Will you take your bibles and turn to First Corinthians chapter one. If you're visiting with us, we are going through First Corinthians verse by verse, as we typically do with other books. And we come this morning to verses nine through 17; First Corinthians, chapter one, verses nine through 17, where the apostle Paul is dealing with disharmony and division in the church. And I can only imagine what that church must have experienced when they first heard this letter written to them. So think of that as I read this particular passage, beginning in verse nine,

"God is faithful through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

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 a Paul,' and 'I of Apollos,' and 'I of Cephas,' and 'I of Christ.'

Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,

so that no one would say you were baptized in my name.

Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanus; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other.

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. "

Anyone who has ever been a part of a church has experienced those times when there is conflict in the church, where divisions arise and sometimes people get upset with other groups, and sometimes people get mad and even leave the church. Now I'm not talking about those legitimate biblical reasons when people should leave a church, when there are severe doctrinal issues, where there is egregious sin in the church, where it's well documented that the leadership is unbiblical and so forth. But there are those times - and this was what was going on in in Corinth - where people get upset over things that they shouldn't get upset over. And sometimes we've seen this even in our church, where someone is offended over something, and they get mad, something didn't go their way, someone offended them, there's some grievance, whether it's real or perceived, and so their pride is wounded.

And I've noticed over the years that this tends to lead to a three-stage plan of attack for people. The first thing that happens is they begin to keep a record of wrongs to justify their hostility and make themselves out to be the victim. And then they take that list of grievances to other people, to somehow enlist others to join their cause, and then together, they began to campaign against their opponents. There's criticism, there's malicious gossip designed to discredit other people; and of course, all of this tends to ignite a firestorm of rage and revenge, and in their mind, they are completely justified in what they're doing. After all, they are just being righteously indignant over the way something has happened or the way they have been offended. They believe they're approved by God.

And what's always amazing about factious people - and I have been there myself so I can speak with authority - when you're factious, you never think you're factious. It's always the other person's fault. And unfortunately, we end up seeing the spec in our brother's eye. We're not able to see the log in our own. And if our campaign fails to get the opposition to fall in line, then we tend to get so mad that we finally leave the church in a final act of vengeful protest. And when this happens, you see people, they will go find a new church that they believe is more spiritual, a church that will somehow acquiesce to their demands and their preferences and where they can be treated the way they deserve to be treated, and they finally get to the new church, and they live happily ever after.

Well, folks, we're all prone to this, aren't we? Because we're all sinful, and because sin is manifested primarily in self-will. Without realizing it, we like to promote ourselves. And of course, all of this is the very opposite of our Lord's command. Remember, in John 15:12 he said, "'This is my commandment that you love one another just as I have loved you.'" This is the opposite of true biblical love that we all struggle with. First Corinthians 13. Remember in verse four, we read that "Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous." He goes on to say, it does not act unbecomingly. It does not seek its own, is not provoked. It does not take into account a wrong suffered. Later on, he says, "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." Yes, but you just don't know what that person said to me. Yes, but pastor, that just wasn't handled right. Yes, but pastor, the church has not lived up to my expectations. Yes, but pastor, their preferences just aren't biblical. Yes, but my way and my group and my teacher is what this church really needs. Oh, okay, well, now that I understand that, I guess you're justified.

That's what tends to happen, and that's what was going on in Corinth, they were acting like what Paul called spoiled babies. Remember, in chapter three and verse one, he describes them as "men of flesh." They're carnal. They're fleshy. He described them as infants in Christ, filled with jealousy and strife, they loved themselves more than Christ and the church. They were fiercely loyal to certain leaders that were doing certain things that somehow promoted their agenda. In fact, Paul described them six times in First Corinthians as being puffed up; insome translations, which means arrogant, they were self-promoting. They felt superior. They had an inflated opinion of themselves. And of course, being puffed up is the opposite of love that builds up, right? And so that's what was going on here.

