LESSON 1:
Bible Texts are
living things!
Once the Lord "burdens" a heart with
a Passage of Scripture, or sometimes "thrills" that heart with
it, it's just a matter of time until that Paragraph of Holy Writ
becomes nearly the sole focus of one's attention.
Such is the case with 1st
Corinthians 11:17-19.
It's blunt and nearly harsh approach
to Church "problems" is astounding! Yet, like all Scripture, it
is "profitable" in every way!
"Now in this that I
declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come
together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of
all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be
divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be
also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be
made manifest among you."
And this is inspired of the Holy
Spirit too, every word!
Today we will merely begin.
Our first verse, 1st Corinthians 17,
says: "Now in this that I declare unto
you I praise you not, that ye come together not for
the better, but for the worse."
The pronoun "this" I suspect is
referring to what Paul is about to say, not what he's already
preached. "Touto" is a neuter demonstrative pronoun, pointing to
some special object in Paul's heart. His burden is for the
Corinthian Christians, their spiritual well being. What he is
soon to preach will draw some "good" out of a whole pool of
"bad" in that Assembly, the most troublesome one Paul ever
pastored.
The conjunction "now" is spelled
"de" in Greek. In our King James New Testaments it is translated
"now" 166 times! That's a lot! Yet it also carries the idea of
"contrast" and is accordingly translated "but" 1237 more times!
To be even more accurate in reporting the word's usage, "de" is
expressed as "and" another 935 times too. It introduces the
Paragraph Paul is about to write, probably with his pen smoking
hot!
The verb "declare" is interesting.
It fuses "aggello," meaning "to bring a message," and "para,"
meaning "alongside" a person! "Aggello," it its noun form, is
our word "angel," a messenger of God by definition. Paul is
preaching a sermon, putting it right down there where the
Corinthians live, right beside them! "Paraggello" here is a
present participle, serving as an adjective and describing Paul
as he sternly cautions the saints at Corinth!
The word "praise" is "epaineo" and
means "to commend" or "to laud" or "to approve" someone. One
textbook even says it means "to applaud!" From these definitions
you can deduce the fact that Paul is not pleased! Although "aineo"
usually means to praise God, Paul always ending His
praise with the Lord anyway! The terminal focus of Paul's
commendation is always Deity! The man could eat a meal or simply
drink some water, praising God every minute!
The verb "come together" is "sunerchomai,"
and indicates movement on the part of a group of people
here. It's plural. However, it is not the lofty word that gives
us "synagogue." It, "erchomai," just means "to come or go." The
prefix "sun" means "together," or just "with" others. It looks
to be a middle voice verb, non-existent in English. The subject
is believed to be "changed" in this gathering process! Church
services should do that in our lives, via the Word of God and
the Spirit of God! Change us for the better! The present tense
here means they habitually met in their services.
"Better" is "kreitton," being
derived from "kratos," one of the Greek words for strength or
power. It range of meaning includes: "to greater advantage," or
perhaps "nobler," but most accurately "stronger or more
powerfully." Whatever they are doing, all the fussing and
wrangling, is robbing them of spiritual power!
And, conversely, "worse" is "hetton,"
meaning "inferior" or even "less." One source says "weaker,"
paralleling "kreitton" better. This also carries the added
thought of being "defeated or conquered!" Its verb form suggests
"being overcome" by an enemy, as in 2nd Peter 2:19.
Paul cannot say much good about the
Corinthians here. Therefore he does not flatter them with empty
words!
He will be truthful at all cost!
May God's Men today still do the
same!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 2:
We are Scripturally warned about it
for sure.
"The simple
believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to
his going." Proverbs 14:15
We sang about it as children.
"Be careful little ears what you
hear! For your Father up above is looking down on you with love!
Be careful little ears what you hear!"
We've even coined a word for it,
"hearsay."
Still Paul writes to one of the
Churches, "For first of all, when ye come
together in the church,
I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly
believe it." 1st Corinthians 11:18
Yes, Paul had "heard" something!
We even know how he heard it!
"For it hath been declared unto me of you,
my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there
are contentions among you." 1st Corinthians 1:11 just
introduced us to Chloe, a lady Believer who was a part of the
Church at Corinth. She is Paul's source!
Maybe it partly depends upon the
person from whom we get the information! After all, some handle
the truth more carefully than others. Psalm 15:2 talks about the
person who "walketh uprightly, and worketh
righteousness, and
speaketh the truth in his heart." He, or she in
this case, can be trusted! It's largely a matter of discernment.
