Once upon a time two men met at a church convention and to their mutual surprise they discovered that they had both been blind, and that Jesus had healed them. One said to his new-found friend, "Wasn't it wonderful when Jesus made mud and put it on your eyes and told you to go and wash? I'll never forget seeing for the first time through wet eyelids!" (John 9:6-7). The other one said, "Mud! Jesus didn't use mud--He just spoke the word and then my eyes were opened, and I could see." (Mark 10:51-51).

The other one replied, "He does use mud."

"He does not."

"He does."

"He doesn't!", exclaimed the other man. "I ought to know because I was blind and He just spoke a word and my eyes were opened."

His friend said, "If he didn't use mud then your eyes have not been opened, and you're still blind. You just think you can see."

And he went on to say "If Jesus did not use mud in your eyes then I can have no fellowship with you because you are denying one of the fundamentals of our faith."

As a result of this argument, a little group of Christians gathered whose eyes had been healed by Jesus using mud. They excluded all others and called themselves the "Mudites." Another little group of Christians who had been healed by Jesus with a word gathered together and excluded all others from their company. They called themselves the "Anti-mudites." For the rest of their lives the Mudites and the Anti-mudites continued in rivalry with each other while around them groped blind men and women who never knew that Someone had come to give light to those in darkness.

Does the division between the Mudites and Anti-Mudites sound ridiculous? It should actually sound familiar because their tale is the tragic story of twenty centuries of Christianity with its divisions, splits, schisms and denominations. The church at Corinth was one of the first places where divisiveness reared its ugly head. The first six chapters of 1 Corinthians deal with disorders in the church; Paul uses four of those chapters to deal with divisions in the church because their disunity was so destructive.

After his brief introduction in 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Paul establishes the fact of divisions in verses 10-17. Verse ten begins the actual body of the letter, which is divided into two main parts--Paul's response to information he had received about the Corinthians (1:10-6:20) and his reply to a letter the Corinthians sent to him (7:1-16:4).

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

Paul begins by pleading with them as brethren; in Christ they are his brothers and brothers to each other. He uses the term brethren to appeal to them to act in brotherly love toward one another. This term brethren is the most common designation of believers used in the Scriptures. We are all brothers and we should act like it.

Then Paul pleads with the Corinthians "by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." His plea is out of regard to Christ. Their reverence and love of Christ and regard for his authority as their Lord should influence them to yield in obedience to Paul's exhortation. This is the tenth reference to Christ in the first ten verses, which leaves no doubt as to the One Paul believed should be the source and focus of the Corinthians' unity.

Based on their status as brothers and their love for Christ, Paul appeals to the Corinthians, "that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be not divisions among you." This is a call for unity. The emphasis in this passage, written specifically to the Corinthian assembly, is on the unity of the local church, not on the mystical unity of the universal church. This unity was to be visible: they were to have a oneness of view and purpose leading to oneness in declaration. It is the exact opposite of the conduct mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:12: "Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ." Paul's appeal is related to the Lord's prayer in John 17 where Jesus prayed that His disciples would experience unity modeled on the unity Jesus experienced with the Father. This is the high priestly prayer to His Father.

John 17:1 (NKJV) Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You," John 17:11 "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as we are."

John 17:21-23 "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me."

Perfect unity among believers verifies Jesus' God-given mission and the Father's love for the world. Over and over Jesus prayed for our unity because it is a passion of His heart.

Jesus' prayer for unity was realized in the life of the earliest church. The first believers were visibly united: they shared their possessions and were of one heart and soul. Their unity is hard for us to comprehend. Acts records examples of unity in the early church.

Acts 2:1 (NKJV) "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place."

Acts 4:32 (NKJV) "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common."

The closest example of this type of unity we see today is in families where we have common possessions.

