The following article by John Yates touches on a foundational matter as he speaks of  ‘the Father of spirits’ specifically within the context of marriage. This fits well with what I have been meditating on and speaking about from Heb 13:5-6 “God has said… therefore we can say with confidence…” The precursor to this (Heb 13:4) is the mandate; “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”

I pray you are enlightened by this article:

Marriage is a covenant involving a union between the Spirit of God and the spirit of husband and wife. “Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking?  Godly offspring. So guard yourselves  in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth..”"(Mal 2:15). The spiritual union of married people is a more than physical reality. (J. Yates)

Introduction

After recently encountering a string of very disturbing situations to do with marital dysfunction, I began to meditate on what is breaking down around us at a foundational level. Surprisingly, the answer I found is in Hebrews 12:9, “Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?” (Heb 12:9). God is our Father and in every circumstance of life he is working to perfect our deepest personhood – our spirits. ((I am using “spirit” in a dynamic relational sense in this article, not as a “part” of humanity.))

The context for this intimate Fatherly relationship with humanity is broader than we may at first think. In the widest circle God is the Creator – Father of all humanity  ((”as even some of your (Greek) poets have said, “For we are his offspring”‘ (Acts 17:28).)) in the next circle is the divinely instituted (pre- Fall) order of marriage (( Note the covenantal terminology, “who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God.”(Prov 2:17) )). Finally, there is the relationship God has with us in Christ.  Whatever the differences in these relationships, they are bound together by the reality of covenant. A covenant involves promises whereby two parties are to love/honour each other unconditionally. (( Many biblical covenants are made unilaterally, e.g. God’s covenant with Noah and his descendants (us), which encompasses divine mercy and stipulations for state and family (Gen 9:1-17) )) This means a covenant is NOT a contract, which is a mutual bargain of a conditional, “if….then”, sort. Relational breakdown in marriage, including that between Christ and his Bride, witnesses to a failure to understand and live in the intimacy of covenant love communicated by the Fathering of spirits.

This is a difficult subject to grasp, not because it is intellectually complex, but because it is known ((As in the biblical sense of “know” = intimate encounter, e.g. Gen 4:1; Amos 3:2; John 17:3; 1 Cor 13:12.)) only in relationship. Let me begin with the deepest of human covenantal contexts, marriage. ((Obviously covenantal because the promises made, by believers or non – believers, are unconditional, better…worse…richer…poorer”.))

Marriage and the Covenant of spirits

Marriage is a covenant involving a union between the Spirit of God and the spirit of husband and wife. “Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking?  Godly offspring. So guard yourselves  in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth..”(Mal 2:15). The spiritual union of married people is a more than physical reality. ((By “metaphysical” is meant something beyond material reality.))

The “one flesh” nature of marriage (Gen 2:24) is well known to Christians, but few realise that God is “the God of the spirits of all flesh” (Num 16:22; 27:16). In Hebrew thought “flesh” does not exclude “spirit”.  The “one flesh” of marriage incorporates a spirit- spirit bonding actualised by the Spirit of the Creator God in all marriages.

When Jesus said, “So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matt 19:6), he was warning against attacking that supernatural act of God which created the intimacy of married love in all its dimensions. Since adultery is an attack on a God ordained covenant, it is an attack on God himself! The failure to grasp this explains the absence of the fear of God in the many Western churches where sexual immorality is a regular feature of life.

It is not by accident that the same Old Testament book (Malachi) that speaks so richly of the spiritual union of marriage and warns so directly against infidelity also speaks so clearly of the fear of the Lord.  “If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts” (Mal 1:6).  At the deepest level, it is ignorance and rejection of God as the Father of spiritual union in marriage that is behind the appalling marital breakdown in Western Christianity. ((Although these observations are drawn from Old Testament texts they maintain their relevance because they are grounded in a creational order.  Paul in fact develops these principles in 1 Corinthians 6:16 -17.)) Only a revelation of Christ as God’s one faithful covenant partner can deliver us from sin. ((As an Israelite, Jesus is “born under the law” (Gal 4:4), this makes him part of the bride of Yahweh.))

Jesus and the Father of spirits

In seeking to understand how Jesus has redeemed all covenant relationships, and marriage in particular, we must begin with the reality of his human spirit. As God of the spirits of all flesh (Num 16:22; 27:16), God is the God of the spirit of the flesh of Jesus (John 1:14).  The Father of our spirits (Heb 12:9) is first of all the Father of the spirit of Jesus.

This is most evident in the suffering of the cross for here the vocabulary of “spirit” finds its intensest expression. At the point of death, the Gospels record Jesus’ “yielded up his spirit.” (Matt 27:50), prayed “I commit my spirit!”(Luke 23:46) and “gave up his spirit.” (John 19:30). In each case the receiver of the spirit is the Father.

Since Jesus is made “perfect through suffering” (Heb 2:10; 5:9), then this must include the perfection of his spirit. John’s description of the passion points us in this direction.

“After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished (τετέλεσται), said (to fulfill (τελειωθῇ) the Scripture), “I thirst.” …When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” (τετέλεσται) and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (John 19:28, 30).

The words in Greek include a sense of completion or fulfilment; the spirit of Jesus has become completely all that God ever desired of the human spirit in its relationship with him

Accepting that the human spirit of Jesus was perfected in his death, we need to ask how this happened and for what purpose. The answer is found in his dying prayer, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) In taking the place of covenant breakers who despise God as their Father and Husband, ((Israel as the Bride of God is revealed in Isa 54:5; 62:5; Jer 2:1; Hosea etc.)) Jesus perfectly reflects the intimate heart of God in his act of forgiveness. In praying for the forgiveness of his persecutors he shows that the new covenant promise is real, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”" (Jer 31:34). It is pre-eminently Jesus forgiving that reveals that in him the union of the human spirit, the Holy Spirit and the Fatherhood of God have come to perfection. ((The essence of covenant is unconditional love, and the essence of this love is unconditional forgiveness.))

Returning to our basic text, “be subject to the Father of spirits and live” (Heb 12:9) we are now in a position to understand how resurrection life flows from the cross. Jesus is “put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Pet 3:18 cf. 2 Cor 13:14) because his obedience in sacrificially forgiving means that a human being has loved as unconditionally as God loves. Such a human being is eternally united to the life of God.

The resurrection is not a mere “reward” for his obedience, ((As, for example, paradise is for Islamic jihadis.)) the resurrection life of Christ is the manifestation of the complete union between his spirit and the Spirit of his Father.

Receiving the Spirit of Jesus

To receive the Spirit of Jesus ((Acts 16:7; Phil 1:19 etc.))  is to be immersed in the most intimate covenantal relationship with God in Christ. Paul expresses this union in the context of discussing sex outside marriage, “Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” (1 Cor 6:16,17). How then do we become aware of this spiritual oneness?

If we would experience true spiritual intimacy and resurrection power ((”The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.” (1 Cor 6:13- 14).))  we must love as God loves – by the suffering that is involved in forgiving our covenant partners.  Whether these are our fellow human beings who likewise have God as their Creator – Father, our brothers and sisters in Christ, or, for the purpose of this article, our life- partners in marriage.

It is our failure to forgive as Christ forgives ((”Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph 4:32) )) that has drawn the strong discipline of God upon the Western church. Wherever we see men and women measuring the performance of their partners, pastors, parents, politicians etc., in terms that are contractual, legal and unforgiving, we must recognise that we are living in a spiritual atmosphere unpleasing to God. Understood in this way, whatever the profession of our lips, in our lives we have abandoned the gospel of Christ.

Has there ever been a society that has put so many performance demands on God and marriage partners as ours? How conditional is our affection! Little wonder God is so poorly known as Father! We have deeply grieved “the Spirit of grace” (Heb 10:29; Eph 4:30). No surprise that there is so little intimacy at the level of holiness ((With both God and spouses.)) and such an inability to sustain deep relationships when suffering is involved; and suffering is inevitable in every intimate relationship.

Conclusion

Haggai 4:6 has become a popular text in our days, “And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse.”(Mal 4:6).  I do believe this is a text for our time, but Australia will never be released from the curse of apparent Fatherlessness  (( God is in everything essentially Father, and Christians share essentially in the sonship of Jesus (Matt 28:10; John 20:17). When this is not known, we know we are under strong discipline.)) until we have many spiritual fathers ((A non – gendered expression e.g. 1 Cor 4:15.)) who can teach the sort of spiritual truths ((”Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” (1 Cor 2:12 -13) )) I have been outlining in this article. Such men and women will be nothing less than practical expositors of covenant love.

Our need is plain, our path is clear.  God our Father calls us to be subject to him at the level of our spirits (Heb 12:9), that is, at the deepest level of our being. All of us need to prayerful consider ((1 Cor 11:28;  2 Cor 13:5)) to what degree we treat our relationship with God as contractual. If we are married, we need to examine ourselves as to what degree our love for our life partner is unconditional

Of course, to live in the way I have been suggesting in this paper is humanly impossible, apart from our looking to Jesus (Heb 12:1). The total possibility of unconditional submission to God as the Father of spirits is found in Christ and Christ alone. Yet, this is exactly the divine glory; this is what pleases our Father.  Jesus is eagerly waiting to pour out his Spirit on those who want to live in forgiving resurrection power as he lives.  May this be you, may it be me.

As the Kingdom of God advances the challenge for those who are ‘sons of God’ is to become God-followers in an age of men-pleasing religion. In fact the creation is waiting in eager anticipation for the emergence of genuine sons of God. We are living in an age when God is preparing to reveal to principalities and powers, to all creation, a people who live on this earth as His Sons. This calls for a radical change of priorities for all who are called by His name, which will be expressed in a radical lifestyle; no longer unwittingly following teachings that produce ambulatory centres of selfishness but a people who choose to be living sacrifices. Who reject the common self-promoting self-help teachings and pursue the Word of the cross.

If we desire to have God’s presence in our churches then it is indeed time for judgement to begin in the house of God.

Lesley and I went to South Dakota with Dale and Jessie for a holiday. The joke in the family was that I did not understand the idea of holiday. To do nothing but rest was a strange concept. To travel overseas without having a preaching itinerary was something I had never done. So, I determined that I would do just that, I would rest and avoid any preaching engagements; avoid analysing the political or economic environment; and try not to listen to the Spirit’s concern for the church for a few days.

We agreed to meet with Pastor Gary and Evelyn, from Dove Christian Centre, for breakfast on the Friday before leaving South Dakota and while we were talking Gary asked what the Spirit was saying to me. As we talked I became aware of the Spirit’s prompting and Gary asked if I sensed I should preach on the Sunday? Even though I had predetermined a negative response the Holy Spirit had other ideas and so I agreed to share what was to be a prophetic message, one that the church meeting at Dove were ready to hear, but also a word which is for the western church.

