1st Corinthians ā Wayne Barber/Part 13
By: Dr. Wayne Barber; ©1998 |
We have physical bodies that have many members which are different. Itās that way in the body of Christ. Isnāt it amazing? The first thing that happens when you live surrendered to Him, not perfect but predictable, when youāre about His purposes in your life, is you become inclusive of others, not exclusive of others. |
1 Corinthians 1:12-16
Division Among Godās People ā Part 2
I know that sometimes I sound like a broken record. But Iām going to keep right on sounding that way. I donāt mind if you can just grab it. Verses 2-9 are the grid youāve got to look at. Thatās the Christian life right side up. You get any of these out of order, you get them out of whack, and what happens is you get upside down, and thatās when the division comes. Thatās when all the confusion and chaos comes into your life. When we live separated unto Him as His own possession, living for His purpose, not ours, not driving our purpose asking Him to bless it, then what happens is we start opening up to others that are around us.
Romans 12 says, āI beseech you therefore brethren that you present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service of worship. And donāt be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove for yourself what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.ā Then he goes on and immediately says, āDonāt think more highly of yourself than you ought to think. There are other people in the body of Christ besides you.ā
We have physical bodies that have many members which are different. Itās that way in the body of Christ. Isnāt it amazing? The first thing that happens when you live surrendered to Him, not perfect but predictable, when youāre about His purposes in your life, is you become inclusive of others, not exclusive of others. 1 Corinthians 1:2 says, āto the church of God which is at Corinth [Godās own possession], to those who have been sanctified [set apart for His purpose, not their own] in Christ Jesus, saints by calling [now look, immediately] with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.ā
Paul was saying, āHey, guys, there are others out here in the body of Christ besides you and weāre all in it together.ā You become inclusive, not exclusive of others. Now, listen to me. When you talk about division, be real careful how you handle this. Weāre talking about, in our own way of spiritual pride, excluding others. The very stand you have on the Word of God itself will divide you at times. Itās one thing for you to exclude them, and itās another thing for your life and the Word of God in you to cause that separation. Thereās a big difference. If I offend you thatās one thing; if Godās Word offends you, so be it. You see, thereās a difference in the attitude of the individual. You donāt willfully exclude, but sometimes those exclusions are there. In 1 John 2:19 John said, āThey went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us.ā Thatās going to happen in life. Itās not because we pushed them out but because they made that choice themselves. You become inclusive when youāre living about Godās purposes, living in Godās power, depending upon His grace and His peace. If youāre at peace with God, youāre at peace with man.
I had the most incredible experience out in Colorado. I was in a little church that averages 33 on Sunday mornings. I met the pastor up at Ohio and he asked me, āWould you come to a little bitty church out in the middle of nowhere.ā I said, āWell, if God tells me to go, Iāll come.ā We were just praying that God would cover the airplane ticket. I knew if He didnāt I was going to have to pay for it myself. Thatās the way we went out there. We averaged 125 every night. People came from Denver and from Colorado Springs. Some people drove four hours.
When I got on the plane to come home, I was sitting there in my seat reading the USA Today and this couple got on the plane. I thought, āI know them. Iāve seen them before.ā It was Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey, the father and mother of that little girl who was murdered in Denver. They sat right in front of me.
Well, we took off and something in my heart stirred when I saw them. I didnāt know I would handle it. When you listen to the news media you donāt know what kind of things youāll end up with. But theyāre people, folks. Theyāre people who have hearts that beat. Theyāve got lungs that breathe air. Theyāre people who face an eternal destiny whateverās going on in their life. Something inside of me just reached out to them. I donāt know what it was. I couldnāt do anything but pray for them almost all the way to Atlanta.
We got to Atlanta and he had put a bag up above my head. I knew he was going to have trouble reaching it because when everybody jumps up to get off the plane itās real crowded there. I prayed. I said, āGod, give me an opportunity just to say something encouraging to these people.ā Look at the trauma theyāve been through, folks.
