1 Corinthians Commentary Chapter 1 (2)

1 Corinthians Commentary Chapter 1 (2) “Now I beseech you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing,  and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (1 Corinthians 1:10)The words “I beseech you” are directed at the church in Corinth on a level of ordinary human beings.The word of God has the level of exhortation and the level of proclamation (leema).Here, the word “divisions” is “schizo”, which means torn apart.It is the body of Christ being torn.It does not mean that they fight with each other, but that torn is like a tree branch being torn, becoming useless.When you attach a piece of raw linen to an old part, it breaks apart, which is called tearing.Just as the veil of the temple in Jerusalem was torn from top to bottom when Jesus died, the division is torn. Ultimately, verse 10 is an exhortation for the churches not to tear Christ apart. The word to be perfectly joined means to be one in Christ.It means to maintain the spiritual state of being formed as one in Christ.It is not the right way for churches to artificially try to become one.We must strive to maintain unity.He tells us to be perfectly in the same mind and the same judgment.We must have the same understanding, knowledge, and words.In this way, we can be perfectly joined in the same mind and the same purpose.That is why the Bible tells us not to go beyond the written word.Otherwise, the words will be torn apart.In an age where sermons are like a hundred schools of thought contending, if we preach only one kind of words, people will find it strange. “For it has been declared unto me of you, my brothers, by them which are of the house of Chloe’s that there are contentions among you” (1 Corinthians 1:11)There is only one truth, but they claim their own as the truth.When a hundred people speak, they all say different things. This is what tears the Bible and tears Christ.‘For it has been declared unto me of you’ It is clear that there are contentions among them. There is no special word in 1 Corinthians 1:12.“Now this I say, that every one of you says, I am of Paul; and I of  Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.’”They say they belong to some people.Even now, many believers tend to put forward the name of a certain denomination, a certain church, or a certain pastor. It feels a bit childish. So Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:13, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”“Is he divided?” The word “divided” means to cut with a knife.They are divided over the question of who they were baptized by.Even now, we are divided  baptism into immersion in water and sprinkling water on the head, and we make a partition while saying, I am baptized into immersion, I am baptized by sprinkling.If neither baptism into immersion in water nor sprinkling water on the head changes  your belonging from being a slave of death in Adam to gaining life in Christ through the cross of Christ, then that is the same.People who bet their fate on the baptism ceremony probably do not know the secret of baptism. So Paul says paradoxically that he is thankful that he did not baptize many people.“I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius” (1 Corinthians 1:14).It means that he is thankful that he does not become a boss of division.If you perform the Holy Communion incorrectly, it becomes a sin and you become weak, sick, and even die (1 Corinthians 11:30).However, I have rarely seen the Holy Communion performed according to the Bible.That is the problem with the message of the Holy Communion.Because the explanation of baptism is not properly explained, they do not properly experience the ‘resurrection and eternal life of the dead,’ and end up becoming half-hearted Christians like the church in Corinth.According to Peter's sermon, in order for us to believe in Jesus as Lord and Christ, if we follow the Lord's death and resurrection on the cross through repentance and baptism in the name of Christ, we will receive the forgiveness of our sins and the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38)As a result, like David, he is saved by calling on the name of the Lord, the King of kings who sits at the right hand of the throne (Acts 2:25-35).The marks of Christianity is the Word and the holy communion, but many people do not understand this properly. Paul did not want to make the saints his own.“Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.” (1 Corinthians 1:15).This is the attitude of a servant of Christ.Paul is a faithful servant of the Lord who only exalts the name of the Lord and works for His glory.Why does he baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and then give them a baptism certificate in his own name?Of course, it may have a positive effect to burden young believers with the burden of being baptized, but wouldn’t that cheapen the great mystery of baptism and just scatter the justification that you and I are baptized?Baptism, which unites with Christ, buries the old self, and unites with the resurrection of Christ and walks in new life, is the foundation of the important faith of Christians and a platform for invading the kingdom of God through the Spirit of truth.Unless one acquires the meaning of baptism and the Holy Communion, one cannot say, “I die every day,” deny oneself, take up one’s cross, and follow the Lord to the throne of grace to worship and praise him. So Paul preached the gospel a lot, but only a few baptisms.“And I  baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized anyone other.” (1 Corinthians 1:16)Practical baptism should be included in preaching the gospel.The ritual is not a big deal.However, being baptized with water means declaring to people that you have already died and risen again with Christ, becoming one bread, one body, and one spirit.It is the same principle as legal marriage and wedding ceremonies.You can become legally married if you register your marriage even if you don’t have a wedding ceremony.However, having a wedding ceremony means declaring to many people that you have become a married couple.The baptism ceremony is the same. Therefore, the gospel is more important than baptism. That is, the message of the cross of Christ.The message of the cross should not be replaced by the ritual of baptism.Of course, baptism is a confession and acknowledgment of this faith as one who has died to sin and death and has come back to life, united with the death and resurrection of Christ. However, we should not focus on the ritual and lose the meaning of the message of the cross of Christ.This is something that the servants of the Lord must be very careful about.So, are you baptizing properly? John's baptism represents Jesus Christ by convicting us of our sins and bringing us to Jesus Christ.And the Holy Communion is also a way to show Jesus Christ in Him.Otherwise, how can we commemorate the body?Just as a person who has never been married does not have a wedding anniversary, if one has never become one with Christ, celebrating his body by eating his body and drinking his blood is false and a sin against the body of the Lord.The Holy Communion of dying with the Lord, living again with the Lord, and eating the Lord takes place during preaching the gospel.Baptism is being immersed in water and being immersed in Jesus Christ.If we are immersed in water, we confess that we have received forgiveness of sins, but if we are not immersed in Christ, we cannot be baptized in the Holy Spirit and become one with Christ, so we cannot drink the one Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13).Baptism is a ritual of confession of faith that dies and lives again in Christ.Being immersed in water means that what is mortal dies, what is to be alive lives again, and being immersed in the Holy Spirit means becoming one with Christ.The very act of preaching the gospel is already spiritual baptism.Then comes the ritual baptism, whether it is immersion in water or sprinkling. Paul says, “Not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.”The death of the cross and that death are directly connected to the resurrection.This is done by the power of God. This is the true meaning of baptism.The word of God kills and makes us alive.A person who died with the Lord according to the Word and came back to life with the Lord, confesses that he is alive to God in Christ, looks to the Lord, and calls on the name of the Lord to be saved is a true baptism.If we follow the word with faith, we become baptized, that is, those who died and lived again. Written by Ptr. Yohan Kim.Translated by  Nancy Chung COME AND SEE WORLD MISSION To God be the glory.