I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided?
1 Corinthians 1:10-13a (NIV)
At first glance you figure Paul saves the best group for last; those who say they “follow Christ” are the ones who really get it. But that’s not what he’s doing. His rebuke is for those who say they follow Christ as much as it is for those who follow another. This is clear by the words “still another”, and Paul’s lack of positive approval.
So why did they get it wrong too? I believe it’s because their proclamation was encouraging continued division. You see, it’s one thing to say of yourself “I follow Christ”, it’s quite another to help someone discover that they too should be following Christ. The spiritual party in Corinth considered themselves right, and they were. They were supposed to be following Christ. But once you figure that out for yourself, you need to take that message to the world! And if you haven’t taken it to your church yet, don’t try to take it to the world. When someone in the church is following someone else, you only fuel division by not helping them discover that their identity is in Christ also. Those in Corinth were all in Christ. What a mistake it was for one group of people to horde that truth to themselves, i.e. claim it for themselves and not for others as well.
Spiritual pride is huge today– we’re all victims of it at some point. One of the ways to overcome it is to realize that what’s ours in Christ isn’t just a personal keepsake. Don’t sit complacent in your discipleship as those around you are following something or someone other than Christ. Stop pointing your finger, share your spiritual gifts, and help your church discover that we’re all created to be followers of Jesus. This is key to unity in the church.
Good point, Andy! We have to remember that every time we point our index finger to someone’s shortcomings, at least three of our fingers are pointing to US!
In his booklet From Pride to Humility (http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Humility-Stuart-Scott/dp/1885904371), Stuart Scotthas compiled an insightful list of 30 biblical indicators as to whether pride is resident in our hearts. I just thought you might enjoy reading this list…
1. Complaining against or passing judgment on God (Numbers 14:1-4, 9, 11; Romans 9:20)
2. A lack of gratitude (2 Chronicles 32:25)
3. Anger (Proverbs 28:25; Matthew 20:1-16)
4. Seeing yourself as better than others (Luke 7:36-50)
5. Having an inflated view of your importance, gifts and abilities (Acts 12:21-23)
6. Being focused on the lack of your gifts and abilities (1 Cor. 12:14-25)
7. Perfectionism (Matthew 23:24-28)
8. Talking too much (Proverbs 10:19)
9. Talking too much about yourself (Proverbs 27:2; Galatians 6:3)
10. Seeking independence or control (1 Corinthians 1:10-13; Ephesians 5:21)
11. Being consumed with what others think (Galatians 1:10)
12. Being devastated or angered by criticism (Proverbs 13:1)
13. Being unteachable (Proverbs 19:20; John 9:13-34)
14. Being sarcastic, hurtful, degrading, talking down to them(Proverbs 12:18, 24)
15. A lack of service (Galatians 5:13, Ephesians 2:10)
16. A lack of compassion (Matthew 5:7, 18:23-35)
17. Being defensive or blame-shifting (Genesis 3:12-13; Proverbs 12:1)
18. A lack of admitting when you are wrong (Proverbs 10:17)
19. A lack of asking forgiveness (Matthew 5:23-24)
20. A lack of biblical prayer (Luke 18:10-14)
21. Resisting authority or being disrespectful (1 Peter 2:13-17)
22. Voicing preferences or opinions when not asked (Philippians 2:1-4)
23. Minimizing your own sin and shortcomings (Matthew 7:3-5)
24. Maximizing others’ sin and shortcomings (Matthew 7:3-5; Luke 18:9-14)
25. Being impatient or irritable with others (Ephesians 4:31-32)
26. Being jealous or envious (1 Corinthians 13:4)
27. Using others (Matthew 7:12; Philippians 2:3-4)
28. Being deceitful by covering up sins, faults, and mistakes (Proverbs 11:3; 28:13)
29. Using attention-getting tactics (1 Peter 3:3,4)
30. Not having close relationships (Proverbs 18:1-2; Hebrews 10:24-25)
Hey Andy, what a coincidence – we just started 1 Cor. with our church last week. I like this point:
“One of the ways to overcome it is to realize that what’s ours in Christ isn’t just a personal keepsake. Don’t sit complacent in your discipleship as those around you are following something or someone other than Christ.”
Sounds like 2 separate ideas at first, but I think this implies we have the responsibility to confront our straying brothers in love, striving to pull them back. What do you think? How about this verse?:
“For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.” 1Cor.11:19 (NASB)
Ciprian: that’s a great list! Thanks for the tip- I’ve already purposed to work on some of those indicators!
Cristi: you always manage to upset my thoughts, eh? That’s a very good point. It almost seems as though Paul is contradicting himself, no? “There must be no divisions among you.” …”There must be factions.” First of all it’s interesting to note that the two words used in Gk aren’t the same, and some versions translate the 11:19 noun as ‘heresies,’ oddly enough. Either way, I believe in ch. 1 it is referring to an ontological reality while in ch. 11 Paul is making a pragmatic division so as demonstrate who is really ‘approved/genuine.’ In other words, it’s one thing to mistakenly say you’re following someone other than Christ, it’s another to actually be following someone other than Christ. I believe it’s the latter point that Paul is addressing in ch. 11.
I’ve stretched the application a bit in my post. Though this could work against the way I set up the argument, the point remains that discovering our identity is not an end in itself. Identity directs lifestyle and action, and so God expects that this will shape the life of the church. The church then helps (re)shape the world.
Hey Andy, what a coincidence – we just started 1 Cor. with our church last week. I like this point:
“One of the ways to overcome it is to realize that what’s ours in Christ isn’t just a personal keepsake. Don’t sit complacent in your discipleship as those around you are following something or someone other than Christ.”
Sounds like 2 separate ideas at first, but I think this implies we have the responsibility to confront our straying brothers in love, striving to pull them back. What do you think? How about this verse?:
“For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.” 1Cor.11:19 (NASB)