This is Sunday evening, August 5, 1973, in Richmond, Virginia. Ministry is being given through Brother Stephen Kong.
Will you please turn to 1 Corinthians, chapter 1?
I am reading from a new translation, so it may be a little different from yours, but the substance is the same.
Paul, a called apostle of Jesus Christ by God’s will, and Sosthenes the brother,
To the assembly of God which is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all that in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 10:
Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all say the same thing, and that there be not among you divisions; but that ye be perfectly united in the same mind and in the same opinion.
For it has been shown to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of the household of Chloe, that there are strifes among you.
But I speak of this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.”
Is the Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized unto the name of Paul?
Lord, we commit Thy Word into Thy hands. We look to Thee to bless it and to give it to us, that we may be satisfied with Thy will, with Thyself.
Oh, how we praise and thank Thee because Thou art very living, Thou art very real. And we know that Thou art here in our midst, as Thou hast promised.
Lord, we pray that Thou wilt manifest Thyself to us. We pray that Thou wilt remove every veil that may be upon our hearts. Oh, as we turn to the Lord, may we see Thy glory. May we be transformed from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
Of all the letters written by the Apostle Paul, there is none that is more diversified and practical than the first letter to the Corinthians.
It is so practical that it probably does not give us very pleasant reading. I think most people would rather read the letter to the Ephesians, because when you read Ephesians, you feel as if you were uplifted to the third heaven. You are living in the heavenlies; everything is underneath your feet. And that gives us such a glorious time.
But when you read 1 Corinthians, it reminds you that you are still on earth. You are not only still on earth, but you may need to be delivered from being fleshly—that is, from being carnal. And that is not very flattering.
But, dear brothers and sisters, even so, this first letter to the Corinthians is most needed and necessary for us. There are lessons that we need to learn before God, and unless we learn these lessons, we will not be able to get into the reality of the letter to the Ephesians.
We may theorize, philosophize, and spiritualize the letter to the Ephesians, but in reality we are not in it. We are not there. To enter into Ephesians, we have to come through Corinthians.
So I feel probably this time we would like to fellowship together a little bit on 1 Corinthians—probably only the first few chapters. Tonight, I would like to fellowship with you, dear brothers and sisters, just on one thing: Paul says, “Is the Christ divided?”
During Paul’s second so-called missionary trip, he spent a year and a half in the city of Corinth. That city was a center of wealth and culture, but it was also a very wicked city.
It became part of the Greek language to say, “To live like a Corinthian.” To live like a Corinthian meant to live an immoral, dissolute life.
As in many big cities, as in many cultural centers, you find the depths of corruption. The city of Corinth was highly sophisticated, and yet it was deeply immoral.
So thank God, when the gospel of Jesus Christ reached that city, even the chief of sinners were saved. The work of God was such that many were converted, both Jews and Gentiles. During the eighteen months that Paul was there, an assembly of God was raised up there as a light in that city.
Then Paul departed. On his third missionary trip, he came to Ephesus and stayed there for three years. But during his stay in Ephesus, he learned something of the conditions of the assembly in Corinth.
He learned this from various sources. So he wrote the first letter to the Corinthians from Ephesus. It was only a few years after he had left the city of Corinth, after he had left behind the assembly of God which was in Corinth, and yet he received information concerning that church.
First, he learned something of their situation through the household of Chloe. You know, the name Chloe actually is a woman’s name. So probably this lady had a big household, with many children and probably many slaves or servants. From the household of Chloe, Paul learned something of the conditions of the assembly in Corinth.
But that was not the only source of information. Three brothers from Corinth came to visit Ephesus, as you find in the sixteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians: Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus. From them, Paul learned something more about the situation of the church there.
Furthermore, the assembly in Corinth wrote Paul a letter. In that letter, they asked Paul about various problems. They had some problems, and they would like to seek some advice from him. Therefore, you find throughout the first letter to the Corinthians that Paul sometimes says, “Concerning this,” and “Concerning that.” That is to say, “You have written to me and asked for my opinion.”
