Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Through our childhood and growing up years we all had our favorite adults, didn’t we? Our favorite teachers, favorite coaches, favorite adult relatives, favorite athletes or musicians, maybe even favorite spiritual leaders, be they Rabbi, Priest, Pastor or Imam. Is that true for you today as an adult?
We are with the apostle Paul as he has begun writing his first of two letters to the Christians in Corinth in late 54ad. Paul is in Ephesus and word has come to him that there are some problems in Corinth among these Christians and one of the issues is division motivated by the people having different favorite spiritual leaders.
Paul is dictating and I imagine Timothy is scribing Paul’s words: “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree with one another… and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and heart.” (1 Cor. 1:10) Would you agree that one of the evidences of the presence and work of the Holy Spirit of God in a group of Christians is their UNITY in their understanding of and obedience to God’s Truth?
Conversely, one of the indications that the devil is stirring up an ‘ekklesia’, a church of God’s people, is disagreement, disunity, especially as it involves God’s truth. Paul had heard that in Corinth there was growing disagreement among the Christians, and their disagreement was rooted in who their favorite teacher was and therefore who they followed.
You’ll remember we met Mr. Apollos in Ephesus, as recorded in Acts 18:24. He was a well-educated man from Alexandria, Egypt. While in Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla had taken Apollos under their wing to teach Apollos the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as they had learned it from Paul. (Acts 18:26)
Those days significantly expanded Apollos’ understanding of Jesus, the Gospel, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the ‘ekklesia’, the church of Jesus. After an extended time of learning from Aquila and Priscilla, Apollos felt led to leave Ephesus and move to Corinth, aiming to further teach young Christians there. (Acts 18:27,28)
Apparently, Apollos was such a well-liked teacher some jealousy arose among the Christians in Corinth. Some said they preferred Apollos, others said they preferred Paul, and hoped he would come back to Corinth someday soon. It appears some even knew of the apostle Peter, which is why Paul wrote this to these Christians, in Corinth, caught up in this disunity: “I have been informed that there are quarrels among you. Some of you say, ‘I follow Paul’, others say, ‘I follow Apollos’ and others say, ‘I follow Cephas’ [Peter], still others say, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Jesus Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:11-13)
Now my friends, I’m sure you can see the problem in Corinth has been a problem since the days of Jesus, all over the world. Particularly in America this is called ‘consumerism religion’ or even ‘consumerism Christianity’. It’s people selecting a church on the basis of their appetite! Which church has a preacher they like, or which one has music they like. It’s very much like choosing your favorite restaurant or athletic team or podcast. Paul was calling the Corinthian Christians to recognize this was a scheme of the devil trying to breed disunity, jealousy, and discord among them., but also keeping their focus on people rather than on Jesus!
Paul challenged them to understand Jesus and His Gospel should draw them together as brothers and sisters, with their focus on Christ. Paul then made this powerful statement: “Jesus Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel, not with wisdom or eloquence, lest the cross be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.“ (1 Cor. 1:17,18)
The reputation of Apollos was that he was a captivating speaker. When Apollos preached, he held people spell bound! Paul’s reputation was that he was a passionate, intelligent, speaker whose life had been profoundly changed by his encounter with the risen Jesus Christ, whom he had been opposing with all his might. Apparently, Apollos drew people to consider the WONDER of the Gospel of Jesus by his eloquence. Paul drew people to consider the POWER of the Gospel by the story of the life changing personal experiences he and others had. Paul was concerned that people not be enthralled by words, but that people experience the power of the cross of Jesus liberating them from the sin bondage!
So, I need to challenge us here for a moment my friends. In 2023 you and I, no matter where we live in the world, can access ANY preacher, living or dead, through the archives of their preaching on the internet. COVID profoundly changed the listening habits of millions of church goers when they were forced to remain at home and listen to preaching online.
Is it fair to say that now, with the advances of technology, many people, particularly those under age 45, satisfy their spiritual hunger more by finding their favorite speaker or topic online, through podcasts and live stream, rather than by their commitment to their local church? Isn’t that exactly what Paul was addressing 2000 years ago in Corinth? Have you noticed how few people bring Bibles to church or Bible study, but rather use their cellphone when turning to the Bible. I wonder how that is affecting their personal engagement with God’s Word.
My father is 96 years old, and I have a box of his old Bibles. Dad is nearly blind now, so he can’t read God’s word, but he faithfully listens every day to the audio Bible. As I leaf through Dad’s Bibles, the pages are well worn, and the margins filled with my dad’s notations.
My Bibles are the same, what about yours? Will your children treasure your Bibles, when you grow old, as much as I treasure those my father has passed on to me? Paul was challenging the Christians in Corinth to NOT get caught up in spiritual leader personality appeal, but rather Paul urged them to develop an insatiable appetite for God’s Word, for understanding Jesus and His Gospel, for learning from the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit teaches God’s people. I receive Paul’s challenge for myself, and I urge you to embrace it as well.
As we pause here today, let’s reflect deeply on those last words of Paul’s: “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Yes, the death of Jesus on the cross makes NO sense to someone who REFUSES to believe Jesus is God the Son, or that Jesus lived a sinless life, or that the atonement death of Jesus is accepted by Holy God as payment in full for your sin and mine.
But for those of us who believe those important truths, our lives have been profoundly changed by the POWER of the atonement death and resurrection of Jesus, for HE has liberated us, set us free from our slavery to sin and our sin condemnation! We have been forgiven of our sin by God the Father; we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God who is doing God’s powerful work of transformation and sanctification in our lives every day!
That my friends, is worth celebrating… IF it’s what you are experiencing, and here’s a song to help us do that!
Today’s Scripture is 1 Cor. 1:10-18.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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