Evangelism
Paul is thankful for the grace which was given to the Corinthian church by God. Certainly he is pleased for their salvation, but Paul has a bigger connection to the churches since he is the one that planted them. The confirmation of God’s grace being given to the churches that Paul planted confirmed God’s will for Paul and so he was thankful because it gave him confidence that he was doing God’s work. Remember that Paul was the only apostle called out, specifically, by God to minister to the Gentiles, so he may have had doubts about his calling.
Paul was able to see God’s grace confirmed in the church at Corinth because they were “enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge” (v. 5). This is a simple passage. They were given the ability to tell others about Christ—all knowledge—and to present His message boldly—all speech. This is consistent with our command to “go and make disciples” (Matt 28.19). All believers are given this ability to accurately present the gospel in order to further God’s kingdom. We are enriched or equipped with this ability, “even as the testimony concerning Christ…[is] confirmed in” us (v. 6).
We are equipped also so that the church will be complete, “not lacking in any gift” (v. 7). Aside from the principles of God’s love for His creation, simply logic tells us that three guys can’t run a church. Everyone in the church has a role as the body of Christ. Specifically, the gift to boldly proclaim God’s word, evangelism, is given to believers so that the church can grow and properly function. Local churches that ignore salvation and sanctification efforts in the community will fail, because they will be ill-equipped. Specifically, the word used here for grace means this:
grace or gifts denoting extraordinary powers, distinguishing certain Christians and enabling them to serve the church of Christ, the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating on their souls by the Holy Spirit
Everyone has different gifts according to divine enablement, so that even on a local level, the church must grow, through evangelism, so that all gifts will be present in the church.
Paul rabbit trails in order to wrap up his statements regarding evangelism for the purposes of strengthening the local church. He says that Jesus will “confirm [or establish or keep strong] you to the end, blameless” (v. 8). We are blameless from the moment of salvation until the return of Christ. It is not that we will not sin, but that our sins—past, present and future—were forgiven at the cross and we will not be held accountable for them. Jesus’ covering of our sins is what brings us into fellowship with Him. Jesus role in the trinity is to cover our sins, so that we can enter into the throne room of God the Father without condemnation. The interesting thing is that Paul identifies the call to salvation, fellowship with Christ, as being the role of the Father. Jesus also pleaded with God for fellowship with man, so it is the united purpose of the Godhead, the triune God that man have fellowship, not just with Jesus and the Spirit of God, but with all of God.
Unity in Mind
Paul exhorts (admonishes, instructs) the Corinthian church to agree that they should not have any divisions within them. This is not specifically to say that there will not be division in the church, rather they should all agree that divisions are sinful. If the church can agree on this matter, then they will be “made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment (v. 10); they will be able to discern according to the same Spirit, which is God’s and make wise judgments.
Paul was aware of these types of judgments within the Corinthian church because of messages from the household of Chloe, a prominent figure in the early Corinthian church (v. 11). Not only that, but the factions were causing quarreling. The quarreling was caused because different people in the church were claiming to follow the teaching of different people. They lacked the understanding that they were all following Christ. This reminds me of denominations. The modern church has fallen to this sin. There are factions in the modern church: Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians, etc. Rather than quarrel because of factions, we should be focused on establishing unity in mind and judgment, that the body of Christ would not stand divided, but united.
NOTE: Factions are not particularly sinful, unless there is a sinful product of the faction, which is usually the case. As a member of any particular denomination, it is not your job to condemn other denominations, but to accept them as brothers and exhort them where they lack biblical truth. In the case where an organization has crossed the line from faction to cult, I think it is wise to break fellowship, since they follow a “different Christ.” It is up to you to form conviction on this matter. I won’t provide a list of denominations to break fellowship with.
Let’s look a little deeper into factions. The Corinthian church was guilty of micro-denominations. Within the church, they followed the teaching of different prominent teachers of the time (v. 12). Paul’s response is, “Has Christ been divided?” (v. 13). He goes on to explain that it is only Christ who was crucified for our sins and that only he should be followed. Paul alludes to baptism, suggesting that they believed that they were baptized into the name of the baptist, not into the name of the “the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28.19). Paul is actually happy in this case that he didn’t baptize very many people because then he would appear to be leading one of these factions. Paul makes it clear that his role is to “preach the gospel” not to baptize (v. 17).
One final note on the unity in mind is that we do not work “in cleverness,” but we rely on the strength of God (v. 17). Paul preached out of obedience and according to God’s standards, so that He would receive the glory. If he preached out of “cleverness of speech” he would actually void the message of the cross of Christ. We can take this principle directly into application since we are all called to evangelize. Simply provide your testimony and give an account of the cross as commanded. There is a broader application though. If we serve God out of pride or for any reason other than for the glory of God, we void God’s work.
Application
As a part of the local church, we all have a role to play, both in gifts for the building up of the body of Christ and for evangelism. As we evangelize and do away with factions within the church, we are preparing the perfect environment to do God’s work, according to His standards. And all this for His glory and not of our own, lest the “cross of Christ…be made void” (v. 17).
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Strengthening the Local Church–1 Corinthians 1.4-17