What, now, would be the position of affairs? and what the respective merits of the five assemblies?
First, there would be four distinct meetings, each with a name adopted for the express purpose of distinguishing it from all the other Christians in Corinth. It is not that they had renounced the Christian name, for they still called themselves Christians; but it is that Christians want now to distinguish themselves, and whom they desire to exclude from their fellowship, unless they be willing to identify themselves with their attitude and position. Christians having divided, would now need other names beside that of Christian to mark them out. Before, they only needed a name to distinguish them from Jews or heathen, and Christian was enough for that. They now want to distinguish Christians from Christians. They are Christians still, but they are now Christians of a peculiar kind,—they are Paulite Christians, and Apollite Christians, and so forth.
And then, as they have now divided, and got their separate places of meeting, these also receive the name of those who assemble in them; and there would have sprung up the Paulite meeting-house, the Apollite or Cephite church or chapel, or whatever else they might call it.