A Call to Be of the Same Mind and Judgment

"Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree (speak the same thing) and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment (opinion, purpose)." --1 Corinthians 1:10

How on earth do you get a variety of believers from an assortment of backgrounds to agree on a host of issues with any degree of consistency? Is Paul nuts? Has his great learning and zeal  made him crazy? Is he asking us to again put up with a "little foolishness," only this time through hyperbole on steroids? Good grief, I can hardly stand Joe so-and-so. Now I'm told I have to be of the same mind as him?!


Not exactly. That is, we are not to have the mind of Joe, nor he the mind of us. Rather, we are all to have the mind of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 2:16). He is the head of the church, not in a mere figurative leadership sense, but one which is very real. We are to be "...holding fast to the head" (Col. 2:19), allowing His thoughts and ways to be incarnated into our own. This is made possible through His Spirit and word which indwell us. They are the means by which the body connects with the head, that we may know the things freely given to us by God and speak in words taught to us by His Spirit (1 Cor. 2:12-13). As such, we really can stand in agreement, speaking the same words and being of the opinion, judgment, and purpose.


Such a high concept of unity did not originate with Paul. Remember it was Christ who prayed at Gethsemane that all generations of believers would be as He and the Father were--one (John 17:20-21). We may be tempted to give up on this call, thinking that such unity is reserved only for heaven, not possible in the here-and-now. Yet, Jesus' call was that it be exactly in the here-and-now, as implicit in the purpose statement, "...so that the world may know that You [the Father] have sent Me" (v.23). Jesus was not talking positional pie-in-the-sky unity, but a practical unity that reflects both the character of God and an evangelical purpose.


Yes, Christ commands us to do things that are impossible for people, then adds "...but with God all things are possible" (Matt 19:26).