Now that we have looked at Gaza and Edom, we understand
that there are divisions among nations. But there are also divisions among all
people, all nations, and all religions, all over the world. It seems that as
time goes by there are more and more divisions and less and less unity. There
are reasons for divisions between people and reasons for national divisions;
but also reasons for religious divisions. The entire Bible from Genesis 3:15 to
Revelation 22:21 is focused on Jesus the Anointed Messiah, and that is the
reason for continual divisions. The extra dimensionality of a God who loves
humans is not the problem, but the trouble resides in our dimensional blindness.
All of life is about either accepting or rejecting Jesus but still there is
infighting within the body of Christ. We have to understand our own body, the
body of Christ, because there are reasons for schisms. Some divisions are
useful and some are shameful. Let’s understand the difference between the good
and the bad.
Jesus was firm when he said he did not come to send peace
but a sword. He wanted people to understand that his coming to earth would
force people to divide into groups. The Jews were looking for a king to lead
them and free them from their Roman oppressors, but their timing was off. Jesus
will be King in the future, but before that there will be times of
divisiveness. Jesus came to earth from outside of our understandable
dimensions, this made supernatural miracles and signs hard to understand.
Matt 10:33-39 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him
will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.34 Think not that I am
come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword [3162].35
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter
against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.36 And a
man's foes shall be they of his own household.37 He that loveth father or
mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me.38 And he that taketh not his cross, and
followeth after me, is not worthy of me.39 He that findeth his life shall lose
it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. KJV
NT:3162 machaira (makh'-ahee-rah); probably feminine of a
presumed derivative of NT:3163; a knife, i.e. dirk; figuratively, war, judicial
punishment: KJV - sword.
Jesus came to divide with a dagger, a sword. A dirk is a personal sword that Jesus uses
to separate, not just nations, but families. That is a more minute separation
than national boundaries. The big picture is that there were people in early
history who believed on God the Creator and had a personal relationship with Him.
Abraham was told his descendants would be in captivity for 400 years and that then
they would come out of captivity and come back into the land of Canaan (which was
appointed to Shem and his descendants). Moses led the descendants of Jacob out
of Egypt, and then wrote commands and laws for the people to follow. A split
came around the 30 AD timeframe when Jesus came with a sword. Two thousand
years after Moses wrote the Torah, a different group of people believed that
the original revelation changed when an angel spoke to a man around 600 AD. Now
there are three groups that had stemmed from the descendants of Shem. The sword
of Jesus is far different than the sword of man. Jesus did not tell people to
divide, but that he initiated the division. Let’s look at a couple of
variations on this word.
NT:3163 mache (makh'-ay); from NT:3164; a battle, i.e.
(figuratively) controversy: KJV - fighting, strive, striving.
NT:3164 machomai (makh'-om-ahee); middle voice of an
apparently primary verb; to war, i.e. (figuratively) to quarrel, dispute: KJV -
fight, strive. (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance
with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft,
Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
James sums up the personal side of wars and fights.
Selfishness causes people to fight for things. What we see in the world is
people who want to take what is not theirs. Robberies, burglaries, and wars
come about by lust. This is not something that should happen within the body of
Christ, but we see in history a group of people that crusaded across the Middle
East and persecuted people, and an inquisition, forcing conversions. I like the
way the Message reads here.
James 4:1-2 Where do you think all these appalling wars
and quarrels [3163] come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They
come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside
yourselves. 2 You lust for what you don't have and are willing to kill to get
it. You want what isn't yours and will risk violence [3164] to get your hands
on it. (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene
H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
Lust is a prime factor in the personal aspect of divisions,
it is easy to see that this should not be something a disciple of Christ does. Paul
gives further instruction for within the body of Christ.
2 Tim 2:24-26 God's servant must not be
argumentative[3164] but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, 25
working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how
or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the
truth, 26 enabling them to escape the Devil's trap, where they are caught and
held captive, forced to run his errands. (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in
Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
The servant of God should not be argumentative, quarrel,
dispute, or war; otherwise the one whom God is working to bring to Himself
might very well stay caught in the devil’s trap. Jesus divides families but a
servant doesn’t do the dividing. That is a huge point. Today, we see so many of
the called out (the church) fighting amongst themselves, but we are not to do
that. There is a word translated divisions
(#1370) that means seditions. The
Bible tells us to avoid those who cause seditions. Not only are we to not
divide people, but we are to avoid those who do. We are to be good listeners
and teachers, and let the Holy Spirit work to bring people to God. There is a
right division of the word of truth. This is the only usage of this word orthotomeo. Keep in mind that there is a
right cutting, but those who don’t know the word cannot cut it correctly. There
are so many denominations in Christianity, and so many different cuttings, this
tell us that not everyone knows the word of truth.
