Can The Church Be Divided?

There is a sense in which the Lord's church never divides. Expressions like, "the Lord's church divided over..." are at best, badly worded and at worst, unscriptural. The body of Christ is the church of Jesus the Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23) and there is only ONE (Ephesians 4:4)...and always will be only one! Never, two.The apostle Paul asked rhetorically, in I Corinthians 1:13, "Is Christ divided?" . The answer was obvious, No!

Paul on another occasion indicated that he worshiped God according to the way his opponents called a sect (Acts 24:14); but they were unbelievers. I have occasionally been called a "pastor" by an outsider, because I receive my living of the gospel, but I would never term myself such, for I know better. Just as I can understand outsiders misunderstanding the true meaning of "pastor", so likewise the non-denominational nature of the church. But when it is insiders, my own brethren calling "us" a sect or denomination, saying we are one among many, something is not right!

If someone interjects that a dictionary simply defines denomination as a group of religious congregations, a sort of amalgamation of churches, then I still say that Christ's church is non-denominational and undivided. The New Testament nowhere teaches a sisterhood of congregations; only a brotherhood of believers. A preacher named Robert Turner once wrote, "The universal body of Christ--the church which is his bride, and for which He died, is made up of all saints. It is a brother-hood, not a church-hood; i.e., the units or parts of this "one body" are individuals, not congregations. (I Corinthians. 12:12-f John. 15:1-6)." To this I only add, "Amen."

When the generally public asks, "What faith are you?", there choice of words shows their ignorance of there being only one faith (Ephesians. 4:5). What do you say, my dear brother in Christ? Do you believe what the Scripture says? One dictionary I looked at, used faith as a synonym
of denomination. Man says there are many faiths or denominations,
all acceptable to the Lord. The Bible says otherwise. By the way, the
same Ephesians text teaches one God, Lord, Spirit and hope.Now if there can be more than one faith, body (church) or baptism, why not these others?

The church belonging to Jesus Christ is comprised of all those
who have believed the gospel, repented of their sins, confessed Christ as Lord, and been immersed into Christ's body in order to receive forgiveness of sins. This eliminates from the one true church, the vast majority of those in denominational circles, even before we begin discussing whether or not they are faithfully observing all that Jesus
commanded (Matthew 28:19-20).

Finally, let me grant that congregations may divide. The Bible refers to such often, although usually in a condemnatory way. You might even see a sect (denomination) called the "Church of Christ" or "Church of God" result from a party- spirit mentality among many, but I am not a part of such, even though the congregation of which I am a member, often terms itself a church of Christ. Though the uninformed may call us a denomination, I know better... Christians should know better. The church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is ONE and can never be divided into equal parts, each acceptable to God.