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
Sunday, July 01, 2007
The church Jesus is building 5
In this artice we look at the shepherding aspect of the church Jesus is building. In previous articles we have seen that the church Jesus is building and in which Paul so ably participated will be the "full measure of the stature of Christ" which mean it will be Apostolic, Prophetic, Pastoral(shepherding), Teaching and Evangelistic. Only in the perfect balance of all five these aspects of Christ will the church reach maturity and be able to effectively minister to the world the saving grace of God. (Ephesians 4:11-16). This will also be linked to the manifestation of the Sons of God which in turn will lead to the liberation of all creation from futility(Romans 4:19-21).
A very important aspect of the church Jesus is building is the fact that the community which is the result of a common revelation of Christ will experience a koinonia( heart-to-heart relationship) which surpasses anything else which maskerades as "fellowship". Many groups assemble together because of a common history like Methodist, Reformed , Catholic or Pentecostal; others assemble because of a love for lively "praise and worship" and others because the Pastor is such a "wonderful shepherd". Even worse is when people assemble or meet together because they are of the same ethnic group or cultural persuasion. The heart of the apostolic revelation was that in Christ all dividing walls were broken down and Christ alone became the plumbline.( Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:14-16).
Jesus referred to the kind of relationship which would become reality in Him in John 15:5 "I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing."(The Message). In one of his letters John said the reason he wrote to the Christians was to help them experience the joy of having a relationship with God the Father and the Son and than he says in 1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin. " It seems as if their is a secret in true koinonia which has serious ramifications for believers. First of all there is a purifying and healing power in true koinonia and secondly this will release a testimony so powerful that the world will see Christ again be incarnated in a corporate Person which will bring thousands upon thousands into the Christ-Life! This will be the answer to Jesus' prayer in John 17:21 "The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind-- Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. "
The only true basis for relationship in the church is a common revelation of Christ as the only life of the believer; only in the knowledge that we all stand in His righteousness and His holiness will we drop our defenses and become real and honest with each other, and as this happens, the Light which is His Life will shine in a dark world which will draw all men unto Him! In this koinonia the church becomes God's therapeutic community where sinners of all sorts can feel welcome-not to continue in their sins but to be loved so sincerely that they become free in the freedom of Christ! In this community people will experience Jesus incarnated-God's love and grace will not be theological and philosophical concepts anymore, but these concepts will be experiental knowledge because they are being incarnated in His people!
A very important aspect of the church Jesus is building is the fact that the community which is the result of a common revelation of Christ will experience a koinonia( heart-to-heart relationship) which surpasses anything else which maskerades as "fellowship". Many groups assemble together because of a common history like Methodist, Reformed , Catholic or Pentecostal; others assemble because of a love for lively "praise and worship" and others because the Pastor is such a "wonderful shepherd". Even worse is when people assemble or meet together because they are of the same ethnic group or cultural persuasion. The heart of the apostolic revelation was that in Christ all dividing walls were broken down and Christ alone became the plumbline.( Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:14-16).
Jesus referred to the kind of relationship which would become reality in Him in John 15:5 "I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing."(The Message). In one of his letters John said the reason he wrote to the Christians was to help them experience the joy of having a relationship with God the Father and the Son and than he says in 1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin. " It seems as if their is a secret in true koinonia which has serious ramifications for believers. First of all there is a purifying and healing power in true koinonia and secondly this will release a testimony so powerful that the world will see Christ again be incarnated in a corporate Person which will bring thousands upon thousands into the Christ-Life! This will be the answer to Jesus' prayer in John 17:21 "The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind-- Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. "
The only true basis for relationship in the church is a common revelation of Christ as the only life of the believer; only in the knowledge that we all stand in His righteousness and His holiness will we drop our defenses and become real and honest with each other, and as this happens, the Light which is His Life will shine in a dark world which will draw all men unto Him! In this koinonia the church becomes God's therapeutic community where sinners of all sorts can feel welcome-not to continue in their sins but to be loved so sincerely that they become free in the freedom of Christ! In this community people will experience Jesus incarnated-God's love and grace will not be theological and philosophical concepts anymore, but these concepts will be experiental knowledge because they are being incarnated in His people!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
The Church Jesus is building 4
We have seen so far that the church Jesus is building is a church where He is manifested in His ministry as Apostle, Prophet, Shepherd(pastor), Teacher and Evangelist. As Head of His church he has not delegated his authority to the church as if He is absent! He may be physically absent, but He is very much present in and through His Spirit. He is building His church and does not need our clever plans, church growth strategies, projects or our enterprise spirit to complete the job. He has not delegated his authority to apostles, prophets, teachers or evangelists and definitely not to that Babylonian created "ministry" called Pastor!
