A Problem in Corinth

It’s human nature to boast. Think of how young children behave. “Haha, I was right, you were wrong” . . . “I have more toys than you” . . . “My daddy bought a new car.” Although we mature, we continue to boast, just in different ways. We brag about our accomplishments, experiences, family, and country. We even boast about our leaders: pastors, principals, and heads of companies. And as presidential elections get closer, the volume of boasting increases.

But what does boasting do? When someone makes a point by boasting does it bring you closer or push you farther away?

Boasting creates divisions.

The Problem of Boasting (1 Corinthians 1-4)

Followers of Christ in the ancient city of Corinth had many problems and boasting was one of them. After his typical greeting and thanksgiving, Paul dives right into his concern:

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” (1:10-12)

The Corinthian believers were quarreling about who had the best spiritual guide. And they were dividing up into factions or teams based on their chosen leader. Imagine them talking: “O, you have Apollos. He’s nothing. We have Cephas.” But Paul has a problem with these types of arguments in the church.

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ” (3:1). He continues, “For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos,’ are you not mere human beings?” (3:3-4).

What does it mean to be a “mere human being” or “worldly”? A “mere human being” lacks God’s Spirit or lives in opposition to God’s Spirit. What does the Spirit want us to do? In a word, love. In nine words: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). Later in 1 Corinthians, Paul explains that the gifts of the Spirit are given for “the common good” of the one body and “there should be no divisions in the body” (12:7-26). The Spirit wants God’s people to be united. Hence, we must “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3).

The Solution to Boasting (1 Corinthians 1-4)

What is the solution to boasting and divisions? First, the Corinthians should be more centered on Christ. Paul asks, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1:13). Their focus on human leaders was unhealthy. It was keeping them in a state of infancy.

Question: When have I acted like a spiritual infant by focusing more on human leaders than Christ?

Second, the Corinthians should avoid reasoning based on “human standards.” By those same standards, the gospel is foolishness: “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1:18). Following and worshiping someone who was crucified does not seem like the “wise” thing to do. Not only is the message foolish, so were they. Paul says,

Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. (1:26-29)

According to worldly standards, the Corinthian believers were weak, lowly, and despised. So why were they boasting about their leaders based on worldly standards?

Lest we think Paul is putting down the Corinthians in order to elevate himself, he puts himself even lower than his audience in chapter 4.

We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless . . . We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment. (vv. 10-13)

How exactly were the Corinthians using human reasoning in judging their leaders? Based on what Paul says in chapter 2, it seems like they were focusing on rhetorical skills and personal charisma.

When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. (vv. 1-5)

“Human standards” rooted in power, eloquence, persuasiveness, and “wisdom” are the opposite of “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Embracing one means rejecting the other.

This paradoxical dynamic that weakness is true strength corresponds with many of Jesus’ statements: “the last will be first,” “blessed are the poor,” “blessed are those who mourn,” etc. The gospel overturns human wisdom and human strength. If it didn’t, it would only teach what we already know and promote how we already live. Thus, it wouldn’t be revelation.

Question: How often do I judge people based on human standards: appearance, charisma, speaking skills, etc.?

Third, Paul wants the Corinthians to think of their leaders, the very ones they are arguing about, as mere servants. “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants . . .” (3:5). He then compares Apollos and himself to servants working in the field. “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow” (3:6).

How many times have you heard a modern leader say, “I’m only a servant.” It’s incredibly easy for us to blow out of proportion other humans, which feeds into a cult of personality. And that cult is nurtured by the modern media telling us how great someone is. Maybe we need more leaders who downplay their significance and embrace weakness. Maybe that is real leadership.

In addition, Paul explains that their little boasting and bragging is not what ultimately matters to him.

I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. (4:3-5)

In other words, in the end what you think of me and even what I think of me will not matter. The only thing that will matter is what the Lord thinks of me.

Question: How often do I remember that the Lord’s judgment far surpasses any human judgment, including my own?

So here are the keys to thwarting boasting and disunity in the Christian community: be centered on Christ and his cross, avoid reasoning based on human standards, and realize that leaders are only servants who will be judged by the Lord. These two lines sum up Paul’s points most directly:

• “So then, no more boasting about human leaders!” (3:21)
• “Therefore, . . . “let the one who boasts boast in the Lord” (1:31). And that means boasting in the Lord who was crucified.