Unity in Faith: Lessons from 1 Corinthians 1

1 Corinthians 1:10 “ I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.”

In today’s post we continue our study of 1 Corinthians examining the remainder of chapter 1. The full passage of scripture being discussed can read in its entirety here.

A Church divided over Leaders

Paul addresses the divisions that he heard were happening in the church. Through his words, we get an idea of what was causing such divisions. 1 Cor 1:12 “One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Notice that there were no profound doctrinal/theological differences, instead we see the people having personal preferences over leaders. Disagreements in preferences are bound to arise within a church. However, when disagreements lead one to think one is better or correct over another, it heads to dissention and opposing one another. Pride was the ultimate cause of quarreling and divisions in Corinth. Each group thought its leader was superior, their teaching more profound and their members better. Paul shatters this notion by reminding them that it was only because of Christ they were saved. Neither Paul, nor Apollos or anyone else was crucified for them.

John 17:20-21 describes Jesus’s prayer for all believers, His words reflect a desire for unity among believers  “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.“

Being united does not imply uniformity. Every single person within a church are not going to agree on everything. Focus on the essentials of faith such as – one God, Triune God, Jesus came as man to take on our sins, he died for us, was resurrected, through Him we are redeemed, and He is coming again, the rest are not worth quarreling over. Augustine said – In the essentials of faith, unity; in the non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity.

Self-Reflection – I share a quote I heard, “The more spiritual you become the less denominational you are.” When we focus all our energy on non-essential disparities, we end up turning our backs on what truly matters – doing kingdom work. There is a spiritual war going on, may we not get so caught up in the trivials, such that the enemy relishes that our fight is more within than towards the kingdom of darkness.

Wisdom of the Cross

Paul then introduces the idea of wisdom from God 1 Cor 1:18 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Logically, to the human mind, Jesus died a shameful death on the cross. Crucifixion was a demeaning form of execution for the rabble of society. The idea that someone who died on a cross could be an exceptional, noble, or important person was absurd. It was unthinkable that someone crucified like that would be the world’s Saviour. But when you bring the message of the cross together with faith, something radical happens within the person. And so, Paul writes that human wisdom cannot comprehend the wisdom of the cross. God intended the message of the cross to be foolishness to the world. Verse 21 says “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.”

Spiritual things seem foolishness to the natural man. But to the one who believes, Jesus is our wisdom, our righteousness, sanctification and our redemption. All glory rightly belongs to HIM and as Paul writes, “let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. Amen.

God Bless.