1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Well, by God's grace, I'm here this morning.

So let's ask for the Lord's help before we look at his word together.

Please pray with me.

God, we do thank you for your grace.

We thank you for your grace that has covered all of our sins in Christ.

Lord, we thank you for your grace which shows itself to us in love that has no source in

ourselves that we are lovable, but Lord, comes from you and your abundant and overflowing

love for us.

Thank you for your grace that enables us in our weakness, in our frailty, Lord, and even

in our sin, Lord.

And it was us to look to you, not despair, but find hope, hope of forgiveness, hope of strength,

hope of life with you.

God, as we look into your word this morning, we pray that you will help us.

Lord, may our hearts be ready to receive your word.

May our minds be alert to listen to what you have to say to us.

God, I ask for your help this morning.

Lord, give me clarity of thought and of expression.

Give my body strength, I pray.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

When you walk into a situation, reception, a new neighborhood, a block party, what's the

first thing that you are asked?

Well, it depends on where you are and depends on the context, doesn't it?

Some places you'll be asked the question, what do you do?

Other places you'll be asked, oh, where are you from?

Some places you'll be asked, oh, who's your father?

Who's your daddy?

Some places you'll be asked, what family do you come from?

All of these questions are different ways of trying to get at the core question, which

is, who are you?

Of course, the question, the answer is complicated to that, isn't it?

I may actually go to a block party this afternoon in my neighborhood, and I've been thinking

about how I might answer the question, oh, hi, who are you?

Well, I live at 161.

I lived there for five years.

I'm a pastor.

I'm a father.

This is Eli and Katie.

I'm a guy who lives in the neighborhood.

I'm a widower.

I'm from Boston and Pittsburgh.

I have a degree from Princeton and a degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

I'm a Pirates fan and a Red Sox fan.

Hope I didn't step on any toes there.

And here's the thing.

All of those things are true of me.

All of them are, in God's sovereignty, a part of who I am.

But the question of who am I has to do not just with what those things are, but how I weight

them.

What do I trust in to be my core identity?

And, you know, when we ask those questions of other people, it's worth thinking, why do

we do that?

Sometimes we ask those questions.

Who are you?

Who are you?

Where are you from?

Those kinds of questions.

We do it because we want to make connections.

Oh, oh, yeah.

Maybe we know someone in common.

We make connections humanly through asking those kinds of questions.

But I think that often we can also use those questions to find our place in the pecking

order.

We walk into the room and we think, okay, who am I a peer with?

Who is my superior socially, organizationally?

Who am I over in this group?

We often walk in and we ask these questions because we want to figure out where do I fit

in all of this?

But there can also be an even uglier side to this, can't there be?

It's that we look for ways to distinguish ourselves, this is who I am, as opposed to who you are,

so that we find those places of difference.

And in those differences, then we can find ourselves comparing ourselves.

Am I better than you or am I worse than you?

That allows us to become snobs and critics and to separate ourselves from one another

in an attempt to build ourselves up.

It's the classic elementary school bully routine, isn't it?

You walk into the playground as a bully.

What do you look for?

The one person who's a little different from everyone else.

Oh, she wears glasses.

He's from a different ethnic group.

Um, he's really tall.

She's really short.

And you beat up on him.

And you make fun of him.

To make yourself feel better.

One might argue that this dynamic in the smaller settings of our social lives

are also the ones that are writ large on the social fabric of our world

that lead to things like genocide, tribal warfare.

Things that, as much as we wish would go away, they don't.

We long for a world of peace and unity.

We long for a place where people can get along.

But there are those terrible people out there who do those terrible things.

Well, friends, I think it's actually a little more complicated than that, isn't it?

Because that very same dynamic that may happen largely

in things like the Holocaust

or the refugee crisis today

and our response to it,

the very same thing is in our hearts

and plays out in all these little social settings

day in and day out.

Who are we?

What does the Bible have to say about this?

How does the gospel of Jesus Christ impact

how we understand who we are

and then how does that impact

how we relate to one another?

And that leads us to our passage this morning.

