<p>1:13 <em>Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?- </em>There are times when Paul uses the word &quot;Christ&quot; when we'd have expected him to use the word &quot;church&quot;- e.g. &quot;Is Christ divided?... as the body is one... so also is Christ&quot; (1 Cor. 1:13; 12:12). This synecdoche serves to demonstrate the intense unity between Christ and His people- we really are Him to this world. Think through the reasoning of 1 Cor. 1:13: &ldquo;Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?&quot;. The fact Jesus was crucified for us means that we should be baptized into that Name, and also be undivided.</p><p></i>Christ being undivided is placed parallel with the fact Paul was not crucified for us, but Christ was (1 Cor. 1:13). The implication is surely that because Christ was crucified for us, therefore those He died to redeem are undivided. We have one Saviour, through one salvation act, and therefore we must be one. The atonement and fellowship are so linked. Christ is not divided, and therefore, Paul reasons, divisions amongst brethren are a nonsense. <em>Christ is not divided, and therefore neither should we be </em>(1 Cor. 1:13; 3:3). Let's remember this powerful logic, in all our thinking about this issue. Paul even goes so far as to suggest that if we do not discern the body at the breaking of bread, if we wilfully exclude certain members of the body, then we eat and drink condemnation to ourselves. This is how serious division is. The devil&rsquo;s house is divided (Mt. 12:25,26); Christ is not divided (1 Cor. 1:13 s.w.). We were called to the Gospel <em>so that</em> we might share in the fellowship of the Lord Jesus Christ- i.e. fellowship with Him and His Father, and with all the others within His body (1 Cor. 1:9,10). If we accept that brethren and sisters are validly baptized into and remain within His body, then we simply <em>must</em> fellowship with them. Should we refuse to do this, we are working against the essential purpose of God- to build up the body of His Son now, so that we might exist in that state eternally.</p>