How can we discern and address the root causes of church divisions?

1 Corinthians 11:18

“For in the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.”

Recognizing the roots of division

- Pride and party spirit (1 Corinthians 1:12)

- Social or economic favoritism (11:21; James 2:1–4)

- False teaching (2 Peter 2:1; Acts 20:29–30)

- Personal offenses left unresolved (Matthew 18:15)

- Spiritual immaturity and worldliness (1 Corinthians 3:1–3)

Discerning what lies beneath

- Search the Scriptures: “Now the Bereans were more noble… they examined the Scriptures daily to see if these teachings were true” (Acts 17:11).

- Check motives: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).

- Look for fruit: works of the flesh divide (Galatians 5:19–21); fruit of the Spirit unites (Galatians 5:22–23).

- Seek godly counsel: “Obey your leaders and submit to them” (Hebrews 13:17). Mature elders help identify heart issues beneath surface disagreements.

Addressing divisions biblically

- Re-center on Christ and the gospel: “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

- Cultivate humility: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another” (Romans 12:10).

- Speak truth in love (Ephesians 4:15); avoid gossip and harsh words (Proverbs 26:20; Ephesians 4:29).

- Pursue prompt reconciliation: “First be reconciled to your brother” (Matthew 5:23–24).

- Practice church discipline when repentance is refused (Matthew 18:15–17; Titus 3:10–11).

- Guard doctrinal purity: “Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching” (2 Timothy 1:13–14).

- Keep gathering: “Let us not neglect meeting together… but encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:24–25).

- Celebrate the Lord’s Supper worthily, remembering our shared union: “Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body” (1 Corinthians 10:17).

- Depend on prayer and the Spirit: “Pray in the Spirit at all times” (Ephesians 6:18).

When these steps are followed, the church experiences the blessing described in Psalm 133:1—“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony”—and the watching world sees the answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17:21, “that they may all be one… so that the world may believe.”