A Plea for Unity

Transcript

GR 1295
05-22-05
A Plea for Unity
I Corinthians 1:10-15
Gil Rugh

We recently began a study in 1 Corinthians, so would you turn there in your Bibles. First Corinthians 1. And Paul is ready to begin the body of this letter. The first 9 verses really formed an extensive introduction. The first 3 verses he made known who the author was, himself, Paul the Apostle. He’s writing to the church of God, the one being in Corinth. And he desires for them God’s grace and peace. Then in verses 4-9 he offered an extensive word of thanks to God for the work of grace that He had done in the life of the Corinthian church. And that grace provided not only for their initial salvation, being justified in Christ, but it provided for their ongoing service for God until Jesus Christ comes again. And that same grace assures that they will be presented blameless before the throne of God the Father. Our salvation is by grace alone from beginning to end. God sovereignly works, bestows upon us that which was undeserved or unmerited. And thus it’s His work from beginning to end. And we noted Philippians 1:6, the One who has begun a good work in you will continue to bring it to perfection until the day of Christ Jesus. And in that day we will be found to be blameless. A grace past, present and future. Our security in Christ is settled by the fact that God is faithful, verse 9 of chapter 1, God is faithful. So we can be assured of the statement at the end of verse 8, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. How can you be sure? God is faithful; His grace is the sufficiency that assures it will come to pass. And God is the one through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

We noted in these first 9 verses in the introduction Paul lays the foundation for what will be developed throughout the rest of this letter. And the unique work of God in grace in creating the church by calling to Himself those that He has chosen to enter into a relationship with His Son, into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. That word fellowship means we enter into the life of Christ, we enter into a spiritual bond of union with Him and He takes up residence in us. And we dwell in His Father. It’s a marvelous relationship that shapes and controls not only what the church is, but all that it does. And Paul will pick up on that theme. There will be a change as we pick up with verse 10 because we move into the body of the letter. The word now could be translated but, but it’s a soft contrast here, soft conjunction. Now is a normal translation, sometimes it is translated but. But he’s not drawing a contrast to what he has just said in a major way, but now he’s going to move the thought on, really, to the application of some of these truths and to address some of the issues of the church at Corinth.

And the first issue he wants to address is the major issue in this letter. Paul will devote more time to the subject that he is going to address first than any other subject that he addresses in the letter. There is a problem in the church at Corinth and the problem is divisions, quarrels. So from 1:10-4:21 Paul will deal with the matter of divisions in the church. It’s a serious matter, but Paul wrote this under the direction of the Spirit and the Spirit preserved this for us, not just so we would know something that happened 2000 years ago in the life of the early church in Corinth. It was recorded here because this is one of the major issues that the church of Jesus Christ has faced down through its history right down to today. You know the work of the devil is clearly set forth in scripture and you see it around us. First line of operation, people must hear the gospel if they are to believe the gospel and be saved, because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, Romans 10 says. No one is ever saved anywhere in the world who does not hear the message of the truth of scripture concerning Christ, that we are sinners lost and condemned, and the Son of God came to this earth, suffered and died, and was raised from the dead to pay in full the penalty for sin. Anybody who hears that message and believes it is cleansed and saved.

So the first line of opposition on the devil’s part is clear—keep people from hearing the truth of the gospel, because if they never hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, they can never be saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ. When people do hear the gospel and believe and are saved, then they become part of the church. But the devil’s opposition does not cease. Now he seeks to corrupt the church and prevent the church and its members from growing and maturing to serve God in a way that will please Him and bring glory to His name. He brings corrupted doctrine, turns the church away from the truth of the Word of God, for Peter says, as newborn babes we are to long for the pure, unadulterated milk of God’s Word so that we might grow in respect to our salvation. So if the devil cannot prevent us and keep us from hearing the gospel and being saved, his next attempt is to keep us from maturing so that we might be effective in our service for our God. And if he is not successful in corrupting the doctrine of the church, he doesn’t quit. He moves to attempt to divide the church in other ways than doctrinally. And that’s what happens at the church at Corinth. There are divisions in the church, but there are not doctrinal issues that have to be addressed in the church at Corinth in this first letter primarily. They are matters of living, and failures in key areas of living out the truth of the Word of God has resulted in tears in the fabric of the church. It is in danger of coming apart.

