The Greek eris (G2054) means strife, quarreling, or contentious discord โ the spirit of fighting and division. It appears consistently in Paul's vice lists alongside sexual immorality and jealousy: Romans 1:29, 13:13; 1 Corinthians 1:11, 3:3; 2 Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:20; Philippians 1:15; Titus 3:9. The Corinthian church was riddled with eris โ divisions over teachers, spiritual gifts, and social status. Paul calls this 'worldly' and 'merely human' (1 Corinthians 3:3).
Eris is not the occasional disagreement but the entrenched spirit of contention โ the person or community that is perpetually at war with itself. Paul identifies it as a sign of spiritual immaturity: 'You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling (eris) among you, are you not worldly?' (1 Corinthians 3:3). Titus 3:9 warns Timothy to 'avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels (eris) about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.' The gospel creates peace; eris is a sign that the gospel has not yet fully taken root.