And again, I can only imagine the look on the faces of the people when this letter was read to them, because you got one group here, another group there, another group there, and they're all kind of looking at each other, wondering what's going to happen here. So you show me a church that is splitting apart, and I'll show you some people that are puffed up, people that are demanding their own way with no regard for the cause of Christ, no commitment to selfless love and humility and preferring one another, though they will deny those things to the death. And they will make themselves out to be the victims and shift all the blame onto other people.

Later on, in chapter 11, the apostle Paul tells us that every church is going to have this - factious, divisive people. They're going to have it in the church because according to verse 19, in order that "...those who are approved may become evident among you." So in other words, the Lord will use these kinds of situations, the bickering and the divisiveness, to contrast the immature with the mature; the faithful with the unfaithful, and so forth.

Now folks, let's keep in mind this is hard for all of us. The sting of this lash falls on every one of our backs, and even though we have been justified, we can all be ruled by our flesh rather than the spirit and be completely blind to it. Remember what James said in James four and verse one, he says, "What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel." There it is. We all struggle with that.

And to make matters worse, many people in churches today, and even in this church, come from broken families, abusive backgrounds, alcoholic backgrounds perhaps, and they know nothing of what it is to see real, selfless love being modeled in their family. They know nothing of how to resolve conflict. All they know is fighting and chaos and instability and broken relationships. All they're familiar with in their background are temper tantrums. He who yells the loudest or intimidates the greatest, wins. That's the mindset that many people have. That's what they've grown up with. And if you can't win, you leave; you break fellowship, you separate, you divorce, you abandon, you murder. Slander, criticism, the severing of relationships, is all very commonplace to many people.

So with a heart filled with jealousy and pride, the smallest anthill of offense, whether it's real or perceived, is blown up into a mountain of unacceptable and unforgivable outrage. We've seen this in families. We've seen it in churches. So people bring this wickedness into the church, and the church becomes a microcosm of their home life. And sadly, many times you'll see these people hopping from one church to the next, lasting only as long as that church fulfills their agenda and meets their needs and strokes their egos.

But again, what we've got to keep in mind as we approach this text is that we all struggle with being self-centered. We all struggle with self-will; we all struggle with self-interest. And it's for this reason that this text is such wonderful news to us, because God understands this. He loves us anyway, and he gives us practical instructions on how to remedy this wickedness of division and disharmony in the church that can lead to conflict and church splits; because we've got to remember - and I think we would all agree with this - that there is no such thing as a perfect church. The old joke is, don't join it, because then it won't be right. No such thing as a perfect church, but we do serve a perfect God who has given us his perfect word and his Spirit to dwell within us. So the question is, will we humble ourselves and hear what the word of God has to say?

As a little outline, I have for you this morning to look at the text. We're going to look at four things: the basis for unity, the exhortation to unity, the report of disunity and the absurdity of disunity.

Now let me remind you once again of the context. While in Ephesus on his third missionary journey, Paul receives word from Corinth, from the household of Chloe, that the church in Corinth is in disarray, that there's divisions, there's problems, there's factiousness going on. Folks were following men and their own selfish agendas. And he was also made aware of other sin issues, other doctrinal issues, that he's going to address later. But before he does you will recall, if you were with us last week, he encourages the people in verses four, even through nine, by reminding them of the immense blessings that God has showered upon them by his grace - the gift of salvation. He tells them how he is thankful that "...in everything you were enriched in him and all speech and knowledge."

He went on to describe how that "...the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift..." and so forth. And so he begins his whole letter with the the good news, shall we say, so as not to overly discourage them with the bad news that is about to come in his reproof. And now we're into the reproof. That's where we are here.

So first of all, notice verse nine. This is the basis for unity. "God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord." Fellowship - "koinōnia," in the original language; oneness. It's the idea of common life. We've been called, by his grace, by his Spirit, into this oneness; this common life with his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the point is, since you've been called into this oneness with Christ, we ought to function in our relationship with him and within his church in that kind of oneness.

