Review

I Corinthians 1:10 (ESV): ¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

1 Corinthians 1:10 (NKJV): ¹⁰ Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

How Speaking and Thinking Go Together

• How you speak is an indication of how you think.
• Words carry thoughts to other people.
  • Your words influence how other people think.
  • “The use of party cries always tends to deepen and perpetuate division and Paul calls for their abandonment.”–Leon Morris [Leon Morris, 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 7, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 45–46.]

What Division Looks Like

• People shouting out different allegiances, difference priorities–different visions for the group
• In church, we’re often not shouting our disagreement out loud, but calmly communicating it in the parking lot, whispering it in the hallway, gossiping it at the water cooler
• Gossip, slander, defamation and backbiting are lethal to a church:
  • Definitions:
    • Gossip = casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true. [Oxford Languages, Google]
    • Slander = the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another’s reputation [Dictionary.com]
    • Defame = to attack the good name or reputation of, as by uttering or publishing maliciously or falsely anything injurious [Dictionary.com]
    • Backbiting = malicious talk about someone who is not present. [Oxford Languages, Google]
  • People who gossip, slander, defame and backbite are arsonists.
    • They do to churches what the fires are doing to Los Angeles:
      • James 3:5–6 (ESV): ⁵ So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
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        • Three analogies for the church in Corinthians:

Body

Field

Building

• When you deploy divisive speech at your local church, its leadership and members, you are tearing down an edifice that God is building.

• To avoid this, we must carefully assess our speech and our motives:
  • Psalm 19:14 (ESV): ¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
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  • James 4:1 (ESV): ¹ What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
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    • Strife is caused internally, not externally.
    • When you find yourself in a conflict look inward:
      • Psalm 139:23–24 (ESV): ²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! ²⁴ And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
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• A simple tool to assess words and motives:
  • Think twice before you think once:
  • T.H.I.N.K.
    • T= Is it True?
    • H = Is it Helpful?
    • I = Is it Inspiring?
    • N = Is it Necessary?
    • K = Is it Kind?
  • If the answers to these questions are “No,” then why do you want to speak?
• What if you actually need to address a conflict with your words?
  • If you follow what we’ve already discussed, you’ll have less conflicts in the first place.
  • There are biblical ways to address conflict that we will address in future lessons.
  • We have a member of our church who has written and spoken extensively on this subject.
    • 30 Days to Taming Your Tongue by Deborah Smith Pegues
    • Confronting Without Offending: Positive and Practical Steps to Resolving Conflict by Deborah Smith Pegues

What Unity Looks Like

• Let’s go back to our passage: 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NKJV): ¹⁰ Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
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• ESV: “Be United”
  • The main idea, but not the literal translation
• NKJV: “be perfectly joined together”
  • Closer to the literal translation
    • καταρτίζω (katartizō): make adequate, furnish completely, make sufficient, hence, in some contexts, mend, restore [James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).]
      • Mark 1:19 (ESV): ¹⁹ And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets.
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      • “Paul looks for them to be perfectly united, where his verb is used of restoring anything to its right condition.” –Leon Morris [Leon Morris, 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 7, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 45–46.]
• Let’s bring together the principle about words with the principle about mending or joining perfectly together
  • Our words are healing agents.
  • Instead of expecting a conflict free church, go into places of conflict to bring peace.
  • Become a peace agent.
    • Go precisely where there is no peace and become an adhesive, not a separator of bonds.
    • If you a fire, put it out; don’t fan the flame with your mouth
    • That’s what unity is in practice.
      • “To ‘speak the same thing’ can be a first step to real unity”–Leon Morris [Leon Morris, 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 7, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 45–46.]
• Let’s go back to our passage: 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NKJV): ¹⁰ Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
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Bible Reading Plan (Beginning Monday, February 3^st)

Adults

Foundations: A 260-Day Bible Reading Plan for Busy Believers

Teens

Required:

• NLT Student Life Application Study Bible
• Foundations – Teen Devotional: A 260-Day Bible Reading Plan for Busy Teens

Optional:

• The Action Bible Devotional: 52 Weeks of God-Inspired Adventure
• The Simple Truth Bible: The Best Minute of Your Day (365 Daily Devotions for Students)

Children

Foundations for Kids: A 260-day Bible Reading Plan to Help Your Kids HEAR God

© Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2025

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