Silly, Petty Divisions in Church

November 3rd, 2026
by Lance Waldie

1 Corinthians 3:3-5 …for you are still fleshly. 4 For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men? 5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.

After scolding the Corinthians about being infants in Christ and failing to mature as Christians in 3:1-2, Paul gives them an example of what he means in v. 3. He claims that since there is “jealousy and strife” among the Corinthians, this proves that they are “fleshly” (sarkikos) —carnal, not spiritual (pneumatikos), acting “like mere men.” Having affirmed they they were Christians (1:4-9), Paul now condemns their current state of carnality—of immaturity.

Although Christians are not supposed to look like the psuchikos—the unbelievers of 2:14, at times they do, sadly. This is seen in the “jealousy and strife” some choose to engage (cf. Gal. 5:19). Though the term “jealousy” (zēlos) can refer to righteous zeal, in this context it concerns inner resentment and envy. The vileness of jealousy almost always lead to outward “strife” (eris)—bitter conflict. Essentially, the Corinthians were doing what many people in the modern church do—divide, spread gossip, create dissention, and hold grudges. All of these are behaviors exhibited by worldly, fleshly people devoid of Christ. But since these Corinthians did know Christ, their behavior was reprehensible. As such, Paul was “unable” to speak to them as spiritual people (3:1), for they were acting like worldly, godless people unable to distinguish between right and wrong. Paul accuses them of “walking” (peripateō) like mere men, a term he uses to refer to a way of life—living “like mere men,” like the psuchikos, unbelievers devoid of the Spirit. So, since their conduct was unbecoming of Christians, Paul rebuked them harshly.

In v. 4 Paul again picks up the problem he addressed in 1:12-17—the issue of divisions within the Corinthian church. Some were faithful to Paul, the man; their first pastor. Yet others were partial to the second pastor in Corinth, Apollos (Acts 18:24-28). When people do this, then and now, they reveal themselves as “mere men,” not spiritual. After all, Paul and Apollos were on the same team, playing for the same Christ! How could they be divided?

In v. 5, Paul minimizes his own importance and that of Apollos. A paraphrase translation of his question might sound something like, “Since Apollos and I are nothing but servants through whom you believed, we are not worth dividing over; we’re on the same team!” He elaborates on their role in the lives of the Corinthians by reminding them that they were simply “servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.” The term for “servant” (diakonos) refers to a lowly table waiter; no one of importance. God thus only used Paul and Apollos as servants to convey the gospel to the Corinthians. The messengers are nothing more than those who serve. To divide over them as men was to miss everything!

Food For Thought
Sadly, divisions are still common in churches. Christians are not perfect, and as a result, we still divide. But it ought not be! We must never use our humanity to excuse our sins. Instead, let us confess and repent of our sins. The message of the cross must never be overshadowed by petty problems and issues between two or more people for whom Christ died. We get jealous of one another, gossip, argue, etc. It seems there is always a fight somewhere in some local church. Some churches cannot endure it, and they split, reminding us of our immaturity. Trivial disagreements ought to bring us to our knees for forgiveness and spur us on to more mature behavior, even enduring difficult people for the sake of unity. Our divisions are detrimental to all, especially the gospel of Jesus Christ which is supposed to unite us, not divide.