When Paul defended his apostolic authority he did not call on anything else but "Christ who speaks in me"(2Corinthians 13:3). His ministry centered on the revelation of Christ in the believer( Galatians 2:20) and he therefore, knew of no other authority than an incarnational authority! It's Christ the Apostle, speaking through the apostolic man or woman; it's Christ the Prophet, speaking through the prophetic man or woman, etc. He gave these gifts to the church and He administers them through people of His choice until the church becomes "a Perfect man"( Ephesians 4:13) This is the safeguard against the abuse of authority; The believer has the divine Teacher, the Holy Spirit in him/her and will recognise Christ in the apostle, prophet etc. for, "my sheep know my voice". Believers should never bow before a man or woman because they claim some delegated authority, or thousands follow them, or they perform mighty deeds in the name of Jesus- we must ever only bow to the Lordship of Jesus Christ as he speaks through His humble servants!
Once we recognise what true authority is and how Jesus ministers that authority in an incarnational way, we will see the fulfillment of many of His promises; "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." Note how Jesus emphasised the fact that he is the One with the authority to perform the works; we have the privilege of being the vessels through whom His power is channeled.
Come Lord Jesus and release the flow of your authority and life through us to those we come into contact with!
When Paul defended his apostolic authority he did not call on anything else but "Christ who speaks in me"(2Corinthians 13:3). His ministry centered on the revelation of Christ in the believer( Galatians 2:20) and he therefore, knew of no other authority than an incarnational authority! It's Christ the Apostle, speaking through the apostolic man or woman; it's Christ the Prophet, speaking through the prophetic man or woman, etc. He gave these gifts to the church and He administers them through people of His choice until the church becomes "a Perfect man"( Ephesians 4:13) This is the safeguard against the abuse of authority; The believer has the divine Teacher, the Holy Spirit in him/her and will recognise Christ in the apostle, prophet etc. for, "my sheep know my voice". Believers should never bow before a man or woman because they claim some delegated authority, or thousands follow them, or they perform mighty deeds in the name of Jesus- we must ever only bow to the Lordship of Jesus Christ as he speaks through His humble servants!
Once we recognise what true authority is and how Jesus ministers that authority in an incarnational way, we will see the fulfillment of many of His promises; "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." Note how Jesus emphasised the fact that he is the One with the authority to perform the works; we have the privilege of being the vessels through whom His power is channeled.
Come Lord Jesus and release the flow of your authority and life through us to those we come into contact with!
Friday, May 18, 2007
The Church Jesus is building 3
The church Jesus is building is a prophetic church. As a matter of fact, if Jesus is building the church it should be apostolic, prophetic, shepherding, teaching and evangelistic-the so called "fivefold ministry" is nothing less than "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" .(Ephesians 4:13) Christ is being incarnated in His Body! This is the mystery of the union between the Head and His Body and the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer;"I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me". (John 17: 23)
The church Jesus is building is God's shop window to both the material and the spiritual world! The church are those who live in two worlds; they are heavenly minded but this make them also earthly good. Even though their citizenship is in heaven they reach out to the sinful world in order to tell them that they do not have to live in bondage to sin anymore. They have become "ministers of reconciliation" and as part of the New Creation they are sharing in the mission of Jesus to "make all things new". To the church Jesus is building, heaven has arrived and their constant prayer is "your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven"
In the transition between the now and the future, the Church Jesus is building, demonstrates heavenly realities like grace, joy, peace, reconciliation and unity to the world. The church is the ongoing incarnation of Jesus Christ on the earth and as such displays His character and attributes to the world(Ephesians 3:10). Jesus is not interested in building a church which is an expression of cultural, social or racial uniqueness or peculiarities. The church Jesus is building is an expression of the "fellowship of the mystery" where all walls of seperation have been broken down in Christ( Ephesians 3:6, 9) and the members demonstrate this in their relationships with one another.
