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T E S T A M E N T CO PY R IG H T BY W ILLIAM EVANS
F IR ST COR INTH IANS C ontinued
O 0 FAR in our study of 1 Corinthians we have considered some introductory matters and discussed the Introduction to the book (i. 1-9). In this number of the magazine we present: PARTY FACTIONS (i. 10-iv 21) The discussion of this entire section was made necessary by reports that had come to the apostle of existing schism caused by preference for and adherence to cer tain Christian leaders. “For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are ' contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ” (i. 11, 12). The apostle deals with the fault in the follow ing manner: 1. A Clear and Definite Statement of Existing Conditions (1. 10-17). Shortly after Paul had left Corinth, Apollos, an Alexandrian Jew, who was mighty and eloquent in the Scriptures, vis ited that city. Quite a number of the Cor inthian believers, among whom were doubtless those who were not over-friendly to the Apostle Paul, gathered around Apollos. Representatives of the Judaistic party also visited the Corinthian church and naturally gathered around themselves
a number of believers. Thus the Corin thian church had divided itself into four factions, each faction claiming allegiance to its own leader: one to Paul; another to Peter; another to Apollos; and still another to Christ. (а) The "Paul" Party consisted, doubt less, of those in the Corinthian church who, endeavoring to uphold the apostle’s doctrine of free grace, took an extreme position with regard to their freedom from Mosaic ceremonials and what they may have termed bqndage to Mosaic institutions. It may have been also that Paul was looked upon by many, because of the unique rev elation granted to him, as the real founder of the Christian Church. Consequently, they were uncharitable to those’ who still had regard for some of the Mosaic cere monials and to whom obedience thereto was somewhat a conscientious scruple. This spirit would, of course, antagonize those who were zealous for the Mosaic in stitutions, and such were quite numerous in the early church (cf. Acts xv. 20-29; xxi. 20 ). (б) The “Cephas?’ ( Peter ) Party con sisted, doubtless, of those in the church who looked upon Peter as the highest rep resentative of the gospel and who rather leaned towards an observance of the cere monial law. Whether the members of this party had any right to claim Peter as their leader, thereby indicating that he was not
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