I have begun preaching a new Sunday morning sermon series on Paul's letters to the Corinthians. As I have, I have been struck by Paul’s concern over what divided the Corinthian church. After his preliminaries in the first letter, he gets straight to the point (I Corinthians 1:10-12NIV):
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas (Peter)”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
The Corinthian church was clearly a divided congregation. The source of their division had largely to do with their loyalty to their “favorite preacher”, as it were. By contrast, Paul admonished them to remember that there is but one foundation: Jesus Christ. All the various preachers had done was to build upon that foundation.
He then called upon them to share the mind of Christ (2:16), for this is what unified them. His point was that they were not “Paulians”, or “Apollosians”, “Peterians”; rather, they were “Christians”. And what was true for them in the first century is still true for us today.
I went to high school with four guys, all of whom were named Tim. There was Tim Green, Tim Black, Tim Brown, and Tim White. (We used to pick at them and call them the “Four Tims”, based on a popular musical group of the day called the “Four Tops”.) In truth, they were each unique, in that one was a Green, one was a Black, one was a Brown, one was a White. But they were also all Tims!
Each of us is unique as an individual. We all have our personal interests, convictions, opinions, etc... But these things need not divide us; because ultimately, we are all Christians. We all share the name of Christ. We are united by the name of Christ that we bear. And as followers of Christ, that which unites us is stronger than that which divides us.
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas (Peter)”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
The Corinthian church was clearly a divided congregation. The source of their division had largely to do with their loyalty to their “favorite preacher”, as it were. By contrast, Paul admonished them to remember that there is but one foundation: Jesus Christ. All the various preachers had done was to build upon that foundation.
He then called upon them to share the mind of Christ (2:16), for this is what unified them. His point was that they were not “Paulians”, or “Apollosians”, “Peterians”; rather, they were “Christians”. And what was true for them in the first century is still true for us today.
I went to high school with four guys, all of whom were named Tim. There was Tim Green, Tim Black, Tim Brown, and Tim White. (We used to pick at them and call them the “Four Tims”, based on a popular musical group of the day called the “Four Tops”.) In truth, they were each unique, in that one was a Green, one was a Black, one was a Brown, one was a White. But they were also all Tims!
Each of us is unique as an individual. We all have our personal interests, convictions, opinions, etc... But these things need not divide us; because ultimately, we are all Christians. We all share the name of Christ. We are united by the name of Christ that we bear. And as followers of Christ, that which unites us is stronger than that which divides us.