1 Peter 4:17-19 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And,

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. NIV

Knowing that the Spirit was going to speak and the challenge was for God-followers to emerge from the churches of society, I was praying for a way to communicate the word when a Spirit-inspired illustration came to me.

The Titanic was built by men who declared that what they had made was the greatest ship ever. One person reportedly declared that not even God could sink it. The general story surrounding Titanic, whether true or myth, encompass an air of confidence that was to prove unjustifiable. The ship was unsinkable; there were not enough life boats to transport everyone aboard; the evacuation process was chaotic; and there seemed to be no sense of imminent danger resulting in a casualness leading to the death of many.

In some accounts of the disaster the band played on deck while the boat sank. Even while the ship was sinking many aboard felt that all was well and that this ‘unsinkable’ ship would survive.

In similar fashion the western church has been built by some of the finest men who are impressed which what they have achieved. Like the Laodicean Church they are saying; ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But today the Holy Spirit is saying to the church ‘you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.’ (Rev 3:17)

The worship teams are playing; the people are enjoying the experience of worship rather than the object of worship; preachers are proclaiming the blessings of the Kingdom without teaching that they are only obtained through “sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” (Phil 3:10)

In short, this Titanic western church is sinking while the band plays and the officers calm the doomed with soothing words. They are saying ‘peace, peace’ when there is no peace; they are declaring mercy to those who are suffering under God’s wrath.

Like a rescue vessel coming alongside the sinking Titanic, the Holy Spirit is saying to those who would be God-followers, come out from among them and be separate.

Because God has said…

Reading through Hebrews chapter 13 the writer compels us to ‘keep on loving each other’; ‘marriage should be honoured and the marriage bed kept pure’ and other such exhortations. In the middle of this is the reason we should and indeed can live righteously; “because God has said, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

The ability to live a life that contradicts society is that uncomplicated… because God has said. When we are able to grasp these words then we will come to know and live in the genuine power of the Holy God who transforms people’s lives. “Because God has said”, is more than a simplistic statement such as ‘what would Jesus do’ as though He were an absent ethicist, or ‘Jesus said it I believe it and that settles it’ as if we had chosen one opinion over another; rather it is precisely what God has said; ‘never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.’

What God has said is that He will always surround His own; He will always indwell His own, constantly, with His own presence. Because God has promised His abiding presence we can live as His child pursuing His will and purpose rather than our own.

As the Kingdom of God advances the challenge for those who are ‘sons of God’ ((Rom 8:14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. NIV; Gal 3:26-27 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. NIV)) is to become God-followers in an age of men-pleasing religion. In fact the creation is waiting in eager anticipation for the emergence of genuine sons of God. ((Rom 8:19)) We are living in an age when God is preparing to reveal to principalities and powers, to all creation, a people who live on this earth as His Sons. This calls for a radical change of priorities for all who are called by His name, which will be expressed in a radical lifestyle; no longer unwittingly following teachings that produce ambulatory centres of selfishness but a people who choose to be living sacrifices. Who reject the common self-promoting self-help teachings and pursue the Word of the cross.

Because God has said, never will I leave you; never will I forsake you…

God’s Word is God’s presence. This is what is so profound about the gospel, ‘The Word [of God] became flesh and made His dwelling among us’. ((John 1:1,14)) God’s Word is not simply writings in a book but literally the person of Jesus Christ who abides in His people by the Holy Spirit.

To call Scripture ‘God’s Word’ is to reduce God’s presence to a rule book. People may declare Scripture to be inerrant however this often means our inerrant interpretation. Scripture has been used throughout history to justify all sorts of actions. It is used by men of honour and dishonour to promote all sorts of doctrines – even ‘doctrines of devils’. ((1 Tim 4:1))

The purpose here is not to belittle Scripture but to challenge the use of Scripture in the absence of the never will I leave you presence of God. Jesus, when tempted by Satan, used Scripture to rebut the devil. It should then be noted that the devil also used Scripture to tempt Jesus. ((Matt 4:1-11)) In this encounter Jesus spoke Scripture to define or explain His actions in God’s presence; ((John 8:29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” NIV)) Satan used Scripture as a means to justify Jesus should he decide to obey Satan.

The Bible is not a book to be used by people to justify the corruption of their evil desires ((2Pt 1L4)) – in the same manner that legal systems have become about words rather than justice – it is the inspired message of God speaking about Jesus Christ. ((John 5:39))

In defence of sound doctrine

Titus 1:9 [An elder] must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. NIV

It is time for those who are in Christ to speak up in defence of sound doctrine. Titus was told that elders have a responsibility to hold firmly to the trustworthy message of the cross ((what else would this ‘trustworthy message’ be? For it was the message that Paul preached – the only gospel preached by Paul and the only message that can be attributed to his epistles. If Paul spoke of faith it was the faith of the cross, if he spoke of giving it was the giving of the cross etc. 1Cor 1:22-25; 2:2; 15:1-4; Gal 3:1; 6:14; Phil 3:8-10)) and to refute those who oppose this message by perverting the truth.

Titus 1:11 They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach NIV

An example, but by no means the only one available, is the stand of churches on divorce and remarriage. The fact is I could pick almost any sinful lifestyle and the same indefensible doctrines would be evident.

Under Australian law the Marriage Act 1961 defines marriage as ‘…the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.’ In the US and in Australia there has been a push to change the status of marriage so that it can include same-sex unions. Churches have strongly objected to such changes because ‘God has said’. Marriage is the union of a man and a woman, not of a man to man or woman to woman.

But what of the statement; “to the exclusion of all others, for life”? Scripture declares in Heb 13:4 “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” (NIV) And Jesus said on the subject of divorce; “So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Matt 19:6 NIV)

In our churches this is not something that is given the same measure of importance as ‘the union of a man and a woman’. Today divorce due to “irreconcilable differences” and subsequent remarriage is not the experience of a select few but the norm. Divorce is not a shameful act but an acceptable procedure for people who call themselves Christian. Celebrity ministers’ today divorce spouses who are partners in ministry, they remarry within weeks or months and their ‘ministries’ do not even skip a beat. If a voice is raised against their ungodliness it is the prophet who is crucified rather than the purveyors of teachings that oppose the cross.

The ‘doctrine’ excusing divorce and remarriage (or other forms of sexual sin in the church) is called ‘grace’. We may demand that same-sex unions are wrong, bad and/or evil yet we do not discourage divorce and remarriage nor encourage a divorced man or woman to ‘remain single” ((1 Cor 7:10-11 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife. NIV)) as we are called to because ‘God has said’.

I am not writing this to condemn people who have been divorced but to highlight that it is no longer an exception, it has become the norm. Moreover, my point is not one of divorce rather it is an example of how we have ceased to refute those who oppose sound doctrine. Why are we at this point? It is because we have a book rather than the presence of the Holy God.

The teaching of grace, which excludes the presence of the Holy God but purports to be based on the Bible, calls Christians to stop being judgemental, because God is a loving God who calls us to just love on everyone, even/especially those who profess to be Christians but live according to worldly lusts. This is nothing short of a doctrine of devils that is ruining whole households.

What then is the genuine message of grace that we have received in Christ? Scripture makes that very clear to us:

Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, NIV

Now that is real Bible… not some fanciful, man-pleasing message that denies the power of God.

The grace of God does not teach us to accept a church that is filled with all kinds of vice and corruption, a bride that is impure, unholy and unrighteous; the gospel of grace teaches us to say NO to ungodliness and worldly passion. The man who preaches the message of the cross exhorts his hearers:

1 Cor 6:18-20 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. NIV

When Paul was confronted by lustful living in one of his churches he didn’t love on them according to today’s perverted message of grace, he rebuked them harshly – indeed he taught his elders that their job was to correct, rebuke and exhort – and when there was no repentance he declared;

1 Cor 5:12-13 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” NIV

The Kingdom of God – which is the realm of the rule of Jesus Christ ((1 Cor 15:25; Phil 2:9-11; Rom 10:9)) – is the habitation of the redeemed of the Lord, those saved by grace, a grace that empowers us to say no to lust. Those churches that are in the Kingdom of God (as opposed to those that are the churches of society) promote the righteousness that is by faith in God’s enabling grace to make us holy, spotless and blameless in His sight. We do not judge those outside the church for that is God’s business – as Paul says – churches that are of the cross will however judge those inside. They will judge sin and expel the wicked; especially those who purport to be teachers but are peddlers of doctrines that appeal to the flesh of men.

As such Scripture declares what such churches should be like:

Eph 5:3-4 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. NIV

What does all this mean?

God has said, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you

The point is not about whether it is ok to divorce and then remarry, or about accepting this or that person, it is that God is present amongst His people. The glory of God in the church of Jesus Christ is the evidence of His presence. His glory is not revealed in large numbers, gold dust, emotional encounters, teeth being filled, nor even miracles, it is evident when His nature is revealed through the church and that nature is Holy.

The church is to the praise of His glory when it is holy. The church is the church of Jesus Christ when she is holy. The gospel of the church is only the gospel of Jesus Christ when it is the message of the cross – a word that reveals the holiness of God. Sons of God are only really sons when they display His Holy nature. And all of this is only possible when God is indwelling His people.

The call of the Holy Spirit today is the challenge of Scripture:

2 Cor 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you – unless, of course, you fail the test? NIV

The test of being in the faith is proved in the character of God. 2 Peter 1:3 says that we participate in His divine nature having escaped the corruption caused by evil desires. Those who live according to the sinful nature do not have the Spirit of God ((Rom 8:1-13; 1Jn 2:15)) and therefore fail the test.

Jesus Christ lives in those who are the elect of God and the evidence of Jesus living in us is the desire for holiness. As the Spirit declares in 1 John 3:6 “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning”.

If we desire to have God’s presence in our churches then it is indeed time for judgement to begin in the house of God.

1 Peter 4:17-19 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And,

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. NIV

If Scripture, as it is revealed by the Holy Spirit, is what God has said, then the absence of the presence of God is the present reality of the churches today. If God’s presence produces holiness and our churches are as unholy as the societies in which we live, then we have failed the test. Ichabod, the glory of the Lord has departed.

It is time for judgement to begin in the family of God. It is time for the sons of God to reject the super-apostles and follow those apostles who are given by Jesus as gifts of Himself to the church. It is time to judge ourselves by crying out, Holy Spirit, search my heart and see if there is any iniquity in me. It is time for the sons of God to be revealed.

We don’t have a shortage of leaders, but a shortage of followers of the one Leader who can transform lives and nations. We don’t need to enlarge our vision, but make it smaller and more focused. We don’t need more numbers, but more quality and consistency among the numbers we already have. We need more people who will do things God’s way and fewer people doing things man’s way. (James Montgomery Boise)

Where have all the leaders gone?

I find that when a particular issue is raised with me, if it is in the current purpose of God, the Spirit speaks to me with a clear response and then through prayer and meditation, the Spirit reveals the mind of God.