The New Testament writers followed the example of our Lord and held unity in very high regard. Paul brought up the subject of unity in every letter that he wrote to a church because disunity is always a lurking potential for disaster. Satan loves to divide God's people because he understands the truth that Jesus taught in

Matthew 12:25: But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand"

Disunity is the danger of every healthy church because earnest, enthusiastic people are apt combat each other over disagreements. The greater their enthusiasm, the greater the danger that they may collide. Disunity is something we must always guard against. Without unity a local church will not stand and without unity we have no testimony to the world. There are two important principles of Christian unity: Christian unity is both a given and a goal; and Christian unity is spiritual rather than organizational. How is unity a given and a goal? It is a given because we are one body in Christ. We have positional unity as 1 Corinthians 12:13 teaches: For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body; whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free; and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. (NKJV)

How can unity be a goal if we are already one body? We must work to preserve in practice the unity we have in position. Ephesians 4:3 emphasizes the work aspect of unity: "...endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (NKJV). The word endeavoring is the Greek word spoudazo which means to make every effort, to labor, to be diligent. We must be careful to preserve our unity because it is very fragile. If you have been in the church for even a short time you are well aware of this. Unity takes effort, spiritual effort.

The second principle of Christian unity is its spiritual nature: Christians are not united because they're in the same container (organizational); Christians are attracted to each other because they're pulled by the same power (spiritual). Organizational unity is like a box of ball bearings. Their unity is caused by the container and if the box breaks they all go everywhere. Spiritual unity is like ball bearings held together by an electromagnet. The same external force pulls the ball bearings together. Christians are not united because they meet in the same building but because we are attached to the same Savior.

Paul said he wanted the Corinthians to be "perfectly joined together." This phrase comes from one Greek word, katartizo, which is a surgical term for resetting a broken bone. It is used in the gospels to describe mending broken nets. Paul wants the breaks between the Corinthian Christians to be mended. The disunion is unnatural and must be cured for the sake of the health and efficiency of the church.

The Corinthians' breaks are to be healed so that they can be "in the same mind and in the same judgement". We are to have the mind and judgement of Christ who esteemed others above Himself. Philippians 2:3-5 speaks of Christ's attitude:

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness [humility] of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind [of humility] be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. (KJV)

We are not all to think the same about everything, but we're all to have an attitude of humility as Christ did. Proverbs 13:10 says "By pride comes nothing but strife." Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to fight with a humble person? True humility refuses to demand its own way--humility and strife are mutually exclusive. Only as we have an attitude of humility will we have unity.

After Paul exposes their problem with disunity, he reveals the source of his information:

For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. (1 Corinthians 1:11)

Paul mentions the source of his information; he is not dealing in rumors but in facts. If a person makes a charge against someone, he needs to back it up with his name like those of Chloe's house did. We do not know the exact relationship between Chloe and those of her household--they could have been relatives, slaves, or friends. All we know is that they were familiar with the situation in Corinth and they told Paul that there were contentions.

These contentions reported by Chloe's household are not the same as the divisions mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:10. Divisions is from the Greek word schisma which means to tear or rip in the physical sense, as in Matthew 9:16. Metaphorically schisma means to have a difference of opinion as in John 7:43 where some people said Jesus was the Christ and others said he wasn't:

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet." Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" So there was a division among the people because of Him. (John 7:40-43, NKJV)

In the New Testament the word schisma does not necessarily have a bad meaning: it may simply mean a difference of opinion. But a difference of opinion can easily lead to contention (Greek: eris) which means strife. Eris is found in the list of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5 and it means wrangling or quarreling. In Corinth there was a difference of opinion (schisma) on some matters; those differences of opinion led to quarrels (eris), and the quarrels have resulted in division. This sequence has been repeated in the history of the church thousands and thousands of times: differences of opinion, then quarrels, and finally division.

