7:00 PM – 7:45 PM Session # 7
Friday
Heb 8:5 Who serve unto
the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of
God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou
make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
·
When Moses was about to build the tabernacle for God, God
cautioned him to accurately construct it in accordance to a specific pattern
that He would show him. The Lord has a
particular and unique pattern of ministerial construction for every local
assembly, and every corporate and individual ministry.
·
In our Greek scriptures
the word “admonished” is defined as “divine instruction
according to revelation.” This is an exhortation for us to cautiously build our
ministries step by step in line with the Holy Spirit’s wishes.
·
Every earthly ministry is as “an example and shadow of
heavenly things.”
·
“An example”, is a copy or a model of the
original. Every ministry, which God
calls us into, is the copy of an original, which God has already created and
dwells with Him in the heavenlies. The brilliancy
and the glory of these heavenly ministries create for us a shadow, or lets say
an outline, for the ones who have been called to faithfully reproduce these
ministries here on earth. The vast responsibility of all believers is to
reproduce its heavenly original with the greatest of earthly accuracy. The blessings of God will fall upon
each ministry in proportion to how accurately it has been reproduced in
“accordance with the pattern shown in the mount.”
·
One of the church’s great problems is that it has failed to
grasp that every ministry has a “pattern shown in the mount.” Because of this failure, we actively
subscribe to, and create many church
activities. Sadly enough, not many of
them have much to do with any “patterns” that God has initially for them. We sow much and reap little. We will do much more by seeking and waiting
upon the Lord for revelation, than in busily getting wrapped up in a host of
church activities.
Different Patterns
Not of Man
Heb 8:2
A minister (
a religious minister) of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the
Lord pitched, and not(
absolute negative) man.
q
Greek: A minister of the
sanctuary and of the authentic and genuine tabernacle of God, which the Lord
fixed in place, and had absolutely
nothing to do with man.
q
The church of God must be
built upon the authenticity and genuineness of God’s pattern.
q Every ministry
that God truly raises up never has the scheming, planning, or programs of man
within it. Our job is simply to hear the voice of the Spirit and build
accordingly by God’s direction, timing, authenticity and reality of what is in
heaven. Many a problem with our
churches and ministries is that we are not building the authentic and genuine
tabernacle of God. We are co laborers
with His voice.
. Heb 11:10 For he
looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder(technician or craftsman)and maker(the author of a
work) is God.
q All ministries
must be authored and built by the Lord.
Exodus 20:25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone,
thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted
it.
·
A stone which has been cut
Not Made With Hands
Acts 17:24 God that made
the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with
hands
q
;Greek: Absolutely never dwells in handmade temples
q
Heb
9:23 ¶ It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens
should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better
sacrifices than these.
24For Christ is not
entered(absolutely never made by hands.) into the holy places
made with hands, which
are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us:
Heb
9:11 But Christ being come an high
priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is
to say, not of this building;
q Greek: A greater and more perfect tabernacle, absolutely never made with hands,
and not of this creation.
q It cannot be
of the earthly or fleshly creation.
q Our hands
cannot touch it.
q God’s must be
genuine and accurate according to the heavenly plan.
q It has nothing
to do with man’s agendas and plans.
q The Lord must
be the one to author and build it.
.
The Church in Action
Ephesians 2:21 In whom
all the building fitly
framed together groweth unto an holy temple in
the Lord:
·
Both are in the present tense.
Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and
compacted by that which every
joint supplieth,
according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the
edifying of itself in love.
Fitly
Framed Together
·
·Thus the church can be seen as an entity that is in a continual
process of being fitted together by every one’s ministry and gifts, being
joined together in love and intimacy, and growing in to God’s Holy of Holies to
manifest His glory by giving testimony of Him.
·
This
is defined as to frame together perfectly the members of Christ’s body, as
parts of a building are brought together.
·
Paul adds
furthermore another the phrase; “According to the effectual working in
the measure of every part” . Here, he tells us, that “EVERY” parishioner has
the responsibility to work within a congregation at his or her “PEAK LEVEL OF
SPIRIT LED PERFORMANCE”. This requires
uncompromising obedience to God, and dedication to the local body. All of this must be done in line with the
giftings, callings, and ministries deposited within each of member of the local
body by the Lord.
·
Joining,
cementing, and fitting together to form a building must take place, so that the
building can then be raised up. The
church accomplishes this, as all of its members perform to their peak
efficiency by their callings, ministries, and giftings, in uncompromising
obedience. Every one must participate!
·
A local assembly increases,
and grows, as each parishioner within the local body supplies his or her part
in accordance to the gifts and ministries, which the Lord has given to each of
them. This is what Paul means in verse
sixteen when he employs the term “every joint supplieth.”
·
Spiritual
gifts reveal the Person of Christ. By the use of spiritual gift the Man Christ
is cemented and fitted together until the church becomes The man in Eph 4, the
fullness of Him that filleth all and in all, and the Holy of Holies which gives
testimony of God to the world.
·
This fitting, joining, and growing to achieve spiritual growth
continues as every member seize the head, which is Christ.
·
Many of
our churches do not follow the model described in verse sixteen. Too many churches have too few ministers;
there is too much control by leaders whom prohibit the exercise of spiritual
gifts and ministries. Likewise there
are too many complacent pew sitters who do not grow in their spiritual gifts
and ministries, and consequently do not “carry their burden” of testifying to
Jesus. The end result is always the same.
Only part of the Lord’s fullness is evident, only part of His glory is
manifested, the man Christ Jesus is not complete so is the testimony of God.
·
Eph 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth
unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Knit Together
Col 2:2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love,
and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the
acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge. {In
whom: or, Wherein}
4 ¶
And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am
I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness
of your faith in Christ.
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
·
The
knitting together comes after every member of the local church has been fit
together into a proper building for the Lord through the ministries and
callings of every individual. The believers’
hearts are then knit together in affection.
This oneness, in combination with the effectiveness of every member’s
ministries and spiritual gifts, will bring this local body into a full
understanding of the accurate knowledge of the mystery of the Godhead and
Trinity. This then is the fullness of
the glory of God, which should be displayed to the world.
·
Knitting together can only come as the body is knit into the
revelation of the Son which is the product of being fitly framed together.
·
Thus
the church can be seen as an entity that is in a continual process of being
fitted together by every one’s ministry and gifts, being joined together in
love and intimacy, and growing in to God’s Holy of Holies to manifest His
glory.
· Fitting, knitting, full
confidence of understanding of the mystery of Christ, conduction our lives in
it, being rooted, built up, and finally grounded against backsliding.
The Full Assurance of
Understanding
Col
2:2 That their hearts might be comforted,
being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of
understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father,
and of Christ;
3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge. {In
whom: or, Wherein}
4
¶ And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am
I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness
of your faith in Christ.
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus
the Lord, so walk ye in him:
7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished
in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
·
This
oneness, in combination with the effectiveness of every member’s ministries and
spiritual gifts, will bring this local body into a full understanding of the
accurate knowledge of the mystery of the Godhead and Trinity. This then is the fullness of the glory of
God, which should be displayed to the world.
·
Thus the church
can be seen as an entity that is in a continual process of being fitted
together by every one’s ministry and gifts, being joined together in love and
intimacy, and growing in to God’s Holy of Holies to manifest His glory and give
tesimony
· This fitting, joining, and
growing to achieve spiritual growth continues as every member seize the head,
which is Christ.
The Church is an Habitation or
Dwelling Place of God in the Spirit
Eph 4:16 From whom the
whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint
supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part,
maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Eph 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit.
·
A
dwelling place is an abode where God will feel totally at home, and will have
full rights to do as He pleases. This
describes a totally yielded life on the part of every believer and each local
assembly. No man can control.
Revelation
5:8 And when he had taken the book, the
four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every
one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of
saints.
The Church Is
The Fullness of God”
Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and
gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23Which
is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all
in all.
·
God from His fullness fills all believers’ with all blessings,
which belong to their being and welfare.
If Christ filled the whole universe, so the church is filled with all.
·
The church then is a
society that is in vital connection with the Lord, sustained by His power, and
it is the instrument by which our Lord works.
· The
analogy of Christ’s pleroma is simple.
What is a bottle of coca cola filled with? Coca cola, of course!
What is Christ filled with then?
Christ Himself of course! This
is the pleroma of Christ. A local body
in a state of total maturity is the treasure bearer of Christ’s pleroma!
· The church then, is not
only Christ’s body, but is the ONLY universal agent that is filled by Christ
and can fully manifest Him.
·
The church is what makes
Christ complete.
q
The body
of Christ will be filled with Christ’s fullness as, and when, it grows up into
the fullness of Christ. The more is the
maturity and obedience of every believer, and the more that each believer
fulfills his or her calling, the more will be the fullness or the very essence
of the Lord in that local body.
q · The word for “fullness” in
verse twenty-three, of Ephesians chapter one, is a most interesting word. Allow me to define it for you. Envision that you have a bottle filled with
Coca Cola. What is the Coca Cola? Is it
the bottle, or is it the liquid inside of it?
Well, it is made up of every ingredient that is perfectly mixed in its
required quantities and precise order, to lawfully recognize and labeled it as
this reality that we call Coca Cola. This is the fullness of Coca Cola! In other words, the fullness of Coca Cola is
the very essence and nature of this liquid, which makes it to be Coca Cola and
nothing else. The fullness of God then,
describes the very essence, the reality, and the evidence of who God is. It also describes to us every attribute and
characteristic that is required, to make God, God.
q · The church is the fullness of God!
The Lord has called upon the church to manifest Him in His very essence
and reality. He has also summoned the
church to manifest every attribute and characteristic that makes up the whole
essence and reality of who He is. This
is called the glory of God, or allowing the invisible God to become accurately
identifiable.
·
In the
phrase, “the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” the Lord
describes Himself as “the God who desires to fill every person, and every part
of that person, with Himself.” However God wants to go further still. He is not only satisfied with filling every part of one believer
with Himself. In any local assembly,
God desires to fill every part of every believer within
Himself. As this takes place, the
fullness of the Lord becomes manifested through that local assembly.
Matthew 4:25 And there followed him great multitudes
of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from
Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
Luke 5:15 But so much the more went there a fame
abroad of him: and great
multitudes came together
to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed
together groweth unto an
holy temple in the Lord:
q
Ephesians
2:21 tells us that the church is a “holy temple in the Lord.” If we would go and research our original Greek
New Testament, we should discover that the word implemented here is the “Holy
of Holies”. The church in
fact is the holy of holies of the Lord. As the Holy of Holies, the church is the dwelling place of
God. As the Holy of Holies, the church
does become in fact the Ark of the Testimony.
It is the one and only universal agent that must, and can, furnish full
evidence with all supporting facts, that define the reality of whom God is. It must manifest Him in His fullness, so
that the jury of the world has enough evidence to reach a verdict to accept or
reject the gospel.
q
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom
shall be preached in all the
world for a witness(
testimony) unto all nations; and then shall the end come.·
q The only way that
the gospel can be effectively preached is through the church’s testimony or
witness of the Lord Jesus according to what we have spoken about. What is the
kingdom of God?
q
The Ark of the Covenant or the Ark of the Testimony
represents the very character of God thus giving Him testimony here upon the
earth.
q
Please notice the four factors that represent the testimony
of the Lord. It was overlaid with
gold. Gold in the Bible symbolizes
anything, which is solely the work of God without the help of man. For us to give adequate testimony of the
Lord here upon the earth our ministries and churches must be the sole work of
the Lord. We are simply coworkers with
Christ as He builds, raises up, and directs.