NT:3718 orthotomeo (or-thot-om-eh'-o); from a compound of
NT:3717 and the base of NT:5114, to make a straight cut, i.e. (figuratively) to
dissect (expound) correctly (the divine message): KJV - rightly divide.
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded
Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and
International Bible Translators, Inc.)
2 Tim 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing [3718] the word of
truth. KJV
This is how we show ourselves approved to God, not men.
We do not divide the word of truth for personal approval by men. One who
rightly divides the word of truth will probably be loved by some men and hated
by others. What is the problem? On one level people don’t actually study the words
in the Bible in the original language. Therefore some people claim to have
studied a subject but are only reading the translation of a translation of the
original. For example we read English which is a translation of Latin which is
a translation of Greek. Things do get lost in translation. We are also at the
mercy of the translators who had a set of opinions and ideas that they believed
were correct, so instead of translating the exact text, they sometimes
translated as they “thought it should read”. Also, some languages don’t have
words for some things and rely on the context for description. Whereas the
Greek has very specific words for things, which means they have many words that
can be translated for one of our words. For example, in English, we have one
word for power. Greek has several
words that explain the kind of power.
I guarantee many will stand ashamed before God for spouting what they claim to
have studied because they didn’t actually study anything. Some of our most
touchy subjects today cause such contention among people because some have
studied and some have only read the translations. We show ourselves approved by
being workmen who can make a straight cut. Reading and studying are two
different things. One day we all may be ashamed standing before Jesus and being
shown that what we thought was correct was in fact incorrect. How will we
explain to Jesus the reasons we hurt or offended other people in His body was
due to our own laziness? Jesus came to divide between those who are with Him or
against Him, not between pink and blue, left and right, up and down, or opinion
vs opinion.
Luke 12:51-53 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on
earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division [1267]: 52 For from henceforth
there shall be five in one house divided [1266], three against two, and two
against three.53 The father shall be divided [1266] against the son, and the
son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter
against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the
daughter in law against her mother in law. KJV
NT:1267 diamerismos (dee-am-er-is-mos'); from NT:1266;
disunion (of opinion and conduct): KJV - division.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive
Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary.
Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible
Translators, Inc.)
NT:1266 diamerizo (dee-am-er-id'-zo); from NT:1223 and
NT:3307; to partition thoroughly (literally in distribution, figuratively in
dissension): KJV - cloven, divide, part. (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's
Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright ©
1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
We see the division Jesus brings between family members,
but this is because of people making the decision to stand with or against
Jesus. This disunity is the division. That does not mean people can’t commune
together, love one another, and enjoy spending time with each other. The
division will be clear at the time of the calling up of the called out. But
again we don’t bring the division, Jesus does. We need to keep our swords in
our sheaths and let Jesus be Lord. When Jesus calls from the clouds, those who have
been put down for their faith in an extra dimensional God will be vindicated
and every eye will see.
Luke 11:16-20 And others, tempting him, sought of him a
sign from heaven.17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every
kingdom divided [1266] against itself is brought to desolation; and a house
divided against a house falleth.18 If Satan also be divided [1266]against
himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils
through Beelzebub.19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your
sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.20 But if I with the
finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
KJV
At that time people were quite divided regarding Jesus.
Was he or wasn’t he the Messiah? This caused a split among the people of that
time. Jesus tries to explain that if he was working for the devil and healing
people and leading them to God, the devil’s kingdom would be divided. It would
be similar to a group within an army who instead of fighting and killing the
enemy, help the enemy. That is the illogical thinking people had. They decided
that the healings and miracles Jesus did had to be from the devil. Jesus said
that that was stupid. Healings and miracles come about when there is a change
in the dimensional parameters of our circumstances. In other words, a parameter
changes and a once blind man can now see because something outside of our
understanding changed the condition of his eyes. I’ve heard Christians say the
same thing when someone gets healed, that their healing must have been from the
devil. How ridiculous. The devil is not in the business of healing Christians.
Another word for divisions is schism which is a split or gap.
NT:4978 schisma (skhis'-mah); from NT:4977; a split or
gap ("schism"), literally or figuratively: KJV - division, rent,
schism. (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
John 7:40-43 Many of the people therefore, when they
heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.41 Others said, This is
the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?42 Hath not the
scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of
Bethlehem, where David was?43 So there was a division [4978]among the people
because of him. KJV
The people were split because they knew the prophecy.
