April 26th, 2026
by Watermark Church
by Watermark Church
In a world increasingly marked by polarization and conflict, the call to unity has never been more urgent. From fractured families to divided communities, from struggling businesses to a polarized nation, we see the devastating effects of division all around us. Yet Scripture offers us a profound truth: God is a unifier, a reconciler who brings broken things together.
The Heart of a Unifying God
Throughout history, God has been in the business of reconciliation. He takes people who were once far from Him—born into sin and wandering in their own ways—and draws them into relationship with Himself. This isn't just a theological concept; it's a transformative reality that changes everything about how we live.
When we look at the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—we see perfect unity. There is no division in heaven, no discord among the heavenly host. They move in complete accord, unified in purpose and mission. This divine unity serves as our model and our calling.
The church, at its best, reflects this heavenly reality. It becomes a laboratory where the principles of reconciliation, forgiveness, and love are lived out daily. When someone accepts Christ and surrenders to Him, they become a new creation. They join a community of believers learning to live out these transformative truths together.
The Spiritual Battle Behind Division
What we often forget is that there's a spiritual war raging around us. Wherever God is moving, drawing people to Himself and creating unity, Satan is also at work. He is the deceiver, the destroyer, the one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
This enemy isn't playing games. He's after our families, our marriages, our children. He wants to bring division wherever God is creating unity. Understanding this spiritual reality helps us recognize that division isn't merely a relational problem—it's spiritual warfare.
Romans 16:17-18 offers a stark warning: "Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learn. Avoid them. Because such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words."
The instruction to "avoid" divisive people is stronger than we might initially think. The Greek word means "to bend the line"—when you see them coming, you don't engage in pleasantries. You literally change your path. This isn't about being rude; it's about protecting yourself from a destructive spirit.
Recognizing Divisive People
How do we identify divisive individuals? They display certain unmistakable characteristics:
A Different Spirit: Divisive people operate with ego, pride, self-righteousness, and selfishness. They're not team players or others-oriented. They don't contribute to the overall health of their family, church, business, or community. Instead, they act as solo manipulators.
Different Words: They would rather talk about you than to you. To your face, everything seems fine, but behind your back, their words tell a different story. Their speech betrays their true intentions.
Different Attitudes: They're not teachable or humble. They don't respect authority—whether it's a teacher, parent, or ultimately, God Himself. This unteachable spirit reveals a deeper problem with submission to divine authority.
Different Actions: They actively work to divide what God has brought together. Wherever God is moving, divisive people show up to undermine, criticize, and create chaos.
The Litmus Test: Tell them "no." A divisive person takes rejection personally, gets angry, reacts poorly, and spreads negativity. In contrast, someone genuinely trying to help will accept a "no" graciously and remain on your team.
Biblical Examples of Division
Scripture provides sobering examples of divisive people. Korah rose up against Moses' authority, questioning his leadership and rallying others to his cause with flattering speech. God's response was dramatic—the earth opened up and swallowed Korah and his followers.
Even more heartbreaking was Absalom, King David's own son, who "stole the hearts of the Israelites." Like a modern politician, he met people at the city gate, charmed them, and won their loyalty—all while plotting against his own father. His end was tragic, a reminder that God takes division seriously.
Proverbs 6 makes it clear: God hates division. Not dislikes—hates. This strong language should alert us to the severity of the issue.
The Path to Unity
So how do we cultivate unity in our lives, families, churches, and communities?
Unity Starts with Jesus: Everything begins with coming under Christ's authority. When we seek Jesus in both our private and public lives, recognizing that all authority in heaven and earth belongs to Him, He begins bringing unity to every area of our lives.
Unity Requires Alignment: Romans 15:7-9 calls us to welcome one another as Christ welcomed us, to the glory of God. When we align ourselves under God's authority, our praise, gratitude, and worship flow naturally. Husbands who take their role seriously under Christ's authority transform their families. Wives who submit to God's purposes find it easier to respect their husbands. Children who honor God find it natural to obey their parents.
