Word of Salvation – Vol.49 No.34 – September 2004

 

Tensions in the Church

 

Sermon by Rev B Vaatstra on 1Corinthians 1:1-17

 Scripture Reading: 1Corinthians 1: 1-17

Suggested Hymns: BoW 46; 489; 389; Rej 342

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ…

Let me start with a poem. Some of you may have heard it before:

To live above, with saints we love
Will certainly be glory
To live below with saints we know
Well, that’s another story!

It’s a poem that we can all identify with, because the church struggles with its imperfections. We don’t always hold onto the truth, as we should. We don’t always do things in love, as we should.

In the church and in our lives it is often our intention to honour the Lord. We want to listen patiently to each other. We want to be gracious in the debates. But we also recognise and experience our human frailty. Our work, our words, our motives are all tainted with sin.

The church is not perfect – in fact, it is far from perfect. Sometimes you hear people say, ‘If only we could go back to being like the early church’. But what you find in the records of the early church is that these are real churches wrestling with real problems. There’s no such thing as a perfect church.

A man once came to Charles Spurgeon, the 19th century preacher, looking for the perfect church. Spurgeon told him he had many saintly people in his congregation, but a Judas could also be among them. After all, even Jesus had a traitor in the company of His apostles. He went on to say that some in his church might be walking disobediently, as had been the case with believers in the early churches of Rome, Corinth, Galatia and Sardis. Spurgeon finished by saying, ‘My church is not the one you’re looking for, but if you should happen to find such a church, I beg you not to join it, for you would spoil the whole thing.’

Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church is such a relevant letter, because the church in Corinth is like many churches today – like the church in the Western world today. The problems in the ancient affluent Roman world of Corinth are similar to the problems we face today in the modern affluent world we live in, in Australia. And the church is affected by it.

And right up front in 1 Corinthians, Paul shows us the tension and paradox at the heart of the life of the church. The painful tension between the divine ideal of what the church should be and the human reality of what she really is.

On the one hand, the church is the bride of Christ, a holy people belonging to God, a people heading for a glorious future, a people who love God and are loved by God. On the other hand, the church is very unromantic. It’s ugly, unholy, quarrelsome, inglorious in its behaviour and stained by its failures. This is the ambiguity of the church. It’s an ambiguity that exists in the lives of its people, and also in the lives of its leaders.

This tension is reflected in the address on the envelope of this letter. Look at verse 2. Paul addresses it to the church of God in Corinth – that’s the church’s temporary address. He also addresses it to the Church of God in Christ – that’s the permanent address. Because they are in Corinth, they have some serious problems. But because they are in Christ, Paul has full of confidence in them.

Well, let’s take a closer look at Paul’s opening words to the church.

1. Holy, yet called to be holy (vss 1-3)

Paul describes the Corinthian church as holy, yet called to be holy. He describes them in verse 2 as, ‘The church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus.’

The word -~sanctified’ means to be made holy. God made the Christians in Corinth a new people. They have been born again, renewed, set free by the powerful saving work of Jesus Christ. Despite their failings and weaknesses, as we’ll see in a minute, they were sanctified in Christ Jesus. And so are the Christians of the local church who are hearing this message. Paul is not just addressing his letter to the Corinthians. This letter is for us as well.

Look at verse 2 again, ‘Together with all those everywhere who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.’ We are sanctified in Christ. In Christ our sins are forgiven, our guilt is taken away. We are a holy people, set apart for God. We are a sanctified people, a holy people, in Christ, because of Christ, by the blood of Christ.

But now see that Paul has added something else. He says, ‘To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be holy.’

You see, he writes to the church of God in Corinth, but he realises that Corinth is getting into the church of God. Corinth was sin city. It was known around the Roman Empire for its sexual vices and worldly pleasures. Dominating the city was a hill on which stood the temple of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. The thousand priestesses of the temple were sacred prostitutes, who would come down into the city at night and ply their trade in the streets. The Temple of Apollo was in the city itself. The god of music and song and poetry, and the ideal male beauty. Worship of Apollos encouraged homosexuality. In fact, Corinth was the centre of homosexual practices.

If you want to know what Corinth was like, read Romans chapter 1:18-32. Paul was in Corinth when he wrote his letter to the Romans. He was probably looking out of his window, describing what he saw in Corinth. He writes there that, ‘Men and women were exchanging natural relations for unnatural ones. They are filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They were gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, boastful. They invent ways of doing evil, they disobey their parents, they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.’