We are continuing in our series in 1 Corinthians.

If you're using the Pew Bible,

we're in page 952.

And for those of you who have asked,

we are actually setting off on a series

that will preach through the whole book of 1 Corinthians.

Don't be afraid that the sermon schedule

only gets us through chapter 4.

That's just how we'll get to before we take a break for Advent.

Then we'll come back after Christmas

and we'll dive on in.

Bucket your seatbelts.

Here we go.

It's going to be a great time

because this book is such a powerful book

where the Lord is going to help us think about

what does it mean to know Christ

and to be a follower of him in this world.

And as Nick preached last week,

Paul has just thanked God

for this church in Corinth,

for the work of grace that God has done in these people

and for the evidence of his gifting,

his calling,

and his bringing them together

into a unity in Christ,

under Christ.

All of it is focused on Jesus Christ.

If you remember,

he said verses 1 through 9,

name the name of Jesus Christ 11 times.

It's a powerful thing.

And after having given thanks,

Paul then begins.

He begins to address concerns.

The whole structure of the book

is really about Paul addressing concerns.

Chapters 1 through 6

are dealing with concerns that he's heard about.

Chapter 7 begins the concerns

that the church themselves have written

to Paul asking him about

or dialoguing with him about certain things.

So we see the first problem

that Paul addresses surface in this passage.

So let's read it together.

1 Corinthians chapter 1,

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

starting in verse 10.

I appeal to you brothers,

by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

that all of you agree

that there be no distinctions among you,

but that you be united

in the same mind

and the same judgment.

For it has been reported to me

by Chloe's people

that there is quarreling among you,

my brothers.

What I mean is that

each one of you says,

I follow Paul,

I follow Apollos,

I follow Cephas,

or I follow Christ.

Is Christ divided?

Was Paul crucified for you?

Or were you baptized

in my name?

I'm sorry,

were you baptized

in the name of Paul?

I thank God

I baptized none of you

except Crispus and Gaius

so that no one may say

you were baptized in my name.

I did baptize

the household of Stephanas.

Beyond that,

I don't know

whether I baptized anyone else.

For Christ did not send me

to baptize,

but to preach the gospel,

not with words

of eloquent wisdom,

lest the cross of Christ

be emptied of its power.

Friends,

this is what Paul wants us

to hear today,

is that God

has called his people,

God has called us

into a unity

that is based

on the deepest

and the most profound identity

we can have,

that of being in Christ.

Paul is going to say

that unity flows

from a proper identity.

And as we work

through the passage,

we're going to see

Paul sort of presents

the problem,

and then he attacks,

or then he puts forth

a solution.

He says,

this is the problem,

that's what we'll talk

about first,

and then this is the solution,

this is how we respond

to it in a proper way.

So first,

what is the problem?

Really,

it's in verses 10 through 12.

Starts out by saying,

there are divisions

among you.

Right?

And these divisions

seem to be related

to a number of things,

don't they?

These divisions are related

to personalities.

Paul,

Apollos,

who was a follower

of Paul's,

a relative,

who had probably

ministered in Corinth

at one point,

silver-tongued Apollos.

He's probably a great speaker.

I follow Paul.

Well,

Paul is the original apostle

to the Gentiles.

I follow Cephas,

which is the Aramaic name

for Peter.

Well,

he was with Jesus.

I want to be on his team.

I follow Christ.

Well,

you guys follow human leaders.

Look at me.

I know that that's silly.

I'm on the Christ team.

And in doing this,

they've separated themselves

from one another.

They've said,

I'm better than you are

by my identification

with this person.

It also seems to be

connected to baptism.

Well,

I was baptized by John Stott.

Well,

I was baptized by Billy Graham.

Well,

I was baptized by the Pope.

Well,

I was baptized by Jesus himself.

You know?

And somehow,

they latched on to baptism

as one of these identifiers.

It also seems

that it was probably

connected to gifting

and speaking.

We see that at the end

and we'll see it much more

as we go on

in the next couple of chapters.