The church Jesus is building is not an exclusive club of the perfect elite, but is full of very imperfect people who realised just how dependant they are on the salvation offered in Christ. Their trust is not in their good behaviour but only in the perfect behaviour of Christ. They have stopped trying to improve themselves on the road of holiness because they know that Christ and His life in them, is their only holiness! They have received the revelation of Jesus Christ as their Sabbath-Rest!
The church Jesus is building is God's shop window to both the material and the spiritual world! The church are those who live in two worlds; they are heavenly minded but this make them also earthly good. Even though their citizenship is in heaven they reach out to the sinful world in order to tell them that they do not have to live in bondage to sin anymore. They have become "ministers of reconciliation" and as part of the New Creation they are sharing in the mission of Jesus to "make all things new". To the church Jesus is building, heaven has arrived and their constant prayer is "your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven"
In the transition between the now and the future, the Church Jesus is building, demonstrates heavenly realities like grace, joy, peace, reconciliation and unity to the world. The church is the ongoing incarnation of Jesus Christ on the earth and as such displays His character and attributes to the world(Ephesians 3:10). Jesus is not interested in building a church which is an expression of cultural, social or racial uniqueness or peculiarities. The church Jesus is building is an expression of the "fellowship of the mystery" where all walls of seperation have been broken down in Christ( Ephesians 3:6, 9) and the members demonstrate this in their relationships with one another.
The church Jesus is building is not an exclusive club of the perfect elite, but is full of very imperfect people who realised just how dependant they are on the salvation offered in Christ. Their trust is not in their good behaviour but only in the perfect behaviour of Christ. They have stopped trying to improve themselves on the road of holiness because they know that Christ and His life in them, is their only holiness! They have received the revelation of Jesus Christ as their Sabbath-Rest!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The Church Jesus is building 2
We have seen how Jesus is building His church and not ours, and he is building this church on the Rock of revelation knowledge about Christ and Him being being the Son of God! A revelation of Christ therefore comes before a proper understanding of the church. The church are those who have a revelation of Christ. They walk as sons of God and are not mere "church members".
We have also seen how the church Jesus is building is a church build on the foundation of apostles and prophets. The foundation is Christ! The church Jesus is building is therefore an apostolic church. What is the meaning of "apostolic"? The word means literally, "a sent one". Jesus is the chief apostle and we know that He is the one sent from heaven to earth, and part of his sending was to die on the cross in order to bring humanity back to God. Almost all of the original apostles eventually died for their faith and most on a literal cross! The cross is therefore part and parcel of being "apostolic", a far cry from the popular use(and abuse) of the function(not title!) we find in churchianity today. A truly apostolic church consists of members who are prepared to be send wherever God may lead because they have "taken up their cross and are following the Lamb wherever He goes". Apostolic also refers to a vision for the nations coming into the kingdom of God and cannot be limited to one denomination or building the image of one or two "apostolic teams"! All systems , political, religious, economical and ecological must be subjected to the authority of the King of kings and Lord of lords! The church Jesus is building is therefore a catholic church!
Another word which comes to mind when we think about the church Jesus is building is the word, "authentic". One of the meanings is "to conform to reality" and another is "unadulterated". Those ministering to the church as well as those who are the church, are people who are becoming conformed to the death of Christ through the work of the cross in them, and have finished with all pretense. You cannot lure them to church meetings where the relationships do not go deeper than the cup of tea after the service or where the "worship" comes from superficial hearts who lack a true revelation of Christ and His cross. In the church Jesus is building worship is first of all a lifestyle before it's singing and dancing.
We have also seen how the church Jesus is building is a church build on the foundation of apostles and prophets. The foundation is Christ! The church Jesus is building is therefore an apostolic church. What is the meaning of "apostolic"? The word means literally, "a sent one". Jesus is the chief apostle and we know that He is the one sent from heaven to earth, and part of his sending was to die on the cross in order to bring humanity back to God. Almost all of the original apostles eventually died for their faith and most on a literal cross! The cross is therefore part and parcel of being "apostolic", a far cry from the popular use(and abuse) of the function(not title!) we find in churchianity today. A truly apostolic church consists of members who are prepared to be send wherever God may lead because they have "taken up their cross and are following the Lamb wherever He goes". Apostolic also refers to a vision for the nations coming into the kingdom of God and cannot be limited to one denomination or building the image of one or two "apostolic teams"! All systems , political, religious, economical and ecological must be subjected to the authority of the King of kings and Lord of lords! The church Jesus is building is therefore a catholic church!
Another word which comes to mind when we think about the church Jesus is building is the word, "authentic". One of the meanings is "to conform to reality" and another is "unadulterated". Those ministering to the church as well as those who are the church, are people who are becoming conformed to the death of Christ through the work of the cross in them, and have finished with all pretense. You cannot lure them to church meetings where the relationships do not go deeper than the cup of tea after the service or where the "worship" comes from superficial hearts who lack a true revelation of Christ and His cross. In the church Jesus is building worship is first of all a lifestyle before it's singing and dancing.
Monday, April 30, 2007
The Church Jesus is building 1
After Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ the son of the Living God, Jesus commended him and promised;"...on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades(Hell) will not overcome it."( Matt. 16:18) Organic church author Wolfgang Simson notes that Jesus did not say;" You will build my church " or even "I will build your church" but He Himself will build His church! Jesus will only bless the church/ekklesia which He is building and not our plans or projects, however sincere they may be!
What is the rock Jesus is building His church on? It is the revelation about Jesus as the Christ, the son of the living God! This revelation is not just head knowledge or some superficial decision for Jesus, but is dependent on the mysterious work of God's Spirit in us. Embedded in this revelation is the concept of 'sonship'. To the believers He is the Messiah/Christ, but to the Father He is the Son! The true church will have a revelation of Christ and the outworking of that revelation is that believers will walk in an understanding of sharing His sonship. The church Jesus is building is not first of all concerned about titles, ministries, or anointings, but in relationship-that of intimacy as sons before their Father!
Jesus also said that Peter became a "little rock" because of this revelation(the Big Rock) and Paul said in Ephesians 2:20 that the church is build "on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone." Apostles and prophets(the true version!) are people who have received the revelation about Jesus and have been molded through the workings of God to present an accurate presentation of the Living Christ, both through word and in incarnating the Life of Christ. The result of their ministry will be an apostolic church which will incarnate(manifest) Christ in every locality and will in so doing bind the ruling powers of the heavenlies-and not only bind them but will become itself the ruling power in that locality! One of the biggest "gates of hades" for example, is prejudice against other races or religious groups, but where a church becomes truly apostolic, people of different races and religions will come together in the unity of the Spirit, reconciliation will be demonstrated(incarnated) and the prejudice and racism will lose it's stronghold on the minds of the people.
The only real hope of this world is the church which Jesus is building, and it starts with the church becoming truly apostolic and for that to happen the church must be given back to it's rightful Owner, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God!
What is the rock Jesus is building His church on? It is the revelation about Jesus as the Christ, the son of the living God! This revelation is not just head knowledge or some superficial decision for Jesus, but is dependent on the mysterious work of God's Spirit in us. Embedded in this revelation is the concept of 'sonship'. To the believers He is the Messiah/Christ, but to the Father He is the Son! The true church will have a revelation of Christ and the outworking of that revelation is that believers will walk in an understanding of sharing His sonship. The church Jesus is building is not first of all concerned about titles, ministries, or anointings, but in relationship-that of intimacy as sons before their Father!
Jesus also said that Peter became a "little rock" because of this revelation(the Big Rock) and Paul said in Ephesians 2:20 that the church is build "on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone." Apostles and prophets(the true version!) are people who have received the revelation about Jesus and have been molded through the workings of God to present an accurate presentation of the Living Christ, both through word and in incarnating the Life of Christ. The result of their ministry will be an apostolic church which will incarnate(manifest) Christ in every locality and will in so doing bind the ruling powers of the heavenlies-and not only bind them but will become itself the ruling power in that locality! One of the biggest "gates of hades" for example, is prejudice against other races or religious groups, but where a church becomes truly apostolic, people of different races and religions will come together in the unity of the Spirit, reconciliation will be demonstrated(incarnated) and the prejudice and racism will lose it's stronghold on the minds of the people.
