Three Cheers For Division

Sometimes division in the church can be a good thing:

OK, well maybe two and a half cheers. But I here want to disabuse folks of the faulty notion that unity is something we must have at all costs, and division is only always wrong. Sure, unity is important, but so is truth. And the reality is, when truth is affirmed, sometimes it results in unity, but sometimes it results in division.

One simply has to turn to the gospels to see this most vividly. Jesus spoke truth – all the time. And what was the result of this ceaseless presentation of truth? We are told in no uncertain terms that this caused division. We read this over and over again – wherever Jesus went, preaching the truth of God, he caused divisions.

That is the nature of truth: it will always divide. That is because not everyone loves the truth. As Jesus said, “The reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37).

Not everyone is on the side of truth, so that is why so many people rejected Jesus. And the same goes for us. When we proclaim biblical truth, divisions will occur. They must. While we are to work toward unity as much as possible, we must realise that it is not always possible. But I speak to this elsewhere: http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2009/03/16/on-truth-and-unity-part-one/

So there can be a place for divisions. At the very least, they can help to show us who are the sheep and who are the goats. Division can help us separate the wheat from the tares. In this regard I wish to focus on just one passage: 1 Corinthians 11:19. Let me offer it to you in three different versions:

New International Version: No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.
New Living Translation: But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized!
English Standard Version: for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.

Here Paul seems to say there is a place for division, in terms of showing us who are the real deal believers and who are not. The context is 1 Cor. 11:17-22 which speaks about correcting abuses occurring at the Lord’s Supper. At these meals, division between rich and poor was taking place when it should not have been. Here is the larger text:

In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!

Distinctions of social status and rank were among the various divisions in the Corinthian church that Paul had to address. Thomas Schriener gives us a bit of background as to what is found in chapter 11:

Paul is scandalized by the actions of the rich at the Supper, for they are eating and drinking sumptuously while the poor remain hungry (11:17-22). He cannot praise them for holding to the traditions since their meetings are quite outrageous (v. 17). Indeed, the congregation is divided between the rich and the poor (v. 18), and the social elite are mistreating the poor. The divisions have some benefit in that they reveal who are the genuine believers in the community (v. 19). The Corinthians claim to be partaking of the Lord’s Supper when they have their fellowship meal, but, says Paul, it most certainly is not the Lord’s Supper (v. 20), because the social elite are gorging themselves on food and drink while the poor are going hungry (v. 21). Paul is outraged, for in behaving in such a way the rich are shaming the poor and despising God’s congregation (v. 22); thus Paul cannot praise them for their actions.

And Stephen Um offers further detail, quoting Ben Witherington in his comments:

In the city of Corinth a meal was “an occasion for gaining or showing social status. . . . It [was] in many regards a microcosm of the aspirations and aims of the culture as a whole.” A dinner party would have been one of the primary places where one could observe intense social stratification. The Lord’s Supper was designed to demonstrate an alternative community – an upside-down social order. The Lord’s Supper is the meal, the dinner table, the food, and the sustenance of a gospel-shaped community.

But it might seem odd that earlier on Paul was speaking forcefully against divisions in the church (1:10-17; 3:1-23), but here he seems to say there may well be a place for division – they might be a necessary part of the divine plan! How to we understand this? Gordon Fee nicely deals with this question:

The answer lies in two directions. First, although this could possibly be irony (Given the nature of things in Corinth, it is inevitable that such things happen among you”), more likely it is a reflection of Paul’s “already/not yet” eschatological perspective (see on 4:1-5); second, it is probably inserted here in anticipation of vv. 28-32.

 

In keeping with the teaching of Jesus, Paul expected “divisions” to accompany the End, divisions that would separate true believers from those who were false. Moreover, in v. 30 Paul asserts that some present illnesses and deaths among them are expressions of divine judgement on their “divisions,” that is, on their “not discerning the body” at this Supper. In that passage he also urges them to “test” themselves (v. 28) so that they will not incur such judgments. Paul, therefore, probably sees their present divisions as part of the divine “testing/sifting” process already at work in their midst. Such “divisions” are not a good thing, but they are an inevitable part of the Eschaton, which has already been set in motion by Christ. Thus by this evil thing, their “divisions,” God is working out his own purposes; those who are truly his, the “tested/approved” (those who have passed the “examination”), are already being manifest in their midst, and presumably they will escape the final judgement that is coming upon the world (v. 32).

