Why Moving In Strife Means You Need To Grow

Strife, avoiding it, and knowing why you should is what we are talking up today. The Church at Corinth had major problems with strife. So, in his letter to this church, Paul makes addressing this problem one of his major focal points. He didn’t want this church to have a history in this area. You may not realize it, but Aaron Burr, the third Vice President of the United States, had a history with strife. His grandfather, Jonathan Edwards, raised him in a godly home and admonished him to accept Christ. [You know who Jonathan Edwards is don’t you? He preached one of the world’s most famous sermons, ‘Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God.’ So, Aaron Burr’s renowned grandfather tried to lead him to Jesus.] Instead, he declared he wanted nothing to do with God and said he wished the Lord would leave him alone. He achieved a measure of political success despite repeated disappointments. But he was also involved in continuous strife, and when he was 48 years old, he killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. He lived for 32 more years, but through all this time, he was unhappy and unproductive. It was during this sad chapter in his life that he declared to a group of friends; “Sixty years ago I told God that if He would let me alone, I would let Him alone, and God has not bothered about me since.” Aaron Burr got what he wanted. [A life filled with strife that took him straight to hell.] ¹ Why Moving In Strife Means You Need To Grow. That’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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Accept the Challenge

Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
This week’s call is:

It’s time to repent of strife. A quarreling Christian, church, or denomination is a denial of all for which the name of Christ stands. He is the Prince of Peace, not the author of strife.

Join the Conversation

Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11). Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony.
This week’s question is:

Question: Share a testimony of how you got out of a strife situation and the impact that had on your life. Share your story in the comments section below.

Episode Resources:

If you would like to know more about growing in faith, see the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

We are currently teaching in the book of First Corinthians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 47 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 42 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Prayer

Podcast Notes

Well again, welcome.
Let’s pray.

Father God, thank you that your way is the best way. Your life is the best life. Living a life free from strife is the Jesus way and we praise you for it. Open our understanding to these truths that we are getting ready to read out of your Word, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Operating in Strife: First Things First

Well, we continue on in chapter one of First Corinthians.
We understand that this is a letter that Paul wrote where he addresses a plethora of problems.
These problems splashed onto the canvas of this church like action painting.
You know what action painting is right? – well, you probably don’t know — I mean, I didn’t know — I had to look it up.
Action painting is where you take some paint and just throw it on a canvas.
Throwing paint around like this is every two-year-old’s dream.
Problems in the church house are the main reason Paul is writing this letter — to get these situations under control so that this church doesn’t spin out of control.
Just think about the ginormous number of problems. [I like this word ginormous — it’s fun]
We’re talking ongoing incest in the church house — how’s that for a problem?
Paul deals with this in chapter five of his letter.
People were suing each other in the church house — Paul reserves this for chapter six.
Paul deals with the problem of prostitution on the backside of chapter six as well.
Then the Corinthians had questions about issues they were confronting among themselves.
They had questions about marriage, divorce, and the celibate life. Paul answers these queries in chapter seven.
Questions arose about food sacrificed to idols — that discussion starts in chapter eight and goes on for a couple of chapters.
Then, in chapter 11, Paul covers questions about head coverings.
Then there were abuses surrounding the Lord’s Super — Paul hits that nail on the head in chapter 11 as well.
There was confusion over spiritual gifts, people were speaking out of order, women were interrupting the services.
It was all a mess — that’s chapters 12 and 14.
And of course, chapter 13 is how love pulls all of this together and sets things in order.
Then, the return of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead — everyone had questions about this in the Early Church.
Well, it’s the same in the Later Church as well.
Paul brings all of this to an end in chapter sixteen with the business of taking up an offering for the financially poor saints of God.
Now I just broadly outlined for you chapters five through sixteen.
How about chapters one through four?
I’m glad you asked — I was going to tell you, anyway. [you should smile after this, of course]
But first, think about these issues, questions, and problems we’ve already mentioned.
Put yourself in Paul’s shoes.
Which one would you talk about first?
You start with the thing that’s bugging you the most.
Oddly enough, not it’s the incest or the prostitution issue.
The thing that Paul deals with first in chapters one through four is strife.
Since this is uppermost in Paul’s thoughts, it should weigh the same in your thoughts.
So, it’s significant that strife in the church gets addressed first.
Paul’s spends more time on this than any of the other problems.

1 Corinthians 1:10–17 (ESV) — 10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 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.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

So get a feel for what’s going on here.
Look at these terms.
Paul asks for a spirit of agreement to pervade.
So it didn’t exist.
He asks for no divisions between believers.
That means that didn’t exist either.
Paul urges the church to unite with the same mind.
If he’s asking for it, that means that wasn’t happening.
The Apostle to the Gentiles asks that the Corinthians have the same judgment.
Well, they were lacking in that too.
Paul hears from an excellent source that instead of what should have been happening, this church was flat out quarreling with one another.
And, he gives examples of this.
So, Paul is asking the Corinthians to consider a no-strife-life.

Strife: How It Came About in Corinth

But, how this strife get started?
Let’s review the scripture again.

For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.

