Division In The Church - 1 Corinthians 3-4

1 Corinthians 3:3-4 (ESV)

for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

Paul has a large task in front of him.   He wanted to come to the church at Corinth but was hindered by his current work.  He sent Timothy, his son in the faith, instead:

1 Corinthians 4:17 (ESV)

That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.

His struggle, however, is that he had some in the church who were acting arrogantly and needed to be corrected:

1 Corinthians 4:19 (ESV)

But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.

In the above text he refers to them as still of the flesh, behaving only in a human way.  I suppose their reply back is that we are all human, how else can we act.  But Paul is wanting them to see that they are acting like unbelievers and not of those of the faith.  Apparently there were those in the church at Corinth who were playing favorites and playing those favorites against each other.  Some liked Paul.  Some liked a teacher named Apollos.  Later Paul will show how complementary he was with Apollos and Apollos with him.  But he first wanted them to see how childish they were acting.  This was the proverbial, I like mom over dad, or dad over mom, strategy.   Both Paul and Apollos were great teachers of the church.  Yes, Paul was an apostle and Apollos was not, and will bring that out at some point.  But he wants these followers to know that playing favorites in the church and dividing church was childish, human form and weak.   At least two things to learn here:

1. Having loyalty to a man of God should never separate and cause division to the people of God.  

2. Division in the church is a cancer and needs to be addressed and cut out as though you have discovered a large tumor in your brain or on your heart.   

Paul’s desire is to keep the church pure and the saints strong.   Anything that threatens that will be exposed and addressed.  And it should be today, as well.