The INDIGNITY Of DIVISION—1Corinthians 1:10-17
Attention:
In my trucking days...The flat tire on the interstate on I-95 in FL.
It completely stopped the progress of the truck.
Need:
The Corinthian church was afflicted/troubled by the indignity of internal division.
Paul urged the Corinthian church to distance themselves from the indignity of internal division.
Viable ministry is undermined thru the indignity of internal division.
What can pull us away from the indignity of division?
How can we pull away from the indignity of division?
3 urgings away from the indignity of division.
1—Pulling us away from the indignity of division is...
Unified SPEECH(:10-12)
Explanation: (:10-12)
:10—“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, & that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind & in the same judgment.”
Paul writes as an apostle to the Corinthian church & begins by “pleading” with or exhorting the brethren.
Exhort= ‘ To urge by strong, often stirring argument, admonition, advice, or appeal.’
Paul exhorts those whom he accepts as brothers to him. They are siblings thru the blood of Christ. Brothers in Christ stand in need of exhortation.
The power of Paul’s “pleading” comes from the name of a common Lord. Both the exhorter & the exhortees hold in common Jesus Christ as Lord.
Paul exhorts the Corinthians to “speak the same thing” or be in agreement with one another surrounding the gospel, or rather allowing themselves to be surrounded by the Gospel. If this attitude is allowed to bear fruit then, regardless of who presents it(See :12-13), the Gospel is heard & God in Christ is glorified, & thereby, unity prevails.
Lack of agreement means that “division” is present. “Division” is an undesirable element to have in the Church.
Jn. 13:34-35—““A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.””
Rom. 13:8-10—“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” & if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Gal. 5:14-15—“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite & devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!”
Gal. 5:22-26—“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions & desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
Upon what should they be in agreeance?(Doctrinal issues/God’s messengers).
Brothers in Christ must be of the same mind & judgment regarding the things of God no matter the deliverer & his/her unique presentation of those things(:12). And when Christians are of the “same” “speech”, “mind” & “judgment” we are made complete, presenting an untainted, true & viable witness of Christ to the world.
Conversely we are incomplete when we are not of the same “speech”, “mind”, & “judgment.” As a result, such an incomplete body of believers exemplifies “divisiveness”(:12-13) rather than unity centered around Christ.
“Plead/Beseech/Exhort/Appeal”—parakalew—1) To call to one's side, call for, summon; 2) To address, speak to, (call to, call upon), which may be done in the way of exhortation, entreaty, comfort, instruction, etc. Strong—To call near, i.e. Invite, invoke(by imploration, hortation or consolation).
“Speak the same thing/Agree”—auto leghte—From—legw—1) To say, to speak. Strong—a primary verb; properly--To "lay" forth, i.e. figuratively--Relate(in words [usually of systematic or set discourse, by implication--To mean.—&—autov3X—Pronoun—1) Himself, herself, themselves, itself; 2) He, she, it; 3) The same.
“Divisions”—scisma—1) A rent; 2) metaph. A division, dissension. Scisma is actual division, separation. [whereas] airesiv is rather the separating tendency. Strong—A split or gap ("schism"), literally or figuratively. used 8X.
“Perfectly joined together/Made complete/Perfectly united/Knit together”—katartizw—1) To render, i.e. to fit, sound, complete. Strong—To complete thoroughly, i.e. Repair (literally or figuratively) or adjust.
:11—“For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.”
Chloe must have been a trustworthy witness, otherwise Paul would not have given her press.
Paul had been informed of the existence of “contentions” in the church. “Contentions” are an evidence of division. James speaks to this by the Holy Spirit of God:
Js. 3:13-18—“Who is wise & understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy & self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast & lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy & self-seeking exist, confusion & every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy & good fruits, without partiality & without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
Those associated with “Chloe” informed Paul. “The words "which are of the household" are not in the Greek, though they correctly interpret the Greek, "those of Chloe." Whether the children, the kinspeople, or the servants of Chloe we do not know.”—RWP
“The name Chloe means ‘tender verdure’ & was one of the epithets of Demeter the goddess of agriculture”—RWP
“Declared”—dhlow—1) To make manifest; 2) To make known by relating, to declare; 3) To give one to understand, to indicate, signify. To render evident to the mind, of such disclosures as exhibit character or suggest inferences. Strong—To make plain(by words). Used 7X.
