Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1Corinthians 1:10-13)

 

Division in the church is nothing new. Paul in writing to the church at Corinth, after his salutation and thanksgiving to God for them, gets straight to a problem in the church. Different people followed different leaders. Some followed Paul. Others Apollos. Others Cephas. Others belonged to Christ. Paul becomes exasperated and urges them to become united in following Jesus Christ.  J. R. Daniel Kirk writing in Working Preacher states, “The Corinthians, then, were flocking to smooth rhetoric that lived up to the day’s worldly display of wisdom (Apollos), to a Jewish theology that seemed to have a stronger biblical pedigree than what Paul had on offer (Cephas), and to their own history, roots, and founder (Paul). In response to this partisan bickering, Paul brings them back to the story that defines us all as the people of God: the crucifixion of Christ. “Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:13).”