  Second is Burger King; third, Wendy’s; and fourth, Hardee’s. 

What if you and I really got wrapped up in the competition between those four fast food chains?  What if we each picked our favorite one and said, “I’m a McDonald’s guy,” or “I’m a Wendy’s fan,” or “I go with Hardee’s,” and what if we really got wrapped up in that competition to the point of arguing about which is best, defending the one we had chosen?  What if we said we would only go to Burger King and wouldn’t even set foot in the others?  What if we would even look down on people who go to Hardee’s because we are for Wendy’s?  And then, what if we found ourselves dividing and choosing to not even spend time with one another any more because of our differences?  “I’m not going to go to the game with him – he’s a McDonald’s guy, and I’m a Hardee’s guy.”  It sounds pretty foolish that we would divide over four fast food chains. 

Well, there was a division in the Corinthian church, and the people had divided into four different groups.  They didn’t divide over fast food chains, but over their spiritual leaders or teachers.  Surely a church never would divide over spiritual leaders, would it?   Surely it would, and indeed it happened in Corinth.  It became the first issue Paul addressed. 

As I said earlier, Paul took four chapters to address this division.  Not only is it the first issue he talked about; it’s a very key issue.  As we move through 1 Corinthians, we will see that this issue would affect most of the others.  If people were divided over spiritual leaders and teachers, when other things came up it would be very easy for them to say, for example, “Of course he believes that; he’s of Apollos, and I will never agree with anyone who is of Apollos because I am of Paul.”  These divisions would have an impact on other issues, and I think that is why Paul spent so much time on them.      

Let’s look at this contest and how it broke down.  The church was not just split down the middle – it was split four ways.  Paul said in Chapter 1, verse 12 that some were saying, “I am of Paul.”  What does the phrase “I am of” mean?  I think it simply means that I’m choosing to follow this guy, and will only listen to him and belong to him.  “I am of” is stronger than just preference.  There was a group in the church who said they on were Paul’s team. 

There were many reasons some in the church chose Paul.  He was the sentimental favorite.  He had been there a year and a half.  He had led many people to Christ.  He was their spiritual father; he had helped them establish their church; and he was very important to them.  And so, this group was saying, “ Paul is our man.  He’s the one we are going to follow and listen to.” 

Then there was another group that said they were of Apollos.  According to Acts 18, Apollos was a Jewish teacher from the big city of Alexandria, in northern Africa.  The text at the end of Chapter 18 talks about him going to Corinth after Paul had been there, continuing to teach the Scriptures to that church.  The Bible says that Apollos was an eloquent speaker – dynamic and polished.  It says that he was “mighty in the scriptures,” and was bold and spirited in dealing with the Jewish opposition.  There were people in the Corinthian church who really liked his eloquence and how dynamic he was.  They said, “Apollos is our man.  We’re going to follow him and listen to him.”

The third group said, “I am of Cephas.”  (Cephas was another name for Peter.)  These people were followers of Peter.  It’s very possible that they were some of the Jews in the church.  After all, Peter was one of the original disciples, and he was with Jesus when He walked the earth.  That personal, first-hand experience with Jesus made him highly credible.  Besides that, he was rather traditional, being a fellow Jew, and a down-home fisherman.  They were saying, “We’re of Peter.  He really understands us.  We’ll follow him and listen to him.”

And then, there was the fourth group that said, “We are of Christ.”  That group picked the right person, but didn’t have the right spirit.  They were involved in the quarreling and the divisions, just as the other factions were.  They probably felt they were the most spiritual, because they chose Christ.  “We’re not going to listen to some man.  It’s just us and Jesus.”  Even today, you might hear someone say, “It’s just me and Jesus.  I’m not going to listen to anything any human has to say.” 

They were thus divided four different ways.  We’re told in verse 11 of Chapter 1 that they were quarreling with each other, and in Chapter 3 we learn that there was strife and jealousy among them.  The word “division” is even used in both texts.  The church was divided, they were quarreling, there was jealousy, and there was strife over spiritual leaders and teachers.  They probably sat around comparing teachers, arguing about who was the best and why.  They probably criticized the other groups and the teachers those groups were supporting.  They were probably hurt and offended by one another.  I can even see some of these groups trying to recruit new people for their group:  “We’re the Paul people.  Come on over to our group.”  As we learned two weeks ago, Max Lucado said they had gone “wacko” – divided four ways. 

