what caused divisions in the corinthian church

He says, in effect, "You don't cure divisions in a church by identification badges. Paul goes right on, in Verse12, to describe the forms that these divisions were taking in the church of Corinth: What I mean is that each one of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas" [another name for Peter], or "I belong to Christ." He had received a report from the household of Cloe that there were quarrels among the members of the Corinthian church. This is the result of a religious snobbery associated by cliques that produced pride and conflict. To resolve this issue, he encourages communal love. Acts 18:24 says that Apollos was an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man. The better the orator, the higher the fee, and the more disciples he will attract. Teaching to be effective first needs to effect/transform the life of the teacher and then connect with those who hear. Christians are all disciples, or better, stewards and servants of the mysteries of God (1 Cor 4:1). That does not mean that everybody has to think alike. Galatians: Freedom through Gods Grace (Wipf & Stock, 2019). A number of churches in this postmodern era have begun to resemble the Corinthian church in alarming ways. As bad as it is, it makes sense for the people of Pauls day to be concerned with whatever home church has the best orator, and then argue for them to other potential followers. The minister is waiting, Bible in hand. Paul condemns their behavior in verse 13 by saying, Has Christ been divided? In other words, have different amounts of Christ been given to different people? There was extreme competition among the orators for honor and power. 11My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. One day in Africa, a small boy was lost. WebThe spirit that wrought such mischief at Corinth has been busy in the Church ever since. I would agree that we find ourselves in much the same situations as those listening to the Greek philosophers/orators. Divisions never really ended with Pauls letters; they just appear to have evolved into having more sophisticated names. Paul says that he does not preach in cleverness of speech because the power of the gospel lies in the facts of the gospel, and not in any mans presentation of them. Believers who are joined in heart should not find it difficult to be joined in hand, working together for the common good and for the glory of Christ. There was nothing wrong with Paul baptizing people, but Paul didnt want people to boast about the fact that he baptized them. These kinds of things happen when there are divisions in a church. Then not only did they have the Bible, but every Navigator who was anybody at all had to have an index drawn in on the pages of the Bible, a kind of a ladder that gave you a clue to where the books were so that with your thumb you could turn up any book in the Bible almost instantly. He had received a report from the household of Cloe that there were quarrels among the members of the Corinthian church. Apollos was an intellectual. They read only his books or listen only to his tapes. He then goes on to describe for us the mind of Christ, which is a willingness to give up rights and personal privileges and give in and take a lower place. The first and perhaps biggest is denominations. The members started to develop division following different leaders. Instead of tearing themselves apart, he urges them to be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. In the same way, thats not the way the Church was meant to be fitted together. It is possible that these divisions represent competing house churches, some founded by Paul, some by Apollos. A young pastor who was facing that problem in his church called me this week from another state. In what ways have we failed to de-paganize? It seems like it would be better to ask in what ways have we been re-paganized. They forget, of course, that the church never belongs to anybody but the Lord. Just as there was competiveness for honor and prestige among the orators of the first century, it also seems like there is competition between the pastors and churches of today. Let it do its great work of cutting down and eliminating from our lives those things over which we take pride and which separate us from others; these distinctions that make us dislike our brother or sister, and turn our backs on them. We may not all agree on the way to do church but there is definitely more than one effective way. So rather that detailing their accomplishments as orators, Paul describes their functions (Paul planted, Apollos watered, etc.) Ridiculous? We feel some sense of connectedness to the teachers (pastors/leaders) whose teachings we sit under while they count us as proof of their effectiveness (numbers). This Western Church soon became known as the Roman Catholic Church. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. I told them that it is a concern of mine as well. These are two common causes of church divisions in the West. When daylight again appeared, they looked for him with renewed energy but still without success. If we sacrifice quality for numbers I dont think we are being good stewards of our gift of leadership. The Corinthian church had many problems, and most of them were the result of pride and placing so much emphasis on social status. This word was normally used to refer to a tear in a garment. It is popularized in the movie Mean Girls. There are even discrepancies inside single denominations (which means we have division inside our divisions, great). (1 Corinthians 1:12 RSV) Now, there was the trouble at Corinth. This consumerism that we face today in the end doesnt seem all that much different from the way the Christian faith was treated like just another philosophy back in the days of Paul. What is a clique? Something shows up sooner or later as an identifying badge that marks them as "special," with special privilege and special status in that group. 