Set Apart or Split Apart? 1 Corinthians 1:1-17
Last week, we left Paul, in Act 19:21-41, in the latter weeks or months of his 3 year stay in Ephesus. Through the faithful preaching of the Gospel, Paul had caused, what I termed, the R.I.O.T. in Ephesus, the Righteous Invasion Of Truth! We saw how God, in His Providence, protected Paul from certain death, preserving him for further ministry. Luke doesn't fill the details for us concerning other things that may have happened during those 3 years in Ephesus, but I mentioned a few last week, from piecing together some details from Paul's letters. Sometime during this period Paul had been used in the conversion of Philemon and Epaphrus, natives of Colossae, and a church was formed there from the spreading of the Gospel into all of Asia Minor. Also, during that time, he had received some visits by believers from Corinth concerning some their tolerance of immoral behavior.
This prompted him to write a quick letter to them, where he told them not to tolerate immoral people. They, apparently, misinterpreted his words to mean don't associate with immoral people of the world. He probably sent that letter with Timothy & Erastus [Act 19:22], and he mentions that letter in 1 Cor 5:9-10 My best guess is that just after he sent Timothy & Erastus to Corinth via, Macedonia, he received a visit from a delegation of people alerting him to some serious problems in Corinth. in and during that time, that he penned what we call, his 1st letter to the church at Corinth. So, in all likelihood, this letter, we title 1 Corinthians, is actually his 2nd letter, and his 1st letter, has been lost. Although there are some who believe that part of it, at least, is found in 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1. However, it is more likely that God, in His Providence, has not seen fit to preserve that 1st letter.
It has been suggested by some well respected scholars that, after Paul sent Timothy & Erastus away, ultimately, to Corinth, he got 2 different visits, one, from a delegation, identified as those of the house of Chloe [1:11], and the other visit came from, 3 Corinthian converts, identified at the end of this letter as 'Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus' [16:17] . It is, likely, that they brought with them, a letter from the church at Corinth, asking for consultation about marriage, things offered to idols, order in church assemblies, & when Apollos will visit them again. Yet, it seems that not a syllable is mentioned in their letter about the disorders that had crept into the church. It should be alarming to us, that they would focus on lesser details when more important issues were at stake. Still, he addresses these issues brought up in their letter, beginning in ch.7, because, beginning there, there is this repeated phrase 'Now concerning...'. For example, in 7:1 he writes, 'Now concerning the matters about which you wrote...' Then, in7:25 'Now concerning the betrothed' Then in 8:1 'Now concerning food offered to idols ... Then in 12:1 'Now concerning spiritual gifts'... Then in 16:1 'Now concerning the collection for the saints' Finally, in 16:12 he writes, 'Now concerning our brother Apollos...” And by the way, Apollos didn't want to come visit them at that time, because he didn't want to feed their faction problem. And, so, the way the letter is structured, Paul may have written it over a period of several weeks, the 1st 4 chapters focusing on this issue of division in church, and then, chs. 5 & 6, seem to be a response to new details about the sexual immorality problem, probably told him by the 3 converts who visited after the people of Chloe did. And then he addresses their letter from ch.7 to the end. So much for our short outline.
I believe Paul's greatest motivation in writing this letter, was the division that had begun in the church. Why? Because he begins with it and continues addressing it for 4 chapters! They had divided up over the leadership that God had blessed them with. Instead of being humbled by the Steadfast kindness of the Lord, in sending them such gifted men, they took sides with one leader or another. Some had criticized Paul, who by God's Grace had planted this church. And we saw, in our 2nd reading, that Apollos, a man eloquent in speech and very knowledgeable in the O.T. Scriptures [Septuagint], had been sent there with leadership approval, as well, and it is possible that Peter had visited them during that 3 year period too. They had been blessed with great leadership. And Paul begins his letter by telling them that they had been...
