1. The request for unity
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
1 Corinthians 1:10 (ESV)
18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 1 Corinthians 11:18-19 (ESV)
2. The roadblocks to unity
11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:11-12 (ESV)
John Phillips:
Paul party: the educated man
Apollos party: the eloquent man
Peter party: was the eminent man.
The Christ-party: the emancipated man (me)
19 . . . household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, Ephesians 2:19-20 (ESV)
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
Ephesians 4:11 (ESV)
3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 1 Corinthians 3:3 (ESV)
The Root of Horizontal Factionalism = Vertical Fracture . . . Stephen Um
8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. Psalm 118:8 (ESV)
3. The restoration of unity
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? 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 may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 1 Corinthians 1:13-17 (ESV)
15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 2 Corinthians 5:15 (ESV)
Jesus prayed:
21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. John 17:21 (ESV)