Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Corinthians 1:13

Charles Ellicott Commentary

1 Corinthians 1:13

1819–1905
Anglican
Charles Ellicott
Charles Ellicott

Charles Ellicott Commentary

1 Corinthians 1:13

1819–1905
Anglican
SCRIPTURE

"Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul?" — 1 Corinthians 1:13 (ASV)

Is Christ divided?—Better, Christ is divided. Christ, in the communion of the Church, is rent, torn in fragments by you. The mention of the sacred name as a party-cry makes the Apostle burst into that impassioned exclamation. Then there is a momentary pause. The Apostle goes back from his sudden denunciation of the “Christ” party to those whom he had originally selected for typical treatment—namely, those who bore his own name. The two streams of thought, as it were, were mingling and rushing together. And he asks (with a mind still full of the burning indignation aroused by the mention of the name of union as a symbol of disunion), Was Paul crucified for you? Was your baptism in the name of Paul? To each of these questions, the answer must necessarily be “No.”

Paul being the founder of the Church, these questions apply more forcibly to the others also.