Paul admonishes the church in Corinth for their divisions. However, this verse shows that division in and of itself is not sinful. Sin enters in through the how of that division. The problem with the church were its divisions along human lines highlighted in verse twelve. Right and necessary divisions are made along the line of truth and lies. Those who stand on one side stand on folly, and those of us on the other stand on wisdom. 

On one side of the line is the foolish “wisdom” of the world. No matter how excellent or persuasive it may be, human wisdom, smarts, brilliance, and genius fall short of conveying the message of the cross. The other side of the line is this “foolishness” of the cross, the preaching of Christ crucified, which causes the unbelieving world to stumble and mock. The gospel of Christ is a scandalous, radical message for those who have neither ears to hear nor eyes to see.

Paul shows that the church is enriched in everything by the grace of God. He says that specifically of the church in Corinth, but it holds true to any and all true churches of God in the world. God’s grace is dispensed by Christ and not by any other man. This is important for Paul to mention because divisions in Corinth have arisen based by human distinctions. The testimony of Christ, righty spoken and received is the main avenue through which the church witnesses the grace of God.
 
This enrichment by grace is to a blameless fellowship. Paul is confident of this because of the finished work of Christ. The Church as the Bride of Christ is covered by His atoning blood and takes on His image. In Christlikeness, the Church as the gathering of the saints is nurtured under the very real fact of God’s preservation. Since this is true, all the saints are called to live into that reality of blamelessness.
 
The challenge becomes apparent. The city of Corinth was a true Vanity Fair, a place described by John Bunyan as an endless carnival where vain pursuits are marketed at every stall. I commend to you his book The Pilgrim’s Progress in Today’s English as retold by James H. Thomas. A cursory look over this Vanity Fair and you’d think Bunyan wrote this allegory last year. With clarity and truth, this 1678 work highlights both the condition of the Church in Corinth and the Church in America today.