Tragically—though it is forbidden by God, is totally out of character with our redeemed natures, and is in complete opposition to everything our Lord prayed for and intended for His church—fighting does occur among believers, among those who are called to be one in the Lord Jesus Christ. Few things demoralize, discourage, and weaken a church as much as bickering, backbiting, and fighting among its members. And few things so effectively undermine its testimony before the world. Fractured fellowship robs Christians of joy and effectiveness, robs God of glory, and robs the world of the true testimony of the gospel.
Among the Corinthian church’s many sins and shortcomings, quarreling is the one that Paul chose to deal with first. In unity lies the joy of Christian ministry and the credibility of Christian testimony. The first need of the Corinthian church was for harmony. It is also the need of many churches today. With this discussion, Paul moves into the exhortation and instruction that occupies the rest of the epistle.
Quarrels are a part of life. We grow up in them and around them. Infants are quick to express displeasure when they are not given something they want or when something they like is taken away. Little children cry, fight, and throw tantrums because they cannot have their own ways. We argue and fight over a rattle, then a toy, then a football, then a position on the football team or in the cheerleading squad, then in business, the PTA , or politics. Friends fight, husbands and wives fight, businesses fight, cities fight, even nations fight—sometimes to the point of war. And the source of all the fighting is the same: humanity’s depraved, egoistic, selfish nature. It destroys the unity that God establishes.
In verses 10–17 he deals with four basic areas that relate to unity: 1) The Plea for doctrinal agreement (1 Corinthians 1:10), 2) The Parties that were loyal to particular leaders (1 Corinthians 1:11–12), 3) The Principle of oneness in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:13), and 4) The Priority of preaching (1 Corinthians 1:14-17).
1) The Plea: Doctrinal Agreement (1 Corinthians 1:10)
1 Corinthians 1:10 [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. (ESV)
To Appeal/Exhort (παρακαλῶ) does not mean “I beg” but rather “I call upon you,” “I summon,” “I admonish you.” This word is tactful and brotherly, and yet Paul is not forgetting that he writes as an apostle of Jesus Christ, v. 1. The authority he would exercise is the same whether it speaks softly or finds itself compelled to speak sternly (Lenski, R. C. H. (1963). The interpretation of St. Paul’s First and Second epistle to the Corinthians (p. 38). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House.).
Paul had been careful to establish his apostolic authority in the opening words of the letter. But now he appeals to them as brothers. In so doing he moderates the harshness, without minimizing the seriousness, of the rebuke. They are his brothers and each other’s brothers, and should act in harmony as brothers. Paul realizes that the quarreling of the Corinthians has not yet resulted in schism, but he knows that he must call his readers back to a living relationship with the Lord and do so pastorally and positively (Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians (Vol. 18, p. 44). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
They had all been “called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ” (1:9) and are now being lovingly exhorted by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to agree, to eliminate divisions, and to be united/made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 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. To be perfectly united does not mean that Paul required everyone to be exactly the same. Instead, he wanted them to set aside their arguments and focus on what truly mattered—Jesus Christ as Lord and their mission to take the light of the gospel into a dark world (Barton, B. B., & Osborne, G. R. (1999). 1 & 2 Corinthians (p. 25). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.).
What we think, say, and do is right or wrong not primarily because of its effect on us or on others but because it does or does not conform to Christ and bring honor to Him. Our behavior as believers has its most direct relationship to Jesus Christ. When we sin or complain or quarrel, we harm the church and its leaders and our fellow believers. We also put a barrier between unbelievers and the gospel. But worst of all, we bring dishonor to our Lord.
The emphasis in this passage, written to a local church, is on the unity of the local assembly of believers, not on the mystical unity of the universal church. Nor is Paul talking about denominational unity. He is saying that there should be unity within the local congregation, that all of you agree.
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 the 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.
Please turn to Philippians 3 (p.981)
Many of the factions in the Corinthian church, as in some parts of the church today, had unity within their own groups but not unity with other believers in Jesus Christ. Paul’s call for agreement was not agreement on just any basis but agreement in God’s revealed truth, given by and consummated in Jesus Christ and completed through the teaching of His apostles.