The work is Christ’s. Our job is
to submit over and over to His voice.
q
Two, we find the golden pot that has manna. The true testimony of God consists in a life
of utter dependence to Him. It is a
life of faith, walking on water, obeying, going forwards, and parting the
seas. In the Sinai desert, the provision
of God was for one day. There was no
surplus and there was no lack. I am not
against financial prosperity, but somewhere our doctrines that one of God’s
main focus is to financially prosper us, does not sit totally right with a life
of utter dependence on God’s daily provision so as to see the Lord work in
power. If our doctrines of financial
prosperity are kingdom oriented so as to finance Christian works around the
world, those doctrines are correct. If
our doctrines are to protect us from having to live a life of faith they are
not correct. For further study please
look at the first part of Matthew Chapter 10.
q
Thirdly, we see Aaron’s rod that blossomed. This spells out for us a life of death and
resurrection. It tells us that in our
Christian life absolutely every area of our lives must go through the
cross. Corruption must die and
incorruption must be raised up.
q
Finally the tables of the Covenant illustrate for us a
genuine and accurate representation of whom the Lord is and the reality of His
word. We must give testimony or testify
to the Lord Jesus living within us.
This is the essence of Christianity.
q
Christianity is not about Christian activities but about
giving testimony.
Exo 26:33 And thou shalt
hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the
vail the ark of the
testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.
34 And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in
the most holy place.
q
The American College
Dictionary defines for us testimony as “ evidence in support of a fact or
statement.” Therefore, within the Ark of the Covenant resides the complete and
absolute evidence that supports all of the facts of whom God really is. In other words the fullness of God dwells
inside. Therefore the church’s great
responsibility is to furnish to the world at large with preciseness, who God
really is. It must so fully declare Him
that the world has all the facts that it needs, to accept God or reject
Him. In reality, the testimony of God
is no different to the testimonies given by witnesses in a courtroom. The purpose of testimonies is to furnish a
jury with enough factual evidence that will allow it to reach a truthful
verdict.
q The Holy of Holies is a place
of communion, or of dialogue with the Lord.
The Holy of Holies represents a position of discernment, revelation, and
manifestation. The tables of the
Covenant or the Ten Commandments in the Ark represent God Himself, His presence
and His character. It is within our
spirits then that very essence of God dwells.
It is our spirits that reveal Him and manifest Him to the world. Our soul is the vehicle that mediates this
revelation from our spirit through our mortal human bodies to a dying world.
q
The church must be a place
more of communion and less of activity.
Heb 9:4 Which had the
golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold,
wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the
tables of the covenant;The
The Church is
a Man
Eph
4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and
some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith,
and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of
the stature of the fulness of Christ: {in: or, into} {stature: or, age}
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed
to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of
men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up
into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined
together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the
effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body
unto the edifying of itself in love.
“The perfecting of the saints” is defined for us, as the endowment of
believers in any local assembly with all that they spiritually require to
become fully equipped and successfully carry out their ministries and
callings. It is impossible for a senior
pastor without the apostle, prophet, and evangelist, to ever accomplish this.
The Greek root word for “perfecting” is the same one
observed in the word for mending in Matthew 4:21.
v Through
them all of the members should be made capable of performing their several
parts in order that the whole church may be built up in its completeness.
13
Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
q Practically
speaking however, I do not think that Christian unity is something that we
attain to by just simply wishing or singing about it. In verse thirteen the Greek word “unity” is defined
as unanimity. For us to achieve
practical unity as believers upon on earth, we must reach a point of spiritual
unanimity. This is an issue of the
spirit. We must become one in
spirit. I believe that unanimity of the
faith can be only achieved through believers that have allowed the cross of
Christ to touch and transform every part of their lives. As the cross of Christ kills off what is of
the old nature, the Lord Jesus is revealed and created in the believer. Unanimity or unity comes about because there
is the “One and Same Man Christ Jesus” created in all of us. Unity among believers, is really unity into
the revelation of the same Person Jesus Christ dwelling in each of us. The cross is the only way to bring about s
this revelation. If we do not value or
understand the cross, our soul life is left alive; unruly and corrupt as it
is. Unity can never take place like
this. We have no point of real and practical unity amongst ourselves if Christ
Jesus is not being revealed.
v
Until we arrive at, or attain
to. All members must come to their
proper unity and maturity.
v
Oneness of faith in Christ,
and into a full and accurate knowledge of the Son of God.
q Participation and peak efficiency in
ministry brings us into a mutual vision, and understanding of our faith in
Christ or the particulars of our walk with Christ. Our comprehension and oneness in the particulars of our walk
with Christ brings us into an oneness of revelation of the Christ.
v
The glory of God is displayed through the efficiency and
activity of each members, obedience and ministry before God.
v
The person of Christ is
revealed in the local body and this brings us into a and accurate knowledge of
the son of God
v
The fullness of the knowledge
of the Son fills that body with all of His fullness.
v
As we are filled with the
fullness, we are filled with the love of God.
v
As the fullness of Christ
is revealed and we come to know and understand, we all grow up into the
maturity of God. A perfect man is a
full-grown man. The church as a full-grown man can fully bring forth the glory
of God and subsequent revival.
v
The stature of Christ is an
ideal that has magnitude.
q It is the measure of the height of the
perfection or maturity of the Christ.
v
We become one in believing
Him and knowing Him.
v
For the purpose of
furnishing every believer for their particular service and their particular
contribution in building up Christ’s body.
v
It is the view to the full equipping
of the saints. Only then can the
fullness of the glory of God be brought
·
“and of the knowledge of the Son of God” . Here we find the same word “epiginosko;”
the complete, thorough and accurate knowledge. If we work backwards this verse,
we see that indeed our unity can only come as we grow in the revelation of the
Son of God.
· “unto ( or into) a perfect man.” Who is this
perfect man? This man is no one else
than Christ Jesus Himself. The word perfect
describes a fully-grown man. Unto
the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ is the description
of what makes this man perfect. The measure of the height or stature of the
perfections of Christ, is this perfect man.
14
That
we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with
every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby
they lie in wait to deceive;
When the
church does not have the revelation of the Son of God it grows into doctrines of
men which are promoted by things instead than the truth which is promoted
through the revelation of God’s son.
·
The church
growing lopsided because it is growing lopsided and being blown around by ever
wind of doctrine.
v
That we may be no longer
children. A transformation must take
place.
v
Nepios literally infants, and other minors
that are immature and untaught.
v
Tossed to and fro dashing or surging waves. In changefulness and agitation the nepio is
carried about by every wind of or degree or doctrine.
v
The sleight of men is the
element of an evil atmosphere,
o Dice playing and deception.
Instead of growing up into the revelatory knowledge of Christ, we make
philosophies, or things (debt, miracles, being blessed) the main focus.
v
Doctrines become divine
truth. Things, blessings, miracles,
financial prosperity becomes the major instead of the minors.
v Christian philosophies lead into a false
way of Christian life that diverts the nepio fatally from the truth. If we
concentrate on things, we shall always be immature. These philosophies pertaining to Christian “things” will not
bring the revelation of Christ. The
church will not grow up into all things by Christ who is our all and in all. If
our Christianity is about getting our miracles, being blessed, debt
cancellation, we will always be infants.
v
The church
becomes messed up. Believers are
hurting; the teachers of the doctrines of men become exalted. Many of the doctrines of men only work when
you throw money at them.
15 But
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the
head, even Christ: }
·
The truth
is a confession of what is the reality in our lives because we have the
revelation of Christ in our lives.
·
By thruthing
into we grow into Christ in all things.
v
Part is revelation knowledge.
v
Confessing the truth may in
love grow up into.
v
Confession is an outward
expression of what is really part of us.
v
Only in relation to the Christ, and seizing the head; and through
an efficient revelation of Him can the church grow up into Him in all
things.
·
The more
revelation of the Christ, the more that we can grow up into Him.
v
Of the revelation of The
Christ must be the end and the object of all of our growth.
v Christ
is the object and goal to which our growth in its every stage must look to or
be directed.
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined
together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the
effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body
unto the edifying of itself in love.
Let us become unspiritual for a few minutes and imagine an apple
pie. Do your remember in elementary
school our teachers using the example of an apple pie cut into eight
pieces? They would use this to help us
comprehend fractions. Every piece of
the sliced pie would now become 1/8 of the pie. Four pieces would be equal ½; seven pieces would be 7/8;
and the eight pieces together would make the whole of the pie. I describe the fullness of the Lord and His
manifested glory in just the same way.
The church is the apple pie. If
only one member of the church displays the fullness of the Lord, the assembly
will manifest only 1/8 of his glory. I
know that it is a simplistic example, but it really holds true. If half of church’s members are holding to
their responsibility to be filled with the Spirit, that local body will
manifest 1/2 of God’s glory. Displaying
the fullness of the Lord takes the active participation of every member in a
local body.
Many of
our present church models and strategies are inaccurate in that they encourage
many to become pew sitters, and very few to participate and minister. Truly then, only a small fraction of the
Lord’s glory is displayed in our local assemblies.
8:00 PM – 8:45 PM Session #
8 Friday
Building Blocks of the NT Church #3 ( Revealing the
Person of Christ)
And Preached
Christ Unto Them.”
Acts 8:5 Then
Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
Acts 9:20 And
straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
·
·
Today I want to teach you
the most important truth that you will ever learn as a Christian. Most believers, and most churches, never
understand this truth, though the New Testament over and over teaches on
it. Hence the great weakness, the
inability to overcome sin, the powerlessness over the lies of Satan, and the
helplessness to be freed from the love of the world, continues to be found in
countless believers throughout the centuries.
The truth is that Christianity has little to with our obtaining of
blessings, miracles, and answered requests.
CHRISTIANITY COMPLETELY HINGES UPON AND HAS ALL TO DO WITH THE
REVELATION OF THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST, OR THE FAILURE THEREOF. OUR PERSONAL SUCCESS, AND THE SUCCESS OF OUR
CHURCHES AS BELIEVERS, IS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO HOW MUCH THE PERSON OF
CHRIST IS REVEALED!
·
·
As you shall see, Satan has
successfully deceived the church in part, to divert it from understanding and
valuing the supreme importance of the revelation of the Son of God in its
midst. The fault is mainly ours! Our obedience to God is shallow,
compromised, and limited; our knowledge of the Word of God is poor at
best. Secondly, we have been deceived
to allow the second most important truth in Christianity to slip right through
our hands!
·
·
THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT
TRUTH IN ALL OF CHRISTIANITY IS THAT THE UNDERSTANDING OF, AND THE EMBRACING OF
THE CROSS-OF CHRIST, IS GOD’S ONE AND ONLY MEANS TO REVEAL THE PERSON OF CHRIST!
·
·
Do we ever hear in our
churches about the preaching and revelation of the person of Christ? We instead are being made aware about
prosperity, being blessed, getting a miracle and so forth. Lesser still, do you
ever hear about the preaching of the cross of Christ? Do you understand the cross?