"He
that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a
false witness deceit." Proverbs 12:17
Plus, Paul enjoys here the added
miraculous intervention of the Holy Spirit! It is He Who
dictates the words for 1st Corinthians, the whole Epistle! In
fact, all of Paul's canonical writings!
Continuing his "list" of subjects to
be addressed, Paul now approaches the issue of Church
"problems." We know he's working from some kind of a list
because he says so! "Now concerning the
things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not
to touch a woman." That's back in 1st Corinthians 7:1.
Again, today's verse:
"For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear
that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it."
The adverbial qualifier "first of
all," in Greek "proton," means "priority in time or place or
order or importance." It's really an adjective form of "pro,"
but expressed in the superlative degree. "Now before anything
else!" Or, "Chiefly!"
The verb "come together" is again "sunerchomai."
It means "to convene," usually with a group of like minded
brethren. This is a present participle in the middle voice,
their gathering together impacts or changes their lives, for
better or worse! Always that's true of a Church service!
Remember that "church" is
"ecclesia," a "called out" assembly of individuals. Originally a
secular word to the ancients, the Holy Spirit has cleaned it and
sanctified it and made it into His word for "a congregation of
saints who come to worship the Lord in spirit and truth!" Yes, a
local Church is here indicated, at Corinth, in Greece.
The word "hear" is expressed as an
indicative present active verb. Paul kept on hearing this, again
and again apparently! "Akouo" is the Greek spelling, when
transliterated anyway.
Now we come to perhaps the main
word, "divisions." It's "schisma" and means a "split" in
something, a "tear" or "rent" or "gap" in a thing. Our word
schism is obviously a derivative. "Schizo" means "to break open"
or "to divide."
The local Church is to be "in one
mind and in one accord." Not split into many sects and
contentious cliques and opposing groups!
Using a writing technique sometimes
called "foreshadowing," Paul, back in 1st Corinthians 1:10,
writes: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same
thing, and that there be no
divisions
among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in
the same mind and in the same judgment." The noun
"divisions" here is "schisma" in Greek. Paul is
cautioning them about something he already knows is occurring in
the Church. He occasionally does this.
Found only eight times in the Bible
as a noun, "schism" can mean anything from a "tear" in a cloth
... all the way to "arguments and differences of opinion" among
the people.
The best "schism" verse I can find
is Matthew 27:51-53. At the death of Jesus ...
"And, behold, the veil of the temple
was rent in twain
from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the
rocks rent; and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the
saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his
resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto
many." The verb is here capitalized for easier
identification.
The preposition "among" is spelled
"en." It usually denotes fixed position! These factions existed
"inside" the Corinthians fellowship!
Paul knows these converts, too!
After all, he spent eighteen months
with them, day by day preaching and teaching them God's Word!
Luke tells us so. "And he continued
there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among
them." Acts 18:11
In fact, Paul knows them so well, he
believes what he's heard about their infighting! At least,
"partly" so! "Meros" means a "portion" of something. Or it can
mean the "edges" of a surface, the extremities! Paul believes
enough of the report he's been given to respond to such issues!
And do remember, some of these
issues go beyond "Corinthian" versus "Corinthian" and extend to
"Corinthians" versus "Paul" issues! There are here some real
basic critical life-threatening problems for this little Church
in southern Greece!
How will Paul deal with such things?
Come back tomorrow and we, Lord
willing, shall see!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3:
When Paul talks about Church
"problems," calling them "heresies" in 1st Corinthians 11:19, he
makes an amazing statement.
Yet this statement can put a lot of
issues, bad ones too, in perspective!
Notice this.
"For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are
approved may be made manifest among you."
Until we can further investigate the
word "heresies," let's just acknowledge that the Greek word is "hairesis"
and means a spirit of division, or a spirit of partisanship, or
simply some form of disunion. Literally it means a "choosing" of
one's own opinion, to the point of utterly excluding all others
and their opinions! "To take for oneself!" To have very strong
preferences about everything, not at all considering the
feelings of one's brothers or sisters in Christ!
These are, as I've called them
several times in this series of Bible Studies, church "problems,
arguments or even splits!"
And we all know that absolutely
nothing good can come from such things!
Or can it?
We do serve a God who can make "all
things" work together for good, you know!
Paul in today's verse is telling us
that these "heresies" must come from time to time!
They "must" be, he says, writing
under the direct leading of the Holy Spirit! I believe the Holy
Ghost told him the very words to pen here!
"For there must be heresies among you ...!"
Why would the Lord say such a thing?
Is there a ministry to the saints,
even of Church difficulties and schisms?
Yes, says our Text!
Again, "For
there must be also heresies among you, that they which are
approved may be made manifest among you."
