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"Is Christ Divided?" 1 Corinthians 1:13
From week to week, I have been discussing the great questions of the gospel age. Today we
have another great question which is so timely and appropriate in our day of religious strife and
division. It seems that contentions abounded in Corinth. One group wore Paul's name, another
Apollos' name, and another Cephas' name while one group was content to wear the came of
Christ. The Paulites, Apollosites, Cephasites, and Christians seemed to make up the Corinthians
fellowship. Did the apostle Paul approve of these divisions?
No, he raised the questions of our text: "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye
baptized in the name of Paul?" The apostle goes so far as to say, "I thank God that I baptized
none of you, but Crispus, and Gaius; lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name"
(1 Cor. 1:13-15). The questions, "Is Christ divided?" is a rhetorical question-a question which
received an emphatic and an unequivocal "No!"
To these divided Corinthians, Paul said: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that
ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Cor. 1:10).
Division Is a Sin
What would you think would be the most frequently condemned and denounced sin in the Bible?
No doubt some would say "Adultery," or "Drunkenness," or "Idolatry," or "Hypocrisy," or
"Covetousness." No, the sin of division is the most frequently denounced and the most severely
condemned sin in the New Testament. The sin of division has undoubtedly been responsible for
more heartaches, more tears, and more broken spirits in religious bodies than anything else.
Division is carnal. The apostle Paul referred to the division at Corinth, and said, "Ye are yet
carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, and are ye not carnal,
and walk as men?" (1 Cor. 3:3). He also said, "To be carnally minded is death" (Rom. 8:6).
Division is a sin. Denominationalism is a curse. Yet it is one of the respectable sins. Many glory
and revel in denominationalism although it is inimical to the spirit and letter of the Christian
religion. Many possess a greater love for their denominations than for the Word of God.
Today there are those who are so ignorant of the teachings of the Scriptures and the spirit of
Christ that they will actually stand up and thank God that there are so many denominations so
that each person can find one of his choice.
There was time when one could simply state, "I'm a Christian," and that was sufficient, but in our
time when someone states that, he is immediately asked, "What kind of Christian?" It was
sufficient one time to claim membership in the church of Christ, or the church, but in our time, we
are asked, "Which church?" Or, many times what is worse, "Which branch of the church?"
Warnings Against Division
The Bible is full of warnings against the sin of division. Jesus said: "Every kingdom divided
against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not
stand" (Mt. 12:25).
McGuffey's Reader once depicted an old father who demonstrated to his seven sons the
importance of unity. He handed each son a stick and asked him to break it. Each son broke the
stick with ease. Then the father bound seven sticks, just like the ones they broke, with a strong
cord and handed the bundle to each son, beginning with the eldest and asked him to break it.
They all struggled manfully and tried to do so, but failed to break the bundle. This is a wonderful
lesson on unity.
There are enough Christians in the country today to make a tremendous impact upon the
non-Christian world, but in our divided, denominational condition, the Christian community is
weak and impotent.