The only real hope of this world is the church which Jesus is building, and it starts with the church becoming truly apostolic and for that to happen the church must be given back to it's rightful Owner, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God!
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Christ my life!
Oh, the glorious freedom of knowing Christ as my Life! He has become my only Life-He is my past, my present and my future! In Him, I have entered the reality of the New Creation. He has changed my world view because I see through all things to Christ! I do not see every other person as a vile sinner, but through that person and his/her actions I see the finished, perfect work of Christ on the cross. I see a person who just needs to awaken to his/her salvation which is already achieved in Christ-all we can do is to work with Christ in us to awaken this person to righteousness-this will only happen if the unrigteous experience acceptance and respect from us.
I do not see the church as some organisation, meeting or club of 'backscratchers' but as a bunch of Christ-lovers who have become loyal to only Him and a revelation of His Life in them!
I do not see Apostles and Prophets as mighty, charismatic personalities or gifted MD's but as simple men/women(what??) who have been through the mill of God's stripping and now breathes Christ and Him alone. They share Paul's apostolic burden to see Christ formed in local communities which will shake the powers of the air because they manifest the Life of Christ! (Ephesians 3:10) They do that because they flesh out Grace, Love, Joy , Peace, etc in communities who meet daily in various places, for various purposes and in fluidity of numbers.
I do not see tsunami's, earthquakes and other natural disasters as God's judgement on a sinful and deserving humanity, but rather as the birthpangs of the new creation because Jesus has already endured God's judgement for humanity as well as creation as illustrated by the crown of thorns which was pressed into His head-the curse which was on humanity and nature was put on Him! Rather than God's judgements on sinful humanity, natural disasters could be an indictment against the "House of God" which has not appropriated the fulness of Christ's finished work on the cross and is not in divine order. I believe that when Jesus is again acknowledged as the Head of the Church( not in absentia!) divine order wil be restored, the Sons of God will be manifested and creation will be delivered from futility and decay!( Rom 8:19-23)
I do not see the church as some organisation, meeting or club of 'backscratchers' but as a bunch of Christ-lovers who have become loyal to only Him and a revelation of His Life in them!
I do not see Apostles and Prophets as mighty, charismatic personalities or gifted MD's but as simple men/women(what??) who have been through the mill of God's stripping and now breathes Christ and Him alone. They share Paul's apostolic burden to see Christ formed in local communities which will shake the powers of the air because they manifest the Life of Christ! (Ephesians 3:10) They do that because they flesh out Grace, Love, Joy , Peace, etc in communities who meet daily in various places, for various purposes and in fluidity of numbers.
I do not see tsunami's, earthquakes and other natural disasters as God's judgement on a sinful and deserving humanity, but rather as the birthpangs of the new creation because Jesus has already endured God's judgement for humanity as well as creation as illustrated by the crown of thorns which was pressed into His head-the curse which was on humanity and nature was put on Him! Rather than God's judgements on sinful humanity, natural disasters could be an indictment against the "House of God" which has not appropriated the fulness of Christ's finished work on the cross and is not in divine order. I believe that when Jesus is again acknowledged as the Head of the Church( not in absentia!) divine order wil be restored, the Sons of God will be manifested and creation will be delivered from futility and decay!( Rom 8:19-23)
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Sons of Adam and Sons of God
There are really only two kinds of people on the earth, namely the sons of Adam and the Sons of God. The sons of Adam could be religious or anti-religious but they all eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Some more from the evil part and some more from the good part, but still the same old tree!(Genesis 2:9) The sons of Adam build their ethics on questions of right and wrong and like to be controlled by rules and laws; they are ruled by the senses, things which could be empirically tested and observed. They are very good at creating their own devices to hide their shame and nakedness. Religious effort, church programs, visionary projects and even charitable duties become handy "fig-leaves" to impress God or their religious/moral conscience.(Genesis3:7)
They may even go so far as to devise a pseudo- science based on naturalism to hide from the idea of God. If there is another way of looking at reality, like naturalism, than they do not need to face up to the chance of there being a God and if there is no God than they do not have to face up to their 'sinful' desires and inclinations. Scientific dogmatics and religious dogmatics may be appalled at discovering that they are really in the same bed so to speak! Their 'fig-leave' garments may look a bit different at first but it's really made from the same stuff.
