Today we look at a part of this great letter where Paul is instructing a church that was very divided. There were factions identified from the questions Paul raised in these verses. It is apparent that some of the believers placed greater emphasis on certain leaders above others. Paul mentions himself, Peter and Apollos and even Jesus here. And this created an “Us and Them” mentality that Paul was writing to overcome. And this was not the only issue that caused division in the church in Corinth as you look further in the letter.
The church at Corinth was one of the most gifted churches. In chapter 12 Paul teaches about the church being the body of Christ. Unfortunately, the spiritual gifts given by the Spirit to strengthen the church had brought division. So, Paul is writing to correct the errors to overcome division and hoping the church would come together in greater unity. And certainly, as we look at this letter and particularly this teaching, it is a strong reinforcement and appeal to the unity of the believers today.
Church history is filled with many divisions. In our own church tradition, there are many branches on the tree of Methodism! We certainly have known about division in church and have made some conscious decisions in response to controversies in our former denomination. However, this does not reduce or diminish our desire for greater unity, particularly in the local church where we worship and serve now. I am thankful that we are functioning with greater joy and greater freedom and unity. But it is always good to talk about these important issues to maintain our unity and carry out the greater mission of Christ. There are many appeals for unity and teachings regarding unity from the scripture and scriptural teachings because of human struggles that existed. I want to look at a couple of these principles related to Paul’s teaching on unity today.
First, Competition vs Communion
The world in which we live thrives on COMPETITION. This exists in nearly every area of our lives. We see this prominently in advertisements. Let me just mention 2 or 3.
Nobody beats Midas. Nobody.
We are driven to be the best. Nissan
When you care enough to send the very best. Hallmark
Many of you probably watched the College Football Championship last week. The athletes competed strenuously to win the game. It was quite an amazing victory with the highlight play coming from the star quarterback from Indiana, Fernando Mendoza. This is surely an exciting time for the people from Indiana. But it was a strong competitive journey for them even to get to the championship game and then to win the championship!
But this principle of competition is across all sports. We see it in the Olympics incorporating all major sports events from swimming to track and field to skiing and even shooting competitions. It’s quite an incredible scene! These very gifted and talented athletes have prepared for so long, many of them since their childhood, to compete in these games. It is a stiff competition with the best of the best around the world coming together and competing for the gold medal. It is exciting to watch! And there are many positive aspects of competition:
The positive side of competition is that it pushes us to perform at a high level. It drives us to do our best. There is no mediocrity or holding back. You are driven to be your best, to be on your “A” game as many commentor would say today. Even in our business world, capitalism features competition in the marketplace. You must compete to be relevant and stay in business. This is a catalyst for quality and effective performance that would not exist without the competition.
But there is a negative side to competition. And this was happening with the church in Corinth. And here is the downside to competition:
The downside of competition is that not everyone is going to make the team or meet the requirements. Not everyone is going to be able to make it to the medal round.
And even those who make it to the final round will not reach the podium to place or win a medal. This competition is not just in high stakes sports but even little league baseball.
Perhaps at some point in your life, you have felt the sting of not making the grade or not making the final cut. Or in games when you were left out or left behind or not being chosen or maybe being chosen last. I still remember the famous slogan of the old ABC Wild World of Sports, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”. Many of us have identified more with the agony of defeat. I still remember when I was cut from the all-star team as a youngster in baseball. Competition tends to create winners and losers.
But this is not only related to sports. Competition is also found in the academic world, in music and in arts and entertainment. You may think you can sing just a little bit. And then you listen to Celine Dion, hitting the high notes of, “O Holy Night”. Then you just shake your head in amazement like you are being lapped for the second time in a foot race! You would be totally lost in that competition! But let’s look at this more deeply.
We are Trinitarian Christians. That is, we believe in the Triune Godhead, even the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is “God in three persons, blessed Trinity” as we sing in our classic hymn. In the Trinity, there are different Persons yet still one God. And personal communication goes on within the Godhead. There is perfect unity and harmony within the Trinity from the Father to the Son to the Spirit. Not a hint of division exists in God.
But here is a significant point from this teaching. You and I are created in the “image of God”. This means that we are communal people as we live together in community. We are social beings. Not just that we live in community like Spanish Fort, but we are in covenant with God through our baptism into the church community. I think that is why Paul asks the questions about baptism here, “Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” The obvious answer is, No! And the greater reality is our baptism in Christ means that we are in community together and we recognize how much we truly need one another. But even more, unity is essential to accomplish the mission of the church. And the true focus of our faith is not Paul or Apollos or Peter or any other leader. It is on Jesus. We were baptized into Jesus. And here is where all ground levels. We should also note:
The greatest appeal for unity came from Jesus.
When Jesus foretold his death on the cross what were his disciples doing? Something we humans do frequently. They were taking a poll about who was going to be number one! They were arguing about who was the greatest disciple. The disciple’s thoughts were dominated by a mindset of competition. Who is the greatest? Can we sit on your right and left hand in your glory?