So from these various sources Paul gathered something about the actual spiritual condition of the church in Corinth, and he was deeply burdened before God to write them a letter.
I wonder, brothers and sisters, when you read the first letter to the Corinthians, whether you wonder why it is that, when the church at Corinth wrote a letter to Paul asking his opinion or advice on various problems, the questions they asked were what we would say—according to Paul—minor questions. Well, that is not the right word: not the basic questions.
They asked about marriage. Now, marriage is an important question, that is true. They asked about virgins, about being unmarried. They asked about eating things sacrificed to idols. They asked Paul about gifts, spiritual gifts. Now, I would not say these are unimportant things; I think that would be wrong.
But among them there were more basic, essential, and important matters to be solved, and yet they asked nothing of these questions. There were divisions in their midst. There was immorality in their midst. Yet they did not ask Paul about these things. Instead, they asked Paul about other things.
Now, is that not human nature? These Corinthian believers were so proud of their intellect, so proud of their spirituality—or pseudo-spirituality—that they could overlook the basic questions, the basic problems, that existed in their midst, and yet seemed to want to rationalize, theorize, and argue about different things.
I do not say that the other things are not important, but I do say that there are more important things that need to be settled. Unless these basic and more important problems are solved, all these other questions, which are the superstructure, can never be solved in a real way.
Dear brothers and sisters, how often God’s people are so proud of their knowledge, of their spirituality, that they can really be blind to the basic problems that exist, and yet seem to be very anxious to know many things—lots of things.
That was the condition in the church in Corinth. To Paul, as he knew God, the most basic problems that existed in the assembly at Corinth were twofold. First, there was a spiritual problem: the division that was in their midst. To Paul, this was a tremendous problem. This was a problem at the root of the church.
Secondly, there was the moral question. There was immorality in their midst such as even the Gentiles did not have. They were worse than the heathen. And brothers went to court against brothers.
Yet the saints at Corinth did not seem to mind these two things. They did not even bother to ask Paul about them, as if they were minor and of no importance. So, instead of answering what they asked first, Paul began by writing on the things that were first upon his heart.
Paul said, “I have heard. I have received information from the household of Chloe that there were divisions in your midst.”
The saints at Corinth were still gathering together. They had not been scattered or physically divided yet. But among them there was a party spirit. Some said, “I am of Paul.” Some said, “I am of Apollos.” Some said, “I am of Cephas.” And some others, in another way, said, “I am of Christ.”
And to Paul, this was division. We may think that division is when God’s people are really separated physically, but to Paul, where there is party spirit and sectarian spirit in the church, there is already division.
Unless this is corrected, eventually the church in Corinth will be broken into at least four different denominations.
Why did Paul consider this so serious? We may say that they were still together. They had not yet been physically divided. Why did Paul become so exercised over this matter? Probably the saints in Corinth thought that they were so sophisticated that they were able to tolerate these things. They could be of Paul, of Apollos, of Cephas, or of Christ, and still be together. That was their spirituality, probably.
Now, why did Paul get so exercised about this whole matter? The reason is that this attacks the very nature of the church. Other things may concern the conduct of the church, or something in the church, but this matter of division, this matter of party spirit, touches the very nature of the church.
If this thing is not corrected, then the very nature of the church is corrupted.
What is the church? The ekklesia.
You know, today we use the word church. But actually, the English word church is not a correct translation of the Greek word ekklesia. I forget what the original word was that came to be translated into English as church. I only have a faint memory that it was another word, and that word meant something organized.
But the word in Scripture, ekklesia, which our Lord Jesus used and which is used in the Bible, means “called-out ones”: those who are called out of this world and gathered together unto the name of the Lord Jesus. It is not an organization; it is an organism.
I think ekklesia is in opposition to kosmos. The world is a kosmos. The world is so organized under the prince of this world that it becomes a highly organized thing—a cosmos, a system. Whether it is religious, political, economic, or whatever area it may be, you find that the world is highly organized under the control of the wicked one. It is a cosmos.
