Divisions in the Church

¹⁰ Brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah,^[a] I urge all of you to be in agreement^[b] and not to have divisions among you, so that you may be perfectly united in your understanding and opinions. ¹¹ My brothers, some members of Chloe’s family have made it clear to me that there are quarrels among you. ¹² This is what I mean: Each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,”^[c] or “I belong to the Messiah.”^[d]

¹³ Is the Messiah^[e] divided? Paul wasn’t crucified for you, was he? You weren’t baptized in Paul’s name, were you? ¹⁴ I thank God^[f] that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (Oh yes, I also baptized the family of Stephanas. Beyond that, I’m not sure whether I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷ For the Messiah^[g] did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, not with eloquent wisdom, so the cross of the Messiah^[h] won’t be emptied of its power.