Those who trust Christ have been brought into His family. We have unity. The assignment of individuals in the church, according our text, is to maintain it.
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Take Note is a live radio program heard weekdays on Harvest Family Radio, Guam. The podcast version features a ten-minute recap of one of our favorite programs from the previous week, minus the music.
The Same Mind
1 Corinthians 1:10-21
- The Apostle Paul speaks to the Corinthian church in our passage of the day
- He talks about their unity
- And what it ought to look like
- Some of the divisions that have come into the church based on personal allegiance
- How the preaching of the cross is received in the world
- And how it ought to be received
- We enter the passage just after the introduction and initial greetings
- And it gets into some heavy content right away
- Some interesting content
- Some important content
- Things we'll want to spend more time talking about
- As we approach our theme "The Same Mind"
- From 1 Corinthians 1:10-21
- We'll begin today with some very familiar language about unity in the church
- These are encouragements we see throughout the New Testament
- People who are in Christ
- Serving together in His great commission ministry
- Have a responsibility to maintain unity
- Our unity finds its origin in Him
- It is not manufactured
- We are part of His family - together
- But we must maintain it
- By having the kind of mindset and outlook this passage speaks about…
1 Corinthians 1:10
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
- To speak the same thing is to simply agree
- To not allow there to become divisions
- To be unified in purpose
- To be moving in the same direction
- The local church must move forward in this way
- We are united in Christ
- Guided by His Holy Spirit
- And by His word
- Tasked to carry out the same commission
- This is not possible without unity
- But we are just humans
- We still dwell in these bodies of flesh
- And still live in this sin-cursed world
- So there will be times of disunity
- That was the case at Corinth…
1 Corinthians 1:11
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
- There is quarreling and contentions among the brethren here
- This, as it always does, is hindering the work
- It is taking them off-mission
- Creating a problem that must be solved
- And there are details about what is happening…
1 Corinthians 1:12-17
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
- It appears those within the church had aligned themselves with certain ministers
- Whether it was the style of their ministry
- Or their personality
- Or their likeability
- Or their way of speaking and writing
- We do not know
- But the allegiances were causing division
- Some even said they were "of Christ"
- Which is the correct answer
- But everyone in the list was pointing the group to Christ
- And Christ's body is not divided
- Paul takes pains to distance himself from this way of thinking
- He was not calling disciples unto himself
- He wasn't baptizing people in his own name
- And baptism wasn't even the main point of his ministry
- It was rather just a picture of what Jesus did according to the gospel
- In dying, being buried, and raising from the dead
- It was not about the eloquence of any given preacher of the gospel
- But of the content of the gospel itself
- And that needed to be front and center
- Because the world does not know the gospel
- Or embrace the gospel
- Or even recognize its beauty and power
- As Paul goes on…
1 Corinthians 1:18
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
- Among those that reject Christ
- The message of His gospel is not powerful at all
- In fact, it is regarded as foolishness
- But we who know Him
- Understand its power
- We have been transformed by it
- It has made all the difference for us
- The gospel and the Savior it reveals unifies us
- It binds together believers
- Despite what the world may say about it…
1 Corinthians 1:19-21
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
- This is likely a quote from Isaiah 29:14, which says…
"Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid."
- The gospel has put to silence all the world's wisdom
- It has made the men lauded for their brilliance seem foolish by comparison
- And whatever the world says about salvation and eternal life outside the gospel
- Is false
- And, no matter how it is regarded on earth, nonsense
- Whatever is regarded as wisdom in this world
- Cannot bring men to God
- And though it regards our preaching of the gospel as foolish
- It is the only thing that can bring men to God
- And does
- Because the message and the Savior it presents is powerful enough to do it
- How can we not be united around this?