The Church Divided

[Christsfreeservant]

Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. (1 Corinthians 1:10-16 NASB1995)​

So, what is the message that we are to receive from this passage of Scripture to be applied to our lives today? Where do we have divisions in the church? Where do we see that Christians, or those who make professions of faith in Jesus Christ, have become followers of man instead of followers of Christ, or over and above following Jesus Christ? And not just followers of man, but in many cases they have become worshipers of man in place of becoming worshipers of God. Where do we see this happening today?

Well, first of all let’s define “church” according to the Scriptures, for it is not what so many have made it into being in our world today. The church is the people of God who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives. By God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ we have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as servants of the Lord and of his righteousness. We, the people of God, are the church. There is no other!

[Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 3:17; 1 Co 6:19-20; Eph 1:4; Eph 2:21; Eph 5:27; Col 1:22; Col 3:12; 2 Tim 1:9; 2 Tim 2:21; 1 Pet 1:13-16; 1 Pet 2:5-9; Titus 2:11-14; Ac. 2:42-47; Ro. 12:3-8; 1 Co. 12:1-31; and Eph. 4:1-16]

So, what is commonly referred to as “the church” in our culture, at least here in the USA, is not the biblical church, the body of Christ, with Christ as her head. But they are businesses which are incorporated under (joined, merged with) the government (the state) and with the world, which God forbids. And they have largely been turned into marketplaces to be marketed to the people of the world, which God also forbids. And largely they are altering God’s design for his church and the gospel of Christ in order to “draw in large crowds of people” into their gatherings, to increase numbers.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

And largely they are divided by church denominations, such as Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Charismatic denominations, and Christian and Missionary Alliance, and more. And they are following these denominations and their founders and their theologies and their theologians and their pastors, sometimes as though they are gods to be worshipped and followed above God and above the teachings of the Scriptures. And they call these gatherings “the church.”

And many of these modernized and market-driven gatherings called “church” are acting more like cults with pastors acting like cult leaders, which is anti-biblical. But it is the modern way. It is the market-driven way. But the biblical church is not a building called “church.” It is not a place you go to. It is not a church denomination. And it is not incorporated (merged) with the state. Jesus Christ is her only head, and she follows him and his teachings in the Scriptures, as led by the Holy Spirit, and not by marketing literature.

And our gatherings are not to be led by one man doing all the preaching while we sit in pews or chairs as spectators during a “church service” which we have no part of other than to sing along with songs usually picked out by one person, and often, more than not, which are pretty weak spiritually and biblically speaking. That is not God’s design for his church. All of us are to have a part in the gatherings, and all of us have been gifted of God and are ministers in Christ’s church. All the body parts are necessary!!

Should there be order to the gatherings? Absolutely! Should we have overseers? Yes! But they are to be those who are training all of us for the work of the ministry, and who are equipping the saints of God for the work of the ministry, and who are giving us opportunities within the body of Christ to minister to one another, according to the teachings of the Scriptures. For we are to be exhorting and encouraging one another daily, and we are to be speaking the truth of God’s word to one another so that none of us is led astray by crafty people in deceitful scheming and by sin’s deceitfulness.

And overseers are to rule by example, not harshly as lording it over the people. And they are there to keep law and order, but they should also be there to make sure that every working body part has the opportunity to use their body parts and their giftedness to encourage the rest of the body. But we are to do our parts, not just in the gatherings of the body of Christ, but out in the world, too, in sharing the message of the gospel, and in encouraging our fellow Christians in their walks of faith in obedience to God.

So, summing it up, we are not to be divided, for we are all one body, and we should treat one another as though we are all one body, the body of Christ. And we need to remember that we the people of faith in Jesus Christ are the church, not these institutions of human origin which are partnered with the world and with the government in order to attract the world to their gatherings. And we are never to alter the gospel of our salvation in order to attract the world, but we are to always preach the truth of what Jesus and his New Testament apostles taught for the salvation of people from sin.

[Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 28:18-20; John 4:31-38; John 13:13-17; John 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Acts 26:18; Romans 10:14-15; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:11-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20; 1 Peter 2:9,21; 1 John 2:6]

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

Caution: This link may contain ads

The Church Divided
An Original Work / November 21, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

[zelosravioli]

Thanks for posting this, I agree with all the above. It would probably be good to talk to you sometime.

I also believe the Church is under the spell of the pastor leader model, all while ignoring concepts like the New Covenant of all believers, the indwelling Holy Spirits ability in each believer, the bibles true authority, and the warnings of oppressive religious leaders in the Church... all which I have much to say, but my primary solution is simple:

Church is not sitting in pews listening to a lecture.
Replace sermon/lecture time on Sunday morning with the group bible study format.
Remove the pews, and have tables instead, so you can converse, talk, and learn with your fellow believers.

Interactive learning is learning with discussion, questions, and conversation - as in a regular bible study group. Interactive learning is proven to be a far superior way to learn Christianity than sitting through sermons. In a good bible study you are learning 'and' doing Christianity. In a good bible study you are getting to know one another, becoming one together, showing grace, compassion, joy, as well as developing your own ability to think, talk, and discuss Gods Word. Developing good friendships is what doing christianity is really all about. Learning to understand, know, and love one another is the goal of being a christian, and being a disciple. Seek to know the Jesus in another person, and you will find Jesus.

The best format is a large room with many tables, so you can have many 'different' groups. One table can be the we're studying 'Galatians' group, another table can be the 'Matthew study' group, another the 'Endtimes Revelation' group, another 'were planning an outreach' group, another the 'teenagers study' group, another the 'ladies prayer' group, you can have as many groups as you have room - but the point is you're all in one room, sharing together, much like in a restaurant. A person can go join the Matthew group, or a teenager could join the prayer group, one of the ladies could check on her friend in the outreach group. etc etc.

The pastor, if you must have a pastor, can go from table to table, or just sit with one table - because there should actually be 'many' pastors. An actual pastor should actually enjoy the chance to be able to talk with so many, or whoever is there. The ideal is have table leaders, but its not that difficult if you just have some good study material. A table leader is whoever is capable of leading a Godly discussion or a book study - its not that difficult!

 

[CLEEB]

I believe the church is taught by GOD through Jesus Christ. Jesus said , John 6:45 , John 14:26 , John said , 1 John 2:27
we have the anointing that teaches us. This is saying we are taught by divine revelation just like the prophets and Apostles were. I do not think that any man or woman can reach anyone spiritual things, only GOD can do this. These shepherds in the churches today think they can do what only GOD can do. The early church was not a one man show. 1 Corinthians 14:29 since we are taught by divine revelation then we must be prophets and prophetesses because no man can teach us. This idea is in the scriptures if you look for it. I believe that that after the deaths of all the Apostles massive deception began and many false churches came and took the name of Christian and perverted it. There is a prophecy in Ezekiel 34 about these false shepherds and what GOD said HE would do about it. This is a hard thing to see but this too is in the scriptures if you search for it.

 

[Christsfreeservant]

Thanks for posting this, I agree with all the above. It would probably be good to talk to you sometime.

I also believe the Church is under the spell of the pastor leader model, all while ignoring concepts like the New Covenant of all believers, the indwelling Holy Spirits ability in each believer, the bibles true authority, and the warnings of oppressive religious leaders in the Church... all which I have much to say, but my primary solution is simple:

Church is not sitting in pews listening to a lecture.
Replace sermon/lecture time on Sunday morning with the group bible study format.
Remove the pews, and have tables instead, so you can converse, talk, and learn with your fellow believers.

Interactive learning is learning with discussion, questions, and conversation - as in a regular bible study group. Interactive learning is proven to be a far superior way to learn Christianity than sitting through sermons. In a good bible study you are learning 'and' doing Christianity. In a good bible study you are getting to know one another, becoming one together, showing grace, compassion, joy, as well as developing your own ability to think, talk, and discuss Gods Word. Developing good friendships is what doing christianity is really all about. Learning to understand, know, and love one another is the goal of being a christian, and being a disciple. Seek to know the Jesus in another person, and you will find Jesus.