This happened recently when an article was brought to my attention. It was a lament over the lack of holy living in the lives of ‘high-profile’ leaders. ((What I refer to as ‘celebrity’ teachers)) The article was titled “where have all the leaders gone?” and began by announcing; “The church today faces a serious leadership crisis”. Immediately I sensed the Spirit say; “there is no lack of godly leaders, rather a lack of God-followers‘. As I prayed about this the Scripture most prominent in my mind was Paul’s warning to Timothy about the last days:

2 Tim 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. NIV

Two problems appear today concerning leadership: firstly there seems to be a general lack of discernment about who God’s leaders are today with most preachers either ignorant of or afraid to rebut populist views that follow celebrity preachers; ((if genuine ascension gifts can’t or won’t speak out how can those who are being equipped learn to know sound doctrine?)) and secondly, as a flow-on from this lack of discernment, is the apparent chaos and sense of disappointment expressed when it becomes evident many of these ‘leaders’ are not of the ilk of Christ; men who can never say, imitate me as I imitate Christ. ((1 Cor 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Cor 4:16 Therefore I urge you to imitate me.; cf Phil 3:16; Heb 6:12; 13:7)) 

Elijah was surrounded by the same climate of ungodly prophets and priests, men who encouraged God’s people to follow other gods. He lamented that he alone was zealous for God, yet God told him that there were 7000 men who also had not fallen into the idolatry of the age. ((1Kg 19:14-18)) There were godly leaders in Israel but the people chose to follow false prophets. It seems to be repeated throughout history that people who attend church, but do not passionately desire the knowledge of God, will invariably follow charismatic leaders whose teaching appeals to their humanity. ((At various times in history the visible church is more like a society of men than a community of heaven. It is at these times that revival is desperately needed; a visitation of God rather than a change of leaders is what we should cry out for.)) Despite times when the church is predominantly occupied by ‘church-goers’ rather than God followers, in every generation Jesus continually gives of Himself through godly leaders to those who passionately desire Him; whether many or few.

People having a form of godliness, yet trapped in and controlled by the sin nature, will follow false teachers because their messages cater to the natural desires. Then, when one of these celebrity teachers is exposed as an habitual sinner many will use this as an excuse to reject God and blame the church for their hurt. This is a natural process that occurs every day of the week, not only in religious circles but also in politics, sport, the arts and civil powers etc. ((Note the outcry when a sports star is accused of anti-social behaviour, or drug and/or alcohol abuse, or other misconduct. Loyal supporters either want them banned or forgiven depending on how successful their team will be without the star. Blogs about celebrity teachers who have ‘fallen’ or non-religious celebrities who have also failed society through lack of character – usually for the same acts – have the same arguments for and against. They should be forgiven or dumped/sacked. The arguments are the same whether religious, political, profession or popular.))  Those who are growing in the knowledge of God however, should never be guilty of celebrity following or suffer disappointment when these celebrities are exposed as “clouds without rain, promising much but producing nothing”. ((Jude12,13))  Like Paul, God followers should be intensely aware of false teachers and refuse to put up with them. They also know that nothing can separate them from the love of God and refuse to let scandal, false teachers, or devil agents become an excuse for rejecting the holy love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.

It is not ‘leaders’ who will bring change to the problem of the lack of godly leaders, it is God followers who will bring the change. Genuine followers of Jesus Christ must stop getting caught up in the hype of celebrity preachers:

• reject as leaders those whose lives contradict the example of Jesus Christ through sinful acts:

3 John 11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. KJV

• reject as leaders those who proclaim another gospel:

Gal 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! NIV

• seek to follow ((Heb 13:17)) God appointed leaders who preach Christ crucified and live lives pleasing to God:

1 Cor 2:2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. NIV

1 Cor 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. NIV

• pray for a visitation of Jesus Christ rather than celebrity preachers.

Discerning godly leaders

2 Cor 11:2-6 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.” I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. NIV

2 Cor 11:13-15 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. NIV

If followers of the true Leader, Jesus Christ, are going to reject the hype of celebrity teachers, then a bold discernment between Jesus’ ascension gifts ((apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers)) and pretenders is required. Are we genuinely tired of the hype? Of the message of relevance that is no gospel at all? Then it is time for true God followers to no longer ‘put up with it’ so easily.

To discern between those given as gifts by Jesus and the pretenders requires that we discard the world’s assessment criteria and measure or assess those who call themselves ‘apostles and prophets’ through a mind renewed by the gospel. ((Rom 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. NIV)) Is a man who is surrounded by thousands of people a leader appointed by God or are they a teacher gathered by men with itching ears? Unfortunately we still use the assessment tools of the god of this age rather than that given us by the Spirit through Scripture.

In the marketplace, success is measurable and the measurement is numbers; how many, how much, how often etc. Such measurements are based on the sin nature and are expressions of root sin: pleasure, possessions and/or position. ((1 John 2:16 For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. NIV)) Too often the same tools are used in the church to recognise leaders: How many people come to hear you preach, how many books have you written/sold, how much money can you raise, how often do you travel or are you invited to preach? Success is found in these numbers and ‘high-profile leaders’ are at the pinnacle of success.

However, if Scripture is to be believed, such outcomes are not ours to measure. Apostle Paul declares:

1 Cor 3:5-7 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. NIV

Sound Doctrine

Perhaps the first criterion in discerning ascension gifts of Jesus from celebrity preachers is to have a personal passion for the knowledge of God. A desire for sound doctrine will ensure a Spirit-led journey into truth. ((1Jn 2:18-27)) Being Spirit-led is not a reason to reject ascension gifts of Jesus but rather a means to identify Jesus as he gifts himself through them. The Spirit will resonate within us whenever we hear the sound doctrine of the cross as it is proclaimed and there will be no fear of following Christ in those leaders.

The clear warning of 2 Timothy 4:3 is that people will not put up with sound doctrine but pursue teaching that suits their own desires. So, they will gather around them teachers who cater to these desires. Be warned, the crowds are not right. If the last days are a time of great deception, then we cannot just accept anything that comes along: no matter how popular it becomes in churches.

Jesus personally warns His followers:

Mark 13:22-23 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect – if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time. NIV\

 These warnings are not talking about the ungodly, for they have never received any divine doctrine nor do they gather teachers around themselves, this word is for those religious people who call themselves followers of Jesus. Perhaps we need to consider the point of false Christs and prophets preaching outside the church! What is the point of deceiving the deceived? Why try to ‘lead astray’ those who are already outside of God? These warnings speak about what will happen ‘in the church’ when the church is lukewarm and indifferent to sound doctrine: A time when the church is too much like the world. The most astute description of this can be found in 2 Timothy:

2 Tim 3:1-5 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. NIV

Lovers of themselves, lovers of money and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God stand out. They are the foundational expressions of idolatry as defined by Apostle John ((1Jn 2:16)) the lust of the flesh, lust of the eye and the pride of life. When men who are called ‘leaders’ insist that we need to preach a message that ‘appeals’ to people, are they not espousing ‘doctrines of demons’? When we are told to preach a message that people want to hear, are we not catering to their own desires? When we are compelled to ‘affirm people’ who ‘need to feel good about themselves’, rather than calling people to repentance, aren’t we affirming their idolatry?

The Objectionable Message of the Cross

Indeed the message of the cross, rather than affirming, appealing or desirous is; foolish, offensive, objectionable and unwanted. John Stott, in “The cross of Christ” (1986:12), says, “So far from offering us flattery, the cross undermines our self-righteousness. We can stand before it only with a bowed head and a broken spirit.”

Moltmann expresses it beautifully in the opening chapter of his book “The crucified God”:

“The cross is not and cannot be loved. Yet only the crucified Christ can bring the freedom which changes the world because it is no longer afraid of death. In his time the crucified Christ was regarded as a scandal and foolishness. Today, too, it is considered old-fashioned to put him in the centre of Christian faith and of theology. Yet only when men are reminded of him, however untimely this may be, can they be set free from the power of the facts of the present time, and from the laws and compulsions of history, and be offered a future which will never grow dark again. Today the church and theology must turn to the crucified Christ in order to show the world the freedom he offers. This is essential if they want to become what they assert they are: the church of Christ, and Christian theology.” (1974:1)

I can already hear the objections that I have heard so many times before, ‘we must move on from the cross and to the resurrection’, or as one ‘celebrity teacher’ declared, ‘I am called to preach the blessings of God’. Another says, “The people are hurting and need to be comforted”, or, “people want to know how to live not how to die” “they want steak on the plate not apple pie in the sky”. Yet such objections come from an ignorance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Such language is actually foreign to Scripture and offensive to the gospel. Quite prepared to offend such teachers I believe them to be the doctrines of demons that Scripture warns about (1Tim 4:1).

The meaning of the cross as good news is that we cannot live until we have died. Paul declared, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:20) The gospel message handed down through the ages is the word of the cross: ((1 Cor 2:1-2 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.   For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ; Gal 3:1-2 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? ; Gal 6:14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ; Phil 3:10-11 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.))

1 Cor 1: 18, 22-25 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. NIV

P.T. Forsyth wrote in “The cruciality of the cross”:

Christ is to us just what his cross is. All that Christ was in heaven or on earth was put into what he did there… Christ, I repeat, is to us just what his cross is. You do not understand Christ until you understand his cross… It is only by understanding it that we escape from religion with no mind, and from religion which is all mind, from pietism with its lack of critical judgment, and from rationalism with its lack of everything else. (1909:44-45)

Emil Brunner, the Swiss theologian, according to Stott describes the reformation this way: “The whole struggle of the reformation… was simply the struggle for the right interpretation of the Cross. He who understands the Cross aright – this is the opinion of the Reformers – understands the Bible, he understands Jesus Christ.” (p. 44)

In the company of such inspired men I feel compelled to stand with them over against much of our modern philosophies and restate the opinion that only the cross reveals the love of God, his promises, his benefits and his blessings. The only true affirmation of a man can be found in complete surrender to the cross and it is the sole source of comfort and peace. To offer blessing, affirmation or comfort from any message other than Christ crucified is to offer a humanistic gospel that will inevitably produce death; a Christianised motivational self-help philosophy.

People, we are told by celebrity teachers, want to know how to be better husbands or wives, better parents, better people and so our preaching should give them ‘keys’ to becoming such people. These pursuits do not separate Christians from the world nor from other religions, but places them in solidarity with the world. ((I think we have forgotten, or do not really believe, that the world is under the control of and serves the evil one and social oughts have their origin in the god of this age.)) As commendable as these desires may sound the source is idolatrous because the aim is not to please God but to please ourselves, our children or our spouse and to be seen as righteous in the eyes of others.

The Apostle Paul however defines the true mark of a Christian, not as one who wants to be a better person in their own eyes or to be seen by others as good, but as one who wants the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ.

