“Houston, We Have a Problem.”
Apollo 13, the moon-bound spacecraft, was wrecked by an oxygen tank explosion on April 13, 1970. More than 50 years ago, Jim Lovell called Mission Control: “Houston, we have a problem.”
Today the church has many problems. Some of them are small, but some of them are big— disagreement over music choices, disagreement over building projects, disagreement over mission programs, or even disagreement on the carpet color.
Church Problems in the Bible
The church of Corinth had a lot of problems as well—factions, lawsuits, immorality, abuse of the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts, and doubts about the resurrection. Corinth was notorious for vice and immorality with the temple of Aphrodite’s thousands of priestesses serving as sacred prostitutes. Even the name “Corinth” was so corrupt that the verb “korinthiazomai” meant to “act immorally.”
If Paul were alive today, I guarantee you that churches in America would be getting a letter. And it wouldn’t be pretty! But the good news is that God loved that church and even though they were “immature” they were not immune to the gospel.
Here are five issues Paul addressed with the Corinthian church that today’s church can learn from:
Division in the Church
Paul commends the Corinthian church for several things. “I give thanks to my God always” (1:4). But soon we can tell that Paul wrote this letter to correct problems that had been reported to him: “For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers” (1:11).
What was the division? “Each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ” (1:12). There were parties created between favorite preachers or favorite pastors and as a result, people were siding against each other.
The division was based on a misunderstanding of the gospel message. The gospel is all-inclusive. That’s the reason Paul demands unity here, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel” (1:17).
With great diversity came division within the church. The power of the gospel is not about the messenger but rather is about the message that unites us.
Dissonance in Immorality from the Church
Everywhere we look today there is temptation. We’re constantly challenged to divert our eyes and attention—from the TV, smartphones, billboards, or at the gym.
Sexual temptation, even sexual immorality, was an issue in the early church as well. “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans” (5:1).
Because they followed worldly patterns, Christians began to prostitute themselves to the point that the Spirit of God was not affecting their heart or their lives.
Paul then makes a profound argument saying, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own” (6:19). If you are reading verse by verse, you will notice that Paul poses a similar question earlier in chapter 3 where he pleads with the believers to recognize that they were purchased with a price (3:16-17).
Balancing Truth and Love
Paul speaks of his own apostleship in comparison to the matter of “meat offering” (8:1-13). He says we are to put our knowledge into action, which results in love. The problem was balancing knowledge and love.
Maybe that’s the reason we are “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Eph 4:14).
That’s why Paul lays out the direction of the Lord’s Supper and does so in an orderly manner (11:17-34).
Disunity in the Church
I love this entire section. Chapters 12—14 are speaking on the matters of spiritual gifts. So often 1 Corinthians 13 (which is known as the love chapter) is only quoted in wedding ceremonies. However, contextually, it deals with matters of unity in the church body.
Chapter 14 has been greatly debated, but the Spirit’s activity is the elation of Jesus as Lord and not ecstatic speech, or as some will say, speaking in tongues.
Focus on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The Corinthians were not denying the resurrection. For this reason, Paul says, “Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (15:12).
Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, you and I are miserable and lost. Paul calcifies this by saying, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:56-57).
The Gospel Solves Church Problems
With all the business of life, ministry demands, outreach attempts, and much more, the church is prone to forget that our message is “Christ crucified.” The message of the crucifixion is what makes all the difference.
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (15:58).
Even with the problems happening around us, may we be found faithful.
Dr. Jonathan Hayashi
Dr. Jonathan Hayashi is a chaplain, pastor, and author of Ordinary Radicals: A Return to Christ-Centered Discipleship and Making Lemonade: Turning Past Failures into Gospel Opportunities. He and his wife, Kennedi, have four children: Kaede, Seiji, Anna, and Ren. Learn more about him at jonathanhayashi.com
