It Can Happen

The Corinthian Church is one of the most interesting fellowships we read about in God's Word. If we take the letter at face value it would be easy to miss the unique aspects of the church - where it was started, the type of culture that surrounded it, and the diversity of its members. One should read the book of Acts to get a solid background of Paul's work in the area. I would also encourage you to read some of the history into the culture. If we don't, it would be very easy to miss the clear warnings that Paul brings out in this letter.

When we take the time to understand 1 Corinthians we find in the first few verses that this church body was blessed with every spiritual gift and had grown greatly in their knowledge of the things of God. The reason for Paul's letter was simple: deal with the disunity, immaturity, and immorality within the fellowship. My question is this: What went wrong? How does a church that is able to operate fully under the gifting of the Holy Spirit get into such bad shape? There are several factors that play into the difficulties within the church. However, I want us to look at some of the warning signs with the understanding that it can happen to any church.

1) We must always be mindful of who we are (1-7)
Paul was addressing the Church at Corinth - "ecclesia" - those who were called out of a pagan society and gathered together in fellowship. Regardless of their background (religion, culture, or economic class) these people had accepted the Gospel message. They had been saved out of a perverse culture and God had blessed them by allowing them to function in all the gifts of the Holy Spirit and in all knowledge.
*Warning: It doesn't matter how gifted your church body (or how knowledgeable) we can all fail to live up to our potential. How many churches have failed regardless of the giftedness of the people? When we take our eyes off of what matters and become concerned with petty things - disunity awaits us all. Gifts are not a mark of spirituality but a mark of grace. We should never forget that!

2) We must always be attentive to God's Word (10)
There is a great warning issued by Paul concerning disunity in the fellowship. Some within the church were divided over leadership. Some claimed Paul...some Apollos...some Peter...and some Christ. Jesus had been divided into different groups. Paul's teaching here was that all of us are united in Christ regardless of our leaders. It's not about the servants, it's all about the Savior. We would do well to listen to these examples. God can use anyone to bring truth into our lives. Some people are brought into the body to plant, some will water, but it is always God who gives the increase. Whenever a church body begins to exalt a leader over God, you can be sure the problems will follow.

3)We must always be faithful to God's will (7-9)
Paul was trying to help the Corinthian church understand that the message that was brought to them was the same message they should follow in - Jesus Christ crucified for the sins of the world. The continuation of what God was doing in them was not determined by the leadership of an individual but by the leadership of the Holy Spirit. It was His work in them that would strengthen them daily, remind them of their calling into the fellowship, and supply all of their needs. Far too often we can become distracted by our own desires (what we want to see happen) but Paul reminds us to look to a faithful God who will never forsake what He started.

If you read on you will find that there were many other things at work to destroy the church body. Rather than go into each individual thing allow me to summarize:
Disunity will kill the fellowship of a church
Carnality will kill the effectiveness of a church
Immorality will kill the testimony of the church

If we, as believers, cannot live in unity our fellowship will be destroyed. If we do not operate in the Spirit of God we will allow carnality (has to do with the flesh) to kill our effectiveness - it doesn't matter how "gifted" we are. And if we do not deal with immorality within the church it will kill our testimony in the community. We must be willing to ask the hard questions. Is there anything we need to deal with? Churches cannot expect every problem to work themselves out. If there is gossip and back-biting then it must be stamped out. If there is adultery, fornication, lewdness, drunkenness, etc. - it must be dealt with. If the leadership of the church has become focused on anything other than doing the will of God they must be corrected. Too many churches have failed in what they do simply because they have yet to believe that God is able to equip or supply.

It can happen! As much as I love PBC I'm always reminded to pray for the unity of the body. As much as I have seen God do in and through this church I'm always reminded to pray that we be led by the Spirit of God. And as much as I believe in the testimony of every believer (their relationship with Christ) I am reminded that sin cannot be allowed to run rampant within the church. These are valuable lessons for everyone within the body of Christ.

Sure...it can happen. But it doesn't have to happen in your church. May God give wisdom, insight, and strength to every congregation to do what is right. May we continue to follow in His leadership. May the church of Almighty God continue to be a city on a hill that shines light into the dark valley below.

To God be the glory!