Phil 3:8,10-11 I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord… I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

The wisdom of God for the redemption of man is the cross of Jesus Christ. To become a different person may be the dream of many but to become a ‘new creation’ is the reality of the message of the cross to those who believe. Our encounter with Jesus Christ reveals the cross as death and life, shame and glory, poverty and prosperity, captivity and freedom. To speak of the cross is to speak of the resurrection of the crucified God and the crucifixion of the risen Lord. The cross of Christ is more admirable than any of our good intentions and any word that is not soundly rooted in the cross, no matter how good intentioned, is pitifully inadequate.

Concluding this Matter

So then, what of my earlier statement that we do not lack godly leaders but God-followers? It is time for those who firmly believe they are ‘God-followers’ to stop following the crowds. Popular teachers are not necessarily godly leaders. Large churches – and even small – may simply be gatherings of men who will not put up with sound doctrine who have gathered around teachers who preach what they desire. The proof is in the message preached. But how will you know if you have never ‘struggled for the right interpretation of the cross’? I remember speaking about a celebrity teacher who declared his ministry was only to ‘preach the blessings of God’. He preaches popular messages that appeal to the idolatrous nature of fallen humanity. One minister said that he did preach Christ on the basis that he mentions the name of Jesus (occasionally). On that basis however, every cult that uses the name Jesus preaches Christ and so do many other world religions, so we cannot call them false teachers or non-Christian teachers either. It is the preaching of the cross, not the mentioning of the name of Jesus, that is the gospel. It is the context in which Jesus is named that qualifies the rightness of the message as being the word of the cross.

There are many godly leaders who have not been gathered in by large congregations of men seeking teachers who suit their own desires. Like the prophets of old they are voices in the wilderness declaring the way of the Lord. Like Paul and the other Apostles who “did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you” (Gal 2:5).

If the church is really the church of Jesus Christ, then he will unite his own together if they truly seek Him out and stop chasing after self-affirming crowds. The church of Jesus Christ is not a church of society but a community of heaven living in contrast to the society around it.

As George Eldon Ladd says in his book the presence of the future, “It is therefore the church’s duty to display in an evil age of self-seeking, pride, and animosity the life and fellowship of the Kingdom of God and of the age to come” (1974:269).

I want to complete this section with a quote by James Montgomery Boice: ((Whatever happened to the Gospel of Grace? Rediscovering the Doctrines That Shook The World, p28))

We don’t have a shortage of leaders, but a shortage of followers of the one Leader who can transform lives and nations. We don’t need to enlarge our vision, but make it smaller and more focused. We don’t need more numbers, but more quality and consistency among the numbers we already have. We need more people who will do things God’s way and fewer people doing things man’s way.

Introduction

An article headed Joe Dakuitoga well-versed in ways of miracles, underscored by the citation, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13) recently appeared in our national newspaper ((The Weekend Australian 15- 16 November 17, 2008 p.53)).

Joe is the national coach of the Fiji rugby team, he is quoted, “”We believe God is going to give us the strength. We pray to the almighty God that he will give us the spirit and courage to play against Australia.”"I said we have a lot of prayers – everyone in Fiji is praying for us.” Big Joe then refers to Philippians 4:13….Its message is one of faith and belief that with God’s help, anything can be achieved at any given time in any given circumstance.”

Fiji is not a Western nation, but why can’t such a God- consciousness be our portion? Is the Lord prejudiced against affluent folk in general and whites in particular? Or is there a message that will grip church and culture like justification by faith did in the sixteenth century, holiness in the time of Wesley, kingdom care for the poor when the Salvation Army was born, or power from on high at the onset of Pentecostalism. God has a particular message for different times and seasons in history that somehow impacts the spirit of the age and ignites a reviving work. This is the focus of the present teaching.

Crying Out for Presence

Sometimes the best way to sense where the Lord is going is to work backwards. You look at the keyhole to see the shape of the key ((Similar to the argument for the existence of God by the famous Christian scientist and Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662. All human beings have a “God- shaped gap” in their lives that only God can satisfy. )). The hedonism of our society with its insatiable search for “sex, drugs and rock n roll” and the increasing focus on extreme phenomena in the church ((Such as the growing interest in things like gold dust, gem stones, fragrant anointing oils, dental miracles.)) have sensationalism in common. By “sensation – alism” I mean sensuality or sensual experience. This preoccupation with feeling is best interpreted as a substitute for a lack of intimacy. The old science saying, “nature abhors (hates) a vacuum” is as true of relational space as it is of physical space. MySpace, You Tube, Facebook, endless blogs, SMSing and so on are all inwardly motivated by the goal of filling up the inner life. Put most simply, people who know that they are loved do not become addicted to substances and material consumption. They are too inwardly content to need these destructive behaviours.

Transformation in church and society today can only come about through a living experience of the personal presence of Christ. Not a presence promoted by a privatised spirituality or the heightened atmosphere that is cultivated in some church meetings. It is the realisation of a presence that already exists and in which “we live, move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

Death as the Absence of Presence

Scripture speaks of humanity existing in a chronic state of the fear of death. Christ came “to destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” (Heb 2:14 – 15). People in Western societies are not visibly anxious over physical death, most expect to live long lives. Our addicted, driven, pleasure crazy lifestyles however witness infallibly to an enormous fear of permanent separation from the objects that are desired most (comfort, happiness, pleasure, “a good time”. This fear is fundamentally the fear of death. The importance of the current economic crisis is that it brings such fears of loss close to the surface.

Today’s popular society no longer has any care about God himself, only about the good things he may have the power to distribute or withhold. We are in the depths of idolatry because the prevailing spiritual atmosphere equates who God is with what he gives. The origin of this fundamental confusion – evil.

James says, “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (1:15). Peter is even more explicit, “corruption ((The word means that which brings decay and so destruction e.g. Rom 8:21; Gal 6:8; 1 Cor 15:42.)) …is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Pet 1:4b). The reality of death in the world did not commence when the first human being expired, but when the first human being thought of themselves before they thought of God ((Compare, “she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives”. (1 Tim 5:6) )). Sinners “fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23) by separating themselves from the unity of the fellowship of the Trinity. To turn one’s will against the holy will of God is to lose connection with the eternal. Evil desire is the ultimate basis for death and dying ((All great teachers (Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin etc.) have understood that the locus of destruction is in a perverted will.)).

Since capitalist societies function by stimulating greed and lusts, they are always in the shadow of death. Their state of intoxicated blindness ((Babylon is drunk with the blood of the martyrs (Rev 17).)) is so deep that the only suggested remedy for the present economic chaos is to stimulate even more consumption! God help us. Sadly, the mainstream of church life in Western countries seeks to satisfy the ego’s desires, promising both a comfortable present lifestyle as well as eternal security. Such a consumer oriented “”gospel” lacks the power to deliver men and women from their fear of death. Only a participation in the glory of God can save us.

Victory over Death

When Jesus took on our flesh (( John 1:14; Rom 1:3; 8:3; 1 Tim 3:16; Heb 2:14; 1 John 4:2 etc.)) he also took on a will that was subject to temptation and the possibility of evil desire ((The Early Church declared heretical the view that Jesus lacked a genuine human will (monotheletism).)). The place where Jesus seems to struggle to align his will with the will of the Father is Gethsemane. “he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”" (Mark 14:35 – 36). This is a very difficult text to fathom, but here is my sense of things.

For his will to be in union with the holy will of God, Jesus must will to receive the “cup” of the divine wrath ((E.g. “you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath” (Isa 51:17. Cf. 51:22; Jer 25:15; Ezek 23:33 etc.) )). This is to will separation from the Father, who is however the sole object of the Son of God’s desire from eternity. In choosing separation he is choosing to endure the pain of eternal death (hell) on the cross. It means choosing the suffering of exclusion “from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thess 2:9) on our behalf. This is the absolutely perfect God – centred act of Christ that makes the once corrupted human will has been made completely whole.

The manifestation of this most powerful of all healings, the healing of human will/desire, comes in the resurrection. The resurrection of Christ is the full expression of God’s joy as a Father ((”Jesus…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross” (Heb 12:2) )). In Christ, humanity now dwells in the perfect unity of God (( “you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Col 3:3) )). Dwelling in the unity of the fellowship of the divine trinity, death, in its eternal sense, is an impossibility for believers. “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life…. everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 5:24; 11:26). Only the manifest presence of the risen Christ bathed in God’s resurrection favour and joy can convert our society. Here is an example shared by a friend of what that looks like.

A devout Christian mother was recently dying from cancer in a hospital bed in Perth. As she passed her final days “there was singing and praying in that room”, “when the staff felt under pressure with their work they would come and stand in that room” (to absorb the atmosphere) because “something different was there”. Since the dying woman was “born again, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Pet 1:23), what enveloped the room was the presence of the resurrection life of Jesus in its fear destroying power.

Recently I was deeply impacted by the words of a classic hymn ((Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah)) about the experience of a Christian at death:

“When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of deaths, and hell’s destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to Thee;
I will ever give to Thee.”

Great as this truth about our conquest of physical death, the Spirit is speaking about the manifestation of the glory of the resurrection NOW.

Christ’s Presence in All things

“He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.” (Eph 4:10) Jesus’ aim is to fill every created space – in the home, workplace and recreation etc – with his presence. This is the vocation of the church as “the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Eph 1:23). Since “all things” were created for Jesus (Col 1:16) it is their destiny to receive him – at their deepest level of being, family, government, arts, media, education, law, business and all the spheres of human life are crying out for the manifestation of the Son of God. In Paul’s thinking, creation will only be fully free from its bondage to corruption ((That is, the corruption caused by evil desire (see above). )) when all the sons of God put on their resurrection bodies (Rom 8:19 – 23). Yet a potential exists for a vital manifestation of the future glory of all things NOW ((This truth is deeply embedded in the structure of Romans 8.)).

The key to a bold manifestation of the presence of Jesus in every living space is the revelation that our intimacy with the Lord is indestructible. All who “cry, “Abba! Father!”" (Rom 8:15) have had their cry for closeness satisfied beyond imaginings. Since we know nothing “…in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord…” (Rom 8:39) that fallen human sense of separation from the object of desire that stimulates the fear of death has been defeated in us ((”Jesus… abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim 1:10) )).

This is a real experience, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Gal 3:27) ((Compare Rom 13:14; Eph 4:24; Col 3:10.)). In Christ, we are covered with resurrection life. “If Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Rom 8:10) ((In Paul’s thought the righteousness here is Christ’s for us, obtained by his death (2 Cor 5:21) and released in his resurrection (Rom 4:25; 1 Tim 3:16).)). Even whilst our physical bodies remain in a state of death, the Spirit envelops those recreated in God’s likeness with the power of the saving life of Jesus. We are “clothed with (resurrection) power from on high” (Luke 24:49). We live and move and have our being in a state beyond eternal death.

