No Divisions – 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

It has not been uncommon for me to ask someone if they are Christians and to get in reply, “I’m a Baptist,” or “I’m a Methodist,” as if that is a clear yes to my question.  This only highlights the way we so easily adopt sectarian views and divide up Christ as if He can be described best by our artificial segmentations.  Do I follow Luther, Calvin, Arminius, Graham or MacArthur, or do I follow Christ?

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. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 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.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 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.  (1 Corinthians 1:10-17 ESV)

Someone from the house of Chloe brought Paul a letter from this church with questions for him (he begins answering these in chapter 7) but also a report of the problems in this congregation that needed addressing.  And the first is their disunity, their separating into factions and parties around respected leaders who would never condone being so idolized.  Paul, rather abruptly, challenges the Corinthians to get rid of their divisions and be united in mind and judgment about Christ and the gospel.

Paul hits the obvious point that should annul these sectarian personality cults, the point that none of these leaders were crucified for them, not Paul, not Cephas (Peter), and not Apollos.  No one had been baptized in their names.  Of course, those who claimed to be of the Christ party would heartily agree, but Paul reminds them that Jesus cannot be divided up.  Their claim to follow Christ in opposition to the others was one of arrogance and ignorance.

Paul did baptize a few people, not in his name, of course, but the gospel is not baptizing people, something that some versions of Christianity have forgotten.   The gospel is the message of the cross, a message of power, not eloquence.  As we’ll see, the Corinthians, some at least, thought wisdom was the proper cloak for the gospel and were in danger of shedding the gospel proclamation of its power by the way they were dressing it.

Whenever there is division over how the gospel is communicated, not over what the gospel itself is, there is a profound immaturity and a dangerous and frivolous failure to understand the unity of Christ’s body.  Jesus the Messiah rules over one church, not many.  Are you contributing to the unity created by the Holy Spirit or detracting from it?