The little verb used here for "must"
is spelled "dei." It's pronounced like our word "die" however.
I find it 105 times in the New
Testament.
One of the amazing facts concerning
"dei" is that it's used in some critical passages! Here are some
of them, with "dei" being capitalized and underlined.
Its first mention in the Bible:
"From that time forth began Jesus to shew
unto his disciples, how that he
must go
unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief
priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the
third day." Matthew 16:21 highlights the coming Death,
Burial and Resurrection of Jesus! Important for sure!
Twelve year old Jesus:
"And he said unto them, How is it that ye
sought me? wist ye not that I
must be
about my Father's business?" Luke 2:49
Then later in our Lord's Life:
"And he said unto them, I
must
preach the kingdom of God ... for therefore am I sent."
Luke 4:43
To that little tax collector:
"And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him,
and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to
day I must
abide at thy house." Luke 19:5
Fulfilled prophecy:
"And he said unto them, These are
the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that
all things must
be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in
the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me."
Luke 24:44
"Marvel not
that I said unto thee, Ye
must be
born again." John 3:7
"And as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so
must the
Son of man be lifted up. That whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14-15 concerns
salvation itself!
Here's worship:
"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him
must
worship him in spirit and in truth." John 4:24
God's very Will:
"I
must work the works of him that sent me, while it
is day: the night cometh, when no man can work," says
Jesus in John 9:4.
Salvation again!
"And other sheep I have, which are not of
this fold: them also I
must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and
there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." John
10:16
"And brought
them out, and said, Sirs, what
must I do
to be saved?" Acts 16:31
While other examples of course could
be offered, these are enough to emphasize the critical
importance of this little word "must!"
It is not generally used in a casual
manner in the New Testament.
"Dei" is thought to have descended
from the verb "deo," meaning "to chain or tie or bind" someone
or something!
Then, when something MUST be done,
it is a requirement! A necessity! A binding situation!
And even Church problems, all the
way to the point of "heresies," must occur ... largely because
of one great benefit they provide. "For
there must
be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be
made manifest among you."
Get ready!
These things will come!
And while God is not thrilled with
them necessarily, they do fulfill one aspect of His Plan!
And that we will study, Lord
willing, tomorrow.
Until then, do not allow church
issues, difficult ones even, to distress you or depress you or
cause you to diminish your zeal for the Lord and His work!
Rather, prepare to learn from these
things ... ugly as they are!
"For there
must be
also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be
made manifest among you."
It must be true!
It's in the Bible!
While not providing an excuse for
sin, Paul is certainly giving us a unique view into one unusual
classroom, a bickering church!
Even there God must be exalted!
And will be by those who are
faithful and true to the Bible!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4:
Paul talked about "heresies" in the
Church!
He used the word specifically in his
Corinthian Correspondence.
He even went so far, under Holy
Spirit inspiration, as to say that "heresies" must occur from
time to time.
Now it's true that he only gives one
reason why this is so, but how many reasons do you need?
"For there
must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved
may be made manifest among you." 1st Corinthians 11:19
The noun "heresies" is spelled "hairesis"
in Greek! When we anglicized the word, we just "borrowed" it
from the ancient world, nearly letter for letter!
By dictionary definition "hairesis"
means "dissensions arising from diversities of opinions and
aims." In the New Testament the word is translated "sect" five
times.
Peter spoke of "damnable heresies,"
such as denying the Lord Jesus Who is our Redeemer! See 2nd
Peter 2:1.
Paul named them, "hairesis," as one
of the works of the flesh. That's in Galatians 5:19-21.
And it's in the Book of Acts we find
the Pharisees being called a "sect" of Judaism. Acts 26:5 is an
example. Also the Sadducees were so labeled in Acts 5:17.
The Jews really looked upon the new
"religion" of Christianity as a "sect," troublesome to the old
ways of Moses! See Acts 24:5.
We know for sure that "heresies" or
"sects" were existent in the Corinthian assembly. Plainly Paul
confronts them: "For it hath been declared
unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house
of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I
say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos;
and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul
crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?"
1st Corinthians 1:11-13
Contentions, strifes, wranglings!
One Greek scholar adds that a minor
distinction can be detected between a "schism" and these
"heresies." A schism, as its name implies, means a "tearing
away" from the original body. Separation is implied! An absolute
split! Leaving the Church fellowship! While a heresy might just
involve very strong differences of opinion ... yet remaining in
the local Church body.
By grammatical definition "heresies"
come first, ultimately leading to "schisms" if God does not
intervene.
