By Pastor Dave Farmer
TOPIC # 27 OUT OF CONTROL CHURCH - PART 5
Confronting The Unruly
Paul anticipates that the restrictions he has placed upon the various ministries in the church at Corinth will be rejected. He now confronts the unruly.
Introduction
This final teaching segment of this amazing chapter concludes with a challenge to the congregation at Corinth to make these changes in their way of worship to conform to the standard practices that Paul had established in all the churches. He explains this in an earlier passage:
1 Corinthians 4:17
For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.
The Pauline model for worship emphasizes the teaching of the Word of God. Yes, there would be congregational singing and praising God, but they were only preparations for the prime objective, which we have repeatedly seen in this chapter in the word "edification." The purpose for assembling worship is for the believers to receive instructions from the authorized teachers of the Word of God so that they may be built-up [edified] in all doctrines pertaining to life and godliness, Ephesians 4:11-13. At Corinth, in the absence of a pastor, those possessing the gift of prophecy would have this responsibility, but this spiritual goal was lost in the chaos.
Paul's forward-looking objective for the Church, the Spirit-led objective, was to identify gifted men, those who had the gift of pastor-teacher and see to their training and authorizing their ministry. The twofold work of these men will be to lead the church and teach the congregation the wonderful words of life. The Pastoral Epistles of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus would be written within a few years after this letter. At that time, the oral policy "his ways" became the written policy "God's Way." We see in 1 Timothy three the Pauline model for the leadership of the local church during the post-canon period of the church. Pastors will lead and teach their congregations. Titus was sent on a mission to the Cretan churches to organize them:
Titus 1:5
For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders [pastor-teachers] in every city as I directed you,
Titus 1:9
holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.
Paul understood the situation. His ministry was ending, and the ministry of apostleship would be given over to those possessing the gift of pastor-teacher. The church was to be the depository of the Word of God. He wrote to Timothy:
1 Timothy 3:15
but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth [the Word of God, i.e., doctrine.]
This is Paul's way. He would preach the gospel and form the converts into a church. He would find gifted men to lead and teach the congregation. It is essential to recognize this is a Spirit-directed ministry. It is the magnificent work of the Holy Spirit who opens the hearts of the lost unto salvation and distributes the spiritual gifts necessary for the establishment and growth of the church. Paul was a vehicle that the Holy Spirit was driving. In the wake of Paul's path, dozens of churches were founded, city by city. God the Holy Spirit was at work building the church numerically and spiritually.
The message to the prophet Zachariah regarding rebuilding the temple is another reminder of whose work this truly is. The angel said this work would be accomplished "Not by might nor by power [human resources], but using the Holy Spirit [Spirit given resources]" Zechariah 4:6. Paul glorified the Holy Spirit earlier and taught the Corinthians that his success at Corinth was not about him, "To God be the glory!":
1 Corinthians 2:4
and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
1 Corinthians 2:5
so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
So, in his continued push to organize the churches, Corinth was in disarray. It was without a pastor. Paul sent this letter with Timothy to be their temporary pastor, and he wrote them not to frighten young Timothy, 1 Corinthians 16:10,11. Apollos was well-liked and had a great ministry at Corinth but left. Paul tried to get him to go back, but he said, "Not now," but I think he meant "not ever again" 1 Corinthians 16:12; 3:4-9.
CHARGING THEM WITH PRIDE
The Corinthians had received the Word of God through the teaching ministry of Paul for over eighteen months. This church had a good foundation, so there is no excuse. This is not a misunderstanding; they decided to do it their own way instead of "his way." Paul's teaching was unlike Plato's, Aristotle's, or the great stoic Zeno's. Paul's source of truth was from God directly through divine revelation and divine inspiration, as he wrote. He was not giving them good advice or a great suggestion, a tried and time-tested approach, or his personal feelings. It was based upon a "thus saith the Lord." God's truth is absolute, not relative, not circumstantial, not take it or leave it, but as our Lord Jesus Christ said, "the Scripture cannot be broken." If God said it, that settles it forever. So, Paul's authority was being challenged by the Corinthians. He reminds them in these verses that "his way" is the Lord's way [verse 37], and if they resist God's Will, divine discipline will follow [verse 38].