Philippians 3:15-17 [15]Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. [16]Only let us hold true to what we have attained. [17]Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. (ESV)
Paul insists that the Corinthians, and all believers, have doctrinal unity—not just any doctrinal unity, but unity that is clearly and completely based on God’s Word. He appeals to them by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is, there must be agreement in Him, in His will, in His Word.
The word divisions translates the Greek schismata, from which we get schism. In the physical sense the meaning is “to tear or rip,” that is, to separate, as in Matthew 9:16 (“tear”). Metaphorically it means to have a difference of opinion, a division of judgment, a dissension. There have always been division over who Jesus is (Jn. 4:42).
Paul urges the Corinthians to be united/made complete. In the Greek katartizō, used in classical Greek as well as in the New Testament to speak of mending such things as nets, bones, dislocated joints, broken utensils, and torn garments. The basic meaning is to put back together, to make one again something that was broken or separated. Christians are to be united/made complete (“perfectly joined together,” KJV), both internally, to be of the same mind, and externally, of the same judgment. In our individual minds and among ourselves we are to be one in beliefs, standards, attitudes, and principles of spiritual living.
Being of the same mind and … the same judgment rules out grudging or hypocritical unity. Unity must be genuine. We are not simply to speak the same thing, while keeping our disagreements and objections to ourselves, making a pretense of unity. Unity that is not of the same mind and judgment is not true unity. Hypocrites will add to a congregation’s size but they will take away from its effectiveness. The purpose of unity is to glorify God, and the source of unity is the Lord Himself. We are called to preserve it (Eph. 4:3) and we are able to destroy it, but we are not able to create it. The unity of the church is already established by the Holy Spirit.
Illustration: For safety reasons, mountain climbers rope themselves together when climbing a mountain. That way, if one climber should slip and fall, he would not fall to his death. He would be held by the others until he could regain his footing.
The church ought to be like that. When one member slips and falls, the others should hold him up until he regains his footing. We are all roped together by the Holy Spirit (Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (p. 66). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.).
2) The Parties: Loyalty To Men (1 Corinthians 1:11–12)
1 Corinthians 1:11-12 [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." (ESV)
Paul had ministered in Corinth for a year and a half. He then sent Apollos to be the second pastor. Apparently a group of Jews in the church had been saved under Peter’s (Cephas’s) ministry. Parties soon developed in the names of each of those men. Paul learned of the factions through Chloe, probably a prominent person in the Corinthian church who had written or come to visit Paul in Ephesus. The first two groups each had their favorite former pastor, the third had a strong loyalty to Peter, and the fourth, probably the most pious and self–righteous, seemed to think they had a special claim on Christ. They had the right name but it is clear from Paul’s accusation that they did not have the right spirit. Perhaps like some “Christ only” groups today they felt they had no need for human instructors—despite the Lord’s specific provision for and appointment of human preachers, teachers, and other leaders in His church (1 Cor. 1:1; 12:28; Eph. 4:11; 2 Tim. 1:11; etc.).
Please turn to Romans 16 (p. 950)
Each group was vocal in its opinions verse 12 identifies that each had its own shibboleth, its own slogan of identity and implied superiority. “I follow/am of Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” and “I follow Christ.” These were the great teachers of the early years, around whom people gathered and through whom they were given the saving message. People clung to the man who had evangelized and taught them, and then pitted their group against the groups loyal to the other leaders. Much has been made of the characteristics of the leaders (Paul = freedom party, which included Gentiles by faith alone; Apollos = philosophical party; Cephas = Jewish traditionalist or legalistic party, cf. 2 Cor. 11:18–33; Christ = those of special rank, calling, giftedness, or spirituality, cf. possibly 2 Cor. 12:1. However, there is no certain information in the NT about the theology or motivation of each group. These leaders themselves were not factious. It was the groups at Corinth who claimed them as their champions who were factious. (Utley, R. J. (2002). Paul’s Letters to a Troubled Church: I and II Corinthians (Vol. Volume 6, p. 18). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International.)
