1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Introduction

Last week, I finished the introduction to this epistle. This morning, we are transitioning into the body of the letter. The first area that Paul deals with is church unity. The struggles in church unity was just a Corinthian problem. Israel struggled with unity and churches have struggled with unity.

Paul beseeches them

1 Corinthians 1:10 “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

Paul’s tone in dealing with the division at the church in Corinth. In speech class, I was taught three important aspects in delivering a speech: the audience, tone, and message. If one of the three is out of balance then the goal the speaker may have can be lost. Paul’s audience is the Corinthian Church; his message is unity; but, the question is his tone. Paul could lose the desired effect if his tone is off-center.

An expert on public speaking wrote: “A speaker’s tone can convey a range of emotions, from enthusiasm and compassion to indifference and hostility, often leaving a greater impact than the actual words spoken. The correct use of tone can enhance the effectiveness of communication by adding clarity, creating rapport, and evoking the desired response from the audience.”

In v.10, there are three elements that helps us understand Paul’s tone: beseech, brethren, and Lord Jesus Christ.

Beseech - The Greek word for beseech occurs 107 times in the New Testament. Paul used the word more than all the other authors combined. The word “beseech” has a general meaning of “coming along side to help.” Therefore, the word is translated into several English words. The three usages that occur the most in the New Testament are beseech, exhort, and comfort. Knowing what “beseech” means is important in understanding where Paul’s heart was as he dealt with the Corinthians toxic behavior. Paul did not write to them as an unsympathetic or out of touch teacher admonishing their students. Instead, he wrote with brokenness, and desiring to “come along side to help” them with their division. He wants to not only exhort but comfort them as well. In this context “beseech” speaks of exhorting (rebuking) with compassion. Even though Paul will use strong language in his rebuking, his words come from a heart that wants to help unite them together in Jesus Christ.

Brethren - He refers to them as brothers. This helps establish the tone in two ways: first, In v.1, Paul asserts his apostolic credentials, and by implication, his authority to write this letter. However, as he begins the body of the letter, Paul did not focus on his Apostolic credentials that speaks of his authority. Rather, as a brother in Christ that speaks of equality in relationship. He is not coming to them as a great Apostle but as one of their brothers in Christ. Relaying this truth was so important that Paul called them “brethren” in verses 10 and 11. John MacArthur wrote regarding Paul using the term “brethren:” “He moderates the harshness, without minimizing the seriousness of the debate.”

Second, not only would “brethren” “moderate the harshness, without minimizing the seriousness” of the division within the church, They would be reminded that regardless of their economic and ethnic diversity, they belong to the same family in the most intimate of ways. They are not distant cousins but brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul wanted to bring to the table that as brothers and sisters in Christ, they need to behave harmoniously with one another in love. Psalm 133:1 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!” Paul Gardner implied that Paul using the word “brethren” spoke of his love for the family of God.

Lord Jesus Christ - Any tone without Jesus Christ sends the wrong message. It does not matter if someone is broken, burdened, desirous to help, or want to comfort, without Jesus setting the tone, their message is corrupt.

Last week I mentioned that the word “by” in 1 Corinthians 1:4 is the same word translated as “in” in 1 Corinthians 1:2. The word “by” in 1 Corinthians 1:10 is not the same word as “in” in 1 Corinthians 1:2. The word “by” in 1 Corinthians 1:10 means “a channel.” The name of the Lord Jesus Christ is the channel in which Paul’s beseeching comes from.

Paul attaching “the name” to our Lord Jesus Christ had significance. Everything Jesus is with regards to His character, will and person are inclusive in “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

A Greek scholar named Wuest wrote regarding the inclusion of the name of Jesus: "my (Paul) appeal to you (unity) being enforced by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The authority of Jesus Christ is foundational to Paul’s exhorting and comforting them to be united. Therefore, within the tone of Paul’s writing, it was important for the Corinthians to know that Paul’s directives come from Jesus Christ Himself.

Jack Arnold wrote: “They should obey not out of respect for Paul but out of respect for Jesus Christ their Lord. A willingness to place themselves under the Lordship of Christ was the key to unification of the church. The Corinthians did not have a problem in their heads but in their hearts because they hated authority and would not bow to any man, not even Christ.”

Paul besought them to be united. 1 Corinthians 1:10 “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” They were to speak the same thing and have no divisions among them. This means the Corinthian church was not saying the same things and they had divisions within the church community that eroded and attacked the unity of the community.