When we got up, he reached up and got his first bag. I said, āIs this your bag?ā I thought I had seen him put two up there. He said, āYes, it is.ā I had my hand on the seat after I picked the bag up and handed it to him. I said, āSir, I just want to tell yaāll something.ā Automatically he was defensive. Theyāre like, āWhat are you going to say to me?ā I said, āI just want you to know that Iām praying for you.ā And as tenderly as I have ever been touched by a father or any person who loved me, he put his hand down on mine and just tenderly patted it. Moistness filled up his eyes and he said, āThank you. Thank you so much.ā
You know, folks, I want to tell you something. The days when Iām not living according to what God wants in my life and the days when I get callous, opinionated, that kind of rot that we all do, are the days I wouldnāt give you a plug nickel for anybody outside my little own realm of opinions and my own little realm of hurts. But when you start loving God, God turns something on inside of you that you canāt exclude anybody, I donāt care who they are. You become inclusive, not exclusive.
If youāll listen to what Paulās saying here, heās nailing every one of us to the wall ā in love. The way he does it is beautiful. Itās the Holy Spirit of God in him. Heās not trying to just rebuke them harshly. I have said that before and I repent of saying that. Heās coming alongside them. He did rebuke them, but he did it in such a loving way they could receive it because he loves them. He really does love them. He issues a plea for unity in the church of Corinth.
You see, hereās a church. The church is filled with the Lord Jesus Christ living in them. He fills all in all. Here they are grumbling and all kinds of division among them, quarrelling with one another, and he issues a plea for unity there. He knows theyāre not living in peace together. It says in verse 10, āNow I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.ā
That little word āI exhort youā is parakaleo. It is that word used for the Holy Spirit of God. Itās a firm word, but yet itās a very comforting word, a very precious word, very tender word. What heās saying is, āHey, folks, listen. Come alongside me.ā He started the church. He loved these people. He said, āCome alongside me. Get up as close to me as you can. I want you to sense how much I love you. Iāve got some hard things to say to you so I want to make sure you understand as I say them to you, Iām correcting you out of love for you. Thatās why Iām telling you what Iām telling you, you see.ā Thatās the whole manner of how he approaches it. He wants them to settle their differences. He doesnāt want them to wear the same clothes and say the same thing and walk around like little clones of each other. But what he wants them to do is to come back to what heās already told them. Live up under the purposes of God. Live separate unto Him. Thatās the thing that unifies you. You donāt ever end up agreeing with everybody on everything but you have to agree upon the fact that weāre His property and weāre His possession and we are to walk according to His will in our life.
This division was the problem in the church of Corinth and it manifested itself in quarreling among the brethren. It says in verse 11, āFor I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloeās people, that there are quarrels among you.ā Now the word for āquarrelsā there is not when you have a heated debate with somebody. The word for āquarrelsā here is the little word eris. That word has nothing friendly in it, not one thing friendly in it. Itās contentious from its very motivation. These people are beginning to fight with one another with their words and theyāre contending with one another. Itās a strife kind of word that never, ever, ever is the character of a person living as Godās own possession, living surrendered to His purposes. It canāt be because the Holy Spirit of God produces a different kind of character in that individualās life.
What were they quarreling over? Verse 12 says, āNow I mean this, that each one of you is saying, āI am of Paul,ā and āI of Apollos,ā and āI of Cephas,ā and [the hardest group of all] āI of Christ.āā The tendency of our flesh, folks, if weāre not living attached to Him, is to attach ourselves to something we can see, touch, and feel. If youāre not living that way in the fullness and the sufficiency of Christ, you will attach yourself to somebody who has somehow ministered to you in life. Perhaps thereās been a mentor, pastor, or whoever, and youāll attach yourself to them. For some reason they become your focus. Whatās happened is theyāve gotten their eyes off of Christ and theyāve moved out of the realm of where he wants them to be.
Now they are of Paul and Apollos, and so on, as he mentioned there. Paul is about to address this common error. I say common error because everybody does it when theyāre not walking the way theyāre supposed to walk. Itās not just the Corinthian church. Iāve been that way, and youāve been that way at times in your life.