Christ is
God’s Treasure Chest
·
· Let us begin our study by observing the following
scriptures found in Colossians and in Ephesians. In Colossians we discover that
inside of Christ are hidden treasures.
In Ephesians we find that Christ contains riches. It sounds like if Christ is some kind of
treasure chest, doesn’t it?
§ Col 2:3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge.
§
Ephesians 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace
given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of
Christ;
·
·
So if
Christ is indeed a treasure chest then He must contain treasures INSIDE OF HIM,
correct? What kind of treasures can we
expect to find inside of Him or “In Him?”
Lets look at a few of them together.
1)Colossians 1:20
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to
reconcile all things unto( INTO) himself; by him, I
say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
God the Father will reconcile and
harmonize the whole universe into Christ, at His appointed time.
2)Eph 1:3 Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Every last and tiniest “God given”
blessing resides inside the Person of Christ.
3)Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily.
The fullness of the Trinity dwells inside the Person of Christ
4)Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in
Christ, when he
raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly
places,
21 21
Far above all principality, and power, and might,
and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in
that which is to come:
Inside of Christ resides all
accomplished victory, and hence all rightful authority over all the demonic,
earthly, and angelic hierarchy of leadership. Christ also has that same
authority over “ every name that is named”.
Therefore, this includes the name of sickness, circumstances, and so
forth, for all eternity.
§
§
So where does this “Christ
laden with treasures inside of Him” live?
He lives inside of us, right? Would it be a safe bet for us to say then,
that we not only possess Christ, but we possess all of these immense and
invaluable treasures, inside of us too?
Wow!
§
§
This is the one thing devil
is absolutely terrified of, and he does a good job keep the church’s’ attention
diverted from this.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth
them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my
Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
(Today, we cannot cover in
this lesson how the Lord becomes manifested in our lives. We shall study this
in subsequent teachings.)
§
Remember;
God has not given to us things! God has
given us a Person, His Son! This is a
very important point!
§
We
are always asking God for things. God
in turn wants to reveal His Son to us who CONTAINS ALL THINGS!
Heb 1:1 ¶ God, who at sundry times and
in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2Hath in these last days spoken unto
us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also
he made the worlds;
CHRIST IS
GOD’S POWER!
1Co
1:24 But unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God,
and the wisdom of God.
With this foundation in place we can start to partake and enjoy of the
goodness of God when He gave us this one thing, His Son. Let us begin by understanding, that when we
ask God to give us His power, in reality we are asking amiss. He has given us His Son! Look with me at the scripture above
please. Jesus is the power of God. Therefore when He is revealed
in our lives, God’s power is revealed with Him, in Him, or alongside with
Him. The more that Christ is revealed
in our lives, the more that we will automatically operate in the power of
God. We don’t need power; we need the
Son of God to become a reality to us and the power will be ours!
CHRIST IS GOD’S SPIRITUAL GIFTS,
CALLINGS, AND MINISTRIES
1 Cor 1:5 That in every thing ye are enriched by (By or In Him) him, in all
utterance, and in all knowledge;
1Co 1:6 Even as the testimony (the revelation)
of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming (The revelation) of our Lord
Jesus Christ
Re
19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship
him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of
thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony (The revelation) of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy
Please look with me at the scriptures
contained in 1 Corinthians 1:5,6 and 7.
In verse five it tells us that “by Christ” and “In Christ” (The Greek grammatical structure is
interchangeable here), we are made rich in spiritual gifts. Two of the gifts mentioned in this passage
could be the utterance gifts, which could include tongues, their
interpretation, and the gift of prophecy. The other is the gift of the word of
knowledge, which God uses extensively in healing. Verse six goes on to direct
us to the fact, that the enrichment or increase of these spiritual gifts in a
believer’s life is directly proportional to the revelation
of Christ within him or her. Right?
Verse seven instructs us that if the revelation of the Lord is complete in our
life, we will lack in no spiritual gift. Therefore, the more that Christ is
revealed in our lives, the more that we will automatically flow in the gifts
and ministries that God has called us to. The gifts are IN HIM. As Christ is revealed, the gifts IN HIM will
be automatically revealed along with Him.
Now please look with me at Revelation
19:10. Please be careful to observe
with me that Jesus does not give us prophecies per se. Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy! Therefore, the more that Jesus is
manifested in our lives, the more that we shall automatically flow in
prophecy! Let’s look at one final one.
Christ is
God’s Righteousness, God’s Redemption, and God’s Sanctification.
1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
§
In Corinthians 1:30 we see
that Christ has been made into righteousness, sanctification, and
redemption. Christ does not dispense
these blessings! He Himself is
the blessings! If we ask God to
make us righteous, are prayers will be only halfway answered. If we ask God to sanctify us, we have missed
God’s best.
§
God’s righteousness has to
do with the manifested or outward qualities of God that originate from His
inward holy character.
§
Sanctification is defined
as the progression of our being purified by the Spirit of God.
§
Redemption has to do with
the process of our being rescued from the power of Satan, bondage, sin, and the
love of the world.
§
Christ does not produce these
things in us as separate blessings. He
has been made into these attributes. As Christ becomes revealed within our lives, God’s righteousness
becomes more and more of a reality in us.
It is automatic! As Christ
becomes more discernible in us, we automatically find ourselves more and more
free from sin, bondage and the schemes of the enemy. I know that I am
redundant, but this is so important!
9:00 AM – 9:45 AM Session # 9 Saturday
(I Cor 12:4 Now there are diversities
of gifts, but the same Spirit.
v A distinction becomes a distinction
because the distributions are different.
5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
6
And there are diversities
of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to
profit withal.)
q
q One rule of thumb is that the Lord always
bestows His spiritual gifts and ministries in accordance with, and to fully
equip the saints of God in the callings which He has given to them. For example, if one is called a prophet, the
gift of prophecy will abound in him or her.
6 And there are diversities of operations(the exhibition of the gifts and ministries in accordance to
our calling, our personality, and the circumstances in which God operates the
gifts and ministries through each of us) but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
q
Distinctions
in operations which are “effect operations” or the same God who effectively
operates all things ( ACC) in all people ( DAT) .
1 Cor 12:4 Now there
are diversities of gifts,(spiritual gifts) but the same
Spirit.
5And there are differences of administrations,( ministries) but the same Lord.
6 And there are diversities of operations(the exhibition of the gifts and ministries in accordance to
our calling, our personality, and the circumstances in which God operates the
gifts and ministries through each of us) but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
·
Verse
four, of First Corinthians chapter twelve, tells us that God has given to the
church a diversity of spiritual gifts.
·
Verse five
describes for us that God has likewise given a variety of ministries and
offices to Christians.
·
Verse six
tells us that God administers His gifts and ministries through diversities
of operations in a multitude of ways, according to the
person whom He works through, and the circumstances in which He releases these
gifts and ministries in.
·
Verse
seven tells us that God’s spiritual gifts and or ministries have been given to
every Christian; none is exempt! No one has the luxury of being a
pew sitter, and no one has the right to prohibit the manifestation of the Spirit
through another believer. Verse seven
goes on to tell us that the function of spiritual gifts and ministries is
simply to the manifest the Holy Spirit.
What is so important about manifesting the Holy Spirit? Look with me now at John 15:26.
John 15:26 But
when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which
proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
·
The role
of the Holy Spirit is to “testify of Jesus”.
As we have already discussed before, the process of testifying to the
Lord Jesus has to do with the bringing forth of evidence in support of the
facts of whom God is. As believers, we
have the grave responsibility of displaying the ministry of the Holy Spirit
through our lives through the use of spiritual gifts and ministries. To the
extent that we allow the Holy Spirit to work within our churches, will be to
the extent that the Holy Spirit will be allowed to” testify of the Lord Jesus”,
and bring forth the fullness of God.
Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding(Thoughts) being enlightened (
Perfect tense through absolute purity of life); that ye may know(Saber)
what is the hope of his
calling, and what the
riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
18
nd
what is the exceeding
greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working
of his mighty power,
v According to the efficiency or the
effectual working belonging to the kratos of God’s inner strength. Effectiveness in our lives is the
proportional to the dominion of God’s inner strength working in us.
q
If we work
Ephesians chapter one verse eighteen and nineteen backwards, we see that it is
the power of God who brings to each of us individually and to every local
assembly the riches of the inheritance of God.
Contained within the riches of God’s inheritance are the gifts and the
ministries, which will endow us with the spiritual equipment to fulfill the
callings of God, which are molded and shaped in turn by these very gifts. The gifts and ministries brought forth by
God’ power also are “tailored fit” by Him so that when used effectively and
fully by the saints, will bring any local assembly into its God’s given destiny
also termed as “the hope of the calling.
q
Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my
brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
v
The
outward dominion of His inner strength.
·
Receive
continuous dunamis power from the Lord and the outward dominion of his inner
strength. This is the prerequisite for putting
on the full armor of God, which is the revelation of His Son.
1Peter: 11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man
minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all
things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion
for ever and ever. Amen.
·
If any one
speaks let him do it through the inward strength that the Lord gives.
Some Basics of
Ministry
Romans 12:6
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us,
whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
v The correspondence to the logos that
belongs to faith.
7
Or
ministry, let us
wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
v
Or
offices in relationship to the offices.
q
Greek: Ministry in the sphere of (our) ministry (Ministry
must be executed in the realm of the ministry to which we have been called to;
no more and no less. This is what Paul
means by Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering. In other words let us minister only in
the ministries that God has called us to.
“Walk in your calling” is a very important commandment. Part of our
maturing, as Christians is the change that the Lord makes in our lives to get
us out of the key to ministry is to “walk only in the two or three things that
God has called us to do.” Being busy
for the Lord in a host of Christian activities will produce spiritual
burnout. Likewise, the onset of spiritual
burnout is a sure sign that we are not walking in our callings.
q
The deception
of the enemy is religious activity versus walking in our spiritual offices.
1 Chronicles 25:1 ¶
Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the
sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy(were prophesying)
with harps, with psalteries(guitars),
and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen( men or persons in general,
involved in their respective occupations according to their ministry)according
to their service
(religious ministry) was:
q
The above scriptures show
us the importance of knowing our ministries and being devoted to them.
q
Remember; walk in your ministry and calling, and not in Christian
activities!
q
Greek: He that teaches, in the
sphere of the teaching (He
that is called to teach, let him teach the part of the Word of God that God has
anointed him to do.)
Romans 15:19 Through mighty (the dunamis power of) signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum,
I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
v
In
relationship to the power that belongs to signs and wonders in the power
belonging to the Holy Spirit I have filled….
q
q
Let us
observe the two scriptures above. The
manifestation of God’s spiritual gifts is the result of the work of the Holy
Spirit. The Spirit of God uses the
“dunamis” power of God as its vehicle or catalyst to energize and manifest
these gifts. Romans fifteen and
nineteen for example tells us that signs and wonders are brought about by the
power of the Holy Spirit.
·
It is important for us to
be aware that if we are to do our part in filling up the gospel of Christ it
will never be accomplished through our mere preaching of God’s word. The gospel must be proclaimed in the power
of the signs and wonders that accompany our spiritual gifts.
o Sign The manifestation of a spiritual gift as
it is focused upon the believer to prove his or her authority as one sent by
God.
o
Wonder
The manifestation
of the same spiritual gift, as it is focuses upon the ones that behold it, to
stimulate them to wonder and amazement and the giving of glory to God.