Our Lord who was going to the cross while at the same time his disciples were arguing over who was the greatest. Sadly, on the night Jesus instituted The Lord’s Supper, which represented the selfless sacrifice of His body and blood given for them, the disciples like children were arguing over who was going to get to sit next to Jesus at the table. And Jesus used that event as a teaching moment for the disciples. You remember what He did? He took the basin of water and a towel and assumed the position of a slave. Then he knelt and washed the dirty feet of his disciples.
If you remember Peter didn’t want Jesus to wash his feet because he saw Jesus in the elevated position as the Messiah. For Peter the Messiah would never be in a position as a slave. And the Messiah would certainly not wash dirty feet. Then Jesus cut to the heart of the issue and said, “The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:11-12)
In the midst of the competitive mindset among the disciples, Jesus was giving a real lesson in humility and greatness means we serve one another. The disciples were living in a world of Competition and Jesus was bringing them to the table of Communion. Our world thrives on competition and competition has its place. But in the Kingdom of God and the Body of Christ, the primary emphasis is on communion.
And in coming to the Lord’s table our commonness is that we are all sinners whether we are rich or poor, whether we are popular or unpopular, whether we are skilled or unskilled, whether we win the gold medal or whether we even make the team. The reality is we all come through the same Door, and we share at the same Table. That’s communion, the communion of saints! So, to this competitive group Paul is writing for them to come together in communion more than being in competition with each other.
Second, Conflicted vs Cooperative
Obviously, we are all different. We all have different gifts, talents, and abilities. And the purpose of our different gifts and talents is to use them in a unified manner just like the different parts of our body. Our hands are very different than our feet. Our toes are very different from our ears. I mean you can’t get any more different than those body parts! But Paul teaches that all the different parts come together to function within the unity of the body which is compared to the Church. Here is what Paul teaches, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.” (I Corinthians 12:12-14)
Note that Paul uses the baptism imagery here again. We are baptized into one body though we have very different gifts and abilities. Now think about this for a moment. I’m going back to the competitive disciples again! Think of how different the men were that Jesus chose. There were fishermen. There was a physician. There was a tax collector. There was a zealot we think. All the disciples were so very different! They looked different. They had different ideologies and personalities. Their backgrounds were so very different. Yet they had a common calling from Jesus. And Jesus used these very different men to begin the church. Jesus was calling them to do something that they could not do on their own, within their own abilities, within their own talents, within their own gifts. Jesus used their differences to actually complement and cooperate with each other to accomplish the greater mission of the church. This was the appeal Paul was making to the church in Corinth. And this is the same appeal that applies to us today.
One last scripture from John 17. This is often referred to as Jesus’ high priestly prayer before He went to the cross. And what is he praying for? He is praying for the disciples! And He is praying for future disciples like you and me today in the Church! First, He’s praying that God would sanctify them in the truth through the Word. Second, He’s praying that God would protect them from the enemy, from Satan. And then he prayed for UNITY among the believers. The will of Christ is that the believers be as one. And the purpose was so that the world might believe. Here is a significant part of Jesus’ prayer, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:20-21)
A while back I recall a man who told me about his recent experience. He went to a restaurant with his family on a Friday evening. When he entered the restaurant, he noticed that it was packed with every table filled. He went to the back of the restaurant to the restroom while his family was being seated. As he went through the restaurant and passed by several tables, there was an argument or negative comments going on at every table. They were arguing about something, or complaining the food wasn’t right or there was some issue in the family. Something was wrong at every table. He made it to the restroom and went back and told his family he just wanted to leave. His family was surprised because they had just been seated. They asked, “Why did he want to leave?” He simply told them there was no sense of peace in that place. There was no harmony in that place. It made him want to leave. So, he left the restaurant with his family.
Then he recognized that the restaurant was a picture of our world. He said I know what people in the world are looking for. In this very competitive world filled with chaos and complexity, people are looking for real communion. They are looking for peace and harmony which are synonymous with unity.
Now even though we are not in a church building we are still the church and we call this place a sanctuary. Isn’t it interesting? A sanctuary. And my prayer is the same as Jesus’ prayer, that we would be as one, not just for our sake but for the sake of the world for whom Jesus died. For we all enter through the same Door who is Christ. And we are all members together in the Body of Christ.
Paul is teaching here that neither he, nor Apollos, nor Peter are who or what is most important! It is the One who was crucified for you, the One you were baptized into that really matters and where you must focus your attention!
Paul is teaching here in the midst of the world where there are so many differences and polemical realities, the kingdom of God is still greater and the appeal for unity is still necessary.
Greater than the competition of the world is the communion of the church.
Greater than the conflict of differences is the complimentary way they can be joined together like the different members in our body.
Greater than the complexity and confusion of the world is the cooperation of the people of God so that the world may know Christ.
Christ is the One who unites us to do His Kingdom work.
I will close by going back to the Indiana Championship Team. It is quite obvious that Indiana played together and worked together and were united from the administrative leadership in the school to the coach to the all the players on the field. In their unity and true teamwork, they remained undefeated and won their championship. Now, if that is true for a football team…How much greater can this be for the church, the body of Christ on the earth!
Let’s pray. Lord, I pray that where there is divisive competition your Holy Spirit will bring greater communion. Help us live out the prayer of Jesus that we be one as Christ and the Father are one… so that the world may know and believe. We pray all these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.