Societies go through a change of “spiritual atmosphere” ((I experienced this in Argentina, where “my” sensitivity to the Holy Spirit dramatically intensified as soon as I stepped off the plane.)) when men and women become aware of the resurrection life of Jesus permeating “all things” through the church. Sinners sense not only the Spirit convicting them, but beyond this the presence of “the power of an indestructible life” (Heb 7:16) inviting them to share with him eternal intimacy. In the light of this unsurpassable revelation the choice between “sex, drugs and rock n’ roll” and Jesus becomes unbearably clear. If this is God’s pleasing will for our times, why are we not sensing and seeing it?

Glory from men

Our chief problem is idolatry, and the most potent sort of idol is another human being ((Hence the antichrist is a human being making divine claims reinforced by his apparent resurrection from the dead (2 Thess 2:3 – 4; Rev 13:3 – 4).)). In The Fall, humanity “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man” (Rom 1:23). Wherever we are men – pleasers, we substitute our sense of Christ “”the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15)” for a likeness that speaks of death, “mortal man”. To exalt any other human being than Jesus is to lose the presence and power of the eternal. As Jesus said, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44).

I continue to come across websites of churches, denominations and prayer movements, and hear sermons and prayers where the name of Jesus is marginalised. Speaking of “such and such’s” church/ministry/gifting has become normal amongst us. As long as the people of God succumb to this atmosphere, they can never be free from subjection to idolatry and fear of death ((Signs and wonders cannot free humans from the fear of death unless they explicitly point to the resurrection of Jesus. An examination of scripture will reveal this is the apostolic paradigm. )). They remain powerless to free the culture from its deepest bondages.

Conclusion

Do you believe that you are “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4) and so bear God’s “eternal power” (Rom 1:20)? If we “have escaped the corruption in the world due to sinful passions” (2 Pet 1:4,) how is it that our lifestyles and priorities are not noticeably different from those who are perishing? If we are clothed with Christ for whom “all things were made” (Col 1:16) how can there be places in our everyday lives where we live as if there were no creator?
It is death to idolatry that quickens the resurrection life in which we dwell and which dwells in us. When this happens, the future glorification of all things in the image of the resurrected Lord becomes crystal clear to our spirits. We are then inwardly compelled to see all things move towards this goal – this is how a great missionary movement will commence amongst us. Resurrection power for mission will be the subject of my next prophetic word from the Spirit.

Paul continues on (v17) by saying a righteousness from God – as opposed to the self-justifying acts of idolatrous people – is being revealed and can only be received by grace through faith. ((Eph 2:8-10)) But then his gospel begins in earnest (v18ff) the wrath of God is being revealed…

Let us not forget that the gospel begins with this revelation… to hell with sinners. It is salvation from God’s wrath that is the ‘good news of the gospel’. This is where grace begins: it is by grace you have been saved through faith… And it ends with …for we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2:8-10)

Romans 5:2 [Jesus Christ] through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. NIV

It is this grace – the grace of God in Christ Jesus – that has, by His blood, brought us near to God and given us a new and living way by which we can live as God’s family on earth. This living way is a holy life found in His body.

What is ‘this grace’?

The grace of God is not simply words to be interpreted but God’s wisdom revealed in Christ through the cross. In 1Cor 2:1-2 Paul reminds the church that all of his preaching could be summarised in one phrase; Christ crucified. Quite simply, whatever he preached whether grace or mercy or righteousness or power, it all finds its meaning in the message of the cross.

To speak about eternal life is to speak about God revealed in Jesus Christ; ((John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.; 1 John 5:11-12 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. NIV)) to declare good news is to preach Christ crucified; to preach the benefits or blessings of God is to preach Christ crucified.

The cross is foolishness to Greeks and a stumbling block to Jews. Any preaching that is not Christ crucified is not a message of blessing, hope, mercy or power etc, it is rather the wisdom of Greeks and the signs of Jews. A well known celebrity preacher was asked why he never preaches about sin. His response was that he was called only to preach the blessings of God. Such a response shows at best novice ignorance of the gospel and at worst a doctrine of demons. Hope is only hope to men of despair; salvation to those in peril; blessing to those in need; rest to the weary etc. Hope is not hope if we have hope now. Salvation has no real meaning to those who believe they are already free and safe and secure.

Grace is not a covering

Heb 10:1-4 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2 If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, 4 because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. NIV

Much that is written about grace from a theological/evangelical perspective – in contrast to populist feel-good teaching and books – leaves me dissatisfied. Not that what is said is not useful but that it often fails to fully appreciate that the cross is God’s grace. The emphasis is more often than not on definitions such as condescending favour, unmerited favour or expressed as forgiveness etc.

When a celebrity preacher is exposed as a habitual sinner the term ‘fall from grace’ is used as a descriptive – even though such a term is self-contradicting. At such times the Christian community is polarised in opinions on how to speak about, act towards, discipline or disciple these people. Some insist that such behaviour disqualifies them from ministry (which should be understood in terms of ‘eldership’ cf 1Tim 3), others argue for a period of ‘restoration’ and then a return to their former position. Many are vehement in their opinion that it is grace not discipline or rebuke that is needed and if they repent then leave them be.

The way we respond to habitual sin exposed in celebrity preachers, and the church in general, represents our understanding of the message of the cross and reveals how/if we actually stand in this grace. A clear understanding of the cross as God’s grace will establish a clear response to habitual sin in the church.

If grace is not seen as the message of the cross but as a pithy definition such as ‘unmerited favour’ then the message of the cross ceases to be ‘the good things that are to come’. If ‘this grace’ is not understood to be the message of the cross, then in what are people standing and trusting? Is it another gospel? I think much of the popular teachings on grace are more suited to an Old Testament view of righteousness or more in keeping with an emotive instrument of self-justification.

In the sacrifices repeated endlessly under the old covenant the shadow of the cross is seen. ((Col 2:16-17 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. NIV)) In fact the OT Scriptures are meant to speak exclusively of Christ to those whose eyes are being opened by the Holy Spirit. ((Jn 5:39-40; Eph 1:17-18)) The blood of bulls and goats was a ‘covering over’ of sin, and what Hebrews 10:1-4 says that this shadow could not do is indicative of what the cross can do and therefore what grace actually is.

Such sacrifices could not make the worshipper of God ‘perfect’ for it could not cleanse us from sin nor could it deal with the guilt of sin. The key in verse four is this ‘it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin’. By contrast, the grace of God at the cross is the power of God to ‘make the worshipper perfect’, ‘remove the guilt of sin’ – and especially the sense or feeling of guilt – and ‘take away sins’. Not simply take away the guilt of sin, although that occurs, but to actually take away sin or to put it another way, to give us power to resist sin.

1 John 3:7-10 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. NIV

God’s grace is not only God condescending to affiliate with humanity despite man’s wretchedness, but it is His means by which man can participate with Christ in the family of God. Such a relationship could never be fully realised if we constantly felt unworthy and were reminded of our unworthiness through our inability to resist the power of sin in our lives? This is why Hebrews 10 says, ‘we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the Blood of Jesus’. By His blood we are both forgiven for our sin and cleansed from all unrighteousness. ((1Jn 1:9)) This is not simply an OT covering but a New Covenant empowering, delivering and setting free. It is in reality “The Power of God” for salvation to those who live by faith.

The cross IS God’s grace

To understand grace is to understand the message of the cross and to realise that the cross is God’s grace. Romans 1:17-32 is the beginning of the gospel of grace: the wrath of God is being revealed and that wrath is not presently experienced as hell-fire and brimstone but as godforsakenness. Verses 24 and 26 tell us what it means to be godforsaken:

Rom 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts…

Rom 1:26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.

The wrath of God is quite literally God handing people over to their own sinful desires and shameful lusts. The wrath of God is experienced as powerlessness, an inability to overcome lust and the corruption it produces. ((2Pt 1:4)) It is also the inability to distinguish good from evil or to even want to make such distinctions. ((cf Heb 5:14)) In verse 28 of Romans one we see that God gave them over to a depraved mind. This is why the gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing; it stands in contradiction to their own depravity of mind.

The message of the cross, which is the grace of God, begins as a word of revealed condemnation. All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory; all are objects of God’s wrath; man corrupts all he touches and this corruption is evidence of God’s wrath. That the heart of man desires sexual impurity and has been filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity reveals God’s wrath. Envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice; gossip, slander, insolence, arrogance and boastfulness are all evidences of God’s wrath on humanity. Those under God’s wrath are described as those who disobey parents, are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless and deserving of death.

Once the wrath of God has been revealed the mercy of God can be found. Though deserving death, God’s mercy is revealed in Jesus Christ. Though unrighteousness is what we have under God’s wrath, His righteousness is now revealed, a righteousness that is from God which comes through faith in Jesus Christ. ((Rom 3:21-26)) We who were once enslaved to our passions and desires – under God’s wrath – have now be set free from sin and have become slaves to God. ((Rom 6:19-23))

The message of the cross, which is the grace of God, is a word of deliverance from the bondage of sin. Now you are free to resist sin, to resist the works of the flesh that lead to death, and free – indeed, empowered – to live holy lives before God.

Sin excused

What can we conclude from all of this? When grace is used as an excuse to cover over sin it is no longer grace. When revealing sin is called legalism, when provoking one another to righteousness is called being judgemental, and when excusing sin is called grace, then the gospel is not present. When sin revealed produces shame rather than repentance in a person then grace is not evident to them.

The grace of God can be clearly seen in the event of King David’s adultery and murder of Uriah. Though many misinterpret the events to excuse sin ((We cannot take this event any further than we do here because it is a shadow of what was to come. Like trying to extrapolate parables to say more than what they were meant to say we cannot extrapolate David’s remaining king to justify elders who by virtue of NT revelation (1Tim 3:1-7 ; Tit1:6-9) are to be disqualified from leadership in the House of God.)) the truth of grace is clearly evident. That David sinned is not in dispute. What are the events that demonstrate God’s grace? The first point is that God did not leave David in his sin. He sent a prophet, another man to tell David that God knew of his sin. God’s grace did not begin by offering hope but by revealing sin. And that revelation was not kept hidden or private, it was revealed for the entire world to see.

God’s grace is seen in that David had the power to repent. He did not get angry at the prophet for revealing his sin. That was the actions of the ungodly kings of Israel who killed the prophets for calling them sinners. He recognised his shame and guilt and cried out to God to be forgiven, restored and renewed. ((Ps 51))

The grace in which we stand

Eph 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. NIV

Grace is not an aspect of God’s salvation it is the all-encompassing means of salvation. The message of the cross is the grace of God. For that word to be power to us is God’s grace. For us to receive faith is God’s grace and for the Spirit of revelation to open our eyes is God’s grace.

At the cross the cry of dereliction “My God, why have you forsaken me” is answered by the word of the cross “the wrath of God is being revealed to godless men who have forsaken the knowledge of God”. This is an amazing revelation that comes by grace – I am an unrighteous man, a suppressor of the truth of God and thus I am godforsaken. Without God’s grace I could never know this.