The best format is a large room with many tables, so you can have many 'different' groups. One table can be the we're studying 'Galatians' group, another table can be the 'Matthew study' group, another the 'Endtimes Revelation' group, another 'were planning an outreach' group, another the 'teenagers study' group, another the 'ladies prayer' group, you can have as many groups as you have room - but the point is you're all in one room, sharing together, much like in a restaurant. A person can go join the Matthew group, or a teenager could join the prayer group, one of the ladies could check on her friend in the outreach group. etc etc.

The pastor, if you must have a pastor, can go from table to table, or just sit with one table - because there should actually be 'many' pastors. An actual pastor should actually enjoy the chance to be able to talk with so many, or whoever is there. The ideal is have table leaders, but its not that difficult if you just have some good study material. A table leader is whoever is capable of leading a Godly discussion or a book study - its not that difficult!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Yes, our gatherings should be participatory and not one man doing all the talking.

 

[Christsfreeservant]

I believe the church is taught by GOD through Jesus Christ. Jesus said , John 6:45 , John 14:26 , John said , 1 John 2:27
we have the anointing that teaches us. This is saying we are taught by divine revelation just like the prophets and Apostles were. I do not think that any man or woman can reach anyone spiritual things, only GOD can do this. These shepherds in the churches today think they can do what only GOD can do. The early church was not a one man show. 1 Corinthians 14:29 since we are taught by divine revelation then we must be prophets and prophetesses because no man can teach us. This idea is in the scriptures if you look for it. I believe that that after the deaths of all the Apostles massive deception began and many false churches came and took the name of Christian and perverted it. There is a prophecy in Ezekiel 34 about these false shepherds and what GOD said HE would do about it. This is a hard thing to see but this too is in the scriptures if you search for it.

Thank you for sharing your beliefs on this subject.

 

[CLEEB]

When it’s a one man show that no one can challenge what the man says is an invitation to deception. If GOD is your teacher by the anointing then there will be no deception. This is why we should not despise prophecy but actually covet it. Why we should never quench or grieve the spirit. Because the vast majority does not experience this teaching by GODS anointing they do not believe it is real.

 

[Christsfreeservant]

When it’s a one man show that no one can challenge what the man says is an invitation to deception. If GOD is your teacher by the anointing then there will be no deception. This is why we should not despise prophecy but actually covet it. Why we should never quench or grieve the spirit. Because the vast majority does not experience this teaching by GODS anointing they do not believe it is real.

I agree with your first sentence. And, yes, we should not despise prophesy but we are to test everything to make certain it is of God and not of human flesh, which also fits with your first sentence. In the New Testament they tested what was taught or shared as a prophetic word.

 

[CLEEB]

I agree with your first sentence. And, yes, we should not despise prophesy but we are to test everything to make certain it is of God and not of human flesh, which also fits with your first sentence. In the New Testament they tested what was taught or shared as a prophetic word.

Yes, they followed 1 John 4:1-3 and so should we.

 

[zelosravioli]

One objection I get, when dispelling the notion that we need some anointed 'authority' or such at every church meeting or bible study, is "You'll have HERESY and CHAOS if you just let the ignorant masses of people read for themselves!!"

Having led and participated in over 700 bible study meetings, maybe visiting over 100 different groups, in nearly every denomination. And of those 700, less than 10 times did some teacher seem to be going off base doctrinally. And of those, only three, or four times, did it seem to be anything close to cultic or unbiblical. I've heard over a thousand odd takes on scripture when in a bible study group, but of those nothing really that couldn't be reasoned through to a correct or satisfactory agreement, generally. There is usually someone in a group that has enough grasp of scripture, and pushes back (if I dont myself). But even if nothing is said, its hardly ever a 'life or death over doctrine' issue. I had to let my own pastor make a mistake or two just last week in our mens bible study, you cant argue over every point, and these different takes are generally fairly slight.