Set Apart by God's Grace ...vs. 1-3
“Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus” Paul knows that he is not one of the twelve apostles, but he is on a par with them because, like them, he had been chosen by God. [We often talk about “making a decision for Christ”, as if, in the final analysis, a person's salvation hangs, ultimately, on that decision for its cause. When Jesus said, 'follow me' to the apostles did their following Him, hinge on their decision? No, because Jesus told them, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you”. How about Paul, was Jesus waiting for Paul's decision when He blinded him on the road to Damascus? No, He told him, “...rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." Act 9:6 Paul was 'called & set apart by the will of God' in the power of God for the Glory of God! And look who was with Paul in Ephesus when he wrote this letter! 'and our brother, Sosthenes” This Sosthenes, now with Paul in Ephesus, is possibly the same Sosthenes, the 2nd ruler of the synagogue who replaced Crispus, who got saved. If so, then this is the same Sosthenes who received the beating by the Jews after Gallio's ruling, the beating that was meant for Paul. Act_18:17. A. T. Robertson said, “that beating did him good for he is now a follower of Christ.”
Paul, then begins immediately with his 1st and foremost point in v.2 He reminds the Corinthians that they were called out and set apart! He calls them“the ekklesia of God!” those who have been called out of the world for the purpose of gathering together for the purpose of assembling together in unity to worship the One Christ through the One Spirit as one body! Called out ones ...the church of God ...in Corinth”! He tells them “you have been sanctified ...you have been set apart ...you have been, positionally, made holy because you are ...in Christ Jesus” and Christ Jesus is Holy! And because He has called you Holy, then you must live lives that are Holy! He writes you are 'called to be saints', and you can't do that if you splinter into factions! You are called “...together” with all those who in ...every place, call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” You are united with all saints everywhere! Paul says Christ is “both their Lord and ours”! And, notice in v.3, both Grace and Peace' come from both members of the Trinity mentioned, “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” And not only has He Set you apart by God's Grace, but you have been...
Set Apart with God's Gifts ...vs.4-9
Paul begins with very positive words of affirmations, reminding them of how the Sovereign Spirit of Grace ...set them apart and ...sealed them for the day of redemption. And he is grateful for such a testimony! Look at v.4-5 “I give thanks to my God always for you, because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way ...you were enriched ...you were made wealthy ...in him.” Otherwise, you would be 'poor and wretched and blind'! Elsewhere he said to them, “ you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich!” 2 Cor 8:9 Rich in what? Rich 'in ...all speech and ...all knowledge'!“God has blessed you with all the speech you need! He has gifted you with ...with words ...with “words of life” ...with beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of Life!” Sweetly echo the Gospel Call! You have the riches this world needs. Open your mouth and speak from the deep well of God's Salvation!
And what else were they rich in? They were rich in ...all knowledge'! He's telling them, “You have incomparable knowledge!” You have the important information and the Spirit inspired intimacy to build the Body of Christ in your community. Corinth can Glorify Christ! God has stocked your shelf. You don't need anything. You have everything for health, vitality, growth, and reproduction. You have all things pertaining to life and godliness, said Peter. Are you committed to be faithful to what you have? I testify that you had the 'witness' of “Christ confirmed among you!” He mentions many of those confirming signs in chs.12-14 of his letter. You displayed the Signs of the Spirit! So much so, that it has become clear “that you are not lacking in any ...gift, [the word is charismata.] You are lacking in no 'charismata'. Its where we get the word charismatic from, a word which is sorely misused today, and has misled many to fall into the same trap as this Corinthian Church did. But that will be for another time! Still, charismata is a Biblical Word! It simply means 'gift'! Paul is setting them up for what he is about to address. But basically, he's telling them that, since they are so well endowed with such a variety of great gifts, they have no excuse for their divisions. They were adequate to reach the world and they were adequate to build the church. They lacked nothing. They were always supplied, even “as they waited for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Waiting doesn't mean you can't accomplish anything, until He returns. We are called to as the word means, “wait with eager anticipation, being active, and not idle! Christians are not sitting on a corner waiting for a bus. We are called to wait eagerly while we're working & watching and hoping & helping!
And Paul encourages them that God ...'will' v.8 “sustain them to the end, ...guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In his 2nd letter to them, he will again remind them,“it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”2Co 1:21-22 The same God who has certified their perseverance to the end point, in their glorification is the same God who was faithful to call the Corinthians into the fellowship of Christ through the Holy Spirit in the 1st place!
