Yesterday, I talked about how a man named Paul wrote a church in a city named Corinth and gave the timeless piece of good news that God has made us rich in every way through Jesus Christ. And it would have been great if Paul would have stopped there and only given us the good news. Unfortunately, Paul also delivered the bad news of a major problem that plagued the church and still plagues churches today. We see this problem 1 Corinthians 1:10-12:
"Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ."
In these verses, we see revealed for us the timeless truth that Christians act unchristian when we follow the wrong leader. And these verses, Paul reveals for us the first of three incredibly negative consequences that occur when Christians act unchristian by following the wrong leader. The first negative consequence that the Apostle Paul reveals for us is that when we follow the wrong leader, we fail to demonstrate unity in community.
Instead of division, Paul called the Corinthian church to demonstrate three things. First, Paul called the Corinthian church to demonstrate unity in what they say. Second, Paul called the Corinthian church to not divide over conflicting agendas. Third, Paul calls the Corinthian church to demonstrate unity in their attitude and their purpose. Paul’s timeless point to the Corinthian church and to followers of Jesus today, is that followers of Jesus are to come to agreement and remove the divisions that come from the conflicting aims of objectives of church members. Instead of division, the church was designed to be a community with unity in their attitude and in their purpose.
But what was causing the division? Paul explains that he had received a report from a church member name Chloe that there were rivalries over personalities, which was dividing the church over which leader they were going to align themselves with and follow; Paul, Apollos, Cephas, which is another name for Peter, or Christ.
The amazing thing about these quarrels over personalities is that they are the same quarrels that are fought in churches today. You see, Paul was the emerging church pastor. Paul was leading the early church as it emerged out of Judaism with different worship styles and services that engaged an irreligious and pagan culture.
Apollos was the mega church pastor. Apollos was a dynamic speaker who attracted large crowds and was used by God to bring many people into a relationship with Christ and into the church at Corinth.
Cephas, or Peter, was the fundamentalist church pastor. The people that followed and aligned themselves with Peter wanted a hymns only church with a strict dress code that followed that traditions and customs of Old Testament Judaism.
And then there were those who stated that they were aligning with Christ. This is not as spiritual as it sounds. These were the charismatic church people; these were the people who stated that they just wanted to be “led by the spirit”. These were the people who wanted to be in authority but did not want to be under authority. These were the people who wanted to have the license to do whatever they wanted.
What is interesting is that Paul, Apollos, and Peter never had a debate or disagreement at the church in Corinth; they were partners in ministry there. This was not a leader problem; this was a follower problem. And it is the same problem we have today, isn’t it. It is the same problem when followers of Jesus and churches fight and divide over whether they want to elevate a leader who reflects the views and philosophy of the emerging church, the mega church, the fundamental church, or the charismatic church over the head of the church, Jesus Christ.
Tomorrow, we will look at the second incredibly negative consequence that occurs when Christians act unchristian by following the wrong leader.
So are you a Christian who acts unchristian by following the wrong leader in a way that fails to demonstrate unity in community?
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