That eloquence

and being able to speak publicly

in the frame

of the Corinthian context

with sophistry

and rhetoric

and filling the pattern

of expected rhetoric

so that you can impress

impress your hearers.

So for all these reasons,

the church in Corinth

was divided.

They were divided

like a piece of fabric

that is meant to be whole

that had been torn up

into pieces.

Notice how strong

this identification

with the leaders is.

It's not just

I like this guy

better than this guy

or I've been blessed

by this guy

and not that guy.

It's not nearly

that shallow.

It's much more profound.

Look at it again.

It's in verse what?

Verse 12, right?

I follow Paul.

I follow Paul.

This is how the ESV

translates it.

You know how it is

in the original?

It actually just says

I am of Paul.

Look back to verse 2

for a second.

Who does the church

really belong to?

To the church

of God.

But these men and women

in Corinth

have lost sight of that.

Haven't they?

And they've divided themselves.

And it seems like

in identifying

with these human leaders

they're trying

to ride their coattails

to success.

In the competitive context

of the Corinthian world

they're thinking

how do I get ahead?

And they've translated it

from their business practices

and from their social settings

into the church itself.

I want to be a part

of the really cool church

that's really getting ahead.

I don't want to be a part

of that backwater church

over there

that isn't very exciting.

I want to be

I want to follow

these coattails

to spiritual prominence

in the church

and in the world.

Kind of like

I want to find

the right startup guy

to invest my money in

so that I can be in

on the ground floor

of the next

Google, Twitter, Facebook

whatever it is.

they're wielding

their identity

against one another

with this desire

to get ahead.

And it's become

not just their

preferred leader

but it's become

their identity.

I am of Paul

I am of Apollos.

It's also important

this is a slight side note

but it's important

to recognize

that these divisions

are not doctrinal.

Right?

For one thing

Paul and Apollos

and Peter

would be horrified

to know that

their names

are being used by this.

None of these men

advocated for this

cultivated it

or would support it

if they knew

that it was happening.

But secondly

recognize that

this is not

a Galatians situation.

Paul clearly says

there are times

when the gospel

is at stake

the truth

and the clarity

of the gospel

is at stake

and divisions

are important

and to say

that man

is a false teacher

that person

is a false teacher

because they are

distorting the gospel

is an important thing

in the life

of our church.

And yet

friends

how often

and maybe

how often

especially for us

in the Protestant tradition

have we allowed

personality splits

and secondary things

like

what version

of the Bible

do we follow

or

what color

is the carpet

or what kind

of music

do we play.

There are so many ways

that we then

blow little

secondary things up

into

primary and central

things about the gospel

and then divide

over them

in ways

that are unhealthy.

That's what

these men did.

They said

the church here

said

here are men

who I've been blessed

by their ministry

and then they've been

inflated

to a place of prominence

in their identity

and their understanding

of the Christian life

that has completely

distorted it

and torn the fabric

of the church apart.

So we need to be careful

about our motivations

when we go to the place

of doctrinal division

even though there are times

when it is appropriate

and right.

This is why we at Trinity

talk about ourselves

as a gospel centered church

because we want the gospel

to be in the center.

Now we always have to talk

about what is the gospel

and what's an entailment

of the gospel

and what's the implications

of the gospel

and all of those things

and those are all

good conversations

but we say it explicitly

because we want to make

the important things

the important things

in our church.

We are Baptist

but we really want to be

about the gospel.

That's a conviction we hold

but it's not

the very core

of our identity

let alone our positions

on the end times

or our denominational affiliation

or our support

of a political party

or a candidate.

we could go on

and on about

different ways

in which churches

could be known

for lots of different things

and Paul says

don't let yourself

be divided

over these things.

This is the problem.

Now

is this really a problem

in our church?

This is a worthwhile question

to explore

don't you think?

Is this really

I thank the Lord

that this is not

a major problem

in our church.

I don't believe

as I walk in here

on Friday

that there are

four factions

that are sitting

amongst you all

that are somehow

fighting and backbiting

and challenging

one another

for the control

or direction

or prominence

in our church

and I am so thankful

for that.

But having said that

let me explore it

a little bit with you.

