No Divisions Among You

We are back in the first chapter of Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthian church beginning with verse 10.

I Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

That you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you. Paul is speaking of the oneness of spirit we should have. We should all have the mind of Christ. Any divisions must be eliminated. If the Christians in the Corinthian church were one with no divisions, he would not be speaking this to them.

Speak the same thing and eliminate the divisions! There is only one way to eliminate divisions and that is to pull out of self and draw oneself into the Lord, to take on His mind, and that is the only way you will ever speak the same thing.

Paul is not saying we always have to agree on everything, but we speak the same thing in Spirit. How do we do that? How do we speak the same thing? We speak the same thing by letting Christ speak through us. Our words must carry the presence of Christ. If Christ is in us, He is in the words we speak and regardless of what we are saying we are speaking the same thing; we are speaking Christ. If Christ is not in our speech, it ministers division even when it sounds the same. Christ is one Word. But we have thousands of types of churches in the world today and what makes them different is that they are not all speaking the same thing.

Paul is trying to get across to us that a house divided cannot stand. Divisions can destroy. In the natural world, there are all kinds of divisions. Within human nature there are all kinds of divisions, so simply put this means pulling out of self, emptying out the selfishness and self-centeredness and one’s own way of thinking and learn the mind of Christ and allow Him to speak through you. Be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. That’s not the same human mind but the mind of Christ.

I Corinthians 1:11 For it has been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

It is amazing that we sometimes forget to whom the Scriptures are written. The Scriptures are written for Christians. They are what God has to say to His people and to His church. When Jesus, or one of the apostles, says we are not to lie anymore, that means you have been lying and you need to stop! It says, "Be of one mind." It is because we have been divided. Paul says, “I’ve heard about it. There are contentions among you and the divisions have to go.”

I Corinthians 1:12-13 Now this I say, that every one of you says, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided?...

Even way back then there were some who said, “Well, I’m following Paul in what he says.” Others said, “I’m following Apollos,” or “I’m following Peter,” and others, “I’m super-spiritual; I’m following Christ.” Christ is not divided; Christ is one. That there be no divisions among you. Christ is not divided yet every church will say, “We are of Christ. We are the Body of Christ.” Christ is not divided – plain and simple. Is Christ divided? Now the answer is not “Yes!" The answer is "No!" Christ is not divided! Every one of you says, “I’m of Paul, I’m of Apollos, I follow Peter or Cephas, I’m following Christ.” Is Christ divided?

I Corinthians 1:13-14 …Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius.

Now I don’t know what people are going to do with this, those who are dogmatic about dunking a person in water or sprinkling the head or however they do their water baptism, but the Scriptures talk about many baptisms. I thank God that I baptized none of you. Paul didn’t seem to have a hang-up on it.

I Corinthians 1:15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.

In other words, some of them are saying, “I was baptized by Paul,” or “I was baptized by Apollos,” or “I was baptized by Cephas.” “Oh, I was baptized by Christ.” Some churches today won't honor baptism by another church.

I Corinthians 1:15-17 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel: Not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

When Paul says that he was sent to preach the Gospel but not with the wisdom of words, he is speaking of man’s wisdom, with man’s intellect. Too many of today's churches are ministering man’s opinions. The wisdom of man always speaks a divided word and it always creates division in the hearers.

But to preach the Gospel: Not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. This is not talking about the cross on which Jesus died. Man's wisdom cannot minister the two-edged sword Word of the Kingdom that brings death to the self-life. It cannot minister the word of the cross on which our flesh life must die.

I Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

There are so many today who are unaware that the ministry of the cross or the preaching of the cross is not one-sided. It is not just a matter that Jesus was crucified for us, but we also must be crucified. He is the example of what we must do and that is to be crucified. We are talking about the self-life, the things that cause the divisions within the church-world. Where the cross has had an effect, where the churches that have heard the word of the cross, you find that the divisions are eliminated or are being eliminated because the word of the cross eliminates divisions. That is how you are able to come to the place where you speak the same thing and there are no divisions. The work of the cross eliminates divisions. Amen.