As a background turn back to John’s gospel chapter 17. We came to John 17 in a previous study to note the fellowship that we have with Christ by virtue of His finished work. Jesus is praying for His followers in John 17, immediately before He will be betrayed. Chapter 18 opens up with the betrayal of Jesus Christ, which will lead to His crucifixion. So here He is in these moments before His betrayal, praying to His Father for those who would believe in Him. Verse 14, He said, I have given them your Word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth, your Word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have also sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify myself that they themselves may be sanctified in truth. In other words, I set myself apart to do the work you have appointed for Me, suffering and dying on the cross so that they might be set apart in the truth. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word. And that includes all those who have come to trust in Christ down through church history, to you and me. We were included in this prayer, for we heard the truth of the Word of God given through the followers of Christ. And by God’s grace we believed it. And so we are included in this prayer.

What is it? Verse 21, that they may all be one, even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You. That they may be in us. There is true fellowship, biblically speaking, that Christ dwells in us, the Father dwells in us, and we dwell in Christ and we dwell in the Father. There has been a spiritual bond and intimacy established through the work of the Holy Spirit of God when we place our faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That the world may believe that you sent Me. There is an evangelistic purpose; there is a testimony before the world. The testimony before the world that the world sees is what Christ will establish, bringing people together in a relationship of oneness with Himself and with one another. The glory which you have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as we are one. So you note, we enter into fellowship with the Father and the Son, we enter into fellowship with other believers. I John 1, John picked up on that in his first epistle. We write to you so that you can have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with Jesus Christ. I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them, even as you have loved Me. Remarkable. The testimony of the church before the world depends to a large extent on its unity. The church needs to maintain the purity of the truth of the Word of God so that people can hear the truth and be saved in response to the truth. But a church may maintain its devotion to the purity, to the truth, devotion to a pure truth and yet shatter its testimony before the world, if it’s not careful--our unity.

Now this unity is not something we are to produce. There is some misunderstanding and some people use John 17 as a foundation for saying we ought to be getting together and bringing people together and so on, an ecumenical kind of movement. John 17 has been fulfilled. Turn over to Ephesians 2. And Paul is talking about what God has done with the Gentiles as well as the Jews, so look at Ephesians 2:11. He’s talked about in verses 8ff, we’ve been saved by grace through faith, not as a result of works. Verse 11, therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, were called uncircumcision by the so-called circumcision. In other words the church at Ephesus was primarily a church made up of Gentiles. I want you Gentiles to appreciate something—you were one time outside the realm of the covenants that God had established with the nation Israel. To enter into any of those blessings a Gentile had to become a convert to Judaisum. So verse 12, remember you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, without God in the world. But something radical has happened. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were formerly far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both into one, both groups into one, broke down the barrier of the dividing wall. The two groups he is talking about are Jew and Gentile. Now they are brought together into one group by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, the law of commandments and ordinances, Jewish law. Note this at the end of verse 15, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace. And might reconcile them both in one body to God by it, by the cross, having put to death the enmity.

So you see what happens in Christ, all barriers, all dividing walls between Jews and Gentiles, races and nationalities are removed. Salvation is provided for all, Jew and Gentile alike. And when a person comes to believe in Christ, because this is on the basis of the blood of Christ, the cross, His death, they are joined together as one new man. Verse 16, and they are reconciled in one body, the church, the body of Christ. He used that in Ephesians 1 of the church, at the end of the chapter. He says Christ was given to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. So you have the one body now. We’ve been reconciled to God so we are brought into relationship with Him. We have been brought into relationship with other believers, Jews and Gentiles alike. Now there is a relationship with oneness.

Verse 18, for through Him we both, both Jew and Gentile, have our access in one Spirit to the Father. Then he goes on to use the analogy of a building. Verse 20, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Verse 21, in whom the whole building in Christ, the whole building being fitted together and growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built as a dwelling of God in the Spirit. So you see we together, now, have been joined together in a body, the body of Christ. Or you can use the analogy of a building and that building is the dwelling of God. The church not only belongs to God because He purchased it for Himself, it belongs to God as His residence. This is going to come out in our study of 1 Corinthians—why the body of the believer individually is called the temple of the Holy Spirit because He dwells in your body individually, and the church of Jesus Christ is called the temple of the Holy Spirit because He dwells in the church corporately as His body.