1 Tim 4:14
Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy,
with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
§
Greek: Do not become careless about the
spiritual gift, which was given to you by (the Holy Spirit) through prophecy and the laying of hands.
15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself
wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
§
Meditate- Care for, attend
to, and keep practicing “the things that we have discussed”
§
Give thyself wholly to
them – Literally “to become
one with them”.
§
Paul
tell us throw ourselves fully, or become submerged and consumed with the things
that lead to godliness, purity, charity, spiritual gifts, and so forth.
§
That thy profiting Literally “pioneers cutting a way for an army”
§
Every
Christian is called to a blaze a new pioneer trail, through which the Lord can
effectively travel, in accordance with their unique calling. There are now pew
sitters, and no room for mediocrity in God’s kingdom.
§
May appear to all - Will become evident to all.
2 Timothy 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of
an evangelist, make full proof
of thy ministry
To bring to fullness, satisfying our
calling and ministry.
q
Carry
out every aspect and phase of God’s callings and giftings to their utter
fullness and completion.
Colossians 4:17 And say to Archippus, Take heed (Carefully consider
your ministry) to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.( that you would
complete it by filling it up; hence fulfilling it)
2 Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that
thou stir up(continuously bring up to flames, or
fire, the gift by constant exercise) the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
Godliness
1Tim4:7 But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and
exercise thyself rather
unto godliness.
·
Exercise thyself; Comes from the word for gymnastic
which in turn comes from the word gymnos, which is defined as
“being naked.”
·
The practice in the days of Paul was for athletes to exercise almost
naked so as to be unhindered as possible for vigorous training.
·
Godliness is our manner of life, which makes us
pleasing unto God. For us to attain to all that the Lord has for us, we must
vigorously train in His will, spiritually naked, as to be untangled from
distractions, idols, and worldly affairs.
1 Timothy 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good
foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
·
There
is big difference between getting saved, going to church and performing
religious activities versus that of “laying a hold on eternal life.” To lay
hold on, is to grab on to, pull in, and make it our own possession The Lord is never satisfied with our simple
conversion and even our faithful attendance in church. He wants us to experience as much of the
fullness of eternal life as possible while in our earthly tent, which is to
know God through the fullness of the revelation of His Son within our lives.
John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent.
1 Tim 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but
godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now
is, and of that which is to come.
Literally: “For a little (useful in a few things) is
bodily exercise profitable”. Exercising
in godliness is useful for everything because it has an eternal impact on the
next life and this one.
The Testimony
of The Conscience and The Minister
q
2 Cor 4:1 ¶ Therefore
seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not Because by the mercy of God, we were called into this
ministry, we do not become discouraged. (We know that if God divinely summoned
us, He will take care of us, and see us through; therefore we do not lose
heart.)
2
2 But
have renounced
(we gave up once,
and now forbid) the
hidden things of dishonesty (anything that brings shame
or disgrace to the gospel, or to us), not walking in craftiness(not conducting
ourselves in the doctrines of men), nor handling the word of God deceitfully(by
trickery, adulterating or corrupting God’s word for base gain) ; but by manifestation of the truth (but by
manifesting the gospel in its accuracy and genuineness through the Word of God and
by our lives) commending
ourselves to every man’s conscience( we present ourselves to
every type of men’s conscience)
in the sight of God.
(Before the constant gaze of God) (We must remember that the conscience of
man is a component of the voice of the Holy Spirit. Paul here says, that the
soundness of the apostle’s doctrine and the genuinenesss of his or her life in
accordance to the gospel must be so great, that it must hold up to the scrutiny
of the voice of God bearing witness or passing judgment to what the apostle
ministers in their hearer’s consciences.
Secondly, the apostle must also deal with the scrutiny of God Himself,
whose penetrating look is ever upon the apostle.
The Mystery of Christ and The Minister
Col
1:25 Whereof I am made a minister,
according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil
the word of God;
26
26 Even
the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory:
1Cor 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit
is given to every man to profit withal.
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send
unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
o
Every God given ministry then is geared towards revealing the
Son of God. This is why I always say,
that it is crucial for every local congregation to have as many spiritual
ministries as possible in place and fully functional. Many of our present day
church models work in reverse to this view, severely limiting the revelation of
Jesus Christ.
Col 1:25 Whereof I am
made a minister, according
to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
o
The dispensation of God in verse
twenty, is defined as the administration of God’s kingdom in its varied
ways. God has entrusted the pastor with
the administration of His kingdom that pertains to the nurturing, guidance, and
shepherding of his people.
o
God’s dispensation to the prophet is to progressively, in the
dimension of time, reveal His Son through the spoken or rhema word. The apostolic dispensation is to reveal Jesus
Christ through the logos or written word.
o
Colossians chapter one and verse twenty five goes on to say that
all dispensations or administrations of God are aimed at fulfilling the word of
God. “Fulfilling” in the
Greek is defined as filling something full. Through our fulfillment, or in the filling
up of the word of God, we reveal the Son of God who is the logos and the rhema
word.
26Even
the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory:
Revelation within, preaching without. This is true preaching! The apostle Paul further shows us this
concept in Romans 16:25
Rom 16:25 ¶ Now to him that is of power to
stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the
world began,
26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures
of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made
known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of
his person, and upholding all things by the rhema word of
his dunamis power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on
the right hand of the Majesty on high;
·
The mystery of the gospel
is the Christ that is hidden within each of us. As we obey the Lord without compromise, and walk by His Spirit,
The Lord is revealed within us. It is
the revealed Christ within us that we must preach without. THIS IS THE DEFINITION OF MINISTRY, MY
FRIENDS!
·
The Christ that we reveal
to the world through our preaching must be done in relationship to the
spiritual gifts, ministries and callings that the Lord has given to us.
·
Paul here defines for us in
one verse the true minister of the Lord. “In all liberty, freedom,
fearlessness, and absence of bondages, manifest to a lost and dying world the
Christ within you through your spiritual gifts and ministries.”
Col
1:28 whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom;
that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
The manifestation of Christ is what
allows us to present each man fully instructed. As a fellow believer becomes instructed, God can set things
aright in his or her life. As the believer has the example of the revealed
Person of Christ before their eyes, they can grow into Him in all things and be
presented perfect or matured.
1
Sam 3:20 And
all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established(passive tense) to be a prophet of the LORD.
q q God confirmed Samuel to be a prophet because He found him
faithful and dependable to the point that it satisfied Him. The Hebrew verb tense here is in the
passive. This means that Samuel did not
strive to take for himself the calling of the prophet. God had anointed and called him into it, and
the Lord likewise raised him up into this spiritual office as he found Samuel
to be obedient, trustworthy, and faithful.
1 Timothy 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me(empowered me ; from
the word for dunamis), for that he counted me (esteemed me) faithful, putting me into the ministry;
q
Paul
received the power of God to fulfill His calling in proportion to how
spiritually ready the Lord found him to be.
q
Here is one of the most
important keys to success in ministry.
It is important that we do not raise ourselves up into ministry. One of the reasons for this is the issue of
timing. Every act of God’s will has the
factor of God’s timing within it. Only
the Lord knows when we are spiritually fit to be raised up.
1Sam 3:19 ¶ And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him,
and did let none of his words
fall to the ground.
q The Lord did not
allow any of Samuel’s words to
fail or not to come to pass.
q
The Lord did not allow the words of Samuel to fail, not
because He was under any obligation to please Samuel, but because Samuel had a
great discernment and obedience to the words of the Lord. If Samuel had been discerning the voice of the
Lord incorrectly or not at all, his words would have failed. God would have not honored them. The Lord
per se was not concerned about Samuel but about the accuracy of His word
working through Samuel.
1Tim 3:1 ¶ This is a true saying (trustworthy is this saying), If a
man(Greek; male
gender utilized) desire(
stretch himself forth in order to reach after) the office of a bishop,( comes from
two Greek words which means to preside above, or be spiritually high up, in
order to be able to look down upon and accurately scope out problems within his
congregation.) he desireth a good work.
2
A bishop then
must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour,
given to hospitality, apt to teach;
·
Blameless – This means to have absolutely nothing
resident in our lives consisting of disobedience or sin, where human or devil
can grab on to, or point an accusatory finger towards. This is the same as being without
reproach.
2 Corinthians
1:12 For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience,
that in simplicity (a
single eye for the Lord) and godly sincerity (a life tested by the rays of the
sun) , not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our
conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
Greek: Our
boasting (bragging) is this; the evidence that our conscience gives
about us. Our Christian conduct in the
world has been held in an absolute devotion to Christ. This absolute devotion allows us to have a life,
which is simple because there is nothing else but Christ in it. Our lives are so pure that the rays of the
sun can shine through them unhindered.
This proves us as sincere before the Lord. We accomplish this not by our
agendas and programs but by living in utter dependence to the voice of the
Spirit.
10:00 AM – 10:45 AM Session # 10 Saturday
Apostles
Oneness With The Lord.
The Lord Being Their Very Life
Mat 10:40 He that
receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that
sent me.
o
The called apostles must realize
that the Lord must whittle down everything in their lives to the point that
nothing else is left but their living their lives out of God’s rhema word. The only thing left in the apostle’s life is
the Person of Christ manifesting Himself within the apostle by the rhema
word. The apostle becomes of no concern
except to allow Christ to live His life within him.
o
The apostle then is an
instrument of the Lord’s will, timing, and ways and is fit not only to reveal
the Son God but as one that understands and can set down church government
q The apostle learns to limit his life
strictly to the rhema word of God. Herein lies a signs and wonders ministry.
q The rhema word of God gives to the apostle the Lord’s his
credentials in that the rhema word of God represents the desires, the faith,
the power, and the timing OF GOD HIMSELF.
o
. Thus the
apostle becomes simple ambassador of the Lord.
q The
rhema word of the Lord is the FAITH OF GOD.
To live out of the faith OF GOD, the Lord must take the apostle through
a season of material want and lack that will take number of years. This will
get the apostle to a place where she or he learn to live strictly out of the
rhema word of God and not out of the appearance brought by circumstances.
Herein lies a signs and wonders ministry.
o
Luke 10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that
despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
Ø
Oneness with the Lord, through the principle of death and
resurrection.
John 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so
he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
John 7:29 But I know him: for I am from
him, and he hath sent me.
John 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your
Father, ye would love me: for
I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he
sent me.
q The apostle has no agenda.
His or her agenda is the Lord.
q
The apostle therefore lives in utter dependency upon the
Lord. The apostle has been broken by the
Lord and lives out of the strength and the power of God. There has been a death
to his or her ability to overcome, so that their overcoming now comes through
the revelation of the Son of God.
q
His
or her whole existence is sustained and originates through his or her
relationship with the Father.
q
God’s
power belongs to the one who operates strictly by the voice of the Holy Ghost
in the rhema Word of God.
q The apostle is of no
consequence or importance. The apostle Paul
in Acts 20: 24 tells us that he did not hold his life in honor, dear, or
precious to himself so that he may finish the course of the Lord.
q The one giving the
apostle the commission, the Lord, is the one who is of consequence or of
importance. The apostle is nothing more than an ambassador of the one who sent
him. He or she are forevermore under orders to execute what the Lord wants.