Many of the denominations that we have today are the results of petty quarrels. For instance, one night in a little town in Canada a Mr. Horner was preaching. In the course of his enthusiastic preaching, his tie got wound around his hand and bound him up. He concluded that the devil was trying to bind him in his preaching, so he tore off his tie, threw it to the ground, stomped on it and said, "Those are from the devil and Christians ought to never wear them, because they bind them in their Christian lives. There was a difference of opinion over proper attire for men. That difference of opinion led to quarrels, and the quarrels led to division. Today in Canada there is a denomination known as the Hornerites. Similar dramas have been played out over and over in the history of the church. Please do not make the mistake of thinking that differences of opinion are wrong. Differences of opinion are fine; we'll always have them and they can actually be healthy. Can you imagine if none of us had and different opinions? Life would be boring and our growth would be stifled because we learn and grow when we spend time with people who have different opinions on things. We challenge each other to think through things. "As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend," (Proverbs 27:17, NKJV). Iron rubbing iron is a shaping and sharpening process that generates heat and sparks.

Similarly people can help each other improve through discussions, criticisms, and differing opinions. Therefore differences of opinion are fine as long as we do not act in the flesh and begin to quarrel over them thus causing division. A believer who thinks that anyone that disagrees with him is wrong has a proud attitude; pride causes strife. We must give people freedom to disagree. Angry arguments over personal preferences do not change opinions. Diversity is fine and healthy, but division is sin.

In 1 Corinthians 1:12 Paul tackles the specific divisions that are plaguing the church at Corinth. He says, "Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ." Each division has its own slogan. The divisions in Corinth were not based upon fundamental doctrines of the faith. (Usually splits in the church even today are not caused by doctrine.) Paul is not urging unity with those who hold false doctrine, or between believers and unbelievers. The divisions in the Corinthian church had nothing to do with fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith such as the virgin birth, the substitutionary atonement, the verbal inspiration of Scripture, the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, or the deity of Christ.

Their divisions were based in petty personal preferences. There was no doctrinal disagreement among Paul, Apollos, Cephas or Christ; the division was one of personality or style preference.

Paul founded the church, so most of the members would have been converted through his ministry and had a great love for Paul. Apollos followed Paul (Acts 18:24-28) and he was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures. Another faction said they were of Peter, and some said they were of Christ. Perhaps this latter group felt they had no need of human teachers and were more spiritual that the others. Each of these men a had different personality and a different approach to the ministry of the Word, yet they were in unity. Does 1 Corinthians 1:12 hit a little too close to home for those of us at Faith Bible Church? Could Paul have written this to us? Have we ever had a problem with people aligning under different pastors? Have any of you ever said "I'm of David Roth" or "I'm of David Curtis" or "I'm of Rich Nemec, Larry Moody, Don Reese?" Personal preferences for leadership are natural; division and strife over these preferences is sin.

Paul gives the divided church three rhetorical questions; perhaps Faith Bible Church should consider them too. "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" (1 Corinthians 1:13) Has the Lord been divided? Have different parts been handed out to different people? If the person of Christ cannot be divided up then the body of Christ cannot be divided. The body of Christ is offended by divisions.

"Was Paul crucified for you?" That must have made the Pauline group squirm. Who was crucified for you? Was David Roth, or David Curtis or any other leader crucified for you? No, that's ridiculous! Divisions are ridiculous and they are an offence to the work of Christ. We belong to Christ and not to any man. No man paid the sin debt for the Corinthians or for us, but Christ did and our allegiance must be to him.

"Have you been baptized into the name of Paul?" Baptism into a person's name implies the closest possible connection. In Paul's day to give money into a man's name was to pay it into his account. Your baptism into the name of Christ identified you to no one but Christ, therefore your divisions are sinful.

It's natural to have a special affection for the person who led you to Christ, for a Pastor who has fed you from the Word, for a Sunday school teacher that ministered to you, or for a pastor who has counseled and consoled you. But such affection becomes misguided and carnal when it segregates us from others in the church. Paul condemned the attitude that led to partisanship. The Corinthians still met together (they haven't physically divided), but their attitudes were wrong. The attitude that caused them to be devoted to a man or particular doctrine was wrong. They were all to be united under Christ.

