The First Cause of Division

The first cause of divisions in the church is the misunderstanding of the gospel message. The second cause of divisions in the church is the misunderstanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

First Corinthians chapter two begins with a reminder to the saints at Corinth, that when Paul came to Corinth he came to tell them about Jesus Christ and Him crucified, that their “faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God,” (1 Corinthians 2:5).

The real problem in the church was those in Corinth had turned from the apostles to other teachers, deceitful men who disguised themselves as apostles. They were tickling the ears of the Corinthians just as false teachers; the deceitful workers who disguise themselves as a messenger from the Lord are doing in the twenty-first century church. The preaching and teaching of the true gospel message is offensive and foolishness to those seeking to have their ears tickled. Those who identified themselves with Paul and his preaching the unbelievers in Corinth labeled them fools. Those who accepted the idea the preaching of the true gospel message was foolishness and offensive identified themselves with new leaders whose preaching and teachings were far more acceptable. Associating with them gave themselves a much higher status in the eyes of the world.

Paul did not deny that his message and preaching were foolish and offensive to the followers of the ear ticklers; rather, he emphasizes this is so. In verse 6, Paul makes a sharp right turn. Up to this point, he has admitted the fact that his gospel is foolish and weak. Now he begins to clarify and expand his instruction. The true gospel message he preached is foolish and weak to unbelievers, but it is neither foolish nor weak in the sight of God. This is why the believers in the church should not regard the true gospel message as foolish or weak.

The gospel message preached by the apostles is not of “this age.” This is why the rulers of this age are not able to understand the message. Even those who are the wisest and most powerful people of this age are unable to understand the true gospel message. The rulers of this age include both the spiritual rulers and the human rulers. This is evident at the cross of Calvary. The spiritual rulers believed they could destroy the Ruler of all ages through the human rulers of the day. It is obvious the human rulers of the day did not understand the true gospel message preached by the Old Testament prophets. Evidence of this is they turned the Messiah over to the Romans who fulfilled the evil intent of the hearts of the rulers of that day. Today, the deceived and rebellious rulers of both the secular and religious communities and the people cannot see the true gospel message clearly manifested to men in the person of Jesus Christ.

At the cross where they crucified Jesus is where man’s wisdom and God’s wisdom separate. In the person of our Lord Jesus Christ God reveals His wisdom. The rejection of our Lord Jesus Christ reveals the perverted wisdom of man. The true gospel message preached by prophets in Old Testament and the apostles in the New Testament reveal the eternal wisdom of God established in eternity past. The wisdom of man is limited, temporal. This is why he cannot understand God’s eternal wisdom. Why he cannot see, hear, or comprehend the things of God.