And with that thought, here is the Question of the Day.
Specifically, we must ask this question: “Who is the ‘you’ referring to?”
There is quarreling among ‘you.’
“Who is the ‘you’?
To understand who ‘you’ is, we must understand the dynamic of house churches.
You see, you cannot think of church in the first century as we do today.
Today, church is a local building where believers gather.
In the first century, no such official structure existed.
Church was people’s homes where believers gathered.
Think small groups here — think tiny groups here.
Most of the population had no means.
Ninety percent were poor.
Poor means small dwellings.
Even those who had means and possessed bigger homes could only house 30 people — maybe up to fifty people.
Listen to this close now.

1 Corinthians 1:1–3 (ESV) — 1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote a letter to the Church at Corinth.
Which house church was that? — what was its address?
We’ve already seen it wasn’t a building — believers didn’t meet in a building.
So which house church got the letter designated as First Corinthians?
All of them!
Everyone who had a home where believers met read the letter.
They circulated the letter house church to house church.
So, let’s cook up a scenario.
Paul’s Corinthian letter was hand carried to Bobby Joe’s house on Q Street — there were 12 people who met in that house.
Then, the letter went to A street to Rabbi Eleazar’s house.
The Rabbi became a Jesus follower because you know Paul hit the synagogue first when he hit town.
Rabbi Eleazer had a slightly bigger place — 19 believers met in his house.
Then the letter circulated down the back alley, you know it’s being hand carried, to Obadiah’s house on O Street.
They’re nine people in that met in Obadiah’s home.
On and on, the letter wafted through the city till it hit every church house in the city.
So, who was the Church at Corinth?
It was all those believers in all those church houses in all that city.
One church — one name — the Church at Corinth.
That’s who the ‘you’ is.
There are divisions among ‘you,’ Paul said.
It may not have been believers in the same home that were striving with each another.
It may have been the bunch meeting in Obadiah’s house fussing with the believers who were meeting in Rabbi Eleazar’s house.
What were they fussing about?
What was the source
Let’s reread it.

I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”

To understand the source of this division, here’s what you should know.

Acts 18:1 (ESV) — 18:1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

Paul came through Corinth.
He did what he always did, went to the synagogue first — we already mentioned that and then on to the Gentiles.
People got saved, and they gathered into house churches.
That’s good and right — people need to be in a local fellowship of like-minded believers.

Acts 18:11 (ESV) — And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

Here’s the question: ‘Whose house church did Paul attend when he stayed a year and six months?’
Think about it now.
‘I follow Paul, I follow Apollos…’

Acts 19:1 (ESV) — 1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.

Apollos came through Corinth.
Whose house church did he attend when he came to Corinth?
How many house churches were there? — five, twelve, 50 fifty? — how many – I don’t know?
You know I went ‘church to church’ in a traveling ministry for two years.
When I arrived in a particular church in a particular city in a particular state, I didn’t visit all the churches in that city.
I didn’t even know about all the churches that existed in the city.
One state I was in had multiple churches on the same block!
I visited one on that block but not the others.
What happened is these different men of God came through Corinth and they each hooked up with a different house church and built relationships with those people in those homes until the people in that house church said: ‘I follow Paul – he attended my house church. I follow Apollos because he attended mine, I follow Peter and on and on.’
Again, one letter went to all these churches.

Strife: Divided and Quarreling

Now, that’s the setup, but it’s not the problem.
Listen to what the problem was.

1 Corinthians 1:10–11 (ESV) — 10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.

The problem was no agreement.
They did not unite.
The problem was they didn’t have the same mind.
They were not judging correctly.
And, they were quarreling.
Out of this naturally occurring traveling ministry situation arose these five things.
The Greek word ‘quarreling’ is the one we want to look at and with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
The word ‘quarreling’ is the Greek word for strife.
It is an engagement in rivalry.
What is rivalry?
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the “against each other” spirit between the two competing sides.²
Getting back to the Greek definition – quarreling is engagement in rivalry, especially regarding positions taken in a matter.
Strife, discord, or contention are other words that mean the same thing.
So, the problem wasn’t the number of house churches and who went where; it was that they got competitive about who went where.
So, Paul wrote a letter to an non-unified group of house churches.
They didn’t have the same mind.
And, they were not judging the body of Christ correctly.
And, with that thought, here’s the Quote of the Day.

A quarreling Christian, church, or denomination is a denial of all for which the name of Christ stands. He is the Prince of Peace, not the author of strife. If Christians cannot live in peace with each other, who can?³

Strife Is Found in Unspiritual People Who Need to Grow

1 Corinthians 3:1–3 (ESV) — 1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 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?

Did you hear what Paul said?
If there is jealousy and strife among you, you are unspiritual — you are of the flesh — you are behaving like the rest of the unsaved people on Planet Earth because that’s how they act.
Competition — ‘us against them’ on political issues, us against them’ on social issues, us against them’ on family issues.
Who’s going to win?
This group of believers in this house church said, ‘We will not give in’ — ‘we’re going to win this thing’ — that’s strife.
You must be careful because if you aren’t, you can end up in a continual state of strife.

