CARNALITY AND IMATURITY IN THE CHURCH

1Cor. 1:10-17; 3:1-15

Brethren, I thank God for every opportunity to stand before you in this Church. God has been faithful who has been with us since this Church started and has brought us to this level of growth. It is my desire to continue to guide you according to the ethos of our Church and according to the unchanging word of God.

This morning my message is going to dwell on the first couple of chapters of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. There we shall see the apostle Paul working hard to keep the Church in Corinth on the right track.

 Why do divisions occur in the Church? The Church in Corinth had internal divisions.

ü Those divisions were coursed by worldly wisdom.

ü The congregation misunderstood the essential truths of the Gospel.

ü Their concept of the wisdom of God was wrong.

ü They had an improper attitude regarding church leaders.

ü They were selecting who to listen to and who is their preferred leader.

ü They demonstrated that they were mere infants in Christ (1Cor.3:1–4).

ü The Corinthian Church was influenced by worldly thinking and behaviour.

They did not recognize the fact that mere intellectual persuasion cannot save anyone. Salvation is far more profound, far more serious, far more important than can be handled by mere intellect.  Saving faith is produced by the Spirit's work in the heart of the believing person.

1. Christ, The Church's One Foundation
(1Cor.3:1-4; Mat.16:18-19; 1Pet.2:5-7).
Christ is the firm foundation of the Church. No one can lay any other foundation. Any other foundation will not be the Church of Christ. The Church is a spiritual edifice built around Jesus Christ. Christians are the living stones (1Pet.2:5). This building is held together by Christ the Corner Stone (1Pet.2:6-7).

 What is the Church?

It is not building for religious worship. It is not any body of religious worshippers. The Church is called by many names. It is the Body of Christ (Col.1:18); Temple (Eph.2:20-21); Bride (Rev.19:7; 21:2, 9); Royal Priesthood (1Pet.2:9); Holy Nation (1Pet.2:9); Flock (Acts 20:28; 1Pet.5:2-4).

Why is the Church here?

ü To spread the good news of the Kingdom (Mat.28:18-20).

ü To show forth the glory of God (1Peter 2:9-10)

ü It is here for a specific purpose, it is here on a privileged assignment – to work with the Holy Spirit to act as God’s ministers of reconciliation (2Cor.517-19).

This is done when the Church preaches the Gospel (1Cor.15:1-3). We are here to tell men that Christ died and rose again that their sins may be blotted out when they believe in Him!

It is the job of the members of the church to preach the good news because we are partakers of it, and we understand it.

The Church is also described as the Temple of God (1Cor.3:16-17). This places the Church in an enviable position. But it also leaves us in a position of great responsibility.

If the Church is the Temple of God, how should we act in it? How should we work in it? How should we relate in it (John 13:34-35)?

2. The Church’s Leaders, Builders And Carnality

(1Cor.3:1-15; Acts 18:24-28)
Corinth was a Roman colony, operating under Roman law and custom. It was also a city where many god’s were worshipped, and integrated into civic festivals and trade guilds, social clubs and everyday life. By virtue of its position Corinth was a confluence of many religions. The cult of Aphrodite – the goddess of love, beauty and procreation, was based in Corinth and honoured with numerous temples. Today it is still a place of holidaying.

You can compare the City of Glasgow with Corinth. Glasgow is a cultural city. A few years ago it became the European city of culture. This year it is hosting the Common Wealth Games. People from many nations will come into Glasgow. Glasgow has become a city of great cultural diversity. In a city like this, the Church will face challenges, even opposition. The Church must thrive under hostile atmosphere. 

No doubt the Corinthians would have reacted against the Church like the Athenians against Paul, calling them “setters forth of strange gods” (Acts 17:18).

It was not surprising that the Church in Corinth should be faced with the kind of problems we read in Paul’s letter to them. The surprising thing was that as a Church, they allowed themselves the overwhelmed by these problems, by the views and practices current in that pagan society.

