Does Jesus Christ Unite or Divide Us?
Yes, He does. He does both, unite and divide people. This may appear confusing at first glance, but the Bible teaches both ideas. The good news is that both works, uniting and dividing, benefit His chosen people. Actually, that is a good place for us to begin — His chosen people.
God predestined His elect people to salvation before creation (Eph 1:4-5). Here is the beginning of dividing or separating. Throughout biblical history there are divisions, clearly seen: Cain and Abel; Noah and his neighbors; Abraham and his neighbors; Lot and his neighbors; Ishmael and Isaac within Abraham’s family; Jacob and Esau within Isaac’s family; Saul and David; Solomon and his brothers and his sons; the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel and Judah; etc.
Jesus demonstrated His working divisions, by referring to Himself and His Father, God, in contrast with the Jewish religious leaders and their father, the devil (Jn 8:44). He separated His sheep from the goats (Jn 10). He distinguished His kingdom, the kingdom of God, from the kingdom of this world (Jn 18:36).
Many professing Christians, despite what the Bible says, believe that God loves everyone, without exception, and believe all people are children of God, made in His image. In this, they seem to ignore the extent of the fall of man, which ruined the image of God in man, and the Bible’s distinction of the children of God and the children of the devil (1 Jn 3:10). Man retained his capacity as an image bearer, but now he bears the image of his father the devil (Jn 8:34, 44; Rom 6:16–17).
Jesus taught that the wheat (believers in Him) and the tares (unbelievers) must grow up together (Mt 13:30), until the day of harvest (judgment day). On the day of the Lord, there will be yet another division (Mt 13:41–43). A universal resurrection from the dead will find some resurrected in glorified body and soul, to eternal life (Jn 5:29; 1 Cor 15:51–53). Others will be resurrected with immortal bodies and souls, but to the sentence of death in eternal hell and the lake of fire (Jn 5:29; Rev 19:20; 20:10). From Genesis to Revelation, we clearly see Jesus, the Word of God, dividing people within nations and even families.
One would expect that if Jesus prayed for His people to be one, that there would be unity in the church (Jn 17:11, 21–22). There is perfect unity in the church victorious…in heaven. There, the body of Christ is one with its Head, who is Christ (Col 1:18). Our hope for unity in the church of Jesus Christ is there.
The church, militant in the world, has trouble with unity, for the very reason that it is still in spiritual warfare in the world (Eph 6:10–20). As long as sin’s presence, in church members, is a reality, there will be divisions in the church. This is evident throughout the New Testament epistles. The call for unity is present in the apostolic letters, but the reality of divisions is the very reason for the call to unity.
The infiltration of the visible church, by unbelieving goats, even to leadership positions, as false shepherds, false teachers, false prophets, and even false Christs (Mt 24:24), means the church in the world will struggle with any type of real unity, until Christ returns for His bride (1 Thess 4–5).
The reason for clarifying this idea of unity is to alleviate the confusion, created by the expectation that unity will be a reality in the church in the world. The infiltration of the world, into the church, will undermine every effort to bring unity in the Spirit and the bond of peace (Eph 4:3). Do we, as Spirit-filled Christians, excuse ourselves of endeavors for unity?
Where doctrinal and practical issues exist, we can expect disunity, and we must not make unity our prioritized end. The Lord knows those who are His (2 Tim 2:19), and He will lose none of them in the chaos and confusion of this world (Jn 10:28–29; Rom 8:35–39). The coming anti-Christ will be far more successful at unity (2 Thess 2), under his intrigue and deception, than the church was at any point. Even Jesus had a devil in his group of twelve disciples (Jn 6:70).
Therefore, we must not make blanket statements like “With Jesus, we have unity.” Our hope is unity for eternity, but our reality, until the day of death or His second coming, will mostly be divisions. Christian, do not be discouraged by this fact, but suffer well in the world, and in the church. Be at peace with all men, as much as possible, but be doers of truth, first and foremost. Jesus’ prayer to the Father will soon be answered in full.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
December 28, 2021