But God, by His grace through the salvation of our Lord Jesus, has delivered us out of this cosmos, out of this organized system that is hostile to God. God has delivered us out of all of it, and He has gathered us together unto Himself as an ekklesia.
We are called out of this world system, whether it is political, economic, educational, cultural, social, or even religious. He has delivered us out of this world and made us the ekklesia, the church, or the assembly.
Actually, the word ekklesia, if you really want to translate it into English, should be “assembly.” The called-out ones are assembled together. That is the meaning of the word church.
When Paul begins his letter, he says:
Paul, a called apostle of Jesus Christ by God’s will, and Sosthenes the brother,
To the assembly of God which is in Corinth.
Paul wrote this letter to the assembly of God which was in Corinth. I wonder if you notice: is the word church or assembly written with a capital letter or a small letter?
Do you find in the Bible that the word church or assembly is ever capitalized? If you put it in capital letters, it becomes a proper noun, does it not? If it is in small letters, it is a common noun.
The word church is a common noun. In other words, it is commonly shared by all believers. What is the church? The church is the called-out ones assembled together. Universally, it includes all those who belong to the Lord. It is in opposition to the cosmos. It is not a proper noun in itself; it is shared by all God’s people.
Locally, it is shared by all God’s people in that locality. Therefore, you find that the word church or assembly is never capitalized. It is a common noun, not a proper noun.
“The assembly of God”—why? Because the assembly belongs to God. In other words, “assembly of God” is not a proper noun. We cannot make “Assembly of God” a proper noun and call ourselves “the Assembly of God,” distinguishing ourselves from other assemblies. No.
“The assembly of God,” or “the church of God”—the church is still in small letters. God is a proper noun, but the church is still a common noun. It simply shows us to whom the church belongs. It is not a name that somebody can use to distinguish themselves from other believers.
All believers belong to God. All believers form the assembly of God. Sometimes it is called “the churches of Christ.” You find that in Romans 16:16:
All the churches of Christ salute you.
Again, “churches of Christ” is a common noun. You cannot call yourself “the Church of Christ” and capitalize it. “Churches of Christ” tells us to whom the church belongs: we belong to Christ.
Then sometimes you find the Scripture speaking of “the assemblies of the saints.” Again, it is not a proper noun. It simply means that the church belongs to the saints. These are descriptive words, telling us to whom the church belongs. The church belongs to God, the church belongs to Christ, and the church belongs to the saints.
You also find descriptions such as the churches of the Gentiles, distinguishing them from the churches in Judea or Samaria; and in Hebrews, even “the church of the firstborn.” These are all descriptive words.
Aside from these descriptive words, you find expressions such as “the church which was in Corinth,” “the church in Ephesus,” or “the church in Philadelphia.” “The church in Corinth” simply tells us where the church was, where the people were, and where they assembled.
You cannot turn that around and say, “Corinthian church.” It is the church in Corinth, but not the Corinthian church; the church in Ephesus, but not the Ephesian church.
Sometimes you even find “the church in the house” of a certain person. That simply shows us where the church was. You cannot turn around and say, “house church.” You cannot limit the church to a house, but the church can meet in a house. The church can be in a certain locality, but that locality does not make up the church.
So, brothers and sisters, in the Bible the word church is always in small letters. It is always a common noun. It is used in this fashion, with other descriptions that describe the church.
Paul writes:
To those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints.
These were the people who made up the church in Corinth: sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints. Not called to be saints, but called saints.
There is a great difference here. Today we say, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Luke, and Saint Matthew. We canonize these evangelists as saints, and we consider ourselves as what? Nothing.
But the Bible considers all who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus as saints—not because we are so saintly, so pious, that we are canonized as saints, but because by the grace of God we have been sanctified in Christ Jesus. It is His work, not our work.
Because of His finished work, because of His marvelous and wonderful work in our lives, He has sanctified us. He has set us apart from this world unto Himself. Therefore, we are called saints.