On the other hand we find a growing number of people who have discovered how to feed on the Tree of Life, Jesus Christ! They have accepted God's covering for their shame and guilt; they have allowed themselves to be clothed in the garments of Christ's righteousness; they have trusted fully and unconditionally in the blood of the innocent! They got rid of the fig-leaves of religious effort, Law, Churchianity and the self-deception of human wisdom. They have learned how to eat the bread of heaven and nothing else but revelation can satisfy their New Creation-spirits. The Sons of God live in the consciousness of Sonship as the Pattern-Son lives His Life through them. The Sons of God are not concerned about titles, ministries and callings but they are concerned first of all about integrity before their Father and integrity in relationships with other people, always aware of Christ in them who wants to touch and impact the lives of human beings.
To the Sons of God church happens whenever and wherever two or three are gathered in His name; whether in a house, club, pub, around a barbecue or just a family meeting together. The Sons of God hate organizational instead of organic growth; professional and disposable relationships rather than genuine and lasting relationships; formal meetings for the sake of meetings(or the big preacher!) instead of vibrant and joyous celebrations of Christ's life together! The Sons of God want to see all of humanity come forth in their true destinies and therefore want to see people empowered to live in authentic relationships with Christ and one another, rather than being dependent on "ministries" for acceptance and spiritual growth.The Sons of God are hungry to be led by the Spirit at all times and refuse to be led by fads, moods and what seems to work at the moment.
The Sons of God are satisfied with obscurity at the moment and they have learned (mostly through trials and tribulation) to remain in their Sabbath-Rest(Christ) and trust Him to bring forth the manifestation the whole of creation is waiting for.(Romans 8:18-19)
They may even go so far as to devise a pseudo- science based on naturalism to hide from the idea of God. If there is another way of looking at reality, like naturalism, than they do not need to face up to the chance of there being a God and if there is no God than they do not have to face up to their 'sinful' desires and inclinations. Scientific dogmatics and religious dogmatics may be appalled at discovering that they are really in the same bed so to speak! Their 'fig-leave' garments may look a bit different at first but it's really made from the same stuff.
On the other hand we find a growing number of people who have discovered how to feed on the Tree of Life, Jesus Christ! They have accepted God's covering for their shame and guilt; they have allowed themselves to be clothed in the garments of Christ's righteousness; they have trusted fully and unconditionally in the blood of the innocent! They got rid of the fig-leaves of religious effort, Law, Churchianity and the self-deception of human wisdom. They have learned how to eat the bread of heaven and nothing else but revelation can satisfy their New Creation-spirits. The Sons of God live in the consciousness of Sonship as the Pattern-Son lives His Life through them. The Sons of God are not concerned about titles, ministries and callings but they are concerned first of all about integrity before their Father and integrity in relationships with other people, always aware of Christ in them who wants to touch and impact the lives of human beings.
To the Sons of God church happens whenever and wherever two or three are gathered in His name; whether in a house, club, pub, around a barbecue or just a family meeting together. The Sons of God hate organizational instead of organic growth; professional and disposable relationships rather than genuine and lasting relationships; formal meetings for the sake of meetings(or the big preacher!) instead of vibrant and joyous celebrations of Christ's life together! The Sons of God want to see all of humanity come forth in their true destinies and therefore want to see people empowered to live in authentic relationships with Christ and one another, rather than being dependent on "ministries" for acceptance and spiritual growth.The Sons of God are hungry to be led by the Spirit at all times and refuse to be led by fads, moods and what seems to work at the moment.
The Sons of God are satisfied with obscurity at the moment and they have learned (mostly through trials and tribulation) to remain in their Sabbath-Rest(Christ) and trust Him to bring forth the manifestation the whole of creation is waiting for.(Romans 8:18-19)
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