“Agree with One Another” – 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

In His great priestly prayer found in John 17, Jesus asked the Father to bring unity to those who would follow Him (cf. John 17:20-23). In the prayer, Jesus asked for “complete unity” as a witness to the world that Jesus was sent into the world to bring salvation.

Since that time, it seems that Christians have been at each other more than being united. Early in Church history, the Orthodox churches of eastern Europe broke from the Catholic Church centered in Rome. Then came the Protestant movement, followed by the Reformation and on to the present.

Today, in a typical Texas city, we find church that identify as Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Church of Christ, Catholic, Lutheran and so on, almost as many types of churches as there are people in the state.

Does this mean that Jesus’ prayer was unanswered, or that the Father told the Son, “No”? If not, then what does Jesus mean when He called for us to be united, and how can a church be made up of people who don’t always see eye-to-eye?

Part of the way we can understand what Jesus meant by unity is found in part in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Today’s passage speaks to need for unity of mind and purpose.

Background

When God led Paul to the city of Corinth, the apostle felt like he was on a losing streak. God had used him to begin churches in Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea, but the fruits had been meager and the opposition had been fierce. The apostle found himself in Greece, where he attempted the share the gospel of Jesus’ resurrection to the crowd of philosophers and learners at Mars Hill, to decidedly less than stellar results.

Paul arrived in Corinth after leaving Athens. Usually, the apostle had travelling companions, but he had dispatched them to various other churches to check up on them and give them needed support and encouragement. So, Paul found himself alone in Corinth. He had little funds and was alone in a major city of southern Greece. He found two people, Priscilla and Aquila. They were tent makers like himself, so Paul began working with them to support himself and to continue to seek to share God’s grace with the new city.

Corinth was an Athens wanna-be. Athens was known for its glamor and its brilliance. It was the kind of city that gave the other cities of Greece inferiority complexes. Corinth was primarily a commercial center, an important city for transporting good through the eastern Roman Empire. They had money, but they had a reputation as a less than worthy city. In response, the people of Corinth strove to become learned like the Athenians, prizing education, debate and oration as things to be gained.

As Paul ministered there, he was eventually joined by some of his party with good news about the churches that had been started a few months before. The churches were thriving, staying true to their calling and their faith, and the churches were starting to make an impact.

The apostle and his friends stayed in Corinth and ministered there for a length of time. Yet it was a church that was determined to vex Paul. The Bible gives us evidence that Paul wrote four letters to the Corinthians, though only two remain in existence. The first letter was written to correct some mistakes in doctrine the Corinthians were letting into the church. Aparently, though, the letter was somewhat confusing to the church there so Paul wrote his second letter, the one we know as 1 Corinthians. This letter was written in response to a delegation sent to the apostle from the church with a letter of questions.

Still there was trouble and the apostle made a visit to the church to address some of the concerns. He even wrote a third letter, one referred to in 2 Corinthians as the “harsh letter” (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:1-4). That letter is also lost, but after his visit, Paul wrote a fourth letter, the one we know as 2 Corinthians. This letter was written to encourage the church and to defend his calling as an apostle.

In today’s passage, Paul is speaking to the first issue the Corinthian church was dealing with. The rise of factions within the church was threatening to destroy the church and Paul wanted to remind them of who they follow and why.

Central Truth: God’s desire is to make us of one mind.

Unity in God means:

1. Being united in mind and thought (10)

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there will be no divisions among you and that you will be perfectly united in mind and thought.

It’s interesting to see how Paul addressed issues of conflict. In Galatians, Paul cut to the chase in addressing the Galatians’ danger of following a different gospel (cf. Galatians 1:6-10). We also have a record in Galatians of Paul confronting Peter for perceived wrongs in Antioch (cf. Galatians 2:11-14). In both of those cases, Paul was quick to confront and address the issue. He didn’t use flowery language in either case.

Here, however, the apostle is dealing with a different church and a different matter, so he begins with by appealing to their good side. Before he states the matter of concern, he referred to the Corinthians as “brothers” and appealing to them in the “name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” The reference to brothers is to remind them that they are all a part of the family of God, that they were born into this spiritual family by God’s grace and design. As family, they have things in common and an unstated need to stand together.

Appealing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul reminded the Corinthians that the head of the church is Jesus Christ, and He is the head of the body which is the church. Both the reference to family and to one body laid the groundwork for Paul’s appeal.