Romans 16:17-20 [17]I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. [18]For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. [19]For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. [20]The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (ESV)
The inevitable result of a party spirit is contention, quarrels, wrangling, and disputes—a divided church. 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. Biblical spirituality produces humility and unity; carnality produces pride and division. The Corinthians didn’t belong to him or to any of the other great preachers of the day. They belonged to Christ—all of them, not just an élite few. Their salvation came through him. The preachers they claimed to follow had been sent by him. The church itself was not theirs, but his. They had lost sight of the very thing that united them—Jesus Christ! Having placed their divisions in those terms, Paul was in a position to point out the remedy for the whole mess. They had to start magnifying Christ and minimizing themselves and their favourite preachers (Ellsworth, R. (1995). Strengthening Christ’s Church: The Message of 1 Corinthians (p. 25). Darlington, England: Evangelical Press.).
• When leaders today know of and even encourage groups that have a special loyalty to them, those leaders are doubly guilty. They not only participate in factionalism but allow it to center on themselves.
• When people place their loyalty on a name above the corporate unit, you find isolationism and selfishness. You see this today in those who say they follow a particular teacher and have no need for corporate worship. The irony is that if you listen to that teacher, more often than not, that person is calling for the corporate duties that each believer has.
Illustration: Mark McGwire, when he was the first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, set a new major league baseball record for the most home runs in a single season. On the opposing team, the Chicago Cubs, was Sammy Sosa, a player who had almost as many home runs as Mark McGwire, and who was also a contender to break the same record. The two teams were opponents, and they both had leaders in home runs on their teams.
But when McGwire hit his record-breaking home run and ran the bases, everyone he passed on the other team either shook his hand and patted him on the back, or actually hugged him. If the teams had acted like the Corinthians, they would have used McGwire’s new record as an occasion for division, not as a cause for mutual celebration.
Our lives and churches parallel the Corinthians in many ways. First, the church today is blessed in countless ways just as the Corinthians were. Second, the modern church is bonded together by the blessings we have received in Christ. Most of us do not value our brothers and sisters because we forget that we all need Christ and the power of his death and resurrection. Because of the importance of this bond, we need to evaluate carefully the divisions that occur in our churches. Are we separating ourselves from those who deny the gospel of Christ? Or are we dividing and quarreling because of human pride? By keeping Christ central, we can avoid many of the factions that develop around persons and doctrinal issues. We can also stem the personal abuse that takes place and draw ourselves back to treating others as we would treat Christ himself (Pratt, R. L., Jr. (2000). I & II Corinthians (Vol. 7, p. 12). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
3) The Principle: Oneness in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:13)
1 Corinthians 1:13 [13]Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (ESV)
The central principle of Paul’s argument is that believers are one in Christ and should never do anything that disrupts or destroys that unity. With the rhetorical question: "Is Christ divided?", Paul anticipates one of his fundamental teachings about the church. Just as a physical body, though made up of many members, is one, so also the church, which is the body of Christ, cannot be divided (10:16, 17; 11:29; 12:12 )( Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. (1995). The Reformation study Bible: bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture: New King James Version (1 Co 1:13). Nashville: T. Nelson.).
No human leader, no matter how gifted and effective, should have the loyalty that belongs only to the Lord. Paul began his letter by establishing his authority as an apostle. But he wanted no part of the faction named for him. He had never been crucified for anyone. The believers at Corinth had forgotten the foundation of their faith, the atonement of Christ (v. 13), and had turned aside to arguing about peripheral matters. When Christ’s death and resurrection are the focus of church life, gratitude, motivation, and goals remain constant, and contentions do not develop easily (Criswell, W. A., Patterson, P., Clendenen, E. R., Akin, D. L., Chamberlin, M., Patterson, D. K., & Pogue, J. (Eds.). (1991). Believer’s Study Bible (electronic ed., 1 Co 1:11). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).
No one was ever baptized in Paul's name. His authority had been delegated to him and was not his own, and his purpose was to bring people to Christ, not to himself.
