1 Corinthians 1:11
For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
Those of the house of Chloe told Paul that contentions and divisions existed among the believers in Corinth, and that report prompted his beseeching appeal and his first letter to that church. The contentions were party divisions in which each one claimed to belong to Paul or to Apollos or to Cephas or to Christ, with the church split into factions gathered around men. They were carnal party spirit and the work of the enemy, cherishing envy and strife and jealousy and discord and evil surmisings and party feelings. Division and discord come from separation from Christ, while union with Christ draws believers together, for Christ is not divided and so there must be no divisions among His followers. The verse belongs to the appeal that by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ all speak the same thing with no divisions but be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment, with the different gifts entrusted to His servants blended in His work.
Report and Historical Setting
Members of the household of Chloe reported to Paul that quarrels and contentions existed among the believers in Corinth, with each one claiming to belong to Paul or to Apollos or to Cephas or to Christ, and that report of party division prompted his beseeching appeal for unity and his first letter to that church. Word was brought to him by those of the house of Chloe that the church was divided into factions gathered around men instead of being perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. It was through these reports that he learned of the divisions, including disputes over the relative merits of the ministers teaching Christ's doctrine.
The report came in private letters stating the facts as they existed about contentions, anarchy and division, and it caused him to write his first epistle to that church. Their account exposed the true condition of the church, which its own letter to Paul had concealed. That concealed condition was one of growing pride, idolatry, sensuality, and corruption of gospel teachings and practices accompanying the divisions.
The dissension had greatly increased since the visit of Apollos and the church was rent by it. False teachers in the meantime encouraged believers to reject Paul's instructions, while factions and dissensions grew. The contentions arose amid disputes over the ceremonial law and over the relative merits of the ministers teaching Christ's doctrine.
God did not reveal to Paul at all times every detail of the condition of the churches and of His people. He had already shown him the difficulties and dangers that would arise in the churches, so that when they developed he was prepared from that previously given light to judge the true character of what was reported and to know how to treat it. His answer laid down general principles to correct the existing evils, exhorting with great tenderness and wisdom that all speak the same things with no divisions among them. That reproof was written just as much under the inspiration of the Spirit of God as any of his epistles, even though it was called forth by human information and required no new special revelation for that time and occasion.
One who has the interest of the church at heart and sees evils creeping in rightly lays before God's appointed minister the dangers among church members that threaten its prosperity. As one set for the defense of the church to watch for souls as one that must render account to God, the minister must take notice of the report and must not fail in his work to correct those evils. There is a time to speak and a time to keep silence, and the question of who told when testimony is borne to the erring does not set aside the work, for whether the evils were existing or not there was a work to do to counteract them.
Nature of the Contentions
The contentions were party divisions, with each one claiming to belong to Paul or to Apollos or to Cephas or to Christ, so that the church was divided into factions gathered around men instead of being perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. They were quarrels and divisions in which believers claimed allegiance to different leaders, contrary to the call for all to speak the same thing with no divisions and contrary to Christian maturity. Such party spirit violates God's requirement that the different gifts entrusted to His servants be blended in His work, even though all are not given the same work to do.
They were carnal party spirit and the work of the enemy, cherishing envy and strife and prejudice and jealousy and discord and evil surmisings and party feelings. Those seized by it withdrew from some for reasons existing only in the imagination and bound up with others, breaking the sacred bonds of holy union. All dissension is born of the narrow conceptions of unsanctified minds, and when contention comes in and a party spirit is shown things must be called by their right names.
The verse condemns condemning a minister because he does not dwell on the same things as his brother ministers but emphasizes another phase of truth or presents the Word in a different way. It likewise condemns a minister fearing that his brethren do not regard him and his exposition of truth as of the highest consequence. Division and discord come from separation from Christ, while union with Christ draws believers together. Christ is not divided, so there must be no divisions among His followers, for in unity is strength.