“Concerning”—peri—Prep.—1) About, concerning, on account of, because of, around, near. Strong—properly--Through(all over), i.e. Around; figuratively--With respect to; used in various applications, of place, cause or time(with the genitive case denoting the subject or occasion or superlative point; with the accusative case the locality, circuit, matter, circumstance or general period).
“Contentions/Divisions”—eriv—1) Contention, strife, wrangling. Strong—A quarrel, i.e. (by implication) Wrangling. Used 9X.
“Among”—en—a primary preposition denoting(fixed) position(in place, time or state), & by implication--Instrumentality (medially or constructively), i.e. A relation of rest(intermediate between eiv & ek).
:12—“Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.”
We speak what is on our minds...what we have come to believe...what we have become convicted of.
Argumentation:
Spiritualized verses regarding Speech:
Mat. 26:71-74—“And when he[Peter] had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him & said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” And a little later those who stood by came up & said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” Then he began to curse & swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.”
Mk. 7:31-35—“Again, departing from the region of Tyre & Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. Then they brought to Him one who was deaf & had an impediment in his speech, & they begged Him to put His hand on him. And He took him aside from the multitude, & put His fingers in his ears, & He spat & touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, & said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” Immediately his ears were opened, & the impediment of his tongue was loosed, & he spoke plainly.”
Ex. 4:10-12—“Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech & slow of tongue.” So the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? “Now therefore, go, & I will be with your mouth & teach you what you shall say.””
Col. 4:5-6—“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”
Titus 2:7-8—“in all things showing yourself[Timothy] to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.”
1Pet. 3:10-12—“For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil & do good; Let him seek peace & pursue it. For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.””
Col. 3:15-17—“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; & be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching & admonishing one another in psalms & hymns & spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Illustration:
Carrabelle City Commission/Currently divided on the issue of ‘Point of sale & consumption of alcoholic beverages’ in relation to distance from churches, schools & residential properties’/Our knowing their words will empower the citizens for support or rejection during the upcoming local election(Sept. 3, 2013)/Unified SPEECH
What is the direction of our city in regard to income?/Will we be a ‘Family friendly’ or ‘Vice friendly’ city?/What will be said, stated, recorded, passed down for future generations?/Unified SPEECH
Application:
?Your SPEECH Unified with the Church or merely with some in the local church?
?You pulled away from the Indignity of Division?
2—Pulling us away from the indignity of division is...
Unified MINDSET(:12-13)
Explanation:(:12-13)
:10—“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, & that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind & in the same judgment.”
:12—“Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.”
The nature of the “contentions” was that baptism had become a basis for bragging rights. This bragging was evidently constructed upon the oratory/eloquence/ability of the particular apostle & even the Christ of God.
Obviously, there were those who had been led to the Lord or instructed to conviction by certain ministers of the Gospel(including Christ Himself). Thereby certain of the Corinthians clung to their (favorite)ministers with arrogant loyalty, using the name(of their ‘hero’) as a “slogan of identity” with “implied superiority.”—Terms borrowed from John MacArthur
Some of these were even so arrogant as to place “Christ” in juxtaposition to His own apostles! Touting Christ for use as one’s partisan leanings is a real threat to the Gospel. No doubt many today hold to Christ as a political shoe-in to a specific body of behavior &/or belief. These at Corinth held, & today, hold a loyalty to Jesus with a decidedly fleshly/wrong spirit.
There is nothing wrong with having a special affection for the one who led us to Christ, or guided us in greater righteousness for years, or counseled us during a dark time of personal struggle, or comforted us in our greatest need...
But if we lift these up as ‘heros’, to the exclusion of the ones God is currently using to minister His will, we have failed God’s desire. And have actually undercut the ministry we have received. Such party-lining is not the fault of the ministers themselves but is that of the recipients of the ministry. Such reduce & manipulate truth into a matter of pride.
To take any of these to the exclusion of another minister of the Gospel is to ‘throw out the baby with the bath water’ as it were. Perhaps these chose to disavow the writings of their ‘opponents’, which would be akin to ourselves removing parts of the Bible because they were written by someone we held a preferential distaste for.
2Pet. 3:14-18—“Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot & blameless; & consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught & unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace & knowledge of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now & forever. Amen.”
1Cor. 3:4, 21—“For when one says, “I am of Paul,” & another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?”.....“Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours:”
Concerning “Paul”:
Paul was a prolific correspondence writer among those churches he helped establish & encourage as well as among his co-workers. He is known for his great focus, boldness, perseverance, & tightly-reasoned defense of the Gospel.
