September 17, 2023
1 Corinthians 1:10-17
“The Devil’s in the Discord”
Service Overview: There was a cult of personality in the church at Corinth that was causing all kinds of problems, and Satan loves nothing more than to help cultivate division in the church, and especially to divide the church over its leaders.
Memory Verse for the Week:
“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.” 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV)
Background Insights:
- Paul had founded the church in Corinth on his second missionary journey. Eighteen months after he had left, arguments and divisions had arisen, and some church members had slipped back into an immoral lifestyle. Paul wrote this letter to address the problems, to clear up confusion about right and wrong, and to remove the immorality among them. (Grant R. Osborne, Life Application Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Corinthians, 22)
- Having mentioned the problem of defilement in the church, now Paul turned to the matter of division in the church. Division has always been a problem among God’s people, and almost every New Testament epistle deals with this topic or mentions it in one way or another. Even the twelve apostles did not always get along with each other. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 455)
- This quarreling is in some way being carried on in the name of “wisdom.” The Greek word group sophia/sophos (“wisdom”/”wise”) dominates the discussion throughout chaps. 1-3. The high incidence in these three chapters of this otherwise infrequent word group, plus the fact that in most cases the word is used in a pejorative sense, is a sure indication that this is a Corinthian way of speaking, not Paul’s. (Gordon D. Fee, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: 1 Corinthians 48)
- Chloe is not otherwise known, but she was probably a woman of substance with a ‘household’ of servants, some of whom, members of the Corinthian church, had recently visited Paul or sent him a letter and given him news of the church. (F. F. Bruce, The New Century Bible Commentary: 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, 32)
- Paul deals with the first of the four problems at greatest length, perhaps because the Corinthian divisiveness to varying degrees underlay all the other problems. (Craig L. Blomberg, NIV Application Commentary: 1 Corinthians, 42)
- Paul hopes to correct the errors of the Corinthian slogans by recalling the death of Jesus and the formal moment of the Corinthians’ acceptance of all that that death and the consequent resurrection meant; in the light of this, Jesus can be seen as the sole center of the Christian experience and of the community which results from it. (John J. Kilgallen, First Corinthians, 30)
How does discord worm its way into the church?
- When its people lose the mind of Christ.
(v. 10 | John 17:23; Rom. 15:5-6; 2 Cor. 13:11; Eph. 4:3; Phil. 2:2; Col. 3:14; 1 Peter 3:8)
Believers are never told to become one; we already are one and are expected to act like it. (Joni Eareckson Tada, “Spontaneous Compassion”, Tabletalk: November, 2008, 68)
- When its people fuss or argue over petty matters.
(v. 11 | Prov. 20:3; Mal. 2:10; Rom. 15:1; Phil. 2:14; 2 Timothy 2:23-24; James 4:1-12; 5:9)
He that is not a son of Peace is not a son of God. All other sins destroy the Church consequentially; but Division and Separation demolish it directly. (Richard Baxter, The Practical Works of Richard Baxter, Vol, 3, 4)
Few things are as dishonoring to the cause of Christ as Christians quarreling among themselves. Yet we expel people from our fellowship for adultery, while we tolerate discord between ourselves and other believers. We have failed to understand and obey the biblical imperative to “make every effort to do what leads to peace.” (Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness, 163)
- When allegiance to a personality eclipses relationship to one another.
(vv. 12-13 | 1 Samuel 16:7; Proverbs 6:16-19; Romans 12:16; 16:17-18; 1 Corinthians 3:3)
The phrase “brothers and sisters” emphasizes that all Christians are part of God’s family. Believers share a unity that runs even deeper than that of blood brothers and sisters. (Osborne, 22)
Some at least of the Corinthians were setting too high a value on human wisdom and human eloquence in line with the typical Greek admiration for rhetoric and philosophical studies. In the face of this Paul insists that preaching with wisdom of words was no part of his commission. That kind of preaching would draw men to the preacher. It would nullify the cross of Christ. (Leon Morris, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: 1 Corinthians, 42)
- When what matters most is forgotten.
(vv. 14-17 | Matthew 22:35-40; Mark 3:24-26; John 13:35)
The greater issue for Paul is not the division itself; that is merely a symptom. The greater issue is the threat posed to the gospel, and along with that to the nature of the church and its apostolic ministry. (Gordon D. Fee, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: 1 Corinthians 50)
The more fractured we are, the greater we become spectacles to the world. The more we are united in love, the more the world sees Christ. (Curtis Thomas, Practical Wisdom for Pastors, 175)
Conclusion…
How can we live counter culture in light of this text?