Hercules, according to legend, grew increasingly irritated by a strange, menacing animal that kept blocking his path. In a fit of anger, he struck the animal with his club, killing it. As he continued his path, he kept encountering the same animal, each time larger and more menacing than before. At last, a wise messenger appeared and warned Hercules to stop his furious assaults. “The monster is Strife, and you are stirring it up,” said the messenger. “Just let it alone and it will shrivel and cease to trouble you.”

To get out of strife sometimes, you must let the other guy win.

1 Corinthians 13:4–5 (AMP) — 4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

Love does not insist on its own right or its own way.

Two ladies in a train coach were arguing about the window. One lady claimed she would die of heatstroke unless she opened the window. The other insisted she would die of pneumonia if it wasn’t kept closed. The ladies called the conductor, who was at a loss to solve the problem. It was then that the stranger sitting with them in the coach spoke up. “First, open the window. That will kill one. Then close it. That will kill the other. Then we’ll have peace.”⁴

Neither of these ladies were walking in love per First Corinthians thirteen.
Each was insisting on their own way.
Now there are varying degrees of strife.
Some of this is just disagreements on a minor level.
Here’s some council from the Word in these cases.

Romans 12:16–18 (ESV) — 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

As far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
You can’t always control the other person, but you can do something about you.
Don’t you be the source of strife.
So there are minor levels of disagreement between people and then, unfortunately, there are major levels.

James 4:1–3 (ESV) — 4:1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

This passage describes strife on a major level.
You’re hearing words in this passage like quarrels, fights, passions, murder, and covetousness.
Strife is associated with bad company to be linked with all of this.

Strife in Bad Company

Galatians 5:19–21 (ESV) — 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Again, strife has horrible companions for friends.

Strife and Proverbs

We will close out this podcast with some wisdom from Proverbs.
There are 14 verses in Proverbs where the Hebrew word strife directly appears.
The Hebrew word for strife means just that: strife, contention, or controversies.

Proverbs 10:12 (ESV) — 12 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

Linking this now to the New Testament, he that hates his brother is a murderer and you know no murderer has eternal life in them — 1 John 3:15.
Jesus’ people are nice people.
Supposed to be anyhow.

Proverbs 15:18 (ESV) — 8 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.

A person with a ‘hot-tempered’ nature is someone who becomes highly heated, full of rage and anger.
He or she is an individual who gets upset quickly — we use the terminology ‘flies off the handle at a moment’s notice.’

Proverbs 29:22 (ESV) — 22 A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression.

So same difference: a hot-tempered man stirs up strife, a man of wrath stirs up strife.
Now add to this strife mix the combustible agent of money.

Proverbs 28:25 (ESV) — 25 A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the Lord will be enriched.

Money is one of the keen sources of strife.
If you don’t think so, just watch what happens when a family member dies.
All kinds of ugliness come out of these people who you thought were nice people.
People even try to drag the Lord into these affairs.
Look at this incident in the life of Jesus.

Luke 12:13–15 (ESV) — 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Jesus stated God’s position on this pretty plainly, didn’t He?
Now, when you see that money elevates strife and you know from the New Testament that the love of money is the root of all evil, you can see that strife continues to show that it keeps terrible company.
We should do everything we can do as the scripture we’ve already covered said: ‘as much as within you is, live peaceably with all men.’

Proverbs 17:1 (ESV) — 1 Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.

If you’ve been married any length of time, you know this verse is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
I thank God for Sharon — she is a godly woman and doesn’t get involved in strife.
Now, are you ready to hear the conclusion of this matter?
Paul wrote to the Corinthians and said: ‘it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.’
Translated out of Proverbs.

Proverbs 20:3 (ESV) — 3 It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.

‘Dear Corinthians,’ Paul is saying, you are acting foolishly and you need to grow.
‘You need to walk in honor and stay aloof from strife.’

Now Father God, thank you for showing us major stumbling blocks we should avoid as we march on to maturity. Forgive us if have been engaged in strife. We repent of it now, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Why Moving In Strife Means You Need To Grow.
You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

How to Impact an Immoral City: Lessons from Corinth

___________

References:

Our Daily Bread ↩
Wikipedia ↩
Herschel Hobbs, My Favorite Illustrations. ↩
Leslie B. Flynn ↩

emeryhorvath.com

Equipping people to pursue God's glory

Why Moving In Strife Means You Need To Grow

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Eleven

by Emery Horvath

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe to PlayerFM

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

If you would like to know more about growing in faith, see the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

We are currently teaching in the book of First Corinthians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Prayer

Podcast Notes

Operating in Strife: First Things First

Strife: How It Came About in Corinth

Strife: Divided and Quarreling

Strife Is Found in Unspiritual People Who Need to Grow

Strife in Bad Company

Strife and Proverbs

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe to PlayerFM

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

If you would like to know more about growing in faith, see the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

We are currently teaching in the book of First Corinthians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Prayer

Podcast Notes

Operating in Strife: First Things First

Strife: How It Came About in Corinth

Strife: Divided and Quarreling

Strife Is Found in Unspiritual People Who Need to Grow

Strife in Bad Company

Strife and Proverbs

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