5-Members going to pagan courts to settle disputes. It was expected. A gasp bursts from the guests! It is not merely that the Church is everywhere split up into sections, but that this has led to party strife and jealousy. Some followed Apollos whom they honored above Paul (1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:4; Acts 18:24 to 19:1). This issue was so important that Paul devotes the first four chapters of I Corinthians to divisions in the church. I hang on every word you say. When you divide up among men you lose something, that is what he is saying. The bridesmaids have come down the aisle. They take an innocent teaching medium, in this case baptism, and make it into an identification badge. 13Is Christ divided? These preachers draw in masses of people every week who are eager to hear them speak. What should our evaluation of a ministry look like I wonder if its not by numbers? But even if there are multiple house churches founded by different leaders, Paul passionately argues that the body of Christ cannot be divided in this way. He recognizes that we share a common life if we have come to Christ; we are brothers and sisters because we have his life in us. Because I am a little defensive it seems like they are almost my enemy. Offshoots had disturbed the church. And there were some who said, "Well, when Peter came through, he baptized me. It wasnt even about secondary doctrine (the second coming, the nature of baptism). In her book, The Key to a Loving Heart, Karen Mains includes a parable about the church entitled The Brawling Bride. Some Corinthian Christians were dividing over church teachers. The countless denominations and different beliefs of Christianity are often not appealing to non-believers. But first, it is very clear that he is deeply troubled by this. There are several things that split the church today. Many of us are familiar with this common phenomenon in human psychology of thinking that some symbolic thing that is of use to us is so important that we finally make it a badge of the group to which we belong. Religious snobs want to be a part of a small group who There was nothing wrong with them, they were very helpful, but it was not very long before they became status symbols, and they were used to put down, not always intentionally, those who did not have them. If Paul were to visit one of these churches, he would see a good-looking man in a custom suit standing over everybody else, and his mind would go straight to the orators of his day. In conjunction with this, some people were questioning Pauls character and authority ( 1 Corinthians 14 ). Others bragged that they were followers of Peter (1 Corinthians 1:12). These are not the only causes of divisions in churches today. I agree with Greg, I see a lot of times where Pastors begin to care more about the number of the congregation rather on the connectedness of it. (1Corinthians 1:10 RSV). 1-False prophets (2 Corinthians 11:13). WebThe members of the Corinthian church we disunited because they were pledging their allegiance to human leaders rather than God. Only the Lord Jesus Christ could pay the penalty for our sins because only He is the Son of God. WebPaul goes right on, in Verse 12, to describe the forms that these divisions were taking in the church of Corinth: What I mean is that each one of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas" [another name for Peter], or "I belong to Christ." In fact, these divisions are a sign of worldliness. Thanks for the thoughtful comment Austin. We do not know who the people were who belonged to the house of Cloe, but we must commend them for their courage and devotion. Now, he is not saying that it is wrong to baptize; he himself did it, and acknowledges that he did. They are springing up all over the place, including Downunder (Australia) where I live here in Brisbane. I think today if church leaders focus on Jesus and only Jesus we would be so much healthier. The content of their messages was in agreement, but the followers of these men probably focused on personality differences and distorted their teachings. Not when some people in the congregation wont look at, speak to, or even acknowledge the existence of certain other people in the congregation. In conjunction with this, some people were questioning Pauls character and authority ( 1 Corinthians 14 ). How important was unity to the apostle Paul, and to the Holy Spirit who moved Him to write this letter to the Church in Corinth? Unless its mended, the tear gets bigger and bigger, doesnt it? 5-Members going to pagan courts to settle disputes. When you get men's eyes off all these status symbols, and call them back away from following men to the Person of Christ and his cross, all the divisions will disappear. In these cases, there should be freedom to agree to disagree. If you survey the church scene all over America today, you find people dividing up this way. That was a mark of status with them. Whenever this attitude of gathering around a man is allowed to perpetuate itself, it is the source of much trouble and difficulty. There are those who are emotionally attached to some great Christian leader who has helped them, and they will only listen to him. There are still others today who follow after some school of thought. 10I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. Furthermore, would the apostle not also be concerned with other divisions within the individual church body? In verses 10-12, Paul begins by giving an appeal for unity. Paul, however, was a good leader. So he says, "I didn't baptize many of you. Some pigged out at the Lord Supper; others had barely enough to eat. I appreciate the perspective given by the author and agree 100% that the body of Christ is divided. Some are of Ritchie, and some are of Roper, and a few of Stedman! And I say that because some people focus on PREACHER instead of THE SAVIOR. These kinds of things happen when there are divisions in a church. We become followers of out Pastors and churches rather than of Christ. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any one else). In Philippians 2:9 Paul said of Christ, Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name. No Christian, no Christian minister, is to put himself in Christs place, or allow himself to be put in Christs place, and take the authority and honor that is due to Christ alone. We get so off track of what Christianity is all aboutMark 12:30-31 and begin focusing on worldly things like Rob Bell debated are actually being held to see if this Pastor is even Christian! It is possible, though, that the divisions among Her nose is bloody! Now, we are similar to the ancient world in that some people do see their pastors/teachers as a source of pride. There has been no other cure that I know of through the years. You may recall also that in writing to the church at Ephesus, he exhorted the elders there to be careful to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," (Ephesians 4:3 RSV). It was a glorious work. The bibles need to match the pews which need to match the carpet which need to match the wall color. They were boasting over who had baptized them. The congregation then is to submit to the elders because it has confidence that their decisions were made under the Holy Spirits direction and power. A. When the Corinthians divided into factions, it wasnt so much about core doctrine (nature of God, nature of Christ, the Gospel, the nature of man). How can the presence of divisions be described as worldly?, Bruce Winter details the Greco-Roman practice of discipleship in the second chapter of After Paul Left Corinth. When I say worn out I mean people say that it is not usable in the modern world so its words become little more than foot rests in the pew. I was taking my break and a person I work with asked where I went to college. Each group claimed to be better than the others, and party spirits began to grow in the church. We are so proud of them when they look right, but when things start to fall apart, the church begins to fall apart as well. Other divisions were to follow. It is well known that division in the church of Corinth was over leadership. Paul rejects this disunity, telling the church members to focus on Christ. In my opinion, this is one of the main reasons our churches are so split and why we act more like the world rather than more like Christ. We tend to deify men, and people look at them as if they can do no wrong, can made no errors, that they know everything and can settle all questions. To resolve this issue, he encourages communal love. Some people will pick other matters of doctrine to affirm. I. PAULS APPEAL FOR UNITY (verses 10-12). I will jump on the bandwagon here and say that division is definitely an issue today. Paul gives the church a stern warning about their actions and the proper way to participate. Now to this, there should be a division that exists considering that there are some denominations that do teach correct biblical doctrine, while other churches deviate from correct biblical doctrine in order to teach their own false doctrines. These are not the only causes of divisions in churches today. 1-False prophets (2 Corinthians 11:13). He addresses them as brethren. God only sees one fold, (John 10) and there is only one faith, one Lord, one baptism etc. (1 Corinthians 1:12 RSV) Now, there was the trouble at Corinth. In the body of Christ at large there are many who can make a contribution to the understanding of Christ. WebAccording to Paul, the communitys problems were the consequence of the Corinthians mistaken belief that they had already been exalted. Paul continues in verse 10 by saying that, MANS WISDOM VERSUS GODS WISDOM I Corinthians 1:18-25, WHY DONT PEOPLE BELIEVE? So they said, "When Peter came, we really felt that we were on solid ground. Paul was the apostle to the gentiles. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. All that mattered to Paul was Jesus! On opening it you found a loose-leaf notebook with many of the small, half-page materials that the Navigators printed their Bible helps on. They became symbols of prestige and standing that became divisive factors among the men. In this passage of Scripture, Paul is very careful to focus the attention on Christ and not on himself. That, of course, is as it should be. Paul is going to go on to describe this radical force that is so different than anything else there is nothing like it in the world. You may be reminded by his words in Verse10 of the similar passage in his letter to the Philippians where, in Chapter2, he says to that church, "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord, and of one mind," (Philippians 2:1-2 RSV). His followers in the Corinthian church may have viewed Christianity as a philosophy rather than a relationship with a Person Jesus Christ. His most recent book is The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World (Rockridge, 2022). If you limit yourself to one speaker or one teacher and feed only on him, you are getting a distorted view of Jesus Christ; you are chopping Christ up, dividing him and taking one little portion as one man reports it and ignoring the rest, thus your view of Christ is deficient and unable to satisfy you as it was intended to do. Lewis.". Church has become about the pastor and not about his message. Some considered Paul their leader, others Apollos, still others Peter. The most well known one is having worship on Sundays instead of the Sabbath. I used to attend a Navigator group which met in Honolulu on Sunday afternoons. When everybody decides to put the things of Christ first, and is willing to suffer loss that the honor and glory of Christ might be advanced, that is what brings harmony in a congregation. Yes, we have the core beliefs that most Christians will agree upon, but the rest is still very confusing to non-believers. All are mere teachers; there is only one Lord. A. Instead of directly saying that we follow Paul, or Apollos, we say that we are Baptist, Reformed, or even Catholic. The Protestant Reformation had its beginnings in 1517 (see Chapter 1 0). Now, in Verse13 you understand why. We, as the modern church, say that we hold to Pauls message that we shouldnt be conformed to this world, but when we look at the world, there seem to be just as many divisions. The divisions of Christendom are the scandal of Christianity. Since November 2021, Reading Acts is edited by Sarah Westphal. Paul gives the church a stern warning about their actions and the proper way to participate. You could spot the Navigators going up and down the streets of Honolulu. Are we willing to love each other as Christ loved us? I told them GBC and they