Keep on going down into chapter 3 of Ephesians. Paul unfolds the fact that the fullness of the revelation of the truth concerning the church was revealed by God through Paul. And we jump down to verse 6, the mystery that has been made known is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body. So you see that. This is unique. The Jews had a hard time with this. Remember in Acts 10 Peter went and preached the gospel to Gentiles for the first time, and in Acts 11 the Jewish believers in Jerusalem called Peter to account--what in the world are you doing preaching the gospel to Gentiles? They still hadn’t understood until that point what God’s plan was—that it would include Jew and Gentile. The Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body. That analogy that Paul will develop so fully, when he talks about spiritual gifts in I Corinthians, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Now while you’re in this context note what has happened is that God has brought Jew and Gentile together in the salvation that is in Christ, into a relationship of oneness with Himself and oneness with one another. Now note this, verse 10, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies. An awesome statement. In Jesus’ prayer in John 17 He prayed for God to do that work of bringing about unity, the oneness of believers through His death on the cross. And that was accomplished when Christ died on the cross, was raised from the dead. He made provision for the salvation of all races, all groups of people who would turn from their sin and place their faith in Him to be saved. That supernatural work of bringing together the church, and remember this is true of the universal church and it’s true of the local church because the local church is the manifestation of the universal church, where we see it lived out. And we are a testimony before a watching world of the supernatural work of God in bringing people together who are so different. The conflict between Jews and Gentiles was strong and clear in New Testament times, but this includes people of all differences. We don’t establish churches for people who like things this way, people who have this particular kind of interest, people who have that particular kind of interest, because the testimony of the church is, we are united in something far deeper, far more important, far more binding than these superficial matters. What unites us as a church is not a common like of a certain style of music, a common interest. You know what unites us? The work of Christ in sovereignly joining us together in a relationship of oneness with the triune God and with one another. That is a testimony, not only before the world that is around us, but the angelic hosts observe the multifaceted wisdom of God which in His grace has provided a salvation for so many different kinds of people. One salvation, but it is the power of God to salvation for all who believe.

You understand the angels, both the angels in heaven and the fallen angels, are observers of salvation. There is no angel who has ever experienced the grace of God in salvation. The angels can only observe that awesome work of God as they see God building the church. So Ephesians 3:10 says, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies. The angelic beings observe the church and see the amazing wisdom of God in providing a salvation that can cleanse any kind of person, Jew or Gentile, from any kind of sin, and bring them into a relationship of oneness with Himself and with other people. The testimony of the church is crucial here in this area.

Now that’s the work that Christ has done, that happens automatically anytime anyone believes in Christ. We are responsible not to produce unity, but to maintain and keep the unity that the Spirit of God has brought about when we believe in Christ. Turn over to Ephesians 4. As you are aware, in some of Paul’s letters the first part of the letter is given over to establishing a doctrinal foundation, making clear the truth on which we build and live. And chapter 4 of Ephesians begins, therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord (Paul is writing this while he’s in prison), implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. Conduct your life consistent with your call. Remember that word call in the first part of 1 Corinthians 1? We are called saints, we were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. That’s a sovereign work of God in bringing us to salvation. Now walk consistent with that sovereign work of God in bringing you to salvation. Verse 2, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing toleration for one another in love. Now note verse 3, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. It’s not possible for us to produce unity. The only ones joined together in a bond of oneness with God and one another in this auditorium are those who have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, who have come to understand, by the grace of God, their lost sinful condition and turn from their sin and place their faith in Christ alone. The others are sitting as observers. There is nothing I can do to make you part of this church. Baptism won’t do it, taking communion won’t do it, having you formally join a church roll won’t do it. You are either a member of the church or you are not. You become a member by faith in Christ.

Now those of us who are members of the body of Christ and are brought together as God’s church in this place have a unity, a oneness with God and with one another. And we are responsible to see that nothing, but nothing, creates any tears or breaks in that unity. Because that would shatter our testimony before a watching world; it would shatter our testimony before the watching angels. This is a serious, serious matter—the unity of the church. And Paul is going to have to start writing to the church of God, the one being at Corinth, the one who has been enriched in every way by the grace of God to enable them to live in a manner pleasing to God, and he has to start out and say, something is wrong. You are denying everything we’ve just said by your divisions.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 1. The church at Corinth is not divided over doctrine; the church at Corinth is divided over personalities. We see that as we move along. Let’s jump into the start of this letter, the body of this letter in verse 10. Now I exhort you brethren. There is a warmth in starting out, even though he’s going to have to say some serious and harsh things. I exhort you. He doesn’t come down with the hammer of the apostle—I as an apostle command you to do this. I exhort you, I plead with you; I admonish you brethren. I’m writing to you as part of the family of God. Paul often calls fellow believers brethren. Sometimes he uses the word sisters. But he only uses the word sisters when he is singling out the women for a special purpose. Otherwise he uses the word brethren to encompass male and female alike. I’m encouraging you, admonishing you as a fellow member of the body. Because one of the things he wants to deal with is exalting and holding people up. And he’ll use himself as an example. I’m admonishing you, I’m pleading with you as a member of the body of Christ, appealing to brothers.

