Episode 168 - "Be united!" - 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

1Cor. 1:10   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.

In the opening lines of this letter, Paul sent his greetings to the believers at Corinth and expressed his thankfulness for them. He reminded them that God had given these Christians everything they need as a church. Now Paul gets down to business and addresses his concerns about problems that are happening among these believers. I suspect that our churches today could use some of Paul’s frankness regarding the attitudes and actions of believers toward each other. 

Do not miss the fact that Paul begins his attempt to correct these believers “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (v. 10) It would be easy to move beyond this to the content of his accusation. But, it is critical for his audience and for us to be drawn back to our identity and authority as Christians. Jesus is the Christ, the long-promised Messiah who is rightfully our Lord. Everyone who says, “I trust in the good news of Jesus Christ,” should remember that following Jesus and living in a way that honors him is reasonable and wise. Why would we recognize that we need forgiveness for our sins and that Christ alone offers that through faith in him and his death on the cross, and then say, “but I want to depend on myself for everything else?” That would be dumb. 

So, “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul appeals, “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.” (v. 10b) If you’re like me, you are probably thinking, “Yeh right! Good luck with that.” Perhaps you’ve been in a church or churches and witnessed disagreements and conflict, occasionally leading to divisions or splits. It’s tragic. Is Paul being unreasonable or unrealistic? I don’t think so. But I also don’t think that Paul believes that all conflicts are or even should be resolvable. Why is that? Because Paul is writing to a specific group of people who are manifesting a specific set of problems, and he believes this problem can be remedied. The first step is for everyone among this group of Corinthian believers to remember that Jesus Christ is the Lord of us all. We share that in common, and as brothers and sisters in Christ, we must value and pursue harmony within this spiritual family. If there are some who refuse to live with Jesus as Lord and want to do whatever they want with no consideration for God’s holiness or the community of faith, there must be a division. Jesus himself taught that. (See Matt. 18:15-18) Paul will address this more clearly later in this letter. The emphasis here by Paul is the importance and priority of unity on the basis of our mutual faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

As Paul continues, we learn the source of the conflict. There is an issue of pride and elitism made evident through some people thinking they’re better or “right” by asserting their association with Paul, Cephas (Peter), or some other teacher. People do that today, don’t they? They make an effort to associate with a specific church or personality they like, and they may act as though they know the right answers or as though they are more spiritual than others on the basis of their following that person or group. 

How does Paul expose the nonsense of such attitudes? He asks rhetorical questions like, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (v. 13) The obvious answer to each of these questions is, “Of course not!” Paul forces them to think about who their Lord is through these questions. He brings it all back to Jesus. 

We’re no different from these Corinthian believers. It’s easy to become emotionally committed to certain things in church, and we can take it as a personal affront when those things are threatened. It’s not hard to recognize how easily our pride can be provoked at times and before we know it, there’s a conflict with others. Paul is reminding us that we need to stop and think of Jesus and consider how we can pursue a harmonious resolution that is best for the church and honors the Lord, even if it is not what we want. 

Paul explains that he has personally baptized just a few people and that his main ministry is to preach the gospel and not in such a way that should impress anyone or make anyone want to follow him because of his skillful speaking skills. Paul did not preach to impress but to allow the power of the cross to bring people to Jesus. 

It seems to me that our pursuit of harmony within the body of Christ might have the same effective power in drawing people to Christ if we, as believers, focus on our Lord Jesus Christ first. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father! Help us put down our pride and seek unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ as we focus on him.