Think on these questions as we dwell in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17:

1. In the context of the Corinthian church, what issue is Paul addressing regarding unity? How does Paul emphasize the importance of this unity, and what is the central focus around which believers are called to unite?

2. Paul distinguishes between the proclamation of the gospel and the use of eloquent speech. What is the significance of Paul's emphasis on the message of the cross over rhetorical skill? How does this relate to the power of Christ's sacrifice and its impact on faith?

3. Reflecting on Paul's assertion that he was sent to preach the gospel and not primarily to baptize, what is the underlying message he intends to convey? How does this perspective influence our understanding of the central role of the gospel message in the Christian faith? How might it shape our discernment of true Christian teaching?

Transcript:

 So, as we land in this section of chapter one of first Corinthians, we see some of the issues that are that are boiling under the surface here. In the church in Corinth, there seems to be a lot of division. And so, we see Paul saying, I appeal to you to, to have unity. Now, what is his appeal in? It's in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He wants them to be united. He wants them to have the same mind and the same judgment. Now, notice what they are to unite around. They're to unite around this idea of who Jesus is and what it means to follow him and what... His word has to say right. This is not just some random unity. This isn't a bunch of people who don't get along and Paul saying, you know.

Can't we have a group hug? It doesn't matter what you think about who Jesus is orwhat you think God's Word means or anything not none of this matters. Just be united for unity's sake that that's not at all What is being said? In fact, we're going to see that that's not what Paul means because he's calling them to stand firm in the gospel And if somebody gets the gospel wrong It'd be very difficult to be united to them.

So, he is asking them to unite around Christ. And so, what has happened is, is we have people who are on different, um, different ideas of who it is that they are following. You know, we see that some say they're following Paul, some Peter, some Apollos. Uh, some say they follow Christ, which, which honestly is the correct answer, right?

Uh, but when Paul gets to verse 13, He says, is Christ divided? So, is there not unity? When we are in Christ, are we not all united to him? Um, Is Paul somebody that they should say they follow? No, because what does Paul himself say? Was Paul crucified for you? Look, he's saying, follow the one who died for you.

Follow the one who bore the wrath of God for your sin. Follow him. He's the one that you are to unite around. And notice what else he does. He brings it back to baptism, right? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? No, you were baptized in the name of Jesus. You were baptized in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as Christ commanded in Matthew 28, right?

This is how they were baptized. This is who they were baptized into. This is who they are united to. This is who they have faith in. That is what they are to unite around. Do not divide Christ, he's saying. So don't say that you are following Paul or Apollos. Instead, follow Christ. You are his people. Be united in him.

And so, look at what Paul has to say here in verse 17, and this is going to be seen as important as we move on from this into verse 18 in the rest of the chapter. He says, For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

They are to be united around the message of the gospel. That's what Paul came to do. Now, he did baptize, but he's glad that he didn't baptize everybody because then everybody would say, hey, I have the best person that I'm following because it's Paul and he baptized me. So, my Christianity is greater than yours.

They could easily rank things that way. And so, Paul is saying, I'm glad I hardly baptized anybody there. But he said, really what's going on here is, is, um, Jesus didn't send me to baptize. He sends me to proclaim the gospel.  And notice what he says here, not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ, Christ be emptied of its power.

What, what is he saying here? He is saying that.  This, this idea of fancy speech isn't necessary. This idea that they had in their culture, and in Corinth, rhetorical skill was an important thing. And so you would follow the person who had the best story, the person who told the story in the best way and had this gift or had the best speech to lead people along.

But Paul's saying, I'm not worried about any of that. I'm worried about the message of the cross.  I'm not worried about having eloquent wisdom. I'm worried about, about what God has done in Christ through the power of his death, resurrection, and ascension. And what does he say here? That if it was eloquent wisdom, then the cross of Christ will be emptied of its power.

And what he means here is that, that the message is what is important. Sure, you could find somebody who's a fantastic speaker and you could lead them along the way, and you could convince them with fancy words, but Paul is saying, that's not what I'm here to do. What I'm here to do is to proclaim the gospel and people are going to hear it and they're going to believe it because it's true and the spirit is going to work and people are going to be drawn to the power of the cross.

And he doesn't want his ability, his personal status, his personal gifting to be what brings people to faith. He wants the message of the cross, the message of Christ and Him crucified to bring people to faith. And so, what does this mean for us? How does this impact us as we get up and go out and walk into the world today?

Well, we need to remember this true message, that we are following Christ, and not because of. of anything that, that we think is better there, but because of the gospel itself. Not because we think that,  that somehow the person that we heard the message from is the most eloquent or the most smartest, but because the message of the cross is true.

The message of the cross is something that the Holy Spirit has put into our hearts to believe by faith, and we now desire to follow Christ because He has saved us. And so may we unite around that message. May that be what we listen for. As I've said several times before, if you want to do some discernment on, on what is true Christian teaching, listen to what they make of Christ.

Listen to what they make of the cross. You will very quickly understand. When they preach the gospel of God's grace, the power of Christ in him crucified, you'll know, you'll know whether or not they're speaking truth because that is where the power of the Christian faith is found. So may we remember that and may we listen for that message, trusting that God is going to use that message to build up our faith today and every day.