When he says, āNow I mean this, that each one of you is saying,ā¦ā the only thing I can conclude from that is each one of you is saying. In other words, itās affected the whole church. Itās not just a certain group. Itās the whole church thatās divided. Theyāve been divided by this kind of stuff. Paul was the founder of the church. Many of them, perhaps, took up his cause. Apollos followed him as the second pastor. Maybe they liked him better than Paul. That happens sometimes, doesnāt it? Sometimes itās the other way around. Some liked Cephas. Whoās Peter? Everybody knew who Peter was. Of course, again, the most difficult was the ones who said, āI am of Christ.ā Now, listen. They had the right man to follow, the God man. They had the right one, but they had the wrong motive in following Him. Because when your motive is to exclude, then evidently you havenāt got the right pathway yet in how to follow Him. They had the right man but they had the wrong motive. They were doing with Christ what others were doing with Paul, Apollos, and Cephas. They were dividing over the fact that they felt like they had a corner on Christ, you see. Paul puts them into the list of those heās chiding for their behavior. Again, their focus was set on man and not on God.
One of the things you learn about the apostle Paul, at least Iām learning, is heās the most brilliant man in the New Testament other than Jesus, an incredible man. I canāt wait in Heaven one day, after a million years when I can just leave Jesus for a second, I want to go over and talk to the apostle Paul and just be around him. Man, the guy was incredible. The way his mind worked was far beyond anything. I can more identify with Simon Peter who said in one of his epistle, āYou know our brother, Paul. He says some stuff sometimes thatās hard to understand.ā Thatās me. Iām on his side.
But Paul was an intelligent man. He was a master at reasoning with people. Who else would go down to Athens and get up on Mars Hill and take on all the Greek philosophers? Only the apostle Paul. I mean nailed them to the wall: āI saw this sign. It said the unknown God. Let me tell you who He is. Iād like to introduce you to Him.ā This guyās incredible. He was just sitting down there waiting for some of his buddies to come and meet with him and he just happened to see all the idolatry and it made him mad. So he goes up on the hill and takes the whole town on. Itās amazing. And held his own. Thatās the kind of man he was.
He was able to take a proposition that somebody had and jump ahead of them and show them the dead end street they would face if they followed that proposition. Incredible ability to reason out something. I wish I had more of that. You know, when you start seeing some people say certain things and you say, āHold on. That sounds good right there. Letās just keep following that on down and see where it ends up.ā Thatās what Paul was able to do. In 1 Corinthians 15 he says, āHey, you donāt believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, bodily? Well, hey, if you donāt we donāt have anything to look forward to because weāre not raised bodily either. If you donāt believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus, then you donāt even have a salvation. Youāre all lost. We donāt have any hope at all.ā He just said, āIt sounds good, what you say, but it just doesnāt jibe with the Word of God. If you follow it out, it falls over the edge of a cliff before itās over with, you see.ā
Iām overwhelmed at what the Lord has taught me in my study. Hopefully you can get some of it. The problem of division in Corinth had to do with their confused allegiance. In other words, they were following after man. They were not as Godās own possession living separated unto Him. Thatās what happened to them. This was symptomatic but at the same time Paulās going to have to address that, a believerās allegiance to Christ, not to man, not to preachers, not to whoever baptized you, not to whoever meant a lot in your life. Yes, youāll always appreciate them but donāt ever put them on a pedestal that Jesus deserves to be put. Donāt ever put them in His place. Thatās what people do all the time.
Well, he begins by taking this last group, āI am of Christ.ā He takes them first and tackles it straight on. Look at what it says. To those that say, āI am of Christā, hereās what Paul says in verse 13. He asks a question. āHas Christ been divided?ā Now when you first read that, you think, āWhat in the world is he talking about?ā Youāve got to remember how he thinks. Youāve got to jump to the fact that he sees the whole picture. They donāt; theyāre very narrowmindedly thinking theyāve got a corner on Jesus. This is the group that I talked about last time. When they get to Heaven, theyāre going to put a fence around them and when Saint Peter walks us by heāll say, āShhh, be really quiet. They think theyāre the only ones up here.ā Theyāve got a special corner on Jesus.