The saints make up the church. Sinners do not make up the church. Sometimes people try to be very humble and say, “Now, we are but sinners.” But you may be very humble, yet you are not giving the Lord His glory and honor.
The church is not made up of sinners. No, the world is made up of sinners. The church is made up of saints—those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus. Now, thank God for that.
The church of God which was in Corinth: you find that the word church here is singular in number—not “the churches of God which were in Corinth,” but “the church of God which was in Corinth.” Why? Because there is only one church.
Our Lord Jesus, in Matthew 16 and Matthew 18, used the word church twice. In the four Gospels, you find the word assembly, the word ekklesia, used by the Lord only twice: once in Matthew 16 and once in Matthew 18.
In Matthew 16, He is speaking of what we would call today the universal church. Now, that is only a way we use to distinguish it; you do not find the word universal there. But the Lord said:
I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
“I will build My church.” The word church there is singular in number. Upon this rock—this confession that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God; this revelation of the Father; this living knowledge of Christ—there is only one church upon one foundation.
All who confess that confession through the revelation of the Father are all living stones, like Peter, being built up together upon this foundation. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. That is one church, the universal church—only one.
Then in Matthew 18, our Lord Jesus says that if your brother sins against you, out of love you should go to your brother and try to bring him to repentance. Why? Not to vindicate yourself, but to restore your brother.
If your brother does not listen to you, your duty is not finished yet. Love goes the second mile. You go and find one or two other brothers, and with one or two witnesses you go to the same brother and try to bring him back to the Lord.
If he does not listen, then you go and tell the church—singular in number. The church will go and deal with that brother. And if he does not listen to the church, then he will be looked upon as a stranger and outsider. In other words, he comes under discipline.
Here you find that the Lord Jesus mentioned the church, but the word church is used in a local sense. You cannot tell the universal church. Where do you go to find it?
It is a local problem, not a universal problem. The conflict with the gates of Hades is a universal problem, but a brother sinning against you is a local problem. He must live fairly close to you in order to sin against you. My brother in London cannot sin against me because he is so far away. It must be our brother who lives in the same town, village, or city.
So the church here is the assembly of the saints in that locality—in the case of Corinth, in Corinth.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are still in this body, and being in this body, we are still subject to time and space. When we put on a resurrection body, then we are delivered from time and space. Thank God for that.
How good it will be! When the door is open, you can enter in; when it is closed, you can enter in. How good it will be that you can be in heaven and then come down to earth. You do not need a rocket. You are completely delivered from time and space.
But today we are still in this mortal body, and being in this mortal body we are still subject to time and space. Because of that, the universal church has its local expression. It can only be expressed locally.
But all the spiritual principles in the universal church are to be practiced locally. That is why you find, “Go and tell the church”—singular in number. The universal church is one; the local church is one. Why? Because the local church is only the local expression of the universal church. It is not something else.
One church. The very nature of the church is indivisible. The very nature of the church is oneness, is uniqueness. Why? Because Christ is one. Christ is not divided. Christ is indivisible.
If you try to divide Christ, you will get a dead Christ. There is a unity that is in Christ which is eternal and indivisible. And, brothers and sisters, because Christ is not divided, therefore the Christ is not divided.
You know, in Greek there is a difference. Sometimes the word Christ is used without an article, but sometimes the word Christ is used with the definite article before it. In English translation you may not be able to find this, because when the Bible was translated people did not have that understanding.
But if you read the Greek text, you find that sometimes Christ is mentioned without an article, and sometimes it is used with the article. What is the difference? Whenever Christ is used without an article, it refers to Christ Himself as a Person. But when the word “the Christ” is used, it refers to Christ with His people, with His church.
That is the difference. So you find in 1 Corinthians 12:
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is the Christ.
It does not seem to make sense: “So also is the Christ.” Of course, Christ as a Person has one body with many members. Everybody knows that; even a child knows that. So it seems absurd.
But here you find that the church, which is the body of Christ, in union with the Head, is composed of so many members, and yet only one body. So also is the Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, why can the church not be divided? The one basic reason is because Christ is not divided. You may think of a hundred reasons why the church should be divided, but the Bible says the church cannot be divided because Christ is not divided.
If you can divide Christ, then you can divide the Christ. When any division comes into God’s people, it touches the very nature of the church, and it goes back to Christ. It is an affront to Christ, an offense to Christ.
For that reason, when these Corinthian believers began to say, “I am of Paul,” “I am of Apollos,” “I am of Cephas,” and “I am of Christ,” Paul’s heart was broken. He said, “Is the Christ divided?”
Can the church be divided? It cannot be, because it is Christ who was crucified for us—not Paul, not Apollos, not Cephas. We are baptized into the name of Jesus Christ, not into the name of Paul.
Brothers and sisters, today we are so used to division—division not only as something borne within, but something that has broken out in the open—that it does not even create a problem to us.
Brothers and sisters, we should be exercised. God has called us out as the ekklesia, in opposition to the world as kosmos. Where is our testimony if we are divided?
It contradicts the very nature of our calling, the very meaning of our existence. It goes to the very heart, the very root, of all of it. So, brothers and sisters, this is not a light thing. It is a serious thing.
Why? What were the causes of such divisions and strifes? What made the church in Corinth break into such parties? What was the reason?
Paul says:
I exhort you, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all say the same thing, and that there be not among you divisions; but that ye be perfectly united in the same mind and in the same opinion.
Paul said, “I exhort you by the name of our Lord Jesus that ye all say the same thing.” Now, what does that mean? Does it mean that everybody has to say the same thing literally?
That is to say, if I say, “This is a good day,” and you say, “This is a good day,” and everybody says, “This is a good day,” we are just like parrots, copying one another and trying to make everything uniform. Is that what it means?
When Paul says that you all say the same thing, let us see what they were saying. One said, “I am of Paul.” Another said, “I am of Apollos.” Others said, “I am of Cephas.” Another group said, “I am of Christ.”
In other words, these people of God in Corinth began to say different things. The different things they said were, “I am of Paul,” “I am of Apollos,” “I am of Cephas,” and “I am of Christ.” Paul said, “Let us all say the same thing.” Now, it refers to that.
It is not that God’s people have to say the same thing mechanically, and that is unity. Not at all. In a totalitarian country, they make every person say the same thing. If the leader says, “This is black,” everybody says, “It is black.” Tomorrow, if the leader says, “No, this is white,” everybody says, “No, it is white.”
Does that mean they all say the same thing? Not at all. That is not the Scriptural meaning. The Scriptural meaning is: instead of saying, “I am of Paul,” “I am of Apollos,” “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ,” let us all say the same thing, and that is Christ—but not in a sectarian spirit.
Let us not say, “Of Paul.” Let us not say, “Of Apollos.” Let us not say, “Of Cephas.” Let us not say, “Of Christ,” in a sectarian spirit. But let us say, “Of Christ,” in a spirit that embraces all. That is saying the same thing.
Why do they say different things? Paul said, “Be ye perfectly united in the same mind and in the same opinion.” The expression “perfectly united,” or “closely knit,” is a medical word.
When your bones are fractured, they try to knit the fractured bones together and mend them. Or if your joint is out of joint, they reset it and connect it. That is the meaning behind the words “perfectly united.”
In other words, you Corinthian believers, your body is fractured. Your joints are out of joint. Now bind them together, knit them together, mend them, and reset them, so that the body may really function as one and be healthy.
Oh, brothers and sisters, how the body of Christ is fractured! How the body of Christ is out of joint! How unhealthy the body is! How we need to be mended up, knit together, and joined together, that we may live healthily before God.
So, in other words, Paul is trying to say this: let there be no division. Do not have parties and party spirits. Be one, perfectly joined together. Why? Because we are all called by the name of our Lord Jesus.