Unity = Kingdom Power: When God's people come together under His rule, He releases His power. Romans 15:13 promises that God will "fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
A House Divided Cannot Stand
Jesus taught that a house divided against itself cannot stand. This truth applies to marriages, businesses, churches, communities, and nations. Abraham Lincoln famously built on this biblical principle in his "House Divided" speech, warning that America couldn't survive as a divided nation. The Civil War that followed proved his words prophetic.
Today, we face similar divisions. But the answer remains the same: we must come together under God's authority. We must recognize divisive spirits and avoid them. We must pursue reconciliation and healing through repentance and submission to Christ.
The Call to Watchfulness
We're called to be on guard—watching for division in our families, businesses, communities, and churches. Titus 3:10 provides clear instruction: warn a divisive person once, warn them twice, then avoid them. Why? Because you cannot change a divisive person. Only God can fix them.
The best thing we can do is get out of the way and let God bring them to repentance and restoration. Our job is to protect the unity God has created by refusing to engage with those who would destroy it.
Hope for Restoration
Yet there is always hope for repentance. There is a place for reconciliation and healing. But it requires the divisive person to recognize their rebellion against God's authority, to acknowledge their pride and ego, and to submit themselves to Christ.
When we "edge God out" of our lives (ego), we edge greatness out as well. True greatness only comes through submission to divine authority. After all, Jesus taught that the last will be first—a complete reversal of worldly thinking.
Today, unity is possible. Healing is available. Reconciliation can happen. But it all starts with coming under the authority of Jesus Christ and living for His honor and glory. When we do, that commitment will manifest itself in every other area of our lives—our marriages, families, businesses, and communities.
God is a reconciler. He brings people together. He brings healing and restoration. That's who He is. And when we align ourselves with His purposes, we experience the power of the Holy Spirit working through us to create the unity He desires.
In a divided world, we can be agents of reconciliation. In broken families, we can be instruments of healing. In polarized communities, we can be voices calling people back to the One who unites us all.
The question is: will we answer that call?
The Heart of a Unifying God
Throughout history, God has been in the business of reconciliation. He takes people who were once far from Him—born into sin and wandering in their own ways—and draws them into relationship with Himself. This isn't just a theological concept; it's a transformative reality that changes everything about how we live.
When we look at the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—we see perfect unity. There is no division in heaven, no discord among the heavenly host. They move in complete accord, unified in purpose and mission. This divine unity serves as our model and our calling.
The church, at its best, reflects this heavenly reality. It becomes a laboratory where the principles of reconciliation, forgiveness, and love are lived out daily. When someone accepts Christ and surrenders to Him, they become a new creation. They join a community of believers learning to live out these transformative truths together.
The Spiritual Battle Behind Division
What we often forget is that there's a spiritual war raging around us. Wherever God is moving, drawing people to Himself and creating unity, Satan is also at work. He is the deceiver, the destroyer, the one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
This enemy isn't playing games. He's after our families, our marriages, our children. He wants to bring division wherever God is creating unity. Understanding this spiritual reality helps us recognize that division isn't merely a relational problem—it's spiritual warfare.
Romans 16:17-18 offers a stark warning: "Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learn. Avoid them. Because such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words."
The instruction to "avoid" divisive people is stronger than we might initially think. The Greek word means "to bend the line"—when you see them coming, you don't engage in pleasantries. You literally change your path. This isn't about being rude; it's about protecting yourself from a destructive spirit.
Recognizing Divisive People
How do we identify divisive individuals? They display certain unmistakable characteristics:
A Different Spirit: Divisive people operate with ego, pride, self-righteousness, and selfishness. They're not team players or others-oriented. They don't contribute to the overall health of their family, church, business, or community. Instead, they act as solo manipulators.
