Part of my job for many years has been helping young people grow in their Christian faith. Some of that work has been very encouraging, as we have seen fine young people grow and develop as Christian leaders. Sometimes, however, it is very frustrating, as we wonder how we can help young people discover that Christianity is not just a hobby that can be picked up and put down. It is not focused on us and what we gain.

It is possible to sense Paul’s frustration in these verses as he cannot address the church as the mature believers they should be by now (v 1). Even worse, some thought they were showing loyalty to Paul by professing allegiance to him rather than one of the other apostles. ‘No, no,’ says Paul, ‘we are not in competition, trying to build our own empires. We are a team working together and God, working through us, is the one who produces growth’ (vs 4–9). 

God is the important one – the one who produces growth. Apollos, Paul, Cephas, our spiritual leaders and ourselves are all just God’s servants, doing God’s work. 

‘Cure your children’s warring madness; / bend our pride to your control; / shame our wanton selfish gladness, / rich in things and poor in soul.’¹

Comprising one of the earliest Christian communities, the Corinthian Christians have the unfortunate reputation as the ‘mother church of all subsequent squabbling churches’.² Their disunity prompted Paul’s letter. Divisiveness arises from unredeemed human nature, which Paul sometimes calls the ‘flesh’ and sometimes the ‘world’.³ This is the struggle for status and power which typifies human society. 

We are to preach the gospel of Christ, but we are also to ‘make disciples of all nations’.⁴ The church’s mission is not just evangelism but establishing communities of believers. Local churches are communities of individual Christians, but are far too often loosely held together without demonstrating that unity which the world should see. As people saved by the unmerited grace of God, it is as basic as babies’ milk that we should display oneness in Christ. A tragedy in the life of the church is that God has so many children who argue and divide over matters of doctrine. Such differences, however, are often used to mask the desire for power or prestige. On the surface, the Corinthian factions were split over their allegiance to church leaders, but it ran far deeper. With imagery recalling Jesus’ parables, Paul points out that he, Apollos and Peter are workers in the field. Their roles differ but the church’s allegiance must be to God alone. Through two millennia of church history, divided allegiances have given Christians excuses to differ, not only in what they believed but in how they then lived. In the world, the tendency to divide over such issues as class, race, gender and politics seem to be in the DNA of the fallen human race. If the forces of evil want to weaken the church, division is the best weapon.

‘O God the Father … heal the dissensions which divide us … and bring us back to a unity of love, which may bear some likeness to thy divine nature.’⁵     

¹ HE Fosdick, 1878–1969, ‘God of grace’  ² Sampley, 2002, p826  ³ Eg Rom 8:4; eg Eph 2:2  ⁴ Matt 28:19  ⁵ Telmaharensis, 818–45, Syrian Church