Spirit of Division
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Spirit of Division
“But avoid
stupid controversies, genealogies, dissentions, and quarrels about the law, for
they are unprofitable and worthless. After a first and second admonition, have
nothing more to do with anyone who causes division (Titus
3:9-10 NRSV).
“I appeal to
you brothers by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and
that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind
and the same judgement” (1
Corinthians 1:10 ESV).
Satan’s
Weapons for Sowing Divisions in the Body
Simply
put, and from a Christian perspective, division is anything thing that
distracts us from faithfully following Christ – money, a day, some leader or
worldly things, these can become forms of idolatry. The spirit of division is
so rampant among Christians that many of us walk in hatred and not love. I
would like to emphasize, as in previous articles, obedience to Christ is
evidenced in the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and not just the gifts. The fruits come
first and it is proof enough to augment the gifts.
As
it is, divisions are Satan’s most successful weapon. He weakens our work and
the body of Christ through divisions and this is where countless souls are
being led astray. Some of the weapons that Satan uses include: the Scriptures (Matthew
4:5-7); he uses church leaders (Number
16; 1 Corinthians 3:1-8); he uses money and worldly things (Matthew
4:8-9); he uses our evil desires, (Genesis
3:6); he uses jealousies and strife (1
Corinthians 3:3); he uses pride and boasting in man and worldly
things (1
Corinthians 1:31); and he uses demonic spirits (Acts
16:16-18; Ephesians 6:11). The principle behind divisions is to
deceive, control and destroy unsuspecting people (John
10:10). This is a wicked act of
Satan and his agents who can be human or demonic. The spirit of division will
always take Christ out of the picture and make some other object the focus. In
addressing some common concerns among Christians and especially points
sensitive to some people, the apostle Paul said, “…the substance (or what matter) belongs to Christ” (Colossians
2:17).
How
Do We Overcome the Spirit of Division?
I
am going to use my own experience and that of our ministry with the Lord to try
to explain. You may judge my motive whether it is to divide or to unite in
Christ. In repentance, we accept Jesus as our Lord and He is the cornerstone (Ephesians
2:20). Therefore after accepting Christ the work of the church is
to build us up in Him. He is the purpose of our unity and faith (Colossians
2:6-7; Ephesians 2:21-22). Therefore, every motive and doctrine
must be based on this premise: does it lead to unity and obedience to Christ (1
Corinthians 10:31)? If it is
control and pursuit of some doctrine outside Christ, then the motive is to
promote sectarianism and a display of ‘superiority’; this is what the apostle
Paul warned the Corinthian church about (1
Corinthians 3:21-23).
Furthermore,
when our Lord Jesus Christ and the apostles gave us instructions to holy
living, they did so to help us build up the inner attitude (Matthew
15:11; Ephesians 4:17-32; Colossians 3:5-17). The spirit of
division is broken through the uniting force of love (Colossians
3:14). When we as believers first came to the Lord, we heard that
He loves us and as sinners He would forgive us if we believe in the sacrificial
death of our Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf.
Experiences
of Unity in Our Ministry
Please
bear with me brethren, I am aware that I did mention in previous articles how I
came to the Lord. For the purpose of this article I will briefly relate to my
conversion experience. Remember our message is unity and to root out division.
When I grew up as a child, I was sent to church by my parents. I had no
relationship with God, so I just obeyed my parents. Although I did not
understand the things I was taught in the church, I believed there was a God
who created us.
As
time progressed, I stopped attending church and made my own decisions. I was
witnessed to by many people and I even questioned why there are so many
churches. They could not really answer me and honestly, many people also use
this as an excuse not to serve the Lord. They point to this as a division and
they claim confusion. This is true to a certain extent; I say so because each
person has the responsibility to inquire the truth from God Himself (Romans
1:18-21). Because we are by nature sinners, we totally ignore God’s
message of salvation and use the spirit of division as an excuse not to obey (Romans
1:28-32).
I
had no contact with any church-going person and found myself among people who
practiced the same wrong things I did. Because there was no measure for my
conscience, I just continued in sin like the above Scripture says, until one
day, and out of curiosity, I came across a copy of a Gideon New Testament Bible.
I started reading it in my free time, not to know God, but to understand for
myself what the Bible actually says. I read each book of the New Testament in
this pocket-sized Bible. Prior to reading the Bible, I never had dreams about
God, but this started to happen and my attention was arrested to read more. I
started to feel ashamed of my ways, and I realized that I needed God’s love. I
was also gripped with fear for God; this especially bothered me when I read the
book of Revelation. I wanted to be saved to escape the things written in this Book.
I prayed and I inquired from people around me about a church. I wanted someone
to take me to church because I was shy; I am naturally a shy person. I have
confidence in Christ only!
Anyway,
since there was no one, I stayed home and continued reading the Bible and I went
on my knees and accepted the Lord in my room. Later on I was told by a
colleague about a Full Gospel Church in my area. Since they were having
services at night, I went to check it out. I liked the fellowship and decided
to attend services there every night. I was just happy serving the Lord and
reading the Bible and witnessing to others this great love and truth. The point
I am making and in relation to our message today is that I only became fully
aware of the divisions in the body of Christ when I started witnessing to
people. They discouraged me through the various things I was told that I was
not observing. I loved the Lord and I surely experienced His joy. I had a
simple faith in Christ, doing and believing what the Bible says. But when I was
pointed to doctrinal issues, I became discouraged and confused. My faith was
shaken and I needed answers from those who served the Lord before me. I went to
another church hoping to find answers, as well as reading every book that
attempted to address the subject. This carried on for a few months until I was
introduced to a very knowledgeable friend. This brother was an ordained
minister of the Gospel, and I admired his Bible knowledge. He spotted my
vulnerability and confusion in the Scriptures and I viewed his opinion as
sacrosanct. I thank God that He enabled me to learn a lot through this brother;
I loved him and still do, but he displayed bad fruit, and that was to control
me and make me think like him. Brethren, I have shared this brief testimony to
show how we can get confused and fall away from the truth. We in return take
this state of confusion and spread it to the body of Christ and so we ignite
the flame of division leading to further weakening of the body. Many ‘fathers’
of denominations expressed an interest in a particular set of scriptures and
either deny or disprove certain Bible truths. This leads to followers of man
and Christ is abandoned. This is the spirit of division, when we divide the
word of God and decide what we ought to believe and what is irrelevant to
believe. In contrast, the entire Word of God is profitable (2
Timothy 3:16) and useful for our salvation.
As
a ministry, we grow out of a prayer group coming from various denominations. We
set aside ‘denominational loyalty’ and focus on Christ Jesus and His Lordship.
We concentrate on what He wants us to do. And as we come together and meet in
His name, we focus on worship, praise, prayer, fellowship, testimony, the
ministry of the Word, discipline through rebukes for wrong actions, and the
furtherance of the Lord’s command of soul winning. As a local body, Christ is
the centre of our lives, and we are God’s temple through the indwelling Holy
Spirit. As we focus on Christ and the work we are called to do, unity of
purpose in Christ is seen and He is glorified. Also, of all the messages the
Lord gives us to communicate to you, He expresses no approval of any particular
church or doctrine, but He concentrates instead on our relationship with Him
and holy living. He warns us to focus on Him and what the Bible teaches.
May
the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and complete your salvation in Him.
Blessed
grace,
Brother
Glenn.
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