Paul just beautifully nails them. First of all, heād already told them, āYouāve got other believers every place.ā Just because somebody maybe doctrinally doesnāt agree with you doesnāt mean he doesnāt have Jesus Christ in his life. Thatās the key. The doctrine weāll have to work out later. Sometimes that will separate us, but we donāt exclude others because they believe differently. Sometimes that happens. But what heās saying is that these people have Christ, too. Sometimes when you hear something from somebody that doesnāt sound like you heard it before, just listen again. There might be some truth in it. If it doesnāt, donāt throw them out of the window and say that they donāt know Jesus because Jesus is bigger, bigger than our little doctrinal things that we come up with sometimes. Heās much bigger than that. So what heās trying to show them is, āYou donāt realize this, folks, but Jesus is bigger than your little group. By your saying that youāre of Christ, if you take it all the way down and reason it back, youāre saying Christ is divided and you got something of Him that somebody else doesnāt have. Can Christ be divided?ā No. What heās basically showing them is the absurdity of the whole idea.
He jumps from that to himself. I respect him for this because he could have left himself out of it and picked on Apollos, because thatās the one who followed him. He could have picked on Simon Peter because, you remember, when Paul came out of that desert experience, the first place he went was right to Simon Peter. He said, āSimon Peter, youāre a hypocrite. You wonāt even eat with the Gentiles. Get your life straight, man.ā He tried to teach him about grace. He could have said some things about Peter. He didnāt. He doesnāt even mention those two. He makes himself vulnerable and puts himself up there in the focus of what heās about to do. He doesnāt even address the other two. I think that one of the reasons he does this is because heās horrified that the church that he started would ever, ever, ever put him on a pedestal and exclude other people if they didnāt agree with them. Heās horrified by that. That is a scary thing when people deify men rather than deify God and live under that. Iām telling you itās a tendency if youāre not living and walking as God wants you to. āIām of him, Iām of him.ā Not only will that in itself exclude you, you become exclusive in yourself and youāll stay right within the framework of what you want and exclude everybody else.
For those who said, āI am of Paul,ā hereās what he has to say in verse 13. He says, āPaul was not crucified for you, was he?ā Man, Iāll tell you. Thatās a powerful statement. In other words, āWhat in the world are you looking at me for? I wasnāt crucified. Iām not the man you need to be looking to. Iām just as simple as anybody else. You need to be looking at the God man. Heās the one who died for you.ā Heās saying, āMan, youāre putting me in a class that I would never in a million years want to even touch. It would be total blasphemy for me to be there.ā
As a matter of fact, if you have ever studied much of the writings of Paul, you know that Paul shows this. Heās never pointing at himself unless he says, āImitate my faith or whatever.ā And thatās only in a way of helping to explain what heās teaching. In 1 Corinthians 2:2 he says, āFor I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.ā Thereās the heart of the man. Heās saying, āWhy would you put me on a pedestal? The only heartbeat I have is to know Christ and Him crucified.ā
Look over in Galatians 6:14. This is just the heart of the man. Heās really a man whoās upset. Heās a man who says, āMan, donāt you ever do this to me. Donāt you put me up there where Jesus belongs. Iām not worthy to be up there. I didnāt die for your sins.ā It says in Galatians 6:14, āBut may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.ā Thatās the heart of the man. Can you imagine how he must have felt when he found out that some of them said, āI am of Paulā, and by that excluded everybody else if they didnāt agree with them, thinking that Paul was something that Paul never professed to be and knew he wasnāt? It was a terrible thing in his heart.
Paul wants them to know that worshipping Paul is totally ridiculous. Basically heās saying, āI didnāt die for you. Christ did. Thereās only one man we should elevate.ā In other words, āIf I died for you, all youād have is a dead man. I didnāt do anything for you. I was just a vessel. God stopped me on the Damascus Road. Donāt ever put me up there because Iām a man who has to deal with his own flesh every day just like you do.ā If we elevate Christ, then you canāt exclude others and become that way in the body of Christ. You canāt narrow yourself and draw a little fence around yourself and say, āThis is who Iām following.ā You canāt do that if youāre following Christ because that always becomes inclusive.
