1 Cor 1:10-17 (NIV) I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? 14 I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel — not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
NOTE: Two things stand out to me. The first is the importance of unity in the body of Christ. Paul appeals to the brethen to agree with one another, and to be perfectly united in mind and thought. Jesus also prayed for unity of the spirit prior to his death. There is an expectation that believers should be able to come to a common agreement about issues that commonly divide any normal group. And so this should be a priority for the body of Christ.
The second thing is that the believers were dividing themselves among famous leaders, as if the leaders taught some different message, or that there is some status in having been trained by so-and-so. First, Paul argues to their commonality, Jesus and him crucified alone. Pride is a dangerous thing, especially in the church, and can be argued was the reason for Lucifer's fall. So, why are we allowing the body to fall in Satan's trap? The message is clear, unity should be the goal, and pride is the weapon Satan uses to divide people.
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