Lesson for February 27, 2022
The Book of I Corinthians
Chapter 1:10-17
Verses 10-17
“Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the Cross of Christ would not be made void.”
Paul had completed his greeting which reminded the Corinthians of their position in the body of Christ. Paul now gives them a doctrinal lesson on divine viewpoint versus human viewpoint. Paul began with an exhortation of unity of thought and accuracy regarding Bible doctrine. Paul founded this church in Corinth and had taught them basic Bible doctrines. Apollos had continued the teaching ministry, but these believers had been blinded by their own arrogance into believing that some of them were better than others. The first problem Paul addresses is their arrogance regarding who taught them and who baptized them in water.
This first exhortation is important because the impact of the Corinthian church on the community of Corinth had gone down to almost zero. Arrogance had caused some of these believers to abandon accurate Bible doctrine and divine viewpoint thinking.
There was no unity among believers and that was a recipe for spiritual disaster within the church. Divisions were being caused because of human viewpoint thinking, instead of divine viewpoint thinking. In arrogance, those in each faction were contending that they were right and they were trying to force their opinions and themselves on the rest of the congregation.
But that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. The Greek word for made complete is “katartizo,” which means perfectly joined or like-minded. It was a military term used for equipping an army. (II Corinthians 13:11) It was used as a naval term for supplying a fleet. (I Thessalonians 3:10; Galatians 6:1) It was used as a medical term to set a bone fracture. It is a fishing term meaning to mend a broken net. (I Peter 5:10) The only way this church could be like-minded (in the same mind) was if they all were thinking divine viewpoint.
The Greek word for judgment is “gnome” meaning of the same opinion or same understanding. This was the heart of the problem in the church at Corinth – some of them lacked the same understanding of accurate Bible doctrine. Some of those causing divisions may have come from a group of intellectuals in Corinth, which the city was known for having. Along with intellectualism often comes arrogance.
For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” Chole is mentioned only this one time. The fact that information had been given to Paul about the issues in Corinth by “Chloe’s people” tells us she was an important person in the local church there. Paul trusted the information to be factual, so Chloe must have been a person of great integrity and spiritual maturity. There were at least four factions in this church, all thinking that they were greater than the other. In an attempt to prove their superiority, each faction claims to be either disciples of Paul, Apollos, Peter or Christ. Those in these factions were out of fellowship with God, in a state of carnality, and in self-righteous arrogance. These factions had split the church and the result was no impact in Corinth for Christ.
“Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” Paul asked these questions that were designed to wake these believers up. Paul wanted nothing to do with this self-righteous arrogance. Water baptism was done in the name of Christ, not Paul, Apollos, or Peter and it had nothing to do with who was doing the baptizing. It pictured the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which places a believer in union with Christ. It did not picture being placed into union with Paul, Apollos, or Peter because they were not crucified for the sin of mankind.
I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. This was Paul’s record of ritual baptism in Corinth. Paul apparently did very little baptizing. Saying that they were better than others because Paul, Apollos, or Peter baptized them was not true.
Paul was pleased that he personally did not baptize too many of them because some had attached the wrong importance to the subject of water baptism. Paul was thankful to God that he had baptized only a few because if he had baptized many more the factions would only be worse. Paul went to Corinth to lead people to Christ and help them grow in grace through Bible teaching.
Crispus was the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth according to Acts 18:8. Gaius was Paul’s host in Corinth according to Romans 16:23. Stephanas was a doctrinally sound believer in Corinth according to I Corinthians 16:15-18.
“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the Cross of Christ would not be made void.” Paul implies that baptism had received a wrong emphasis and he now gave it the right emphasis. When Paul baptized people, he gave baptism its proper emphasis, but it was a ritual, and no ritual can ever take priority over reality. So, a ritual without understanding its meaning is useless. Paul established a local church in Corinth, and it was going strong when he left. Water baptism was secondary to the message of the Gospel and certainly not a part of the Gospel. Only the message of the Gospel can save, no one can ever be saved by going through any ritual.
Not in cleverness of speech. The Greek word for cleverness is “Sophia” meaning wisdom. The “wisdom of words” (as it can also be translated) refers to using human tactics such as flattery, eloquence, or persuasiveness to entertain people and/or trick them into believing your message. Words are the means of expressing thought, but “cleverness of speech” is not how the Gospel is to be presented. It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit that leads people to Christ. Therefore, Paul declared the Gospel, but that was where his job ended. He didn’t use pressure and he didn’t use gimmicks. The emphasis was on the content of the message rather than his public speaking ability. Paul was not a salesman with a gimmick but a representative of God with good news. And the message had to be accurate.
Cleverness of speech would make the message of the Cross of Christ of no effect. The Greek word for void is “keno,” which means empty or vain. When a person substitutes human power (cleverness of speech) for divine power (accurate Gospel message) in the presentation of the Cross, that is exactly what happens – you neutralize the effectiveness of the Cross of Christ. The Holy Spirit can use only accurate information regarding the Gospel to convince a person to believe it.
Water Baptism
There are seven baptisms in the Bible. The word for baptism in Greek is “baptisma” and literally means, “to dip.” It was used to describe the dyeing of a garment or the drawing of wine by dipping a cup into the bowl. John the Baptist and Jesus used the word to describe water baptism as submersion, therefore, the accurate interpretation of the word is “to dip into or to submerge.”
When a person trusts Christ as Savior they are “dipped into” or “submerged” into the “body of Christ.” This, of course, is speaking of positional truth, signifying our union with Christ. Water baptism for believers has always been a picture of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Submersion into water pictures how the believer becomes united with Christ. (Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:4-5)
All seven baptisms in the Scriptures are for the purpose of identification. Of these seven, four are ritual identifications and three are actual identifications. In the apostate times in which we live, water baptism (ritual) and the baptism of the Holy Spirit (actual) have been distorted into a system of works. Water baptism, for example, is taught by some ministers as a necessity for salvation, which is false doctrine. No one has ever been saved by being submerged in water. The only purpose for water baptism is identification: identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, which it pictures. It was a teaching aid for the early church before the Canon of Scriptures was completed. As a matter of fact, water baptism is mentioned only once after the formation of the early churches recorded in the book of Acts, and it is mentioned as a source of division here in the church at Corinth.
Once the Canon of Scriptures was completed, there was no longer a need for water baptism as a teaching aid. Therefore, water baptism is not a part of the spiritual life and not a necessity for being a spiritually mature believer. Water baptism had its place in the foundational period of the church but is no longer necessary.