I Corinthians 1:10-17: "Unity in Christ"

In this section Paul transitions from his introduction into his pastoral role of addressing problems that have come to his attention. As Paul often does, he begins his letters with heartfelt care and emphasizes his love and care for them, and his faith in their love for Christ. He does this so that his readers know what he cares for them and their souls, and that what he is about to write will be firm but necessary. In Corinthians, the first issue he addresses is unity. In the latter sections of Romans you can see Paul's emphasis on the unity of the true church of Christ. He will tackle this issue first as he felt it most important to address, and perhaps the whole reason he began to write this letter to them. He begins, "Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you". Paul comes alongside his fellow brethren to exhort them in unity. MacArthur writes, "The basic meaning is that of coming alongside someone in order to help. Paul wanted to come alongside his Corinthian brothers and sisters in order to help correct their shortcomings". The use of brethren is possibly for two reasons. One he wants to show them that he believes they are saved, and he is lovingly coming alongside them as an equal, a brother in the Lord. He is most likely also using this term to remind them of their calling. If you are a brother or sister in the Lord, than you must act like it. To hold them even more accountable and hopefully bring about even more conviction in the area of unity, Paul writes, "by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ". Paul is bringing up the very thing that unifies all believers. Because of what Christ did on the cross in place of us wretched sinners, is what unifies us all. MacArthur writes, "Because they were one in fellowship with their Lord, they should be one in fellowship with each other. Their unity in Jesus Christ was the basis for Paul's appeal for unity among themselves. As in many of Paul's letters, believers' identity with Christ is the pad from which he launches his call to holy living". Often we get so self absorbed in our rights and our feelings, that we forget our whole calling as Christians. It should be just the mere mention of Christ's name, that refocuses our attention to what is really important. The mention of the name of Christ should remind us of the ultimate sacrifice and all petty quarrels should quickly snuffed out.

Paul's plea to his brethren in the name of Christ was that "you all agree, and there be no divisions among you". There are many reasons for this unity. We read often through the Sermon on the mount Christ's call for peace and unity among believers, and therefore, it is a command from God. Also, it is either a great testimony or a detrimental testimony to the unbelieving world around us if we are unified. We must "all agree" is a call for each believer to truly understand his doctrine. We must come together and be of one accord to the essentials of the gospel, lest we be divided and ineffective for our commission to go and make disciples. MacArthur writes, "In the Greek, that you all agree is literally, 'that you all speak the same thing,' as in the King James Version. Nothing is more confusing to new Christians, or to unbelievers who are considering claims of Christ, than to hear supposedly mature and informed Christians tell conflicting things about the gospel, the Bible, or Christian living. And few things are more devastating to a church than everyone having his own ideas and interpretations about the faith, or of the congregation being divided into various factions, each with its own views". Therefore it is Paul's desire and God's command that we are "made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment".

Paul confronts the specifics of the disunity that he has heard through a member of the local church, "For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you". Apparently, Chloe, who was most likely a prominent member in the local church, had some people that came to Paul and made him aware of the disunity occurring in the Corinthian church. Paul continues, "Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, 'I am of Paul,' and 'I of Apollos,' and 'I of Cephas,' and 'I of Christ'". It is true when someone takes the time with us to explain us the gospel and transform our lives that we will feel a certain gratitude and appreciation for that person. However, it becomes dangerous when this appreciation becomes devotion to this person, rather than to Christ. Apparently, in the Corinthian church some had been saved through Paul, some through Apollos who was sent to be the pastor when Paul left, and some through Peter's ministry. Instead of the members coming together unified under the blood of Christ, these people were claiming the devotion to the humans who brought them to Christ. Apparently, those who claimed, "I of Christ", were doing so as if they had a special claim on Him over the other brethren in the ministry. Because of Paul's tone and correction of this error, Paul addresses these people as well. They were claiming the right name, but were most likely claiming it improperly in some sort of exclusivity. Paul was quick to squash this and any devotion that some of the believers at Corinth may have had for him. MacArthur writes, "It is natural to have special affection for the person who led us to Christ, for a pastor who has fed us from the Word for many years, for a capable Sunday school teacher, or for an elder or deacon who has counseled and consoled us. But such affection becomes misguided and carnal when it is allowed to segregate us from others in the church or to decrease our loyalty to the other leaders. It then becomes a self-centered, self-willed exclusiveness that is the antithesis of unity".

Paul quickly cuts right to the heart of the issue, "Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?". Christians are unified in Christ, it is the through Him and Him alone we are to devote ourselves to. Paul is sarcastically asking, "has Christ been divided?", in other words, our only devotion should be to Christ, and yet you are all claiming devotion to individual leaders, has Christ been divided up into these different sections? Of course not. Paul is quick to point out that he is not any more important than any other believer and far less to be admired than Christ. Paul never had the right or ability to be crucified and atone for sins, and Paul was never called upon when someone was baptized. Paul is making these somewhat humorous statements to say, why would you have any devotion to me and divide over who lead you to Christ or baptized you, when it was Christ who did all these things. These pastors or leaders were merely the vessels that God used. They are missing the whole point, and Paul's desire was to help them take a step back and see how foolish they looked for dividing over this.

Lastly, Paul shows those who may be showing devotion to him, what the real priority is. "I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, that no man should say you were baptized in my name". Paul is telling his followers that he is not flattered at all by it, in fact, he is angry over the fact that it is causing disunity in the body of Christ. Therefore, he is glad that he only baptized a few individuals that this may not be a stumbling block for either Paul or those who would have baptized. Anything that would take away from the glory of God and put attention on him, he wanted no part of. Interestingly, MacArthur points out, "Jesus did not baptize anyone personally (John 4:2). To have been baptized by the Lord Himself would have brought almost irresistible temptation to pride and would have tended to set such people apart, whether they wanted to be or not". On a side note, Paul mentions, "I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other". Paul again is just reiterating his relief in only baptizing a few, that more attention would not be brought to him. Paul finishes, with his purpose in ministry, "Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void". Paul did not care about baptizing or how many converts he had, instead his focus was on simply proclaiming the absolute truth of God. He did not care about being so clever or wise in his speech, for he did not want any credit for that, instead, by simply proclaiming God's Words, and Christ's actions on the cross, many would be saved in Christ's name, devoting their lives to Him. He wanted every possible thing that could draw attention away from Christ and His sacrifice for us, removed from the picture, so in the end it would only be Christians giving their glory to whom it was due: Jesus Christ!

We should take two main truths from this section. First, do we show undue devotion over different teachers and pastors? Do we simply take everything that a certain pastor says as gospel without being discerning? Do we find ourselves saying, "well _____ says this, and ____ says that"? Or are we using Scripture to make our points? Are we arguing with fellow believers over who is the better pastor or better teacher? Even more specific and convicting, are we only interested in hearing sermons when it is one specific teacher? Do we not want to go to listen at the main gathering when he is not preaching? Do we say, he is not as good as ____? Second, if we are the one who is in a place of leadership, bringing others to Christ, do we take undue credit. Do we try to make it known what we have done? Are we so arrogant as to think we actually save people? We should take from the example from Paul, we should do everything to point all glory to Christ and away from ourselves. Do not take satisfaction in someone coming to you and praising you for saving them.