That is their lives.
q
No one can be sent except
the one who is under orders. The
apostle must be in constant submission to the Lord.
Romans1:5 By whom we have received grace and
apostleship, for obedience
to the faith among all
nations, for his name:
·
The apostle can only promote obedience to the gospel to the extent
that they are themselves living in accordance to it.
I Cor1:1 ¶ Paul,
called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
· An apostle is divinely summoned and
divinely appointed ambassador belonging to Christ Jesus, through God’s
determining will and the full credentials of God’s power.
v He or she is divinely called, invited,
appointed.
v The apostle himself does not matter but
the one giving him the commission, the Lord.
v No one can be sent except the one who is
under orders. The apostle must be in
constant submission to the Lord.
v These credentials of power however are
only manifested in relationship and proportion to how much the apostle operates
in the will of God. The fullness of
God’s power belongs to the one who operates strictly by the voice of the Holy
Ghost in the rhema Word of God.
Gal 1:1 ¶ Paul, an
apostle, (not of men,
neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him
from the dead;)
v
Paul, an apostle not from
men as a source.
v Not raised up by men but by Jesus Christ
v
Thusly the
apostle cannot please men outside of God’s will, but must always please God who
chose and raised him or her up. Not
pleasing man, but a bond or love slave of God.
1Cor 9:1 ¶ Am I not an
apostle? am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ
our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?
Ø
Must
see the resurrected Lord with a discerning eye because of the power of God and
the revelatory gifts within him and Chrst who has become his very life.
Ø
Christ living in Him must become all to the apostle. The Lord must the change the apostle until
it is the Person of Christ living within him.
The I or me in the apostle must progressively die until the I becomes
Christ. Then the apostle is
representing Christ, His works and His ways and His gifts.
Col
1:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ by the will of God,
and Timotheus our brother,
v He proclaims the will of God because He
lives in the will of God.
1Tim 1:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ by the commandment
of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;
v
He proclaims the commandments, because the apostle lives in
the commandments of God.
2Tim:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ by the will of God, according
to the promise of
life which is in Christ Jesus,
v With the promise of resurrection life
goes the provision for its proclamation.
v Hence the apostle in proclaiming Christ’s power and life must be
an ambassador of the life of Jesus. In
other word he or she must live in the resurrection life of God, which comes
forth from the death of Christ’s cross, which has touched everything in their
lives.
v With the apostolic proclamation of the
resurrection life which is in Christ Jesus there it the promise and ability for
us to live in this quality of life right now.
v The resurrection life and the fellowship
of the mystery.
v
The
apostle can only proclaim the life of the resurrected Christ to us to the
degree that he lives in it.
Titus 1:1¶ Paul, a
servant of God, and an
apostle of Jesus Christ, according to
the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;
v An apostle according to the full
knowledge of the truth revealing Christ, His riches, and our participation into
Him in proportion to the full knowledge of the truth.
v The apostle lives in accordance with
God’s level of faith for His saints.
God’s level of faith is His rhema word. Therefore the apostle lives out
of God’s rhema word.
v The faith that administers the gospel
and the house of God.
v He or she must also live in conformity to the full scope of the
Word of God.
v These two things together promote r
godliness or being “God like”, which is one mission of the apostle.
v Through
this, the apostle stimulates and promotes the faith of God towards His chosen
ones. The stimulation of this faith is
to make others thirsty for the Son of God and not just simply for the
blessings, prosperity and other things that come from God.
v True
promotion of faith by the apostle is to reveal the Son of God, and give the
saints the knowledge of what is their participation, ministries, and callings
into the riches found in the Son of God whom the apostle has just revealed to
them.
v Secondly, the apostle reveals to the church an accurate witness of
the Word of God found both in the logos and rhema word. This allows the saints of God to participate
in the truth of the Word, which will produce godliness in their lives.
v The apostles thus must live themselves
in that accurate recognition and participation of the truth so that they may be
able to testify to it and bring others into its participation or fellowship.
v In accordance with the faith of God’s chosen
out ones as a precise and full knowledge of the truth, which is in accordance
with piety towards God.
v This is in correspondence the standard of
faith for God’s elect. The apostle
stimulates and promotes the faith of God’s chosen ones.
v Leads them into the accurate
discernment, recognition and participation of the truth, which belongs to and
harmonizes with what tends to godliness.
He must live in that accurate recognition and participation of the truth.
v With the promise of life goes the provision
for its proclamation. Hence the apostle
in proclaiming you shall live through Christ, is an apostle according through
the very proclamation of this life.
The Forming of
the Apostle
1 Cor 4:10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are
wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are
despised.
q
Greek: We are morons on the account of
Christ
q
We
are frail and weak, you are confident and strong
q
We
are those who get no respect from people
1 Cor 4:11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger,
and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;
q We are hungry and thirsty
q We are dressed scantily or with poor quality of clothing
q We are treated poorly
q
We have no home of our own
12 And labour, working with our own hands:
being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
q
We
labor for the gospel’s sake to the point of exhaustion
q
When
we are abused by men, we bless back
q
When
we are persecuted, we patiently endure it.
2Co 13:4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by
the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live
with him by the power of God toward you.
q
Live out
of the dunamis of God
1 Corinthians 4:13 Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as
the filth(As
soap being rinsed off from dirty plates) of the world, and are the offscouring(scrapings of food thrown away) of all things unto this day.
2 Cor 1:8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble
which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength,
insomuch that we despaired even of life:
· Excessively we were burdened beyond our
power.
o
It is throwing beyond
magnitude. We were utterly at loss, destitute of
measures and resources
9 But we had the sentence of death in
ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the
dead:
·
It is a judicial sentence of death. “An official resolution
that stamps a matter as done.’
·
To trust
in God who is raising the corpses
Ø I Cor 4:9 I think that God hath set forth us the apostles
last, as it were appointed(Doomed
to death) to death: for we are
made a spectacle(Theatre) unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
·
God
has exhibited, showed off, and exposed to view. The apostle becomes a man
exhibited, or to be gazed at. Last in
rank, importance, recognition and so forth.
17 For we which live are alway delivered
unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest
in our mortal flesh.
·
We are always surrendered
and yielded to the thanatos. (Present
tense)
12 So then death worketh in us, but life in
you.
·
Death is actively energized
and efficient in us. The death of Christ is effectual in the apostle.
·
It is always mighty in the apostolic workings. This death is for the benefit of others
2Cor 5:13 For whether we be beside ourselves (out of our minds, or wits, or exhibit insanity)
it is to God: or whether we be sober,(sound
mind) it is for your
cause
·
The results of living strictly by the
ways of God and restricted in life to the rhema word of God.
2 Cor 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our
outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
· To rot thoroughly being disabled or
being brought to decay, consumed, or ruin.
. 1Cor15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was
bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured (To labor with strenuous
zeal, to the point of exhaustion) more
abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me. “Spiritual burn out” is always
inadmissible. It is the product of all
labors for the Lord initiated by us, and not the Holy Spirit. Yet our lives should be consumed with the
Lord and His work. We should daily feel
that “good tired feeling” which comes from working hard and expending ourselves
in God’s service in the power of the Holy Ghost.
2Cor 12:15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent
for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be
loved. I will very
gladly Romans
6:6
I will be
spent and utterly spent.
Ø Incur personal expense for your
Christian well being. I will pour my
very soul out for your progress in the faith.
I will exhaust myself by spending and using myself up for your spiritual
maturing in Christ a blessing in some one else’s life.
The Apostle and
The prophet as Laying The Foundation of the Church
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed
together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus
Christ.
v Being built up in the Lord while resting
on the revelatory foundation of the prophets and apostles. This foundation always being the very person
of Christ. His direction, His will,
wisdom, gifts, power.
v The article not before prophets shows
that apostles and prophets are of the same kind of people.
v Or
the foundation laid by them. Notice how
the building is fitly framed together. The revelatory foundation of the person
of Christ is what causes the believers’ ministries and callings to come
together.
1Cor3:10 According to the grace of God which is given
unto me, as a wise masterbuilder( ARCHITECT), I
have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every
man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
v I have laid (Perfect tense) It is for
the apostle to lay the foundation.
Another one continuously builds up.
10 ¶ For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid,
which is Jesus Christ.
v
The only
laid foundation is Christ. The
foundation of things was never laid.
q
The apostle is a spiritual architect.
q
Lays the
revelatory foundation of the person of Jesus Christ at all times.
The
Apostle and The Fellowship of the Mystery
Eph 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to
the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his
power.8 Unto me, who am less than the
least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ;
9 And to make all
men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the
world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly
places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
v The apostle
not only reveals the mystery of Christ, its dispositions and arrangements but
also teaches others how to participate according to their calling into this
mystery. v It comes to say that the apostle is used within church to bring
the church into the comprehensive participation of what that it has been called
into.
v Bring forth the dispositions of God
according to His grace.
q
The scriptures above in
Ephesians three, eight and nine, and First Corinthians nine, one and two, tell us
much about the apostolic ministry. I
would like to teach the verses in Ephesians chapter three in the following
manner.
q
I have been approached by
people whom have presented our family with an offer to become part of a company
that sells a host of different services to the community, all from on
location. In other words I could become
a person who could sell life insurance, mortgages, stocks, mutual funds, and
bonds with proper training and licensing.
The folks who visited us gave Mary and I an elaborate presentation of
what their company offers, as well as the levels of participation in which we
could get involved with them. We could
simply purchase one or several of their services, or participate as a company
partner in progressive levels of involvement, by selling the different products
that would be offered to others. This
is precisely what the fellowship of the mystery means. A mystery is what is unknown to us. In this case we knew nothing about the
company. When these friends taught us
the company presentation, the mystery was revealed and we understood what the
company was all about. The
fellowship of the mystery is our understanding of what our
participation and levels of involvement could now be with the company.
q
The apostle primarily
reveals the mystery of the Son of God through the written or logos word of God.
The prophet reveals the Son of God primarily through the rhema word. Both of
them functioning together provide the fullness of the revelation of the Son of
God, who becomes the foundation on which any local assembly must build.
q
q The apostle has the grave responsibility
of knowing the scriptures soundly, as well as maintaining a walk of intimacy
with the Lord. He or she can present
and reveal the mystery of the Son of God to the church as it is found in the
written word, as well manifesting Him through His ongoing works by the rhema
word.
q
q The revelation of the mystery of the
gospel, as well as that of the Son of God by the apostle, must have enough richness
so that believers within a local assembly can understand what is their
participation and levels of involvement into the unsearchable riches of the Son
of God, which are Jesus callings, giftings, and ministries to them; Hence the
fellowship of the mystery.
v The apostle lives in accordance with
God’s level of faith for His saints.