This is Paul's point in v.9 'God is faithful', by whom you were called into ...the fellowship ...the word is 'koinonia', into the participation of His Son ...into the communion of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.”. This calling is what theologians call the Effectual Calling, because it took place, in accordance with ...God's prior purpose of Grace. Jesus revealed such an election of Grace to Paul, when Paul was on the brink of quitting in Corinth for fear of the Jews. He told Paul in a vision "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for ...I have many in this city who ...are my people." Act 18:9-10 They were not yet His people, in time & space, but they would become such, because God had ordained their salvation, and He would complete that through the obedient preaching of Paul.
We can now look back and see that with 20/20 hindsight! That is all we have, Hindsight. But, even, Hindsight is better than ...no sight at all! Amen? Only God, Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, has the Foresight, because God Foreordains whatsoever comes to pass, despite the determined decisions of destitute men! Its one of the most Amazing qualities that makes God ...God ...His Sovereignty is not limited by His creatures! And that is a source of encouragement like no other. So, Paul is confident that God will sustain them, because the Salvation Plan is one that was agreed upon by the members of the Trinity, the Father 'Chooses', the Son 'Cleanses', and the Spirit 'Changes' the soul of all who will ever come to faith. And God calls His people to be the same, to be united in purpose and character. Jesus prayed to His Father in His high priestly prayer, that “Father, they may be one, even as we are one.” Yet, Paul has been sent a message that there is a unity problem in Corinth. They have not been; Set Apart by God's Grace, and they have not been Set Apart with God's Gifts so they can be...
Split apart Grievous Sin ...vs.10-17
He implores them not to continue in these divisions. It cannot produce God's Results. It cannot bring about God's Glory! It cannot reflect God's Family! See what he calls them in v.10 . He calls them, adelphos “I appeal to you, brothers,” You have only one who you owe your allegiance to. Therefore, I appeal to you by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ...all of you agree, and that there be no divisions ...no schisms among you, but that you be ...united ...that your nets would be mended ...that your bones would be reset ...that your body would be restored ...that your minds would be renewed and reformed ... that you be ...united in the ...same mind and the ...same judgment.” And that mind is the Mind of Christ! In the 1st 10 verses, Paul has mentioned Christ's Name, no less than 10x! To use Derek Thomas's favorite word, 'That's extraordinary'! What is he reminding them of? Its all about Christ! Its His Name that matters, not Paul or Apollos or Peter.
These factions that related to things like who you were converted under [Paul Party], or who baptized you [Apollos Party], or how much of the ceremonial Law you are bound to [Cephas Party], or whether or not you refuse to obey your leaders, by using the excuse that you follow only Christ [Christ Party], these things only show that you are still relying on your human wisdom, and not on God's revelation and God's Power. “There's quarreling among you! There's contention in the camp! There's wrangling in the ranks! And what does he call them again? “...My brothers!” This leads him to ask “Is Christ divided?” Are there fragments of Christ distributed to different groups? Can a Person be parceled out? We say, “I want more of Christ!” when we really should say, “I pray Christ would have more of me ...that he would give me integrity ...that He would cause us to function as an organism, and not as an organization!” “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” 1Co 12:12 Christ is one! We are to be one!
Then, to make his point, he gets a little facetious, “Was Paul crucified for you?” Rather than incriminate anyone else, Paul uses his own name. We could replace it with our own favorite Teacher or Preacher. Was Sproul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Piper or MacArthur or VanTil? Paul gratefully reveals next, how little he focused on Baptism.“I thank God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. He probably was then reminded by Sosthenes, who may have been his scribe, about some others. Oh yeah, (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) Why is Paul downgrading Baptism? Because it isn't a salvation issue. No one gets saved hearing about baptism! Paul says, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel ...to preach the gospel!” , and, then he adds, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, which is likely a reference to the way these Corinthians may have described Apollos' preaching.