Well, Paul ties the whole thing that heās dealing with here, the quarrelling, the contention, the divisions in the people, back to their baptism. This is incredible to me. How in the world? The Holy Spirit has to be the author of Scripture. The apostle Paul ties everything back to baptism. He stays a while on himself and for the next several verses heās going to talk about this one subject. Look at what he says in verse 13. āOr were you baptized in the name of Paul?ā Now what is he doing? Why in the world would he bring that up? Heās already talked Jesus dying. Why would he go back to their baptism? You know what, folks? It would be good if youād go back to yours. You may need to do it again because you missed the whole point of why you did it in the first place. You see baptism speaks of the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus but what does baptism also speak? It speaks of my identification in that death. I have been buried in the likeness of Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. So it has something to say about a separated life that I have chosen to live. You see, this is so important to remember. Itās not in the name of Paul, heās saying. It was in the name of Jesus that you were baptized. You werenāt baptized in my name.
You would think in this world today some people who are so of men, you would think they died on the cross for them. Youād think that they were baptized in their name, you see, identified with them, to follow them wherever you go.
Letās read in Romans 6. Thatās really whatās in the back of Paulās mind, I believe, as heās using baptism. What an incredible genius of the Holy Spirit of God to work in Paul to come up with baptism to prove his point that you should never be attached to men. You live attached to God. Thereās a huge difference, folks. Thereās a huge difference. Romans 6:3 says, āOr do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?ā Immersed into and identified with. Verse 4 goes on, āTherefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.ā Baptism does not only picture Christās death on the cross, but itās our outward testimony of our discipleship to Him, our attachment to Him. When weāre baptized, weāre saying to the world, āIāve already been saved. It happened inwardly but outwardly I want to give a picture. This is the first step of my testimony that Jesus is my Lord and that Iām going to live unto Him, separated unto Him and His purposes because I died with Him and Iāve cut off the world from me, as Paul said in Galatians 6. Iām dead to that and Iām raised to walk in the newness of His life.
Now listen. Paul in no way is downgrading baptism. Donāt think that. Paul asks, āWere you baptized in the name of Paul?ā Thatās not his point here. Heās just taking them back and having them recall that experience so they have a basis to understand what heās saying. You never follow men. Youāve been cut off from that kind of thing. You now have chosen to follow Him ā period ā and for all eternity, you see. Heās the focus of your life, not man but God.
As a matter of fact, Paul himself had gone through baptism. Thatās what it meant to him too. Look over in Acts 9:18. I want to make sure you understand heās not playing down baptism. By the way, there are those who struggle with baptism. They say that it doesnāt mean immersion. Thatās okay. Iām not going to fight with anybody. Secular Greek used the word baptizo when a person drowned, which was transliterated to give us the word ābaptized.ā Now maybe you can drown in a cup of water. It takes a little bit more than that for me. It means to be immersed in water. It does mean identified with. But youāve got to see the picture. If itās just identification and you donāt see the picture of immersion, you missed the whole point. You go down into the water, dying and being buried with Him and you come up out of the water, raised to walk having been washed in the newness of life, not by the water. Itās just symbolic. Youāre washed in the blood of Jesus. This is a spiritual experience.
You ask, āWell, Wayne, if a manās not baptized will he go to Hell?ā No. When youāre saved, youāre saved to the uttermost. Not being baptized is not going to send you to Hell. But baptism is very important and Paul does not downplay it. Paul himself was baptized. Listen, Jesus was baptized. Now if you want to get on this kick that you donāt ever need to be baptized, help yourself. But Jesus was baptized and Paul was baptized. In Acts 9:18 it says, āAnd immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he arose and was baptized.ā Heās already been saved and then heās baptized.
The Corinthian believers were baptized as a result of their faith in Christ. Look in Acts 18:8. This is the church of Corinth there that he speaks of, the same church heās writing to here in 1 Corinthians. Acts 18:8 says, āAnd Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing [look what comes first] and ]then were what?] being baptized.ā So they were baptized. Heās not playing it down, but he certainly is bringing it up to bring them back to it.