Many Christians of our age are doing exactly the same thing! They are copying the current practices of the present godless society. Even big church leaders would come out and proclaim without shame, that Britain is a post-Christian nation! Many Christian leaders support and promote same sex relationship and marriage. It would not be surprising if in the future sins like adultery, fornication, stealing, even paedophilia would be approved in many societies as normal. May the Lord deliver us from all these.

The Corinthian Church had great leaders. Paul was their founder. The great Apollos was their teacher. He was known to be mighty in scriptures (Acts 18:24-28). He came from Alexandria in Egypt which was a well-known city of learning. At one time Alexandria had the most famous library in the world. It is a port city, a place many people still go for holiday.  Apollos, an eloquent, charismatic leader grew up in Alexandria.

So this Church had solid foundations in the Scriptures and in the power of the Holy Spirit. They boasted numerous spiritual gifts. This probably contributed to the divisive spirit among the members of this Church. It is also important to note that the Corinthians Church was established on a house Church model (Col.4:15; Philemon 1-2). It would not be inappropriate to suggest that this could have influenced their sin of party spirit!

So the apostle Paul wrote them letters designed to correct the errors prevalent in the Church. We need to be watchful also so that we do not allow errors to creep into our Churches because we are in similar situations as the Corinthian Church.

 3. The Countering of the Church’s Problems of Carnality.

(1Cor.1:10-16; 3:1-9)

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews called the Hebrew Christians babies in Christ, able only to digest the “sincere milk” of the word (Hebrews 5:6-14).

Everyone who uses only the milk of the word is unskillful in the word of righteousness.

In the next chapter we are charged to leave the first principles of the doctrine of Christ and move on to maturity. The first principles are the foundation to our faith. That is where we begin, but we must make progress, go beyond the milk of the word. Carnality is a product of immaturity. Grow up! How long are you going to remain a baby Christian? Go beyond the basic levels of righteousness (Mat.5:20).

 It is fundamental for Christians to love the brethren, for Christian husbands to love their wives, for Christian wives to love their husbands and for children to obey their parents.

But there is such a thing as loving your enemies, blessing those who curse you, doing good to those who hate you, praying for those who despitefully use you and persecute you (Mat.5:43-44). Now that is something! The Lord expects us to do more. Do more!

 The party spirit in Corinth was caused by carnality.  One party claimed Paul as their party leader. Another claimed Apollos as their leader. Yet another claimed Peter as their champion. And finally one group claimed Christ as their head!

The Church was riddled with interpersonal conflicts – quarrels, divisions, strife, jealousy, party spirit, gross immorality, and abuse of the Lord’s Supper, abuse of spiritual gifts, comingling with idol worshippers in their feasts, and taking one another to civil courts. This is nothing but worldliness (2Cor.2:20).

Leaders of the Church should take warning not to inadvertently cause party spirit, divisions, strife, conflicts or quarrels within the Church. Christ has not called us to make disciples unto ourselves. Apollos was a charismatic, eloquent leader, and that attracted worldly minded believers to make him their preferred speaker.
Thank God there is evidence that Apollos did not approve of this (1Cor.16:12).

 

We who are leaders and workers in this Church should learn from Apollos.

Deeper Life Bible Church in Scotland is one Church with branches in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow, with some work developing in Inverness. The challenges of our Church are comparable to those of the Corinthian Church. But by the grace of God and the individual care of our ministers, we will not fall prey to the problems of Corinth.

I do however charge you in this Church to honour your leaders according to scriptures (Rom.13:1-, 7; 1Thes.5:12-13). Our leaders know that they are making disciples unto Jesus Christ, preparing you for heaven.

They will do what is right.

The Lord wants us to come to maturity. That is why he gave spiritual gifts.

I close by reading (Eph.4:11-16).

Are you doing more than the basic things of our faith? Are you still using milk or have you began to digest strong meat? Have you started yet to advance to maturity? Is your love becoming perfect? Do you manifest party spirit? Let’s pray that God will lead us unto higher ground!