teaching notes : 1 cor. 1:10

1 cor. 1:10-17
now i exhort you, brethren, by the name of our lord jesus christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. for i have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by chloe's {people,} that there are quarrels among you. now i mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of paul," and "i of apollos," and "i of cephas," and "i of christ." has christ been divided? paul was not crucified for you, was he? or were you baptized in the name of paul? i thank god that I baptized none of you except crispus and gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. now i did baptize also the household of stephanas; beyond that, i do not know whether i baptized any other. for christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of christ would not be made void.

the principle : unity

* unity is agreement (not division; same mind, same judgement)
paul's description of unity/fellowship

"that you all agree" (this is an idiom from greek political life) the positive statement
"that there be no divisions" the negative statement
"that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgement" the statement of result

* we are incomplete without unity
if we reverse the statement "that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgement", the result is 'being made incomplete'... * unity is a command (related to fellowship)
unity is a requirement between believers

consider the importance of unity in the following :

phil. 2:1,2 (a similar command)

Phl 2:1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, Phl 2:2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

acts 2:41-47 (an example of fellowship)

Act 2:41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. Act 2:42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Act 2:43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. Act 2:44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; Act 2:45 and they {began} selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Act 2:46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, Act 2:47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

the problem : factionalism

* factionalism (here) centers on allegience to men

aligning under paul, apollos, cephas, christ; apparently, this type of alignment under a leader was a political pattern of the time.
the corinthians brought it into the church, perhaps as a means of dealing with disagreement. the correct method is to pursue "agreement", the "same mind", and the "same judgement".
technical note : these schisms didn't seem to be the fault of the leaders beneath which they divided. paul obviously isn't involved since he pleads against such; apollos won't go back to corinth (16:2; perhaps out of fear of encouraging more schisms); it's not known if peter had ever been to corinth; and christ is obviously separate.

* factionalism is an exchange of god's good (unity) for our evil
* factionalism/division is human (natural to man; requires no effort)

personal note : please consider how easy it is to divide, and how difficult it is to maintain unity. unity requires constant effort...

the power : christ

* our unity is through christ (has christ been divided?)

1 cor. 1:2 "with all who everwhere call on the name of our lord jesus christ"

1 cor. 1:13 "has christ been divided". no? then why are you/we?

* note paul's emphasis on the work of christ, not his own accomplishment

the focus is consistently on the work of christ; paul has been called and sent, but all work is christ's. this grows more and more explicit as he continues.
i have a hard time bearing this in mind personally...