Letās recall. Why were you baptized? This is going to prove his whole point about the divisions and the factions of following after men. Baptism always follows belief. In other words, baptism cannot be substituted for faith. Baptism comes as a result of someone having placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It cannot be a substitute for salvation. The Corinthians had evidently forgotten what it meant. I wonder if weāve forgotten.
Letās just take some time and talk about baptism. Why does he bring it up? I think when we get through with this you may see the wisdom and the genius the Holy Spirit has in Paulās bringing this up. First of all, go to Matthew 28:19. What does Jesus say about baptizing? Who do you baptize? Itās very important. Jesus gave the directions Himself to the disciples. Now Paul has made the statement, āItās not in my name you were baptized. Itās in His name you were baptized.ā Thatās significant. Jesus says in Matthew 28:19, āGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them [not in the names of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit but] in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.ā Some people get all bent out of shape about that. Should it be in the name of Jesus? Should it be in the name of the Father? If you use all three of them are you doing something wrong? That always has sort of tickled me. I know I have a simplistic mind and approach things that way. Thatās all I know how to do. But it just seems to me that itās kind of idiotic if you ask me. Thereās no jealousy in the Trinity. Have you ever seen jealousy in the Trinity? So if you want to put all three names in there or pick one out it doesnāt bother the Trinity any, because the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is God. There are not three Gods. Thereās one God in three persons.
I hear this argument all the time. Iām thinking, āWhat? Give me a break and get a life.ā Itās name, not names, okay? The phrase āin the name ofā is significant. It means with respect or regards to something. Thatās one of the meanings.
An illustration of how itās used is over in Matthew 10:41. The same phrase is used but in a different context. Weāre not talking about baptism here. Weāre trying to show you how itās used. Matthew 10:41 reads, āHe who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet [thereās your phrase] shall receive a prophetās reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous manās reward.ā It means he who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophetās reward. Thatās basically what heās saying.
So in our text in 1 Corinthians Paul is saying that when the Corinthians were baptized, they were baptized because of their belief in the fact that Jesus was the Christ and died for their sins, because of the fact of who He is, because of His name, they were baptized into Him, you see. Thatās what the whole thing is about.
There are two absolutes that Paul seems to be saying. First of all, āThere is a God.ā Secondly, āIām not him. Youāre werenāt baptized in my name. You were baptized in His name. Heās God. Iām not God. So, therefore, itās significant that you donāt put me on a pedestal. You keep Him up there where He belongs.
Now to return to our text, thereās another meaning of āin the name of.ā I think this is what Paul is alluding to. āIn the name of Christā means we have attached ourselves to Him. Itās not only an act of witness of what has happened inwardly to me, but itās an outward testimony of my allegiance to Him. It speaks of my discipleship. It speaks of Him. Itās lordship. Itās the whole thing. Lordship was salvation, yes, but now Iām affirming it in my witness by saying, āIām attached to Him and Iām going to live my life attached to Him. Iāve cut everything else away from me and have now been raised to walk in the newness of His life. He will be the one Iām going to live attached to for the rest of my days.ā
Paul said, āYou didnāt get baptized in my name so that you could live attached to me. You were baptized in His name so that you could live attached to Him.ā Now you think about it for a second. Who are you attached to? Who do you listen to every single day of your life? If anybody walked into your house and said that they didnāt like them, you would exclude them and slam the door in their face because whatever that person says, thatās what you believe because you just think that person is right. Iām telling you, folks. Thatās America in the twentieth century. If you ever cross somebody who somebodyās living attached to, watch how fast theyāre going to exclude you from their presence.
