A Church Divided: 1 Corinthians 1:1-17

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God in Corinth.

The news from Corinth had been troubling. Chloe's people had brought the report to Paul in Ephesus. The church he had founded, the church he had spent eighteen months building, was fracturing.

To those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours.

Sanctified. Called. Holy people. The titles were true. But the behavior was contradicting the identity.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace. The standard greeting. But Corinth needed both desperately.

I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge.

Paul began with thanksgiving—genuine thanksgiving. God's grace had enriched them. All kinds of speech—the Corinthians were eloquent. All knowledge—they prided themselves on wisdom.

These gifts would become the source of their problems. Eloquence bred competition. Knowledge puffed up.

God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

No lack of spiritual gifts. The Corinthians had everything. Tongues, prophecy, knowledge, wisdom—all present. Eagerly waiting for Christ's return.

He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

God is faithful. Even when they were not. Called into fellowship with his Son. Koinonia—partnership, sharing. They shared in Christ. If only they would share with each other.

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

The appeal. Parakaleo—I urge, I beseech. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The highest authority invoked.

That all of you agree with one another. To auto legete—say the same thing. Unity of confession. No divisions. Schismata—tears, rips in the fabric.

Perfectly united. Katartizo—mended, restored, made complete. In mind and thought. Nous and gnome. Same thinking, same judgment.

My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.

The source revealed. Chloe—a prominent woman, perhaps a merchant with business connections between Ephesus and Corinth. Her household—slaves or employees—had brought the news.

Quarrels. Erides—strife, contention. The church was fighting.

What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."

The factions named. The Paul party—perhaps the original converts, loyal to their founder. The Apollos party—drawn to his eloquence, his Alexandrian learning. The Cephas party—maybe Jewish Christians who valued Peter's connection to Jesus. The Christ party—perhaps claiming direct revelation, no need for human teachers.

Four factions. One church. Disaster.

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?

Rhetorical questions, absurd on their face. Is Christ divided? Memeristai—can Christ be parceled out? Ridiculous.

Was Paul crucified for you? Of course not. Only Christ died for them.

Were you baptized in the name of Paul? Into Paul's name? Absurd.

I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name.

The relief. Paul had baptized few. Crispus—the synagogue ruler who converted. Gaius—who hosted the whole church. Few others.

So no one can say you were baptized in my name. The factions couldn't claim Paul's baptism as their party membership.

(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.)

The parenthetical addition. Memory jogged. Stephanas too. But beyond that—I don't remember. The point stood.

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

The mission clarified. Not to baptize—others could do that. But to preach the gospel. That was Paul's calling.

Not with wisdom and eloquence. Sophia logou—the wisdom of words, rhetorical skill. The Corinthians loved eloquence. They compared speakers. They ranked preachers.

Lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. Kenoo—emptied, made void. Flashy rhetoric could drain the cross of its power. The message needed no adornment. The cross was enough.

The Corinthians had divided over human leaders.

They had made teachers into party heads.

They had turned the church into a competition.

Paul would remind them: only one was crucified for them.

Only one name mattered.

And the power was in the cross, not in eloquence.

Christ.

Not divided.

Not parceled out.

One Lord.

One church.

Or so it should be.