Paul began his letter expressing his thanksgiving to God
for the Corinthian Christians, for the sufficiency of God’s
provisions for them, and for the certainty that God will
complete what He has begun in them by calling them to faith
in Jesus Christ. Based upon this foundation, Paul now moves
on to reiterate the call to Christian unity (v 10).
He then points out the ways in which this unity has
broken down in the Corinthian church (verses 11-12). In the
remainder of chapter 1, and in the next three chapters 2-4,
Paul shows how disunity is a contradiction of the gospel and
how unity is a manifestation of the gospel. The lessons Paul
has for the Christians of his day are applicable to our own
lives as well.
The conflicts that existed then are still with us today.
We have conflict and strife in the church, in the home, and
at work. Paul will have us see that not only are such
divisions contrary to the gospel, the gospel condemns them.
The gospel strikes at the heart of inter-personal conflicts,
then and now. Let us learn, for the lessons Paul has for us
here are those that we should apply moment by moment.
Paul does not begin with the problem of divisions but
with a positive exhortation to maintain Christian unity. His
call to unity in verse 10 sets the standard. His exposure of
divisions in the church at Corinth in verses 11-12 shows a
specific deviation from God’s standard. Paul defines unity
as the absence of division. Paul does not refer to formed
groups in the church, but to divided opinions over their
various leaders, which according to verse 11 and 1
Corinthians 3:3 have developed into jealousy and quarrels.
Having the “same mind” refers to the more general
disposition or way of thinking. To have the same mind is to
have the same outlook or perspective. To have “the same
judgment” is to agree as to a particular decision, to agree
on a particular issue. When the apostles and the rest of the
120 saints gathered in the upper room (Acts 1:12-14), they
were all like-minded. They were one in spirit and in focus.
When they selected Matthias as the replacement for Judas,
they came to the same judgment. They reached a particular
decision with unity.
Unfortunately, the Corinthian saints were not living up
to the standard Paul set for them. There were quarrels and
divisions in the church, which he had heard about from
“Chloe’s people.” This probably does not mean each member,
without exception, but those who are not guilty of this evil
are the exception and not the rule. The problem is so
prevalent that it seems to be well known, even as far away
as Ephesus.
The source of the quarrels and divisions in the church
was the focusing on personalities rather than doctrine. Each
of the personalities—Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and Christ, is
viewed as the one leader that the individual member has
chosen to follow. None of these leaders was responsible for
the problem or encouraged any of the members of the church
to follow them. The problem is a follower problem rather
than a leader problem. The true problem was not one of
loyalties and allegiances to different leaders in the
church, it was pride.
The first three groups take pride in the leader they have
chosen to follow. The last takes pride in thinking he or she
is following Christ. It is true that we all should be
followers of Christ. However, we should not be proud of
ourselves for doing so. Those who think of themselves as
being “of Christ” also think of the rest as not being “of
Christ.” Those who boast of their following Christ are
effectively declaring themselves the leader. Those who are
“of Christ” do not need Paul, Apollos, or Cephas. They do
not need an apostle. They can discern Christ’s mind by
themselves without any outside help from others. These are
the most frightening group of all, and Paul makes this
clear.
In verse 13, Paul asked three questions, “Has Christ been
divided? Paul was not crucified for you was he? Or were you
baptized in the name of Paul?” These are closed ended
questions and require a single word answer, no. Paul’s point
is, salvation is not about the work of men but about the
work of Jesus Christ. All four of the groups mentioned by
Paul in verse 12 were man-centered. The fourth group was a
little more subtle about it, but all of these individuals
took pride in themselves, based upon their perceived
allegiance. Paul wants to make the point clear and
unmistakable; our salvation is totally about Jesus’
sacrifice for our sins.
Just as it was necessary in Paul’s day, it is necessary
today, those who are man-centered need reminded salvation is
Christ-centered. Since Christ is not divided, how can His
body, the church, be divided? It was not Paul, or Apollos,
or Cephas, or any other mere man who died on the cross of
Calvary. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, shed His blood on the
cross to cleanse us from all sin. Baptism testifies to this
fact. Baptism is in the name of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit and not in the name of any man. This is because
salvation is through Jesus Christ and not through mere men,
regardless of their position in the church.
Baptism is a prominent theme in verses 14-17; Paul
mentions baptism six times in this passage. Some people in
the Corinthian church appeared to take great pride in and
looked down on those a celebrity did not baptize. This
deadly pride is present in people today. I have heard more
than one-person brag about the fact that some prominent
religious person baptized them in some prominent location,
such as the ocean, popular lake, or river. Paul lets the air
out of the tires of these proud namedroppers by telling them
that baptism is not a celebrity affair, and compared to the
preaching of the gospel, baptizing is a lower priority to
him.
Do they take pride in the one who baptizes them? Paul is
glad he has not made baptizing a priority, and that he has
baptized very few of the Corinthians. It is thus evident
that Paul viewed his preaching of the gospel as having a
much higher priority than baptizing new converts. Paul saw
salvation as something that occurs independently of baptism.
True, baptism is important. It is the believer’s public
identification with Jesus Christ. However, baptism is not
the means of one’s salvation; rather it is the outward
manifestation of salvation. Paul rejects the doctrine of
baptismal regeneration. If he thought baptism was the means
of salvation, he would have made it a much higher priority.
Baptism took second place to preaching in Paul’s life and
ministry.
