IMPORTANCE OF AGREEMENT AND UNITY
10 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, 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 brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am with Paul,” or “I am with Apollos,” or “I am with Cephas,” or “I am with 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 am thankful that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my name! 16 But I did baptize the household of Stephanas also; beyond that, I do not know if I baptized anyone else. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made of no effect. – 1 Corinthians 1:10-17
________________________________________
In this letter, Paul writes to the Corinthian churches the importance of agreement and unity in the body of Christ. Paul rebukes the believers in Corinth because of a report made known to him regarding the quarrels among them. Like a father to his spiritual children, Paul disciplines them and tells them that in the body of Christ, division isn’t tolerated. In verse 10, he says that agreement makes them whole and complete.
He addresses and confronts the trivialities amongst them regarding their individual claims that they are either with Apollos, Cephas, Paul or with Christ. We humans can all be very shallow in our thinking. We like to speak of our preferences rather than our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. These concerns of Paul in the church in Corinth is not far away from our own struggles in our churches. When we like a pastor or a preacher, it is so easy to be derailed with how we like them instead of deepening our desire to know Christ and praise him. Our fallen nature caters more to our preferences instead of examining our hearts and making sure we are living for Christ rather than to our flesh. Paul clarifies the confusion brought about by these quarrels in verse 17. He brings up the importance of preaching the cross of Christ rather than talking about who baptized them and who have led them to Christ. Agreement among God’s people is essential because that is what Christ taught. How can we bring light into this corrupt world if the family of believers are actually divided and cannot agree at all?
________________________________________
REFLECTION
• Why is agreement important in any relationship? What causes division?