Luke tells us that Apollos “was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures.” Acts 18:24 And after being educated more fully, by Priscilla & Aquila, in the New Covenant Gospel, we are also told by Luke that “when he wished to cross to Achaia, Corinth is in Achaia, the brothers encouraged him to cross over to there, and wrote to the disciples to welcome him.”, which they did, and “When he arrived, he greatly helped those who, through grace, had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.” Act 18:27-28 Apparently, many of these Corinthian disciples took a liking to Apollos. After all, the Greek mentality was attracted to eloquence and style and bodily appearance. Apollos had gravitas. Paul, on the other hand, was described in ancient literature, as small, balding man with a hook nose, and a unibrow, and he probably hobbled around with bowed legs! Not exactly full of personal appeal. Paul writes about himself in 2Co 10:10 “For they say, "His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account." Paul's weakness shows that power resides in God, and not in human ingenuity or eloquence, 'lest' as Paul closes with in v.17 “the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. “
Closing
Please listen to me. Each and every one of you has got spiritual gifts! Every single one of you, Christians, have gifts of the Spirit that are given to you. Why? To minister to the body here, and those gifts are adequate to build this church! Do you want to build this church? Then exercise your gifts! No matter how young or old you are, you can contribute by exercising the gifts that God has blessed you with. He didn't bless you with gifts and talents, so you can bury them in the ground. If you bury your gift, He will call you a wicked servant! Do you want to build this church? Then, get the right perspective. Stop looking only for a place to be fed at with no expectations or commitment from you? Do you want to build this church? Or are you just looking only to keep the doors open, so you can have a place to be buried at? No retirement from the Christian Life. There is no rusting out in the Bible, only burning out! If God has Commissioned me as your Pastor, then it is expedient and beneficial for each of ...you ...to trust me as the under shepherd called, Set Apart by God's Grace, and Set Apart with God's Gifts to watch over your souls! Do you believe that or do you not? I've been here 3 years. Have I done this church harm, or has God blessed us? I will make mistakes. I will not always use perfectly sound judgment. I stumble and I fumble along endeavoring to be obedient to Christ. But who doesn't stumble and who doesn't fumble? This is why I have help. We have a group of men to help govern, praying to be led by the Holy Spirit.
What does Paul tell them and us? 12:13 “in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.” We can learn from the Corinthian Church to not make the same mistakes. They struggled for many years, as evidenced by the fact that by the end of the 1st Century, Clement of Rome was still having to deal with their divisions and bickering, when he penned 1 Clement. If we will unite under the Banner of Jesus Christ, and overcome our minor differences, testifying that we have been Set Apart by God's Grace , and we have been Set Apart with God's Gifts, then here, in Grangeville, it cannot and will not be said of us by the accuser of the brethren or by those whose minds have been blinded by him, that we have been Split Apart by Grievous Sin. By God's Grace, the Cross of Christ will not be stripped of its power here. Lets pray.
Last week, we left Paul, in Act 19:21-41, in the latter weeks or months of his 3 year stay in Ephesus. Through the faithful preaching of the Gospel, Paul had caused, what I termed, the R.I.O.T. in Ephesus, the Righteous Invasion Of Truth! We saw how God, in His Providence, protected Paul from certain death, preserving him for further ministry. Luke doesn't fill the details for us concerning other things that may have happened during those 3 years in Ephesus, but I mentioned a few last week, from piecing together some details from Paul's letters. Sometime during this period Paul had been used in the conversion of Philemon and Epaphrus, natives of Colossae, and a church was formed there from the spreading of the Gospel into all of Asia Minor. Also, during that time, he had received some visits by believers from Corinth concerning some their tolerance of immoral behavior.
This prompted him to write a quick letter to them, where he told them not to tolerate immoral people. They, apparently, misinterpreted his words to mean don't associate with immoral people of the world. He probably sent that letter with Timothy & Erastus [Act 19:22], and he mentions that letter in 1 Cor 5:9-10 My best guess is that just after he sent Timothy & Erastus to Corinth via, Macedonia, he received a visit from a delegation of people alerting him to some serious problems in Corinth. in and during that time, that he penned what we call, his 1st letter to the church at Corinth. So, in all likelihood, this letter, we title 1 Corinthians, is actually his 2nd letter, and his 1st letter, has been lost. Although there are some who believe that part of it, at least, is found in 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1. However, it is more likely that God, in His Providence, has not seen fit to preserve that 1st letter.