Now again, remember this letter is primarily a letter of exhortation, and he's asking them - as people who have been made holy, as saints who have been made holy - to act like you've been made holy; to be in practice who you are in position because you have been sanctified. And what's really fascinating from verse 10 of chapter one through the ninth verse of the 16th chapter, Paul exhorts these immature, selfish, worldly believers about eight primary areas of Christian living. Let me give them to you: division in the church, immorality, marriage, Christian liberty, the Lord's table, spiritual gifts, the resurrection, and finally, money or stewardship.

But isn't it interesting what is first on the docket? The first issue that he addresses, and that is disunity, disharmony in the church. And why is that? It's because it's the most important. You will remember, before our Lord went to the cross in John 17, he prays to the Father that the Father would help the church to "'be one...that the world may know that Thou didst send Me.'" The world needs to see this radical transformation that turns people from haters to lovers of Christ and of one another. And he told the disciples that "'...the world will know that you are My disciples," if you what? "...if you love one another'" In John 15, he says, I want you to abide in my love "...so that My joy may be in you, that your joy may be made full.'"

Now, folks, please understand, Satan doesn't want any of this to happen. That's why he is so intent on dividing people within a church. He does not want oneness or love characterized in a church, and he certainly doesn't want us to experience the fullness of God's love and grace. So he's going to do everything he can to prevent it. So Paul begins here in verse nine with the basis of our unity, and that is God's sovereign calling in our life that brought us into fellowship, into oneness with Christ and the body of Christ, his Church.

And that sets up number two, the exhortation to unity. Notice what he says. "Now I exhort you, brethren." Let me stop there. It's interesting, “exhort" here in the original language is from a word, "parakaleō," and it can be translated "besiege" or "urge." But what's interesting is that term means "to come alongside." It means to encourage. You will recall in the Gospel of John, Jesus called the Holy Spirit, the "paraclete," he is the helper, he is the Comforter, the one who comes alongside. And so what's happening here is, out of his love for this church, the apostle Paul is coming alongside of them in love and concern to help them. He's not trying to attack them. He's not trying to belittle them, although his rebuke is going to sting, as it should. "Now I exhort you, brethren..." appealing to them as brothers and sisters in Christ, part of the family of God, he says, "by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Now, folks, it doesn't get any more serious than this. When he says, "...by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," he is invoking the character and the reputation of the Son of God. That's how important this is. You see, the name of our Lord is that which encompasses all that he is. It's that which encompasses all that he commands. So this is serious stuff. In other words, the very ground of his exhortation to unity and the very motive for our compliance is our obligation as blood bought saints to obey and glorify our master, the Lord Jesus Christ and beloved, if I can put it this way, how we conduct ourselves in the church betrays our allegiance to Christ. That's how important this is. And when we cause divisions, when we bend conversations and we impugn the character of someone else in order to garner people to come to our cause, we bring reproach upon our Lord.

Worse yet, when in childish protest, we abandon our church family and seek another church family for unbiblical reasons, we do not reflect the person and the work of Christ. We reflect our own selfish depravity. And then when unbelievers witness this kind of divisiveness, they don't think badly of some church or some group of people, they think badly of Christ. That's the problem. So Paul here, an apostle commissioned as an agent of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, appeals to them, and to us, to be in oneness and fellowship with the Lord and with one another.

So again, "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..."Divisions - "schismata" in Greek; we get our word in English, "schisms" from that. It means a split, that there be no splits among you, "...but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment."

Now let's look at this closely. In obedience to Christ, he's saying, I want you to "all agree," he says. It can be translated, and maybe your Bible translates it this way, it means to speak the same thing. In other words, to give inward allegiance and voice to the same doctrine and the same Christian conduct and everything else in the church that's going to promote unity.