Different Words: They would rather talk about you than to you. To your face, everything seems fine, but behind your back, their words tell a different story. Their speech betrays their true intentions.
Different Attitudes: They're not teachable or humble. They don't respect authority—whether it's a teacher, parent, or ultimately, God Himself. This unteachable spirit reveals a deeper problem with submission to divine authority.
Different Actions: They actively work to divide what God has brought together. Wherever God is moving, divisive people show up to undermine, criticize, and create chaos.
The Litmus Test: Tell them "no." A divisive person takes rejection personally, gets angry, reacts poorly, and spreads negativity. In contrast, someone genuinely trying to help will accept a "no" graciously and remain on your team.
Biblical Examples of Division
Scripture provides sobering examples of divisive people. Korah rose up against Moses' authority, questioning his leadership and rallying others to his cause with flattering speech. God's response was dramatic—the earth opened up and swallowed Korah and his followers.
Even more heartbreaking was Absalom, King David's own son, who "stole the hearts of the Israelites." Like a modern politician, he met people at the city gate, charmed them, and won their loyalty—all while plotting against his own father. His end was tragic, a reminder that God takes division seriously.
Proverbs 6 makes it clear: God hates division. Not dislikes—hates. This strong language should alert us to the severity of the issue.
The Path to Unity
So how do we cultivate unity in our lives, families, churches, and communities?
Unity Starts with Jesus: Everything begins with coming under Christ's authority. When we seek Jesus in both our private and public lives, recognizing that all authority in heaven and earth belongs to Him, He begins bringing unity to every area of our lives.
Unity Requires Alignment: Romans 15:7-9 calls us to welcome one another as Christ welcomed us, to the glory of God. When we align ourselves under God's authority, our praise, gratitude, and worship flow naturally. Husbands who take their role seriously under Christ's authority transform their families. Wives who submit to God's purposes find it easier to respect their husbands. Children who honor God find it natural to obey their parents.
Unity = Kingdom Power: When God's people come together under His rule, He releases His power. Romans 15:13 promises that God will "fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
A House Divided Cannot Stand
Jesus taught that a house divided against itself cannot stand. This truth applies to marriages, businesses, churches, communities, and nations. Abraham Lincoln famously built on this biblical principle in his "House Divided" speech, warning that America couldn't survive as a divided nation. The Civil War that followed proved his words prophetic.
Today, we face similar divisions. But the answer remains the same: we must come together under God's authority. We must recognize divisive spirits and avoid them. We must pursue reconciliation and healing through repentance and submission to Christ.
The Call to Watchfulness
We're called to be on guard—watching for division in our families, businesses, communities, and churches. Titus 3:10 provides clear instruction: warn a divisive person once, warn them twice, then avoid them. Why? Because you cannot change a divisive person. Only God can fix them.
The best thing we can do is get out of the way and let God bring them to repentance and restoration. Our job is to protect the unity God has created by refusing to engage with those who would destroy it.
Hope for Restoration
Yet there is always hope for repentance. There is a place for reconciliation and healing. But it requires the divisive person to recognize their rebellion against God's authority, to acknowledge their pride and ego, and to submit themselves to Christ.
When we "edge God out" of our lives (ego), we edge greatness out as well. True greatness only comes through submission to divine authority. After all, Jesus taught that the last will be first—a complete reversal of worldly thinking.
Today, unity is possible. Healing is available. Reconciliation can happen. But it all starts with coming under the authority of Jesus Christ and living for His honor and glory. When we do, that commitment will manifest itself in every other area of our lives—our marriages, families, businesses, and communities.
God is a reconciler. He brings people together. He brings healing and restoration. That's who He is. And when we align ourselves with His purposes, we experience the power of the Holy Spirit working through us to create the unity He desires.
In a divided world, we can be agents of reconciliation. In broken families, we can be instruments of healing. In polarized communities, we can be voices calling people back to the One who unites us all.
The question is: will we answer that call?
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