1 Corinthians: Not in VainSýnishorn

As we look at our individual churches – and perhaps the wider church too – where does our confidence lie? 

After yesterday’s positive beginning, it quickly becomes clear that things aren’t so hunky-dory in the church at Corinth. In particular, disunity seems to be prevalent (vv. 10-12). Another group of Christians, ‘Chloe’s household’ (v. 11), have passed on that the Corinthians are quarrelling about which leader was the best. 

It was normal in Greek society for visiting philosophers and speakers to pass through town. People would typically rally around their favourite, whoever they felt sounded wisest or most eloquent. But like a bad disease, this practice seems to have now spread to the church, hence Paul’s appeal for unity ‘in mind and thought’ (v. 10). 

So with a blast of rhetorical questions (v. 13), Paul highlights the foolishness of this petty factionalism. Given what we saw about our identity being in Christ (1:1-9), how can Christ be divided? Of course, no one would say that a leader is more significant than Jesus, but perhaps in practice we can sometimes act like it. 

But Paul is clear he has no desire for a ‘following’ or a ‘tribe’. He was sent by Christ to ‘preach the gospel’, and ‘not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power’ (v. 17). And here we get our first hint as to what had gone wrong in Corinth. It seems their disunity flowed from a lack of confidence in the power of the message of the cross. And so they’d started to rely on people, rather than the gospel. 

Reflection 

The Corinthians had stopped relying on the power of the gospel, and had begun to trust in the impressiveness of leaders. Pray that we wouldn’t draw up battle lines over personalities and ‘big names’, but would find unity in ‘the message of the cross’.