Is Paul condemning denominations? Is it wrong to fragment the church of Jesus Christ into segments that are labeled by the names of men and by doctrines? Denominationalism didn't exist in the New Testament--they called themselves Christians. They practiced baptism, but there were no Baptists; they believed in predestination but there were no Presbyterians; they believed in the Holy Spirit but there were no Methodists; they believed in the Lord's supper but there were no Plymouth Brethren; they believed in the fear of God but there were no Quakers. They believed in all the doctrines but there were not segmented or fragmented under different labels. In some sense denominational labels can be helpful in our day but they should never become an excuse for exclusiveness. Be very wary of denominational differences that revolve around the teachings of a great theologian rather than Scripture. Denominations become sinful when the members believe that they are the only ones who are right and exclude all who disagree. There are some minor doctrinal issues we must separate over, but our preferences should not be a test of fellowship.

In 1 Corinthians 1:14-17 Paul says he has had no part in these divisions: I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name.

Paul didn't want to create a following after himself so he usually had others baptize new believers. According to John 4:2, Jesus did not baptize but left it to his disciples and Paul followed His example. Could Paul have believed that baptism was necessary for salvation and still thanked God that he had baptized very few people? Although baptism is not essential to salvation or as a means of regeneration, it is still important. It was commanded by Christ (Matthew 28:19) and practiced by the early church (Acts 2:41). Along with the Lord's Supper, baptism is an ordinance of the church. A believer who has not been baptized is in disobedience to the Lord; he is commanded to be baptized.

After saying he had only baptized two people, Paul adds, "Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other." (1 Corinthians 1:16) This gives us some insight into the doctrine of inspiration. Stephanas may have been present when Paul wrote this letter; perhaps he was the scribe who wrote for Paul and refreshed his memory.

Inspiration does not grant to the author omniscience, but it does guarantee that what he writes is inerrant (without error) and authoritative. Paul was not sure how many people he had baptized--his pastoral records were a little weak. Paul revealed normal human characteristics even as he wrote an inspired book of the Bible. God used Paul's personality and experiences as He inspired him to write rather than some form of mechanical writing.

Paul explains why his emphasis was not on baptism: "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect." Paul distinguished between baptism and the gospel. His main emphasis was on the gospel. This doesn't mean that baptism was not important, but that baptizing was inferior to preaching the gospel. The focus of Christian proclamation must remain clearly centered on the message of the crucifixion rather than baptism or any other doctrine. This is the theme of the next section, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25.

Paul's preaching of the gospel was "not with wisdom of words". In other words, his discourse was not characterized by human wisdom but by the truths revealed by God. Paul develops this thought in the next section where he contrasts two kinds of wisdom, human wisdom and the wisdom that comes from God.

Paul condemned the divisive attitude of the Corinthians. Those who said, "I am of Christ" were just as wrong as those who said, "I am of Paul" because they excluded anyone who had a different preference. Are you sectarian and denominational in your attitude? Do you love and accept others who have different opinions than you do? If a person is a believer he is one with you, a fellow member of the body of Christ. Christ's body is not divided and it is not restricted to denominational boundaries. Is your attitude prideful and exclusive? Learn to lovingly agree to disagree over personal preferences. Be humble enough to consider that the other person might be right. Work to preserve unity in the body of Christ.

Psalms 133:1-3 speaks of the beauty of unity: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing; Life forevermore. (NKJV)

In this Psalm David exclaimed how wonderful it is for believers to dwell together in unity. In verse three he likens the refreshing influence of unity on the nation to the refreshing dew on vegetation.

The desire and prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ is that we, as believers, dwell in unity. Paul's words to the Corinthians are just as applicable to us as they were to them.

1 Corinthians 1:10-11 (NKJV) "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

This message was preached by David B. Curtis on October 1, 1995.

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