Now let me camp on this for a moment. We need to be like minded in essentially, two basic areas. First of all, in Bible doctrine. Remember, in Ephesians chapter four, God has given the church, beginning in verse 12, "...pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints." He goes on to describe how that the reason for this is so that we can "...all attain to the unity of the faith" - referring to doctrinal unity and of the knowledge of the Son of God. And then he goes on to say, "As a result, we are no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects, into Him who is the head, even Christ." Folks, you show me a church that has no commitment to preaching and teaching sound doctrine, and I'll show you a church that is divided in virtually every area of Christian living. Well, I think we need.... I think we need revivals and altar calls. Well, I think we need exorcisms and we need to start, you know, casting out demons. Well, I think we need to speak in tongues. Well, I think we need to be allowing women to be elders and pastors. Well, I don't believe in this election and predestination stuff and on and on it goes. I mean, when you're divided in doctrine, it just turns into absolute chaos. So people align themselves with their favorite teacher, their favorite doctrine, the church splits, and there you go.

In Romans chapter 15, beginning at the end of verse five, he says, "...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." Now folks, obviously we're not going to all agree on every nuance of of Bible theology, but when it comes to the cardinal doctrines of orthodox Christianity, based upon scripture, we can't have different people run around, running around in a church teaching different things, and that's why we are very careful in this church. If you go on our church website, you will see what we teach. We want you to know, this is what we teach. This is where we stand.

By the way, I remember years ago, when we put our website up on the sign out there, most visitors stopped coming. You know why? Because they got on the website and said, Well, I don't want any part of this church because they didn't agree with what we teach or who we are. I don't know if we need to take that down or what we need to do. But I just, I just think that's interesting. But it's important. Well, yes, but pastor, come on there are some issues that this church holds that I just can't agree with. Well, you know what, that's fine, just don't teach it and don't make a big stink about it. You know, for some secondary issue, graciously affirm our position as being a legitimate position, while holding to your own quietly without any malice towards others that don't agree with you. I love the way the German Lutheran theologian of the early 17th century, Rupertus Meldinius put it, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity." So we need to be like-minded in Bible doctrine.

Also, secondly, in Bible living, we need to live out the one another's. We need to to all be walking in such a way with the Spirit, that we're manifesting the fruits of the Spirit. In Philippians three and verse 16, Paul says, "...let us keep living..." that's referring to our behavior. "Let us keep living by that same standard," referring to apostolic doctrine, "...to which we have attained." So our lives should manifest a likeness to Christ and holy living. In Ephesians chapter four, beginning in verse one, Paul says, going through verse three, he says, "I implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness." Let me stop there.

Gentleness is an amazing term that speaks to my heart. It carries the idea of of patiently submitting to an offense free from malice and any desire to seek revenge. He goes on to say, "with patience, showing tolerance..." tolerance could be translated "forbearance."  Again, another powerful term here; it means to not only submit to an injustice, but to stay in that injustice until the provocation is passed. "Showing tolerance," he says, "for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

I might also add, biblical living includes a willingness to submit to the leadership, to the authority that God has placed over you. In the church, there's a plurality of men that the church has affirmed to lead the church as Christ undershepherds. Remember Hebrews, chapter 13, verse 17, "obey your leaders and submit to them." We've all seen child-centered homes where the whole home orbits around some little child, or maybe a group of children that are undisciplined. I've seen churches that way. You can't have that - obey your parents here, obey your leaders, submit to them, "...for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you." Yes, but what if the elders make a decision that I just can't agree with? Well, you know what? As long as it doesn't violate scripture, you need to graciously submit to them anyway. You see, you're not asked to tell your leaders what to do. You're asked to obey and to submit to them.

