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THE CHURCH Fr. Edwin Stube
Before Jesus comes again, two momentous tasks must be completed:
1. The Church will have to be perfected and united. When Christ comes, He must be able to “present the Church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27). The maturing of the Church is the goal of the ministry of apostles and prophets and the other ascension gifts of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16).
2. The kingdoms of this world must become the Kingdom of God and of His Christ. This means that we are involved in world conquest in cooperation with the purposes of God. This conquest will not involve fighting or competing with each other, but will be a spiritual warfare involving deep intercession and manifestation of the power and glory of the Lord.
Actually, the perfecting and uniting of the Church is a prerequisite for the winning of the nations for the Kingdom of God. The Church must be renewed so that it can manifest the purposes and the glory of God. The world has no other witness than that of the Church to the reality of the power and purposes of God. This requires total obedience to the scriptural pattern for the Church and to the minute-by-minute guidance of the Holy Spirit.
In the following chart, I have tried to contrast the scriptural model of the Church with practices that are commonly found in churches at this time. Some of the descriptions may not apply to your church or denomination, but some of them will. I realize, too, that my concept of the true Church may not be totally accurate. After all, I have never really seen a perfect example of it. I prest this comparison, not to criticize the churches or to claim superior knowledge, but to help us see where we are and how we can better move towards spiritual growth and maturity.
Aspect THE CHURCH
(As it should be)The churches
(As they often appear)Purpose Glorifying God; becom.ing His witnesses; redeeming the world; establishing God’s rule over the nations. Time and effort directed mainly toward maintaining buildings, supporting the denomination; building up the membership. Knowing God’s Self-revelation Signs and wonders; manifest presence of God; the glory of God revealed to individuals and to the body as a whole; manifestations of the Spirit. Select scriptures (for evangelicals); “dialogue” (for liberals); commemorating past revelations of
God; church traditions.Worship Sacraments as mighty acts of God; worship in the freedom of the Holy Spirit; can be done at any time anywhere; all participate actively. Sacraments as routines and symbols of our faith; following a set order of worship designed by people; scheduled times and places; most people are mainly spectators. Culture God centered; contrary to the world around. Same as secular culture. Commitment Approaching 100% commitment to the Lord in an intimate personal relationship. Mostly on Sunday morning; committed to the organization or a specific doctrinal position. Finances Sell possessions, supply the needs of the poor; trust the Lord for provision for personal needs and ministry. (The Lord funds activities in which He is interested.) Have stewardship campaigns, bake sales, and other fund-raising activities. Use sound business principles (according to worldly standards). Program Planning Wait on the Lord’s direction; listen for His voice; hear prophecy and words of wisdom. Appoint committees, do surveys of the members; decide on program they think people will like.
Leadership Leaders arise out of local congregation; multiple eldership; ascnesion gifts (Ephesians 4:11); leaders appointed by the Holy spirit. Leaders chosen from outside; hired on the basis of parish profiles, resumes, interviews, voting.
Purpose of Leadership Train all the people young and old for supernatural, Spirit-led ministry. Implement the programs and strategies decided on under Program Planning above. Method of Instruction Worship in the Spirit; on-the-job training; learn by example and by doing. Classes; Bible teaching by lecture method; catechism.
Ethical Standards Total sanctification; accepting Christ’s life; letting the Holy Spirit cleanse from sin; live in obedience to the Lord Follow church rules and prohibitions (fundamentalism); do whatever turns you on (extreme “liberalism”); follow politically correct behavior. Evangelism Prepare with worship and prayer; prophetic intercession; demonstrate resurrection power of Jesus with signs and wonders, words of wisdom and knowledge. Friendship; invite people to church; be nice to people, hoping someone will notice and join; supply physical needs with food programs, financial aid, and the like. Pastoral Ministry Be the manifest presence of God; minister with gifts of the Spirit. Use pop Psychology, counseling skills; medication Dealing with Demon Power and Addiction Be filled with the Holy Spirit; do spiritual warfare; cast our demons. Psychology, rehabilitation programs; referral to “experts;” medication Results of the Above Transformation, often dramatic and permanent. Occasional, temporary improvement. Conflict Management Pray a lot; give exhortations and encouragement in the Spirit; wipe out all demonic activity; pray down the presence of the Lord. Arbitrate; hire experts; split the church; go somewhere else. Attempts at Unification Recognize our unity in Jesus; obey the Head; unity of purpose Dialogue; establish commissions; advocate tolerance; court other religions, e.g. Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, New Age, etc The Churches Can Become THE CHURCH
As you read the above comparison, you probably noticed that your church sometimes fit into one column and sometimes into the other. Also, it is probably true that some churches are more committed than others to approaching the Lord’s ultimate purpose. God is so vast that no one person or group can grasp all of the truth. But, if we humble ourselves and trust one another, we can share our insights and each supply what is lacking in the other. The churches need each other to become the CHURCH.
It is not possible or desirable that we all become one great organization or that we all agree on style of worship, theology, or methods of outreach and ministry. In the human body, the hand and the eye are very different, have different abilities and functions; but they work together because they are controlled by the one head.
The emphases I have placed in the right hand column of the chart are, at their lowest common denominator, sincere efforts to build the church according to mankind’s best wisdom, experience, and planning. They tend to be based on God’s past revelations rather than His present word. The left hand column attempts to place all authority and decision-making, as well as provision and power for implementation in God’s hands.
Already there are signs that the churches are beginning to trust less in their own ability; they are learning to trust one another, to share insights, to hear through the mouth of prophets what God is currently saying to His Church. There is a growing desire to see the manifestation of God’s presence and of His glory in the world.
A Possible Battle Plan
1. Examine ourselves and our churches according to the New Testament pattern. The above chart may be useful as a guide to this evaluation.
2. Work toward the implementation of God’s pattern for His Church as we approach the time of harvest.
3. Pray down the glory of God into the Church using prophetic intercession.
4. Export the glory of God to all the places where the Lord sends us.The Good News is that the Lord has a trumpet—a company of prophets who can proclaim the purposes of God. They can speak, as Ezekiel did, to any dead bones that are found lying around in present day churches or any churches that may be scattered. As God gives His prophets words to speak, the bones will come together, stand up, receive the wind of God’s Spirit, and become a mighty army to defeat all of God’s enemies and win the nations to God so that they can join with us in the festal shout around His throne.
His gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teacher, to quip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is suppled, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and builds itself up in love.
...This page looks best when viewed through Netscape. It was last modified
on November 1, 2000.