So God can allow divisions to occur in part to help us see those who are truly his and those who are not. And we see this happening even today. One can look at the recent Covid wars for example. How many pastors and church leaders – as well as church members – were quite happy to go along with whatever the state said, even closing down their churches for lengthy periods? Or if they did hold worship services, they would actually ban the unvaxed or unmasked from attending.

In many ways this was a real eye-opener for so many believers. They knew that there were courageous Christian leaders who believed that worship of the living God WAS an essential service, and they risked everything to keep their churches open – and open for all, without practicing medical apartheid. Some of these brave souls ended up facing arrest and even jail time.

That division seemed like a pretty good test of those who were real deal Christ followers and those who just sheepishly went along with the secular state. So that type of division may have served a useful purpose in highlighting the very real differences between some Christian ministers and members.

Sure, I am not saying this was some sure-proof test of those who were genuine Christ followers or not. But the glaring differences between the two groups certainly told us quite a lot about the sorts of leaders we have in our churches. It did seem to give us a very clear case of delineation. If they could so easily fold and compromise in this, what will they do in real times of statist persecution?

A more recent case in point – one that I wrote quite a lot about at the time – was the just-held Paris Olympics. I was utterly amazed at the stance that some believers took on this, especially the diabolical opening ceremony and the diabolical assault on women in the boxing ring.

So many folks claiming to be Christians just bent over backwards in defending both these things, insisting over and over again that it was no big deal, we are just being paranoid, we are giving Christianity a bad name, and so on. I was shocked at how utterly recalcitrant they became over this, insisting the ceremony had nothing to do with an attack on Christ and the Last Supper, and insisting that of course these were female boxers.

I just could not believe what I was witnessing. Those calling themselves Christ followers actually attacking Christians who think blasphemous attacks on our faith and our Lord by the pagan and ungodly IOC is just not on, and those who think women should not be belted around by those who clearly are not women, again fully sanctioned by the pagan and godless IOC.

For heaven’s sake, just whose side are you on? This for me was such a defining moment in the Christian church. Again, this is not some definitive and fool-proof test of those who are definitely Christians or not, but still, it seems to give us a bit of a clear breakdown and distinction between several camps.

Other more clear-cut issues would involve those “Christians’ who fully support the homosexual agenda, abortion on demand, and other clearly defined biblically sins. Those are certain real valid tests in determining who really believes the Bible and fully obeys Christ and who does not.

So as Fee and others have pointed out, usually divisions in the church are not good things. But God can and does allow these matters to arise in part to help us determine who are the true Christ followers and who are not. The need to distinguish between the sheep and the goats is very important indeed – see Matthew 25:32 and the surrounding verses.

And recall that the Bible also speaks about distinguishing between sheep and sheep! As Ezekiel 34:22 says of God, “I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep.” I penned a whole piece on this one: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2010/09/09/separating-the-sheep-from-the-sheep/

Some of the words I used in that article will serve as my concluding paragraphs here:

Thus in the visible church today there will always be an admixture – true believers and false believers will sit in the same pew, sing the same hymns, and repeat the same words. But those who in fact make up the true, invisible church of God is a different matter.

 

When things are going along relatively smoothly, and it is easy to be a believer, then the likelihood of many false sheep in the churches is always going to be greater. But when real persecution comes, when things really start getting tough for the church, then a sifting process takes place.

 

Persecution certainly will separate the men from the boys, or the false sheep from the true sheep. Those who have been just playing games and pretending they are the real deal will quickly get out of harm’s way when the bullets start flying.

 

When real opposition arises, those who have been pretending to be believers will quickly leave the action, with the genuine followers of Christ staying behind to face the music. That has always been the case in the history of the church. So that at least is one positive we can take out of persecution.

 

Indeed, this sort of separating of the sheep from the sheep does not need to wait for the final judgment. It can happen now. Peter tells us that judgment must first begin with the household of God (1 Peter 4:17). While the surrounding culture is over-ripe for judgment, so too is the church, and some much-needed housecleaning is clearly in order.

 

If the Christian church is going to be a fit fighting unit to take on the assault of everything ungodly and unrighteous in these difficult days, then a thorough cleansing of the flock must take place. Those who are just playing games and are along for the ride must be weeded out, and the true soldiers of Christ must come forth….

 

It really cannot come any sooner. It is something urgently needed. So have your way Lord as you purify your church.

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