Schism has been an unwelcome and crippling mark of the universal church since the beginning. Even Corinth, one of the first organized Christian churches, was plagued by schism and division of the communion of the saints. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not being merely human?" (1 Cor. 3:4). In this verse, Paul recognizes the cause for schism and division within the church: mere humanity. Division within the body of Christ is a effect of many human errors, but perhaps above all, it is the fault of pride within our fallen hearts. In James 4, James recognizes quarrelling among believers in the church, and in both verse six and verse ten, he reminds us that God gives grace to the humble and exalts those who approach Him in humility. Each denomination and division within the church proudly boasts of having a more perfect and more correct knowledge of theology and therefore a more pious praxis of their faith. Throughout history, the church has found it better and more acceptable to dismember the body of Christ than to humbly bear with their brother's perceived error on certain doctrinal convictions. John Calvin (1989) writes, "whenever ecclesiastical unity is commended to us, the thing required is, that while our minds consent in Christ, our wills also be united together by mutual good-will in Christ." Throughout Scripture, we read of "one body and one Spirit" (Eph. 4:4) and "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Eph. 4:5). We are taught to be of one mind and one accord (Phil. 2:2), and to "do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves" (Phil. 2:3). Of all the doctrines that support the buttress of our faith that are worthy of being defended to the uttermost without compromise, the unity of the body of Christ is often the most neglected and most abused. We divide and divide and divide some more that which should never be torn asunder.
Calvin (1989) writes that when, "schisms arise, it is because men return not to the origin of the truth, because they seek not the head, because they keep not the doctrine of the heavenly Master." In order to more fully and more elegantly describe this idea, Calvin (1989) quotes Cyprian:
There is one Church, which by increase from fecundity is more widely extended to a multitude, just as there are many rays of the sun, but one light, and many branches of a tree, but one trunk upheld by the tenacious root. When many streams flow from one fountain, though there seems wide spreading numerosity from the overflowing copiousness of the supply, yet unity remains in the origin. Pluck a ray from the body of the sun, and the unity sustains no division. Break a branch from a tree, and the branch will not germinate. Cut off a stream from a fountain, that which is thus cut off dries up. So the Church, pervaded by the light of the Lord, extends over the whole globe, and yet the light which is everywhere diffused is one.
Calvin used the example of the Old Testament prophets, priests, and kings in order to convey the necessity of church unity despite doctrinal disputes. Throughout the Old Testament, the land of Israel saw many abuses and constant adultery with false religions. Faithful men like Elijah, Hezekiah, and Hilkiah did not respond to the complete desecration of the Temple, of the Kingdom of Israel, and of the lying tongues of false prophets with schism but with reform. These men would not abandon the rest of the people of God, they would not split from the rest of the people even though all hope of turning the people back to their holy God seemed lost, and they did not separate from the rest of Israel to establish a new, truer Israel. No, the Old Testament shares the stories and accounts of faithful prophets, priests, and kings who endured terrible persecution from their own people while trying to draw the people back to God through the Word of God, the only infallible rule for faith and life. It would have been easier for these men to split from the nation of Israel and establish a new nation of Israel, one that remembered the promises of God towards those who are faithful, one that did not desecrate His temple with prostitutes and all vile idolatry, and one that did not have a king that abused his power and authority over God's people. If anyone had reason to separate from the visible people of God because of abuses within the church, it was these men. But recognizing that there was no precedence in Scripture for separating the promise of God into smaller entities, even for the sake of seeking to purify a nation plagued with false doctrines and terrible idolatries (heresies) by starting anew, these men risked their lives to reform the nation of Israel rather than form a new nation of Israel.
Sadly, today's church is plagued with exponentially worse divisions than those that are acted on the grounds and for the sake of true doctrine. Today's church is plagued with marketing ploys and church divisions that center around meeting the needs of individuals rather than caring for the body of Christ. Niche marketing endeavoring to draw a certain crowd into a building for worship is becoming more and more popular Not only is the church universal being compartmentalized into denominations to suit every doctrinal fancy, but now denominations and even local church congregations are being further divided into services to meet different age groups and social genres. There are now services for young men, young women, young couples, older couples, families, and even single mothers.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for claiming that He was casting out demons by the power of Satan by telling them that, "if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand" (Mark 3:25). Nevertheless, Christians neglect this teaching more and more as denomination attacks denomination, and brother attacks brother over doctrinal disagreements. There are certainly doctrines that are necessary for the Christian faith; doctrines that separate the sheep from the goats. However, many of the divisions in the church have not been on account of the doctrine of the Trinity, but rather, on the doctrine of baptism or the doctrines of worship. It is no wonder the modern church is straying farther and farther away from the study of theology, creeds, confessions, and catechesis. As the church continues to divide, the schisms are blamed on doctrine. But is it doctrine or is it proud, mere men? Is it the doctrines that divide the church or is it the men who cannot stand the thought of worshipping the same triune God, resting in the same grace of the Father, faithfully remembering the same risen Savior, being united to Him by the same Holy Spirit, hearing the preaching of the same Word of God, communing at the same Lord's Table, and being baptized by the same baptism with another man that does not have the same doctrinal convictions as he? The church must regain its focus on the head of the church, the trunk of the tree, the sun of the rays of light, and the fountain head of the waters of life. A house divided against itself cannot stand, and yet we willfully tear apart the body of Christ, dismembering it and inflicting more damage to it than any non-heretical disagreement could ever sustain. The church is divided because of man, but thankfully, the church will be united once more because of Christ, the Great Shepherd of the flock, the Head of the Body, the King of the Kingdom of Heaven, the Redeemer of the People of God, the Vine of the Branches, and the only begotten Son of God who preserves the church despite its self-destructive behavior. In closing, Philip Schaff says it best when he writes:
The infallible word of promise, confirmed by experience, assures us that all corruptions, heresies, and schisms must, under the guidance of divine wisdom and love, subserve the cause of truth, holiness, and peace; till, at the last judgment, Christ shall make his enemies his footstool, and rule undisputed with the sceptre of righteousness and peace, and his church shall realize her idea and destiny as "the fullness of him that filleth all in all."
References:
Calvin, J. (1989). Institutes of the Christian religion. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Schaff, P. (2006). History of the Christian church. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.
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