The next "work of the flesh," noted in Galatians 5:20 is translated "heresies," or "factions." We often relate heresy to teaching a false doctrine, but a heresy is actually creating a division or faction in the church.

Of course, this is often the result of a false doctrine, but it is not limited to that. There are people who are divisive and will use almost anything to bring divisions.  Factions have been created in churches over even the most trifling matters, but whether factions are created over something major or minor does not matter—it is a work of the flesh, and it is evil.

A main theme of the book of Jude is to recognize and watch out for those who "cause divisions" (verse 19), who are described as being like reefs are to ships (verse 12), they stay hidden and operate with subtlety, but they do great damage to believers. As this book also states, these are the ones in which the worst judgment is being reserved (verse 13). Without question, bringing divisions to the body of Christ is one of the worst transgressions in which we can be involved. In Proverbs 6:16-19, we are told that one of the seven things that the Lord hates is bringing "strife among brothers."

As we discussed previously, if you knew you were going to die tomorrow your prayers would become very real and focused on the things that mean the very most to you. Therefore, we can assume that the Lord's prayer the night before He was crucified reflected the things that were the deepest issues of His heart. Sown throughout that great prayer recorded in John 17, to the degree that it could be considered the main theme of that prayer, was the Lord's heart for the unity of His people. Let's look at these so that we can have a heart for the things that are on His heart:
 

When we look at the present state of the church it is understandable that many would consider a true unity of the church impossible. However, nothing is impossible for God, and we can be assured that the prayer of Jesus is going to be answered! Those who truly love Him love the things that He loves, and give all that they do to see His will done on the earth. Therefore, the unity of His people should be one of the primary devotions of every Christian. We must also consider that here the Lord does not just pray for our unity, but for us to have the same kind of unity that He has with the Father!

Though we can be sure that the prayer of Jesus is going to be answered, and that this will most certainly one day come to pass, if we are wise we, too, will begin to pray for this ourselves. Why should we pray if Jesus already has, and we know that it is going to come to pass? Intercession is not just for the purpose of getting God to do things for us, but it is also for the purpose of aligning our hearts with God's heart. The more we have invested in the unity of the body of Christ through the prayers we have made, the more our hearts will be devoted to it.

When Daniel read Jeremiah's prophecy that the exile would be seventy years, he did not just start rejoicing that the time was near for the remnant to return and rebuild Jerusalem, he started interceding for God's Word to come to pass. This is because, as we read in Psalm 115:16, "The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to the sons of men." It is for this reason, even though the Lord knows what we need better than we do, He requires that we ask Him. There must be intercession from those living on the earth before He will even move to accomplish even what He intends to do.

In John 17:20-21, the Lord adds to His reason for desiring the unity of His people when He prayed:

One of the reasons why the Lord prayed for our unity is "that they also may be in Us." This indicates that the way we abide in the Lord is by being in unity with one another. Indeed this has to be true because how could someone truly be in unity with the Head without also being in unity with His body? One of the truest evidences that we have indeed come to abide in Him will be our unity with one another.

Then the Lord gives us another crucial reason for this: When this unity comes, the whole world will believe that Jesus was sent by the Father. From the time there were just two brothers on the earth they could not get along, and one killed the other. Fighting among people has been the constant state of the world since the Fall. Therefore, when true unity among the people who follow Jesus is observed, it will be an unquestionable miracle to all of the people who live on the earth. This will cause them to know for sure that Jesus really was sent by God. Consequently, the greatest evangelistic power on the earth is the unity of the church.

In verse 22 of this great chapter, the Lord gives us an insight as to how this unity will come:

The body of Christ will never come into unity around a doctrine or church government, these things are important. Even so, the way His people are going to come into unity is by seeing His glory. When the Lamb came, even the twenty-four elders fell down and cast their crowns at His feet. Who could presume glory or position or maintain divisions in the presence of the Lamb?

I have had a few experiences when I saw the glory of God manifested while I was with a group of people. Not only were all of the petty differences I may have had with these people immediately shown as ridiculous as they were, but somehow we were all bonded together in a very special way because we had seen the glory of God together. I am often asked how the core team of our ministry has stayed together for so many years, and I can answer that easily—it is because we have experienced the glory of God together.

In John 17:23 the Lord adds yet another insight into the reason unity is so crucial for His people:

We are called "the body of Christ." Think about it: Will any part of your body enter into its full purpose without the rest of your body? Because we must be "perfected in unity," none of us can expect to enter into our own full purpose without the rest of the body of Christ. Therefore, if for no other reason than selfish ones, we should do all that we can to help bring unity to the body of Christ. We should also resist and recognize "heresy" for the great evil that it is, as well as anything or anyone that causes division in His church.