It has been suggested by some well respected scholars that, after Paul sent Timothy & Erastus away, ultimately, to Corinth, he got 2 different visits, one, from a delegation, identified as those of the house of Chloe [1:11], and the other visit came from, 3 Corinthian converts, identified at the end of this letter as 'Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus' [16:17] . It is, likely, that they brought with them, a letter from the church at Corinth, asking for consultation about marriage, things offered to idols, order in church assemblies, & when Apollos will visit them again. Yet, it seems that not a syllable is mentioned in their letter about the disorders that had crept into the church. It should be alarming to us, that they would focus on lesser details when more important issues were at stake. Still, he addresses these issues brought up in their letter, beginning in ch.7, because, beginning there, there is this repeated phrase 'Now concerning...'. For example, in 7:1 he writes, 'Now concerning the matters about which you wrote...' Then, in7:25 'Now concerning the betrothed' Then in 8:1 'Now concerning food offered to idols ... Then in 12:1 'Now concerning spiritual gifts'... Then in 16:1 'Now concerning the collection for the saints' Finally, in 16:12 he writes, 'Now concerning our brother Apollos...” And by the way, Apollos didn't want to come visit them at that time, because he didn't want to feed their faction problem. And, so, the way the letter is structured, Paul may have written it over a period of several weeks, the 1st 4 chapters focusing on this issue of division in church, and then, chs. 5 & 6, seem to be a response to new details about the sexual immorality problem, probably told him by the 3 converts who visited after the people of Chloe did. And then he addresses their letter from ch.7 to the end. So much for our short outline.
I believe Paul's greatest motivation in writing this letter, was the division that had begun in the church. Why? Because he begins with it and continues addressing it for 4 chapters! They had divided up over the leadership that God had blessed them with. Instead of being humbled by the Steadfast kindness of the Lord, in sending them such gifted men, they took sides with one leader or another. Some had criticized Paul, who by God's Grace had planted this church. And we saw, in our 2nd reading, that Apollos, a man eloquent in speech and very knowledgeable in the O.T. Scriptures [Septuagint], had been sent there with leadership approval, as well, and it is possible that Peter had visited them during that 3 year period too. They had been blessed with great leadership. And Paul begins his letter by telling them that they had been...
Set Apart by God's Grace ...vs. 1-3
“Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus” Paul knows that he is not one of the twelve apostles, but he is on a par with them because, like them, he had been chosen by God. [We often talk about “making a decision for Christ”, as if, in the final analysis, a person's salvation hangs, ultimately, on that decision for its cause. When Jesus said, 'follow me' to the apostles did their following Him, hinge on their decision? No, because Jesus told them, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you”. How about Paul, was Jesus waiting for Paul's decision when He blinded him on the road to Damascus? No, He told him, “...rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." Act 9:6 Paul was 'called & set apart by the will of God' in the power of God for the Glory of God! And look who was with Paul in Ephesus when he wrote this letter! 'and our brother, Sosthenes” This Sosthenes, now with Paul in Ephesus, is possibly the same Sosthenes, the 2nd ruler of the synagogue who replaced Crispus, who got saved. If so, then this is the same Sosthenes who received the beating by the Jews after Gallio's ruling, the beating that was meant for Paul. Act_18:17. A. T. Robertson said, “that beating did him good for he is now a follower of Christ.”
Paul, then begins immediately with his 1st and foremost point in v.2 He reminds the Corinthians that they were called out and set apart! He calls them“the ekklesia of God!” those who have been called out of the world for the purpose of gathering together for the purpose of assembling together in unity to worship the One Christ through the One Spirit as one body! Called out ones ...the church of God ...in Corinth”! He tells them “you have been sanctified ...you have been set apart ...you have been, positionally, made holy because you are ...in Christ Jesus” and Christ Jesus is Holy! And because He has called you Holy, then you must live lives that are Holy! He writes you are 'called to be saints', and you can't do that if you splinter into factions! You are called “...together” with all those who in ...every place, call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” You are united with all saints everywhere! Paul says Christ is “both their Lord and ours”! And, notice in v.3, both Grace and Peace' come from both members of the Trinity mentioned, “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” And not only has He Set you apart by God's Grace, but you have been...
Set Apart with God's Gifts ...vs.4-9
Paul begins with very positive words of affirmations, reminding them of how the Sovereign Spirit of Grace ...set them apart and ...sealed them for the day of redemption. And he is grateful for such a testimony! Look at v.4-5 “I give thanks to my God always for you, because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way ...you were enriched ...you were made wealthy ...in him.” Otherwise, you would be 'poor and wretched and blind'! Elsewhere he said to them, “ you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich!” 2 Cor 8:9 Rich in what? Rich 'in ...all speech and ...all knowledge'!“God has blessed you with all the speech you need! He has gifted you with ...with words ...with “words of life” ...with beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of Life!” Sweetly echo the Gospel Call! You have the riches this world needs. Open your mouth and speak from the deep well of God's Salvation!