A couple of reflections

on this.

One

we have a co-pastor

model in this church.

If you're new to it

there are three of us

Greg, Nick and I

who are staff elders.

That means that

we are full time

on the staff of the church

we are called pastors.

There are elders

that we are peers with

who are not

on the staff of the church

that we serve with.

One of the dangers

one of the fears

when this model

was put into place

four or five years ago

was that our church

would very easily

devolve into the

I'm of Nick

and I'm of Greg

and I'm of Matt.

Oh

how thankful I am

that by the grace of God

that has not been true.

And I will say

that I think it is

to a large extent

because of the humility

of the men

that I serve with

that they have

discouraged it

they have

not done anything

to encourage it

they have refuted it

when it has come up

they speak well

of one another

and it's made

a huge difference.

But it has been

God's grace

that that is true.

Friends

may this always be true

of our church.

I think there might be

a second kind of division

in our church

though

that may be

a little more salient

and may strike

a little bit closer

to home.

So let me explore this

for a few minutes.

It's a division

that's woven

into the very fabric

of our community

just like

in the Corinthian community

there was a culture

that encouraged

that kind of division.

The division

that I see

that's at least

possible

in our church

would be this

I am of Yale

I am not

of Yale.

Now this may not be true

some of you

are going to be

fence sitters

some of you

are going to be married

some in

some out

some of you

may not feel this

at all

but let's explore it

for a few minutes

just to think about it.

One of the things

that I think is true

is that

when you come

to a prestigious

university

like Yale

it's very easy

for that to become

very central

to your identity

very quickly.

It's just

it's not a conscious

decision.

You walk into

the culture

and part of it

is the university

itself tells you

that you are the best

and the brightest

and you're going

to change the world

and you're going

to be presidents

of the United States

and you're special

because you're at Yale.

and you're repeated

over and over

and over again.

And I'm not sure

you always know

how deep it is.

I'm not sure

you always

recognize

how much

you communicate

that

to those around you

who aren't

a part of Yale.

It plays out

in really

simple ways

very normal

human ways

maybe your

social cliques

the people

who are in

your professional

school

or in your

college

or in your

you just

naturally

gravitate

towards those

and those

are the people

you talk to

after church

and those

are the people

who you get

a small group

with

and they're

the church

that you

sort of

hang out

with.

Another way

I think it

seeps in

is if you

haven't listened

to Pastor Greg's

sermon that he

preached a couple

years ago

in Jeremiah 29

go back and look

it up on the

website and listen

to it.

He said there

are lots of

people who come

to New Haven

for a while

to get their

stuff and to

get out

and it's very

easy in a

place like Yale

to do that.

You come in

and you're only

here to get

your degree

to get through

your program

and to move

on and you've

got your sights

set on something

else and this

is just a

way station

and you know

just like stopping

at a rest area

you may ignore

all the restaurants

if all you need

is a bathroom

you know

you're just doing

you're getting

what you need

and then you

keep going.

It's easy in the

questions that you

ask when you

meet someone new

oh who are you

right?

What do you do?

Oh what department

are you in?

Well you know

what if you're

just working in a

job in town

those can really

be off-putting.

They communicate

automatically

I'm not a part

of your world.

