A Divided Church
1 Corinthians Chapter 1
As we begin our look into the First Book to the Corinthians, we also meet the Apostle Paul.
We know that Paul was the writer that the Holy Spirit used to preserve these words for the Church of today.
Why was this letter to the Corinthians needed?
1) To remove divisions in the Church and bring the Church back as "one" Body of Christ.
Was Jesus Christ ever divided in His teachings? No. And neither should the Church at that time, nor should the Church be divided today!
2) To deal with immorality that was entering the Church from this immoral world.
3) To answer any questions the Church might have, because this was a church filled with baby Christians. They needed to grow in Christ.
Every “New Born” Christian needs to spend time in discipleship.
The Lord Jesus spent three years with the Apostles and three years with the Apostle Paul in discipleship training.
We all need to be discipled!
The things that happened in Corinth are things every church has to contend with in this wicked and immoral world.
This city had a large population of people coming from all parts of the world.
Most ships traveling from the East or from the West would stop at Corinth.
Most roads of commerce crossed at the City of Corinth.
This made the City of Corinth a wicked and corrupt city.
Corinth became an intellectual and cultural center as well.
All these things together made the City of Corinth a potential place for worldwide missions.
If a church could be established in Corinth, the Word of God could spread all around the world.
This place first needed to meet the Almighty Living God!
This church at Corinth was established, and like all baby Christians, they needed discipline.
Paul began as a gentle shepherd over his flock and moved on to greater things.
1Co 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
1Co 1:5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
1Co 1:6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
1Co 1:8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
*****1Co 1:10 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.
Every Pastor, Preacher or Priest is called to be a brother to all other believers and the Apostle Paul used the word brother when he was addressing this church.
We all have the same Heavenly Father, and we all are saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, and we all are filled with the same Holy Spirit, and we are all to have the same Word of God, and it is time that the Church to unite around these things, for we are in the last of days.
We are not better than anyone else in this world, but we can say we are better off only because our names are written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
If your name is written down in the Lamb's Book of Life, you are already a saint of God and set apart for the Lord.
The true Church belongs to God!
The false church belongs to the Devil!
Isa 48:11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: "for how should my name be polluted"? and I will not give my glory unto another.
No one can approach God but through the Lord Jesus Christ, and those who think they can be are still lost.
If you feel like you have lived your life good enough for Heaven, then you are self-righteous and still lost, no matter who you are.
Super-spirituality and pride have no place in the House of God!
We can only be in the Church because of the Grace of God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
God's "Grace" is the free gift of God, and God is extending His "Grace" out to all who will accept it today!
The Church must be unified behind these truths today; these truths will never change!
This message must be tender and full of love!
The word "beseech" means, come let's share these truths together.
Our faith binds us to the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ and not the things of this world!
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
We must approach each other with the "love of Christ".
We will never agree on everything in the Church, but we must hold the truth of Jesus Christ in our hearts!
Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
We cannot allow the teachings of this world to tear us apart when those teachings go against the truth of God.
Everyone must repent from the teachings of this world about salvation, which this world knows nothing about.
We all must be in the same mind, as we will all be judged by the same Word of God!
*****1Co 1:11 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.
The word contentions here mean strife, the struggle that had become violent along with quarreling.
These are works of the flesh.
There was no peace in this church in Corinth!
When men divide the Body of Christ, then it is Christ who bleeds; Christ is not divided.
This Chloe was probably a lady in Ephesus, from where Paul wrote this Epistle, because we know Paul would never have mentioned the name of a member of the church in Corinth.
She is probably a Christian, maybe even the wife of Stephanus and possibly the mother of Fortunatus and Achaicus.
1Co 16:17 I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied.
Or Paul got this information from one of her slaves, but not from her.
If we are seeking glory other than the glory of the Lord, we will never find it because it does not exist!
There will be a perfect union in Heaven for all God's children, and division here on earth could cause some not to get there.
If we are to live a true Christian life, we must draw upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is the same for every Christian.
The unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ are at our disposal.
Each and every one of us is called of God, but not to cause divisions or strife inside the Church or outside the Church.
When news of a divided church reaches another nation, then the testimony of that church will not be good enough to win souls.
Our one job is to win souls for Jesus Christ. if we have problems, then the first place to seek help is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mat_6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Next, we should seek an audience with our Pastor.
*****1Co 1:12 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.
1Co 1:13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
I think we have the greatest church in our area, and for certain, we have the best Pastor.
Most of us cannot wait to hear the message God has given him at every service.
Occasionally, he will take time for rest, or he will preach in some other place of worship or for some other reason, but if the congregation finds out that he will not be here the size of the congregation will shrink because someone else will preach.