And what else were they rich in? They were rich in ...all knowledge'! He's telling them, “You have incomparable knowledge!” You have the important information and the Spirit inspired intimacy to build the Body of Christ in your community. Corinth can Glorify Christ! God has stocked your shelf. You don't need anything. You have everything for health, vitality, growth, and reproduction. You have all things pertaining to life and godliness, said Peter. Are you committed to be faithful to what you have? I testify that you had the 'witness' of “Christ confirmed among you!” He mentions many of those confirming signs in chs.12-14 of his letter. You displayed the Signs of the Spirit! So much so, that it has become clear “that you are not lacking in any ...gift, [the word is charismata.] You are lacking in no 'charismata'. Its where we get the word charismatic from, a word which is sorely misused today, and has misled many to fall into the same trap as this Corinthian Church did. But that will be for another time! Still, charismata is a Biblical Word! It simply means 'gift'! Paul is setting them up for what he is about to address. But basically, he's telling them that, since they are so well endowed with such a variety of great gifts, they have no excuse for their divisions. They were adequate to reach the world and they were adequate to build the church. They lacked nothing. They were always supplied, even “as they waited for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Waiting doesn't mean you can't accomplish anything, until He returns. We are called to as the word means, “wait with eager anticipation, being active, and not idle! Christians are not sitting on a corner waiting for a bus. We are called to wait eagerly while we're working & watching and hoping & helping!
And Paul encourages them that God ...'will' v.8 “sustain them to the end, ...guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In his 2nd letter to them, he will again remind them,“it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”2Co 1:21-22 The same God who has certified their perseverance to the end point, in their glorification is the same God who was faithful to call the Corinthians into the fellowship of Christ through the Holy Spirit in the 1st place!
This is Paul's point in v.9 'God is faithful', by whom you were called into ...the fellowship ...the word is 'koinonia', into the participation of His Son ...into the communion of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.”. This calling is what theologians call the Effectual Calling, because it took place, in accordance with ...God's prior purpose of Grace. Jesus revealed such an election of Grace to Paul, when Paul was on the brink of quitting in Corinth for fear of the Jews. He told Paul in a vision "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for ...I have many in this city who ...are my people." Act 18:9-10 They were not yet His people, in time & space, but they would become such, because God had ordained their salvation, and He would complete that through the obedient preaching of Paul.
We can now look back and see that with 20/20 hindsight! That is all we have, Hindsight. But, even, Hindsight is better than ...no sight at all! Amen? Only God, Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, has the Foresight, because God Foreordains whatsoever comes to pass, despite the determined decisions of destitute men! Its one of the most Amazing qualities that makes God ...God ...His Sovereignty is not limited by His creatures! And that is a source of encouragement like no other. So, Paul is confident that God will sustain them, because the Salvation Plan is one that was agreed upon by the members of the Trinity, the Father 'Chooses', the Son 'Cleanses', and the Spirit 'Changes' the soul of all who will ever come to faith. And God calls His people to be the same, to be united in purpose and character. Jesus prayed to His Father in His high priestly prayer, that “Father, they may be one, even as we are one.” Yet, Paul has been sent a message that there is a unity problem in Corinth. They have not been; Set Apart by God's Grace, and they have not been Set Apart with God's Gifts so they can be...
Split apart Grievous Sin ...vs.10-17
He implores them not to continue in these divisions. It cannot produce God's Results. It cannot bring about God's Glory! It cannot reflect God's Family! See what he calls them in v.10 . He calls them, adelphos “I appeal to you, brothers,” You have only one who you owe your allegiance to. Therefore, I appeal to you by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ...all of you agree, and that there be no divisions ...no schisms among you, but that you be ...united ...that your nets would be mended ...that your bones would be reset ...that your body would be restored ...that your minds would be renewed and reformed ... that you be ...united in the ...same mind and the ...same judgment.” And that mind is the Mind of Christ! In the 1st 10 verses, Paul has mentioned Christ's Name, no less than 10x! To use Derek Thomas's favorite word, 'That's extraordinary'! What is he reminding them of? Its all about Christ! Its His Name that matters, not Paul or Apollos or Peter.