God’s level of faith is His rhema word. Therefore the apostle lives out
of God’s rhema word.
v He or she must also live in conformity to the full scope of the
Word of God.
v These two things together promote r
godliness or being “God like”, which is one mission of the apostle.
v Through
this, the apostle stimulates and promotes the faith of God towards His chosen
ones. The stimulation of this faith is to
make others thirsty for the Son of God and not just simply for the blessings,
prosperity and other things that come from God.
v True
promotion of faith by the apostle is to reveal the Son of God, and give the
saints the knowledge of what is their participation, ministries, and callings
into the riches found in the Son of God whom the apostle has just revealed to
them.
v Secondly, the apostle reveals to the church an accurate witness of
the Word of God found both in the logos and rhema word. This allows the saints of God to participate
in the truth of the Word, which will produce godliness in their lives.
v The apostles thus must live themselves
in that accurate recognition and participation of the truth so that they may be
able to testify to it and bring others into its participation or fellowship.
q
Furthermore, I believe that
the seal of apostleship is defined in these two ways. The believer as mentored by the apostle, is
first brought to a place of adequate spiritual freedom as he or she grasps the
liberty brought to him or her by the revelation of the mystery of the gospel,
as the apostle teaches it.
q
As the disciple begins to
grasp whom he or she is IN CHRIST, the apostle introduces the fellowship of the
mystery; assisting the disciple to discover his or her office, callings, and
spiritual gifts so that the disciples in turn can do the work of the ministry.
A) KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST (“Epiginsoko”)
q Ephesians 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
q Wisdom and revelation is a spirit and
this spirit and this spirit is related to the full knowledge of Christ.
·
· My dear brethren, the four types of knowledge
that we shall study today, all come from the Greek word “epiginosko”. This particular word defines knowledge as one that is “mature,
probing and deep, complete, accurate, thorough, and precise.”
Eph3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the
effectual working of his power.
v The effectual working of God’s power
only comes in His calling to us.
v Christ reveals Himself differently in
each of us in accordance with the callings that He has placed within. The more that we know Him personally with
accuracy and intimacy, the more that every ministry will be revealed,
strengthened, and guided within the local body, fulfilling Ephesians 4:6.
Rev 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And
he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy
brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy; We
can see that very manifestation of the living Christ is the source of all
spiritual gifts. Out of the very
presence of Jesus flows the power of God.
His very gifts glorify Him. John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from
the Father, even the Spirit
of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
1Cor 1:5 That in
every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
6Even
as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you.
v Enriched in Him in all types of
utterance words and words of knowledge.
Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is
renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
2Peter 3:2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and
of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
v The apostles and prophets are
both exclusive bearers of revelation.
The prophet’s revelation is progressive while the apostles can operate
in complete revelation based on the
B) KNOWLEDGE
OF GOD’S WILL
·
Col1:9¶ For this
cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to
desire that ye might be
filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and
spiritual understanding;
10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord
unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the
knowledge of God;
and agendas. To know
God’s will in “all spiritual wisdom” is incredibly important. The “wisdom of God” is the will of
God according to His strategy, His ways, and His timing. It will always happen in the Spirit, and
always through a death and resurrection of the vision for that ministry. We need to spend the days, weeks, and months
that it takes in prayer to discern that will.
Much more will be accomplished by our waiting and seeking, than by our
getting busy in a flurry of activities.
To do His will “with all spiritual understanding” is to
discern what are God’s specific steps in fulfilling the will, which we have
just discerned. A church fulfilling the
will of God “with all spiritual understanding” will take the
painstaking time to move step by step in line with the Holy Spirit, never
behind, and never before Him.
1Ch 12:32 And of the children of Issachar, which were men
that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads
of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.
Ps 103:7 He made known
his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
2Pe 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you
through the knowledge of God, and of
Jesus our Lord,
C) KNOWLEDGE
OF THE TRUTH
1Tim2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to
come unto the knowledge of
the truth. Beloved, to know the
truth, is to know God’s word deeply, with accuracy, and in accordance to fact
and certainty.
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free. In reality what Jesus is telling us, is the
truth shall free us in the exact proportion to the accurate understanding and
performance that we have of it. Our
misunderstanding of scriptures through error, a lack of meditation or study, or
because we have turned them into a “doctrine of men” will not free us.
D) THE KNOWLEDGE OF EVERY GOOD THING
WE HAVE IN CHRIST
Philemon 1:6 That the communication of thy faith may
become effectual by the acknowledging
of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. This rarely used, but vitally important
scripture, tells us that our faith will only become effectively empowered, as
we discover and use every gifting, calling, and ministry that Christ has placed
within us. Beloved this is not the
responsibility of the few but of all.
When a church discovers this and implements it, we shall see another church
of Acts.
2 Timothy 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure
afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
Colossians 4:17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast
received in the Lord, that thou fulfil
Knowledge in
Philippians
·
Philippians 1:9 ¶ And this I pray, that your love may
abound yet more and more in knowledge(thorough knowledge) and in all
judgment;(discernment)
Greek: ( my paraphrase included in italics) That your love may abound yet more (but always held bounded within the
river banks of a) a full precise and accurate knowledge of the things of God and in all
discernment( Judgment is
defined as discernment. Likewise charity must be always held in check within
the river banks of our discernment of God’s voice and our discernment of what
is of God, and what does not come from Him.)
·
We
cannot love the world for Christ through our impulses and emotions, or by
becoming its savior, our out of a fear and guilt that the world is going to
hell in a hand basket. Such love will
never become charity and will eventually burn us out.
·
We must
be led by the Spirit at all times to have the development of God’s character
and His love matured in our lives.
10 that ye may approve things that are excellent;( what differs or
excels) that ye may be sincere (judged by the sun) and without
offence till the day of Christ;
·
Greek: That you may
recognize as genuine upon examination the things that are differing. Your
recognition of what differs will allow you to choose only what is excelling or
best towards your fulfillment of the things that pertain to Christ. This will cause you to become so pure that it will allow for the beams of
sunlight to shine through you unhindered. Likewise you will become as one
that has nothing that will make others stumble when they observe your life
before the Lord.
·
Charity is the product of an accurate knowledge of the Lord, His will,
and His Word. It is likewise the
product of being led by the Holy Spirit. Thorough knowledge of the things of
God and restricting our lives to His voice will allow for the distinguishing
between the good and the excellent. If we choose the excellent God, will purify
us so much that we shall be as a clear windowpane that reflects the glory of
God to the world. This develops charity
in our lives because God is love.
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM Session # 11 Saturday
Prophets
1 Kings 6:16 And he built twenty cubits on the sides of
the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built
them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.
1 Kings 6:19 And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set
there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
q The oracle of the Lord
in the Old Testament was sometimes used to describe the Holy of Holies, or the
most inner room of God’s temple where the Ark of the Covenant resided. The Ark of the Covenant is symbolic of the
very presence of the Lord, revealing His very essence, and thus testifying to
or giving witness of the Lord upon the earth.
This is why it is also called the Ark of Testimony.
q The word oracle in
the Hebrew comes from the Hebrew root for “word;”. The phrase “the word of
the Lord” uses this very same grammatical formation.
q Hence when the prophet speaks the
“word of the Lord,” he or she are declaring forth the oracle, or the testimony
of the Lord, and manifesting the presence of the Lord through the spoken
word.
q The closer in accuracy, intent, and
God’s emphasis in the original rhema word, the more that the prophecy will act
as the oracle of the Lord that will bring forth the testimony of the Lord into
a church, and thus define His will, His ways, direction, and timing for that
congregation.
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it(the church) with the washing of water by the word,( rhema word).
v The prophetic word in the church
At The Mouth
of the Lord
Numbers 3:16 And Moses numbered them according (at) to the word (Heb: mouth) of the LORD, as he was commanded.
Numbers 3:39 All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron
numbered at the commandment
(Heb:
mouth) of the LORD, throughout
their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two
thousand.
q It is important to understand the
prophet is not only a foreteller of future events, but is the Lord’s faithful
spokesperson to declare that which comes forth from the mouth of the Lord. Prophecy is the accurate declaring forth of
what the Lord Jesus speaks within a person’s spirit. The prophet must be very careful to declare without what the
mouth of God speaks within.
Numbers 3:16 And Moses numbered them according (at) to the word (Heb: mouth) of the LORD, as he was commanded.
Numbers 3:39 All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron
numbered at the commandment
(Heb:
mouth) of the LORD, throughout
their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two
thousand.
q
It is
important to understand the prophet is not only a foreteller of future events,
but is the Lord’s faithful spokesperson to declare that which comes forth from
the mouth of the Lord. Prophecy is the
accurate declaring forth of what the Lord Jesus speaks within a person’s
spirit. The prophet must be very
careful to declare without what the mouth of God speaks within.
Once again we see the greatness of the
prophet is his or her limitation to live by the voice
Limitation of the Rhema Word
q I as said before, greatness of the prophet is measured by
his or her limitation to order their lives and words in strict accordance to
the rhema word of God. Let us look at a
few instances of this.
Num 22:18 And Balaam answered and said unto the
servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I
cannot go beyond ( pass over or cross over to the other
side of; like crossing over a river ) the word ( Hebrew: the mouth) of the
LORD my God, to do less or
more.(to do the insignificant or what is great.)
20 And
God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee,
rise up, and go with them; but
yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.
35 And the angel of the LORD said unto
Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak( Piel verb form ) unto thee, that thou shalt speak( Piel
verb form). So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
q q The prophet must speak forth in the accuracy of, the
intent of God’s heart, and with the same degree of intensity of what the Lord
Himself speaks.
38 And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am
come unto thee: have I now any power(dunamis) at all(dunamis) to say (intensive) any
thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak (
intensive verb).
Hebrew: The only power that I have, is the power to
speak the word of God. The word that
God puts in my mouth I must speak as accurately and as emphatically as when God
gave it to me.
Deuteronomy 4:2 Ye shall not add ( you shall not cause an addition or an exaggeration to what the Lord has spoken) unto the
word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish( subtract, withdraw, or to hold
back) ought from it, that ye may
keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Jer
23:28 The prophet that hath a dream,
let him tell (recount, rehearse and declare the
dream with the accuracy, the intention of God’s heart, as well same emphasis
that God had in His telling of it. Hebrew
emphatic verb)) a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak (As accurately
and thoroughly as God gave it to him or her; emphatic verb)
my word faithfully(reliably
and with certainty).
The Prophet
and The Voice of the Lord
Numbers 22:35 And the angel of the LORD
said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak( Piel verb form ) unto thee, that
thou shalt speak(
Piel verb form). So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
q
There must
always be three dimensions to every prophecy.
First every prophecy must be given without in the accuracy of the
rhema word that is discerned within one’s spirit. One good rule in
giving a prophecy is to speak only what one sees or hears; no more and no
less. Many a time the Lord will reveal
something in our spirits that we cannot understand. Our responsibility is to speak out as faithfully as we see
it. The Lord will then give us clarity
in the situation.
q Secondly, is the dimension of discerning
the intent of the Lord’s heart in the word given to us.
q Thirdly, the prophet must give the word
with the same intensity or emphasis, which the Lord gave it to
him or her. Sometimes, the prophet is
to give the word with great compassion and gentleness, other times there is the
tone of admonishment or warning behind the voice of the Lord. Practice makes perfect. In Numbers
twenty-two and thirty-five we see the Hebrew Piel verb tense being used twice
in the same verse. The Piel verb form is used in what the Lord gives to the
prophet, and likewise in what the prophet speaks out. The Piel verb form
illustrates intensity and emphasis. One
Hebrew grammarian defines it as busying ourselves with a certain action. The prophet
consumes him or herself with the spoken word of the Lord and is responsible to
speak out that word with the same intensity of emphasis in which it was given
to them. We shall see more of this in
our study.
