DIVISION AND CONFUSION
The history of Christianity is a history of divisions. What a shame the divisions in Christianity are to the Lord! In Christianity there is division upon division. Christians are known for the fact that they are easily divided. Consider how many Christian divisions there are in the city of Cleveland. On just one street there may be a number of divisions. On one corner there may be the Church of Christ, and on another, the Assembly of God. How easy it is for Christians to be divided! It seems that anyone can start something and call it a church. What lawlessness!
This is Babel, the source of Babylon. Today the whole of Christianity is a great Babel, which means confusion. Some Christians are arguing that we should not say that they are in Babylon. But they need to see that as long as they are a division, they are Babylonian. Division denotes confusion, and confusion is the basic characteristic of Babel. As long as you are in division, you are in confusion. As long as you are in confusion, you are Babel. Every denomination is Babylonian, and every division is part of Babel. The Catholic Church, the Protestant denominations, and all the independent groups are in a condition of confusion. All are Babylonian.
CHRIST, THE UNIQUE HUSBAND
In a spiritual sense, division is fornication. Fornication is a lawless act. It is according to God’s ordination for a woman to have a husband, but she must take a husband within the bounds of God’s ordination. Anything other than God’s ordination is fornication, lawlessness. Fornication produces confusion. The church, the wife, must have one husband, and that husband is Christ. But for the church to be divided indicates that the church has more than one husband. You may ask who is the husband other than Christ. If you look at today’s Christianity, you will see that every group has a different husband with a different name. When those in the Lutheran denomination call themselves Lutherans, they indicate that they are married to Luther. Luther was a servant of God, but no church should be of Luther. When the Corinthians were saying, "I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ," Paul said, "Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" (1 Cor. 1:12-13). Paul seemed to be saying, "You are not of me. Christ is the unique husband. All of you are of Christ." In 2 Corinthians 11:2 Paul even used the word husband: "I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Any person, thing, or matter other than Christ that becomes the basis of a Christian group is another husband. To have such a husband is to commit fornication. How many husbands there are today in Christianity!
(The Spirit and the Body, Chapter 18, by Witness Lee)