The cry “it is finished” reveals that the wrath of God is appeased in Christ for all who receive Him. God’s grace shows me that through acknowledgement of sin, and repentance, through faith in the salvation found in Jesus I can be redeemed from slavery to my lustful pride and sin and be free to live righteously.

The empowering presence of the Holy Spirit is God’s grace to keep me at the cross – which means to live in a state of grace by which I am being sanctified. Sanctification is God’s grace of revealing every sinful motive that keeps me locked in conformity to the pattern of this world. When I react badly in relationship the Spirit convicts me of sin so that I may grow in grace to live pure and blameless before God.

Conclusion

When the visible church of society is filled with evil desires, sexual immorality, greed, lust, selfish ambition and the like, it is not evidence of sinful people saved by grace but of the wrath of God being revealed from heaven. What does this say? that the visible church of society has forsaken the knowledge of God.

The revelation of this wrath is God’s grace to bring about repentance and a return to the worship of God as He is revealed in Jesus Christ by the Spirit. Freedom from the power of sin is the evidence of the work of the cross and proof of God’s grace. God’s grace is at work to reveal His righteousness that is by faith from first to last. His grace is revealing the state of the church of society as being under wrath so that his people will repent and come out of that which is ‘Babylonian harlotry’ (cf Rev 17 & 18).

The community of faith never feels ashamed of the gospel of Christ, nor does she feel ashamed when her sin is revealed, nor when wolves in sheep’s clothing, profiteers or false teachers are exposed. Rather the community of faith rejoices that God’s grace is at work freeing God’s people from slavery to sin and bringing them into greater power, power to live as slaves to righteousness.

The community of faith knows that God’s grace flows from the cross of Jesus Christ and seeks to know nothing except Christ crucified.

Jesus, keep me near the cross,
There a precious fountain
Free to all, a healing stream
Flows from Calvary’s mountain.

In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever;
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.

Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Sheds its beams around me.

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day,
With its shadows o’er me.

Near the cross I’ll watch and wait
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand,
Just beyond the river.

By Fanny Crosby

The new birth begins with a new heart. This is the act of God through the blood of Jesus. Having been received a new heart we are compelled by Apostle Paul:

Rom 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…NIV

So the heart that is towards God is a result of the new birth whereas the mind that is towards God is what we grow into. The maturing process, which leads to a life of ever increasing glory; that is being to the praise of His glory; is I believe found in the ‘Posture of our Minds’. (See Part I of Posture of the Mind)

The mind of God or an earthly mind

Matthew 16:15-23

Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you…”

Jesus began to explain to his disciples … that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

Jesus … said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!”

What a remarkable turn of events. One moment Peter is being praised by Jesus for his profound insight into the things of God and the next he is being rebuked by Jesus and called a stumbling block who does not ‘have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’

This highlights what I am saying about promoting famous people or famous testimonies. Having a revelation from God is not the same as having a mind towards God. Peter had a profound revelatory experience when he declared Jesus to be the Christ, Son of the living God. At this time Jesus reminds Peter of his ‘new name’ – Simon, son of Jonah – this is who you once were but now in Christ you are to be a new creation with a new name – I tell you that you are Peter.

It seems that Peter fell into the trap of believing that this revelation said something about Peter, rather than realising it was simply God speaking of His Son through Peter. So our hero became – in his own mind – the font of all revelation and wisdom to the point of speaking whatever he thought.

Peter’s posture expresses his mind when he rebuked Jesus. He spoke with the ‘wisdom’ of men. Jesus was the messiah. He could not die because he was going to rule. Therefore Jesus must not talk like that. I am now the ‘man of God’ who has been called and even received a powerful revelation, therefore my reasoning and judgement is right.

This may sound ludicrous in light of what we know but how often have we heard ‘men of God’ speak nonsense in the name of God? Years ago a well known evangelist declared that God said if he did not raise a million dollars God would take him home. Is this ‘the things of God’ or ‘the things of men’?

I recently was sent an email calling for overseers to pray for an apostle who had encountered financial trouble. As a consequence, I believe, of the prevalent teaching that God is going to ‘unlock’ extreme wealth for the Kingdom through apostles, this man had entered into a business arrangement with a coffee shop chain to be the sole distributor of that franchise in their county. I am sure that the promise seemed great and would have been accompanied by biblical/Christianised rhetoric but was it ‘the mind of God’? This venture has failed and the man and his family face financial ruin.

Haven’t we learned anything? Wasn’t this sort of thing prevalent in the 1980s and 90s? I know personally church overseers who went to prison for various get-rich-through-prophetic-business schemes and church members who lost their homes and life savings built on the same promises. Often the justification is that God wants, nay requires, His Holy Church to take the nations and that now, through the abundance of wealth that He will pour into the church through anointed wealthy businessmen, God’s people would finally be the head and not the tail. Naturally there is a minor addendum that they would all get wealthy in the process – for the glory of God though.

The rhetoric is the same, but like Peter, it does not come from the mind of God but the mind of men whose posture is not of faith but of pride and lust. It is more appealing to be a person of wealth or prominence than to hang with Jesus on the cross. Like the Israelites in the dessert, they wished they had a promised land but there posture was towards eating with the Egyptians.

The great lesson for ascension gifts to learn here is that we must have minds that are renewed. If our posture is towards God then we will not feel compelled to ‘succeed’. We will not ‘require great amounts of money’ to fulfil God’s ‘mandate’. We will trust that Jesus’ response to Peter will actually come to pass…

…on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Peter discovered who Jesus was through Spirit revelation. He then had the privilege of discipleship – Jesus explained how He would accomplish God’s mandate and that Peter would participate with Him in it. This knowledge and the intimate discipleship to be received would empower Peter with the keys of the Kingdom – the message of the cross of Jesus Christ received by the grace of God and empowered through the Spirit who imparts faith to believe – and by these keys you will have authority to bind and loose ((cf Mat 18:18; 28:18)). (Just before Jesus ascended he gave those keys to His disciples. In Mat 28:18 He declared that He alone had all authority in heaven and on earth, and they were to go in His name to make disciples.)

Peter, in his exuberance perhaps, tried to apply all of this before he had learned the ‘secret’ of a renewed mind. Fortunately for Peter, he was a disciple first… he was in a place to be corrected by a man who had no fear of losing disciples but a willingness to make disciples. Peter was rebuked and ceased from pursuing the ‘mind of men’ and learned to wait on God.

Packaging God

Matt 17:1-8 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. NIV

Once again we have a great lesson from Peter about what not to do. Here Peter has been taken into an exclusive encounter with God. He has experienced a particular manifestation. Rather than glorifying God for that experience the earthly mind wants to enshrine it.

We are not really told what Peter was thinking but my cynical mind can come up with some thoughts based on what has been seen in recent history. Let’s put this on YouTube for everyone to see – for God’s glory of course. Maybe people will come to our meetings and get saved? Though there may be a ‘few’ curious Christians that will come, so we can take up a few more offerings – to further the gospel naturally.

Hasn’t this been the case concerning ‘revivals’ of late? We hear of people ‘catching the fire’ after a visit to the place where the fire ‘sprang up’ and taking that fire with them. People running here and there looking for a visitation of Jesus and being ‘sold’ an experience.

When Peter said, let’s build three shelters/tabernacles was he trying to humanise God by locating him? When the Samaritan woman spoke to Jesus she queried the location of worship but Jesus told her that worship was not a location but a spiritual position or posture (John 4:20-24).

In Luke 17:20-37 Jesus warns of the last days and what to be aware of. Though you will hear of me in this place or that don’t go running off after them. It is noticeable that Jesus reiterates, ‘the Kingdom of God is within you’.

When Peter began to outline his plans to ‘market’ this manifestation God spoke; this is my Son, it’s with him that I am pleased, stop thinking like earthly men and get the posture of your mind right – this is my Son, listen to him!

Ascension gifts, and especially those who are called apostles, must learn that God cannot be humanised by us. He chose His humanisation as being Jesus Christ. By humanising God I am referring to our need to turn God, His Word and His presence into a packageable commodity that can be easily accepted by earthly minds. Though we justify it with Christian rhetoric it is still earthly mindedness.

To be continued…

A meeting with a friend, sharing what the Lord is saying to him about the city and particularly his leading to establish a new wineskin for discipleship, was a catalyst through which the Spirit revealed a blockage in my mind concerning the church of Jesus Christ. When he shared his direction I asked “shouldn’t that be the work of the local church?” When he replied that the church was one church in the city, although I knew this in an academic way it suddenly hit me as revelation.

A local congregation is not the church in the city but a part of that church. The fullest expression of Christ exists, not in a local church, but in The Church in Perth. Whereas many will agree, the expressions of ‘church’ do not actually reflect this belief. Traditional mindsets are still being expressed regardless of how much we say we believe in one church. And the worldly models of success, power and leadership that control the church keep reinforcing our failure to be The Church.

The gospel reveals that the constructs of our mind, the way we think, what we think, and what we validate as truth, is not the cumulative result of a superior intellect but the result of our sin nature, the world we live in and our inability to resist being conformed to the patterns of this world. Everything we think we know has been implanted into our minds by the god of this age. Paul’s gospel presentation to the Romans points out that we are all sinners and that the world of fallen men has replaced the knowledge of good for evil; truth for lies. Being born into a world of inverted knowledge means that all that we know is inverted and must be considered wrong unless proven right by God’s Spirit.

This is not just true of secular knowledge but also of religious knowledge. I had a construct in my mind concerning church that came from religious power-holders and not from God. I grew up believing in a particular construct of church and that model was reinforced time and time again by the examples of ‘successful churches’. When I finally rejected the validity of these systems and went in search of ‘the real church’ I abandoned what I considered to be systems of men but in doing so I also withdrew from The Church. Even though I rejected these systems as not being a valid expression, I allowed those constructs to obfuscate any valid expression of the Church of Jesus Christ. In so doing, I validated what I had rejected.

Now, through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, He is directing me to participate in His church. I am not sure yet what that looks like but I want to share what the Spirit has revealed so far.

Constructs of the Mind

The church of Jesus Christ is not denominations, nor is it local gatherings or congregations; it is the family of God on earth. For a long time I had been fixated with the idea of the local church because the ‘church in the city’ seemed to be controlled by religious power-holders rather than led by apostolic men recognised as gifts of Jesus given to the church in our city.

