GOING BEYOND WHAT’S WRITTEN (PART II)

“Chaos in the Church at Corinth”

By Akin Ojumu

Piety without morality is mere religiosity. Repentance that’s not manifested in progressive sanctification is futility upon futility. When the profession of faith fails to translate into transformation of life such a faith is dead and it’ll ultimately lead to eternal damnation.

Such was the sad case of the Corinthian Christians. When it came to the Word of God, the Christian assembly in the ancient pagan City of Corinth was second to none. Much of Paul’s ministry was heavily invested in these failure-to-thrive believers. He brought them the Gospel, established them in the faith, taught them sound doctrine, and impacted spiritual knowledge upon them richly.

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift…” (1 Corinthians 1:4-7).

When it came to the ordinances of the Christian faith, the Corinthians were well informed and knowledgeable. And they should be. Apostle Paul, the greatest theologian that ever lived, was their teacher. Nevertheless, the rich teaching did not translate into godly conduct. Their knowledge became a form of religious piety that wasn’t accompanied by spiritual maturity. The vast majority of the congregation remained spiritual babes intolerant to solid food.

In addition to being carnal, immoral, selfish, litigious, disrespectful, undisciplined, and unruly, the Corinthian Christian assembly was marred by splits and schisms. At the heart of the Corinthian denomination existed a cult of personality that was centered on the institutionalized quasi-religious glorification of individuals.

Borrowing from the culture of their polytheistic society where several gods were worshiped, the Corinthians turned Paul, Apollos, and Peter into deities in whose names they created competing religious cults. Within the congregation sprouted a cult of Paul, cult of Apollos, and the cult of Peter. There were even those who claimed to belong to the cult of Christ.

So devoted were the adherents of the respective cults to the object of their worship that they disdained members of the other cults. The followers of Paul derided disciples of Apollos. Likewise, the cult of Apollos wanted nothing to do with the cult of Peter. Members of the cult of Peter regarded with contempt devotees of the cult of Paul and Peter. To those belonging to the cult of Christ, the other people were lost.

Because they came to Christ through his preaching, the Paul faction wanted to assert spiritual dominance over the rest. The Apollos faction, however, would have none of that. Boasting about the superior eloquence of Apollos over Paul, they demanded that the best orator in the assembly, who happened to be one of their own, should lead the church.

As the wranglings between Paul and Apollos factions unfold, the camp of Peter looked on bemused. They had to remind both groups that they were the followers of Peter, the Rock, upon whom the Lord Jesus established his Church. And then those who said, “I follow Christ,” who thought they were above the fray altogether, argued that they followed no particular church tradition (Ligonier Ministry).

So entrenched in hero worship were these disparate factions, that rifts and quarrels broke out. Chaos and confusion became the order of the day. The factionalism and disturbance were so profound, and the congregation was so irreparably divided, that Chloe and her people had to write Paul to inform him about the alarming situation.

“For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:11-13).

Next time, we’ll see the similarities between the Corinthian Church worship of heroes and contemporary Christianity’s deification of powerful men of God.