Is Christ divided?

“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment…Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”- 1Corinthians 1v10,13

I have spent a good part of my Christian life convinced that if there was one key word for the body of Christ it was separation. I have no doubt that separation is a Bible truth and that we must be willing to take a stand against false teaching and the promulgation of error. The word of God is clear that His word must be defended, purity and holiness are vital to the proper functioning of the body.

One thing I did not hear much about through the years has been the importance of unity. If I did hear it of unity it was unity under man’s ideas or teachings. It was unity based on peer pressure to conform to standards or be excluded from the “crowd.” I was once asked, when looking for a deputation meeting, “Whose camp are you in?” “What do you mean?” I asked. “Are you in the Sword of the Lord camp? Are you in Bob Jones camp? The Tennessee Temple camp?” I didn’t know what to say.

Sadly, in some circles, those “camps” still exist built around schools, men, or pet doctrines of doubtful biblicity. As I read through Paul’s epistles I do read plenty about separation. I read plenty about opposing false teachers and heresy. However, a theme that runs throughout the letters is that of unity. “I plead with you,” Paul writes, “…speak the same thing…no divisions among you… be perfectly joined together…the same mind…the same judgment.” He then goes on to drive it home, “Is Christ divided?” Was anyone baptised in Paul’s name?”

Where does this come from? When did the emphasis switch from unity to separation? There is a balance? Why can’t we seem to find it?