The Grands Letter (1 Cor/GLJ)
Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D. on March 9, 2022 5:28 am (CST)Dear Grands,
1 Corinthians 1:10-17, “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you.
12 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.”
13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my name.
16 Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other.
17 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.”
Were you ever a part of a group whose members weren’t friendly with each other? If so, you understand how difficult it is to bring opposing sides together. That’s exactly what Paul was experiencing with the church at Corinth.
Thinking that they might all argue with him that he didn’t have his facts straight, Paul cited “Chloe’s people” as his source of information. “Chloe’s people” always had the correct information on difficult situations.
This church was divided four ways: those who said they followed Paul, those who said they followed Apollos, others who said they followed Cephas (Peter), and those who said they followed Christ. Paul argued that Christ was not divided. If any of them truly followed Christ, they would not have been at odds with all the others. The LORD’s people must not be divided!
It would seem that Paul had to do some quick and careful thinking about whom he himself had baptized, because baptism was not what Christ called him to do! He was sent by the LORD Jesus to preach the gospel, and not even with “cleverness of speech.” He had been called to share Christ Jesus with others.
If you have trusted Jesus as your LORD and Savior, it is His will that you then share your Savior with others. Are you doing that? If you’ve yet to trust Him, He urges you to trust Him quickly. The only division the LORD wants is our separation from the devil and all of his nefarious ways.
Heartily in Christ Jesus,
(Dado III)
Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America
“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom