In the apostles’ day, one party claimed to believe in Christ, yet refused to give due respect to his ambassadors. They claimed to follow no human teacher, but to be taught directly from Christ, without the aid of ministers of the gospel. They were independent in spirit, and unwilling to submit to the voice of the church. Another party claimed Paul as their leader, and drew comparisons between him and Peter, which were unfavorable to the latter. Another declared that Apollos far exceeded Paul in address, and power of oratory. Another claimed Peter as their leader, affirming that he had been most intimate with Christ when he was upon the earth, while Paul had been a persecutor of the believers. There was danger that this party spirit would ruin the Christian church. {LP 127.3}

I apostlenes tid, hævdede et parti at tro på Kristus, alligevel nægtede de at give hans ambassadører den passende respekt. De hævdede at de ikke fulgte nogen menneskelig lærer, men være undervist direkte fra Kristus, uden evangelietjenernes hjælp. De var uafhængige i ånd, og uvillig til at underlægge sig menighedens røst. Et andet parti hævdede at Paulus var deres leder, og gjorde sammenligninger mellem ham og Peter, som ikke var imødekommende mod sidstnævnte. Andre erklærede at Apollos overgik Paulus langt mere i tale, og veltalenhed. Andre hævdede at Peter var deres leder, hævdede at han var mest fortrolig med Kristus, da han var på jorden, medens Paulus forfulgte de troende. Der var fare for at denne partiskhed ville ruinere den kristne menighed.