In many ways, this is Pastor worship rather than the worship and praise of the Almighty God.
We come to Church to praise our Heavenly Father and to worship Him in Spirit and Truth, no matter who is preaching the message of God.
If we trust the Lord, then we know that person will also preach a message that God has given to them, and those who did not come because our true Pastor was not there, miss out on that message.
Is this not the same thing that Apostle Paul is saying here in this Scripture.
Jesus Christ is not divided, and these things must never divide our congregation.
We are all going to have differences of opinion from time to time, but we all have the same Word of God, and we all strive to get to our true home in Heaven.
There is only One Heaven!
We cannot bring the Lord Jesus Christ down to the level of man!
We all know that we must have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ to get to the Glory World, and again Our Lord Jesus is not divided in fact, He is very blunt when speaking His own words which we see in Red letters.
I am certain that we all have our favorite teachers in our church.
If we say we belong to Jesus Christ, then we had better act like we do!
We can never place our Lord Jesus at the level of ordinary teachers, even if they are our favorite Preacher or teacher.
Every believer belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ, if not, then you are not saved!
We do not know everything about our Savior, we only know what the Holy Spirit decided we needed to know to get us saved.
John 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
The God of the Bible is unlimited in knowledge and power, and I just want to be close as I can to Him in His house.
The closest I can get here upon this earth is in a Bible believing Church with a Bible believing Pastor!
These are things we will get to know over the next million years when we join Him in Heaven.
We need to agree on the salvation plan of Jehovah God, and then, we can discuss those places where we differ from one another without them dividing us.
Sometimes we just have to agree to disagree while keeping our relationship with our Savior sound!
It is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that unifies us, all of us.
Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
The Church is a long way from what the Lord says here in this passage today!
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, and we had better keep that straight in our minds!
There is only one Head of the Church, and there is only one Church, and this Church is to follow the One Word of God!
We are to be Christians because we follow the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that He did, so we can be saved.
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, "which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them".
If we say we are liberals, or Catholics, or Baptists, or of any other title, then our parting spirit is sin!
We are all to be Christians!
There is only One who was crucified for our sin, the sin of us all.
We all have the same mandate: Matt 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
*****1Co 1:14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
1Co 1:15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
1Co 1:16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
1Co 1:17 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.
It was for this very reason that Paul did not like to baptize new Christians. He agreed with Biblical Baptism with all his heart, but he did not want to be put on some pedestal for baptizing the most people or have the most converts.
Paul said if we in any way make the Lord Jesus less than the Head of the Church, we are striving toward the death of the Church.
We all have a calling of some manner in the Church so. Let’s do what the Lord called us to do!
1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
1Co 12:14 For the body is not one member, but many.
1Co 12:15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
1Co 12:17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
1Co 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
There is a place to serve for every member of the Church!
Paul said: he was to preach the Word of God which are the Words of Wisdom and not preach the wisdom of words.
Divisions in any church cannot be resolved by words of human wisdom. The cross alone is the answer to a divided church!
*****1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
There are only two categories of people in this world!
1) Those doomed to perish.
2) Those who have been saved from perishing.
As the years pass and we get older, we get closer to the grave and Hell or we are getting closer to Heaven, the Glory World.
We are never just sitting still! We are perishing or we are saved.
We cannot say "being saved" because it is a finite event and is eternal.
Perishing means to be in a lost state in the world that comes after death. Hell is a real place, people!
1) Salvation is a once-for-all experience meaning once we have been saved it is then in the past and unchangeable and we can live the rest of our lives at peace with God.
Luk 7:50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
2) Salvation is a continuous experience. It occurs right now, in the present.
The verse we are on right now, verse 18, " For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God".
3) The redemption experience of our salvation is still in the future.
Rom 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Those who reject these things are not very wise!
*****1Co 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
1Co 1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
1Co 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
1Co 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
Mankind seeks to conquer evil through science, technology, and the religion of human effort.
Mankind tries to conquer nature, disease, suffering, corruption and death and we never had this power and never will.
As a people, we want a life that is full and free, but we want to dictate how we want it.
We always want to stand on the mountain and say, "Look what I did".
Most of this world is just not willing to live by the Word of God and what Jesus Christ has said.
Science has not brought love, joy, and peace, but only to a few foolish people.
Technology has not brought love, joy, and peace to anyone.
Good works only make us self-righteous.
The first thing we begin to understand about Jehovah is that He loves us enough to provide a way to save us.
He has offered up the perfect sacrifice for us.
