The church is one universally and also one locally. The nature of the church is one, and there is only one kind of church. Therefore, the church is indivisible.
If a physical body is divided, dismembered, it will fall apart. Since the church is the Body of Christ, the church cannot be divided.
The church is the dwelling place of God. A dwelling place is a house. If a house is divided, it will not be able to stand (Mark 3:24). Therefore, as God’s dwelling place, the church cannot be divided.
Deformed Christianity, however, uses many invalid reasons for division, resulting in the current state of confusion. We must realize that the church cannot be divided, and we must also beware of the following reasons for confusion.
The Lutheran Church took Martin Luther as their basis and divided. The Methodist Church took John Wesley as their basis and divided. Martin Luther and John Wesley were both greatly used by the Lord, but they should not have become the basis for division.
First Corinthians 1:12-13 and 4:6 explicitly condemn division on the basis of persons. Some believers in the church in Corinth said, “I am of Paul,” others said, “I am of Apollos,” and yet others said, “I am of Cephas.” This indicates that they took spiritual giants as the basis for dividing themselves from others. However, even though they were divisive, they had not yet established a “church of Paul,” a “church of Apollos,” or a “church of Cephas” in the way that people today openly put up Lutheran and Methodist signs. Since the Holy Spirit condemned the divisiveness in the church in Corinth, will He not even more condemn the denominations today?
In the church in Corinth some probably said they were of Paul because they were saved through Paul. There were others who probably said they were of Apollos because they had received edification from Apollos. This is the same as someone saying, “I was baptized by Pastor So-and-so; therefore, I belong to his church.” However, the apostle Paul said that we should never consider ourselves as belonging to those who are used by God in order to separate ourselves from others (3:3-8, 21-23). We belong to only One—our Lord Jesus Christ. Belonging to those through whom we were saved, by whom we were baptized, or from whom we received edification is condemned by the Holy Spirit.
Those in the Pentecostal Church have received the gift of the Holy Spirit; hence, they call themselves the Pentecostal Church. Those in the Holiness Church stress holiness; hence, they call themselves the Holiness Church. These denominations use a certain spiritual fact to promote themselves and make this a reason to separate themselves from others. Division on this basis is also not right.
In 1 Corinthians 1:12-13, the Holy Spirit not only condemned those who claimed to be of Paul, of Apollos, and of Cephas, but He also condemned those who claimed to be of Christ. This is because they separated themselves from others based on the fact that they belonged to Christ. Although it is right to belong to Christ, it is not right to make this the basis of division. Therefore, there is no reason that allows us to be divided from other believers. There is, however, nothing we can do if believers decide to divide themselves from us. In such a case, even though there is division, it is not our responsibility.
There was a group of believers in northern China who insisted that believers would all be raptured after the great tribulation. Therefore, they became a post-tribulation rapture sect. There were others who believed in rapture before the tribulation and became a pre-tribulation rapture sect. These two groups of believers were divided. Some groups insist on keeping the Sabbath, but other believers say that since the Sabbath is of the Old Testament, they should keep the Lord’s Day in the New Testament. Still other groups are divided because of different views concerning immersion and sprinkling. Then there are some who divide because of different opinions concerning head covering. Even items related to the breaking of bread, such as using a large or small cup, eating wafers or bread, or drinking grape juice or grape wine, are the basis for divisions among believers. Forgive me for saying this—there are too many divisions among Christians. In the sixty-six books of the Bible there are so many points that can cause contentions. May the Lord preserve us that these points would not be reasons for division.