Paul himself ministered continuously in Corinth for 1½ years(Acts 18:11). There he came into contact with Aquila & Priscilla, who were themselves great defenders of the faith(Acts 18:1-3). Like Paul stayed with them & worked with Aquila because he was a tentmaker by trade, as was Paul. Crispus(:14) was the ruler of the synagogue(of the Jews) in Corinth whom Paul himself led to the Lord & baptized(Acts 18:7-8 & 1Cor. 1:14).
Concerning “Apollos”:
Acts 18:24-19:1—“Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man & mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; & being fervent in spirit, he spoke & taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila & Priscilla heard him, they took him aside & explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; & when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus...”
1Cor. 3:5-6—“Who then is Paul, & who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”
1Cor. 16:12—“Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to come to you with the brethren, but he was quite unwilling to come at this time; however, he will come when he has a convenient time.”
“People naturally have different tastes about styles of preaching & that is well, but Apollos refused to be a party to this strife & soon returned to Ephesus & refused to go back to Corinth (1Co 16:12).”—RWP
“Of”4X—All genitives of possession.
“Apollos”—Apollwv—Apollos = “given by Apollo”
Concerning “Cephas”:
When Paul himself withstood Peter’s hypocrisy at Antioch(Gal. 2:11-16) some at Corinth, getting wind of such, would have no doubt have written off Peter’s ministry completely. We must be somewhat more kind to the Corinthian church than ourselves, given that their testimony, thru Paul’s letters, was actually declared at the outset of establishment of the church. And as such, is a testimony upon which we ourselves partly base our theology & practice.
Gal. 2:11-16—“Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew & separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles & not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?” “We who are Jews by nature, & not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ & not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”
“Cephas”—Khfav—Aramaic ‘Cephas’ = “Stone.” The same is Petrov in Greek.
Concerning “Christ”:
Those who form factions around their allegiance to Christ are actually out of step with Christ. This is because these hold to the outward name of Jesus—& always before others—but only as a matter of self-centered pride, prestige, & misguided piety in order to accumulate praise for themselves rather than surrender it to Christ.
How could anyone relegate Christ to the status of His own undershepherds/ disciples? Perhaps Paul has formulated a bit of shock value for his audience’s sake. And that those who follow certain “of” cliques will realize the blasphemy & mischief entailed in such allegiances.
2Cor 4:5—“For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, & ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.”
:13—“Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
*Paul asks the church a series of questions designed, from their sheer impossibility, to elicit shock on the part of the party protectors.
Divided:
It is first of all impossible for Christ to be “divided.” The apostles are servants of Christ. To separate them from Christ or vice-versa is to remove a portion of the sacrificial atonement from Christ Jesus & to reduce the message of the mystery of Christ(see below) to jibber-jabber. This would effectively result in separation of Christ into camps according to fleshly preference, taking away the singularity of His sacrifice & diluting/assigning it to personal preference, thus making both He & His Cross-work useless.
Eph. 1:7-10—“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom & prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven & which are on earth--in Him.”
Eph. 3:2-6—“if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles & prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, & partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,”
Col. 1:25-27—“of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages & from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Crucified:
Secondly, & for those aligning themselves exclusively with Paul, neither he nor any other apostle has ever been “crucified” for our sakes or the sake of the world. To hold to such nonsense completely eviscerates the good news of salvation by the blood of Christ alone.
Baptized:
Thirdly, again directed toward those aligning themselves exclusively with Paul, he asks them to seriously consider the implications of their faith if they had indeed been “baptized in the name of Paul.” Where then would the power of baptism in Christ settle? And what would it proclaim?
All three false conclusions are absolutely implied in the rivalries among the Conrithian Church.
“Divided”—merizw—1) To divide—1a) To separate into parts, cut into pieces—1a1) To divide into parties, i.e. be split into factions, 1b) To distribute—1b1) A thing among people, 1b2) Bestow, impart. Strong—To part, i.e. literally--To apportion, bestow, share, or figuratively--To disunite, differ.
“Crucified”—staurow—1) To stake, drive down stakes; 2) To fortify with driven stakes, to palisade; 3) To crucify—3a) To crucify one, 3b) metaph. To crucify the flesh, destroy its power utterly (the nature of the figure implying that the destruction is attended with intense pain). Strong—To impale on the cross; figuratively--To extinguish(subdue) passion or selfishness.