The cause

How could this happen in just three years?  Paul suggested the cause in Chapter 3.  He reminded the Corinthians that when he was with them, he had to relate to them as babes in Christ.  Obviously, they were new believers.  But then he said at the end of verse 2, “Indeed, even now you are not yet able.”   By that he meant that, even after three years, they weren’t spiritual people.  The Spirit of God wasn’t leading them.  Paul twice told them that they were “fleshly.”   (The old King James version uses the word “carnal” instead of “fleshly.”)  Instead of being led by the Spirit, they were letting their sinful desires lead them.  Paul went on to say they were still all babes in Christ, so immature that they would let this go on.  They hadn’t grown much in the three years since he left Corinth.  Although they had Christ, they were still acting like mere men of the world who didn’t belong to Him. 

That’s what Paul saw as being the cause of the divisions.  The Corinthians had chosen to let their fleshly desires, not the Spirit, lead them.  These sinful desires might have included pride, the desire to be right, the desire to be better or more spiritual than someone else, or just about anything else. The Corinthians were being immature. 

The challenge

Paul was not very happy about any of it.  He said that no group was spiritual if it was involved in the arguments and divisions.  And so, he challenged them.  In Chapter 1, verse 10, he said, “I exhort you, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.” 

There’s another challenge that’s right to the point in Chapter 3, verse 21:  “So then let no one boast in men.”  The challenge to these people was that they must not put their leaders and teachers up on pedestals where they didn’t belong.  In Chapter 1, he was telling them to get together, to be undivided, to agree, and to have the same mind and judgment.  It was a challenge toward unity.

In verse 10, this phrase appears:  “…but you be made complete.”  “Being made complete” was an interesting phrase in the Greek language.  It meant coming back together and being unified, and it was used in many different contexts.  For instance, “being made complete” was a reference to fixing a broken musical instrument.  You would make it complete by putting it back together so that it could be played as intended.  Fishermen used the phrase to describe mending torn or ripped nets so that they could again be used to catch fish.  In the medical field, “being made complete” referred to fixing a broken bone – making it come back together so that the injured person could function again.  The shipping industry used the term to describe rehabilitating old ships to restore their seaworthiness.  The common thing in all these examples was that they involved putting things that had come apart back together so that they could again perform their intended purpose. 

Paul took that same idea of being “made complete,” and used it as his challenge to the divided Christians in the Corinthian church.  They had broken into four pieces.  He said that they needed to get back together so that they could carry out their intended purpose as a church.

You see, when a church is divided, whether in two ways or four or more, that church is not able to carry out its intended purpose.  It’s too busy quarreling and experiencing strife.  In this case, the Corinthian church needed to do whatever it took to get back together and be made complete.  Then the members could go on to perform their intended purpose as a team.  It wasn’t going to happen if they kept choosing sides, going in different directions, and allowing their division to create strife, quarreling, arguing, bitterness, and hurt.  Paul’s challenge was very stern:  “Don’t boast in men; get back together; get unified.” 

That’s all we’re going to talk about this morning, because in the next three weeks we will, step by step, see what else Paul said about the issue of divisions. 

Application

In applying this to our lives and our church, which is what we should do, we should ask ourselves three questions.  The first question:  Am I involved in any contests?  Have I been involved in choosing teams?  If so, I need to identify that.  It still happens today, over spiritual leaders and teachers.  We’re not talking about preferring certain spiritual leaders or certain people’s style of teaching that really speaks to our hearts.  We’re talking about boasting in those people, setting them apart from everyone else and saying, “He’s the one,” or “She’s the only one I will listen to.”  We’re talking about becoming arrogant and getting into quarrels, divisions, and strife with others who picked somebody else. 

Churches can divide over other issues.  Sometimes, divisions have occurred over Bible translations.  There are the King James people, the New International Version people, the New Living people, and the New American Standard people.  They stand their ground, with some even looking down on the other groups.  It actually happens. 

You can have teams chosen over methods and forms in many areas of the church.  Whether it’s over music, worship, teaching methods, or ways of doing certain programs, people often prefer one way above another.  That is fine, but it’s in the wrong spirit if people become arrogant about their choice and separate themselves from others who prefer something different. 

