| Introduction After the greeting and prayer of thanksgiving, in which he introduces the threefold theme of the letter (Christ has redeemed and sanctified you; therefore, live holy and united lives for the glory of Christ), Paul spends the next 6 chapters addressing the things he has heard concerning the Corinthian church from Chloe's people and perhaps from those who delivered their letter to him. I. Disunity Revealed, 11. A. Paul's passionate plea in v. 10 arises from the report he received from members of the church in Corinth. B. The report is that there are contentions among the Christians in Corinth. II. Disunity Registered, 12. A. The evidence that there were divisions in the church was that some people were lining up behind a particular leader in the church as superior to the other people. B. It is not necessary to think that every member of the church lined up in one of these four groups, but enough did that created a problem. C. None of these leaders were willing participants in these divisions. III. Disunity Rebuked, 13-17. A. Paul demonstrates the absurdity of what the different factions in the church at Corinth was doing, 13. B. Very few can actually claim that they are "of Paul," 14-16. C. Paul's, and every Christian pastor's, primary call was to preach the Gospel, 17. IV. Disunity Resolved, 10. A. The solution is simple: 1. Confess the same thing. 2. Don't be divided. 3. Be joined together. B. Before we get there, notice how important this issue is to Paul. 1. He pleads with them. 2. What he asks is not something that he wants but what Christ wants – in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. C. Christian unity is based on a common confession – speak the same thing. D. Christian unity is based on a common purpose – same mind and judgment. E. The result of unity in completeness – be perfectly joined together – he develops this idea later on in the analogy of the church as a body. Applications & Conclusion
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Friday, June 22, 2012
The Four R's of Disunity
