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Mid-century illustration of a calm sea at dawn

1 Corinthians 1:12 · World English Bible

1 Corinthians 1:12 Meaning Now I Mean This

Now I mean this, that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” and, “I follow Christ.”

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What does 1 Corinthians 1:12 mean?

Each claim begins the same way. I am of this teacher, I am of that one.

From the Ego v. Being reading below.

1 Corinthians 1:12 through 1 lens

The same verse, read by one tradition.

EGO & BEING

Ego v. Being

Each claim begins the same way. I am of this teacher, I am of that one. The mind loves to fasten itself to a name and wear it like a coat, because a label feels solid where the person underneath feels uncertain.

Every one of these voices is doing the same thing, sorting people into camps so the ego has a wall to stand behind. Underneath the borrowed names, one awareness lives in each speaker, and it never needed a side. When a person sees this, the argument over whose teacher is greater quietly loses its heat, because what they were all reaching for was never in the name.

Ego v. Being lensGo deeper in the app

Ego v. Being lens

Live 1 Corinthians 1:12 today

  1. Look at the labels you carry today, your politics, your team, your type, your side. Say each one quietly and then ask who is still here underneath when you set it down.
  2. In a conversation with someone whose camp is not yours, drop the urge to signal which camp you are in. Ask one real question about what they actually care about and listen past the badge to the person.
  3. When a group chat splits into sides and you feel the pull to line up, wait before typing. Usually everyone is reaching for the same thing with different words, and you can say that out loud instead of picking a jersey.

Who are you when nobody knows which side you are on?

The same truth in other traditions

Zen

A finger pointing at the moon is not the moon. People spend their lives arguing about whose finger is straighter.

Sufism · Rumi

The lamps are different, but the light is the same. Quarrel over the lamps and you miss what you came to see by.

Taoism · Chuang Tzu

Once the fish is caught, the net can be set down. Holding tight to the net long after is a strange way to honor the fish.

Mid-century illustration of Jesus teaching the crowd on a hillside above the sea

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