1Sam 3:21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for
the LORD revealed himself
to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
q
Hebrew: Yahweh uncovered
or disclosed Himself to Samuel through His word.
q
The word discloses the Lord
to the world as it is faithfully spoken forth by the prophet.
q
The apostle and the prophet
uncover or disclose the hidden Lord Jesus dwelling in the form of mystery to
the church. As He is disclosed, the
church can then participate or fellowship in to what the Lord Jesus has
purposed and called forth corporately and individually. The more revelation, the more participation
into the Lord by the church, and by individual believers.
q
The Lord
will never disclose Himself fully to the church until the ministry of the
prophet is fully welcomed and honored within its walls.
1 sam 9:6 And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of
God, and he is an honourable
man;
q
(
Hebrew: Glory or glorious: The Hebrew word also means to be weighty and heavy with honor and glory. In this case Samuel is heavy and weighty in
the Spirit of God; he discloses the invisible God and makes Him to become
visible through all of his prophecies.
This is the definition of glory or glorifying the Lord.
6 all that he saith cometh surely to pass:( Hebrew: All that he says will come to pass, surely
comes to pass) now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our
way that we should go.
Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he
revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
8The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken,, who can but prophesy
q
Hebrew: The Lord Yahweh emphatically spoke, who will not begin to and
continue to prophesy at repetitive times?
q
The more
glory, the more the anointing, and the more will be the spirit of
prophecy. The more is the revelation of
the Lord, the more will always be the release of prophecy. Please observe the
next two scriptures.
Hos 12:10 And I have spoken( Hebrew: Piel verb) by the prophets, and I have
multiplied visions, and I have used similitudes by the ministry of the
prophets.
q
Here we find the same
Hebrew “piel” verb form describing
intense and emphatic action. As we said
before, it means to busy or consume ourselves with a certain activity.” Thus, this verse tells us that the spoken
voice of God is best heard and understood through the prophetic ministry.
1Sam 10:6 And the Spirit of the LORD
will come upon thee, and thou shalt
prophesy
(Hebrew: reflexive verb; You will be able to prophesy by your
own capabilities and actions once that the Spirit of God has come upon you)
with them, and shalt be turned
into another man.
q
Prophecy,
which is received, can turn an individual or church into a different person or body
if that individual or church welcomes it, believes it, and acts upon it. Belief and obedience to a godly prophecy
will bring God’s will and circumstances to bear upon that individual or church. Their course of life will be radically
altered and blessed by the Lord in accordance to the prophecy, making the
church into a different church or the person into a different person.
2 Chronicle 20:20 ¶ And
they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa:
and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye
inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be
established; believe
his prophets, so shall ye
prosper.
q
To believe in the prophets of God means that we must be first
assured of their ministry as spokespeople of the Lord. Afterwards we are responsible to obey the
words that come through them after proper discernment. To prosper is to be able to
accomplish successfully what one set out to do. Only our executing and accomplishing the will of God measure true
success in life. Individual believers
and churches shall prosper
as they take heed to the charge of God through His prophets. Without
the prophetic ministry in it’s midst a church will truly never become
successful in executing God’s will for it.
Hosea 12:13 And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt,
and by a prophet was he preserved.
Acts
7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness
with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who
received the lively oracles to give unto us:
q The Lord by a prophet causes the church to be
brought out of bondage.
·
The church is furthermore guarded and kept free by the prophetic
ministry after being brought out of its bondage. Until the prophetic ministry
is fully welcomed in our churches it is impossible for the Bride of Christ to
be made spotless.
Ezr 5:1 Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and
Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied
unto the Jews that were in Judah and
Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.
Ezr 5:2 Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of
Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God
which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them (supporting, sustaining, encouraging, and exhorting).
q
The
building of the house of God must be always done in part through the ministry
of the prophets.
Ezra 6:14 And the elders of the Jews builded(they were building), and they prospered(and succeeding) through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of
Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of
the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and
Artaxerxes king of Persia.
q
Building
and successfully completing the house of God can only be done in part through
the ministry of the prophets.
Acts 15:32 And Judas and Silas, being prophets also
themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.
q
To
strengthen, fix in place, and make steady and sure an individual or church by
confirming God’s will as well as giving the person or church direction for
growth in the Lord.
2 King 4:38 ¶ And Elisha came again to Gilgal:
and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting
before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe
pottage for the sons of the prophets.
The prophet Elisha and his tremendous
faith in the voice of God working within him have always impressed me. Please look with me at the following
excerpt.
I Cor 14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification(the building up of the body of Christ), and exhortation,(encouragement , admonition,
and warning) and comfort.( to persuade, arouse and stimulate into
Christian action)
2 Cor 8:7 ¶ Therefore,
as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all
diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.
·
Walking by faith will cause the
utterance gifts such as prophecy and tongues to increase and abound in us as
well as the knowledge gifts such as that of healing. The abundance of gifts
will guide us into our ministry and increase our motivation and diligence.
Revelation 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And
he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy
brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit
of prophecy. (The
presence of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy)
1 Cor 1:6
Even as the testimony
of Christ (
the presence of Christ) was confirmed in you:
4
So that ye come behind (You are not lacking or inferior) in no gift;( in no charismatic
gift) waiting for the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Cor 10:15
Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s
labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be
enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly
·
Increase in the faith of a
local assembly increases spiritual activity and ministry
11:45 AM –
1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM – 1:45 PM Session # 12 Saturday
The Pastor, Elders, and the
Creation of the Five Fold Ministry
Acts
15:2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas
had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul
and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders
about this question.
Acts
15:4 And when they were come to
Jerusalem, they were
received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things
that God had done with them.
Acts
15:6 And the apostles and elders came together for to
consider of this matter.
Acts
15:22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole
church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and
Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the
brethren:
Acts
15:23 And they wrote letters by them
after this manner; The
apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the
Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
v Oneness
Acts
16:4 And as they went through the
cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders
which were at Jerusalem.
The House Church and The Perfecting of the Saints
Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they
ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
Acts 12:12 And when he had considered the thing, he
came to the house of Mary
the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
Acts
20:20 And how I kept back nothing that
was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house,
1
Corinthians 16:19 The churches of Asia
salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their
house.
Colossians
4:15 Salute the brethren which are in
Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the
church which is in his house.
Romans 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my
wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
The Church
Coming Together
1
Cor 14:23 If therefore the whole church be come together into one
place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are
unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?
24
But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one
unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
26 ¶ How is it then,
brethren? when ye come
together, every
one( EACH) of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a
tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto
edifying.(Towards building
up)
27
If
any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three,
and that by course; and let one interpret
v Let it be according to 2 or at the most
three sentences in succession.
28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep
silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
29 Let
the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. (Discern)
30 If any thing be revealed to another that
sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
v
Give
the one that had the revelation a chance.
31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all
may learn, and all may be comforted.
32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject
to the prophets.
Acts
13:1 ¶ Now there were in
the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and
Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been
brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. }
2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted,
the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I
have called them.
Eph
4:10 He that descended is the same also
that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Greek: And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors/ teachers;
·
He gave
the five-fold ministry as gifts. To bring all of the members of the church to
the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ so that we may come into
the unity of the faith.
v
Through them all of the
members should be made capable of performing their several parts in order that
the whole church may be built up in its completeness.
v
For the purpose of
furnishing every believer for their particular service and their particular
contribution in building up Christ’s body.
v It is the view to the full equipping of
the saints. Only then can the fullness
of the glory of God be brought.
v Pastors should be in the home
churches. They should be
pastor/teachers
·
Apostles
should preside over the general church that assembles together.
q
The local church is nothing else than a called out and selected
group of co-equal ministers whom God has chosen to come together and reveal the
Lord Jesus Christ in all of His attributes or fullness.
q
In the home
churches these ministries should be perfected.
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
q Within the homes
believers must disciple, raise up, and released them to do the work of the
ministry and the building up of the body of Christ so that it can become the
man Jesus Christ in His glory. In part,
the reflection of what is happening in the homes must be produced when the
church comes together.
q
Under the conductor of the apostolic staff, a local body comes
together from the home churches to play the music of gifts and ministries and
produce the universe’s grandest masterpiece, The Lord Jesus Christ.
q
This Song of Songs can only occur when every believer is
exercising his or her gifts and callings to their peak spiritual
performance.
q
We are to build upon The Person of The Lord Jesus Christ, reveal
Him, and grow up into Him in all things through His revelation. Only when we have an example set before our
eyes can we learn from it, become inspired and grow up into it. When we build upon the Person of Christ, and
reveal Him through gifts and ministries, we can grow up into Him in all
things. The church then becomes the man
in His glory (in a lost world), Christ Jesus.
q
The apostles and elders must include the five-fold ministry who
will reveal the Son of God within the leadership, and allow it to filter down
to the rest of the local body. The New
Testament church never had one man with an upper hand on control and
decisions. The fivefold ministry
within the leadership reveals the Person of the Lord Jesus. It is Jesus Christ now revealed through the
local leadership, who renders the steps, which the church must take. When one man assumes an inordinate amount of
control the revelation of the Lord is stifled and the glory of the Lord is
snuffed.
q
I envision the church as a place, yes, where the body can meet
once a week together. Most of the time
however, the administrative leadership comprised of the five-fold ministry must
discern the gifting and callings of the individual members of the
congregation. We have been deceived
into making the administrative ministries the focal point of the church. The administrative portion of the church has
been endowed be the Lord to sheperd and lead by vision and example within the
home churches.
·
The emphasis of the administrative calling is not to reveal the
Son of God. Thus, our churches do not
have an adequate revelation of the Lord Jesus in its midst to follow and grow
up into. We have made the foundation of
our churches to be things instead, by default, through a deficit in the
revelation of the Son of God. Miracles,
financial prosperity and blessings are some of the elements of the foundation
that we are growing up into. All of
these things have produced a lopsided church.
Because the glory of God is basically non-existent in our local bodies,
the church strives to promote its growth, not through the Person of the Lord
Jesus, but by programs, psychological schemes, and fleshly outreaches.
13
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness
of Christ:
·
Let
us now proceed with verse thirteen.
Many times we all talk about Christian unity and the oneness of the body
of Christ. By spiritual position, we
are one in Christ.
·
Practically
speaking however, I do not think that Christian unity is something that we
attain to by just simply wishing or singing about it. In verse thirteen the Greek word “unity” is defined
as unanimity.
·
Participation
and peak efficiency in ministry brings us into a mutual vision, and
understanding of our faith in Christ or the particulars of our walk with Christ. Our comprehension and oneness in the
particulars of our walk with Christ brings us into an oneness of revelation of
the Christ.
·
For us to achieve practical unity as believers upon on earth, we
must reach a point of spiritual unanimity.
This is an issue of the spirit.
We must become one in spirit. I
believe that unanimity of the faith can be only achieved through believers that
have allowed the cross of Christ to touch and transform every part of their
lives. As the cross of Christ kills off
what is of the old nature, the Lord Jesus is revealed and created in the
believer.