By the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember how many times the title of Christ, the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ was used in the first nine verses? Every verse but one, remember verse 5 referred to Him with a pronoun. Now he says I am admonishing you, I am exhorting you on the basis of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The name of our Lord Jesus Christ refers to all that He is, all that He has done. He is the Lord of the church; He is the one who, by His death, enabled us to be brought into a relationship of oneness, on the basis of who He is. He us the one, verse 9, through whom we were called into fellowship with His Son. God called us into fellowship with His Son. That relationship, now, on the basis of Jesus Christ, I exhort you.

His exhortation is unfolded in three statements, governed by the word that. That you all agree, that there be no divisions, that you be made complete. And really there is one emphasis stated positively, negatively, positively. Let’s look at how he unfolds this. I exhort you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all agree. Now this literally says, that you all say the same thing. There is an emphasis on the word same that’s repeated in this verse. The word translated agree is really the expression, all say the same thing. The end of verse 10, be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. Same, same, same. There will be room for diversity in the body, there is much diversity in the body. We are not clones, but in certain realm there is no room for diversity. We all say the same thing. We all agree. We are in agreement on the things that matter. We are joined together. So we sometimes use the expression, they speak with one voice. But they are all in agreement. That’s the way the church is. We speak with one voice. Sometimes the world doesn’t know what’s going on, they say, that church, you know you can’t think for yourself. They all talk alike; they all say the same things. That’s right. When it comes to biblical truth, when it comes to spiritual realities, when it comes to those things which matter for eternity, we speak with one voice. We all agree. There is no diversity here. Paul is pleading with them to all agree and all say the same thing. That’s the only thing consistent with the fact we are all in fellowship with Christ who is our Lord, and we serve under His headship.

Put it negatively, and that there be no divisions among you. This states negatively what he just said positively. No divisions. The word translated divisions is the Greek word schizmata, schism. We carry it over into English, schism. A schism is a break, a division. The word was used in biblical times of a tear in a garment. That garment had a tear in it, a rip, but it was not torn in two. In Matthew 9:16 Jesus said you don’t have an old piece of cloth and a new piece of cloth sewn together, otherwise they will schism, they’ll have a tear, they won’t hold together well and you’ll be doing patchwork and patchwork and patchwork. It was used of a division within Israel over who Christ was in John 7:43. So you’ll note, Israel didn’t split into pieces, but within Israel there was a division in the thinking concerning Christ. And indication is, within the church at Corinth there were splits, there were tears, but it hadn’t come to a point of complete division and fracture. We don’t have the second church of Corinth or the third church of Corinth. But within the church there are tears. What he is saying is there are to be no divisions among you. There should be no tears in the fabric of the church. This is a serious matter.

We all say the same thing. That takes care of a lot of it. We are all in agreement that there are no tears, but that you be made complete. Now this indicates that there needs to be some work here. That you be made complete. The basic verb there is in the perfect tense, and it denotes a permanence. Something has to be done that should fix this permanently. The Greeks used this word translated made complete from a setting of a broken bone. It was used of reconciling factions within a political party. In the New Testament in Matthew 4:21 it’s used of mending nets. They would go out and fish and in the process of fishing there would be certain tears that would occur in their net. Well they would sit down and fix that; they would make it complete so they could be effective for fishing again. If they didn’t, the tears would grow and the net would be ruined. So you mend it, you repair it. Galatians 6:1 Paul wrote, brethren, if anyone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one. That word restore is this same verb. You mend them, help put them back the way they belong. You know mothers would be good with this. A pull or a tear in one of your kid’s clothes and you say, I need to fix that before it gets worse. Because if you don’t fix it while it’s just a small tear it will get all torn up and then you won’t be able to fix it, it will be ruined. That’s the picture here. There are tears, if you will, in the fabric of the church at Corinth that shouldn’t be there. Paul says they need to be repaired, they need to be fixed now, and they need to be fixed permanently-- that you be made complete.