And folks, if I can camp on this for a moment, know this, again, there is a plurality of men, even here at this church and other churches, I know there's other churches listening in. There's to be a plurality of men that are filled by the Spirit and meet the qualifications of First Timothy three and Titus one. And when these men make decisions, they will have information that you do not have, and they will have ministry experience that you probably do not have. And therefore, and I say this humbly, they will probably have discernment that you don't have based upon all of those things. And know that whenever a decision is made, we have agonized, we have wrestled, we have prayed, we have debated over every decision so that decision will ultimately be the right one that will honor Christ and be the best thing for this body of believers that we love so desperately. All along, knowing that we're going to have to give an account for this and so we make no major decisions unless there's complete unity among the board. Sometimes there isn’t, now it's on minor things, but then we all come together, and if it's on a more major thing - and we're just, I don't know if I can go with this, I'm just not sure - then we hold off. We pray, we get more information, we let the Spirit do his work in all of us and andthen little by little, we see that this is the thing that we all need to do. So I would humbly submit to you that you need to trust us. And there are times where decisions are made that if you had the same information that we had, you would have done the same thing. Now we're not omniscient. I know all of you know that, but let me just remind you; we’re we make mistakes, no doubt about it. But God uses those things to grow us, to teach us, as we all struggle through this thing called life.

But if there are little groups who are going off in different directions doing their own thing, then unity breaks down. Remember, in First Thessalonians five, beginning in verse 12, Paul says, "But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work." Then he says, “Live in peace with one another." Now I know the question comes up from time to time, what do you do when you have people in the church who refuse to submit? Well, the scriptures address that. Because they are self-willed and divisive, what you do is you confront them, you call them to repentance, and if they refuse, you reject them. Titus 31:0, "Reject a factious man." In other words, you avoid that person. You have nothing more to do with them. You disdain even being bothered by that individual, because a factious man or a factious woman becomes a law unto himself or herself, and those people will have 100 reasons why their cause or their grievance or their position is justified, no matter what others might say.

And all of this, of course, produces disunity. Titus 3:10 in the English Standard Version, and following it says this, "As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned." Warped is an interesting word, by the way, in the original language - "ekstrephō," - it's a term which has the meaning of turning something inside out or twisting something. And that's what you find with these types of people. They will twist; they will distort the truth to fit their own agenda. And then they will lobby others to somehow join their cause. And after you confront those people, and you warn these people a couple of times, then you reject them. No more meetings, no more talking. They need to go. And they usually get mad,and they leave. And if they don't, then Matthew 18 typically kicks in, in terms of church discipline. And by the way, when factious people get mad and leave the church and go to another church, because of our love for Christ, our love for them and a love for the other church, we follow them and we tell the pastor we need to talk. Here's what's happened, and here's what's going to happen in your church if this isn't addressed.

Second Thessalonians three, beginning in verse 14, "If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy but admonish him as a brother." Paul says the same thing in Romans 16, beginning in verse 17, "Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned..." and here it is, "...turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites."

And as a footnote, I've noticed, and I've talked with many other pastors that have seen this over the year, most factions are fueled by someone who is trying to exalt themselves in some way. They're looking for the spotlight so that they can go and run underneath it and take a bow and gain some applause. In fact, Paul describes this in Philippians two and verse three as people who are "filled with selfishness and empty conceit." Remember that great text in Philippians two in verse one, Paul says, "Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete..." and here's how, "...by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose." Then he says, "Do nothing from..." here it is, "...selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."

You see, folks, God is serious about unity in the church, "...we, who are many..." Paul declares, in Romans 12, five are, "...one body in Christ, and individually, members of one another." And in Romans 15, beginning at verse five, Paul says, "May the God of endurance and encouragement, grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may, with one voice, glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." And that's what we need to pray for, encouragement and endurance with one another. Beloved, think of it this way, it is our unwavering commitment to Christian love that is the binding force, that is the cement, the unifying glue that produces unity in a marriage; unity in a family; unity in a church, and we must learn to make this a priority in our life. And this is hard, especially in our culture, where the individual is the priority. Everybody's got their rights. Psalm 133, verse one, "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity."