On that cross, the Lord Jesus Christ took all our sins upon Himself, and then He took our punishment for having sinned upon Himself.
Jehovah sacrificed Himself for us, and through this sacrifice, God saves us!
Those who want to approach God by some other means will always fail because this is God's plan.
The leaders of this world have never tried to solve the world's problems of sin and evil because it is just too prosperous for a few rich men who pull the strings on national leaders, and today on local leaders and our government become corrupt and refuse to change.
Only the cross has the power to change the hearts of these men.
There are some truly smart people in our world, but they spend their time on things that cannot change our world and make it a better place.
The cross is the wisdom of God, the way God has chosen to save this world and to save those who have faith that he can do as He promises.
If this world were to turn to the cross just to see the perfect demonstration of love and sacrifice, then this world would be a much better place.
All our leaders know how to do is inquire and argue. We see it played out every day in our Senate and in our Congress and nothing gets done because they love corruption too much.
It is the same in most of every nation.
Even the Jews want to see some great sign from God after they have already seen and read about all the great things God has shown them.
Even as they have just had their fiftieth birthday as a nation, they refuse to believe that it was Jehovah who caused this to happen.
Isa_66:8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
The next sign this world will see is the sound of the trumpet and the Church leaving this world.
The Jews still stumble over the truth of Jehovah!
*****1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
We should understand that what we teach about the Lord Jesus Christ is the reverse of what the Jews and the world demand.
Instead of a Messiah as ruler of all the earth, triumphant over all His enemies, we teach how a condemned criminal is our Savior and soon coming King and LORD.
Christians teach that our one argument is the death and then the life of the Messiah.
Isa 8:13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
Isa 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Jesus Christ is the power of God!
The Jews and many in the world feel like they are the chosen seed of God, and they reach God because they have a godly heritage.
They still believe that they can be good enough to be acceptable to God.
They believe that if they work hard enough, they can bring the Kingdom of God to this earth.
They believe that the Golden Age of Earth is still in the future.
The truth is, we can never be good enough to be acceptable to God.
The penalty for our sin had to be paid for by the perfect sacrifice of God's Son.
That we trust in that sacrifice.
That true belief in God's Son gave all He had to save this world for eternity.
When religion looks upon the ugliness of the cross, the ugliness of sin, and suffering instead of glory, they are repulsed.
Who are the blessed of God? Mat 11:6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
The world continues to stumble over the simplicity of the cross, but the world is missing the message of the Cross.
2Co_11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
It is the Cross of Jesus Christ that God's way is wiser and stronger than the way of religion and the way of man!
This is why Christianity is by faith and not by religion.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
***** 1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
Which group of people does God save?
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Our faith must lie in the fact that our life must be governed by a will that is far above this earth, and we receive the help of the Holy Spirit to guide us.
My Pastor has said many times that we receive the Holy Spirit for our employment and not for our enjoyment.
It is the Holy Spirit of God who does the calling.
Act 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
It is the Holy Spirit who remains with us throughout eternity
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
It is the Holy Spirit who will make our old bodies live again in glory.
Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
We are called according to God's purpose for us.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
God does not call many who are dependent upon themselves, we would say self-righteous.
God calls simple and humble people.
Those who believe they can save themselves may not be called, or at least God will not waste much time on them when He already knows what they will do.
God's calling is not arbitrary and not without reason.
God knows who will accept Him and who will not.
God has a reason and a purpose for everything He teaches us!
God smiles every time one of His nothings nullifies the somethings of this world.
God has given each one of us the free will to decide or reject Him.
If we are arrogant enough to think we do not need God, then He will not help us.
God sent the Lord Jesus Christ to save those who know they cannot save themselves.
God saves all those who want to spend eternity with Him in His House.
Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
*****1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Not many simple and humble people will boast about anything.
The truth:
1) Man will never be able to control sin and evil in this world.
2) Man will never be able to bring peace, assurance, and control to the human heart.
3) Man will never bring eternal life beyond our few short years upon this earth.
We have nothing to brag about and no right to glory in the things we do!
God's wisdom is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are nothing to God unless we are "Born Again" in Jesus Christ.
By the fact that the Lord Jesus arose from that grave to show us the power of God it becomes wisdom to follow in His ways.
It is by God pouring His Spirit into us that we can know the truth.
He is the Spirit of Righteousness, which means He knows no evil and by His power we can be sanctified which is working our way toward Holiness.
The Lord Jesus paid the price that God required for our sin, and if we believe in this, we are reconciled to God.
The entire work for our salvation is of God.
Our only work is to accept this great gift of God, so if we glory, let us glory in the Lord!
Amen
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