Have you ever wondered why there are so many different denominations of Christianity? And they aren’t just different in name, each denomination has its own understanding of Scripture. They have different traditions, different ways to worship, and various things that each regards as important.
For example, at a Catholic church, communion and confession are vital. At a Pentecostal church, speaking in tongues is emphasized. At other churches with different denominations, baptism, praise, or volunteer work have greater value.
There are over 30,000 denominations of Christianity in the world today. That’s 30,000 different ways to worship and know God. How is it that Christianity has become so divided? And do you think that was God and Jesus’ original intention?
The Origin of Division
While God is the Creator and rightful owner of this world, and while He intended peace and unity, unfortunately, there was interference with His plan. Satan, once an angel of heaven whom God trusted and who was considered perfect, betrayed God. He was beautiful, he was wise, and he was also greatly loved. But arrogance and corruption grew within him until he believed he could do better than God.
“You said in your heart, I will raise my throne above the stars of God…I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
Isaiah 14:13-14
Thus, the first work of Satan was to create a division within heaven. Many angels followed him and became evil spirits, cast out of heaven along with Satan (Isaiah 14:12, Jude 1:6). And while that division began in the spiritual world, Satan soon spread his division in the physical world as well. (Genesis 3:1-5)
Division at Work In Early Christianity
These same evil spirits have been working since that time. And because Satan wants to obstruct God, he now sets his throne in the place where God’s people gather: the church.
Turning peace into argument, clarity into confusion, causing believers to fight amongst themselves and eventually go their separate ways.
Christianity began as one group that shared the same understanding of the words from Jesus. The 12 disciples were tasked with spreading this gospel throughout the whole world. However, before long, the devil started to show his face in the church and sowed division.
The early church, much like today, had countless disputes arise. Paul urges the church in Corinth to remain steadfast and perfectly united in mind and thought. This was because some of the believers had begun to devote their allegiance to specific people.
What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ,” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?”
1 Corinthians 1:12-13
And to the church in Rome, he asked the early believers to be wary of those who cause division within the church, because they were not serving Christ.
What Does Division Look Like Now?
So how exactly does the devil cause such divisions to take place? Imagine this: two leaders in a church have a dispute about the meaning of a particular passage. When they are unable to settle it, they go their separate ways and now two different doctrines are being preached.
Similarly, a difference in opinion on how to worship comes up and the church splits on account of that. It is through divisions like these happening all the time that now each denomination today has its own traditions, standards, and rules for worship. They even have different standards of salvation.
Through confusion and disagreements, the devil has been able to divide Christ’s once united church. (2 Thessalonians 2:4)
The Reality of Christianity Today
The church is described as the body of Christ. This means it’s made of many parts that should connect as one (1 Corinthians 12). But this isn’t how Christianity looks today. We have become so different from each other that once we get beyond the ‘we both believe in Jesus,’ we find that communication and agreement can be very difficult to come by.
What we see today is the result of 2,000 years of dissension and division. We’re all subject to this environment Satan has worked hard to create. And I’m not here to condemn any denomination or tell you to join one over another.
But now that we’re aware of what Satan has been doing, we should wonder, where is God in all of this and what is He doing? Surely He must be working even harder to do something else. Satan’s will is division; what is God’s will?
No matter the denomination, we all desire the same thing. We want to be where God is — and God wants this too. He wants to be united with His people. To be all in all.
The Takeaway
So let’s learn something from Satan’s work. The heart that wants to split when things get hard or uncomfortable–is not the heart we should have. The Bible is full of examples of God’s people being asked to do things they didn’t want to do. They were challenged to follow orders and teachings that sounded weird or uncomfortable to them.
Remember when Jesus told a whole crowd of people to eat his flesh and drink his blood? Lots of Jesus’ disciples left him after that one (John 6:60-66). But if it’s the truth, according to the Word of God–whether in doctrine, how to worship, or how to live our daily lives–what would God want us to do?
Even if it’s uncomfortable or maybe we personally disagree, God desires us to follow his commands in His Word. The Bible is the true standard. And in doing, so we behave as true Christians, and show true love to God (1 John 5:3).
So now, what we need to do is look beyond denominations and different teachings between people, and seek out the Truth. Then, we’ll be able to clearly know where God is and what we need to do to be reconnected with Him. And only then will we really be able to realize what Jesus meant by ‘the Truth setting us free’.
Written by Samantha
If you want to read more about how to grow in your life of faith or learn more about what God wants, check out these posts!
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