Is Christ Divided 1 Corinthians 1:13

Paul the apostle shared how the people within the church in Corinth were in “contention” because they had their “favorite” teachers which made them feel superior to others who did not have the same teacher. In chapter one and verse thirteen of First Corinthians, Paul asked the Corinthian church, “is Christ divided” where we read:

Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

The verse begins, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?” Paul began with the words, “Is Christ divided” which is the Greek phrase “merizō Christos merizō” and means “is the anointed One, the Messiah and Son of God separated into parts, cut into pieces and split into factions”? “Was Paul” which in Greek is “stauroō Paulos stauroō” and means “was Paul the apostle whose name means small or little” “crucified” or “driven down and fortified with stakes, to palisade and utterly destroy” “for you” which refers to the church members. Paul questioned whether he himself was “crucified” for the Corinthians.

The verse continues, “or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”. Paul added the words, “or were you” which refers to “the church members of Corinth” “baptized” which means “to dip repeatedly, immerse or submerge to wash, bathe and make clean with water” “in the name” or “within everything which the name covers including the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing and remembering” “of Paul” which refers to “small or little” and was “the most famous of the apostles and wrote a good part of the New Testament some fourteen Pauline epistles.” Paul questioned whether any of the church members in Corinth had been “baptized” by him personally.

When we meditate upon these words from Paul, we begin to see Paul's handling the “divisive” measures employed by the Corinthian church. He began with himself, and he questioned as to who among them thought he was “crucified” for them. The obvious answer is no one. He then questioned them concerning “baptism” and whether he was responsible for that part of their faith. The answer at this point was none. He will however mention a couple names in the next verse. Jesus Christ is the only one who is worthy of worship and honor, and even Paul himself was not to be exalted. Let us remember, Jesus is the one we should worship, and every “man” or “teacher” has not been “crucified” for our sins like Jesus was. To have any other teacher elevated to a position that soley belongs to Jesus Christ causes “division” not only in the church, but also within the individual themselves.

Next time Paul declares, “I thank God that I baptized none of you”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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