First Corinthians 1:10 says: “Now I beseech you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same things...” To whom does you refer? It refers to the Christians at Corinth, the brothers at Corinth. “...and that there be no divisions among you...” Again, you refers to the Christians at Corinth. “...but that you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion.” This also refers to the Christians in Corinth. Here we see one thing: If the unity of the Body spoken of in the Bible is not expressed in a locality, it is not practical. It is easy to say, “We love all the children of God, except the one next door! The children of God are one, including Paul and all those who are not yet born, except a few brothers here in Shanghai!” This is impractical as well as self-deceptive. We cannot talk about the unity of the Body and say that we are one with everyone except with the few brothers who live together with us in the same place! According to Paul, the minimum requirement for speaking of unity is in the context of the local church. If the Christians in Corinth want to talk about the unity of the Body, they should not talk about it in Rome or talk about it in Jerusalem, but talk about it in Corinth. If we do not talk about it in Corinth, it is useless. We are deceiving ourselves. Suppose I live in Shanghai, but I do not get along with the brothers in Shanghai. However, I get along quite well with the brothers in Nanking. This is useless, and I am deceiving myself. The unity of the Body required by the Scriptures has a minimum boundary requirement, which is the locality. The brothers in Corinth must be one with the brothers in Corinth. If they are not one in Corinth, all their words just deceive others.
“Now I mean this, that each of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ” (v. 12). Note the phrase each of you. Who is this? Of course, it is the Corinthians. It would not be right for Paul to speak these words about the brothers in Jerusalem, because the Jerusalem brothers would say that they had not said anything. Neither would it be right if Paul had applied these words to the brothers in Antioch, because they had not said them. Only the brothers in Corinth said them. Here the Lord gives us the light for the most basic form of unity; that is, the believers in Corinth must be one at least in Corinth. If unity in Corinth cannot be realized, they should not talk about unity with others. They must be one at least in one place. Perhaps a brother at Corinth can recite the whole book of Ephesians, saying that we must love one another. Of course, we all will love one another in the “heaven” in the future, but the problem is whether or not we love one another today. We all will have fellowship in the “heaven” in the future, but the problem is whether or not we have fellowship today. What we have today is practical. Today in His Word, God’s minimum requirement for the unity of His children is the locality. If the minimum requirement cannot be met, everything else is false. The brothers who were divided at Corinth said, “You are of Paul, I am of Cephas, he is of Apollos,” and someone stood up to say, “I am of Christ.” While they were contending among themselves, Paul told them they must be one.
Let us see how Paul rebuked them: “And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to fleshy, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it [at the time when you were first saved]. But neither yet now [after being saved for a long time] are you able, for you are still fleshly. For if there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and do you not walk according to the manner of man?” (3:1-3). This refers to chapter one. The Corinthians were involved in envy, strife, and divisions; they were fleshly, having the same view of these things as they did when they were first saved. They did not improve at all. When they were first saved, they took milk, but they were still taking milk. If they continued in envy, strife, and divisions, they would be fleshly their whole lives. They would still be drinking milk in their sixties, seventies, and eighties.
The expression of spirituality is in the unity of the church, and the manifestation of the flesh is in the divisions of the church. We cannot call ourselves spiritual and still remain in the divisions. If we are, we are self-deceived. How clear is this word: “For you are still fleshly. For if there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and do you not walk according to the manner of man?”
Paul also repeated the words of chapter one in the following verse: “For when someone says, I am of Paul, and another, I of Apollos, are you not men of flesh?” (3:4). He was showing them that divisions are fleshly before God, no matter how good they are before man. The mark of spirituality is oneness; the mark of fleshliness is divisions, envy, and strife.
We must notice that Paul did not pay attention to any problem arising between the brothers at Corinth and the brothers at Ephesus, or between the brothers at Corinth and the brothers at Colossae. He did not point out any problems between the brothers at Corinth and the brothers at Laodicea, or between the brothers at Corinth and the brothers at Philippi. Paul only paid attention to the divisions between the brothers at Corinth. They said, “I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas, and I am of Christ,” but in effect Paul said, “Brothers! You are brothers at Corinth; you must not have envy, strife, and divisions at Corinth.” A boundary does exist. There should not be envy, strife, and divisions in the church at Corinth. To whom does you refer? It refers to the church at Corinth. Unity in the Scriptures involves the unity of the Holy Spirit and of the Body. However, the unity of the Holy Spirit and of the Body has a minimum boundary requirement; that is, this unity must be expressed within a local church.
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