For first, when ye come together in assembly, I hear there exist divisions among you, and I partly give credit [to it].
Paul now turns to what happened when the Corinthians actually came together. The first fault he names is division. He adds that he only partly believes the report that reached him.
The phrase does not cover every occasion when believers happen to be in the same room.
In verse 17 the apostle carries his corrective work further. He turns to the mistakes and abuses among them when they actually came together — their assemblies... The saints at Corinth sometimes met in connection with the ministry of servants of the Lord — to listen to Apollos and get help through him, for instance. Such meetings were not "assemblies" in the sense in which we now use the word, that is, the church actually convening as such, in subjection to their risen Head, who acts by His Spirit among them.
The divisions came to light exactly when they gathered.
The apostle begins here with another reference to their divisions. The first thing was that in coming together they came not for the better, but for the worse. Their meeting made their true condition plain — as coming near to God in fact does. In their very way of coming together they showed themselves apart.
The word behind "divisions" is schismata. The next verse uses another word, hairesis — "factions" in the ESV, "heresies" in older translations. The two are stages of one disease.
First, their coming together in assembly did not express their unity as members of the one body, pictured in the one loaf. It only showed the spirit of division among them... The division, or schism (Greek schisma), is a difference of opinion, thought and feeling inside the assembly. A heresy (Greek hairesis) is a sect, or party, formed among the saints to hold a particular opinion, or to follow a chosen teacher. At Corinth both seem to have existed inside the assembly. But a division or schism inside, if it is not judged, will soon lead to a heresy or sect outside, or even break the assembly up completely into different sects.
So which splits a church faster — a wrong opinion, or a party spirit?
The apostle uses "heresy" for a party of self-will, a faction that cuts itself off from the assembly... But wrong doctrine (heresy in the later church sense) does not necessarily lead the man who holds it to form a party outside. A schismatic spirit does tend straight to that. A split inside before long becomes a split outside.
Paul does not swallow the report whole, yet he is not surprised. Their own state explains why.
Scripture nowhere presents division as evidence of spirituality. It is always evidence of the flesh. "You are still of the flesh," was the apostle's charge... Where the flesh rules, divisions are sure to raise their ugly head. So when the report of the divisions at Corinth reached Paul, it did not take him by surprise. "I partly believe it," he writes, "for there must be also heresies [schools of opinion] among you." Put the stress on that "you." There was no such "must" for the faithful saints at Ephesus, Colosse or Philippi.
Two hands are at work in the same situation, and they are not working toward the same end.
Paul writes, clearly with grief of heart, that he had heard of divisions (schools of opinion and the like) among them when they came together in the assembly. He partly believed it for the reason given here: "there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized." It was Satan's work to make these divisions, and so to destroy the practical unity of the saints. But God used them to test and sift His people, so that those He approved might be made manifest.
That leaves no room for a popular modern compromise.
The word is translated "divisions" in 1 Cor. 1:10 and elsewhere, and refers to divisions caused by parties in the church. In view of the unity of the Spirit, we can only call schism sin. The unity meant for the church was not merely being gathered together in assembly... The modern ideas of "agreeing to differ," or of "unity only in essentials," are not found in Scripture — the opposite is.
- Assembly. "When you come together as a church" means the church actually meeting as such, under its risen Head — not just believers in one building.
- Exposure. Drawing near to God shows what a company really is. At Corinth, the very way they came together made their divisions visible.
- Schism. Schisma is division of mind and feeling inside the assembly. Hairesis is a party formed around an opinion or a chosen teacher. A split inside tends to become a split outside.
- Diagnosis. Paul partly believed the report because division is fruit of the flesh, not of spirituality. That "must" belonged to Corinth's state, not to every assembly.
- Verdict. Satan makes divisions to destroy the practical unity of the saints. God overrules them to sift out the approved. But schism stays sin — never just a difference to live with.
For there must also be sects among you, that the approved may become manifest among you.
Paul has just told the Corinthians that their meetings were doing more harm than good. Now he says their splits must come, and that they show who is genuine — but does "must" excuse them?
The Greek word Paul uses is built on choosing for yourself. It does not have to mean false teaching.
The word hairesis comes from "to choose." The same Greek word also gives us "sect." It names the sects among the Jews, such as the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Heresies and sects developed early in the church; they were the result of the working of man's will in some form. The root of the Greek word, "to choose," shows that a heresy is something a person picks out for himself. The doctrine held and pressed may be true in itself, but it may be exaggerated or taken out of its place. The usual result is a party or sect. God has given in His word everything the church needs, so there is no room for man's choice or man's will. He must be a humble receiver.
Verse 18 speaks of divisions. Verse 19 goes further. Commentators treat the two words as two stages of one problem.
Schism is a division inside the assembly. Everyone still belongs to the same fellowship as before, even if selfish favouritism or dislike has split their thoughts and feelings. Heresy, as Scripture normally uses the word here (not the later church sense), means a party among the saints. They separate from the rest because they follow their own will even more strongly. A split inside, if left unjudged, tends towards a sect or party outside. Then the approved become clear to see: they refuse these narrow and selfish ways. And the party-man condemns himself, because he prefers his own particular views to the fellowship of all saints in the truth.
Some people use the word "must" to excuse division. One writer answers them with the Lord's own words about what makes people stumble.
Here the Holy Spirit blames these divisions. While they last, He says, their coming together does harm, not good. True, He says they must be — but why? So that the faithful may be separated from the unfaithful. Does this, then, approve the divisions? Our Lord says, "Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!" Jesus says plainly that such temptations must come. Does He therefore approve or excuse them?
Where the verse says "genuine," the writers quoted here say "approved." If the parties are the problem, the approved cannot be the ones who make them.
The "approved" in 1 Corinthians 11:19 are clearly those who will not support "divisions"; the disapproved are those who engineer them. It is false that "truth has only been preserved by division."
Refusing to join any party can look, from the outside, like starting one more.
The "Paul" and "Apollos" and "Cephas" parties were forming at Corinth. Some of the more spiritual and faithful believers refused to join their movements. To a careless or worldly-minded onlooker, they most likely looked like just one more party. Even if they found it hard or impossible to prove otherwise and clear themselves, God approved them, and so did the inspired apostle. With that they had to be content.
The word "approved" comes back a few verses later, in what Paul says about eating.
He does not say, "so that those who are Christians may be recognized." I believe the "approved" ones stood in contrast to the "heretics," or self-willed ones. The meaning of the word "heresy" is self-will, which is the root of schism. So he says, "Let a man approve himself, and so let him eat." It is not "examine" but "approve" — the same word as in verse 19.
Commentators differ over the order. Where Mackintosh calls self-will the root of schism, another writer reverses it:
Now "heresy" is not self-will, and is not the root but rather the fruit of "schism." The splits already inside, the schisms, showed the apostle that heresies — parties outside — were sure to follow. The Lord would turn even this to His glory, by making clear who the approved are: those who hold fast to Him and set their faces against this party work.
- Choice. The word behind "factions" means choosing for yourself. Even a true doctrine can become a party banner when someone over-presses it and pulls it out of place.
- Drift. Bad feeling inside the assembly, left unjudged, hardens into a separate party outside. The division of verse 18 grows into the faction of verse 19.
- Necessity. "Must" foretells what self-willed hearts will do. It excuses division no more than "temptations to sin are sure to come" excuses the one who brings them.
- Made clear. The Lord turns even this to His glory by showing who the approved are. They are not the party-makers, but those who refuse the narrow, selfish ways and hold to the fellowship of all saints in the truth.
- Self-approval. The same word comes back a few verses later, just before eating. Judge your own will first, then eat.