It Starts Small

1 Paul, called as an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Sosthenes our brother:

² To the church of God at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord—both their Lord and ours.

³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul begins his letter to the church in Corinth by first addressing who is sending the letter and then to whom it s for.

Paul starts off praising God for His work in the Corinthians. They were still far from perfect. We will see more about this later. However, many true believers came to Christ from a completely pagan and evil environment.

Corinth was a major trading and transportation hub in the Mediterranean region. Corinth was known for its loose morals and materialism. The term “Corinthianized” meant to be lost in sensual pleasures. It is important to understand the false god worship in this city. Because it was a Greek society, many of the false pagan god worship was devoted to Zeus and Aphrodite. Within the center of this city was a huge temple devoted to Aphrodite. In the temple were more than 1000 sex slaves.

Also within the city were large amphitheaters. There, academic speakers would speak to crowds. The crowd had to pay to hear the speaker. They spoke about everything from philosophy to politics. Imagine a “Ted Talks” without all the computerization. Here the people would get involved and decide if they were for or against whatever was being communicated. This is important later on in our study.

Notice, Paul does not commend the Corinthians for their achievements. Instead, he highlights God’s work in their lives. It is all God’s work and not their own. Paul didn’t want them getting conceited or prideful with the progress they had made.

God’s grace in their lives (4)

God’s enrichment in their lives (5)

God’s salvation in their lives (6)

God’s gifts in their lives (7)

God’s future work in their lives (8)

God’s faithfulness in their lives (9)

Paul then calls upon the believers to unify themselves.

 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction.

1 Corinthians 1:10

Paul does not beat around the bush. He quickly gets into the problems within the body of believers. What has caused this division:

 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by members of Chloe’s people, that there is rivalry among you. What I am saying is this: One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 

1 Corinthians 1:11-12

So what is the real issue? Pastoral favoritism. Some liked Apollos. Some liked Paul. Some like Cephas (Peter). People began separating themselves by which pastor they liked. Paul asked them a very important rhetorical question:

 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 

1 Corinthians 1:13

Many leaders would feel very good that “their” group was so loyal to them. They would welcome this loyalty and respect. In fact, many would feel that they deserve it. They get upset if this loyalty or respect is not shown to them. This happens often even in Christian ministry. Leaders feel the need to be stroked and thanked. Why? They feel this when they have the wrong motivations. Maybe they want to feel successful or be able to show others the great work that they have done. It’s like a successful businessman who enjoys reporting about his company’s success and growth. A missionary or pastor or teacher can point to “his” group of 20 or 100 or 500 people and feel that they have done a great job. It’s the result of Christians building their own little kingdom to rule over as opposed to building God’s kingdom. It’s the result of pride and wrong motivations.

I feel confident to say that Paul, Peter and Apollos hated this attitude among the Corinthians. They didn’t want the loyalty. They didn’t want a bunch of separate groups. They realized that they were not the masters. They were not the kings. They were shepherds taking care of the sheep. But the sheep didn’t belong to them. The sheep belonged to Christ. Paul knows there is only one head of the church and that is not him.

 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ I did, in fact, baptize the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t recall if I baptized anyone else. ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.

1 Corinthians 1:14-17

Division.

What is Paul teaching us about divisions within the body of Christ?

Where do divisions come from?

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