·
Unanimity or unity
comes about because there is the “One and Same Man Christ Jesus” created in all
of us. Unity among believers, is really
unity into the revelation of the same Person Jesus Christ dwelling in each of
us. The cross is the only way to bring
about s this revelation. If we do not
value or understand the cross, our soul life is left alive; unruly and corrupt
as it is. Unity can never take place
like this. We have no point of real and practical unity amongst ourselves if
Christ Jesus is not being revealed.
· “and of the
knowledge of the Son of God” . Here we find the same word “epiginosko;” the complete,
thorough and accurate knowledge. If we work backwards this verse, we see that
indeed our unity can only come as we grow in the revelation of the Son of God.
· “unto ( or into) a perfect man.” Who is this
perfect man? This man is no one else
than Christ Jesus Himself. The word
perfect describes a fully-grown man.
·
Unto the measure
of the stature of the fulness of Christ is the description of what
makes this man perfect. The measure of the height or stature of the perfections
of Christ, is this perfect man. THIS IS
THE DEFINITION OF THE CHURCH!
·
The person
of Christ is revealed in the local body and this brings us into a and accurate
knowledge of the son of God
v
The fullness of the
knowledge of the Son fills that body with all of His fullness.
v
As we are filled with the
fullness, we are filled with the love of God.
v
As the fullness of Christ
is revealed and we come to know and understand, we all grow up into the
maturity of God. A perfect man is a
full-grown man. The church as a full-grown man can fully bring forth the glory
of God and subsequent revival by revealing the perfections of Christ.
v
The stature of Christ is
the ideal that has magnitude of Christ.
·
It is the measure
of the height of the perfection or maturity of the Christ.
14
That
we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with
every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby
they lie in wait to deceive;
·
Part of
the result of the present day church system
v
That we may be no longer
children. A transformation must take
place.
v
Nepios literally infants, and other minors
that are immature and untaught.
v Tossed to and fro dashing or surging waves. In changefulness and agitation the nepio is
carried about by every wind of or degree or doctrine.
v
Winds of
doctrine is the result of a church that is growing up into things instead of
into the Person of Christ.
v
The sleight of men is the
element of an evil atmosphere.
Doctrines of men always create abuse and base gain.
o Dice playing and deception.
Instead of growing up into the revelatory knowledge of Christ, we make
philosophies, or things (debt, miracles, being blessed) the main focus.
v
Doctrines become divine
truth. Things, blessings, miracles,
financial prosperity becomes the major instead of the minors. People start to abuse what they have
created. The church falls into trouble.
It becomes desperate because its growth has become lopsided, and the
doctrine of men becomes abused as a quick for all cure panacea.
v
If we
concentrate on things, the church shall always be immature.. These philosophies pertaining to Christian
“things” will not bring the revelation of Christ.
v
14 But speaking the truth in love, may grow
up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
v
By thruthing into we grow
into Christ in all things.
v
The truthing or confession is the result of walking in the truth and
having th revelation of the Person of Christ.
v
Confessing the truth may in
love grow up into.
v
Confession is an outward
expression of what is really part of us. True confession must be a statement of
what is the reality of God’s word and ways.
v Only in relation to the Christ, and
seizing the head; and through an efficient revelation of Him can the church
grow up into Him in all things.
v
The more revelation of the Christ, the
more that we can grow up into Him.
v
The revelation of The
Christ must be the end and the object of all of our growth.
v
Christ is the object and
goal to which our growth in its every stage must look to or be directed.
v Because of this, in all points of our growth,
in all the circumstances of our growth, it is Christ that fills all and in all.
v When Christ is not being revealed, the
church grows up instead into things.
These things are called the doctrines of men. Today, doctrines of men has virtually taken over and substituted
for what is the revelation of the Son of God.
The church is tossed to and fro by every new doctrine, as it hungrily
chases after it, believing for that very doctrine to be its source of liberty
and salvation.
v The church today grows up into a message of claiming positive
confessions, which are done outside of the rhema word of God. This message pampers and deceives the church
away from the trials and sufferings that it must go through so as to learn to
operate solely by the rhema word of God.
v The church likewise grows up into a
message of selfish financial prosperity, which robs it from the season of
material deprivation that it must go through so as to learn to walk by “true”
faith, which is the principle for the power of God to be manifested into a lost
and dying world. The church blindly
continues to grow up into things that will never bring it liberty or
salvation. This is why the American
church desperately hurts. Numerous of
the men and women of God which continue to bring these doctrines, because they
themselves are deceived, enjoy great importance and financial wealth from the
very church that desperately goes after their teachings as it seek the joy and
freedom that it will never find until it grows up into the revealed person of
Christ instead. We are indeed caught in
a spider’s web!
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined
together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the
effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body
unto the edifying of itself in love.
v From the whole body (from the
knowledge and understanding of the revealed Christ), being fitly
framed together and joined together in every joint.
v By every joint yielding nourishment and working to its peak
performance, and by means of every contact, which serves for the supplying of
the body of the knowledge of the revealed Christ.
A Note About Evangelists
v Many of our churches
excel in evangelistic program and note worthy efforts to reach the lost. Yet
there is a vast difference between utilizing evangelist outreaches and raising
up the evangelist.
v Many of us who
participate in evangelistic outreaches, do not have the call of the evangelist
on our lives. Though God has summoned
each and every one of us to do “the work of the evangelist”, there is no
substitute for recognizing, raising up, and releasing the evangelists within
our local congregations.
Acts
21:8 And the next day we that were of
Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house
of Philip the evangelist,
which was one of the seven;
and abode with him.
Acts
8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
Acts
8:6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which
Philip spake, hearing
and seeing the miracles which he did.
Acts
8:13 Then Simon himself believed also:
and when he was baptized, he
continued with Philip,
and wondered, beholding
the miracles and signs which were done.
v In the above scriptures we can observe
first hand the ministry of Phillip, the evangelist. It is noteworthy to see, that Phillip as well, preached or
revealed the Person of Christ to the world, through the ministry of signs and
wonders.
v Evangelists are gifted in miracles,
signs, and wonders. It is this kind of revival type of ministry that will open
up the sleeping eyes of the lost. True evangelists must be sought out, raised
up, and if called by God, placed on the governing board of elders of the church.
Their ministry in part is essential in
multiplying the growth of a local body.
1 Tim 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know
how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of
the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
· Herein lies
the awesome responsibility of the church.
The church is the only universal institution that is the foundation or
bulwark of the accurate manifestation of the four faceted spiritual knowledge
about God.
· A pillar supports. The church must take from the foundation of
the truth and support, prove, and uphold it in this world by living, teaching,
and transmitting it to others.
1:45 PM- 2:00 PM Break
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
Session # 13 Saturday
Christ, the Foundation of the
Church
The Apostolic/Prophetic Emphasis
1 Corinthians
12:28 And God hath set some in the
church, first apostles,
secondarily prophets,
thirdly teachers,
after that miracles, then gifts of
healings, helps,(“ taking up the cause”; to aid)
governments( from the word for
“helmsman”; hence first to steer the church, and then to rule.), diversities of tongues.
Greek:
And certain has God set in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets,
thirdly teachers, then varied and numerous works of God’s dunamis, spiritual
gifts consisting of cures, helping and aiding in a variety of ways,
governments, and diversities of tongues.
Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Greek:
It is He who gave some
to be apostles, and some
prophets, and some
evangelists, and some
shepherds and teachers.
q
Please observe
with me the two lists that make up the structure of the New Testament
church. In both of these spiritual
inventories we take note that apostles are placed first and prophets second. Pastor and teachers, which are really not
two separate ministries but one class of people operating both; (in that a pastor must also have the
anointing to teach his congregation), comes after the
mention of apostles and prophets in the second list. Church
governments, which todays are primarily in the hands of the pastoral staff are
also found towards the end of the first list.
q
When
the Lord Jesus inspired the apostle Paul with these two blueprints for His
church, He was certainly not saying at any time, that apostles are more
important than prophets, who in turn are more important than pastors. Neither did He say that the gifts of healing
are more vital than the governments within the church.
q
All
ministers and ministers are of equal importance. When they operate
under the leading of the Holy Ghost, they complement each other to bring the fullness of the glory of the Lord Jesus
Christ into the earth.
q
These
lists of ministers and ministries are not describing RANK and IMPORTANCE but EMPHASIS and STRESS.
q
The EMPHASIS and the STRESS on the New Testament church must be the
apostolic and prophetic ministries, and not on church government. This is an incredibly important point, as we
shall study.
q
The apostles and prophets reveal the Person of Christ on the
church builds upon. Miracles, which are
works of dunamis power and the gifts of cures not only, build the church up, it
brings it into participation and causes it to grow. The evangelist adds people to the church and the pastor teachers
sheperds the home churches which are finally formed.
1 Cor 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given
unto me, as a wise masterbuilder,(Architect) I have laid the
foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he
buildeth thereupon.
11 ¶ For other foundation can no man lay than
that is laid, which
is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for
the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire
shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. {it shall be: Gr. it is}
14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built
thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he
himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
q In the verses above we see another
instance of the apostolic ministry. As
an architect, the apostle lays down the foundation of the Person of Christ
Jesus for the church. If the church
builds upon the foundation of the Person of Christ, it must build with gold,
silver, and precious stones.
q Wathchman Nee tells us in one of his
writings that gold, silver, and precious stones are the products of trial,
heat, fire, and the purifying of all impurities so that the preciousness of the
stones and the purity of gold and silver may come forth.
q The revelation of the Person of Christ
can only come through the process of death and resurrection as His cross kills
our natural life and Christ Jesus living within us in His resurrected state is
revealed.
q
When the church build upon the foundation of things because
the apostolic/ prophetic anointing has not been welcomed within it, it build
upon its foundation with wood, hay and stubble. All of these things shall be
burned up. It is sad to say that for
two thousand years the church has built considerably more with wood, hay, and
stubble, than with gold, silver, and precious stones.
Three Model Church Growth Examples
1
Cor 1:4 thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given
you by Jesus Christ;
5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him,
in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
6 Even as the testimony of Christ was
confirmed in you:
7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: {coming: Gr. revelation}
8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end,
that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto
the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
v Fellowship of the mystery or
participation. Most effectively comes
through the glory of God.
10 ¶ Now I beseech you,
brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same
thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that
ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
v
Speaking the same thing as the result of believing the same
thing because of revelation of the Son.
v
Katartizo: Mended
and repaired together in the same nous.
v
The same nous resulting in the same opinion, disposition
decision making all resulting because growth comes into the man Christ Jesus
and not things.
v
This is also the result of being knit together.
Col
2:2 That their hearts might be
comforted(
Encouraged), being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full
assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and
of the Father, and of Christ;
3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge. {In
whom: or, Wherein}
4
¶ And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am
I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness
of your faith in Christ.
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus
the Lord, so walk ye in him:
Rooted
and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving.
v Rooted; perfect tense: Build up and
established; constant present.
Eph
3:16 That he would grant you, according
to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened (krateo) with might (Dunamis) by his Spirit in the
inner man;
16
That
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in
love,
v Discuss to dwell
17
May
be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and
depth, and height;
v May have all the inward ischuo to
katalambano.
19 And to know the love of Christ, which
passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh
in us,
21Unto
him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without
end. Amen.
v The end result is the glory