Sermons

 

Live the Difference

This Is Not Different; this is the Same! 

1Corinthians 1:10-17

We’re going to continue looking at I Corinthians for the next few weeks. A couple weeks ago we looked at Chapter 1 verses 1-9, today we’ll look at verses 10-17, which I’ll read in a moment. 

The question “Is Christ divided? The answer to this question seems obvious — No! Why then did this question need to be asked?   

The church in Corinth was together, but they were also divided. Members had aligned with certain leaders in a way that turned their followship into confessions that threatened their fellowship.

So, the apostle exhorts them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to not be divided, because ANY division in the church of Christ represents something that is simply not true of Christ. 

Christ is not divided, so division must not be permitted among Christ’s people who are known by His name, united with His Baptism, and proclaiming His Cross. 

We all know that most arguments don’t end happily. Instead, regret, bitterness and unfinished business seem to be the heartbreaking results. 

To avoid these kinds of results was the challenge that was before the church in Corinth. 

Let’s read beginning in verse 10.

10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; 15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. 16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

As believers of the Lord Jesus, we are to “live the difference” He makes in our lives. You may remember a couple of weeks ago; we noted that Paul referred to the church in Corinth as saints. 

This means that the very nature of the church, whether the church is located in Corinth or McCaysville, is to be holy. 

The church is to live distinctly different than the rest of the world. The way one lives now is to be noticeably different than the way one lived before they became a Christian.

Here is the problem that Paul brings up; the church in Corinth looked rather the same as its worldly counterparts.

Again, as we noted a couple weeks ago, we are to be different. But this was not different. This was the same. This was not a united church, but rather a church that was full of individuals that competed against one another. 

So many were trying to “one up” other members of the church. And here is how Paul begins the challenge to them.

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. 

They were a church divided. The Greek word that is used literally means “to tear or rip.” The idea here is that the church’s unity was being torn and ripped up. This was unnatural, for the church’s natural status is oneness.

The Lord Jesus has designed the church to be a functional unity that works together. You see, we are united together by what Christ has done for us on the cross. 

Paul appeals to the church. He encourages them that something must be done about these divisions. Paul is recognizing that these disagreements were not over faith and doctrine. They were about conflicting desires. 

Most disputes that are in conflict in the church are about personalities and their desires.

So Paul’s encouragement is that they all would agree. Literally, he wants them “to all speak the same thing.” 

If they would all speak the same thing, it would be then that they would be perfectly united and made complete. They would be restored to the unity that they were designed for.

So Paul is teaching us that… WE ARE TO BE DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF OUR ONENESS.

We are to be one when it comes to biblical doctrine. We are to be one when it comes to our concern and care for one another. We are to be one when it comes to our attitudes.

Now to be fair, I don’t think that oneness is necessarily about ideas. We are allowed and encouraged to think. 

You see, there are areas where there is no room for compromise. And then there are other areas where the revelation is not as complete and there is room for discussion.

I also think that oneness is not about everyone doing the same thing. Paul will later argue in this letter about how we are all designed differently and have different strengths. So, oneness is not necessarily uniformity.

The question we must ask today is…What causes us to lose our oneness? I think that we must recognize that as believers we still carry around the old nature. 

We still have the ability to do what is wrong. We still sin. And the Corinthians, these saints that are called to be holy, prove that to us.

So, we will find in our study three areas of failure that cause us to lose our oneness.

I. The first failure is that we lose our COMPOSURE (11-12). So easily, we are ready for a good fight. Unfortunately, quarrels are a part of life. We have all experienced them in our families.

Perhaps, we have had friends or coworkers we have also argued with. But what is so important is how we handle the disagreement and what we do to solve it.

Paul received the information about the church by a woman named Chloe. Apparently she was known to the church and was respected. 

Her description was of a church that was spiraling out of control because of the friction that was so active.

Never think that this is beyond us. The factionalism that is described centers around four characters, Paul, Apollos, Peter and Christ.

Some had an affection for Paul. After all, he started the church three years earlier. He lived with these people for 18 months, longer than any other church he started. He was truly their spiritual father. 

So, for these “loyalists,” he would always be the leader.

Others had an affection for Apollos. He had followed Paul at Corinth with Paul’s blessing. He was known as an eloquent speaker and a wonderful teacher. So, for the “stylists” in the church, his oratorical skills earned him the right to be followed.

There were some that had an affection for Peter.

After all, when it came down to it, he was the primary spokesman of the early church. He was the first of the apostles. For these “traditionalists,” he was the one that must be listened to and followed.

The last group sounds like it might be the one that had it together. They followed Christ. But though they had the right name, it is apparent (since Paul mentions them here) they have the wrong spirit. 

These “religionists,” filled with a self-righteous smugness, were not going to listen to any of these other leaders.

Each one of these groups lived an exclusiveness that promoted themselves over the others.

George Whitfield was a great open-air evangelist in England and the American colonies in the 1700s. He remained a member of the Church of England throughout his life, yet he counted many Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Methodists, as his close friends. 

He was also a strong Calvinist, and one day someone asked, “Mr. Whitefield, do you think we will see John Wesley in heaven?” 

Wesley was a vocal opponent to the theology of Whitefield. He responded, “No, I doubt that we will see Mr. Wesley in heaven. He’ll be so close to the throne of God that we will be fortunate to even catch a glimpse of his back.”