I say you

but I want

to say this

I remember

doing this

I was a student

once

when I went

off to university

I lived in a town

but I didn't know

anything about it

I didn't care

anything about it

it wasn't until

after I graduated

and stayed

for a little while

that I began

to learn

about the region

and about the

spiritual condition

of it

and the place

of the church

I was thankful

that I was in a church

where I actually

got to know

some of the church

members outside

of just the

university community

through service

it's a plug

for the one thing

you get involved

in those things

you get to meet

people in the church

who are different

which is wonderful

but one of the things

that I realized

is that when I

didn't care

about the town

that I was in

it communicated

to those who

lived there

it doesn't matter

that's very painful

and it's very dividing

now

how about those

of you

who are not

of Yale

often

everything seems

to be about

Yale

doesn't it

you might feel

envious

of all the

attention

all the

resources

all the

opportunities

that people

who are

of Yale

have

you might feel

insecure

and threatened

well they're

really smart

people

I'm not very

smart

how do I

go to Bible

study

with smart

people like

that

that's

intimidating

you may feel

contemptuous

because you've

seen them

try to change

a tire

and you know

they can't

do it

you may be

weary

if you've

been here

for a while

of the stream

that's flowing

through our

church

you may

resent them

for taking

and not

giving

it seems

and you may

feel like

an overlooked

majority

not valued

or seen

very well

in our

society

here in

New Haven

maybe even

here in

our church

church

I expose

this division

not because

I think

it is

tearing

our church

apart

but because

I think

it could

I expose

it because

I want

us to see

that if

we have

taken on

these

attitudes

the root

of them

may be

in our

identity

we see

ourselves

in one

camp

or the

other

and in

doing so

we allow

ourselves

to separate

from people

who are

different

from us

we think

we end up

competing

for the

resources

for the

attention

of the

pastors

for the

money

and the

budget

we could

end up

having a

mutual

attitude

of

superiority

one over

the other

we can

have a

disregard

or be

dismissive

of one

another

and friends

if we

embrace

that

then we're

a part

of the

problem

that Paul

is exposing

and confronting

in the

church

in

Corinth

let me

just say

this

out of

these

two

things

that I

think

are very

salient

in our

church

culture

I would

just want

to ask

a series

of questions

because there

are lots

of things

that we

can put

our identities

in

there are

lots

of ways

that we

can build

ourselves

up

and separate

ourselves

from those

around us

even within

the church

so let me

just ask you

some questions

to reflect

on your

own

when I

introduce

myself

what do

I say

what does

that say

who I

think I

am in

this

particular

relationship

how do

what

how I

share

myself

how does

that position

me with

regard to

the other

person

do I

use my

identity

subtly

or not

so subtly

to make

myself

look good

in the

eyes of

others

we need

to ask

ourselves

these

questions

I think

this tendency

runs pretty

deep

in human

and humanity

the good

news is

there's

hope

we don't

have to

be divided

our longing

for a

unity that

is real

and substantial

is possible

in the

kingdom of

God

and in

Christ

because when

we find

our identity

not in

all of

these other

things

but in

Christ

himself

this

then

produces

a unity

in us

that is

a beautiful

thing to

behold

let's

explore how

Paul talks

about this

in the

passage

look back

with me

in verses

we're going

to start

in verse

10

because you

see

Paul's

initial

solution

it seems

to be

very easy

don't be

divided

agree

be of

the same

mind

think the

same

have the

same

judgment

just get

along

right

and he's

not doing

that superficially

you'll see

he's building

the case

for it

but at the

very beginning

he's saying

don't be

divided

if you

feel

divided

you are

doing

something

that is

contrary

to your

nature

and contrary

to the

nature

of the

community

that God

has called

you into

having

the same

judgment

and having

the same

mind

is not

just agreeing

to disagree

it's not

just shallow

tolerance

in the way

that our

world often

presents it

today

it's a

deeper

unity

of values

and of

priorities

and of

ends

it is that

there is a

core of

truth

that matters

to us

a truth

about who

God is

and what

he's done

in the world

and who

we are

in relationship

to him

and not

only is

that truth

true

but it

is the

