It’s easy for us to have a rose-tinted view of the early church, as if everything they did was ideal. But most of the New Testament letters show us that wasn’t so, since they were sent to rebuke churches that needed to mend their ways.
In this article, Rich Brown addresses three surprising false teachings in the Corinthian church that we must guard against today.
— Karl Vaters
The strength of the smaller church is close relationships. But those relationships can be torn apart by three undetected, unbelievable, even shocking false doctrines that create division and conflict.
No one really believes these things, but Christians that get caught up in church conflict are often influenced by them.
This is nothing new. They’ve been happening since the first century, which is why we have so many New Testament letters of correction.
The apostle Paul, for instance, didn’t waste any time in addressing the differences that were causing divisions in the Corinthian church. In the first chapter, Paul tells the Corinthians he wants them to stop dividing over the issues where they differed. Then Paul asks several questions (1 Cor. 1:13-17) whose expected answers are all, “No. Heavens no!”
In asking those questions, Paul reveals three false doctrines that were allowing the Corinthians to rationalize their divisive behavior. You will not believe what those silent false beliefs are and you may be shocked that they can still support conflict and division in today’s church.
Thankfully, there are also three habits of fellowship that can counter-balance these false beliefs, which we’ll also look at. But first, here are the false doctrines.
False Doctrine 1: Christ encourages division
When Paul asked the question, “Is Christ divided?” what did he mean?
It seems there were some in Corinth who were behaving like, “We have more of Christ than you do.The implication was that somehow Christ could be divided up so some people have more of him than others. As though Christ was taking sides.
Paul had to refute this kind of thinking more than once: “So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.” (1 Cor. 3:21-23).
“You are looking only on the surface of things. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as he.” (2 Cor. 10:7)
It is clear to Paul that Christ does not encourage division.
False Doctrine #2: There is more than one saviour
Paul then asked two more incredible questions: “Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?”
Again, the obvious answer to both questions is, “No.”
The Corinthians had taken their own preferences and institutionalized them with the names of noted leaders. The result was that people were having to choose, not whether they would follow Christ but whether they would follow one side or another. They had allowed their differences to become their lord. They were acting as if there were more than one spiritual life-giver.
Paul rejected this heresy, too. “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.” (1 Cor. 3:5)
Neither he nor Apollos were saviours – they were servants. No personal preference, no difference, no sub-group, no one deserves that kind of place or power in a Christian’s life.
There is not more than one saviour.
False Doctrine #3: The cross doesn’t count
Paul was grateful that he hadn’t baptized many of them (1 Cor. 1:14-17). Instead, he emphasized that his primary message was the cross of Christ.
But the Christians at Corinth were more concerned about who baptized them than they were about who died for them. It was as if the cross made no difference at all.
By their divisive behavior, the purpose of the cross was relegated to a lower ranking, perhaps even negated.
Paul rejected that kind of thinking. Instead, he called us to acknowledge that the cross is the bonding agent to the Christians we know. “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. 1:18).
Because of their differences, some were acting like the cross didn’t count. Paul said the opposite. At the cross, it is the differences with the Christians we know that don’t count.
The Three Habits of Fellowship
Once we realize that these three false doctrines are the unintended result of Christians allowing their differences to get out of control, hopefully we would be shocked enough to change our behavior.
Paul was hoping that the Corinthians would change their behavior by practicing three important habits of fellowship: “speak the same thing, together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:9,10).
How do we practice the fellowship God is calling us to even with our differences?
1) Confess together what we believe about Jesus Christ
“Speak the same thing” does not mean that we can’t differ from one another or that the one who speaks first is the only one who speaks. Rather, Paul is referring to a more formal “speak the same thing.”
This was a phrase used in the early church for sharing the “same confession” (1 Tim 3:16). Paul reminded the Corinthians of a common confession of the early church (1. Cor 8:6) because in Corinth, having a “common confession” was a problem. Some were confessing the wrong thing (1 Cor 12:3).
The basis for our fellowship in the midst of our differences is that we confess together the truth about Jesus Christ – who He is and what He has done for us. So, while we may not always say the same things, we can say the same thing.
Every time we gather for worship, we can remind ourselves that what we share in common with the Christians we know is far more important than our differences.
2) Display a Christ-like attitude
Paul instructs the Corinthians to be “together in the same mind” (1 Cor 1:10).
At first hearing, this might sound like “groupthink,” everybody mouthing the same thing, thinking the same thing. If that is what Paul is saying here, then he has called us to uniformity, not to unity. And he would be denying the high value he will later place on the diversity in the church.
Having the same mind doesn’t mean thinking alike, it means for the sake of our life together, we are called to display of the character of Christ (Rom 12:16; Phi 2:5; 4:2).
3) Remember God’s purpose for you
Paul told the Corinthians to be “together in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10). Again, it is important to remember that Paul was not talking about human ideas of unity, but God’s.
The word translated “judgment” is the Greek word “gnoma” and can be translated as “purpose.” It is used to describe what Paul did in Acts 20:2-3 when he “purposed in his heart” to go back through Macedonia. Paul’s purpose gave him direction.
Paul told the Corinthians that while they may have differing opinions, God had a unifying purpose for them.
What is that purpose even with our differences? To “glorify and bring praise to the God and Father of Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:5-7).
The question to ask ourselves is, “How can we make sure that the name of Jesus is glorified?”
How important did Paul think it was to handle our differences and reject the crazy false doctrines that can tear churches apart? Important enough to make it the very last prayer Paul prayed for his Corinthian believers: “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you” (2 Cor 13:11).
(Photo by Robert Clemens | Flickr)