“Baptized”(See :14, 15, 16, 17)—baptizw—1) To dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk); 2) To cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one's self, bathe; 3) To overwhelm. Not to be confused with bapto. The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet & physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles & is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be 'dipped'(bapto) into boiling water & then 'baptised'(baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptizing the vegetable, produces a permanent change. Strong—To immerse, submerge; To make overwhelmed (i.e. fully wet); used only(in the N.T.) of ceremonial ablution, especially(technically) of the ordinance of Christian baptism.
Argumentation:
Rom. 12:16— “...Do not be wise in your own estimation.”
Prov. 3:5-7— “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, & do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD & turn away from evil.”
Php. 2:2-4— “...make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
Jer. 9:23-24—“Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands & knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, & righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.”
Rom. 12:1-3—“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”
Illustration:
WWII/Men & women gladly, cheerfully, & responsibly joined the military in order to personally seek the demise of Nazi Idealists/Unified MINDSET
Vietnam/General consensus that the war was unfounded & unwinnable/Men & women were so distraught over the decisions made in the course of that war, that they avoided the draft even giving up citizenship in the USA for other countries/Unified MINDSET
Application:
?Your MINDSET Unified with the Church or merely with some in the local church?
?You pulled away from the Indignity of Division?
3—Pulling us away from the indignity of division is...
Unified PURPOSE(:14-17)
Explanation:(:14-17)
:14—“I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus & Gaius,”
:15—“lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name.”
Crispus—
Acts 18:5-8—“When Silas & Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, & testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. But when they opposed him & blasphemed, he shook his garments & said to them, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” And he departed from there & entered the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed & were baptized.”
Gaius—
A travel companion of Paul who was seized in the uproar at Ephesus instigated by Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana(Acts 19:29).
A man from Derbe in Cilicia who accompanied Paul to Asia along with other named companions(Acts 20:4).
A man who hosted Paul & the church in Corinth(Rom. 16:23).
Paul thanks God that he only “baptized” a few.
Obviously no one should be “baptized” in the name of an apostle or anyone else...aside from Jesus.
“Thank”—eucaristew—1) To be grateful, feel thankful; 2) Give thanks. Strong—To be grateful, i.e. actively--To express gratitude (towards); specially--To say grace at a meal.
“Except”—ei mh—Conj.—1) If not, except, but.
“Crispus”—Krispov—Crispus = “curled”—He was the ruler of the Jewish synagogue in Corinth, baptized by Paul().
“Gaius”—Gaiov—Gaius = “lord”—1) A Macedonian who accompanied Paul in his travels; 2) A man from Derbe who went with Paul from Corinth in his last journey to Jerusalem; 3) A man of Corinth who was his host in his second sojourn in that city.
“Say”—epw—1) To speak, say. Strong—To speak or say(by word or writing).
:16—“Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other.”
Paul was unsure of how many he had baptized at Corinth. The number personally baptized was unimportant. Paul seems to have have had very little recognition of the “baptisms” in which he was personally involved because that was not the principle purpose of his ministry(:17).
“Household”—oikov—1) A house; 2) The inmates of a house, all the persons forming one family, a household; 3) Stock, family, descendants of one. Oikov denotes one's household establishment, one's entire property. Oikov is [a] household, including all the inmates of a single house, being the unit of organization. Strong—A dwelling (more or less extensive, literal or figurative); by implication--A family(more or less related, literal or figuratively).
:17—“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.”
Paul was not called as an apostle merely “to baptize” people but rather he was called as an apostle to “preach” the good news of salvation by grace thru faith & its resulting empowerment(of the Holy Spirit) to obedience. There is no possibility for human “wisdom of words” to accomplish such a supernatural feat.
Acts 26:16-18—“‘But rise & stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister & a witness both of the things which you have seen & of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, & from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins & an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’”
Although “baptism” is a ?necessary?(Mat. 28:19) or at least expected & resultant aspect of “preaching”/evangelizing, it was not the focus of Paul’s calling as an apostle(1:1). His apostolic calling to “preaching” was thus accomplished “in the power of God”(2:5) & not for the purpose of his baptizing others. His major purpose was to proclaim God’s truth(“preach”) per the revelations he had received as a called apostle. Thereby any resulting baptisms were to become relegated to the responses of others who favorably received Paul’s “preaching.”
