Divisions in the Early Corinthian Church (1 Cor. 1:10-17)

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. 11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you. 12 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.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I give thanks [to God] that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 (I baptized the household of Stephanas also; 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 the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.

The early Christian community at Corinth was facing several significant problems.  The concern that Paul was addressing in this passage was factions within the Corinthian assembly.  Members were aligning themselves with different leaders, such as Paul, Apollos, Cephas (Peter), and even Christ, leading to divisions and rivalries within the community that threatened the unity and cohesion of the church which Paul urgently sought to address.  

An assembly was comprised of several small house churches (1 Cor. 16:19).  Early Christian gatherings often took place in homes due to persecution and lack of dedicated church buildings.  There were divisions among the house churches in Corinth based on allegiances to different teachers.  The divisions were not based on doctrine but most likely resulted from personal preferences of teachers among the members and different emphases on what was taught.  Paul wrote to the Corinthian assembly urging unity and appealed to them for agreement on a common understanding of the faith without regard to which teacher they followed.  They should not be “brothers and sisters” in name only but maintain unity in their beliefs and actions.  

Paul revealed that he had been informed by Chloe's household about the rivalries and divisions within the Corinthian assembly because some members were claiming allegiance to certain leaders over others.  The mention of Chloe's people suggests that both men and women were involved in the Corinthian community and that it was comprised of a diverse group of believers.  Paul questioned the logic of such divisions.  He asks, He rhetorically asked whether Christ could be divided, or if Paul was crucified for them, or if they were baptized in the name of Paul.  Their allegiance should be to Christ alone, not to any servant of Christ.  Paul expressed gratitude that he only baptized Crispus, Gaius, and the household of Stephanas so that no one could claim they were baptized in his name.  He clarified that his primary mission was to preach the Gospel as the power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16), not with human wisdom or eloquence, but with the power of the message of Christ's sacrificial death on the cross.  Human wisdom or rhetoric can distort and diminish the message of the Gospel.  Church leaders should not try to use clever arguments based on worldly wisdom to explain the teaching of Christ.

Almighty God, we humbly pray for unity and harmony in the Body of Christ so that instead of rivalries and divisions, we may be united in mind and purpose following your command to make disciples of all nations.  Keep our focus on Christ crucified and guide us by your Spirit so that we may be faithful witnesses to your Gospel.  This we pray through Christ our Lord.  Amen!

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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.

                Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.