(September 26, 2023) Brian Bell shares some thoughts on Paul’s concern about non-Christian behaviour…  

The apostle Paul had spent about 18 months with the believers in the Roman city of Corinth before he moved on. During the next three years that church grew in number but, unfortunately, also encountered a range of problems. And now a disquieted Paul writes them a letter expressing some concerns.

In many senses Paul’s 1 Corinthians’ letter may be considered unpleasant reading, since he addresses some exceedingly difficult issues – what we in our generation would call – ‘non-Christian behaviours.’

Among other things he talks about is rival factions within this gathering of early believers. I would draw our attention to the following…

Paul’s Plea
In verse 1:10bNLT, a troubled Paul writes pleadingly about divisions in the church – ‘Let there be real harmony so there won’t be divisions within the church, I plead with you…’

Verse 12 expresses his concern about their preference for leadership personalities – ‘Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.” He particularly addresses this in 1 Corinthians 3:21NLT – ‘… don’t take pride in following a particular leader.’

Some might say this was only to be expected, that the Corinthians were spiritually immature believers and didn’t know any better. Now there may be some truth in that… but the Corinthians also believed they had great spiritual insight.

In any case, Paul clearly tells them in chapter 3 verse three that in their preferential attitude relating to leaders they are still worldly or carnal. In verse four he says, ‘When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I prefer Apollos,” aren’t you acting like those who are not Christians?’

Can I say respectfully, let’s not be too hard on the Corinthians as sadly, we in 2023 can still find this attitude in the church of today!

Paul’s Partners
In verses 5-9 Paul speaks about unity which is really found in having the same purpose not necessarily the same work. In verse 9(GNB) Paul says, ‘… we are partners working together for God.’

Paul does not see the other leaders he mentions as competitors… he is not trying to outdo them, nor does he see them as trying to outdo him.

It cannot be denied that no other leader was as prolific in his writings as Paul, whose letters now form a major part of our New Testament. Yet he does not consider himself to be above others and is content to describe himself in verse five as only a servant and in verse six as a ‘planter.’

In effect, Paul shows respect for Apollos (about whom we know truly little) and his role, which Paul describes as ‘watering.’ In verse eight we read ‘The one who plants and the one who waters work together as a team with the same purpose.’

Teamwork has been around for centuries. We see an example of it in Acts 6:3-4 when the church was asked to choose seven men.

This incident recorded by Luke is a reminder of the good advice Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, gave him about his work of ‘managing’ the people of Israel being too much for one man and that he should choose ‘capable men’ to help share the load (Exodus 18:14-26).

A team consists of people with different gifts and personalities and while we will never be free of our personal imperfections and the potential to make a mistake, we can serve the Lord faithfully, be effective and efficient seeking first the well- being of God’s kingdom.

I believe the role of leadership gives us a real opportunity to encourage those who we seek to serve in the Lord’s name. As imperfect people, seeking to support and encourage imperfect people, we may indeed find challenges, especially when different personalities and views may lead to friction. (And the Holy Spirit will assist us here!).

Paul’s Perspective
As mentioned above Paul urged that we shouldn’t take pride in following a particular leader.

In the course of my Christian experience, I have been privileged to have sat under many faithful Christian leaders… ministers, Bible class teachers, youth fellowship leaders to name a few. Some of them are now gone to heaven and, we must be realistic, one day all earthly leaders will cease to have any influence.

Sadly, even in our generation some very public figures in the Christian world have ‘fallen from grace.’ Situations such as this are not for us to become involved in by criticising, rather remembering that those of us who stand should take heed so that we do not also fall!

For Paul, his perspective was not in –

• Attracting the largest crowd (while large numbers may be encouraging),
• Spellbinding audiences with his oratory style (he’d been criticised for being a ‘weak’ personality),
• Giving first preference to a talented group of singers and musicians (his Ephesians letter merely encouraged psalms, hymns and spiritual songs singing),
• Concern about his personal income (although he encouraged faithful and generous giving, he worked at his trade at times – Acts 18:3 – rather than relying on financial support from others).

Speaking about spiritual leadership, Bible teacher/author David Gibb makes the following observation – ‘It’s easy to elevate human leaders, whether it’s the person who led you to Christ, the youth leader who helped you to grow, or the minister who prayed for you. Don’t get me wrong, God does use leaders. But where does the real power lie in the church – not in gifted leaders, but in the crucified Jesus.’

Paul is reminding us too in these 1 Corinthians verses that in the church everything we do must be centred around the Lord Jesus and not the leaders who represent Him.

Prayer for every church leader
‘Divisions’ is schisma, meaning a spilt or gap, to rent or schism.

There’s an old saying – Jesus didn’t ‘say, ‘Follow Christians,’ but ‘Follow me’ (eg Luke 9:23).

My own concern for the above matters is to conclude this mediation with the following prayer (extracted from Our Daily Bread Ministries, newsletter Spring 2023).

‘Heavenly Father, I lift to you those who lead my church –
‘Deepen your love in their hearts, renewing and refreshing their souls for the work ahead.
‘May they draw near to you daily, rejoicing in scripture and energised by your wisdom and guidance as they shepherd your people.
‘Fill them with patience, peace and joy, remembering the Good Shepherd walks beside them, holding them especially close when the work is hard, and their hearts are heavy.
‘Bless them in their service I pray.’

• If you have a church leadership role, I encourage you to consider making this a prayer.
• Indeed, may we all be wise in this area and avoid such schisms!
• Let’s settle on following Jesus, being ‘of one mind, united in thought and purpose’ (1 Corinthians 1:10b).

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Brian Bell is a diaconate member, Christ Church (Congregational) Abbots Cross, Northern Ireland, and a volunteer with Disabled Christians Fellowship Ireland. Brian describes himself as ‘grateful for the privilege and opportunity given me to serve my Lord.’
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