Background Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:15, KJV
One way of thinking about dividing is to sift, like sifting flour through a baking sieve. When we sift flour for baking, we divide individual particles of flour and hold back some of the clumps that have stuck together because of dampness or impurity. And that makes for a softer batch of flour for baking.
One time, Jesus used the word "sift" in a negative way. He told one of His disciples that ill-hearted people wanted to "sift" the disciple: like when some ancient people tried to have part of a person through wrong means. (He became Christ with us, Emanuel, "the Holy Spirit made flesh"; but like the shepherd guarding a flock, Jesus took swift action against the lurking lion, not holding back from identifying true wickedness and warning disciples to avoid pitfalls that were imminent.)
So, the biblical word of Heaven also tells of a good kind of division: of removing sins as far as the east is from the west; of parting with parts of the "body" of the church that are corrupting the whole; of studying / searching / sorting through the Bible with a kind of understanding that helps us "hold fast to that which is good."
In reading the Bible, Heaven needs us to have right or spiritual insight or understanding.
So, when I've been puzzled by something I've read, I've placed a question mark where I've read; and I've prayerfully trusted in Heaven for answers.
One thing I understood right away, that many people seem not to understand, is why Jesus said beware the leaven of the Pharisees. Apparently, even the disciples didn't understand right away at that time.
Jesus asked them, "'Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the 5,000 and how many baskets you collected, or the seven loaves for the 4,000 and how many large baskets you collected? How do you not understand that I was not telling you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.'
"Then they understood that He was not telling them to beware of the yeast used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (Matthew 16:9-12)
Sometimes, a little bit of untruth, or a little bit of teaching that isn't true to Heaven, can cause a whole church to puff up with wrongdoing, just like a little bit of baking powder, yeast, or other leaven puffs up bread in a good way.
Truly, I think Jesus did three things when He rebuked the leaven of the Pharisees:
I think Jesus taught the disciples not to accept even a little wrong teaching.
I think He helped them to understand that we're not to worry about bread, that Heaven provides.
And I think He helped them think about the fact that traditions like having physically unleavened bread aren't what matters to Heaven. Instead, the way we live or teach does matter.
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