1 Corinthians 1:10-17

DIVISIONS IN THE CHURCH

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Life Application New Testament Commentary

In this large and diverse Corinthian church, the believers were favoring different preachers. Because the whole New Testament had not yet been written, the believers depended heavily on preaching and teaching for spiritual insight into the meaning of the Old Testament. However, they had split into factions—each following their favorite preacher or leader, even though the leaders spoke the same message and apparently had no knowledge of these factions. Paul admonished the believers to remember the singular message that had brought them to faith, and to stop comparing messengers. Believers today should also focus on the truth of the message, not the style of the messenger.

1Co 1:10  I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

From “The Way” https://theway21stcentury.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/how-many-christian-denominations-worldwide/

The estimates

Most references I could find end up quoting the same couple of sources:

• World Christian Encyclopedia (David A. Barrett; Oxford University Press, 1982) apparently estimated almost 21,000 denominations, and the updated World Christian Encyclopedia (Barrett, Kurian, Johnson; Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, 2001) estimated at least 33,000. “Denomination” is defined as “an organized Christian group within a country”.
• The Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary estimated 34,000 denominations in 2000, rising to an estimated 43,000 in 2012. These numbers have exploded from 1,600 in the year 1900.

These figures are fairly consistent where they can be compared.
The differences often tend to be minor however what would Paul think if he saw what the USA has done with the church? My belief is one book and the trinity and we are good to go.

1Co 1:11  For some members of Chloe's household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. 1Co 1:12  Some of you are saying, "I am a follower of Paul." Others are saying, "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Peter, " or "I follow only Christ." 1Co 1:13  Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!

Quite often in our modern church we do the same sort of thing. I am Baptist, I am Catholic, I am Lutheran etc. We are CHRISTIANS, and that we follow the teachings of Christ. That should be the first answer. Folks there is only one church and that is the church that follows the Son, Holy Ghost and God.

1Co 1:14  I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 1Co 1:15  for now no one can say they were baptized in my name. 1Co 1:16  (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don't remember baptizing anyone else.)

Paul was not sent there to baptize but to spread the good news. The Corinthians follow who baptized them and that was wrong. They were there to follow Christ.

1Co 1:17  For Christ didn't send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

Life Application New Testament Commentary 1:17 When Paul said Christ didn’t send me to baptize, he was not minimizing the importance of baptism. Instead, he was pointing out that his gift was to preach the Good News (see Act_9:15). But even preaching could be cause for division. In fact, this was already happening in Corinth, with the believers lining up behind different preachers for different reasons. Paul pointed out that neither he, nor the other apostles and preachers, spoke with clever speeches. They did not depend upon the rhetoric or philosophical arguments so admired by the Greeks. To do so would have emptied the message of its power, and it would have drawn people to the preachers rather than to the message of salvation in Christ.