Paul encouraged the church to become united in mind and thought. He was stating what Jesus was asking the Father for in the garden the night of His betrayal. The unity that Jesus prayed for was that we would have a common belief and a common purpose. Our belief is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, sent by the Father to redeem a lost world through His sacrifice at Calvary. We believe that this same Jesus who died on the cross was raised again and now lives, giving us the promise of eternal life with Him, allowing us to know the Father and the Son.

Our purpose is to live out this belief with all our heart and life, and to share the good news of salvation with the world around us. Our purpose is to live our lives in such a way that others will see Jesus in us and be drawn to Him as they see how we are blessed and able to live in a world of conflict and anger at Jesus.

God wants us to be united in knowing what we believe and why we believe it. He wants us to be united in the aim of living a life of surrender and trust to the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit that lives in each of us.

2. We look past that which can divide us (11-12)

My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 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.”

Think of times when people from different places come together for a common purpose. Whether it is joining the military or leaving home to go to college or to start a job, we join others with the idea of doing something similar to everyone else we join in the endeavor. As we progress in the task—whether it’s getting an education, earning a paycheck, serving our country—we begin to find commonalities between ourselves and those with us. We may have different tastes in music, food, sports, even politics, but we find that we are each committed to the same thing: being successful in what we are doing. Sometimes, these ties are strengthened over time, and those we once thought of as classmates or coworkers or fellow soldiers become instead our lifelong friends, our brothers and sisters in arms.

The problem Paul first addressed in Corinth was that of misplaced allegiances. These misplaced loyalties were going so far as to create quarrels and internal arguments within the church.

What the church members of Corinth were doing were identifying with a particular church leader over others. Some found their allegiance to Apollos, an eloquent orator and intelligent man. Some claimed they owed their loyalty to Cephas, the Aramaic name for Peter. Still others identified themselves with Paul, while others claimed loyalty to Jesus.

Remember that Corinth was a pagan city and that it was not uncommon for someone to be brought into once of the religions of the area as identifying the person who initiated them as their spiritual leader. This apparently what was happening here. Groups within the church were picking sides, each preferring one leader to the exclusions of the others.

We are not aware of what appealed to them from each of the church leaders. Perhaps those who followed Apollos preferred logic and reasoning over everything else, while those who followed Peter were more in line with Jewish traditions within the context of following Christ. Those who preferred Paul may have liked his emphasis on liberty and grace, while those who claimed to follow Christ probably saw themselves as rising above the clamor and the world. Regardless, the problem was causing each group to thinking themselves superior to the others, and the true followers and leading them to look down on the others.

We need to remember, though, that we can remain united in our mind and our thoughts even if we have different preferences. We can still work together as a team and in the body of Christ regardless of whether we prefer country, rock and roll, jazz or gospel. We can work together and be united even if we prefer vegetables or barbecue. The things that make us different can strengthen us if we will only remember that we follow one Christ and are led by the same Holy Spirit. This is the unity that Jesus prayed for: not that we all become the same, but that we stay focused on what really matters.

3. We look to Christ, not human wisdom (13-17)

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 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.

Imagine bringing ten golfers together to play one hole of golf. Each of the players will get to see how they do on the hole, and they will play at the same time. As each golfer sets his or her ball on the tee, each of them will have one goal in mind: To get the ball in the hole in the fewest amount of strokes as possible. The goal is the hole at the end of the leg. As long as the golfer focuses on the flag sticking up out of the golf hole, they will more than likely hit their ball true and steady.

The problems and the attractions of our world are calling to our attention each moment, and it is easy to become distracted in our world. But as Paul wrote in these verses, we need to keep our focus on Christ.

Paul was not saying that baptism is unimportant. What he is saying is that baptism is a result of our faith in Christ. We are saved, and then we are baptized. It doesn’t matter who baptized us; what matters is Who saved us, and the One who saves, the only One who saves, is Jesus Christ.

Paul concluded his appeal to unity by reminding the Corinthians that his main purpose and calling was to preach Christ. He doesn’t rely on clever words or eloquence or compelling arguments. No, the apostle relies on the power of the cross and the power of the Spirit to lead him in his task.

Being focused on the message of Jesus and His redemption will keep us united in Him.

Conclusion

A large part of walking with Christ and with walking with each other in His leadership is the attitude we bring to Him. We can focus on the things that are going wrong, or we can focus on the One who makes things all right. Trusting Jesus leads us to be united in mind and purpose.

When we look at our church, do we see the people with all the things that make us different, or do we see people united in the service of the Lord?