Whitefield understood that the differences that divide Christians down here on earth will not divide us in heaven.

John Wesley understood that too. Someone asked him, will there be any Presbyterians in heaven?” Wesley replied, “No, there won’t be. There won’t be any Baptists, Lutherans, Catholics, or Episcopalians in heaven either. In fact, there won’t be any Methodists. There will only be Christians in heaven.”

Here is what we must recognize… when we get angry, it is because we are not getting our way.

Pride and selfishness never bring people together.
It only drives them apart. Self-will, self-interest, and self-centeredness always get in the way of the Lord’s priority for the church, which is unity.

I don’t know if you ever experienced this, but I have noticed that when a church fight occurs, it is amazing how spiritual everyone becomes. 

Everyone is now speaking for the Lord. And if the person is not on the same side as you, they are either spiritually or doctrinally deficient.

So often, what really needs to happen is that everyone needs to repent and be reconciled.
Factionalism does not have a place in the church.

Christ did not design His body to work in a divided manner.

This bring us now to the second failure… we lose our COMPREHENSION (13-16).

When we lose our unity, it is so often because we have lost sight of the big picture. And if there are doctrinal failures, it is usually our own.

So let’s remember… Being the body of Christ, it is essential that we be one. Paul asks the question, “Is Christ divided?”

Since we are all the body of Christ, it is our responsibility to act out this essential oneness.
We are to be characterized by unity.

Why? Because we are never to forget the sacrifice of Jesus. Paul asks the question, “Was Paul crucified for you?” 

In so stating, Paul states that loyalty to him as their spiritual father totally misses the point. Their allegiance belongs to only One – the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One that has made the true sacrifice on their behalf.

Paul is such a great example here, for we’re to desperately avoid making a name for ourselves.

Paul asks another question, “Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul?” 

Baptism is very important as it’s the beginning rite into the Christian community, it signifies the repentance from sin. 

Paul recognizes that it is his responsibility that a belief that centers on himself is not to be encouraged.

When we lose our focus on the big picture, we forget that the church is not about us. When we comprehend the big picture, we remember that it is about Jesus.

Now we come to the third failure, we lose our COMMISSION (17).

1. We need to know our mission. I like how this verse (17) is translated in “The Message Bible”: God didn’t send me out to collect a following for myself, but to preach the Message of what He has done, collecting a following for Him. And He didn’t send me to do it with a lot of fancy rhetoric of my own, lest the powerful action at the center — Christ on the Cross — be trivialized into mere words.

Paul lets us know that as important as baptism is, it takes a back seat to the proclamation of the gospel. What must stay central for him was the message. 

It was not about flowery oratory. It was not about the cleverness of words. It was not about human persuasiveness. All this was just noise. Christ is the message!

What I find amazing about this priority of Paul’s is that this was a man of great intellect. This was a man of great learning. He knew all the big words.
But he clearly doesn’t want to get in the way. It is the truth about Jesus that counts. This was his mission.

We not only need to know our purpose and mission, but we also need to be in a position to do it. So, we need to recognize the distractions that keep us from fulfilling God’s calling on our lives.

For Paul, he recognized that baptism was good, and necessary for the Christian, but being a baptizer was not his primary responsibility. It was a distraction to him. 

So, he reminds the Corinthian church what he has been all about. He has been about the cross of Christ.

We must remember this; our mission is not to make ourselves comfortable. We are not to meet every little need that we think we have. We are not here to massage the saints. We are not here to make you feel better (no offense intended). We are here because God has given us a mission. It is the high calling of proclaiming Christ.

We’re different. Christians are different. Do you know how different we are? It is our unity, our oneness. So, when we fail in our unity, we are no different than the world. Just look at the world. It is full of division – nationalism, racism, sexism, classism…

But it is the cross that takes us across all these barriers. It makes us one. So here is what we must remember and practice…Unity is a decision of the will. Determined acts of cooperation…
A demonstration of mutual concern…
A resolve for peaceful coexistence…
Consistent acts of love…
These are all positive antidotes to divisiveness.

And these are all matters that reflect the pursuit and practice of holiness.

When we work toward unity, we demonstrate that the interests of the Lord rise above all other interests, including our own. For this we can be sure of, when we do not have unity, when we are at odds with each other, it grieves the Lord, and we fail to bring Him glory.

Achieving harmony in the church is no small accomplishment because it is hard, but honorable work to keep peace in the church.

Now, if you truly want to stay the same as a church, don’t let anyone new come in. For every time someone new comes into the church, they bring change. 

But our priority should always be what God wants us to be now. And alongside of that, our priority should be to become what God wants us to become. Tomorrow, we should not be the same church we are today.

So let’s remember that Unity is important because we represent God to the world. We are being watched. 

When we become divisive, we are not only robbed of our joy, but we are also robbed of our effectiveness. When we lack unity, our credibility is shot. And this becomes a barrier between unbelievers and the gospel; it hardly seems like good news. 

Again, this is why we must talk about oneness.

For this is the way of the cross. This is what Jesus died for. Unity is important because it is testimony of the power of the cross. It is the difference! 

Now I thank God for the unity among us in this fellowship of the Church.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.