THE TWO QUESTIONS
The Corinthians knew the answer to this question. The Word of God at Corinth originated with Paul, who came to Corinth with the gospel and led many of these people to the Lord Jesus Christ. What they knew about Christ and the church's doctrines came from the face-to-face teaching of the Apostle Paul. The logic is simple. Dr. Carson, quoting from Thayer's lexicon, is excellent on this logical device:
"Paul says through debaters technique, “if one be denied or refuted the other must stand.” So through the form of a logical argument the preceding idea, which was being denied, is being reinforced." 1
The unstated rejection of Paul's restrictions cannot be denied or refuted if there is an agreement to the second proposition, which is that Paul represents the Lord. He stands in Christ's stead. In other words, divine revelation came from the Lord Jesus Christ to Paul and then to the Corinthians. The Corinthians are recipients, not the source. God revealed His Will to Paul directly. There were no intermediaries, especially not the Corinthians. The church had many believers with the gift of prophecy. They were receiving divine revelation. I am only speculating, but if they viewed themselves as equal to Paul, they set themselves up for a big disappointment. "Why should we have to follow Paul? God has not revealed to us these things." At the heart of this conflict is arrogance, and it is not Paul who is arrogant but those who oppose him.
Paul asks, "Are you the only church in existence?" Of course not. There are many churches. The Corinthians acted as if their standard worship practices were for them alone. They didn't have to follow the protocols established for the other churches. They were unique, special, and gifted, the model for all other ministries. To help us follow Paul's argument, I think Dr. Carson expresses it quite well:
"So he continues, “Or [if you find it so hard to grant this, then consider:] did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached?” This is part and parcel of Paul’s frequent insistence in this letter that the Corinthian church return to the common practice and perspective of the other churches (1:2; 4:17; 7:17; 11:16; 14:33) and to wholehearted submission to apostolic authority (14:37-38).1
The Word of God arrived at Corinth according to a divine norm and standard. All this cannot be brought out in translation, but it can in exegesis. The intimation of this compound verb is that Paul organized the church according to a fixed norm and standard, including a way to worship God, designed to protect the primary purpose of worship, and they changed that to suit themselves. They were proud of their unique way of worship. Paul's question was designed to remind them there is one God-given design for all the churches.
1 Corinthians 4:19
But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power.
They do not have the power to change the purpose of the church.
1 Corinthians 14:37
"If any person is thinking" he is a prophet or a spiritual person, he must know full well that the things which I am writing to you [to your advantage] keep on being the Lord’s command.
We now have a conditional sentence, and it happens to be true, a First Class Condition. 2 Conditional sentences have two parts: (1) the premise called the protasis and (2) the conclusion called the apodosis.
Cautioning Them Against Rebellion
This clause wreaks of their arrogant pomposity. They have been thinking, and it is evil thinking, not grace thinking. Grace's thinking emphasizes God's will, plan, and purpose. Evil emphasizes Satan's plan and purpose. The Corinthians, in their thinking, are fighting against God. Someone might ask, "Can Paul read minds?" How could he be so sure what they were thinking? I would remind you that Paul cannot read minds, but the Holy Spirit can, and Paul is writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Their new design for worship emphasizing the gifts of the Spirit is not the paradigm Paul established among the churches. They struck out on their own and developed a new style of worship that emphasized who and what they were. The Corinthians changed the Pauline model for their own but failed to see that it was God's design, not Paul's. For instance, they had turned the precious fellowship of the communion service into a feast of Bacchus and cleaned it up a little by leaving out the orgies. They received from Paul the reprimand, "Don't you have homes to eat in?... I will not praise you in this" 1 Corinthians 11:22. Now they had changed the true purpose of the worship service into a disorganized, emotional mess and earned the reprimand that "people will think you are mad" 1 Corinthians 14:23. The restrictions were necessary because the primary reason for worship was gone, the chaos had destroyed it. The church was unrecognizable to Paul.