And he elaborates on what areas are being made complete: in the same mind, in the same mindset, in the using of your mind properly. You know we need to make some repairs in our minds. You know where we get in trouble, we start thinking about things we shouldn’t. We start thinking about problems, difficulties, things we don’t like. Then we move from the church to the marriage. What happens in a marriage? People meet each other, young couple, oh they’ve never been so much in love, oh they’re the perfect person, oh they’re everything I ever wanted. They get married and ten years later they can’t stand each other. What happened? Things change. What changed is our thinking. You know what happens if I start to think about what I don’t like, what irritates me, what bothers me. That’s a tear. Then what happens? If I dwell on that it’s just like taking that garment with a tear in it and starting to pull it—the tear gets worse. You know what happens the more I think about it? The more of what I don’t like grows in my mind. What I really don’t like about my spouse really begins to irritate me, and the things they do, I find reason to not like what they’re doing. Then pretty soon I just don’t think I can stand to live with them another day. We are to be of the same mind. You be made complete in the same mind. These Corinthians need to get back and get their minds repaired.

You understand what the church is, it’s the church of God. You understand it’s a work of God’s grace and His grace has made provision for everything for the life of the church. And the church is moving toward the day of Christ when we will be presented blameless in His presence. We are called into fellowship with the Son of God. I need to get my mind straightened out here. I begin to get all upset over whether they painted the ceiling or not. Is that what this church is about? It’s the church of the painted ceiling? And I’m going to say, if they don’t move that pillar next week I’m not preaching here. Just the way it is. And I guess that means they don’t want me here because if they don’t move the pillar it means they’re trying to tell me something. I guess I’m not needed here. And pretty soon my mind is running all over the place and I’m just taking that little tear and I’m going to make sure that it what? I make it a big one. And when I get done they won’t fix it. I have to be made complete in my mind. Be of the same mind. There is no room for different thinking on these matters in the church.

And in the same judgment. The word translated judgment means an opinion, a judgment. Our convictions are of the same mind, we’re of the same opinion. Does that mean we agree on everything, therefore if you come to this church you must all agree that blue is the best color for carpet in a church? Doesn’t matter. Well do you have to agree on this or that or the other thing? Doesn’t matter on those things. There is room for diversity. If God just cranked out clones there would be no evidence of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit of God in taking people who are so different and making them one and then demonstrating them in a local assembly, living out that oneness in beautiful harmony. That’s the magnificent thing. That’s why you don’t start a church for this kind of people, and a church for this kind of people, a church for this group. The beauty of the church is it brings us together in a unity of oneness. And yes, it’s not particularly what I would like, and if it had been my choice I wouldn’t do it that way. But that’s all right. That’s not what our church is about. And so we are of the same opinion in that sense, that judgment.

Paul is burdened about this. He almost never writes a letter to a church that he doesn’t include a section like this. Back up a few pages, just before 1 Corinthians to Romans 15. Look at verse 5, now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement, note He gives both—perseverance and encouragement--grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, accept one another just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. See the same emphasis? We need to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus. He is the standard, not me, not my personal likes or dislikes, not what I would do or wouldn’t do, not what I like or don’t like. The matters on which we must be of the same mind are the matters that are according to Christ Jesus. And the other matters we’re not allowed to divide over, because we can’t make the church our own little sandbox, our own little play area, because He purchased it with His blood. So we are to be of the same mind according to Christ Jesus and the other things. Well we have an auditorium like this; somebody else has a different auditorium. I’m not going to fight over it. We have a blue carpet, when we change the carpet if it’s purple it will be purple. I’m still going to preach the Word of God and you’re still going to open your Bibles and we’ll study the Word of God. Are we going to build a wall over the color of the carpet? I’m praying for the Lord to come before we have to make that decision, I’m praying the carpet lasts until the Lord comes, whatever. I don’t want the world looking at us and saying, that church had a split. Yeah, they were going to change the carpet and I think they had a new church start over that. Heaven forbid! All right, how did I get on that? I’m sure it’s related.

