Song Meanings: Divide and Be Conquered

You can stream this song at http://www.undertheroseband.com. 

Lyrics

How can we walk with no feet to tread the earth?
How can we hear with no ears to take in sound?
The weak must not be denied
To their care we pledge our lives 
Greaer honor to brothers cast aside
We lay down our pride

One faith and one hope and one Spirit
Divide and be conquered
One love, one body, one Father
Divide and be conquered

How can we see with no eyes to take in light
How can we touch with no hands to feel the world
When you're honored, I'll rejoice with you
It is my honor, too
When you suffer, I will suffer, too
I will bleed with you

Brothers live as one
Love as one
Bleed as one

Brothers live as one

Love as one

Die as one

Forever

Meaning

The song began with some lyrics Jason had written about the need for Christian churches to pursue the unity described in biblical passages like Ephesians 4. I found the words “divide and be conquered” to be effective and catchy, and my own recent experience with church conflict drew me to the message Jason was conveying. Jason’s chorus makes reference to Ephesians 4:4–6: “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Interestingly, the Bible simultaneously stresses the importance of both unity and diversity to the Church. While we are all united by the one Messiah who rescued us from ourselves and granted us eternal salvation, we are not instructed to deny all the characteristics and personality traits that make us individuals. The biblical metaphor of the Church being Christ’s body works well because each individual corresponds to a different body part. Each part has its own function and expertise, and when these parts work together, they contribute to the effective functioning of the Body as a whole. The verses of the “Divide and Be Conquered” refer to this metaphor, as described in 1 Corinthians 12.

The Bible also admonishes each individual to care for other members of the Body in the same way he would care for himself: “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Cor. 12:26). The pre-chorus lyrics (“If you suffer, I will suffer, too”) reference this passage.

The bridge lyrics further reinforces the lifelong commitment believers should make to their fellow Christians. We live as one, love as one, bleed as one, and die as one. With everything that Jason and I have been through together, we strive to take this oath seriously in each other’s lives.

--Aaron