NOT DIVIDED BUT UNITED

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel-not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power (1 Cor. 1:10-17).

To the church of God… to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-their Lord and ours:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters!
In two month we have Parliamentary elections in Ukraine. The election campaign is in full swing. Various political parties and blocks actually divide our people (they now are called a constituency) into groups. They pursue the only aim - to gain as many votes as possible and, consequently - more seats in the Parliament to be able to influence the society.
People have their own political preferences. Sometimes family members can differ in their views and choices of political forces. This is politics. But what happens when several groups are formed within a church body and they start competing among themselves?
Our today's Bible text gives answers to these and other questions. The Lord Holy Spirit through apostle Paul teaches us that such division within a church is not good. It is rooted in envy and pride, big sins that make one's ego above everyone and everything and neglect both, God and our neighbors and dear ones. «I am better than John or I'm more successful that Gail," - our sinful body can cry out seeking numerous reasons for that. We can compare our clothes, our studies, or our accomplishments in this world. Or we can as Christians in Corinth argue who is holier and better in God's eyes based on the name of a preacher or a pastor who baptized or brought them to faith in Christ through the Gospel.
In the Corinth congregation some people were boasting, «We follow Paul. He is the best apostle. So, we are best!» Others argued with them,«Wait a minute. Apollos is much more eloquent as a preacher of the Gospel. Through Apollos' preaching we came to believe. So, we are the best not you!» Still other group rejected these arguments and said,: «Isn't Peter the chief one among the apostles? He baptized us when he came to Corinth. So, we are more important and much better. We follow Cephas. We follow Peter". The list apostle Paul continues with those who follow Christ. They do not try to heal the wound of this Greek congregation. In the name of Christ they make it even deeper moving away from brothers and sisters that are mistaken because of sins.
Dear brothers and sisters haven't we ever seperated ourselves from others (not necessarily from preachers) by our likes and dislikes? The Lord Holy Spirit today reproaches us for such an attitude. The apostle writes, « I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.» And then after refering to divisions in Corinth apostle Paul says,« Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?»
These are wonderful rhetorical questions by a great missionary! Is Christ divided that you are divided? - asks he. Of course, not. Just the opposite God through His only Begotten Son united with humankind. God the Son became a true man and was incarnated for us. He did not divide but united in Himself the completeness of His divine nature and imperfections of human nature. He took our sins that divide us and separate us from God. He the true God and the true person did that for all of us despite our origins, nationality or race. He did that for all of us with no exception.
Dear in Christ, further apostle rhetorically exclaims, «Was Paul crucified for you?» Of course not, says the Holy Spirit. The offering of all the lambs on earth for our sins would not be enough for God. The whole mankind will never be able to pay for its sins because we are all born sinful. Jesus Christ the Son of God is the only one who was born with no sin. So the true and perfect Lamb of God was crucified on Calvary for our sins. His sacrifice, his divine blood was enough to wash away all our sins.
We have the answer to the lasat rhetorical question by apostle Paul, «Were you baptized into the name of Paul?» And the answer is, "Of course, not". We were baptized according to the great commission by our resurrected Savior Jesus Christ in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Baptism God bathed us in water and the Word and clothed in Jesus Christ, in His righteousness and His holiness.
Note, dear friends, at Baptism God clothed us not in the righteousness of Paul, Peter, or Apollos. They also needed divine righteousness of God's Son. Thus, God clothed them and us in righteousness of God's Son cricified and resurrected. Jesus was not divided. And today the Son of God is not divided. He is One and invariable. Our loving Redeemer offers us (as He used to do to Christians in Corinth) His true Body and Blood in bread and wine to eat and drink so that together with Paul we can proclaim,"I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup ofthanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians10:15, 16).
Dear brothers and sisters. We, communicants drink from the cup of participation in the blood of Christ and we eat the bread in the participation in the body of invariable Savior. In this Communion we have the Gospel of forgiveness of all our sins. This Gospel is not in the wisdom of words. The Gospel does not need the wisdom of words. The power of Gospel is in the Calvary cross of Jesus from Nazareth our Lord. Our Savior declares this through apostle Paul. The Gospel comes to us in a sermon, in the bread and the wine bringing us the power of the Lord's cross and with it - the forgiveness of our sins and the eternal life for us in the God's Kingdom.
Dear in Christ, the Lord pronouncedly reproached Christians from Corinth for their pride that caused divisions in the congregation. That was a right reproach because divided congregation could not effectively witness about Christ, His forgiveness and His great love toward everyone. Quarrelsome Christians make other people spurn Christ. Quarrels and divisions are bad advisers, bad witnesses. They work against the Body of Christ. The world is different. There are many unbelievers in Ukraine. So during the parliamentary election campaign we'll hear a lot of statements and declarations that are not Christian but filled with pride and bragging. The sinful world always harbors such statements. But not the Christ' church.
In church we confess that we are sinful people. Together with apostle Paul we proclaim,«Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life» (1 Тим. 1:15, 16). That is why we say that we are all sinners. But Jesus cleansed us with His blood and saved for eternal life. God Himself served us and today He says turning to the Christians in Kyiv, «Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said,"If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.» (Маrk 9:35).
Submission and service is, dear brothers and sisters, the algorithm of superiority. This is the rule of Christian leadership. And a gratitude for your service and your work should go to God because He made us heirs of salvation and His eternal Kingdom. May it become our daily Gospel preaching. In submission and service. For the sake of Christ. Amen.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. (1 Corinthians 16:23).