1 Corinthians 1 (cont'd)

1:10 Now I exhort you, brethren, 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.

- "agree" means to speak the same words
- "made complete" can be translated "fitted together." This is a term used in building. The building stones were carved in a way that there were no spaces between them, they fit together perfectly (there wasn't any mortar).

1:11-16 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I am of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ." Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that I do know know whether I baptized any other.

- "I am of" is the same "Eimi" with the genative that Paul used earlier when he called us the "Church of God." These people thought that they were bigshots in speech and knowledge (v.5) and they took on the names of people whom they viewed as important to puff themselves up. Some people do this today saying "I am of MacArthur," etc. The point here is that there were divisions being caused in the body based on people's pride. Paul is trying to put a stop to this because these are the types of things that distract us from the master's orders.

1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.

- Paul is introducing the point that he is about to make (we Baptists would call it the next "section" ). He is saying that he is not here to baptize people and make them HIS followers, he is here to spread the Gospel. He doesn't even do it in cleverness (which is the boastful speech and knowledge that the Corinthians loved) because man's wisdom would make the message of the cross void.