1 Corinthians 1 Part 2: Being Our Own Worst Nightmare

PART II (CSB)

Now that Paul has reminded the Corinthians of the fact of their calling and that God has and is keeping them safe and has provided them with the spiritual gifts necessary to prove His divine presence in their lives, here in chapter one verse ten the apostle jumps headlong into addressing issues facing the congregation—most of which are ones that their forgetfulness and pride have helped to cause. 

Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians because they were willfully laying aside the gospel of Christ’s faithfulness in order to take up the practices of the law of Moses, in spite of the effort that Paul has put in to plant the church. To put this another way, the Galatians are abandoning salvation through faith. His letters to the Thessalonians were to help them remain faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ while being surrounded by other religions and people telling them to abandon their faith. 

Here, Paul is writing to the Corinthians to tell them to get their acts together—to pay attention to what they are doing to and how they are treating one another. We see this from the very beginning:

“10 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, 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.11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am with Paul,” or “I am with Apollos,” or “I am with Cephas,” or “I am with Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I am thankful that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my name! 16 But I did baptize the household of Stephanas also; beyond that, I do not know if I baptized anyone else. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made of no effect.”

I guess that there is nothing new under the sun. Paul doesn’t make this a command; he doesn’t tell the Corinthians that the only allowable response are the words, “How high?” The apostle appeals to them by the authority that has been given to him by Jesus to choose to be of one mind and seeking a common goal. 

We discover that Paul is aware of the situation because of a report from “Chloe’s people.” The Corinthian congregation has become divided into factions that are based upon the person who performed any particular baptism. Paul tells the church that these divisions are dangerous because they will result in “the cross of Christ [being] made of no effect.” And indeed, this is the same risk we face even today. 

But what’s the big deal about caring who baptizes someone? I mean who wouldn’t want to be baptized by Billy Graham? Well, I guess Paul, because for him the importance of the act itself—and by extension who performs it—isn’t nearly as important as what results from it: unity of—or being made completer in—mind and judgement. This unity is key to the Corinthians’ ability to remain faithful to the life of Christ Jesus. 

Hear me out. 

Paul wrote to the Galatians that his life was no longer his. He had died with Jesus on the cross, had been buried with Him in the tomb, and had risen with Him on the third day. “I no longer live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” In short order, Paul will pen his letter to the Romans in which he will expend plentiful, expensive ink explaining to a factioned church the purpose of Christ’s cross—that is: Jesus died to overcome death which had entered the world because of Adam’s pride. 

The First Man sin was that he made life about himself, about his identity, wants, and needs; it was no longer about the Creator and source of life. The Roman church will divide along ethnic and cultural lines—Jewish and Gentile “Christian”—and threaten the very life and nature of the Church. The factions here in Corinth are doing the same thing. 

In making their baptisms about themselves—about the person who, essentially, brings the baptism to them—the Corinthians are picking back up Adam’s pride and its resultant death. In verse seventeen, Paul uses his own calling to show this. “For Christ did not sent me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with cleverness of speech [making it about the messenger and the recipient of the gospel and not the message], so that the cross of Christ would not be made of no effect.” 

Firstly, Paul identifies the problem: The Corinthians, instead of allowing baptism to make them one—one baptism to unify them in mind and judgement—they are using baptism to separate themselves one from the other. And, secondly, he then shares the ultimate outcome: that the cross’s power would be nullified for the Corinthian church. Instead of their baptismal waters washing away the remnant of Adam’s sin, they are helping to make his pride cling even tighter. Paul then begins to explore why this is happening. 

“18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:

‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the understanding of those who have understanding, I will confound.’

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom…”

If you recall from the series introduction, Corinth was a wealthy town, one full of movers and shakers, with people trying to climb the social and financial ladder. Like the rest of the Roman Empire city relied heavily on patronage—without which it would have been impossible for individuals to advance socially and economically and, in some ways, even for the city to even function. Patronage placed people from two classes together into a relationship: the patron and the client. In exchange for loyalty to their patrons, clients would receive gifts of food and land and other financial support—even legal representation and more if they needed it. Patrons would gain the respect of others and even political support. 

I think we call it the Old Boys’ Club nowadays. Patronage was grounded in tradition—in the way things have always gotten done. In it, a person found salvation and advancement by playing by the established rules. This is life as the Corinthians would have known it until that day that Paul would have shared with them “a more excellent way.” In such a world the message of the cross would have, indeed, sounded like foolishness or, even worse, hokum. 

From Paul, the Corinthians learned a new way of thinking about themselves and their place in the world. He offered them a greater understanding of life and a new source for it—a source that would never run dry, unlike treasuries and political alliances. Their relationship with their patrons or their clients was based on mutual exchange, yet the one that Christ offered was freely given! 

Paul says here that the gosp...