Now back to our text again. He wants us all to agree, in verse 10, "...that there be no divisions among you and that you be made complete." Another fascinating term in the original language. It comes from a term "katartizō", and it is a term that means to join something together that has been ripped apart, to mend. It's used of mending nets or mending a broken bone; setting a bone, setting dislocated limbs, so that they'll grow back together again. That's what he wants. I want you to be, "made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment." In other words, folks, there must be genuine unity that originates in in our heart, not some hypocritical pretense where we're seething with resentment, and we're just going along with it, just because we have to and we don't want to make a stink. I mean, you know, if that's your heart, there's serious problems. And again, obviously we're all different. We're all going to have different ideas, different preferences. So what do we do when we differ? Well, we come together in humility and love. We voice our opinions, we discuss it, but then, when all things have been considered, then we submit to the majority of the group that we're with, or the leadership of the elders, or whatever, we've got to sing off the same sheet of music.

You know, there are things I have to tell you, as I think about this, there are things in this church that I wish were different. In fact, every single person here could say that about several things, right? Hope not too many things, but there are some things like, man, I really wish this was different, and and so on. But, you know, based on even what we see in Scripture, and this isn't a Bible verse, but I think you'll understand it. I don't throw my dog in every fight, you know? I save him for the big ones, right? Another way we could put it, we don't die on every hill. I mean, there are just some things not worth, you know, a fuss over. And folks, this is hard, but we've got to learn to prefer one another in love. We've got to learn to trust our leaders and support our leaders and submit to one another, because unity is far more important than our our petty preferences and our fragile egos. Now if there's some policy or some doctrine that binds your conscience and you need to find another church, then you need to go do that, and we would certainly understand that. I don't think there was another church for these people to go to. So they had to kind of tough it out with one another in that church, which would have made it really hard, you know; but that's what the that's what the call is.

And by the way, I've noticed that most schism in churches, and I've dealt with literally hundreds of them over the course of my ministry career thus far, most schisms in churches are a result of two things. Number one: unrealistic expert expectations, and number two:  wounded pride. That's usually what the issues are. Yes, but pastor, what happens if you've really been offended? Well, you know, you know, if you've really been offended, then I don't know, I guess you need to just pitch a fit, you know, you just need to get others to join your crusade of revenge and split the church apart. I mean, I mean, what you need to do is pout and whine and gossip and complain and criticize and condemn. You know, get your pound of flesh. I mean, after all, vengeance is yours, saith the Lord, right? I mean, that's what you need to do. You need to rip the church apart and if you can't find any relief, then you just need to leave the church and in angry protests. Boy, that'll show them. That's kind of what our flesh tends to do.

And by the way, most churches in this area, you realize there's over 1000 Christian churches just in Davidson County, most of them are result of church splits because people weren't doing these things. And again, we all struggle with it. Contrast what I just said with First Peter 4:8 where Peter says, "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins."

So we've seen the basis for unity and the exhortation to unity. Now notice the report of disunity, verse 11, "For I've 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 a Paul,' and 'I of Apollos,' and "I of Cephas,' and, 'I of Christ.'" You know, it's interesting, isn't it, it's human nature for us to want to join a group, to be a part of some group and gain our identity in some group or some cause. I mean, we see this with sports fans, you know, that end up hating one another. We see it in church denominations. We see it, I mean, there's the battle to this day between those that like Chevys versus Fords for crying out loud. I mean, you see this type of thing all the time. Political parties, I mean, boy, that's a big one. I mean, they end up hating each other. I mean, if you expect to put a Republican and a Democrat together and get them to work in Congress...I mean, that's about as ridiculous as throwing a coon and a possum in a barrel and expecting them to come out friends singing Kumbaya. It's just not going to happen, because this is human nature.

But this same kind of sectarianism ends up developing in a church people begin to form self-serving allegiances to individuals and ministries or ideas, rather than Christ. And then they begin to form an antagonistic opinion toward those who may differ with them or who don't support their little deal, whatever it might be. And many times, this turns into a personality cult. Now, by the way, there's no indication here that these men, that Paul, Apollos, Cephas - who was Peter - or certainly Christ, were doing anything to encourage these people to be loyal to them. In fact, we're going to see that it's just the opposite. I mean, that would be hideously wicked; but you've got four clicks that's happening here in the church. We don't know really much about them. We have to surmise some things based on history and scripture.

