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