1 Corinthians 1:10-17

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

And I appeal to you all, brothers and sisters, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in order that everyone should say the same thing and a schism should not be in you all and you all should be having been equipped in the same mind and in the same purpose.  For it has been made known to me by the people of Chloe regarding you all, my brothers and sisters, that discord is in you all.  And I say this, that each of you all say, in one case “I am of Paul” or in another case “I am of Apollos,” or in another case “I am of Peter,” or in another case “I am of Christ.”  Has Christ been divided?  Was Paul being crucified for you?  Or were you being baptized into the name of Paul?  I thank God that I baptized none of you all except Crispus and Gaius in order that nobody should say that you all were being baptized into my name.  But I did baptize also the house of Stephanus.  Beyond that I have no knowledge whether I baptized anyone else.  For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the Gospel – not in the wisdom of words in order that the cross of Christ should not be emptied of its power.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul immediately dives into the biggest pressing need in Corinth: schism.  I think that this is actually a natural human development anytime you get a number of people into a room.  It is fairly easy to get five or six people to come to a common place.  But sometimes it is difficult even getting a dozen people to agree.   As the number increases into the hundreds, agreement becomes even more difficult.  People feel left out.  Others feel as though they don’t know what is going on.  Those who do know often disagree and see things differently.  Seeds of contention are sown, sometimes intentionally.  This is just natural human behavior.  We don’t need to choose to behave this way, we just do it automatically.  Paul is telling them to stop it.  We all will naturally sow disunity in a group.  The Christian response is to always put aside disunity and instead embrace unity in Christ.  It is a simple teaching.

Why are human beings so naturally prone to disunity?  How big of a part of this natural disposition is our own self-centeredness?

Second Thought:

Just after the most famous quote of this section, “I am of Paul … I am of Apollos … I am of Peter … I am of Christ,” Paul gives us a serious comment that most of us miss.  “Paul asks, “Has Christ been divided?”  This is a perfect passive verb, implying that the action is God’s action.  Paul is looking to the Corinthians and asking, “Did God divide His Son?”  The assumed answer, of course, is, “No!” God did not divide His Son – or the church that is His body.  This leads us to an inevitable question.  If God does not divide His body, then why do we divide it?  Why do we feel it necessary to bring disunity in what God desires to be united?

Are you ever guilty of acting against the unity of His church?  What’s the point of such behavior?

Third Thought:

This is a very controversial passage for people who read their Bible seriously.  Look at Paul’s words here.  “Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach.”  Now, we should be a little careful.  Paul is not saying that it is bad for us to baptize.  After all, in the Great Commission Jesus tells us to baptize.  Paul has nothing against baptizing, as he himself confesses to baptizing even in this passage.  But what Paul does have an issue with is when we let things get between us and God’s calling for us.  God doesn’t want us creating traditions and rituals that divide Christ’s body – the church.  God wants us focused on proclaiming His Son and the grace He desires to offer to us through His Son.  When we divide ourselves over manmade traditions and arguments, we just aren’t following Him.  Sure, we should divide ourselves over things that truly go against salvation.  But we should not divide ourselves over non-salvific issues.  As the Moravians say, “In Essentials, unity.  In Non-Essentials, liberty.  In all things, love.”

How well do you fit this understanding of Paul?  Are you quick to divide people because they are different than you?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25