Instead of calling on the name of the Lord Jesus, some said, “I am of Paul.” Others said, “I am of Apollos.” Still others said, “I am of Cephas.” Then, distinguishing themselves, those pseudo-spiritual people said, “Well, we are of Christ.”
I think that is the worst problem, because they said it with pride—spiritual pride.
Brothers and sisters, we have been given no other name than the name of our Lord Jesus, whereby we are saved. God has given us the name of our Lord Jesus, and His name is sufficient for us. Why should we call ourselves by other names?
Instead of holding fast the Head, we begin to group around a great man—a spiritual name, a great apostle. Some apostles themselves had no intention that their names should be used in that way. It is the people who try to uplift the name of a person instead of holding fast the name of our Lord.
I remember—forgive me for using an illustration concerning our brother Watchman Nee again, because as you know, I knew him so well. Once, as he was talking with his fellow workers, he apologized to his associates. He said, “I apologize to you.” Why? “Because people label you as of me.”
This was not his intention. People began to label his fellow workers as “of Nee”—the Nee party, the Nee-ites. So he apologized to his fellow workers. He closed what he said with these words: “The name of Watchman Nee is to be cursed.”
Brothers and sisters, Paul had no intention to lend his name to a party. Apollos had no such intention, nor Cephas. But instead of holding fast the Head, Christ, people began to uplift man—the name of a man, a great man, a spiritual man.
That is hero worship—natural, according to the flesh.
Now, why do people want to form parties? Why? Probably some of the people in Corinth received so much help from Paul. Maybe they were saved through the preaching of the gospel by Paul. Paul preached a single gospel to them: Christ Jesus and Him crucified, and nothing else.
Because they were saved through the instrumentality of Paul, naturally they surrounded Paul and said, “I am of Paul.”
Then other people were more intellectual. Apollos was a great teacher, and he taught them the mysteries hidden in the Old Testament. He expounded the mysteries, the secrets, of the Old Testament to them with clarity.
These people with intellectual desires were greatly helped by Apollos, so they said, “I am of Apollos. I stand for him. He is my leader. I follow him.”
Then some people with Jewish backgrounds said, “We are of Cephas,” because Cephas was the first apostle.
Brothers and sisters, is this not according to man? Is it not because they lived in the flesh? Is it not a sign of carnality?
Oh, how we need to hold on to Christ! God may use these men to help us, but they are only channels. Our eyes should be set upon Christ.
You know, hero worship is a natural lust. Why do you surround a man? Why do you try to identify yourself with a particular person? Is it not because that man seems to be successful in what you are hoping for yourself?
You want to be there, but you cannot arrive there. Someone has arrived, so you identify yourself with him, and it gives a little boost to your ego. That is of the flesh.
Brothers and sisters, the name of the Lord Jesus is above every name, whether it is the name of an apostle, the name of an angel, or any other name. The church has no other name but Christ, because the church is in Christ—the body of Christ, joined to the Head, indivisible, one with Him and one with one another.
I wonder: when they say, “I am of Paul,” “I am of Apollos,” and “I am of Cephas,” what do they mean? Do they really mean that they belong to Paul, to Cephas, or to Apollos?
Maybe they were more sophisticated than that. When they said, “I am of Paul,” probably they meant, “I am for the Christ that Paul preached.” “I am of Apollos”—“I am for the Christ that Apollos teaches.” “I am of Cephas”—“I am for the Christ that Cephas stands for.”
In other words, it is still Christ, but it is partial—not the whole Christ. I wonder if that is the reason.
Probably we are too sophisticated to follow a man, however great that man may be. But it is so subtle. We say, “We stand for the Christ that that man preaches.”
Oh, how often you find today that people stand for a partial truth, a certain truth, but not the whole truth—not the whole Christ. You cannot say they are wrong; they are right. Certainly, the Christ that Paul preached is right.
But Christ is preached, taught, and presented not only by Paul, but by Apollos and Cephas. In other words, Christ is the whole Christ. The truth that is in Christ is the whole truth.
If you hold on to one particular truth and neglect the other truth, you stand for one truth against everything else. That is sectarian.