So Paul is saying, āHey, you werenāt baptized in my name. You were baptized in His name. Youāre attached to Him. Youāre not attached to me. Donāt you dare live your life attached to me. Iām His apostle and whatever I tell you, you have to listen because He gives it to me. Donāt live attached to me. Live attached to Him and His Word.ā
Go back to 1 Corinthians 1. Weāll keep the flow. Thatās where weāre talking about baptism. Why is it so important to what heās trying to tell the Corinthians church? Theyāve totally forgotten what baptism is all about. Verse 14 says, āI thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius.ā Heās looking back and saying, āHey, I donāt even know why youāre attaching yourself to me. I only baptized two of you.ā
Well, in verse 16, he talks about Stephanas and his household. In other words, āWhy in the world would there be a faction over there? You werenāt baptized in my name. In fact, I only baptized a few of you.ā It was not founding for the unwanted allegiance to him.
I run into people everywhere I go in the country who say, āIām of John MacArthur.ā Have you ever been around people like that? John MacArthur has been in our church. Heās one of the most precious men youāll ever meet in your life. He would be horrified at how people are attached to him and not attached to the Christ heās attached to. But there are people like this, folks. As a matter of fact, Iāve been in conversations with people before and somebody said, āDo you know what old John said?ā And I said, āYou know, I donāt think I agree with that.ā You can see it. You can see the shield go up. āWhat do you mean you donāt agree with John MacArthur?ā You know, again, John would be horrified if that ever happened.
Some people say, āWell Iām of Swindoll.ā I like Chuck Swindoll. āI want to tell you, donāt you ever touch my little Chuck Swindoll. Heās my preacher and if you ever say anything he doesnāt say, youāre out of here, buddy, because heās right. So Iām going to attach myself to him, you see.ā
When in the world are we going to wake up and smell the roses? What Paul is saying is that this kind of stuff means you donāt even understand yet that youāre attached to Him. Youāre to live filled with Him and youāre to live separated unto Him, not separated unto anyone else. Thatās the way people live, isnāt it? Think about it.
Let me ask you a question. Who is it thatās caused you to become exclusive of others because you donāt think they have the same corner on Christ that youāve got? Folks, if you can find anything in your life that way, thatās exactly what heās talking about in 1 Corinthians. You better get your heart straight because those people in the body who might not agree with what you agree with. They still have Christ living in them and never do you have the right to exclude them from the fellowship. As a matter of fact, you canāt if youāre living right. They may exclude you. Your attitude should be to not push them out and exclude them just because of who you say youāre following. āIām of Christ.ā Thatās the ones, āYouāre just not spiritual enough for me.ā Thatās the worse ones. I canāt even illustrate that one. Thatās the group to look out for. Itās the sign of pride and immaturity when we attach ourselves to men and not to God. The only way you know youāre attached to them is if youāre excluding people who disagree with the one who you agree with or disagree with the conviction you say you have.
You donāt exclude them. If youāre right, God will bring them to your understanding. Pray for them, but donāt exclude them. If the doctrine excludes you, so be it. But we donāt have the right to offend and exclude. Thatās what happens with the flesh.
Paul goes on to say in verse 14-15, āI thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, that no man should say you were baptized in my name.ā āYou donāt live attached to me. You live attached to Him.ā Verse 16 goes on, āNow I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other.ā It sounds like Paul really kept records, didnāt it? He walked around with a little pad in his pocket. āUh-huh, baptized him. Write that name down and put the address down and the date because I can send that in to the convention. Listen, put this thing down because Iām keeping score on this whole thing.ā Paul says, āI canāt even remember if I baptized anybody else.ā
A lot of people say that baptism is necessary for salvation. Do you see what Paul is saying here? If itās so necessary to salvation, then why is Paul so nonchalant about it? He said, āMan, I canāt even remember if I baptized anymore.ā Then in verse 17 we read, āFor Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void.ā Wait a minute! Wait a minute! He didnāt send you to baptize? But he sent you to preach the gospel? What does that say to people who say that you have to be baptized to be saved? It says that you better rethink what youāre saying because youāre wrong. Heās saying that the gospel does not include water baptism. However, once youāre saved, it follows salvation and itās a witness, a statement you make to the world that youāre going to live attached to Christ because Heās already attached you to Himself and youāve chosen to let this be your testimony to others. It becomes the first platform of your testimony to others about this.