Some thought Jesus was a prophet, some thought he was the Anointed Messiah, and
some didn’t think he was either prophetic or anointed because of where he
started preaching. Today, people would probably be split in the same way,
especially if Jesus preached in the slums rather than the palaces. The
Pharisees were split as well.
John 9:16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man
is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a
man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division [4978] among
them. KJV
The people that were expecting the Messiah, could not
decide if that was who Jesus was. We can see how all these types of schisms
caused so many factions. Especially because the religious leaders were not in
agreement. Jesus told the Jews he had other sheep not of this fold that he had
to bring in. He also said he had to lay down his life. As far as people truly
understood, dying was the end of a life, how could he do something for humans
once he died.
John 10:16-21 And other sheep I have, which are not of
this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there
shall be one fold, and one shepherd.17 Therefore doth my Father love me,
because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.18 No man taketh it from
me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power
to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.19 There was a
division [4978] therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.20 And many of
them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?21 Others said, These
are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the
blind? KJV
Most Jews could not wrap their heads around Jesus being
the Messiah. Some people still can’t understand it. When Jesus was in his
earthly body everyone was forced into a position of being for or against Jesus
as Messiah. This will happen again in the tribulation. Everyone will be forced
to decide either for or against Jesus. Coming back to the body of Christ, Paul tells
us to get along and be considerate of each other. Again the Message is a smooth
translation here.
1 Cor 1:10-14 I have a serious concern to bring up with
you, my friends, using the authority of Jesus, our Master. I'll put it as
urgently as I can: You must get along with each other. You must learn to be
considerate of one another, cultivating a life in common. 11 I bring this up
because some from Chloe's family brought a most disturbing report to my
attention — that you're fighting among yourselves! 12 I'll tell you exactly
what I was told: You're all picking sides, going around saying, "I'm on
Paul's side," or "I'm for Apollos," or "Peter is my
man," or "I'm in the Messiah group." 13 I ask you, "Has the
Messiah been chopped up in little pieces so we can each have a relic all our
own? Was Paul crucified for you? Was a single one of you baptized in Paul's
name?" (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible
in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
People were siding with men and following after men, and not
just following after Jesus. Paul is pointing out that Christ is not divided into
pieces; Christ is not disunited. Jesus is not separated, he is wholly for us. We
are not to pick sides with men, yet we still pick sides with men. We choose our
religion based on the men who head up denominations and their own personal
opinions. Instead we should be first and foremost wholly for Jesus. Second, we
can work or associate with men, but not to the degree that we divide ourselves
up under men. Romans 16:17, note and avoid those who divide the body. Paul is a
little frustrated that there are divisions among the called out. Let’s read
this in the Amplified.
1 Cor 11:18-19 For in the first place, when you assemble
as a congregation, I hear that there are cliques (divisions [4978] and
factions) among you; and I in part believe it, 19 For doubtless there have to
be factions or parties among you in order that they who are genuine and of
approved fitness may become evident and plainly recognized among you AMP
While we are not to make teams and cliques under men,
there will be divisions for a purpose. There have to be factions or parties
among you in order that the ones who are genuine can become evident and
recognized. That sounds interesting. Splits here are not because of lust, like
James told us, these divisions are a sifting and testing process so that we can
bring out the truth. People who teach have to be vetted, scrutinized, so that
we know if the truth has been taught, or the straight cutting of the truth has
been made. This is not in regards to personal opinion or cultural ideals, but
truly digging into the Bible. Again, not simply reading the translation of a translation,
but truly working the logos of truth.
Now here is the summation of the splitting within the
body of Christ. We all have different functions, and not everyone should be
considered a hand or foot or big toe. We are all different and need to allow
everyone their opportunity to work for Jesus in their calling. Again the
Message reads smoothly here.
1 Cor 12:20 What we have is one body with many parts,
each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own.
21 Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, "Get lost; I don't need you"?
Or, Head telling Foot, "You're fired; your job has been phased out"?
22 As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way — the
"lower" the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can
live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. 23 When it's a
part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether
the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor
just as it is, without comparisons. 24 If anything, you have more concern for
the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn't you prefer good
digestion to full-bodied hair?
I like the way this is stated. We need our bowels more
than we need an eye. We will die without a proper functioning liver, so we care
more for what is unseen. Yet in the congregations, we do the opposite. There
should be no splits between functions in the congregation, no esteeming one
function over another. Let’s go on with Paul’s points.
1 Cor 12:25 The way God designed our bodies is a model
for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every
other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, 26 the parts we see
and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the
hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into
the exuberance.