You got, first of all, what we would call the Paul clique. I mean, after all, he started the church, right? And many of these people were led to Christ by Paul. He was their spiritual father, no one can replace Paul. Can't you hear that voice, "no one can replace him." And we know that he admitted he wasn't very impressive physically, and he even admitted that he was a poor speaker. He was not very dynamic, but he was a brilliant theologian. He proclaimed the centrality of the cross and Christ. And so, you know, you got one group saying, you know, "Paul, Paul, he's our man."

And, you know, and then there's another group, oh, no, wait a minute, 'I like Apollos." By the way, he was the pastor who was here at the time of this writing, of this letter. Pastor Apollos, you know, he was more of the intellectual type. You might say he was the Ivy League guy. He was the Harvard grad, or the Vanderbilt grad. Maybe I should use that, its better being here in Nashville. I mean, he was from Alexandria. I mean, this guy, man he was sharp. The scripture says he was "mighty in the Scriptures." And He was brilliant, he and he was dynamic as a speaker. He was the, I don't know he was the Spurgeon of that day. And so you can hear people saying, "well, you know, I like this intellectual approach. I mean, this guy, my what a preacher. I mean, this is type of preaching I like to hear." And perhaps some of those Corinthian believers were, were already heavily influenced by the matter of Sophia. Remember that was that, that esoteric wisdom that was all the rage of that day, and there was a rhetorical type of form that went with that, the rhetoric of that day. And maybe he was more like that. We're not sure. But for whatever reason, some people, "oh, Apollos, Apollos, he's our man."

While in others, "no, no, no, Cephas, Peter." You know, I'm part of the Peter click. I mean, after all, he was one of the original 12; Paul wasn't. Apollos wasn't. Peter was. He's the common man's preacher. You know, Peter, I can imagine, he's large and in charge and he tells it like he is, you know, all the fishermen love the guy, but he still got a lot of Jewish background and perhaps he appealed to some of the Jewish converts that were still kind of trapped in in Jewish legalism and, you know, Peter was too, remember there for a while. Remember in Galatians two he just couldn't let go of some of that, he had to be confronted. And so this may have been the rules and regulations crowd. I don't know, that's a possibility; obsessed with outward activity, looking down on others, maybe the frozen chosen, you know, whatever. And, man, there were no guitars in that group, you know, no guitars in that worship service, no drums, and all the guys had to wear yamakas. I don't know there's something about them that set them apart. And they so they're bickering with the other group.

And then, of course, you have the spiritual elite, who are part of the Christ clique. I mean, these are the people, I'm sure, that had all the answers. "Yeah, we, we answer directly to God. We don't need pastors and elders. We, you know, get everything directly from God and from the apostles here, and and frankly, we just don't have time for some of the rest of these inferiors." I don't know, something like that going on. It reminds me, as I think about this, and again, this is a lot of speculation, but I certainly have dealt with that as a pastor here at this church. I remember we had people that got caught up in the popular house church movement. Maybe you're familiar with that. It still has some momentum in certain areas, and it's a faction that really facilitates weak teaching and also discards biblical shepherding and and I had to deal with that. They employ kind of a pseudo-scholarship and amateur exegesis to reinterpret church history, and they distort Bible doctrine in an effort to form their own version of the first century church. And so there's no pastors, no elders. They're all pastors. They're all elders. And the ones that I've seen, I've been a part of, you know, the women don't say anything, and the men are kind of leading the whole deal. And of course, central to their scheme is the replacing of the biblical role of eldership. And in lieu of that, they have this unbiblical egalitarianism, or, in other words, the equal rights/equal say, and all of this type of thing. And so

it's a totally distorted unbiblical ecclesiology. But whatever was going on there in the first century, it was a problem, and Paul was addressing it head on. So they evidently had their own shibboleth, or their own slogan, their own catchphrase. "I'm a Paul." "I'm of Apollo." "I'm of Cephas." "I'm a Christ." You know, I imagine they had the T shirts, you know, that said that with the picture, and they had the hats and, you know, the coffee mugs, the whole deal. And so all of this was just causing friction in the church disunity.

