'I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you. I mean that each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I give thanks [to God] that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. (I baptized the household of Stephanas also; beyond that I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning (1 Cor. 1:10-17).’
Divisions existed in the early Church just as they exist in the Christian Church today. An assembly was comprised of a number of small house churches (1 Cor. 16:19). They were rival factions among the house churches in Corinth who were hostile to one another. The divisions were not based on doctrine but on teachers (v. 12). Paul, as an apostle of Christ (v. 1) sent a letter to the Corinthian assembly urging unity and appealing to them (on behalf of the risen Christ) for agreement on a common understanding (the same mind) of the faith (v. 10) without regard to who the teacher was. They should not be “brothers and sisters” in name only. By the mention of Chloe’s people (v. 11) we know that the community was comprised of men and women. The Church represents the presence of the risen Christ to the world and is to carry out the mission of Jesus. If the Kingdom of God is divided against itself, it cannot stand (Mk. 3:24). Paul’s words, “I baptized the household of Stephanas (v. 16)’' are used by some to conclude that the early Church baptized children and probably infants as well. Paul believed he was sent to preach the Gospel and the power of God is released through the Gospel (Rom. 1:16). But the power of God is negated when church leaders try to use clever arguments based on worldly wisdom to explain the teaching of Christ. The only message that should be preached is Christ crucified.
Almighty God, we pray for unity in the Body of Christ, your Church, that instead of divisions we may be united in one mind and follow your command and make disciples of all nations. Grant us, we beseech thee, the desire to work together for the good of the Kingdom teaching your word in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen!
References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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