Come over to Philippians 2. That doesn’t mean we can’t express opinions, but I want to be careful what my opinion is, what my preferences are, and what is required of me in scripture. Philippians 2:1, now if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit. Note this, any fellowship of the Spirit, that fellowship the Spirit has produced. If any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. The negative side of that—do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. With humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourself. Don’t look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourself which was in Christ Jesus. I have to have the mind of Christ. I have to be of one mind with other believers in Christ and everything else I can yield. Now that takes care of it, doesn’t it? If that’s the way we functioned, there would be no divisions.

So repair the tears, Paul says. Come back to 1 Corinthians 1. We just touch on this area and then we pick up here in our next study. The problem in the church at Corinth is people problems. And how did Paul find out? There is a tattletale, somebody told him. So why Paul says what he says in verse 10 is for I have been informed concerning you, somebody has told on you. And not just somebody, my brethren. Fellow members of the family, those of Chloe’s people told me there are quarrels among you. Now I tried to think, we don’t know who Chloe is, it’s a lady’s name; we don’t know who Chloe’s people are. Family members, relatives, slaves from her household. We’re not even sure if she lived in Corinth or lived in Ephesus and had a lot of interaction with Corinth. We’re not told. She may well have been part of the church at Corinth, the people at Corinth evidently knew her well, Paul doesn’t elaborate anything on her or her family except Chloe’s people told me this. Evidently well respected because Paul is confident and sure that the evidence Chloe has presented is overwhelming. Now what I think about it is here Paul writes a letter of rebuke, remember he’s not in Corinth, he’s in Ephesus when he writes this. And here they take this letter and stand up before the church on a Sunday morning and say, we have a letter from Paul. And you get to this point, I have been informed concerning you, brethren, by Chloe’s people. There are quarrels among you. I wonder if Chloe was sitting in the audience getting red, oh I wish he hadn’t used my name. It’s a non-issue. I just want you to know I have it on good authority. What about if the church gets upset with Chloe? That just is a reflection, then, of their ungodly character. This is not a matter of gossiping, this is a matter of dealing with a spiritual issue that has to be corrected and Paul is the one to do it.

There are quarrels among you. Word means quarrels, wrangling, strife in words, bickering. Ever tell your kids, stop the bickering. What a terrible thing in God’s family, there would be bickering, quarreling. Paul uses this word often when he gives a list of vices. Back up to Romans 1, I want you to see the context of this word. Romans 1:28, the judgment of God on people who have rejected Him and the revelation of Himself. He gave them over to a depraved mind, Romans 1:28, to do the things which are not proper. You want to know the things that manifest a depraved mind? Unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, envy, murder, there’s our word—strife, quarrels, deceit, malice, slanderers, haters of God. What in the world is the church doing practicing things that are characteristic of those who have a depraved mind and are haters of God? I mean this is a characteristic of those who hate God. And the church of God which He purchased with His own blood, which is to be a model of the working of His grace and the manifestation of the presence of His Spirit, and they’re demonstrating before a watching world and a watching host of angels a characteristic that’s more from a depraved mind. What a sad condition.

Turn over to Romans 13:13, let us behave properly as in the day. Not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. Note the context of the kind of things that go with strife, the quarrels, sexual promiscuity, sensuality, carousing, drunkenness, jealousy. And quarrels or strife are part of the church at Corinth? What a testimony. We’re not to make any provision for the flesh in regard to its lust in verse 14. And if you go to Galatians 5:20, we won’t for time, you find out that this word, strife, quarrels, is one of the works of the flesh in contrast with the work the Spirit produces in a life.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 1. How do these quarrels manifest themselves? In personality conflicts, conflicts over personalities. People are aligning themselves around their favorite teacher, their favorite person. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas, I am of Christ. And the church at Corinth was breaking apart, was tearing around key people. Now there is nothing wrong with having a special appreciation of people in the church whom the Lord has used in a great way in our lives. We all have that. But there is something terribly wrong when that person becomes the focus of our attention instead of Jesus Christ. Now the men mentioned here are prominent men in the early church. Paul may be just using them as an example. It’s wrong to gather yourself around anyone, even the Apostle Paul, because it is not the church of Paul. It is the church of Jesus Christ. It is the church of God. There are things to be learned from Paul; there are times when you follow Paul’s example, you submit to Paul’s teaching. But you don’t become Paul’s party. For a follower of Cephas, which is a name for Peter, or Apollos, you don’t make Christ just another faction.