Religious power-holders are basically those who have the appearance of success – large numbers, large incomes, large organisations, impressive speaking resumes etc. They gather together affirming and validating one another ((2 Cor 10:12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. 2 Cor 10:18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. 2 Cor 3:1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? NIV)) and hold combined self-congratulatory meetings in the name of unity. Though unity is the expressed purpose for gatherings, they are more often than not vehicles through which worldly constructs are validated. I don’t mean this to sound judgemental or whiney because I am sure they do not understand what they are doing. Still, it needs to be said so that the elect of God, the church in every city, do not get caught up by every passing wind. ((Eph 4:14-15 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. NIV))

The constructs of religion only exist in the minds of men and are validated or empowered only when we act as though they are true.  ((Isn’t this a very worldly practice? Professionals gather together proclaiming their expertise, training others in the ways of knowledge and truth and then the ‘untrained duly accept their self-stated expertise and willingly follow their advice.)) The religious leaders or power-holders in Jesus’ day were no different to any other self-validating group at any time in the history of the church: religious power-holders suppressing a genuine expression of church of Jesus Christ through religious constructs. ((Matt 23:13-24 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.  “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’  You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. NIV))

Jesus declared to His disciples “I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it”. Jesus builds His church among every people group of the world. Throughout history, amongst the ‘Christian’ forms of religion has been hidden the Church of Jesus Christ. ((In John Calvin’s institutes of the Christian religion he distinguishes between the visible manifestation of church and the invisible. Henry Beveridge’s footnote says; “section 2 in this section (7), Calvin specifically distinguishes between the invisible and the visible Church (note first line for term “visible”). The invisible Church is the Church as it really is before God; the visible Church is the Church as it appears to man.”))

Men, some downright evil using the gospel for profit ((2 Cor 2:17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God. NIV )) and others simply naive, finding security in the patterns of this world, obscure the actual church through established religious constructs – whether Catholic or Protestant, denominational or non-denominational, conservative or contemporary, evangelical or charismatic, seeker-sensitive, post-modern, revivalist, transformational, emergent, missional; while the church of Jesus may be found amongst people within these constructs, they are constructs of the mind that cause the church to be obscured. The more we validate these constructs, as legitimate as the ideas may be in some of them, the more we obfuscate the church in our cities.

To the Angel of the Church in [insert your city]

I was in a meeting some years ago where a person asked everyone they spoke to the same question, “What has God shown you His strategy for the city is?” At a leaders’ breakfast the speaker was going to share “his heart for the city”.

As the Spirit of revelation has been unlocking my mind – revealing the constructs that I have held for too long as being truth, and renewing my mind – the Spirit has been showing me God’s will in this matter. ((Rom 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. NIV)) Not a finite strategy for a city, but rather the renewed mind necessary to test and approve what God’s will is.

In Revelation, John is told by Jesus to write a specific message to seven churches. These seven messages have a specific framework ((cf Beale, G.K. NIGTC The book of Revelation, Eerdmans:Grand Rapids. 1999:225)) that can help us in discerning God’s will in regard to our cities. (For my purpose here I will only look at a part of the framework)

• 1. To the angel of the church in…
• 2. These are the words of Him…
• 3. I know your [witness]…

The first point is that these letters are not concerning a city, they have no revelation on winning a city; no strategies for a city; nor do they speak of ‘god’s heart for a city’, rather they are addressed to The Church in each city. ((For a fuller discussion on the purpose of God in the church see chapter five in my book will the real church stand up Xulon Press:USA 2006)) According to Ephesians 1:11-12, God works everything out in conformity with the purpose of His will, so that we might be to the praise of His glory. Later in 3:9-10 the intent of God is revealed:

Eph 3:10-11 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV

In Ephesians the purpose of God is for the church to reflect His wisdom and glory. The church was always in God’s mind as an expression of His glory on earth – a people belonging to God who will declare His glory. ((It is interesting that the letters of Revelation are written to ‘the angel of the churches’ and in Ephesians it is to ‘rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms’ that God is revealing His manifold wisdom through the church.)) In each of the letters in Revelation 2 and 3 Jesus reveals an aspect of Himself to the church, speaks about their witness as His church and calls for an action in relation to His self-revelation.

A Word for your City

The conclusion that I have come to through all of this is simple, there is one church in the city of Perth and one church in your city. The constructs of our mind may obscure that church but that construct exists in our minds not in God. Jesus is continually present in His church ((Rev 1:12-13 when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” Rev 1:20 the seven lampstands are the seven churches. NIV)) and the purpose of the church is to reveal His abiding presence by being to the praise of God’s glory. This, after all, was Jesus’ mission, to do His will and in so doing bring glory to the Father. ((John 4:34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. John 13:31-32 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. NIV))

God’s purpose is to reveal Himself to the church and the church in this city is to exhibit that revelation. ((1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. NIV)) And so, in prayer, I believe, we need to be asking for the revelation of God in the church of our city.

What does the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, ((Eph 1:11)) want to reveal of Himself to the church in your city?

Why do we whose hearts desire to glorify God fall short in our words and our deeds? We want to participate in being a pure bride for Christ, but the church seems to be a long way from that place of purity.

I believe the dichotomy is in the gulf that exists between our heart and our mind. The new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:33-34 declares that God “will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” Unlike the old covenant of external laws and sacrifices, this is a covenant of the heart and mind. An internal covenant sealed with the indwelling Spirit of God.

The new birth begins with a new heart. This is the act of God through the blood of Jesus. Having received a new heart we are compelled by Apostle Paul:

Rom 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…NIV

So the heart that is towards God is a result of the new birth whereas the mind that is towards God is what we grow into. The maturing process, which leads to a life of ever increasing glory; that is being to the praise of His glory; is I believe found in the ‘Posture of our Minds’.

The posture of the mind

Posture speaks about our bearing, our stance and our attitude. We can adopt an aggressive posture or a passive one; a relaxed or active posture. Our posture reveals what is really going on in our minds; what I am thinking is more noticeable in posture than through my words.

In a recent Kingdom Discipleship post I spoke about the secret of being content in all things as an expression of faith in God. That secret is in our posture, the direction we face, the focus of our desires. Is contentment found in the presence of the Father and the Son through the abiding Spirit or do we believe it comes from material gain? If our mind is towards God, ((Col 3:2 Set your minds on things above…)) then our posture will reflect this in words and actions. If our mind is on earthly things ((Col 3:2 Set your minds… not on earthly things)) then our posture will reflect that.

I remember in my Greek lectures learning that the word pros translated in John 1:1 as with, is a preposition of direction. When John is interpreted as saying, ‘the Word was with God’, it could well be translated this way:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was toward God, and the Word was God.

This is a wonderful thought that is worthy of serious consideration. Jesus Christ the eternal Word was always with God and is always facing God. Jesus Christ our Lord, the Son of the heavenly Father always has had and always will have a posture that is forever towards His Father. This posture is evident in all that Jesus said and did whilst He lived among men on earth.

Jesus declared, I have come to do the will of my Father; and, I only say and do what I have heard my Father say and seen Him do. Jesus’ entire life was consistent with this posture, His words were consistent with His posture, and His posture was always consistent with the Will of God. The Word was face to face with God. ((The face of God in Scripture is related to his mercy or wrath: Ps 27:9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. Ps 34:16 the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. Rev 6:16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! Ps 67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us,

And seeking His face is to desire His favourable presence. Ps 17:15 And I – in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. Ps 27:8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. Ps 105:4 Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. ))

The posture of our minds – especially as a reflection of the posture of ascension gifts in the Church – is what I want to consider here. Our posture expresses our thoughts, our beliefs and our values in a clearer manner than our words. Overseers are quite adept at talking up their posture with the right words, but are they in fact ‘towards’ God? Or are we using right-sounding words to justify a posture that is ‘set on earthly things’? I think the development of Simon Peter’s apostleship is a useful example to discover the posture of our mind.

A new name for a new person

John 1:41-42 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). NIV

Throughout Scripture a name change is synonymous with becoming a new person. Notables are:

Jacob the supplanter, whose name was changed to Israel – prince with God or God prevails. This new name was indicative of an encounter with God that proved to be life changing. (Gen 32:24-32)

Jabez, whose name means sorrow or pain, cried out to become a new person. “Oh that you would bless me… Let your hand be with me… so that I may be free from pain.” Though there is no recorded name change, God granted his request. (1 Chron 4:9-10)

Saul, the persecutor of Christians became known as Paul the Apostle of Christ.

Simon, whose name was changed to Peter, was transformed in character through his encounter with Jesus.

According to Scripture we were included in Christ when we heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation (Eph 1:13). Through this encounter with the message of the cross we experience the reality of being ‘in Christ’ and become a part of the New Creation. We receive a ‘new name’ ((Is 62:12; 65:15; Eph 3:15; Rev 2:17; 3:12)) which means quite literally that we are to be His new people “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2Cor 5:17)

The most important thing for an ascension gift to remember is that in Christ we have become a new creation, with a new name and a new mind. Though our hearts may now be towards God, it does not necessarily mean that our minds are.

Romans 12:2 implores us to stop being conformed to the mindset or thought patterns of this world but to be transformed by having minds renewed. Though our hearts are transformed when we received the Word of Truth, our minds require renewal. Renewal is a process that occurs through discipleship which we will see through Peter’s development or progression towards apostleship.

It is not right to come to Christ, regardless of the dramatic nature of the conversion, and expect to immediately function as an ascension gift – especially an apostle. It is irresponsible to encourage a ‘recent convert’ ((1 Tim 3:6)) to act as an overseer, and I believe preaching in God’s house is an equipping function and therefore the work of an overseer. In our celebrity-worshipping society the church as the expression of the new creation, should be different, though unfortunately, this is not often the case. When a celebrity comes into a church from the world, they are often paraded publically as proof of God. Before long they are on the ‘ministry’ circuit speaking at breakfasts, luncheons and dinners. This is the same for those with a ‘dramatic’ salvation. Their ‘powerful testimony’ becomes their ministry.

We seem to forget, or perhaps never realised, that it is not a person’s salvation experience that is a testimony but it is the cross of Christ that becomes our testimony. Acts 1:8 declares that we would be witnesses of Jesus not of ourselves.

Men, whose posture is earthly, will try to push a person with a ‘testimony’ or celebrity status forward claiming it is to glorify God, but the purpose is not from God and will bring destruction. Ascension gifts are not people with great reputations or great experiences but people who have died with Christ and apostles more so. As we will see with Peter, his death to pride, pleasure and possessions was an integral part of his discipleship that produced an apostle of Christ.

To be continued…   Following is a preview of the next post…  

What a remarkable turn of events. One moment Peter is being praised by Jesus for his profound insight into the things of God and the next he is being rebuked by Jesus and called a stumbling block who does not ‘have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’

This highlights what I am saying about promoting famous people or famous testimonies. Having a revelation from God is not the same as having a mind towards God.  

It seems that Peter fell into the trap of believing that this revelation said something about Peter, rather than realising it was simply God speaking of His Son through Peter. So our hero became – in his own mind – the font of all revelation and wisdom to the point of speaking whatever he thought.

Recently in prayer the Holy Spirit gave me a word: contentment. Now I admit it is not a very grandiose word, it is not a word to build great organisations or structures but, if it came from the Spirit of Jesus Christ then it is a powerful word.

