Paul's Plea for Unity
Paul's appeal for unity in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 forms the heart of this teaching, as Tom Shrader traces the factions forming in Corinth around figures like Paul, Apollos, and Peter. Shrader emphasizes that divisions in the church arise from pride and carnality, while genuine unity flows from the humility modeled by Christ in His self-emptying death. The cross, not any human teacher or personality, must remain the common center that holds the church together.
“Divisions come from pride, carnality, living for this world. Unity comes from humility that's found in spiritual maturity.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: 1 Corinthians
Recorded: 2000 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 51 min
Themes: unity, division, pride, humility, the cross, factions, church conflict, following christ not men, navigating conflict, struggling with pride, church member frustrated with division, pastor addressing splits, elder, new believer, someone considering leaving a church, person loyal to a favorite teacher
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, 2 Corinthians 4:17, 2 Corinthians 11:24-28, Philippians 2:1-2, Philippians 2:3-8, Ephesians 4:1-6, John 17:20-21, John 14:16, John 15, John 16:7, John 4:2, Romans 16:17, Acts 2:42-47
Theological Themes: ecclesiology, church unity, kenosis, self-emptying of christ, sanctification, carnality, christocentrism, the cross as center
Full Transcript
Paul's Concern for a Troubled Church
Paul is writing to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. We have certainly made the point that it is a troubled church — a church that has some problems. He begins by reminding them who they are: that they are saints, that they have been sanctified, that is, set apart. They have been called with a holy calling, and God has placed them in a position where He desires to use them in a powerful way. Paul focuses on the problems they have in the area of behavior — at least ten specific issues that he addresses. His point to them is that they have no reason to act this way. As we saw last week, he says in verse 9 that they lack nothing, they lack none of the gifts, they have everything they need.
But now he begins to address these problem areas. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 10: "Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment." Verse 11: "For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you." That becomes the issue the Apostle is addressing tonight, and really over the next couple of weeks — this issue of quarrels. There are within the church at Corinth some factions that are starting to take hold.
The church is fractured, though not yet split. The divisions are not yet fully apparent, but as Paul hears about the church, it is clear in his mind that a split seems inevitable if some steps are not taken. Unity is so much at the heart of the Apostle.
The Weight of Paul's Pastoral Concern
In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 17, Paul says, "Momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." Then in 2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 24, Paul writes: "Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned." We have to point out regularly that the word "stoned" had a rather different meaning in Paul's day than it does today. They took you out to the edge of town and threw rocks on you until you were dead. Paul continues: "Three times I was shipwrecked. A day and a night I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers in the sea, dangers among false brethren. I have been in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure."
Most people, when they talk about Paul's momentary light affliction, stop at verse 27. But the Apostle has what we would identify as a pastor's heart, and it is evident in verse 28. He says, "Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure upon me of the concern for all the churches." He is saying that it is one thing to be stoned and beaten and shipwrecked, to face all that danger, to work in the cold, to be exposed, to lack food and sleep. But what was really in his heart, apart from all those external things, was the inward desire to know that the church was well. Paul was deeply concerned for the church, and one of the things most central to that concern was that the church would be united.
Unity as a Theme Across Paul's Letters
In Philippians chapter 2, verses 1 and 2, Paul writes: "Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ, any comfort from His love, any fellowship together with the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and sympathetic? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, working together with one heart and one purpose." He is saying that if people truly are in Christ, it should manifest itself in their love for one another, their care for one another, and their working together toward a common cause with a common purpose.
In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 1, Paul writes: "Therefore I, a prisoner of serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowances for each other's faults because of your love. Always keep yourselves united to the Holy Spirit and bind yourself together with peace. We are all one body. We have the same Spirit. We have all been called to the same glorious future. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism. There is only one God and Father who is over us all and in us all and living through us all." It was at the heart of this Apostle that the church would be united — common in purpose, common in calling, understanding that there is one Holy Spirit with whom we are all baptized, all identified, and all united.
The Lord's Own Prayer for Unity
This concern is not unique to the Apostle. The Lord Jesus Himself, the night before He died, prayed what we know is truly the Lord's Prayer in John 17. In verse 20, He said: "I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony. My prayer for all of them is that they will be one just as you and I are one, Father, that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us and the world will believe you sent me."
At the heart of the Apostle was the desire that there would be unity within the church — and that desire reflects the heart of Christ Himself. That is what Paul is addressing. He says he wants them all to agree, he does not want there to be any divisions, he wants them to be complete, to have the same mind and the same judgment. For goodness sakes, he says, do not let there be any division.
The Pain of Division
Aside from things that could happen to my own family, by far the thing that would break my heart more than anything else would be to see divisions crop up in East Valley Bible Church and see this church split. It is one thing to plant a church. You are familiar with our church-planting ministry — the idea of putting churches all over this valley, maybe the state, maybe the country, maybe around the world — teams sent out from this church that represent this church. That is healthy. That is good. We look forward to that, we eagerly anticipate it, and many of you in this room will specifically be part of that church-planting ministry. I am not talking about that.
We are talking about a church that is divided, that cannot get along, that is fighting over non-essentials. We do have to be united on the essentials, and we cannot compromise on those. We cannot compromise on the authority of Scripture, the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, Christ's substitutionary atoning death, or Christ's physical resurrection. It is so important for us to be in agreement on those doctrinal issues. What we are talking about, rather, are factions within the church that take it and split it apart — and that is what is on the heart of the apostle.
The Meaning of Paul's Exhortation
Paul says in verse 10, "I exhort you." The Greek verb root is *parakletos*, from which we get the word "helper." Jesus uses it when referring to the Holy Spirit. In John chapter 14 verse 16 He says, "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever." In John chapter 15 Jesus says, "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth." And in John chapter 16 verse 7 Jesus says, "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you."
Jesus speaks of the Helper — the One who comes alongside, replaces Him, and serves as our advocate. When Paul uses this same word and says "I exhort you," it means in its basic form to come alongside somebody in order to help them. He is saying, "I am here to help you. Let me help you work this out. I am pleading with you. I am coming to you with a solution to this issue."
Paul says further: "I exhort you, brethren" — and notice how he does it — "by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." When we call upon His name, we are invoking all that He is: His character, His will, His power, His desires. Paul's desire is to stop any quarreling in this church, and he does it by calling upon the name of the Lord.
The Opportunity for Division
Any time you bring two people together in any relationship, you have the potential for division and disputes. When I perform a wedding, part of the message is to give the couple practical advice I hope will be helpful in their marriage. One of the points I make is that in any marriage you have almost infinite opportunities to forgive — that is simply the nature of human relationship. You put two people together — an employee and employer, friends on a golf course, people at a club — and you have the opportunity for division.
Now bring together dozens of people, hundreds of people, thousands of people, and place them in a church context, and you multiply that opportunity for division enormously. What Paul is saying is that a relationship with Christ is the motivation that should be in our hearts to stop us from pulling this thing apart. He uses the word "division," which means literally to rip apart or to separate. Paul is serious about this issue.
As he closes out his letter to the church at Rome, in Romans chapter 16 verse 17 he says, "I urge you, brethren, keep your eyes on those who cause dissension and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them." Paul is saying we cannot afford to be distracted by people who cause dissension. And again, we are not talking about those core, non-negotiable doctrinal issues. He is talking about people who come in and stir things up over non-essential issues.
Being Made Complete
Paul says he wants the church to be made complete. The idea behind that word is to be perfectly joined together — the image of mending something, a net or a bone or a dislocated shoulder, of putting something precisely back in its place. He wants the church to agree, which means literally to say the same thing, to be of the same mind, to be in the same judgment, to be on the same page.
We go to great lengths at East Valley Bible Church to make sure that in these non-negotiable areas we are on the same page, saying the same thing, of the same mind and the same judgment — called with the same purpose. We offer a class called Getting Plugged In, designed primarily for people who are new to the church. It is a three-session class, and I teach the final one — and I use the word "teach" loosely. I introduce the people, they introduce themselves, and I talk with them a little about the church. But every one of those classes ends exactly the same way. I say, "By now you know pretty much who we are. And if you do not like it, please leave now." I do not mean that harshly. I mean it for your own good and for ours — because if something bothers you now, if there is something you
Unity in the Church
If those things bother you now, they are going to drive you crazy, and they are not going to go away. We are not thinking of changing. We are not going to do anything differently in those areas. This is the path that we have chosen. This is deliberate. This is who we are.
Good leaders make that clear to you up front. If you want to divide a church, here is what you do: you try to be something to everybody. You try to make everybody happy. We are not trying to make everybody happy — we are trying to satisfy a little core group of people. That is what we try to do.
