1 Corinthians 1:13

Letters to the Faithful - 1 Corinthians 1:13

Berean Standard Bible

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?

King James Bible

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

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To the Church of the Living God, to the beloved of the Lord who are sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints in every nation, and to all who name the name of the Lord with sincerity and trembling joy—grace and peace be multiplied to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I write to you today as a fellow laborer in the vineyard of our God, compelled by the Spirit of truth and burdened by the unity of the Body of Christ, to speak concerning that which has grieved the heart of God from the earliest days of the Church until now. Our meditation is rooted in the powerful and penetrating words of 1 Corinthians 1:13, where the apostle Paul, under divine inspiration, poses a piercing question to the Corinthian believers: “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”

These are not rhetorical flourishes. These are thunderclaps meant to awaken a divided church. These are the words of a shepherd who, having planted the seed of the gospel and watered it with tears, now witnesses with sorrow the early signs of fragmentation. The Corinthian church, gifted and vibrant as it was, had allowed allegiance to men to obscure their allegiance to Christ. They had begun to exalt personalities over the person of the Savior, to take pride in human association more than in divine adoption, and to draw lines of identity not around the cross, but around their favorite voices.

Let us not deceive ourselves into thinking this is an ancient problem. The spirit of division is alive and well. It prowls even now, seeking to fracture the Body of Christ along lines of tradition, denomination, political identity, race, socioeconomic status, and spiritual gifting. It wears many disguises—sometimes theological precision, sometimes cultural distinction, sometimes historical loyalty—but its goal is always the same: to divide that which God has made one, to exalt man where only Christ should be exalted, and to render the Church weak where she was called to be glorious.

Paul’s question stands as an indictment and a call to repentance. Is Christ divided? The answer is obvious in heaven but too often denied on earth. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one Spirit, one body. Christ is not divided in essence, in mission, or in affection. He is not fragmented in His death nor dismembered in His resurrection. And yet when His people divide over secondary things, they obscure the unity that His blood purchased. When we elevate Paul or Apollos or Cephas—or in modern times, when we elevate popular pastors, movements, or ideologies—above the simple and central truth of Christ crucified, we betray the very heart of the gospel.

Beloved, let us be clear: there is nothing inherently wrong with honoring those whom God has used. Paul himself would later say, “Imitate me, as I imitate Christ.” The issue is not appreciation but elevation. When we allow loyalty to leaders to surpass loyalty to the Lord, when we boast in men more than in Christ, we have erred grievously. No man, no ministry, no movement died for us. Only Christ was crucified. No one else bears the wounds of our redemption. No one else can reconcile us to the Father. No one else is worthy to be the center of our identity or the foundation of our unity.

The implications of this truth are both theological and deeply practical. Theologically, we must return again and again to the centrality of the cross. Not as a symbol alone, but as the very center of our lives and communities. We were not saved by eloquence, nor by tribal affiliation, nor by impressive doctrine alone. We were saved by the Lamb of God, slaughtered for the sin of the world, raised in power, and seated in glory. This cross levels all pride, silences all boasting, and renders all factions irrelevant. If Christ is all in all, then no other name must be exalted among us.

Practically, we must work diligently to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This does not mean uniformity, nor does it mean compromise. The early church did not agree on every detail, but they were united in one Lord. We must learn to distinguish between core truths, which we must never relinquish, and disputable matters, which must not divide us. We must guard our hearts from sectarianism, from the subtle pride that rejoices more in our group's distinctives than in the global Body of Christ.

This begins in the heart. Each of us must ask: who or what defines my identity as a believer? Is my heart more stirred by the words of my favorite preacher than by the Word of God? Do I speak more readily of my denomination than I do of my Savior? Do I view fellow Christians primarily through the lens of their theological camp or through the lens of the blood of Christ? These are not abstract questions. They are the litmus test of whether we have truly grasped the meaning of the cross.

Leaders, take heed: do not build your identity on your platform, your following, or your doctrinal tribe. Build it on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Teach your people not to become disciples of you, but of Him. When we preach ourselves, we compete; but when we preach Christ, we unite. Let us use our influence not to gather people to ourselves, but to point them unrelentingly to the crucified and risen King.

And saints, be on guard against the subtle sin of boasting in man. Resist the temptation to idolize personalities, even those who have been a blessing to you. Receive their teaching, yes—but do not place them on pedestals they were never meant to occupy. Love the church, but worship only the Head. Be thankful for pastors, teachers, and leaders, but remember that we all stand equally at the foot of the cross.

