In this last article on the kind of church Jesus is building we will try to summarize the main points from the previous articles and add new ones as the Lord leads. We have seen that the church Jesus is building is being built on the foundation of a revelation and that revelation is of Christ as the Son of God. Paul unpacked this revelation in more detail and we understand that Christ the Son now lives in believers and has become their only Life( Col.3:4; Gal 2:20)
We have also seen that we need the foundational ministries of true Apostles and Prophets to impart this revelation to the church(Eph.2:20). This kind of church cannot be an organisation or institution brought forth by human ingenuity or religious zeal because this kind of church is born by the Spirit and is free from human control like the wind( John 3:6-8) The truly apostolic church is totally sold out to its King and Lord and go wherever He leads- even the cross!
The church Jesus is building is prophetic. This means that the very lifestyle of the church prophesies of another world that has penetrated this world and has made believers the only true aliens on planet earth! Despite this awareness of the "other world" these kind of Christians are known as very "nice" and approachable people because they are so real and genuine. The church Jesus is building has no hierarchies or a professional elite but all are equal and all are ministers of reconciliation. This church has only one Head and He is present at all meetings and He leads all proceedings because he has not delegated His authority but administers it by the Holy Spirit through human vessels.
This church meets on various days of the week for different purposes in all kinds of places and they regard the Lord's Supper as a proper meal where the Life of Christ is celebrated by looking back to His death on the cross and looking forward to His return. The church Jesus is building is very aware of the reality of Christ living in the other person and therefore very careful to treat each other as they would treat Christ Himself and in so doing they discern the Lord's Body! The very DNA of Jesus in the Body releases a divine energy which creates a magnetic field of healing and Light that draws people to it! These communities of Divine Light will bind the principalities and powers of the air and release the glory of God which will bring freedom to our troubled communities and youngsters living without hope and purpose.
The church Jesus is building is the only hope for this planet to be liberated from the futility and darkness which are presently ruling over it. This darkness and futility are perpetrated by the Spirit of Antichrist who operates in various forms-from the religious(Christian and otherwise!) to the humanistic, but this corporate "man of lawlessness" are no match for the corporate Man- the mature Son of God, the full stature of Christ!(Eph.4:13; 2Thess. 2:8).
Glory be to God in the church!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
The Church Jesus is building 6
In our last article we tried to explain the kind of church Jesus is building as a community where true koinonia(fellowship) takes place in such a way that people are healed emotionally, spiritually and physically. In the reality of honest and open relationships based on the common sharing of the Christ-Life, people know they belong and are accepted despite their faults, ethnicity, background or social status! In this process a powerful testimony of the Incarnation is created; in other words Jesus is fleshed out and becomes a reality to all the world.
This kind of DNA can only be imparted to the church through true Apostolic foundational ministry where the central doctrine is the revelation of Christ in the human. A gospel which only preaches a Jesus who died on the cross to take people to heaven one day is lacking. A gospel which only preaches about the coming of the Kingdom to earth is also lacking. A gospel which preaches Jesus plus anything is lacking. We must preach Paul's understanding of the gospel or as he put it "the mystery of the ages" namely "Christ in us , the Hope of Glory". All biblical doctrines, be it covenantal theology, the return of Jesus , the Kingdom, church, baptism, sanctification etc. find their true meaning in the In Christ/ Christ in us-message! This revelation of Jesus living in humans and wanting to reveal Himself through (sinful) flesh is indeed a mystery and despite the simplicity of the message one of the most difficult for humans to accept. As far back as Cain and Abel we see the simplicity of God's expectation that we trust in the Life of Another; Cain put his trust in the works of his hands, but Abel put his trust in the blood of the innocent creature! As a matter of fact it goes back even further when the first humans failed to put all their trust(faith) in God's simple instruction not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. After they disobeyed God they tried to cover up their nakedness and shame with fig-leaves and right there at the beginning God established the principle that only through trusting in His provision of the life of the Innocent will our shame and nakedness be covered!
Most of what passes as Christianity and church today are still our fig-leave attempts to impress God and cover our nakedness. Even "going to church"(a contradiction in terms!), witnessing, working for the Lord, prayer-meetings and many of our programs and projects could be nothing more than fig-leaves if these "works' do not flow out of a living faith based on the Life of Christ in us!
The Church Jesus is building is a church who revels in the freedom from dead religious works and out of their celebration of the fullness and creativity of the Life of Jesus in them living works of faith are born which bless all the nations
This kind of DNA can only be imparted to the church through true Apostolic foundational ministry where the central doctrine is the revelation of Christ in the human. A gospel which only preaches a Jesus who died on the cross to take people to heaven one day is lacking. A gospel which only preaches about the coming of the Kingdom to earth is also lacking. A gospel which preaches Jesus plus anything is lacking. We must preach Paul's understanding of the gospel or as he put it "the mystery of the ages" namely "Christ in us , the Hope of Glory". All biblical doctrines, be it covenantal theology, the return of Jesus , the Kingdom, church, baptism, sanctification etc. find their true meaning in the In Christ/ Christ in us-message! This revelation of Jesus living in humans and wanting to reveal Himself through (sinful) flesh is indeed a mystery and despite the simplicity of the message one of the most difficult for humans to accept. As far back as Cain and Abel we see the simplicity of God's expectation that we trust in the Life of Another; Cain put his trust in the works of his hands, but Abel put his trust in the blood of the innocent creature! As a matter of fact it goes back even further when the first humans failed to put all their trust(faith) in God's simple instruction not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. After they disobeyed God they tried to cover up their nakedness and shame with fig-leaves and right there at the beginning God established the principle that only through trusting in His provision of the life of the Innocent will our shame and nakedness be covered!
Most of what passes as Christianity and church today are still our fig-leave attempts to impress God and cover our nakedness. Even "going to church"(a contradiction in terms!), witnessing, working for the Lord, prayer-meetings and many of our programs and projects could be nothing more than fig-leaves if these "works' do not flow out of a living faith based on the Life of Christ in us!
The Church Jesus is building is a church who revels in the freedom from dead religious works and out of their celebration of the fullness and creativity of the Life of Jesus in them living works of faith are born which bless all the nations
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)