That is exactly why, when we look at elders, it is important that a man is elder-qualified, that he lines up with what Paul lays out and prescribes as the qualifications for elder. But we look deeper than that. Does this man agree with us philosophically? Does he have the same view of children's ministry, student ministry, and ministry in general that we do? Is he comfortable with the way we handle issues?
If not, then we at an elder board level will be debating these things endlessly, and there needs to be unanimity. It is not a rubber stamp, but we take this seriously. We agree. We are joined together. We have the same mind, the same judgment, and the same purpose.
This is serious, serious business. And that is exactly what the apostle is writing, what he is sharing, what he is saying to us.
The Power of Unity Witnessed by the World
There is something powerful about this unity. It is not just so things run smoothly, although that is a welcome benefit — it is deeper than that. When the world sees a church that is unified, the world becomes curious. They ask, how can they get along?
Look at Acts chapter two. Acts chapter two, verse 42, is a familiar passage. It speaks of the early church after thousands had come to Christ in repentance and faith and the church was formed. Verse 42 tells us: "They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe, and many signs and wonders were taking place through the apostles."
"And all those who believed were together and had all things in common, and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. And day by day, continuing with one mind in the temple, breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart. They were praising God and having favor with all the people."
That church was united. They were of one mind. They worshiped together, prayed together, and laughed together. An outward demonstration of their oneness was seen in this: those who had possessions sold those possessions so they could take the proceeds and give them — not loan them, give them — to those who had need. They were not cashing in to find another investment opportunity. They were cashing in so they could invest in God's kingdom and in God's people.
They understood there was a treasure that would not rot or rust, one that paid eternal dividends. The world looked at it and looked with favor on it, so much so that verse 47 says, "They were 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."
Unity, Humility, and the Mind of Christ
The world said, "How can they do that? I would never do that. I cannot imagine selling what I have and giving it to somebody else." And seeing it, they asked, "What is going on in there?" Those people then had an opportunity to say, "Here is the secret. Do you want to live this way — not shoved off to some government program, but in your own heart? Then here is what you need to do: you need to know the Lord Jesus Christ."
Divisions come from pride, from carnality, from living for this world. Unity comes from humility that is found in spiritual maturity. Paul tells us in Philippians two to "do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have the attitude in you which is in Christ Jesus."
One of the translations renders it, "Have the mind in you which was also in Christ." Think like Christ. What is Paul talking about? He is talking about Christ, "who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
The Call to Unity
Paul does not want there to be any division among them. He does not want them torn apart. He wants them joined together, and the way to achieve that is to humble yourself before the Lord. He wants their hearts to be broken. He wants them to be followers of Christ.
Years ago, he was trying to get some men out on a Saturday morning for a study, so he called it Leadership Forum. What was interesting about it is that it was not about leadership, nor was it a forum — but he knew men would come out for that. You go to the bookstore and you will see rows and rows of books, management books and an ever-expanding section on leadership. The truth is, we do not need a great deal more discussion on leadership. We need a seminar on following, and we have the textbook right here.
We take the content of that textbook and apply it across all the different areas of life. As Christians, we have a responsibility to submit to the government regardless of who is in charge of it. We know that God has ordained a structure for the home: husbands, love your wives; wives, submit to your husband; children, obey your parents. It is self-evident. That is how the family works.
The same is true in the church. Elders are the leaders, and they lead in a servant leadership way. As long as the doctrine is true, it is those men who lead, and that structure avoids squabbles and difficulties. That is what Paul is talking about here.
What Paul Heard from Chloe's People
What Paul is responding to is information he received. Verse 11 reads: "For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you." One commentator writes — and he acknowledges this is speculation — that Chloe was most likely a wealthy Asian, whether a Christian or not we cannot know, whose business interests caused her agents to travel between Ephesus and Corinth. Remember, Paul is in Ephesus writing to the church at Corinth. The commentator speculates, reasonably, that some of these agents had become Christians and were members of the church at Ephesus.
Having traveled to Corinth on business, they visited the church there, and on their return to Ephesus they gave Paul an earful of the real situation. They went to Corinth for business, sought out the church while they were there, and saw what was going on firsthand. When they returned, Paul learned that there were quarrels among them.
Notice that a single word appears in both verse 10 and verse 11: brethren. Paul twice reminds them that they are brothers and sisters in Christ. They are closer to one another, and share something more intimate, than a chain of DNA — they share a relationship with Jesus Christ and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Paul is likely trying to soften his rebuke while at the same time reminding them of the very basis for their unity.
The Personality Factions in Corinth
Having told them he has been informed of quarrels, Paul now identifies the source of those quarrels. He says: "each one of you is saying I am of Paul, or I am of Apollos, or I am of Cephas, or I am of Christ" — literally, I follow Paul, I follow Apollos, I follow Peter, I follow Christ. The church has not yet split; let that be clear. It is fractured and a little unstable, and Paul is appealing here for stability. The problem is that the church has begun to follow certain personalities.
Ray Stedman helpfully points out that these four groups are found in every church. The first group is the loyalists — those who followed Paul. Paul was the founding pastor of the church at Corinth. When nobody else wanted anything to do with that pagan place, Paul was the one who laid it on the line and came, and so they said they would always be true to Paul.
Paul was in Corinth for about a year and a half before he left and was replaced by Apollos. We know that Apollos was from Alexandria in Egypt, a location of great intellectual power and universities, and that he was not only an intellectual giant but also eloquent. So there were some who said that while Paul did a good job, by his own admission he was not much of an orator, whereas when Apollos spoke, he made the text come alive. That is the kind of teacher who, when he is on vacation, some people do not even bother to come. That was Apollos — he had style, and he had the gift.
Then there were others who said, forget Paul and forget Apollos. Wanting to go back to the original source, they pledged their loyalty to the church in Jerusalem and to Peter. Peter was one of the very first disciples chosen and was part of the inner circle of three who were closest to Jesus. Finally, there were those who considered themselves above all of this, declaring that they followed no human being — only Jesus. Obviously, we are to be followers of Christ, but what they were really saying was that they had the direct line to Christ and that they alone knew what Jesus would do. As John Stott observes, among people like this there is always a faint but discernible air of spiritual superiority.
The Danger of Claiming to Speak for God
It is not easy to cope with comments such as "The Lord has told me that." When members of a certain group are present, a sense of superiority can settle in — a feeling that we have it all figured out. We can fall into these divisions very quickly. It is very natural for people to follow people, and it is very natural, and this is where it gets dangerous, to start saying, "Here is God's position on schooling."
Someone will say, "God would have you homeschool your children — that is what Jesus would do." Others will say, "No, Jesus would want something different." Still others will say it is somewhere in the middle. That is exactly where we get dangerous: when we start claiming to speak for God on matters where Scripture does not speak specifically. He has given parents authority and control to figure out what is right for their own children. It is very scary when we take God's view and try to overlay it on areas that Scripture does not specifically address.
The same danger appears in politics. Some would say that if Jesus were here today, He would be a Republican and a conservative. But over the years, there are liberal Democrats who love the Lord Jesus with all their heart and who are just as saved and just as much following Christ. Politicians will use you and throw you away like yesterday's news once they get what they want from you. It is very dangerous to become self-righteous and declare, "This is God's position," in areas where God has not spoken definitively.
The Problem with Following People Exclusively
Paul's warning is to watch out for this tendency. It is right and good to feel a certain kinship and warmth with the people who are leading in your area of the church. It is natural, if you are part of the small group community, to have an affinity for your small group leader. It is natural to follow a strong, charismatic leader — that is the most natural thing in the world. But there are real problems when that following tips over into saying, "If you are not doing things this way, you are in real trouble."
What is interesting is that apparently Paul had no idea this division was happening. Apollos was not part of it. It was not the men themselves driving the division — it was the followers who were gathering around them. And what inevitably happens when we follow a person to the exclusion of the body of Christ is that we fall out of sync. We begin to grow in some areas, which is good, but we begin to shrink in other areas. That is precisely why we need many teachers to give us many different perspectives on the truth.
Christ Diminished, Humans Exalted
Paul addresses this directly. Look at verse 13: "Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" Paul is saying that his followers were making him far more than he needed to be. And every time the church begins to follow this pattern, the same things happen: Christ is diminished, divided, and minimized, while humans are exalted and things become distorted.
As one writer puts it, when you follow one man, you are getting a view of Christ — but there is no teacher in the church who has ever come along, including the apostles themselves, who has had a totally complete view of Christ. That is why we have four Gospels. Not even one of the disciples who walked with the Lord was capable of giving us a complete enough view of Christ on his own. It took four viewpoints to report His earthly ministry accurately enough for us. God has therefore designed that there be many teachers and many viewpoints in the church.