Paul is describing Corinth. He’s looking out his window, reading the local Corinthian Times and this is what he sees. Corinth was a polluted place. It was sin city. That’s why Paul is so concerned about the church of Corinth, because it seems that this church was being defiled by the city.

And if you’ve read through this letter, you’ll find some shocking problems in the church. There’s internal disorder, strife, factions, divisions, parties. There’s sexual immorality in the church among the members. There’s drunkenness at the Lord’s table. There are those who are using the grace of God for loose living.

You see, it’s all right for the boat to be in the water, but when the water starts to get into the boat you’re in trouble. That’s Paul’s concern for the church. It’s necessary and important for the church to be in Corinth. In fact, the more wicked the place the more need for the church to be there. But it’s a real danger when Corinth gets into the church. The Corinthians had forgotten their calling. They were called to be holy.

We dare not forget this, and it is always good to ask ourselves: Is the world getting into the church? Are there factions or parties among us? Is sexual immorality and alcohol abuse a problem in our churches? Is individualism, materialism, radical feminism affecting the church? Are we, in any way, abusing of the grace of God?

Paul says you are sanctified in Christ, and called to be holy. We must be what we are: saints! We must deal decisively with the worldliness in the church. Why? Because we belong to Jesus Christ, who has saved us from worldliness and sin.

So that’s the first tension in the church: we are holy, yet called to be holy.

2. Complete, yet incomplete (vss 4-9)

This is another tension in the church – complete, yet incomplete.Look at verse 4. Paul thanks God for the Corinthians. He thanks God that they are a church with every good gift. See what God has lavished on the church. Verse 4: grace in Christ Jesus, the grace that saves, the grace that forgives, the grace that makes us children of God. Verse 5: they have been enriched in every way, in all their speaking and knowledge. The church has the truth about Jesus Christ. It understands and communicates the gospel. Verse 6: the testimony about Christ has been confirmed in them. They were convicted and convinced by Paul’s teaching, just as we were when we read the Bible and came to faith. Verse 7: they do not lack any spiritual gift. They had the Holy Spirit, what more could they have? It’s the perfect church, complete in every way.

The same applies to every church. We have been given every spiritual gift in Christ. We should thank God for that, just as Paul does. It’s not that every person has every gift. We are all different. But the church, as the body of Christ, has been given all it needs. The church is complete in Christ. It’s all there. There’s nothing missing.

Yet, we also know that the church is incomplete. It still struggles with significant problems, sin and failures. It is not blameless yet. It’s yet in a struggle. That’s why the church, as Paul says in verse 7, ‘eagerly awaits the Lord Jesus Christ’, because only then will it be fully perfected.

As a minister of the Gospel, what do I have to look forward to? I look forward to seeing people come to faith, baptising people in the name of Jesus Christ, helping people grow to maturity in Christ. Yes, that’s true, but more than that, I will also have to struggle with trouble in the church, backsliding, stubbornness, and sin in the church. We are not yet complete. So we look forward to the day Jesus returns, when everything will be competed.

But now look at verse 8, ‘He will keep you strong to the end, so you will be blameless on the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. God who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.’ You see, God is faithful, He will do it. He will see to it that the work is completed.

You see the church depends not on us, much as we might be tempted think it does. But on God’s power. He will keep you strong. He is faithful. He will do it.

The church does not depend on you or me. God doesn’t need us. He may graciously use our work. He may even use what we have done here to strengthen His church – we trust and pray He will. But what is the indispensable factor for the survival of the church? Not our decisions; not our abilities; but the power of God. That’s what the church depends on. And what does the Word say? God is faithful and He says, ‘I will give them eternal life, I will build my church, I am making everything new.’

Why is God faithful to keep the church? Because His Son Jesus Christ has completed the work of salvation. Christ has paid for all the sin and trouble and rebellion in the church on the cross.

Look how Christ-centred Paul is. He mentions Christ nine times in the first nine verses. Christ is the foundation. Christ is the rock on which the church is built, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. That’s why Paul is so confident. That’s why we can be confident.

3. United, yet divided (vss 10-17)

So the church is holy, yet called to be holy. The church is complete, yet incomplete, waiting for the Lord’s return. The third tension or ambiguity in the church is that the church is united, yet divided.

