The causes of divisions in Church are more than ever alarming. Division in the Church did not start today. It dates back to the times of the early Christians. But what makes the difference between division in the modern Church and that of the early Christians or immediate followers of Jesus Christ lays at the level of management. It is without doubt that the immediate followers of Jesus Christ were able to properly manage their disagreements and find points of agreements without necessary splitting the body of Christ as it is the case today.
The modern Church is full of contradictory doctrines that have led to lots of divisions, confusions, and errors in serving God. This is expressed in the number of denominations that we have around the world. Each of these Christian body turns to fight the other as they claim to be the true Church of Jesus Christ that teaches what God recommends. This has brought lots of confusions in the minds of the non Christians as they wonder who is truly teaching what God wants. And from the look of things, this division in the Church does not seem to be moving towards its end. Rather, we can forecast with the present evidence that this division in the Church will rapidly double in times to come if nothing is done.
Are causes of divisions coming from God?
It won’t sound serious if we continuously write without speaking forth God’s mind concerning the division in today’s church. The next question which you might be asking is that of how to know God’s mind about the division that is reigning in the body of Christ today. There are no two ways to do this apart from opening our Bibles. The Holy Bible is our complete guide in wining the Christian race. It contains the whole truth about the kingdom of God. And if anything should worry us about the nature or will of God, we should always turn tot our Bibles. Unlike spiritual leaders, the Bible cannot make a mistake as we can read from James 3:1-3. That’s why Apostle Paul calls on us to test every spirit and teaching with the foundation of the Gospel which was brought by Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:21). He said this because the Holy Spirit showed him in advanced that many false teachers will bring contradictory doctrines to boost division in the Holy Body of Christ.
Before we present the different causes of divisions in God’s house, let’s open our Bibles to John 17:20-21. This Bible verse clearly reveals that mind of God on the subject of division in the Church. It proves wrong those people who believe that God is OK with division and that everyone can just wake up and move to a denomination of their choice. In that Bible verse, we hear Jesus Christ giving one of His last prayers for all His followers on Earth before His crucifixion. He prays that may all His followers remain one in love and unity just as He is one with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. On no occasion has Jesus Christ ever separated himself from God the Father and the Holy Spirit. So where is our division nature coming from if not from Satan? No man or woman filled with the Holy Spirit can stand to promote division in God’s house. So let’s ask God to forgive us and guide us back to the unity of Christ.
Insight on the causes of divisions in the body of Christ
Just as there is one God, Jesus Christ made His teachings one and led to the creation of one Church through the sacrifice of His body on the cross. It is man through his evil nature of pride, jealousy, hatred, and unforgiving mind that brought division in the house of God through the supervision of Satan. Not very long from when Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, men started bringing contradictory doctrines that led to lots of divisions in the Holy Body of Christ. This division has not ceased since then. Rather, it is increasing as days go by.
This has made people to be interested in knowing the causes of divisions. It is only when we learn and master these causes that we can bring amelioration on the subject matter of division. Divisions in Church are real but do not represent God’s Holy will for us. By dwelling in division, error, and confusion, we are not reflecting God’s nature. Rather, we are displaying the characters of the devil whom we ought to be fighting according to Ephesians 6. When we read from 1 Corinthians 14:33, we are told that God himself is not the author of our confusion. We rather get confused due to our evil desires, ungodly nature, pride, and hatred for the truth.
Main causes of divisions in Christianity
In as much as smoke cannot appear without fire, church division cannot also arise without causes. And knowing these causes will help us in better taking precautions against further division since it is not God’s Will that we remain divided. We hereby write to present the major causes of division which have been affecting the Church of Christ since the beginning of Christianity. They are as follows:
Spiritual revelation
Spiritual revelation is eventually one of the chief causes of division in the Church. It has contributed in a great way to division than you can imagine. We must be very careful about the aspect of spiritual revelation. The Holy Bible containing the teachings of Jesus Christ is the main key to gaining knowledge about spiritual truth. All that we need to know about the kingdom of God in order to obtain everlasting life is written in the Bible. We are highly advised to access spiritual truth through the Bible rather than our personal opinions, revelations, and thoughts. By saying this, are we trying to suppress spiritual revelations from the Holy Spirit as condemned in 1 Thessalonians 5:19? I guess no, we are simply calling on everyone to test all revelations to make sure that they are in accordance with the word of God before accepting and implementing them as recommended in 1 John 4:1.
If you believe to have received a revelation from God through the Holy Spirit, make sure that it is in line with the Holy Teachings of Jesus Christ and His followers in the Bible. Many people have brought contradictory doctrines and teachings in the name of spiritual revelations which have boosted division in the Church. You must strive hard not to be used by the devil and his agents through spiritual revelations by remaining under the light of Christ as you regularly study His teachings, pray without ceasing, and put these teachings into action. Worth noting here is that Satan does not present himself as the horrible monster whom you’ve always taught to believe. He comes in white garments dressed like the master but ready to put an end to your Christian race if you give him a chance. That’s why you must learn the voice of the true shepherd, Jesus Christ by regularly studying the Bible.
