The State of Today's Church Today in Comparison to the Corinth Church - Essay Example

The of Today’s Church in comparison to the Corinth Church. of The of Today’s Church Today in Comparison to the Corinth Church The early church serves as a reference point for today’s church with most of its practices attributable to those of the early church. The church of Corinth is one of the churches Paul the apostle frequently visited and guided. The irony with this is that the church itself was one of the churches that had a tainted image because of being associated with carnality as opposed to being considered as the appropriate model for the others. This paper will explore issues in the church of Corinth such as carnality, division, immorality, misuse of spiritual gifts, disorder in church meetings and how they are reflected in today’s church. Carnality, a major problem in the church was greatly absconded by Paul. Cutler (2010) defines carnality as a broad term and includes things such as pride, self-interest, greed, lust for power and a desire for personal significance. He goes on to argue that Paul admonished the Corinthian believers who were facing strain at Corinth when trying to spread the gospel to a pagan community that despised and viewed it as foolishness.( 1 Corinthians 1:18-21) Similar to ancient Corinthians, many of today’s ministries are desperately attempting to market their gospel in resonating ways so that the world would find it acceptable. This is in contrast to following the leading of the Holy Spirit as ministration is seen as an end to convey a gospel that is acceptable to the church. As explained by Wommack (1991), in his commentary Paul’s main purpose in writing the first epistle was to correct the carnality that went on to damage the unity of believers. Sizemore (2012) supports that argument by claiming that divisions stem from carnality because it turns people against each other. Today, the various modes of preaching and differences in propagating the gospel have made believers question if their denomination is faulty making them unable to be committed believers. Sizemore (2012) believes that division brings about carnality; Paul in the early church encourages the Corinthians to be united and not to place the foundation of their faith on those ministering the word but on Jesus Christ. He asserts this by saying, “For no other foundation can be laid other than that of Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11) In today’s church, there are many denominations of the Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, and many others. Despite serving the same God, there are distinct differences in the practices such that it is common to find superiority battles between the various denominations. These battles encourage discrimination and as a result, believers undermine other non-believers, considering their denomination as better (Sizemore, 2012). Paul also condemned a tendency of favoritism towards ministers of the gospel, at the Corinth church as some pledged alliance to Paul others Apollos (1 Corinthians 3:4-11). In doing so, they lost focus on the fact that the spirit of God is the one leading them. In today’s Church in as much as there is preference for a particular minister of the word, it is important for believers to pay attention to the leading spirit of God that enables them to minister as opposed to their human ability. The book of Corinthians is an epistle that gives a holistic understanding of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. During this time, there was an emphasis on the manifestation of spiritual gifts in the church with a particular emphasis on being able to speak in tongues. Paul asserted that the gifts were not important if love was not the driving force behind them. He considered love as the greatest gift of all (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). This is because at that time the Corinthians misunderstood the gifting of the Holy Spirit. According to Staton (2004), it seems significant that Paul begins his discussion about spiritual gifts in Chapter 12 immediately after dealing with the impropriety demonstrated at the Lord’s Table (1 Corinthians 11:12-22). This then begs the question of how believers empowered by the Holy Spirit as being capable of disgracing the Lord’s Table. Today, there is a great misconception about spiritual gifts with most churches focusing on one particular gift being that of speaking in tongues. This gift is considered by many as an absolute indication of baptism by the Holy Spirit yet it is common to find believer claiming to be filled with the Holy Spirit involved in sexual immorality (Reeves, 2013). It is interesting how as believers we marvel at gifting of the performance of miracles as opposed to speaking in tongues or prophesy. We even desire one gift more than the other as opposed to allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us, (Staton, 2004). Paul encourages the church in 1 Corinthians 14: 12, that the works of the Holy Spirit should be for giving glory to God. That implies that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not for individual gain. Rather, they are for the gain of the whole body of Christ. Sexual immorality, a recurring theme in Corinthians cannot be avoided. Paul encouraged the Corinthian Church to avoid sexual immorality and not to be in the company of sexually immoral people. The issue of company was consistent in his message warning the Corinthians in his second letter not to burdened by the faithless (2nd Corinthians 6:14). In today’s society, sexual permissiveness is rampant and today’s church has experienced a battle of its own especially among its members in encouraging sexual purity. According to MacArthur (2007), the mechanisms in place for discipline of persistently sinning church members are not clearly defined and the correction takes more of a rebuke form than love. It is imperative that such members give up on the church and view it as a hostile place. Today’s church has a responsibility of equipping its members in the principles of the word of God such that they are aware of what is required of them as children of God. For instance Paul in his recurring message to the Corinthians urges them to be Holy, to repent and to realize that the weapons of their warfare in this world should be spiritual (2nd Corinthians 7:1-9; 10:3-5). Another problem in the Corinth church was the order of church meetings. This is because they had a problem with order as highlighted in (1 Corinthians 14:26). Here, Paul argued about how when believers decided to meet each one had a psalm, teaching, tongue, or revelation. Welch (2005), supports the purpose of fellowship being the bringing of people together in love. He argued that Paul chided the leaders of the Corinthian church for their lack of order stating that God is not a God of disorder but peace ( 1 Corinthians 14:33). The churches of today experience a myriad of problems especially in managing of the various activities in which it is involved. Welch argues that churches should adopt rules of business and function. The leaders should be quick to identify and challenge the state of disorder. For instance forming of Bible study groups should have guidelines for their operations, leadership, and meeting. Today’s church seems to be lacking in true believers. Cutler (2010) argues that statistics readily show that a significant number of people do not go to church on a sporadic basis and the number seems to be dwindling over the years. This is because the church is seen more as a form of socialization or enjoyment of some familial ritual or entertainment secularity than it is to worship and fellowship with God. The emphasis of material things in the sermons as the motivator behind attendance of church makes the church lose focus on what matters. Paul in (2nd Corinthians 4:18) insists that the Corinthians not to lose heart and place their trust in God as opposed to material things. The issues raised in the Corinthian church have transcended to today’s church. The grace of God regardless is sufficient for us to cope with the challenges that come about as a result. Paul in (2nd Corinthians 12:9) talks about how the grace of God is sufficient for us in that His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. That means that we rest in the fact that he has sufficiently equipped us as his body with the Holy Spirit our helper. References Cutler, D. George, (2010). Malfunctioning Secularized Ministries in today’s Churches. Michigan: Xulon Press. New King James Version (1982). Holy Bible. Nashville: Thomas, Nelson Inc. Reeves, John (2013). Mystery Accomplished. Sarasota: First Edition Design Publishing. Sizemore, Billy (2012). The Fractured Church: Denominations and the Will of God. Xulen Press.com Staton, K. (2004). Spiritual Gifts for Christians Today. Wipf and Stock Publishers. Welch, H. (2005). Church Administration: Creating efficiency for effective ministry. Nashville: B &H Publishing Group. Wommack (1991). Life for Today Study Bible and Commentary 1&11 Corinthians. Read More