A. Fix your mind on, and pursue Jesus above any competing allegiance.
(Matthew 22:35-40; John 8:12; 12:26; Romans 15:5-6; Ephesians 4:11-13)
“I am Paul’s,” “I am Apollos’,” “I am Cephas’,” “I am Christ’s.” These slogans indicated to Paul a division of the Corinthian church into factions, and such a division as to thoroughly rend the entire fabric of the community. Moreover, these slogans manifest the profound misunderstanding of how Jesus relates to every Christian and to all Christians together, and how Jesus relates to Paul, Apollos, Cephas. From Paul’s point of view, in which Christ plays the central and unique role of savior, to assign Christ to any position other than the center of Christian life is to ruin the very reality Jesus, he believes, came to create. (John J. Kilgallen, First Corinthians, 20)
B. Don’t act as though every hill is worth dying on.
(Ps. 133:1-3; Rom. 14:19; 15:1; Eph. 4:1-32; Phil. 2:3; Col. 3:13-14; James 4:1-2)
The church is at its best when it is on the battlefield fighting the real enemies of Satan, sin, death, hell, and the grave. She is at her worst when she is in the barracks fighting her own members. (Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in 1 Corinthians, 17)
Divisions in the church always breed atheism in the world. (Thomas Manton)
Behind most church fights and unresolved divisions is ugly human pride. And the worst kind of pride is religious pride, the Pharisaical pride of self-righteousness and superiority. (Alexander Strauch, Leading With Love, 167)
C. Focus in on, and rally around what matters most.
(Matthew 22:35-40; Matthew 22:35-40; Matthew 22:35-40; Matthew 22:35-40; Matthew 22:35-40; Matthew 22:35-40; Matthew 22:35-40; Matthew 22:35-40; Matthew 22:35-40)
The church is saved and sustained only in the name of Jesus. When this truth is kept clearly in focus, petty rivalries and preferences for different preachers are seen in their true light: They are simply ridiculous. (Richard B. Hays, Interpretation Bible Commentary: First Corinthians, 23)
On Sundays God wants us to do more than sing songs together and have wonderful worship experiences. He wants to knit the fabric of our lives together. For many, church has become all about me – what I’m learning, what I’m seeking, what I’m desperate for, what I need, how I’ve been affected, what I can do. We see ourselves as isolated individuals all seeking personal encounters with God, wherever we can find them. Sadly, this reflects our individualistic, me-obsessed culture. Rather than seeing ourselves as part of a worship community, we become worship consumers. We want worship on demand, served up in our own time, and with our own music. (Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters, 126)
Gospel Connection…
Jesus died so people would make him king over everything.
(Ps. 145:13; Mat. 6:33; John 13:35; 1 Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 2:14; Heb. 12:28)
The visible church is where you will find Christ’s kingdom on earth, and to disregard the kingdom is to disregard its King. (Michael Horton, taken from Church Membership by Jonathan Leeman, 15)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- In what ways does division in the church distort the gospel and ruin the church’s reputation? In contrast, how does unity promote the gospel to a lost world?
- What does it mean to be of “one mind”? How can Christians be of one mind when they come from all kinds of perspectives and passions?
- Does the idea of unity in the church mean there must be complete agreement on every issue? Why or why not?
- In what ways do Christians attempt to justify their divisive and quarrelsome attitudes? What issues are Christians currently quarreling and dividing over? How can you rise above that?
- What are the essentials that Christians must be united around?
- What can we disagree over while still preserving unity? And what can we biblically, yet peacefully, divide over?
Quotes to note…
John 17:20-26 (NIV) — Jesus Prays for All Believers
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
It takes what I am calling “big-heartedness” for a person to overcome jealousy, envy, division and personality differences to reach out and become an encourager… Genuine, godly love never even looks on another believer’s success as a threat, it looks on it as a blessing. It gets right in there giving all the possible support it can possibly give, immediately. (Derick Bingham, Encouragement: Oxygen for the Soul, 25-27)
When we enter into the “in Christ” existence we become one with those who are in Christ. Eternal life is received individually, but it is lived out in community. And the community battles sin in the body by confronting sinners and by requiring spiritual accountability. (Ajith Fernando, The Gift of Eternal Life, 183)
Every individual believer is to stay close to Jesus Christ, faithfully using his spiritual gift in close contact with every believer he touches, and that through such commitment and ministry the Lord’s power will flow for the building up of the Body in love. (John MacArthur, Ephesians, 161)
Why is it that you harbor strife, bad temper, dissention, schism, and quarreling? Do we not have one God, one Christ, one Spirit of grace which was poured out on us?… Your schism has led many astray; it has made many despair; it has made many doubt; and it has distressed us all. Yet it goes on!… It is disgraceful, exceedingly disgraceful, and unworthy of your Christian upbringing, to have it reported that because of one or two individuals the solid and ancient Corinthian church is in revolt against its presbyters… The result is that the Lord’s name is being blasphemed because of your stupidity, and you are exposing yourselves to danger. (Clement, Clement’s First Letter)
There is surely no grace in us if we do not feel for the church of God, and take a lasting interest in its welfare. (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Psalm 51)