I have a relative who says that Iām going to Hell because Iāve not been baptized by a member of a certain faith. Now it doesnāt mean youāre not baptized. They take it a step further. Youāve got to be baptized by one of them or youāre not going to go to Heaven. Thatās interesting to me. You examine every text in Scripture and youāll never find anything to support that. There are two texts that they use more than anything else. Look at Acts 2:38. These are the two texts Iāve heard so many times and I just get tired of hearing them. When somebody walks up and asks me about that any more, I say, āListen, whatever you think. However you feel.ā I just walk off. Iām tired of arguing. You canāt get to first base with them. They donāt reason with you. You can bring up another Scripture and they just flip the page and come up with another question. Itās amazing.
Acts 2:38 says, āAnd Peter said to them, āRepent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins [thatās what throws everybody] and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.ā Now people jump to the conclusion, āUh-huh, see there. See there, for the remission of sins.ā First of all, the word doesnāt mean in order that you might receive it. However, thereās something else. We just covered it. I want to make sure you see it. Look up in the verse again: ālet each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.ā Weāve already told you what that means. Thatās valid baptism. What does valid baptism mean? It means that your baptism didnāt save you, but because you had already been attached to Him, now you have chosen out of obedience to make a statement of that attachment. That person has received the forgiveness of his sins. He didnāt receive it when he got baptized. He received it when he got saved. But the baptism proves the fact because itās in the name of Christ. Itās not just getting wet.
Look over at 1 Peter 3:21. This is the same guy writing about the same thing. āAnd corresponding to that, baptism now saves you ā not the removal of dirt from the flesh [He clarifies that], but an appeal to God for a good conscience ā through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.ā Now without getting too far into that you can already see something. Is the immersion in the water going to save anybody? Peterās analogy had to do with the flood. What happened to the people who got wet in the flood? They died. I mean, from that point on, folks, itās just ridiculous to even follow the argument. But, remember, itās in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thatās the key. Itās whose name you were baptized in. That signifies youāre already been attached to Him in salvation and now youāre confirming and bearing witness of that attachment and youāre going to live that way for the rest of your life. Thatās valid baptism.
Well, for every such statement, youāre going to find hundreds of others. Look in Mark 1:15. This is so important to understand. If baptism is critical for a person to get saved, look in Mark 1:15. He says, āThe time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.ā Do you find the word ābaptizedā in there anymore? Let me give you some more. In Mark 2:5, Jesus said to the paralytic, āMy son, your sins are forgiven.ā It says, āAnd Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, āMy son, your sins are forgiven.āā Do you think Jesus would have shortchanged him? He didnāt say, āSeeing his faith and the fact that he was baptized.ā He said, āseeing his faith.ā Thatās what saves you, folks.
One of the passages misunderstood is Jesus and Nicodemus when he says you must be born of water and the Spirit. People take that water and the Spirit and go crazy with it. What Jesus is trying to show Nicodemus in his confusion is there are two kinds of birth and youāve got to separate them. Physical birth is birth of water. I remember when my wife said, āMy water broke.ā That helped me understand that passage.
But then thereās also spiritual baptism. If youāre born once, you die twice. If youāre born twice, you only die once and maybe not that time because He may come before you die. You see, you have to understand what heās talking to Nicodemus about. It has nothing to do with the fact that youāve got to be born of water, meaning baptism. Good night, youād have to stretch the Scriptures completely out of shape and contort it to try to make it say that and it still wouldnāt say that. Jesus is showing us then the difference of those two births.
Then in John 3:15 He says, āthat whoever believes may in Him have eternal life.ā He didnāt say for whoever believes and has been baptized. In John 3:16 we read, āFor God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.ā He didnāt say, āand be baptized.ā You can just walk right down through Scripture. John 3:18, Ephesians 2:8, Romans 3:23-24, you just go right on through it.
Why did Paul bring up baptism to start with? First of all, you can see by how heās using it in 1 Corinthians. Heās not talking about their salvation. Heās talking about their witness amongst the people and their willingness to say, āListen, folks, I want everybody to know that God has saved me inwardly and I want you to know outwardly Iāve attached myself to Him and Iām going to follow Him all the days of my life.ā Thatās what heās taking them back to.