Such differences make the church weak, for the weakness of the church comes from envy and strife cherished by its members, separating brethren from one another and thus separating them from God. They put believers out of right lines of work and bring about a dearth of the Spirit of God in churches. They greatly hinder the manifestation of the Spirit of God, and God will not tolerate them nor send His Spirit as Comforter and Strengthener until His people obey to be all of one mind and love as brethren and be pitiful and courteous. They prove a spell of the enemy is upon those who find fault and represent variance and discord and dissension to the world, showing that Christ's prayer for oneness is lightly regarded and little effort is made to cultivate oneness.
Call to Unity and Reform
The report of contentions belongs to an appeal made by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that all speak the same thing with no divisions among them but be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. That appeal exposes party division in which each claimed to belong to Paul or to Apollos or to Cephas or to Christ as a serious evil requiring correction. It means that the different gifts entrusted to servants are to be blended in the work though all are not given the same work to do, with ministers cooperating without jealousy or quarrels and all following Christ as leader. Division and discord come from separation from Christ, while union with Christ draws believers together.
There must be no wrangling, no strife, and no division, and no binding up in separate parties around a minister. Converts must not follow his example to refuse fellowship with those who do not do just as they do. No minister is to bind converts to himself as his property to be controlled by forbidding and commanding like an officer over soldiers, or to demand a church that does his bidding and is ruled by his wisdom. Those who accept truth are the property of Christ and not the property of man, so no unwise authority is to be exercised over them. Those who are truly converted press together in Christian unity with the meekness and lowliness of Christ appearing in all that is said and done, while those who follow a divisive course need a reconversion.
The same experience will be met again when there is lack of self-denial and self-sacrifice in the ministry and the church becomes leavened with selfishness where some are unduly praised and others are demerited. That unsanctified leaven of selfishness produces spiritual disease with contention and faultfinding and mischief-making. The remedy is cleansing of heart and mind from all unholy leaven in this time of atonement, with earnest zeal to examine self, humble earnest prayer, and more of Christ and less of self. Contentions put believers out of right lines of work, so those being prepared for translation are to get back into right lines, to stand as sentinels, to labor unitedly, to be willing servants of all, and to follow in the footsteps of Jesus the great Exemplar.
The chapter containing the report, together with 1 Corinthians 2 and 1 Corinthians 3, must be read carefully and received with much careful study as a reproof to ministers of the gospel and to all churches wherever located. Ministers must receive it for their soul's sake by seeking truth in the Scriptures. Unless hearts are humbled before God, names will not be placed in the book of life.
When contention comes in and party spirit is shown, investigation must be made and things called by their right names. All dissension is born of the narrow conceptions of unsanctified minds, and contentions among brethren are the work of the enemy to create party spirit and party feelings through prejudice and jealousy, breaking the sacred bonds of holy union. God's truth is never to be given out so that those who accept it form into separate parties under different heads, for though ministers may have different gifts those gifts are never to be used to separate believers from one another. No man is to be conscience for other men, and no man can gain an experience for other men. God requires sacred order among co-workers, that they be bound together by Christ and be faithful, frank, and true to each other's interests, constantly listening for orders from Christ the Captain while refusing to listen to reports against brethren or to imagine evil of them.
When Christ's righteousness fills mind and heart, accusing and disparaging one another cease, though truth may still be spoken plainly in Christ's spirit. Such party spirit is contrary to Christian maturity, for Christ is not divided and there must be no divisions among His followers, and in unity is strength. Brethren are to be bound heart to heart by the golden chain that binds Christ to God. When a brother errs the fault is to be told to him alone, then with one or two witnesses, then to the church, and differences are never to be published to the world. Public faultfinding and published differences misrepresent Christ and grieve heaven, proving a spell of the enemy is upon faultfinders who represent variance, discord, and dissension to the world, while Satan and his confederacy use dissension against the saving power of grace, showing the prayer of Christ for oneness is lightly regarded when little effort is made to cultivate oneness.