“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.”
(1 Corinthians 1:12–17, NASB95)
Factions tear apart. This is a foundational reality in all
of man’s relationships. When things come between us we can easily be tempted to
focus more on the thing that divides than on all that knits us together. This
is true in marriage, friendships, work environments, politics, morals, and the
church. At the time of Paul’s writing the church was still young. The New
Testament Word of God and all that we know of Christ and how we are to function
as believers was still being spread by direct teaching, word of mouth spread
from one to another, or from letters like this one being shared.
As a result, there might not have been 100% agreement in
what some of the early church leaders were teaching or who they were looking to
for their information. Some may have come to Christ under the ministry of Paul
and had the privilege of sitting under his teaching for a season. Others may
have heard from Apollos, who only had limited understanding. We read about this
in Acts as we also see how humble and teachable he was. “Now a Jew named
Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was
mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord;
and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things
concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began
to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him,
they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And
when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to
the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those
who had believed through grace, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public,
demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.” (Acts 18:24–28,
NASB95)
But in the next chapter we also see that there were some
believers who had heard from Apollos, likely before Apollos had been instructed
by Priscilla and Aquila, and who were incomplete in their understanding some
things. “It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the
upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. He said to them,
“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No,
we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what
then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John
baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him
who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” When they heard this, they were
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 19:1–5, NASB95) Right there in
Corinth there were those who may not even have herd that the Holy Spirit
existed. John the Baptist had died before Christ went to the cross. What
Apollos had learned was not wrong in that sense, but it was incomplete. Paul
helped them to complete the picture, because Christ has truly come and brought
salvation to man.
And then there was Cephas. Peter himself grew in his
understanding of Christ bringing salvation to all of mankind. We read about
this in Acts chapter 10, where after a vision we read: “Opening his mouth,
Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show
partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is
welcome to Him. “The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace
through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)— you yourselves know the thing which
took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which
John proclaimed. “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the
Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all
who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. “We are witnesses of all
the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put
Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. “God raised Him up on the third day and
granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who
were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after
He arose from the dead. “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and
solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge
of the living and the dead. “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through
His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”” (Acts
10:34–43, NASB95)
Then there might have been those who were personal witnesses
of Christ, and who said, “I am of Christ.” Paul’s answer to all of them was the
same. “Has Christ been divided?” The body of Christ—the church—is not divided
based upon who personally told you about Him. There is no distinction among
believers. All who have trusted in Christ for their salvation are one in
Christ, and there are to be no divided loyalties. Paul refuted anyone putting even
himself above any of the others. They all belonged to Christ, and it was Christ
in whom they were to be unified.
This passage is not a statement for or against these men or
even water baptism, but rather it is one against the loyalties that may have
been associated with that baptism or any other faction. Regardless of the
baptizer, we are all knit together in the Holy Spirit. Rather than emphasizing
baptism or who did it, Paul retuned to the priority of his calling which was,
“…to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of
Christ would not be made void.”
I am a member of a Baptist affiliated church. We hold in our
doctrinal statement a very particular statement concerning baptism and
communion as ordinances for believers. Not all churches agree with the position
we hold. While these positions can be between us of different Bible believing churches
a matter of study and discussion, we understand foremost that these ordinances
are responses to our salvation and not a condition of salvation. I am free to
walk with and serve alongside other believers who understand these a bit differently,
but within the church of which I am a member this is our position. In order to
clarify and preserve the unity of the fellowship, we spell this out in our
Doctrinal Statement as a biblical principle under which we operate.
The Corinthian church had not come to terms with the
distinctives of the teaching they had received, and those distinctives had
grown into factions and even quarreling. This is not as it should be. When my
wife and I first moved to Grants Pass and were deciding on a church home, we
looked first at these things knowing that unity was critical to the health of
the local church. And, when I have worked outside the church with other
believers I have striven to keep central that oneness that we have in Christ
and secondarily consider how I can best walk or work with them in the other
things. Most of the time it has worked out very well. Sound teaching and
doctrine are essential. We don’t need to compromise our understanding of the
Word to walk well with other believers as we always hold first and foremost
that salvation in Christ alone is central to the gospel message.
The gospel message is really not that complicated. Later in
this letter Paul would write, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel
which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by
which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what
I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and
that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:1–4, NASB95) This is the central message. Jesus
Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again according to the
Scriptures. This is the great truth that we know, and it is the absolute
primary truth that is very simple to share.
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