Chapter Four. "Is Christ Divided?"— An Analysis Of The Theological Justification Of A Church Schism

Abstract

Is Christ divided? - that is the critical question of apostle Paul to the ekklesia of Corinth where schismata developed and groups were formed around Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and also Christ. We should keep in mind that Paul's first letter to the Corinthians was addressed to a local congregation/church and that he was pleading for nothing less than 'perfect unity' in a local church. The problem that we face today, where local congregations and churches grouped together to form separate 'denominations' in opposition to other 'denominations,' was never in the mind of Paul and is an even more untenable situation than division in a local church. This chapter concentrates on the New Testament teaching on church unity, diversity, and disunity. In the whole range of New Testament teaching there is no sign whatsoever of disunity in the sense of division or schism between the different ekklesia (congregations/churches). The emphasis is on unity. Keywords: Christ; Church schism; church unity; ekklesia (congregations/churches); New Testament; Paul