Turn over to 1 Corinthians 4:6, now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one will become arrogant. Note this, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos these things. May indicate that when Paul uses himself and Apollos as examples, he really is just making the point that there is no room and no allowance for divisions around personalities, even though that may not be the personalities in view in Corinth. It demonstrates that that kind of division is a denial of the truth of the character of the church. Either way the message is the same. We’ll talk more about that when we get to chapter 4. You know we do it. We’ve been through enough history here, churches split over personalities. It would split today over the same lines if I were to stand up and say, the Board of Elders has decided (and this is not in view, so don’t say Gil was trying to tell us something. It’s an example.) That this particular staff person or this particular person that’s been prominent is no longer going to be carrying on that responsibility. There would be people that would say, they’ve greatly helped me, they’ve been a great influence in my life. If they’re not going to be in that position, I’ll leave. Now wait a minute. What would you do if the Board of Elders stood up here and said, you know after much prayer and consideration before the Lord we’ve decided that before the Lord it’s time for Gil to move on. What if I went to the Board and said, look, if you don’t double my salary, I’m leaving. They said, well we’ll miss you, good-bye. And they stood up and said Gil will be leaving, the reasons why are a matter that the Board has chosen not to reveal. And word gets out, Gil is going to start a church across town, are you coming? Would you come? Is it the church of Gil Rugh? Why are you here? Who do you worship? Or as Paul puts it in verse 13, has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? Just who are you following?

Well, I can’t help it, they are such an important part of my life and the Lord used them in my life. You see what you’ve done? The person the Lord has used has superseded the Lord who used the person. I would create a tear and allow it to become a rip and a split because my loyalty is to him. I’ll tell you what, if it ever does come to that and you hear Gil Rugh is starting a church across town, don’t come. I mean, whose church is this? It’s true we say, this is my church. It is in the sense we belong to it. But don’t get confused, it doesn’t belong to you. This is my church, it’s the church I belong to. It’s the church I pastor. But I better not get confused, it doesn’t belong to me. People say, what will happen to Indian Hills after you’re gone? Well you understand I’m not the head of the church, Jesus Christ is. It wasn’t my death that purchased this group for myself; it’s the work of God. We are privileged to be servants used of God. But we need to be careful. We deal with the church like it’s our own little place. Now we get in a huff when it’s not the way we like it, what we want, and we think we can say little things on the side that create little tears and create little divisions, but that’s all right. That’s how I feel. I had a conversation with a man right up front here many years ago. I said to him with people standing around, I have never heard you say one positive thing about this church and this ministry. I can’t help it, that’s the way I feel. I didn’t know whether to beat him up or weep. So I did neither.

What does the doctrine of the church mean to us? Who is Jesus Christ? Praise God for the fellowship we have together, praise God for the people He uses in our lives in this fellowship. But my loyalty is not to people. I as a leader need to remember that. People say, we love Eddy, and Eddy has ministered so much in my life. I almost say to Marilyn, what about me? I hope some of my people tell those Eddy people that we like Gil. You can’t help but laugh, you say, that would be terrible. What would you do if Gil or Eddy leave? Oh, I have to think about that. Whose church is it? Eddy’s? Gil’s? Anybody else’s, staff, elders, Sunday School teacher, small group leader, person who is used of the Lord in a variety of ways? No, it’s His church. So if the Lord removes me for whatever reason, doesn’t mean you can’t say thank you, Lord, for the way you used Gil in my life. But thank you, Lord, this church is not Gil Rugh’s, this is your church. And Lord my commitment is to you and the body you made me a part of. Heaven forbid you ever tear this church apart over me for something like that, or anyone else.

So you see the doctrine of the church determines how we function. Personality conflicts--has there been any more major cause of divisions, tears that have become splits that have become irreparable divisions in the church than personalities? We need to be careful that we appreciate the grace of God and what He has done in our lives, what He has done to build the church and our allegiance is to the one who purchased the church to Himself, even though we appreciate greatly that He uses members of the body to help in our nurture and growth.

Let’s pray together. Thank You, Lord, for Your grace. Thank You for this church. Thank You for calling us together as Your body in this place. Thank You for Your grace that has enriched us in every way that we might serve You in a manner that is pleasing to You. God forbid that we should do anything, that we should say anything, that we should think anything that would lead to rips and tears. Lord, may those things that are there be repaired in our own minds, that we’d be of the same mind and the same opinion, that our testimony might be strong before men and angels to manifest as clearly as possible Your manifold wisdom and Your manifold grace. We praise You in Christ’s name, amen.