most important

thing about

us

so it

is both

the truth

of it

and the

significance

of it

that brings

us together

that's what

Paul is saying

when he talks

about being

of the same

mind

and the

same

what is

the phrase

let me look

at it

same mind

and the

same judgment

right

he's saying

this is at

the core

in Christ

this is

where it

is

and there

are lots

of ways

that he

helps us

understand

the basis

of this

do you

notice

that one

of the

first

things

he did

is to

say

brothers

I

appeal

to you

brothers

and then

he repeats

it at the

end of

verse 11

my

brothers

he's

saying

God

has

called

us

in

Christ

into

a

family

now

your

family

may

be

completely

fractured

your

family

may

feel

like

there's

no

unity

in it

at all

but

the

biblical

picture

the

biblical

picture

of

unity

is

that

God

has

called

you

into

one

family

with

one

God

and

father

over

us

all

and

we

are

called

to be

brothers

and

sisters

of

Jesus

the

redeemer

and

the

king

what

a

glorious

thing

that

is

so

he

says

how

can

we

be

divided

against

one

another

if

Christ

has

called

us

into

one

family

and

then

secondly

he

says

and

I

appeal

to

you

in

the

name

of

Christ

this

is

in

verse

10

again

he's

saying

we

are

not

only

called

into

this

family

but

we

have

one

authority

over

us

the

church

has

one

head

who

is

Jesus

Christ

he

alone

has

the

ultimate

authority

and

so

how

can

we

divide

ourselves

against

one

another

and

claim

identity

in

this

person

and

this

person

when

there

is

one

person

who

alone

has

the

authority

over

us

and

then

Paul

in

verse

13

or

verse

12

no

verse

13

I

love

Paul's

rhetorical

questions

you should

look

particularly

in

first

Corinthians

he

pulls

them

out

a

lot

to

get

his

point

across

and

it's

always

worth

asking

when

there's

a

question

what

is

Paul

expecting

the

answer

to

be

right

look at

verse

13

is

Christ

divided

well

of course

not

how can

you

divide

Christ

so

how

can

you

divide

his

church

that's

the

answer

that

he's

giving

and

then

he

keeps

going

was

Paul

crucified

for

you

well

this is

absurd

of course

not

only

Christ

was

crucified

then

why

are you

making

so much

of

Paul

that

you

are

diminishing

the

excellency

and the

supremacy

of

Christ

he keeps

going

were you

baptized

into the

name

of Paul

right

he picks up

this

this

baptized

thing

of course

you wouldn't

be baptized

in the name

of Paul

Paul hasn't

done anything

but proclaim

to you

what Jesus

has done

you

are baptized

in the

name

of Jesus

Christ

because

he's

done

the

work

of

redemption

for you

and we'll

explore that

as we get

down a little

bit further

and this

leads him

a little

bit into

this

place

of

baptism

and I

love

how he

does

this

because

he

says

look

I'm

glad

I didn't

baptize

many

of you

because

then it

might

look

like

I

was

trying

to

build

my

own

little

army

sort

of

counting

my

scalps

you know

I'm

trying

to

get

people

to

be

my

people

by

baptizing

him

he's

like

I'm

glad

I

didn't

baptize

and then

in

God's

sovereignty

this

little

aside

in

verse

16

is

so

beautiful

isn't

it

right

because

it's

funny

Paul's

like

I

only

baptized

to

oh

this

what

is

Paul

saying

it

didn't

matter

to

him

it

wasn't

important

at

all

who

it

was

who

performed

the

baptism

ceremony

what Paul

cared

about

is

who

were

you

baptized

into

and

you

were

baptized

not

into

your

church

leader

not

into

your

denomination

not

into

your

particular

church

faction

you

were

baptized

into

Christ

and

in

the

name

of

Christ

so

how

can

you

divide

over

these

things

which

leads

us

to

verse

17

in

some

ways

this

is

where

we

see

the

end

of

where

Paul

has

been

taking

this

argument

he's

saying

you

are

divided

don't

be

be

of

one

mind

be

of

one

mind

because

you

have

all

of

these

things

in

Christ

in

common

then

in

verse

17

what

he

says

is

read

it

with

me

for

Christ

did

not

send

me

to

baptize

but

to

preach

the

gospel

not

with

words

of

eloquent

wisdom

lest

the

cross

of

Christ

be

emptied

of

its

power

now

look

Paul

didn't

not

baptize

people

right

Matthew

28

18

would

say

that

he

actually

was

called

to

baptize

people

just

like

everyone

else

in

the

church

is

called

to

go

and

make

disciples

and

baptize

people

but

what

Paul

is

saying

is

that

my

job

before

you

is

to

proclaim

what

God

has

done

in

Christ

and

don't

use

baptism

as

this

kingdom

I

wasn't

called

to

do

that