Their arrogance blinded them. They said to themselves, "We are a gifted church; we are a spiritually mature church; no one is like us." It never occurred to them that their differences, compared to the other church, were because they were outside the will of God. This reminds me of another church that thought too highly of themselves--the Laodiceans:
Revelation 3:17
Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,
Paul is divinely authorized to speak for the Lord Jesus Christ. As Paul explains, "These are the Lord's Commands." A true prophet or a spiritually mature person would recognize this and gladly submit to the restrictions indicating "may the Will of God be done." The imperative, usually a command, is the imperative of appeal. The appeal is to logic, reason, and sanity: "he must know full well, or he must recognize." Logic demands this conclusion. Paul represents the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are forced to agree. There is only one conclusion you can come to. The restrictions are from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. What you Corinthians call uniqueness or charismatic spirituality is disobedience. The next logical step is that your disobedience will be disciplined.
The Coming Discipline
1 Corinthians 14:38
Indeed, if any person does not recognize this [fact], he will certainly not be recognized.
The corrective discipline will come from the Lord. Indeed, this is the case of the seven churches of Asia Minor who, in the Book of Revelation, the Risen and Seated Lord says, "I [the Lord Jesus Christ speaking] know your deeds." Each church is evaluated by the Lord Jesus and warned of coming discipline due to their failures. I see no reason to believe that this ministry of the Lord was for then and not now. It is instructive to learn that the Apostle John faced a similar showdown at Ephesus. He wrote:
1 John 4:6
We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
The spirit of error is false teaching and refers to Satanic doctrine. It is that serious, and John and Paul recognized that the refusal to follow apostolic instruction was instigated by none other than his infernal majesty, the Devil, Ephesians 6:10,11; 1 John 2:18,19; 3:8-10. This is why the Word of God must be taught. There is a divine standard to meet. Ignorance is no excuse. In fact, Paul reveals to the Corinthians that they were already under various stages of divine discipline:
1 Corinthians 11:29–30
29] For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.
30] For this reason many among you are weak [warning discipline]and sick [intense discipline], and a number sleep [dying discipline].
Summary
1. The Corinthians rearranged the worship service, creating their own unique style that emphasized their spiritual gifts.
2. This new way was motivated by pride. They wanted to be the envy of all.
3. Paul's instructions for worship were from the Lord Jesus Christ. It was simple. At the point of salvation, a believer receives the gift of pastor-teacher. As he grows spiritually, he is identified as having this gift. He is then given a ministry to become the pastor-teacher of a local church. He leads and teaches the congregation, who are blessed and benefited by his ministry. The positive members of the congregation grow spiritually through the teaching of the Word of God. This is a Spirit-directed ministry and one that honors and glorifies God.
4. This plan has always remained the same. No denomination can change that: one gifted man, one congregation.
5. Discipline will come upon all who decide they are smarter than God and are determined to go a different way.
6. All churches should recognize God's desire for them is to become spiritually mature churches. Large churches sometimes look around and say to all the little churches, look at us. Here is how we became big. Why don't you try it our way? What a mess!
7. Sadly, we have misplaced the real purpose of worship. The prime objective is that each pastor is responsible for leading and teaching their church to advance to the high ground of spiritual maturity—a place where members are growingly and increasingly becoming more like Christ.
8. Pray for your pastor. This burden is far too great for him to carry alone.
__________
1 See Appendix C for the exegesis of 1 Corinthians 14:26, where a fuller treatment is given to rhetorical questions. Also, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, editors John Piper and Wayne Gruden: Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois, 1991, Chapter 6 "Silent In The Churches," by D.A. Carson, pg 133.
2 The Syntax Of Conditional Sentences
A conditional sentence has two parts: the IF clause and the THEN clause. The first part is called the protasis [a standing before]. The second part is called the apodosis clause [a giving back]. It says whenever the condition of the protasis exists, you can expect, with absolute certainty, the condition of the apodosis to occur. There are four conditional clauses:
(1) The first-class condition assumes the reality of the premise: "If, and it is assumed to be true."
(2) The second-class condition assumes the premise is contrary to fact: "If you will, but you will not."
(3) The third-class condition expresses an uncertain though more probable future condition and emphasizes the volition of the individual: "Maybe you will or maybe you will not;"
(4) The fourth-class condition expresses the less probable future condition: "I wish it were true, but it is not."
See H. E. Dana and Julius R. Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955), 289-90.