Lack of Knowledge
Hosea 4:6 tells us that God’s children perish because they lack the necessary knowledge about spiritual truth. That’s why we cannot omit this point from the causes of divisions in the Church. People might be asking themselves what is spiritual truth? This question was best answered by Jesus Christ when He said that He is the Spiritual Truth that leads to everlasting life (John 14:6). Hence, the division which we have in Christianity today can only be attributed to our lack of understanding when it comes to the true teachings of Jesus Christ.
Reading the Bible several times and mastering verses within it does not mean that you’ve understood it the way Jesus Christ wants you to. That’s why we should always humbly call on Him to help us get the daily message that he is passing to us through the Bible as He resides and reigns from within our hearts. Many have read the Bible, misunderstood it, and misinterpreted it thereby leading their followers astray. That’s why you as a follower should not blindly follow everyone who claims to be a teacher of the gospel. Remember that salvation is personal and that you’ll have to answer before God all alone. Your pastor won’t come and pay for your sins, so its for your good that you research the scriptures on daily basis for insight on the things of God as recommended in Acts 17:11.
Quarreling
Quarreling is one of the childish causes of divisions in Christianity as pointed out by Apostle Paul in Romans 14:1. He advises the strong in faith not to quarrel with the weak in faith. In short, we can likely say that quarreling is a sign of immaturity in one’s Christian life. Those who are strong in faith will point out the truth but won’t stand to argue it out with those whose faiths are still weak and unable to perceive greater spiritual truths. Arguing or quarreling with them is not different from trying to feed a new born bay with solid food. It will only do them more harm than good.
As mature Christians, we ought to support and encourage those who are weak in the Christian faith rather than argueing over their personal opinions. In short, we ought to avoid arguements and quarrels in the house of God as they’ve done more harm than good. If there is a light misunderstanding, let everyone kep their calm and together find a meeting point or an agreement point in the love and unity of Jesus Christ. Quarrels and arguments have made some people to feel that their opinions and convictions are beeing suppressed or marginalized and as a result, they stepped out thereby creating divisions in the body of Christ.
Boasting or pride
No mature Christian will argue the fact that boasting or pride has done more harm in the body of Christ than we can imagine. It is definitely one of the causes of divisions that has led to the many religious denominations which we have today. Pride comes in when a person no longer sees himself/herself as a mere servant who was bought from the slavery of sin by Jesus Christ. It has to do with thinking high of yourself than others. Pride makes you see yourself more important and superior to others. God hates such a character. Whatever you become in life, remain humble and submissive if you desire to live under the light of God and make it to eternal life.
It was in this same sinful line of thiinking that some religious leaders looked at themsaleves more important than others thereby boosting division in the house of God. We are still experiencing this phenomenom up till date. As spiritual leaders, we should not envy each other because among us are people who sow while others are in charge of watering. We are not very much different talkless of one being more important than the other. He who is superior here is the one who makes the plant to grow as Apostle Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 3:1-23.
Difference in spiritual gifts
Spiritual gifts are sent by God to assist Christians in their spiritual duties in building and maintaining the Body of Christ. It is observed that these gifts in the hands of many are rather causing division. In other words, they are not using these gifts as planned by God. Apostle Peter once said that the spirit of a prophet is subjeted to the prophet. This is a way of telling us that God blessess us with gifts and it’s left for us to rightly use them. And we can be sure that we’ll all give an account of how we used these gifts in carring out our Christian duties on the day of Judgement.
If God has blessed you with the Apostolic gift, it is not for you to underlook on he who has been blesses with the Prophetic gift. For those who have been blessed with the prophetic gift, it is not for them to feel more important than those who are called to evangilize the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you’ve been called as an Evangelist, it is not for you to underlook at the Pastor who is in charge of Jesus’s flock. Those who have been called as Pastors should not underlook at teachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. All these callings in God’s service as we can read from Ephesians 4:11 are meant to move together for the wellbeing of the Church. In thesame light we’ll recoomend that you read our article on How to know God’s call in your life.
Biblical support
It is in this same line of Holy thinking that Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:28-30 that “In the church, God has put all in place: in the firt place Apostles, in the second place Prophets, and in the third place teachers; then those who perform miracles, then followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues. They are not all Apostles, or Prophets, or Teachers. Not everyone has the power to work miracles or to heal diseases or to speak in strange tongues or to explain what is said“. Unfortunately today, most of these spiritual authorities are rather fighting each other and creating division rather than working together as God had planned.
This brings us to the end of our article on the causes of divisions in the Church. For more information on this subject matter, we’ll advice you to read our article on the Reasons for division in Christianity.