In these last days, the Church must stand as one. The world is divided and fragmenting more each day. Its hope is not in a divided church echoing its own confusion, but in a united people proclaiming one Savior. The unity of the Body is not an optional extra—it is a testimony to the world of the truth and power of the gospel. May we be found as those who contend for that unity with all faithfulness.

Therefore, beloved, let us not say “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of this church or that movement,” but let us say, “I am of Christ.” Let this be our only boast, our only allegiance, our only glory. For Christ is not divided, and neither should we be.

To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

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O Lord our God, eternal and holy, full of mercy and truth, we come before You today with bowed hearts and searching spirits, crying out for the unity that only You can provide, longing for the fullness of Christ to be made manifest in Your Church. You are the One who has called us out of darkness into marvelous light. You are the One who has made us one Body by the blood of Your Son. And yet, Lord, as we consider the piercing question found in 1 Corinthians 1:13—“Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”—we must acknowledge with holy fear that the spirit of division remains a threat among us, and that our hearts are not always aligned with Your perfect will.

O Lord, You are not the author of confusion, nor the God of factions. You did not send Your Son to establish sects, nor did You raise Him from the dead to sanctify divisions. Christ is not divided. He is One—eternally and gloriously indivisible. His gospel is not fractured; His blood was not shed in fragments. He was crucified once for all, for Jew and Gentile, for slave and free, for the learned and the lowly, for the weak and the strong. He is the Head of the Body, the Church, and in Him all things hold together. And yet, we confess, Lord, that we have not always walked in the unity purchased at so great a price.

Forgive us, Father, for every time we have allowed our pride to sever fellowship. Forgive us for the moments when we have exalted teachers above the truth, when we have followed personalities more closely than we followed Your Spirit. We have said, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” not with our mouths only, but with the deep loyalties of our hearts. We have made banners of our preferences and built walls around our convictions, failing to see that the One who was crucified for us does not share His throne with any other.

Cleanse us, O God, from every factional spirit. Deliver us from the need to be right more than the desire to be holy. Wash us from the pride that prefers to be separated rather than to be humbled. Tear down the altars we have built to human wisdom, to tradition, to denominational heritage, or to cultural distinctions. These things may have served us for a time, but they must never become idols in Your temple. You alone are worthy of all our allegiance. You alone are the cornerstone. You alone are the Savior of the world.

Lord Jesus, You were not crucified for a tribe, a party, or a sect. You were crucified to redeem a people for Yourself from every nation, tribe, and tongue. Let us never forget that we were baptized not into the name of a preacher, nor into a theological system, but into the death and resurrection of the Son of God. Let our baptismal confession be renewed in our daily walk—that we belong to You, body and soul, in life and in death. Let our allegiance be marked not by division, but by devotion to You.

We pray, Lord, for the global Church—fractured in so many visible ways, and yet spiritually one in You. Bring us into visible unity that reflects the invisible reality of our oneness in Christ. Heal the rifts between denominations. Reconcile the divisions between races and nations. Mend the schisms caused by politics, preferences, and pride. Let there be in us one heart and one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. Teach us to contend without quarreling, to disagree without dishonoring, and to hold fast to truth without letting go of love.

Raise up peacemakers in the Body—those who weep over division and labor for reconciliation. Anoint leaders who speak not to promote their own platforms, but to exalt the name of Jesus. Teach Your people to recognize the difference between true gospel distinctives and needless human divisions. Make us wise, Lord, not in the way of the world, but in the wisdom that comes from above—peaceable, gentle, full of mercy and good fruit.

We pray also, Lord, for our local assemblies. Let the spirit of unity dwell richly in our homes, in our congregations, and in our gatherings. Remove the root of bitterness, jealousy, and ambition. Let elders shepherd with humility. Let members serve with joy. Let the strong bear with the weak. Let the gifted not boast, and let the unseen not despair. Let every part of the Body do its work in harmony with the Head, who is Christ.

Lord, we cry out for the day when the world will see the Church not as divided and splintered, but as radiant and united in love. May our unity be our witness. May our harmony be our testimony. May our oneness reflect the glory of the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let the nations say, “Behold how they love one another,” and let them be drawn not to us, but to You, the one true God and Savior of all.

And so, Father, we yield ourselves again to the unifying work of the cross. Let it crush every idol. Let it level every dividing wall. Let it silence every boast, except in the Lord. We are Yours, Lord—not Paul's, not Apollos’s, not Cephas’s. We are blood-bought, Spirit-filled, and eternally secured in Christ Jesus. Let that truth humble us. Let that truth heal us. Let that truth shape us until we truly become one as You are one.

We pray this in the matchless name of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, to whom belong all glory, honor, and power, now and forevermore. Amen.