I am an a typical Evangelical theologically, I love scripture, and theology. I strive to teach correct doctrine, and I am hyper dogmatic about my own beliefs - Yet I enjoy, and really like to hear other people express their ideas and views of scripture (thats why I've heard so many different takes on scripture). And if it's my group, I want to know where the other persons understanding is at, and what they are thinking about the bible subject. Still, I am just a disciple communing with other disciples. Gods Word is the Authority.

The best bible study I participated in was a theological debate style group where the only doctrine of agreement was that you agree that:
'The Bible is Gods Word, and that you had to make all your arguments from scripture'. Cultists bail almost immediately, and the rest of us get to hash out our thoughts with some really great conversations ...

So what I'm saying is: I believe the notion that - there will just be chaos and heresy - is a heresy in itself.
That argument created the rift of Clergy/Laity, the hierarchy and institutions, and the dark ages of christianity.
Let Gods Word , His Scriptures, be our Authority and let live.

 

[CLEEB]

One objection I get, when dispelling the notion that we need some anointed 'authority' or such at every church meeting or bible study, is "You'll have HERESY and CHAOS if you just let the ignorant masses of people read for themselves!!"

Having led and participated in over 400 bible study meetings, maybe visiting over 100 different groups, in nearly every denomination. And of those 400, less than 10 times did it seem to be getting off doctrinally. And of those, only two, or three times, did it seem to be anything close to cultic or unbiblical. I've heard over a thousand odd takes on scripture when in a bible study group, but of those nothing really that couldn't be reasoned through to a correct or satisfactory agreement, generally. Generally there is someone in a group that has enough grasp of scripture, and pushes back (if I dont). But even if nothing is said, its hardly ever a life or death over doctrine issue. I had to let my own pastor make a mistake or two just last week in our mens bible study, you cant argue over every point, and these different takes are generally fairly slight.

I am an Evangelical theologically, theology is in my DNA, I strive to teach correct doctrine, and I am hyper dogmatic about my beliefs - Yet I enjoy, and really like to hear other people express their ideas and views of scripture (thats why I've heard so many different takes on scripture). And if it's my group, I want to know where their understanding is at, and what they are thinking about the subject. Still, I am just a disciple communing with other disciples. Gods Word is the Authority.

The best bible study I participated in was a theological debate style group where the only doctrine of agreement was that you agree that:
'The Bible is Gods Word, and that you had to make all your arguments from scripture'. Cultists bail almost immediately, and the rest of us get to hash out our thoughts with some really great conversations ...

So what I'm saying is: I believe the notion that - there will just be chaos and heresy - is a heresy in itself.
That argument created the rift of Clergy/Laity, the hierarchy and institutions, and the dark ages of christianity.
Let Gods Word , His Scriptures, be our Authority and let live.

Is it not true that all the chaos and heresy entered the church through these men who ran the show, lording it over everyone with no one to challenge them. Human ministry has always been the source of heresy, it certainly doesn’t come from GOD. Jeremiah 17:5 Psalm 188:8-9 Isaiah 2:22 Psalm 146:3 Romans 8:5-8 1 Corinthians 2:5 Philippians 3:3 I trust no man with my salvation, I will work it out with GOD in fear and trembling. Christ gave his life so that I can do this. Christ is my connection to GOD. All Christians have this ability.

 

[zelosravioli]

Yes. And if we are supposed to believe that the pulpit guarantees us that truth will be taught, then how come so much false doctrine and baloney also gets spewed from behind pulpits? Most all cultic leaders came from behind a pulpit, and still use a pulpit. Many strange doctrines still get broadcasted from pulpits.

The church is told 'FROM the pulpit' that 'What you are hearing FROM the pulpit is nothing but truth FROM God!' And the congregation is told that they should subject themselves 'to the pulpit' and the message - 'Because' the pulpit has the 'approval of the pulpit!!'

This is circular reasoning, and has more in common with ex cathedra than it has to do with truth and what scripture warned us of.

It may be subtle, but quite often the pastor or preacher will weave into the sermon somewhere that 'God wants you to hear this', or 'God told me to tell you', or 'God revealed to me today..' as if they are always getting and giving some message directly from God!!

Thats manipulation, and God told me to tell you that...