These factions that related to things like who you were converted under [Paul Party], or who baptized you [Apollos Party], or how much of the ceremonial Law you are bound to [Cephas Party], or whether or not you refuse to obey your leaders, by using the excuse that you follow only Christ [Christ Party], these things only show that you are still relying on your human wisdom, and not on God's revelation and God's Power. “There's quarreling among you! There's contention in the camp! There's wrangling in the ranks! And what does he call them again? “...My brothers!” This leads him to ask “Is Christ divided?” Are there fragments of Christ distributed to different groups? Can a Person be parceled out? We say, “I want more of Christ!” when we really should say, “I pray Christ would have more of me ...that he would give me integrity ...that He would cause us to function as an organism, and not as an organization!” “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” 1Co 12:12 Christ is one! We are to be one!
Then, to make his point, he gets a little facetious, “Was Paul crucified for you?” Rather than incriminate anyone else, Paul uses his own name. We could replace it with our own favorite Teacher or Preacher. Was Sproul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Piper or MacArthur or VanTil? Paul gratefully reveals next, how little he focused on Baptism.“I thank God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. He probably was then reminded by Sosthenes, who may have been his scribe, about some others. Oh yeah, (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) Why is Paul downgrading Baptism? Because it isn't a salvation issue. No one gets saved hearing about baptism! Paul says, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel ...to preach the gospel!” , and, then he adds, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, which is likely a reference to the way these Corinthians may have described Apollos' preaching.
Luke tells us that Apollos “was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures.” Acts 18:24 And after being educated more fully, by Priscilla & Aquila, in the New Covenant Gospel, we are also told by Luke that “when he wished to cross to Achaia, Corinth is in Achaia, the brothers encouraged him to cross over to there, and wrote to the disciples to welcome him.”, which they did, and “When he arrived, he greatly helped those who, through grace, had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.” Act 18:27-28 Apparently, many of these Corinthian disciples took a liking to Apollos. After all, the Greek mentality was attracted to eloquence and style and bodily appearance. Apollos had gravitas. Paul, on the other hand, was described in ancient literature, as small, balding man with a hook nose, and a unibrow, and he probably hobbled around with bowed legs! Not exactly full of personal appeal. Paul writes about himself in 2Co 10:10 “For they say, "His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account." Paul's weakness shows that power resides in God, and not in human ingenuity or eloquence, 'lest' as Paul closes with in v.17 “the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. “
Closing
Please listen to me. Each and every one of you has got spiritual gifts! Every single one of you, Christians, have gifts of the Spirit that are given to you. Why? To minister to the body here, and those gifts are adequate to build this church! Do you want to build this church? Then exercise your gifts! No matter how young or old you are, you can contribute by exercising the gifts that God has blessed you with. He didn't bless you with gifts and talents, so you can bury them in the ground. If you bury your gift, He will call you a wicked servant! Do you want to build this church? Then, get the right perspective. Stop looking only for a place to be fed at with no expectations or commitment from you? Do you want to build this church? Or are you just looking only to keep the doors open, so you can have a place to be buried at? No retirement from the Christian Life. There is no rusting out in the Bible, only burning out! If God has Commissioned me as your Pastor, then it is expedient and beneficial for each of ...you ...to trust me as the under shepherd called, Set Apart by God's Grace, and Set Apart with God's Gifts to watch over your souls! Do you believe that or do you not? I've been here 3 years. Have I done this church harm, or has God blessed us? I will make mistakes. I will not always use perfectly sound judgment. I stumble and I fumble along endeavoring to be obedient to Christ. But who doesn't stumble and who doesn't fumble? This is why I have help. We have a group of men to help govern, praying to be led by the Holy Spirit.
What does Paul tell them and us? 12:13 “in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.” We can learn from the Corinthian Church to not make the same mistakes. They struggled for many years, as evidenced by the fact that by the end of the 1st Century, Clement of Rome was still having to deal with their divisions and bickering, when he penned 1 Clement. If we will unite under the Banner of Jesus Christ, and overcome our minor differences, testifying that we have been Set Apart by God's Grace , and we have been Set Apart with God's Gifts, then here, in Grangeville, it cannot and will not be said of us by the accuser of the brethren or by those whose minds have been blinded by him, that we have been Split Apart by Grievous Sin. By God's Grace, the Cross of Christ will not be stripped of its power here. Lets pray.