The church in Corinth was divided by elitism. Somebody from Cloe’s household reported to Paul that there were quarrels in the church. Look at verse 11, ‘My brothers, some of Cloe’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.’

Here in this country we follow sport. We talk about following our favourite footy team, ‘I follow Port Adelaide. You follow Brisbane Lions, and so on’. But in ancient Corinth they followed their favourite philosopher. The philosophers were the elite people in Corinth, and people would identify with a particular school of thought, ‘I follow Socrates. I belong to Plato’s school of thought.’ Corinth was proud of its philosophical abilities, and that, too, had invaded the church. The church had become riddled with factions and party spirit.

Some people no longer come to church to worship God and encourage each other in the faith. They come to argue their point of view, to parade their group’s brilliance and brand of Christianity. Each clique had its own personality cult; it’s own theological ideas and slogans. Perhaps the Paul party was on about doctrine, the Apollos party was about rhetoric, and the Peter party was about Jewish elements and traditions.

You can imagine how it went: ‘I follow Paul. Paul, you led me to Christ. Paul, you baptised me. Paul, I’ve got all your tapes. I’ve read all your books. We want to name a church after you. We’ll call it -~St Paul’.’

Paul had a fan club in Corinth. So did Apollos and so did Peter. It wasn’t that Paul or Peter were encouraging that sort of thing. It was just immaturity in the church. It was just the culture in which the church was planted, invading the church.

Well, Paul puts a bomb under all elitism, all factionalism, all division. And he calls the church to be united. Look how forcefully he puts it in verse 13: ‘Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified? Were you baptised into the name of Paul?’

Paul is saying, ‘The church is united in Christ. The church is the body of Christ. You can’t divide the body of Christ. You can’t divide Christ up, so that every party or faction has a little bit. The church is the body of Christ. Christ is not divided.’

The other thing he says is that leaders of the church are relatively unimportant. ‘Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptised into the name of Paul?’ Of course not! We are all tempted, as leaders of the church, by popularity, of having our special supporters and personal cheer squad, ‘Bob is the defender of the faith, or Bob is the one who will lead us to the future.’ No, it is Christ who is to be exalted. Look at verse 17: ‘Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the gospel – not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.’

The centre of Christianity is Christ. That’s the gospel: Christ crucified for our sin. Man’s great need is not for another guru. Man doesn’t need clever rhetoric, or superior wisdom or fine theological systems – good as they may be. No, man’s great need is for atonement, the forgiveness of sins. Jesus didn’t come to bring us some new wisdom. He came to do a great work. He died on a cross to pay for our sin.

The minister of Christ is not there to display what he knows, but to proclaim God’s Word and His Work, the death of Christ on a cross. This is what unites people. This is what builds the body of Christ. So look at verse 10: ‘I appeal to you brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that all of you agree with one another so that there be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.’

Many of the divisions in the church come out of a clique mentality, the Corinthian attitude. Yes, we have a diversity of gifts. Yes, we have a diversity of ministry. But no, we must not have a diversity of purpose. The purpose of the church is the spread of the gospel, that’s part of our worship here on earth. And any direction that takes the cross out of the centre of our life and witness as a church is to be resisted.

We are to bring the Gospel, live the Gospel and preach the Gospel, ‘Not with words of human wisdom – lest the cross be emptied of its power.’ That’s what happens when you have parties and factions. You argue about other things, lessor things, and the cross is sidelined, and our unity in Christ, the gospel purpose, is damaged and the cross is emptied of its power.

The only real division is the divide of the Cross. Some hear it and don’t care less, they reject it. Others hear it and are convicted. Why? Because the power of God calls them into fellowship with His Son. It’s a mark of the true church, that the preaching of the cross awakens not contempt, not confusion, not debate, but faith in Jesus Christ.

We will not be united as a church, if we parade our pet enthusiasms, or if we pride ourselves on the cleverness of our preaching, or if we try to prove ourselves superior to others. Either as leaders or in our churches, we will only be united when we locate the centre of our fellowship on the cross of Jesus Christ, where we are saved.

The church is ambiguous. It is holy, yet called to be holy. It is complete, yet incomplete, waiting for Jesus Christ. It is united, yet divided. This is the tension into which we must all work. But we remember verses 8 and 9. They are verses for each of us: ‘He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God who called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.’

Amen.