Jn. 4:1-2—“Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made & baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples),”
“...baptizing converts requires no special gifts compared to preaching.”—David Garland ECNT
“[Paul] was not sent to start a cult of people baptized by him.”—John MacArthur
Paul’s “preaching” is not based on his cleverness(2:1,4), his eloquence or fleshly derived philosophical “wisdom of words.” If it had been, then the cross of Christ would have been made “of no effect”/void/empty/useless.
However, “the cross” is anything but void, as it is central to Christian belief. “The cross of Christ” is therefore paramount to & in Paul’s apostolic charge. If “the cross” is lost, then the reason for baptism is lost as well. Thereby baptism must always be maintained as a secondary & dependent endeavor to the Gospel. An apostolic, pastoral, or church focus upon baptism would thus eviscerate “the cross of Christ.”
1Cor. 2:1—“And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.”
Human cleverness & worldly wisdom voids the Cross of Christ!
“Preach the Gospel/Announce glad tidings”—euaggelizw—1) To bring good news, to announce glad tidings. Strong—To announce good news("evangelize") especially the gospel.
From—eu—1) Well, To be well off, fare well, prosper.—&—aggelov—1) A messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God.
“Wisdom”—sofia—1) Wisdom, broad & full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters. Sofia denotes wisdom as exhibited in action, [&] adds the power of reasoning about them & tracing their relationships. Sofia denotes mental excellence in the highest & fullest sense, expressing an attitude as well as an act of the mind. It comprehends knowledge & implies goodness, including the striving after the highest ends, as well as the using of the best means for their attainment. It is never ascribed to any one but God & good men, except in a plainly ironical sense. Strong—Wisdom(higher or lower, worldly or spiritual).
“Cross”—staurov—1) A cross—1a) A well known instrument of most cruel & ignominious punishment, borrowed by the Greeks & Romans from the Phoenicians; to it were affixed among the Romans, down to the time of Constantine the Great, the guiltiest criminals, particularly the basest slaves, robbers, the authors & abetters of insurrections, & occasionally in the provinces, at the arbitrary pleasure of the governors, upright & peaceable men also, & even Roman citizens themselves.
“Of no effect/Void”—kenow—1) To empty, make empty—1a) Of Christ, he laid aside equality with or the form of God; 2) To make void—2a) Deprive of force, render vain, useless, of no effect; 3) To make void, 3b) Cause a thing to be seen to be empty, hollow, false. Strong—To make empty, i.e. figuratively--To abase, neutralize, falsify.
Argumentation:
2Cor. 12:9—“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
Acts 1:8—““But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; & you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, & in all Judea & Samaria, & to the end of the earth.””
Acts 4:13-20—“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter & John, & perceived that they were uneducated & untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, & we cannot deny it. But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” And they called them & commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter & John answered & said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen & heard.””
Acts 8:26-39—“Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise & go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. So he arose & went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, & had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near & overtake this chariot.” So Philip ran to him, & heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, & said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up & sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.” So the eunuch answered Philip & said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” Then Philip opened his mouth, & beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered & said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip & the eunuch went down into the water, & he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; & he went on his way rejoicing.”
Gal. 3:1, 13-14—“O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?”.....“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
Gal. 6:12-15—“As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, & I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.”
1Pet. 2:24-25—“who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd & Overseer of your souls.”
Heb. 9:28 “so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”
Col. 3:1-4—“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, & your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”
The church's Purpose is NOT to fill our pews with baptized believers...but that we maintain a central Purpose of proclaiming the crucified Christ!
Eloquence is of no consequence, God’s power is! Yes, we want to do our best in every situation to honor God...But quality comes thru yielding to the Holy Spirit!
Illustration:
Recently we revamped portions of our yard/We disturbed a bit of the front & side yards/I noticed something...Ants—They are unconcerned with the height of our grass, or the quality of our landscaping, or the placement of bushes, flowers, etc....unless these aid or get in the way of their Purpose—to provide for the entire mound’s welfare/Unified PURPOSE
Application:
?Your PURPOSE Unified with the Church or merely with some in the local church?
?You pulled away from the Indignity of Division?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Tire Division stopped the progress of the truck.
Action:
Pulling us away from the indignity of division is...
1. Unified SPEECH(:10-11)
2. Unified MINDSET(:12-13)
3. Unified PURPOSE(:14-17)
Presented 08/04/2013am to:
FBC C’belle
206 Storrs Ave SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
