10 Now I exhort you, brethren , by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ , that you all [1]agree e and that there be no [2] divisions among you, but that you be [3]made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment . 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren , by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this , that each one of you is saying , "I am of Paul ," and "I of Apollos ," and "I of Cephas ," and "I of Christ ." 13 [4]Has Christ been divided ? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized [5]in the name of Paul ?
14 [6]I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius , 15 so that no one would say you were baptized [7]in my name . 16 Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas ; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other .
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize , but to preach the gospel , not in [8]cleverness of speech , so that the cross of Christ would not be made void .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1:10-17
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1:10-16
(Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-16)
In the great things of religion be of one mind; and where there is not unity of sentiment, still let there be union of affection. Agreement in the greater things should extinguish divisions about the lesser. There will be perfect union in heaven, and the nearer we approach it on earth, the nearer we come to perfection. Paul and Apollos both were faithful ministers of Jesus Christ, and helpers of their faith and joy; but those disposed to be contentious, broke into parties. So liable are the best things to be corrupted, and the gospel and its institutions made engines of discord and contention. Satan has always endeavoured to stir up strife among Christians, as one of his chief devices against the gospel. The apostle left it to other ministers to baptize, while he preached the gospel, as a more useful work.
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1:17-25
(Read 1 Corinthians 1:17-25)
Paul had been bred up in Jewish learning; but the plain preaching of a crucified Jesus, was more powerful than all the oratory and philosophy of the heathen world. This is the sum and substance of the gospel. Christ crucified is the foundation of all our hopes, the fountain of all our joys. And by his death we live. The preaching of salvation for lost sinners by the sufferings and death of the Son of God, if explained and faithfully applied, appears foolishness to those in the way to destruction. The sensual, the covetous, the proud, and ambitious, alike see that the gospel opposes their favourite pursuits. But those who receive the gospel, and are enlightened by the Spirit of God, see more of God's wisdom and power in the doctrine of Christ crucified, than in all his other works. God left a great part of the world to follow the dictates of man's boasted reason, and the event has shown that human wisdom is folly, and is unable to find or retain the knowledge of God as the Creator. It pleased him, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe. By the foolishness of preaching; not by what could justly be called foolish preaching. But the thing preached was foolishness to wordly-wise men. The gospel ever was, and ever will be, foolishness to all in the road to destruction. The message of Christ, plainly delivered, ever has been a sure touchstone by which men may learn what road they are travelling. But the despised doctrine of salvation by faith in a crucified Saviour, God in human nature, purchasing the church with his own blood, to save multitudes, even all that believe, from ignorance, delusion, and vice, has been blessed in every age. And the weakest instruments God uses, are stronger in their effects, than the strongest men can use. Not that there is foolishness or weakness in God, but what men consider as such, overcomes all their admired wisdom and strength.