Strive for Unity

This is one place where it looks like Paul isn't following his own advice. Paul starts on the one end saying, don't get involved in following controversies that are divisive, and then turns around and tells us to divide from people that do this! What is going on? Paul is a careful writer, and the Holy Spirit is behind him, so this isn't some mistake he has made. It represents something that we have to think through carefully and apply with wisdom.

As we get into this passage, we will see that once we understand what the terms are, we have a much better idea about how to apply this. We want to defend unity with all we have, but it has to be a unity based on a shared understanding of the truth of the gospel.