Unity in Christ, Not Division

October 12th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

1 Corinthians 1:10-11 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. 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you.

I “exhort” (parakaleo) you in v. 10 is Paul “calling” the Corinthians with an earnest appeal. Paul is the “called” (klatos) apostle (v. 1), writing to the “called out” (ekklesia) ones of Corinth who, having been summoned by God to believe, are saints by “calling” (klatos) those who “call” (epikaleō) on the name of Christ (v. 2) for salvation. As are all believers in Christ, these Corinthians were “called” (kaleō) into fellowship by God (v. 9) for fellowship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. Having acknowledged their genuine faith in Christ in vv. 4-9, Paul now “exhorts” (parakaleo) them, specifically “calling” attention to their sinful attitudes.

Paul’s exhortation is “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” in v. 10. This means that Paul is not venting his own frustration or giving brotherly advice; he is literally speaking for Jesus, exhorting exactly as Jesus would exhort His people. Paul, being in Ephesus while writing, had received a report informing him of “divisions” within the Corinthian church. This information had come from “Chloe’s” household—a group within in the Corinthian church. Apparently, Chloe’s household was a reliable source to Paul and a respectable group within the Corithian church. If they had taken the time to write Paul a letter, they had likely already addressed the issues within the church. But now, having had no success at bringing unity, they wrote to their founding pastor, the Apostle Paul who will himself call the church to unify.

In v. 10, Paul makes it clear that church members are to “agree,” not divide; to “speak the same thing.” This of course had only to do with matters of doctrine, for nowhere in Scripture are people to think alike in all matters. That would be a dangerous, brainwashing cult. They were to thus be joined together in the same mind and have the same viewpoints theologically, certainly with respect to the gospel of Christ. Problem was, the Corinthians were not saying the same things but were filled with disagreements about Christ, having “divisions” (schisma) that were splitting them into separate camps. Yet Paul, speaking for Christ, says divisions are not to exist within the church. Again, this is not an appeal to uniformity, but disagreement on the fundamental nature of the gospel is a division that cannot be permitted in Christ’s Church. Ever.

Instead of divisions, Paul writes, “You are to be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment” (v. 10). To “be” is a present active verb in the Greek text, specifically to be “made complete” (katartizō)—ready, suitable, or equipped in advance for a particular purpose or for some use or event. To “be” is the driving verb which entails ongoing action. To be “made complete” is the participial verb that modifies “be,” and it is a past tense verb with ongoing effects. Christians are “made complete” by God through faith in Jesus Christ, and are thus to “be” constantly in ready-mode to exhibit the fruit of knowing and loving Jesus Christ. One way to not “be” such is to be divided with one’s fellow Christians regarding the gospel.

Food For Thought
We as Christians must agree on is the fundamental nature of the gospel of Jesus Christ. How can we do that? Answer: through an equally important fundamental belief which is to agree that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. If we accept as a church that what God has revealed is His truth, there can be nothing for which to disagree. In Corinth they had no New Testament, but they had an apostle who spoke for Christ. They thus needed to listen to Paul who spoke for Christ. Today, we just need to listen to Christ through Scripture. Only then can we be unified.