Contentment strikes at the heart of the dominant idolatry of society today. The marketing industry exists to convince us that what we have is not enough, our desires cannot be satisfied without their products and our relationships cannot be successful without their help.

Discontent is the feeling or expression of greed. While people in the church may not overtly demonstrate lust, many express a growing discontent with their possessions, position or pleasure.

This has become the fruit of years of preaching in many circles that focus on ‘what man wants’ rather than what God requires. If you preach a message that God wants you to be happy, healthy and wealthy; that Jesus only wants the best for you – and then call that ‘best’ possessions, pleasure or social status – it should follow that the end result will not be holiness, Christ-likeness or the praise of God’s glory but a discontent with what we have now.

The world and its desires will pass away
The apostle John beautifully outlines the foundational expressions of idolatry as being sensual craving, lust for possessions and social standing or power.

1 John 2:16-17 For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. NIV

He continues by telling us that such desires – which apply to everything in the world – will pass away with the world but that the person whose desire is for God will not pass away with the world but live forever.

Being content with what you have
So, what of this word I have received? I believe contentment is a word for the church and it is for now; it is time for the Body of Jesus Christ to learn to be content in any and every situation.

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, runs through the highlights of his life to the Corinthian church.

2 Cor 11:23-28 I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. NIV

This is markedly different from the ‘highlights’ of many of today’s guest speakers at conferences and seminars. I wonder if many of our conferences would draw a crowd to someone with Paul’s credentials?

Anyway, the point is that Paul does not once boast from a position of strength as we would understand it, but from one of weakness. He does not encourage us to follow a God who wants us wealthy, or living for pleasure or for political or social status, but to forsake worldly pleasures and follow Jesus Christ.

1 Tim 6:6-9 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. NIV

I have learnt the secret of contentment
Yes it seems that there is a secret to being content. Paul explains that he had to learn contentment.

Phil 4:10-13 I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength. NIV

Contentment is the expression of a heart of faith towards God. If I am hungry and in need, I am content; if I have a full stomach and lack nothing then I am content. This is a complete contrast to the children of Israel in the desert. They received God’s provision of manna but constantly grumbled. They had His presence at the tent of meeting and in the tabernacle but still they were discontent. They had God’s personal presence, God’s personal provision and God’s name as a standard among the nations of the area and they were still discontent.

They longed for the pleasures of Egypt even though they were slaves there. The provocation of the Israelites towards God was their discontent.

Ps 78:17-18 But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High. 18 They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved. NIV

What then is the secret to contentment? The Spirit reveals it clearly throughout Scripture:

Heb 13:5-6 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”

6 So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?” NIV

The secret to contentment is found in our posture. Many struggle to follow Christ because they are looking back, just like the people in the wilderness, longing for what they have left. The secret to contentment is in the promise of God’s presence and the hope we have in Christ.

Only when we crave the pleasure of God’s presence, only when we long to possess the inheritance of sonship, only when we value being named after the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ will we be content in any and every life situation.

Godliness with contentment is great gain
Contentment is to be satisfied with your position on earth until God changes it – if he does. It does not mean that we should not pray for God’s provision but we should not crave and desire more than we need. As Scripture says, if we have food and clothing we will be content with that.

The spirit of discontent is not at work in those who are truly poor or genuinely in need, it is at work in affluent societies and in churches that have become ensnared by the pleasures of this world.

So, the word for today is contentment:

Heb 3:7-15
7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the desert,
9 where your fathers tested and tried me
and for forty years saw what I did.
10 That is why I was angry with that generation,
and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. NIV

In fairness, I should say that I already have my own answer (which will always be obvious) and am not so much asking a question as provoking thought, because I believe it is time for a radical re-think as to what the expression of the Church in a local community should be.

The answer to this question will, I believe, have a major impact on how we answer questions concerning evangelism and unity. I think that the variety of ‘movements’ which abound today by and large express a particular view of church; a view that needs to change.

An Alternate Community

1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. NIV

Throughout the New Testament we can find, stated clearly or implied, that the people of God were not to view themselves as citizens of the world embracing an alternate religious ideal, but should understand that by receiving Christ they would be aliens and strangers in a pagan world. They were to see themselves as citizens of Heaven, foreigners in this world. ((Heb 11:13; 1Pt 1:1; 1:17; 2:11; Eph 2:12,19; Phil 3:20)) The “Gospel of the Kingdom” preached by Jesus and by the apostles ((Matt 4:23; 24:14; Jn 3:3,5; Act 8:12; 19:8; 28:31; Rom 14:17; 1Cor 4:20; Col 1:13)), and passed on to faithful men and women, is the gospel of the reign of God in and over the lives of those He has chosen by His grace to become “sons of God”. ((Rom 8:18-28)) The people of God are to be on earth His temple (1Cor 3:16; Eph 2:21-22), His body (Rom 12:4-5; 1Cor 12:27), His people (1Pt 2:10; Hos 1:10), His family.

At the end of the ages the reign of Jesus will be complete ((1Cor 15:24-28)) and God’s chosen people will enter into the fullness of salvation – the redemption of our bodies – and the world as we know it will pass away. But until then, the church is meant to exist as chosen and called out people whose presence on earth should be a reflection of the hope of glory in Christ Jesus. The seal of indwelling Spirit is for us the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of our bodies, and thus the presence of God empowering us to live as His people on earth.

As Apostle Paul declared, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” ((1 Cor 6:19-20)) In Revelation, our destiny is clear; the church is a nation purchased by Jesus’ blood for the sovereign God who will one day reign on the earth. This is not a group of Australians or Americans or Africans or Asians gathering occasionally with common religious views, but a people who have abandoned their allegiance to this world and its tribal identities and taken up citizenship in the Kingdom of God.

Rev 5:9-10 …you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” NIV

So, how does this affect our thoughts concerning the church? How is this redemptive work of God, revealed in Jesus Christ by His Spirit, meant to be expressed in the Church? ((Eph 3:10-11 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV))

Gordon Fee, in his commentary on 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, has this to say about the local church:

In most Protestant circles one tends to take the local parish altogether too lightly. Seldom does one sense that it is, or can be, experienced as a community that is so powerfully indwelt by the Spirit that it functions as a genuine alternative to the pagan world in which it is found. It is perhaps not too strong to suggest that the recapturing of this vision of its being, both in terms of its being powerfully indwelt by the Spirit and its thereby serving as a genuine alternative (”holy” in the most holistic sense) to the world, is its single greatest need. ((NICNT the first epistle to the Corinthians Pg 151/2))

The Village Church
In my view of history, it seems that when new lands were pioneered and a community was formed the requisites that marked the town or village was its ability to provide resources like a local school, community law enforcement and a community church – a church for the community. ((Obviously I do not intend to portray this as a definitive study but an anecdotal view))

It seems that such a ‘community church’ was where Jonathon Edwards saw revival as a preacher. It would seem that a community church was the experience in England during the time of the Wesley brothers. John Wesley’s journal records his many experiences of preaching at various local village churches (of England) inevitably resulting in his being told by the local priest that he would never again be welcome to preach.

As Ascension gifts preached in community churches like this, people encountered the message of the cross and were born again by the Spirit. This usually resulted in them leaving those places of community worship and establishing an alternative. The nature or quality of the alternative ‘church’, I suppose, depended on how much their thinking was influenced by the word of the cross. Regardless of the initial understanding of its identity in the world in which it was birthed, after a generation (or sooner) these new churches invariably became alternate community churches – another place for the people of that town to worship. Now, instead of one community church the town had two.

It further seems to me that this is still prevalent in the thinking of churches today even if the expression is somewhat different. Rarely would anyone argue that “their church” is the local community church, yet each local church is working to be identified in the communities to which they belong. And I use the term “belong” deliberately because that can be the implied thought behind the local churches’ activities.

From this perspective evangelism is a means by which a local church becomes more viable within its natural community. Evangelism is not the outworking of a community living in Christ Jesus to whom God adds numbers but a programme to ensure organisational survival.

Unity seems to be a realisation that other places of community worship, though different in form, have the same religious objectives and values and we should therefore encourage each other, as we exist in our natural communities, endeavouring through our unity to enhance the community with our positive Christian values etc.

Unity is seldom expressed as individuals who once were not a people, not a genuine community in God’s eyes, but now have become a people, a holy nation, the body of Christ and God’s family on earth. Unity is more often expressed as meetings or gatherings of different people from different systems of worship sharing time, ideas, prayer and coffee.

A Valid Community
We need to examine what we call community and what we are willing to align ourselves with. The general thought, though not explicit, is that our secular communities are amoral and exist as valid community. We accept that our cities, towns and villages have produced genuine expressions of community. Because the community in which we live is genuine, in our view, all other communities are judged by it.

When Apostle Paul reached his climactic statement in Romans 7:24 “what a wretched man I am!” his was an exclamation of the state of all of humanity – there is no one righteous not even one. There is no righteous community on earth, no righteous society; all of our communities exist as enemies of God. They are not valid examples of community and therefore not viable models for us to build genuine communities on.

Every tribe, language, people and nation stands condemned by God and exists under His wrath. The cross is the means by which God is redeeming people from every tribe, language, people and nation (from every people group or sub-group in which they find an identity) and translating them into the new creation – the body of Jesus Christ.

The only valid community in existence is the body of Jesus Christ, the community of faith expressed through local churches that exist in brotherly love and Spirit unity to bring glory to God. This community is the Church and it exists only for God.

Conclusion
The Church is not so much a place of (or to) worship, but a community (literally God’s family on earth) whose existence is other than the society in which it is found. It is a community to enter rather than a religious place or group to visit; a family who share life rather than a group who share views.

It seems to me that systemic thinking has taken the responsibility of the individual to live Christ in a ‘pagan’ world and demanded that an organisational structure or system called ‘church’ take responsibility. Evangelism is a programme rather than a lifestyle, unity a series of meetings instead of the communal fellowship of saints.

Is the role of the church meant to influence politics, a secular education system or such things, or is it to be an alternative to that system? It would (or at least should) be a natural outcome for Christians working in government, politics or the education system to have an influence according to their standing, but is that the point of the church? We do have examples in Israel’s history of men and women of God who held high office in foreign nations such as Joseph, Daniel and Esther. Each influenced the power holders of those systems but they did not change them into secular versions of Israel.

While I am convinced of the purpose of men and women of God to influence society as salt and light and of the power of the Spirit to work through people to keep this world from its ultimate destruction until the appointed time, I think that the church – like Israel as a type of the church – needs to be an alternate community first. It should be a community devoted to Jesus Christ and to exist solely for the purpose of glorifying God.

The church as a community exists, not for the benefit of the secular world in which it finds itself, but as a new creation family hidden in God with Jesus Christ; called to reveal the wisdom of God to principalities and powers in spiritual realms.

Eph 3:10-11 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV