What is the meaning of 1 Corinthians 1:13? Is Christ divided? “Is Christ divided?” (1 Corinthians 1:13a) • Paul opens with a jolting image: one Lord, impossibly torn into pieces. Because Jesus is literally one Person and the head of one body (Colossians 1:18), any fracture among believers contradicts His very nature. • Jesus Himself prayed “that they may all be one” (John 17:21). Unity is therefore not optional; it flows from the Lord’s own heart. • The Spirit makes that unity real—“one body and one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:3-6). • When rivalry surfaces, it signals carnality (1 Corinthians 3:3). Paul wants the Corinthians to see that party-spirit for what it is: an assault on the integrity of Christ’s body. Takeaway: We cannot claim loyalty to Jesus while nurturing factions. If Christ is not divided, His church must not be either. Was Paul crucified for you? “Was Paul crucified for you?” (1 Corinthians 1:13b) • The cross is the centerpiece of the gospel—Christ “bore our sins in His body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24) and “became a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). • No apostle, pastor, or teacher could ever take that place. Even Paul, with all his authority, insists he is only a servant (Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 3:5). • Elevating any leader to a savior-like status is spiritual folly and robs Christ of exclusive glory. “There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Takeaway: Our allegiance is fixed on the One who literally died and rose for us. Every Christian leader stands on level ground at the foot of that cross. Were you baptized into the name of Paul? “Were you baptized into the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:13c) • Baptism publicly declares union with Jesus—“all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death” (Romans 6:3-4). • The command is clear: “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). • To be baptized “into the name” means to come under the authority and ownership of that person. Paul wants the Corinthians to remember whose name is on them: Christ’s, not Paul’s or any other leader’s. • Through that one baptism we “were all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13), reinforcing again the unity already purchased by Jesus. Takeaway: Our identity, authority, and future are wrapped up in Christ’s name alone. Baptism points us away from human personalities and straight to Him. summary Paul’s three rapid-fire questions expose the absurdity of party loyalties in Corinth. Christ is one, Christ alone was crucified, and Christ’s name alone seals believers in baptism. Therefore, every division based on human leaders must dissolve in the light of who Jesus is and what He has done. Unity is not a preference—it is the practical outworking of the gospel in a church that belongs wholly to its undivided, crucified, and risen Lord. |
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