John MacArthur: “From birth to death the natural inclination of every person is to look out for “number one”—to be, to do, and to have what he wants. Even believers are continually tempted to fall back into lives of self-will, self-interest, and general self-centeredness. At the heart of sin is the ego, the “I.” Self-centeredness is the root of man’s depravity, the depravity into which every person since Adam and Eve, except Jesus Christ, has been born. Even Christians are still sinners—justified, but still sinful in themselves. And when that sin is allowed to have its way in our flesh, conflict is inevitable. When two or more people are bent on having their own ways, they will soon be quarreling and arguing, because their interests, concerns, and priorities sooner or later will conflict. There cannot possibly be harmony in a group, even a group of believers, whose desires, goals, purposes, and ideals are generated by their egos....Few things demoralize, discourage, and weaken a church as much as bickering, backbiting, and fighting among its members.”

Yet, this was the testimony of the church. They were divided in almost every conceivable area. It would have been easier to see where they disagreed then agreed. Robertson noted : “These divisions were over the preachers (1:12–4:21), immorality (5:1–13), going to law before the heathen (6:1–11), marriage (7:1–40), meats offered to idols (8 to 10), conduct of women in church (11:1–16), the Lord’s Supper (11:17–34), spiritual gifts (12–14), the resurrection (ch. 15).”

The Greek word for “divisions” is where we get our English word “schism.” “Divisions” mean “split or tear apart.” It is the same word Jesus used in Matthew 9:16: “No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.” The word translated as “rent” is the same word for “divisions” in our text. Divisions tear at the fabric of unity within a church. Jack Arnold wrote: “Therefore, a division is when a group of Christians or a local church is torn into pieces by ungodly actions. The only way to overcome divisions is to have unity in the local church and that comes as each person places himself or herself under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and bows to His authority.”

Unity keeps a fabric together, regardless of what the fabric goes through. I argue frequently, one of the principle reasons God blessed the church in Jerusalem in the first part of Acts was in spite of all they went through that could have ripped their togetherness into pieces, they were united.

Acts 1:14 “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”

Acts 2:1 “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”

Acts 2:46 “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,”

Acts 4:24 “And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:”

Acts 5:12 “And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.”

Acts 15:25 “It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,”

A pastor wrote on the power and importance of unity: “One of the main reasons that cults in our day have had such an impact on the world is their unity. Disharmony is not tolerated. Though misguided, misused, and often totalitarian, such unity is attractive to many people who are tired of religious uncertainty, ambiguity, and confusion.”

The unity of this church in Corinth was so important that with all the problems this church had, and she had a lot of problems, division is the first topic that Paul brought up.

He besought them to be perfectly joined together. The phrase “perfectly joined together” comes from one Greek word that means “to repair, mend or restore.” The phrase is a verb that is in the passive voice. They did not have the power to perfectly join them together. In fact, all they have done in their own power was to break them further apart. The Holy Spirit is the one who repairs their disunity and mends the broken net. We can see this in Acts 4:31–32 “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.” A link exists between them being filled with the Holy Spirit, and “of one heart and of one soul.” Therefore, no church can ever be united in truth unless they submit to the Lordship of Jesus.

Paul wanted them to be divinely mended together, so that they can be of the same mind and judgement. Spurgeon wrote: “They could not speak the same thing if they had not the same mind and the same judgment.”

Same mind - Philippians 2:5–7 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:” Ray Stedman wrote: “That is the mind Paul is talking about. When everybody decides to put the things of Christ first, and is willing to suffer loss that the honor and glory of Christ might be advanced, that is what brings harmony in a congregation. That is always the unifying factor in a church, and that is the mind that is to be among us, the mind that does not consider itself the most important thing.”

Same judgement - “Judgement” means “an opinion or resolve.” Having the “same judgement” flows from having the same mind. The church in Corinth did not have the same opinion or resolve becasue they did not have the same mind.

A church that is Holy Spirit filled is not necessarily an assembly with passion, energy and enthusiasm. Rather, a Holy Spirit filled church is an assembly that has been united together under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

How did Paul know

1 Corinthians 1:11–12 “For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.”

House Chloe told him. No one knows for certain who Chloe was. Theologians believe Paul was at Ephesus, during his third missionary journey when he wrote this epistle. It is probably that Chloe had a business that required some traveling between Corinth and Ephesus. Someone from Chloe’s household was in Ephesus for business, and while there, they told Paul what was going on in Corinth.

