outline
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.
overview
* first moral issue addressed in the book
* the discussion covers 1:10 - 4:21 (end of 4)
* paul is in ephesus and has heard of the problems from chloe's people
the principle : unity
* unity is agreement (not division; same mind, same judgement)
* we are incomplete without unity
* unity is a command (related to fellowship)
the problem : factionalism
* factionalism (here) centers on allegience to men
* factionalism is an exchange of god's good (unity) for our evil
* factionalism/division is human (natural to man; requires no effort)
the power : christ
* our unity is through christ (has christ been divided?)
* note paul's emphasis on the work of christ, not his own accomplishment