This reminds us of the Letter of Aristeas, who wrote to
explain that the law was not about the clean and unclean animals, but about
clean and unclean behaviors. Paul is making that point here. We can’t cut out
our pancreas or colon and function properly. The most extroverted people seem
to think their function is more important in the body of Christ, whereas the
more introverted people are usually condemned for not being part of the
extroverted crowd. Let’s understand, both are needed and there should be no
splits within the congregation on this matter. Paul finishes up his ideas.
1 Cor 12:27 You are Christ's body — that's who you are!
You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your
"part" mean anything. 28 You're familiar with some of the parts that
God has formed in his church, which is his "body": apostles prophets
teachers miracle workers healers helpers organizers those who pray in tongues.
29 But it's obvious by now, isn't it, that Christ's church is a complete Body
and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It's not all Apostle, not all Prophet,
not all Miracle Worker, 30 not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all
Interpreter of Tongues. 31 And yet some of you keep competing for so-called
"important" parts. (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary
Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
“Unidimensional” means one-dimensional. Jesus’ body is
not one dimension. An example of one dimension would be a line drawn from point
A to point B. Christ’s body is multi-dimensional. There are as many as 26
possible dimensions, Jesus functioned in 11 dimensions, but we barely
understand 4 dimensions. This is why we get so lopsided within our
congregations. Think of the body of Christ as a cube in time, rather than a
simple line. There are inner workings and outer workings, some seen, some
unseen, yet all moving forward in time, not stagnant. Growing and evolving, not
going backward, is the direction of the body of Christ. We have to look at it
from above rather than from within to grasp this. To see this more clearly,
picture a butterfly, it morphs and changes in stages of existence. But
butterflies in warmer climates transform in differing time cycles than
butterflies in colder climates. The called out body of Christ grows and evolves
in a forward direction, sometimes the body is rather cube-ish and sometimes the
body is rather sphere-ish, or cylindrical. It is not unidimensional.
At the time of Jesus’ baptism by John, the Book of Mark
uses a variation of the word schism
meaning to split or sever in regards to the heavens.
NT:4977 schizo (skhid'-zo); apparently a primary verb; to
split or sever (literally or figuratively): KJV - break, divide, open, rend,
make a rent.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Mark 1:8-11 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.9 And it came to pass in those days, that
Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.10 And
straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened [4977], and
the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:11 And there came a voice from
heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. KJV
When the heavens were severed, the people heard the voice
of God. This is a dimensional break, where outside of our understanding,
something out of the ordinary happened. Understand it this way: what we know
about our world/universe is limited to the boundaries of four dimensions,
length, width, height, and time. If we were to travel into different dimensions,
we would find that gravity is not a constant; its rules don’t apply in higher
dimensions. Jesus walking on water is one example. Another example is Jesus
walking through walls. The principals of matter, in this case what we believe
to be solid, does not exist. Therefore when the heavens are severed, something
enters our “snow globe” of existence that we cannot explain with exactness.
That is the reason for Jesus coming to rescue the world. We are shut up into a
tri-combination of length, depth, width, height, and/or breadth, and we do not
understand that there are other dimensions that we cannot know by any
combination of those three factors. Jesus had to break open our understanding
because it has been hidden from us. This is what ultimately causes division.
Not Jesus who walked as a man, but the Anointed One who exists beyond our range
of understanding. Both within and without the body of Christ, our lack of
understanding of His reality causes us to split, fight, sever, and divide. What
we see is Jesus’ sword dividing humans, even among families, into those who
believe on an other dimensional actuality,
and those who don’t.
This becomes divided further because the three groups we
looked at, the Jews, Christians, and Muslims, all believe in a God of extra
dimensionality. The gap is between Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and end, the first and the last, and Jesus not being the Messiah. That again
sums up the entire key to life. Jesus Is.
We humans don’t bring the sword to divide the people up, Jesus does that.We
should avoid those people who do divide. Our part is to be his disciples, by
listening, keeping our cool, teaching, and being patient with others who don’t
know Jesus and think differently. Then within the body of Christ we must allow
everyone to function as they have been called by Him. We then do not side with
men, or follow men, or make allegiances with men, but we test and try those who
teach to see if what they have said is the straight cutting of the logos of
truth. Recognizing that Jesus is multi-dimensional and His Body is not one
dimensional but evolving and growing, will help us to stand before Jesus unashamed.
The divisions are made by Jesus not us, which is the dividing line, not
opinions, or beliefs, or suppositions. We then search for the right cutting of
the logos, without cutting and dividing each other.