There were such "heresies" in nearly
every area of life, at Corinth I mean. "Heresies" over which
Preachers they liked best! "Heresies" over what is sin and what
is not! "Heresies" concerning marriage and divorce! "Heresies"
involving what could and could not be eaten by the growing
Christian! Certainly "heresies" existed when the Church
participated in Communion, the Lord's Supper! Even "heresies"
about the Resurrection of the dead, both the Lord's and ours!
And, based on 1st Corinthians 16:1-2, maybe even "heresies" over
money, the Church offerings week after week!
No wonder Paul wrote it, our current
Text: "Now in this that I declare unto you
I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but
for the worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the
church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly
believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they
which are approved may be made manifest among you." 1st
Corinthians 11:17-19
Read it again:
"For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are
approved may be made manifest among you."
If such problems are going to exist,
it's only logical that some positions are RIGHT according to the
Bible ... and all the others are WRONG!
And therein is found the benefit of
"heresies," they help us know who is following the Word of God
... and who is following popular sentiment!
Lord willing, more tomorrow!
Until then, as Paul wrote in Romans
3:4, "Let God be true, but every man a
liar." His way, the Lord's way, is always the right way!
"There is a
way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are
the ways of death." So say Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25,
both word for word!
Just watch the next time a "heresy"
occurs in your Church, a "dissension" or "argument," just like
oil and water separate, so will the Bible believing crowd and
the politically correct crowd!
It will happen every time!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 5:
At least when Church problems come
... "they which are approved will be made manifest among you."
The men and women at Church who
really believe the Bible will prove their faith when the
battles come!
Those who hate sin, truly
believing in separation from ungodliness, will surface too!
Those who are loyal to the Lord,
genuinely so, will stand up for what's right!
That's what Paul says in 1st
Corinthians 11:17-19. "Now in this that I
declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for
the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when ye come
together in the church,
I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly
believe it. For there
must be also heresies among you, that they which are
approved may be made manifest among you."
Two words must be considered now.
These Church divisions and heresies
lead to the downfall of some. But these folks probably were
insincere and shallow anyway.
The same issues, however, lead to,
the "approval" of others!
In every Church fight, every
doctrinal battle, every confrontation over godly practice ...
some will be "approved," while others will "fail" the very same
test!
How else could we ever know who is
real?
Without the pressure of occasional
conflicts, Paul seems to be saying, we might never know who are
the "A" students in God's School of Discipleship!
The word "approved" is really an
adjective here, describing the ones who have stood against sin
and compromise in the said local Church situation, whatever the
"issue" may have been. "Dokimos" means "having successfully
stood the test!" Having taken the exam and having received the
highest grade! The term was used of metals that had passed
through the fire, thereby achieving purity! It was also used of
coins that had been analyzed and found to be genuine!
In 1st Corinthians 9:27, where Paul
speaks of his fear of ever becoming a "castaway," he uses the
word "adokimos," an unapproved one, one who failed the test!
Those at Church who fall into the
filth and stench of these "heresies" and "divisions" are
"castaways" then!
But those who refuse to be drawn
into the whirlpool of lukewarmness, receive God's nod of
approval!
"For there must be
also heresies among you, that they which are
approved may be
made manifest
among you."
The second word we need to study is
"manifest." It is derived from "phaneros," having the idea of
"shining brightly, easily seen, radiant and luminous!" Being
another adjective, "manifest" is here augmented by the verb "may
be made."
"Ginomai," or "may be made," is a
Greek verb suggesting the act of "becoming, taking place,
happening, or even being created!" Framed as a subjunctive, "ginomai"
here implies that this "approval" is the highest and purest
result to come from such heresies and divisions! Its "middle"
voice property also tells us that the "fight" has changed this
approved one ... for the better!
The "better" spiritual state of the
man who handled the heresy correctly is here, at the end of the
Text, contrasted with those in Corinth, at the beginning of the
Text, who were coming together "not for the better," but for the
worse!
Thus, a literary device called "inclusio"
here is used, our three-verse Passage starting and ending with
the same thought!
Then, church divisions are used of
God ... to prove the mettle of His Own Children!
Such battles will make us stronger
or weaker!
Better or worse!
Approved or a failure!
Ready?
I'll guarantee you this.
A test is coming!
I long to be approved in the eyes of
God!
Don't you?
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
CHURCH PROBLEMS, BAD AS
THEY ARE, AT LEAST SHOW US WHO IS REAL AND GENUINE AND STRONG IN
THEIR FAITH! STAY TRUE TO THE LORD ... AFTER ALL, IT IS HIS
APPROVAL WE SEEK, NOT MAN'S!
