1 Corinthians 1:10-17

1 Corinthians 1:10–17 ESV

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. 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.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 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.

Introduction:

Silly Church Fights -

One church fought over which picture of Jesus to put in the foyer (I just want to know who took the pictures.).A fight over which picture of Jesus to put in the foyer (I just want to know who took the pictures.).

Argument over the appropriate length of the worship pastor's beard (I think I saw a verse in Scripture that indicated it is to be no more than 1.5 inches longer than the pastor's beard.).Congregation we have a problem.

The problem defined.

Division - σχίσμα “schisma” - means tear crack or schism

Matthew 9:16 (ESV)

16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made.

Paul gets a report that these seems to be tears in the body.

Contention within the congregation.

Paul says in that they have been quarreling.

A contentious spirit characterizes the unconverted.

Romans 1:28–29 (ESV)

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,

Galatians 5:19–20 (ESV)

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,

20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,

A divided church communicates a distorted gospel.

1 Corinthians 1:12–13 (ESV)

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.”

13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

The gospel doesn’t bring division.

Division is incompatible with the gospel.

The gospel brings reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:18–19 (ESV)

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

The body of Christ cannot be divided.

Biblical agreement doesn’t diminish personal perspective.

God made you uniquely you!

Mike Bice - gave me a Duck and said welcome.

Biblical agreement means congregational alignment.

1 Corinthians 1:10 (ESV)

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.

We must all be on the same sheet of music.

We must see everything from the same vantage point.

We must see eye to eye.

Isaiah 52:8 (KJV 1900)

8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; With the voice together shall they sing: For they shall see eye to eye, When the Lord shall bring again Zion.

To see eye to eye means to agree with someone, to hold the same opinion as someone else, to understand each other in a profound manner. The phrase see eye to eye is taken from a biblical passage, Isaiah chapter 52 verse 8 of the King James Version: “…for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.” In this passage, the expression see eye to eye means to meet face-to-face, or in person. Today, the idiom see eye to eye means to agree with some one, the idea is that one’s eyes are on exactly the same level as the other person’s eyes. Related phrases are sees eye to eye, saw eye to eye, seeing eye to eye. Note that according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term is not hyphenated.

1 Corinthians 1:12–13 (ESV)

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.”

13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

How can we maximize unity and minimize division.

We must focus on the cross!

1 Corinthians 1:17 ESV

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.