What is important is not background information on Chloe but what the person or person(s) told Paul. Their news regarding the atmosphere of the Corinthian church had to stun Paul; there were contentions among the church. “Contentions” does not mean there were differences of opinions. Most, if not all churches have differences of opinions. The word conveys ideas of “self-centered rivalry and contentiousness and is an expression of enmity with bitter sometimes violent conflict or dissension.” We can better understand the word “contentions” in context of the rivalry, often hatred, and sometimes violence that exists between political parties. One person noted that “contentions” is a “spirit born out of unbridled and unholy competition.”

Paul describes these hot and divisive contentions in 1 Corinthians 1:12 “Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.” In v.12, Paul brings to light what he meant by contentions. Paul asserts that the church has been divided into four parts. We would understand these four parts today as cliques. “A clique is an exclusive group of friends or associates with a common purpose. In Corinth the cliques had a common person. They had not yet split into four churches but did have four factions. Imagine a car with four different sized tires! The ride would be bumpy and likely the car would eventually break down.”

Paul was the first pastor of the church in Corinth, many believe that Apollos was the second pastor of the church in Corinth, and there were converts likely from Peter’s ministry. People followed Paul becasue he was the founding pastor; people followed Apollos because of his “rhetorician with oratorical skills in a city that loved oratory;” people followed Peter because he was the leader of the original twelve Apostles; and people followed Jesus (based upon the context of v.12) out of pride and arrogance. Many believe the Christ followers were the most dangerous of the four groups becasue of their “self-righteous smugness.” Spurgeon wrote: “The last were as bad as the others, it makes no difference what the party name is, for it may only thinly conceal the most sectarian spirit to say, ‘I am of Christ.’”

The Corinthian Church was divided into four parties. In identifying themselves as a follower of one of the four parties, they were lifting themselves up. David Guzik wrote: "The Corinthians’ boasting about their “party leaders” was really boasting about themselves. It wasn’t so much that they thought (their ‘leader’) was great, but that they were great for following him.”

Paul’s reply to the contentions

1 Corinthians 1:13–17 “Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.”

How does Paul deal with these contentions in the Corinthian Church? He asked three fundamentally important rhetorical questions. These three questions are timeless. They lay the blueprint in dealing with contentions that exist in churches today.

Is Christ divided? The answer is assumed no! Jesus Christ is not divided. The church is the body of Christ; therefore, if Jesus is not divided then why is the Corinthian Church divided into four camps. The imagery of a body being divided into four parts is grotesque, at best. Paul could have went further: “if me, Apollos and Peter are not divided amongst ourselves then why are you using our names to support your divisive spirit.” In political terms: Jesus, Paul, Apollos, and Peter would not have approved of their messaging.

Had Paul been crucified for them? Again, the obvious answer is no. The only person who qualified to be crucified for them was Jesus Christ. If Jesus is the only qualified person to be pay their sin debt then why are they not following Jesus? Even though Paul begins this letter asserting his authority, he wanted no part in their factions. One pastor noted: “Whenever Christians become guilty of preacher-worship, they have taken their eyes off Christ and the result will inevitably be disunity. No human leader died for us. Cliques tend to emphasize the importance of a human leader. Leaders are built up and almost made equal to the Lord Himself.”

It is so easy to get caught up into the name game. Even within Christianities denominationalism, we need to be careful not to get caught up in names. First and foremost, we are Christians. Luke wrote in Acts 11:26: “And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”

Into what name were you baptized? The name speaks of authority. People were baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). What authority did Paul have to baptize anyone in the name of Paul? He had no authority. All the authority he had was given to him by Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18).

Based upon this question, it appears the church was divided over who baptized them. This is why Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 1:14 “I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius.” He did not minimize the importance of baptism but put baptism in its proper perspective. Baptism is not about the one who baptizes but the name you are baptized in. The object of baptism was not Paul, Apollos or Peter but Jesus Christ. To argue over the greatness of the baptizer attacks the potency and greatness of the one you have been baptized into.

A summary of Paul’s argument for unity is: Christ is unified, He died for our sins, and He has the authority; therefore, divisions within a church are very much anti-christ. Divisions attack the unified body of Christ, His crucifixion and His authority.

Conclusion

Unity is important because our triune God is united - John 17:22–23 “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” When we are divided into camps, we are projecting an improper view of our God.

The aim in unity:

To be a powerful witness for Christ - John 13:34–35 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

To glorify God - Romans 15:5–7 “Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.”

The difficulty in unity is not getting my way.

Ephesians 4:1–3 “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

lowliness - Humiliation of mind

meekness - Gentleness

longsuffering

forbearing one another in love - prefer one another in love

Philippians 2:3 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”

We need God! Jesus said in John 15:4–5 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”