1 Corinthians 1:10, "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."
I plead with you, brethren: Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ. He had authority in the church. He had the right, and the authority, to command the Corinthian Christians in these matters. Instead, with loving heart, he begs them - he pleads with them - to be unified as believers.
That there be no divisions among you: The ancient Greek word for divisions is schismata. Although we derive our English word "schism" from this Greek word, it does not really mean a "party" or a "faction"; it properly means "tear, or rend." Paul's plea is that they stop ripping each other apart, tearing up the body of Christ.
The contrast to divisions is to be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. Instead of being torn apart, Paul pleads that they would be joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Barclay on joined together: "A medical word used of knitting together bones that have been fractured, or joining together a joint that has been dislocated. The disunion is unnatural and must be cured."
Dear God, I pray that I may be perfectly joined with all of my brothers and sisters in Christ and that you will show me the places in my heart where I am in the way of that perfect union.
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