Some churches do it over areas of ministry.  We have many ministries:  worship, Christian education, fellowship, youth, men’s, women’s, and others.  There’s always a temptation to guard our turf and decide our particular ministry is where it’s at.  We might begin to make comparisons, and if we’re not careful, we might even start dividing.  It can happen today as it happened in Corinth or in other places.  We have to be careful. 

We could even do that over camps.  We’ve been thanking the Lord this morning that we have the opportunity to choose from three different Bible camps.  Let us never get to the point where someone says, “I am of Rock Ridge,” or “I am of Storybook,” or “I am of Deeper Life.” 

That’s where we start – identifying the contest.  We must look to ourselves and the very things Paul talked about. 

The second question is this.  What has caused the contest?  If I’m involved in any division in the church, it’s likely that I’m not being led by the Spirit of God, but rather by some sinful desire – a desire to be first, to be right, to be better, to impress, to protect my turf.  That’s what I need to figure out.  What’s going on that’s causing me to be a part of this kind of thing?  The Apostle Paul would call my behavior immature, or fleshly. 

Then, we need to ask the third question:  Am I willing to accept the challenge?  It’s the same challenge that Paul gave to the Corinthians:  Get back together.  Don’t be divided, but get together and be made complete, so that you can perform your intended purpose once again. 

What’s our intended purpose and mission?  It’s right in the mission statement of the Evangelical Free Church of Embarrass:  “To edify the saints, to equip workers, and evangelize our world so that Jesus Christ might be exalted.”  It’s very hard for any church, however it has worded its mission statement, to stay on mission and move toward a goal together if its members are choosing teams and are divided.  So, Paul just said, “Get back together.  Get unified so that you can once again perform your intended purpose.” 

I grew up right on the edge of the Red River Valley in northwestern Minnesota.  There was farm country as far as the eye could see – hardly a tree, no hills, just flat farmland.  Every spring, as you would look out over the land, you could see divisions – fences, gravel roads, and ditches – that were there to tell you whose property was whose; where the Bjornruds’ land ended and the Carlsons’ land started.  You were reminded of the property divisions every spring. 

I loved the fall, because in the fall you would look out at the same land and see the tall golden grain and the tall fields of corn.  What you couldn’t see were the fences, the roads, and the ditches.  It looked like one big field as far as the eye could see, because you couldn’t see the divisions.

At the end of Matthew Chapter 9, Jesus told His disciples to look out at the harvest.  When He spoke of the harvest, He was talking about people.  Jesus wanted the disciples to pay attention to their purpose – the people.  He didn’t want them focusing on the fences and on other things that made them different from each other and could divide them if they weren’t careful.  He wanted them to focus on the harvest.  When you look at the harvest, you can’t see the fences.  You see that you’re all on the same team, and that’s the way it must be.

That’s why Bible camp ministry is powerful and exciting.  In a week of Bible camp you have a staff that comes together from many different directions.  I’m sure there are differences among them, but for one week’s time, they don’t look at the fences.  They focus on the harvest – the campers – loving them, and presenting Jesus Christ to them.  They work as a team.  God works in amazing ways. 

We need to bring that concept which is so prevalent at a Bible camp into our churches.  We are different, and we have different preferences and ideas.  That’s fine, but we don’t want those differences to divide us.  We want to focus on the harvest and why we’re here.  We should let that keep us together. 

There’s a Jewish legend about a community of monks.  They were caught up in rivalry, gossip and suspicion, and they were seriously divided.  One day a wise man visited the community, and he heard about the terrible situation there.  The man who described it to him sadly commented,  “I don’t think we will survive.”  The wise man spoke:  “I am surprised to hear that, because it is widely rumored that the Messiah is in your midst.”  When the man heard that, he spread that rumor to the other monks in the community:  “The Messiah is in our midst.”  When the word got out, the community was transformed, because each monk began to treat every other monk with love, just in case that person was the Messiah. 

Friends, there is a rumor going around that Jesus is in our midst, right here at the Embarrass Free Church.  I think we had better focus on our mission to love each other, fulfilling our intended purpose together.  We should not choose teams and create divisions that remind us of our differences – because Jesus is among us.

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