What a question! In a world that has little or no regard for God or what He says this question is, to some, relatively unimportant; however, it is meaningful to Christians who have respect for the truth. The church in Corinth was painfully divided. Some there claimed to be of men while others said they were of Christ. To ascertain whether they belonged to man or the Lord Paul raised two questions: (1) Was man crucified for you? and (2) Were you baptized in the name of a man? The answers to these questions are obvious. Paul, Peter, or Apollos were not crucified for anyone and neither were any baptized in their names, therefore, no one belonged to any of them. Christ was crucified for all and those in Corinth had been baptized in the name of Christ, therefore, they were of Christ.

Christ is not divided. Why should the followers of the one Lord be divided? It is clear that Christ is united in will; there is unity in His intent. His will was to "do the will of him that sent him" into the world (John 4:34). Jesus never forgot, even momentarily, why He had come into this world! To do the will of His Father meant death for sin. He could not save others should He save Himself. He came for the expressed purpose of giving Himself a ransom (John 18:36, 37). Jesus successfully kept His objective (John 17:4).

Christ is not divided in His word. This perfect unity will not admit the creeds of men. Why cannot men see that the Lord will not accept service rendered on the authority of human creeds? Jesus said such service is vain (Matt. 15:9). Though, it is very plain, men continue to reject the word of the Lord and create their own creeds. The word of the Lord is adequate and perfect, meeting the needs of man. He will not allow any changes or substitutions in and for His word. Whenever man makes a change it necessarily makes a difference in results. His word is able to save (James 1:21) and develop (Acts 20:32), but man's word in religion is divisive and renders service vain (Matt. 15:9).

Christ is not divided in body. There is one body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:20) and it is the church (Eph. 1:22, 23). The one body admits no additional bodies. The body of Christ was purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28) and is loved deeply by the Lord. Men, too, should love it and work for the unity of it upon a scriptural basis.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 30, p. 482
July 31, 1980