The word heresy in Scripture actually means schools of opinion. You hold to a certain school of opinion—that is heresy. Today we think of heresy as a grave error in teaching. No. The teaching may be correct, but it becomes a school of opinion. That is heresy.
Instead of holding the whole Christ—oh, brothers and sisters—today, if you look at God’s people, you find some people holding on to certain things of Christ, some people holding on to certain aspects of Christ, and everybody seems to be gathered around one part to the exclusion of the other part.
That is sectarian heresy. That is party spirit. That is dividing Christ. Oh, how we need to hold on to the whole Christ!
Then comes this last party. Some say, “I am of Paul,” “I am of Apollos,” and “I am of Cephas.” Then another group comes out and says, “We are more spiritual than you are. We want the whole Christ. We are of Christ.”
But when they say it, they say it with an exclusive spirit, as if Christ were their exclusive property and did not belong to the other believers. That is the worst—the worst.
Brothers and sisters, we need the Christ preached by Paul. We need the Christ taught by Apollos. We need the Christ presented by Cephas. We need the whole Christ, and we need an all-inclusive spirit, not an exclusive spirit. That is what we need.
That will keep us one in Christ.
That is the remedy for division. Number one: it is the name of our Lord Jesus.
Paul said, “I exhort you by the name of our Lord Jesus.” With all who call upon the name—and His name is theirs as well as ours. In other words, the name of the Lord Jesus is one. We all call upon that name. He is my possession as well as your possession. We share Christ together.
Oh, brothers and sisters, if we hold fast to His name! I remember a poem, but I cannot repeat it to you because I have a very poor memory. I think it was a poem written by George Whitefield. He was a fellow worker with John and Charles Wesley.
I remember that he said something like this: all other names faded, but the name of the Lord Jesus remained.
Oh, brothers and sisters, how names divide God’s people: the name of a person, even the name of a truth, the name of a form, of a ritual, even a nation. How names divide God’s people! But we have the name of the Lord Jesus. Is not His name sufficient for you? Why should you have some other name?
Secondly, how we need the message of the cross of our Lord.
Division is basically a carnal thing. Why are we divided? Because we are carnal. We act like men, like people of this world. We have hero worship.
Brothers and sisters, how our old creation, how our flesh, needs to be dealt with by the cross of our Lord Jesus! Oh, if we allow the cross to work in our lives, to take away that which is old, to get rid of our flesh, then we will find ourselves being one in Christ.
The unity of the Spirit is there. All we need to do is get out of the flesh. As you are in the Spirit, you will find that the unity is there. You do not need to create it. It is already there.
But we need to accept the working of the cross in our lives. It is easy to say, but for it to work out in our lives, it is not that easy.
Basically, it is because we do not know Christ and we do not know the cross that we are divided.
But thank God: the name of the Lord Jesus is given to us, and the cross is here. The only question is this: are we willing to yield ourselves to Him and let the Holy Spirit apply the cross to our flesh, that there may be no boasting of the flesh, but that he that glorieth may glory in the Lord?
So here you find that the first chapter deals exclusively with this first and foremost problem that existed in the church at Corinth. Brothers and sisters, how about us today?
We would like to begin 1 Corinthians with chapter 7, but Paul begins with chapter 1. So I do hope that nothing is said in a spirit of judging. I hope you understand. But I hope in a spirit of love that we may bring these things to the Lord.
Because if we know the heart of God, this is something that makes Him suffer more than anything else. Other things are important, but this is basic.
Our heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee for Thy Word. Thou dost ask us, “Is the Christ divided?” There can be no other answer but that the Christ is not divided. Oh, how can we divide Christ? It is impossible.
So, Lord, we do pray, because this is the truth, that we may not be divided in any way, Father, externally or even internally. We pray that Thou wilt deliver us from party spirits, from sectarian spirit, and that Thou wilt deliver us from all appearance of evil.
May we truly be an expression of the oneness of the body of Christ where Thou hast put us. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus and for His glory. Amen.