There is nothing wrong with following a person and being committed to a person. But if that following comes to the harm or detriment of the body, something is wrong. As another writer observes, whenever Christians give their allegiance to any human personality — such as a gifted preacher or pastor — they have taken their eyes off Jesus Christ, and there will inevitably be disunity. That is exactly what was happening in the church at Corinth.
Boasting About Baptism
The church at Corinth had all the tools it needed, yet it was fracturing at the door. Divisions were starting to form, the tearing was beginning to take place, and apparently one of the ways it was manifesting was that people were starting to boast about who had baptized them. When Paul hears this, he responds: "I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius." Crispus, you will recall, was a believer from the synagogue who converted to Christianity, and his conversion had a powerful effect on many in Corinth who also began to believe. Paul is making clear that the identity of the one who baptized you is not the point — and that attaching your allegiance to that person is a dangerous distortion of what the gospel is actually about.
The Danger of Personality-Driven Faith
No man should say you were baptized in my name. We do this all the time, maybe not with baptism, but consider how it plays out. Someone says, "I got that MacArthur Study Bible." Another says, "I've been to a Sproul conference — I've been to Orlando, and I was there for almost a month." The attitude becomes: I'm a Sproul guy, I'm a MacArthur guy.
What happens is this: we get a little bit of truth in our heads, and that truth becomes everything. Everything gets funneled through one screen, and all we talk about is that one thing to the exclusion of everything else. People love to categorize churches that way. I hear all the time from people outside of East Valley Bible Church, "That's a Calvinist church — all they talk about is election." But you can sit here for weeks and months and never hear us talk about predestination or election, because we talk about it when it's in the text. If it's there, we teach it. That seems like a pretty good policy.
Paul's Deliberate Approach to Baptism
Paul illustrates this personality problem with baptism. He mentions baptizing Crispus and Gaius, then in verse 16 catches himself: "Oh, wait — I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I don't know whether I baptized any of you or not." It reads almost like a stream of senior moments, but the point Paul is making is that he deliberately was not doing a lot of baptizing.
This lines up with what we see in John chapter four, verse two, where Jesus Himself did not baptize — His disciples did. Can you imagine if people had gone around saying, "I was baptized by Jesus Christ Himself"? That's exactly the kind of division Paul is guarding against. His mission statement cuts through it all: "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel."
Baptism and the Gospel — Keeping Them Distinct
Let me take a brief side trip here, because I was talking to someone the other day who attends a church that teaches you must be baptized to be saved. I do not think Scripture teaches that. In fact, Scripture teaches quite clearly that we are saved by grace.
Baptism is important — absolutely it is. Just this morning at the eleven o'clock service, a baptism took place, and we talked about its significance. Baptism does not save us. We do not go to heaven because we are baptized. Rather, because we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we desire to be baptized. We desire to stand and symbolically declare our faith in Christ — to be identified with His death, immersed as that old person, and to rise in the resurrection of a new creature. It is symbolic in the sense that it does not accomplish salvation; Christ's finished work does. So yes, we should be baptized, but Paul is clear: baptism is not part of the gospel message itself.
The Cross Versus the Cleverness of Speech
Paul says he was called by Christ to preach the gospel — not in the cleverness of speech, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. He did not come to dazzle anyone or win people over with rhetorical skill. He came with the cross. And when you take the cross out to people, apart from God's work, they simply cannot receive it.
I was watching C-SPAN last night, and Alan Dershowitz was debating Alan Keyes. At one point, Dershowitz said the Bible is essentially for simpletons. Now, to be clear, Dershowitz is an extraordinarily intelligent man — far smarter than I am in many respects. But however the world may classify him, the Bible would call him a fool. A fool. Because if you are going to try to reconcile God and man through some convoluted, complicated system of your own devising, you have missed it entirely.
Jesus did not leave room for complexity on this point. He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." That is the gospel. That is the message Paul was sent to preach, and it is the message we are called to declare as well.
Looking Ahead
Next Sunday is the first Sunday of December. The ranch scene will be up — I imagine we will be adding the figures and beginning to sing Christmas carols. Every year I feel a measure of guilt that I do not have a formal Christmas series prepared. But I genuinely do not think we need one. God in His providence has placed us exactly where we need to be at Christmas. We are going to talk about the cross. We are going to talk about the gospel. We need to understand that this message is for sinners — sinners like you and like me. Next week we will begin a closer examination of what Paul says next, as he calls us to be unified in mind and in agreement, to be the people God has called us to be together.