Division in the church

What causes division within the local church? What is division? A simple definition of division is separating something into parts. There are a few things that can have this effect among the local church body.

We are told from in 1 Corinthians 1:13, the Apostle Paul asked, "Is Christ divided?" The Corinthian believers had fractions among them. Some had allegiances to the leaders of their liking and this caused disunity.

There must be unity among God's people. Unity must be maintained and seen. It's a given that while we are all individually different with varying backgrounds, ethnicity and differences, but we are one in Christ. Christ is not divided up into segments, or pieces.

The local church body has to strive for unity and harmony which exemplifies oneness with Christ.

What causes disunity and division among us?
1. People aligning themselves with different leaders
The believers in Corinth did this. Some were aligning with Paul, some with Apollos and others with Cephas. 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 encourages us to be of the same mind and the same judgment. Who died for you and me? Who were we baptized unto?  We are not to have loyalty to any particular leader because our loyalty is to one person alone and that is Christ Jesus!

2. Pride and selfish ambition
Divisions are also caused by an elitist attitude of thinking oneself to be better than another. This is a real killer among the saints of God. This causes one to look down on others and treat them with less respect and consideration.

3. Sowing discord
​Proverbs 6:16 says, "These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are abomination to Him:" We come to the seventh thing on that list which states clearly in verse 19, "And one who sows discord among brethren." Sowing discord means to cause conflict, strife, and distrust among believers. Gossip sow's discord. When we don't take our personal issues with one another with the intention to resolve them and talk about the other with another believer, we cause conflict, strife, and distrust in the fellowship.

The division in Corinth was not caused by doctrinal issues. Elitism was the problem. Elitism is contrary to the character of Christ. Humility characterizes Christ.

Our allegiance is to Christ! Romans 16:17 says, "Note those who cause divisions and offenses and avoid them." That's a pretty strong command we're given. Can you separate yourself from such individuals? Can you cease to keep company with any believer who causes disunity within the body of Christ? You'd better!

Any teaching that would deceive and divide God's people should be dismissed from among the local church. It's been said that "truth without unity leads to pride and unity without truth leads to departure from the gospel." That is clearly evident today in some churches.

Those who cause divisions are tactical and smooth. They target those young in the faith and the simple (those without discernment and understanding). They don't try to subvert everyone, just certain ones.

We can disagree yet, maintain unity. We have different experiences in life and different opinions, but these things should never divide us or cause conflict among us. We can agree to disagree leaving pride and elitism outside the door where it belongs because there is no place for such behavior and attitude within the body of Christ. Let us strive for unity!