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 12 (p.959)
Using Baptism metaphorically in 1 Cor. 12, Paul refers to the Spirit’s work within the believer to unite him or her to the body of Christ, which is also the corporate body of believers. In considering God’s sovereignty in assigning gifts, the purpose of the gifts is to build one another up and to care for one another, not to flaunt one’s own spirituality (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2210). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).
1 Corinthians 12:12-26 [12]For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. [13]For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. [14]For the body does not consist of one member but of many. [15]If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. [16]And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. [17]If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? [18]But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. [19]If all were a single member, where would the body be? [20]As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. [21]The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." [22]On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, [23]and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, [24]which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, [25]that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. [26]If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. (ESV)
When the Lord’s people quarrel and dispute and fight, they reflect against the Lord before the world, they weaken His church, and worst of all they grieve and put to shame the One who bought them—who died to make them one in Him. The Father is one, the Son is one, the Spirit is one, and the church is one.
Illustration: A man asked his young son to break a bundle of sticks. He returned a little later to find the lad frustrated in the task. He had raised the bundle high and smashed it on his knee, but he only bruised his knee. He had set the bundle against a wall and stomped hard with his foot, but the bundle barely bent. The father took the bundle from the child and untied it. Then he began to break the sticks easily—one at a time. So it is with the church: united we are strong, divided we can fail or be broken (Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (p. 66). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.).
4) The Priority: Preaching the Gospel (1 Corinthians 1:14-17).
1 Corinthians 1:14-17 [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. (ESV)
Crispus was the leader of the synagogue in Corinth when Paul first ministered there and was converted under the apostle’s preaching. His conversion led to that of many others in the city (Acts 18:8). Since the letter to the Romans was written from Corinth, this Gaius was probably the Corinthian “host” to whom Paul refers in Romans 16:23. The apostle was grateful that he had personally baptized only those two and a few others.
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. As an apostle, Paul faced a similar danger. But he also had another: the danger of creating his own cult; and so he declared, I thank God that I baptized none of you/no man should say you were baptized in my name.
It is not wrong to have special affection for certain persons, such as the one who baptized us, especially if we were converted under his ministry. But it is quite wrong to take special pride in that fact or pride in any close relationship to a Christian leader. Paul was not flattered that a group in Corinth was claiming special allegiance to him. He was distraught and ashamed at the idea, as he had already said: “Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1:13). “How could you even think of showing a loyalty to me,” he was saying, “that belongs only to the Lord Jesus Christ?” He wanted no cult built around himself or around any other church leader.
• One sure way of having the downfall of a ministry is if it centers on the teacher instead of the truth. When the teachers interpretations, stories or dictums overtake the truth, their pride will be their downfall.
Paul was not certain of the exact number he had baptized in Corinth. In verse 16 when he says that He did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else/any other. This comment gives an interesting insight into the inspiration of Scripture. As an apostle writing the Word of God, Paul made no errors; but he was not omniscient. God protected His apostles from error in order to protect His Word from error. But Paul did not know everything about God or even about himself, and was careful never to make such a claim. He knew what God revealed—things he had no way of knowing on his own. What he could know on his own, he was prone to forget. He was one of us.
Please turn to Acts 26 (p.935)
Another reason for Paul’s baptizing so few converts was that his primary calling lay elsewhere. As he concludes in verse 17: For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, and not in words of eloquent widsom/cleverness of speech, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power/made void. It seems clear from this passage that Paul does not understand baptism to effect salvation. The preaching of the cross does that—when of course it is accompanied by the effectual work of the Spirit (Fee, G. D. (1987). The First Epistle to the Corinthians (pp. 63–64). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
He was not sent to start a cult of people baptized by him. Jesus had personally commissioned him:
Acts 26:16-18 [16]But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, [17]delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles--to whom I am sending you [18]to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' (ESV)
• His calling was to preach the gospel and bring people to oneness in Christ, not in baptizing to create a faction around himself.
As we each have the right priority in our lives, we too will be determined to serve the Lord in truth and in unity, not living in the carnality and confusion of dissension and division.
(Format note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1984). 1 Corinthians (pp. 23-35). Chicago: Moody Press.)