And this leads us finally, to the absurdity of disunity. Notice what Paul says in verse 13, "Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?" In other words, what he's saying is, come on, folks, I don't want to be associated with any faction named after me. I wasn't crucified for you. I didn't shed my blood for you. You weren't baptized in my name. I mean, this is wicked to be divided like this, and we're part of Christ's body.

Later on in First Corinthians six, and verse 17, he says, "...the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him." That's the point. He goes on to say, "I thank God that I baptize none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name."  By the way, Crispus, you will recall, was the leader at the synagogue when he first came to Corinth, that got saved along with his whole family. And then Gaius was probably the Corinthian host that housed Paul, as stated in Romans 16, verse 23.

He says, "Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanus.” It’s almost like he's saying, oh, wait a minute, yeah, I did baptize some of them too, but, "...beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other." In other words, what Paul is doing here is demonstrating how ministry is a shared partnership. He didn't do all the baptizing, and perhaps by design. He didn't want to start some personality cult. That's why he says here in verse 15, "so that no one would say you were baptized in my name."

By the way, it's interesting that Jesus never baptized anyone, personally. He left all of that to his disciples, according to John four and verse two. And for good reason; that was to protect people from the almost irresistible temptation it would have been to tell other people, "yeah, you know, I was baptized by Jesus." What? Really? Oh, honey, come here. Jesus baptized him. Oh, really, and they're getting out.... oh, come here. You know? I mean, that's what have happened, you know? Can I have your autograph? Can you come speak at our church? I've been baptized by Jesus. Well, you know, it was, it was something else. I mean, that's what he's trying to avoid here, and that's what Paul is saying. Come on, folks, this is ridiculous. This is absurd.

You see, folks, the point is, factions violate the most basic principle of oneness in the body. Christ is not divided. His Church, his body is not to be divided. There is no place for this kind of division in the church. And finally, Paul points out the primary purpose of his calling here, it wasn't to baptize people. He says, "For Christ did not send me to baptize," verse 17, "but to preach the gospel." In other words, I'm not interested in a personal following, and you shouldn't be either. I was called to preach the gospel.

By the way, Jesus did that too. He had other people do the baptizing. "I didn't come to you in cleverness of speech." In other words, I'm not like you know the Greek orators all around you with this soaring rhetoric. I'm not like that. I just give you the simple, straightforward truth of the Word of God. Why? "So that the cross of Christ would not be made void." In other words, I'm not going to use this like you're used to; these manipulative techniques to get people to do what I want. I'm not going to do that to persuade men to come to Christ. The gospel will do that. That's why he said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation." So please don't follow me, he's saying, or anyone else but Christ..."being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Well beloved, let's let this be our priority as well, to be united together in love and purpose. And I close with a passage that is so powerful again, what Paul said in Philippians one and verse 27, "Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit." The idea of locking arms together so that you're "...standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel." That's what we need to do. Folks strive together. I mean, think about it, the enemy is breaching the walls in the world in which we live. We're in hand-to-hand combat for the souls of men, for the glory of Christ, and we don't have time to stop and say, what is it that you're upset about? Or, well, wait a minute, you know you need to hear my grievance, or whatever. Folks, we've got to strive together, and that's what Paul was telling them. So may this be our heart and our mind as well, amen? Amen. Let's pray together.

Father, thank you for these truths. I pray that each one of us will apply them to our own hearts. We all struggle with these issues, and I pray that we will be a church united, never a church divided, that we will humble ourselves and love one another as you have loved us, and we praise you for the unity that we enjoy even here at Calvary. So Lord, we commit these great truths to you. And finally, as always, Lord, I pray for those that may not know you as Savior. Oh God, be merciful to them today. Show them the reality of their sin and the forgiveness and the righteousness that is found when they repent of that sin and they call out upon the Lord, Jesus Christ, to be their Savior and their Lord. May that happen to anyone that does not know you, this day, I ask in Jesus' name and for his sake, amen.