said something along the lines of, Oh a Bible college? Not when we hear of churches with factions or cliques of people who sit on opposite sides of the aisle. I remember a few years ago being at a family congress in St. Louis, Missouri, when one of the evening speakers was Dr.Oswald Hoffman, the very capable and powerful preacher on the Lutheran Hour radio program. WebThe spirit that wrought such mischief at Corinth has been busy in the Church ever since. Bruises show on her arm! Do we need to be looking for results? The Lord Jesus is praying to the Father, and this is part of His prayer for us: I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that You sent Me. WebAccording to Paul, the communitys problems were the consequence of the Corinthians mistaken belief that they had already been exalted. That is always the unifying factor in a church, and that is the mind that is to be among us, the mind that does not consider itself the most important thing. It is possible that these divisions represent competing house churches, some founded by Paul, some by Apollos. The news went out but no one had seen the little fellow. We tend to fall out along doctrinal lines or because we are drawn to one charismatic pastor over another. The same viewpoints are still dividing people. In verse 11, Paul gives the reason for his appeal for unity in the church at Corinth. Some Corinthian Christians were dividing over church teachers. In verses 10-17 of Chapter 1, Paul establishes the fact that there are divisions and begins to deal with them. This is not what the Church was meant to be like, and I fully believe that Paul would be appalled by our actions today as a Church of believers in Jesus Christ. Therefore, the only basis upon which you can get Christians to agree is by setting before them the Person of the Lord Jesus, and calling them back to that fundamental base. Four groups had formed in the Corinthian church. He was a rhetorician who was especially capable in the allegorical style of teaching of the Old Testament. No, he says that is not why he was sent: "I was not sent to emphasize symbols, but, positively, I was sent to preach a whole gospel, not one emphasizing style, not in wisdom of words, but that which emphasizes content." Was Paul crucified for you? 2 Corinthians WebWhat were the causes of division in the Corinthian Church? Dio Chrysostom visited Corinth about A.D. 89-96. Paul, however, was a good leader. And some of them are really gross. He started this church. No man is the Savior; no man can deliver us except Jesus. If you will turn in your Bibles with me to John 17:20-23, I will read the passage to you. With all the differences among us, it is impossible to get people to think alike. This doesnt mean that they have to agree on the minutest points in areas where there is no clear teaching in Scripture. They failed to take seriously the power of evil; their behavior caused divisions in the church and led to a lack of concern for other members. I understand the fact that people have different beliefs and would like to stick to those (it is good to sick to what you believe) but when you get so segregated that you cannot work together anymore, it becomes a serious problem. WebPaul goes right on, in Verse 12, to describe the forms that these divisions were taking in the church of Corinth: What I mean is that each one of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas" [another name for Peter], or "I belong to Christ." Lovelessness among Christians is not a light thing.. For instance, in the Greco-Roman culture the practice of teacher-disciple relationships was often common and so many Christian converts in Corinth would associate themselves with a particular teacher and be under their discipleship. I would like to approach it from an evangelistic standpoint. 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospelnot with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 2- The Churchs division. With that spirit of self-righteous smugness, they were separating from the rest, dividing up the congregation and quarreling with one another over these things. After all, he was one of the first apostles that Jesus himself called." They were also not afraid to be mentioned in Pauls letter to the church. He appeals to them in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are of Peter." The groom and his attendants are in their places. Offshoots had disturbed the church. Now, almost every group does this. We have Jesus only groups even today. Conclusion. Sometimes a church leader can have so much clout that he begins to have cult status. It is popularized in the movie Mean Girls. We tend to fall out along doctrinal lines or because we are drawn to one charismatic pastor over another. WebThe Corinthians were basically making a mockery of Communion. We see similar situations today, with political debates often devolving into a shouting match in which the person who yells their opinion the loudest and the longest is the winner. In verses 14 to 16, Paul uses himself as an example. Was Paul crucified for you? Its pathetic that people should get so angry about whether drums are used or if the AC unit is kept at 71 or 70. Now, here the apostle makes very clear that the tendency among groupies is to distort the meaning of symbols. Weve seen how important unity was to the apostle Paul. These are not the only causes of divisions in churches today. And some of them are really gross. Some say, "I am of Gothard," and others say, "No, I am of Bright." You only have to listen around you today and you find outstanding leaders being held up by their congregations as almost the equal of the Lord himself in their value to the church. Each group claimed to be better than the others, and party spirits began to grow in the church. There were, first of all, the loyalists who said, "We are of Paul. Some followed Apollos whom they honored above Paul (1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:4; Acts 18:24 to 19:1). At that time it was under the leadership of its founder, Dawson Trotman, and it was my privilege and delight to be a close friend of his, to have spent a good deal of time with him and to come under the influence of his teaching and his methods.