Renewing the Local Church
Executive Summary
In the local church, Christianity is under attack and three predominant foes are evident. These are the spirits of religion, unbelief and worldliness. They seek to divide the church by creating “religious” boundaries within which man must live in order to be godly. We also see world systems, false beliefs and doctrines, idolatry and practices as commonplace. This leads to judgment and persecution against those not conforming to the patterns of this world which leads to unhealthy conflict, which further leads to division and a vicious circle.
The church must be one. We are called to be one. As members of a greater Body, we operate under the anointing of our gifts and ministry call. When these parts come together as one with Christ as the Head, God is glorified, and the kingdom expands.
As local churches work together by leveraging their gifts and ministries, the Body unites to create a greater representation of the bride under Jesus, the Bridegroom.
Strategically, our aim must be to assist local churches in breaking off their agreement with the spirit of religion, worldliness and unbelief through repentance. Secondly, local churches should be looked upon to unite together, independent of denominational or other boundaries and to operate in their God-ordained offices. By identifying and understanding the Holy Spirit’s leading and gifting in each respective church, it will be more effective in unifying where and how each church can serve the other.
This can be accomplished locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
The Battle is On
There exists today a battle brewing across this country and globe. And, this battle goes right to the heart of who we are as people created by God. It threatens our families, our welfare and our faith. Simply look at the US today. Her values, behavior and even world opinion are in decline. At the same time, the church has lost ground and influence. There is a connection. Separation of church and state has taken on an increasing liberal meaning, and the effect has been damaging. Prayer has left our schools – and homes. There is most definitely an attack on the local church, and the goal is to destroy the church and Christ’s Kingdom here on earth. And, the three prevalent enemies are the spirits of religion, worldliness and unbelief. Once manifested, the effect is idolatry, judgment and division. The impact can be devastating.
The religious spirit seeks to bring tradition, rules, regulations and rituals to Christianity with the goal of moving one into the things against Christ (anti-Christ) or refocus those that believe into worshipping things “about” Christ rather than Christ Himself. It also seeks to bring false religions and beliefs into the mainstream. The worldly spirit seeks to draw us into worshipping false gods like mammon and the fear of man. Idolatry is his weapon. Finally, the quenching of God’s power is a direct assault. In America, people no longer believe in the supernatural (even church leaders), and Jesus said Himself that we would do greater works. As you will see later, the enemy is gaining ground – but not for long.
A prophetic warning:
“Beware of the leaven. My church is infiltrated with evil and malice. Beware of this evil against which I will certainly judge:
Pharasiasm :: leaven of religion. My ways are above your ways. Do not put Me into your ways. Rather, earnestly seek My ways above all else. I seek relationship, intimacy and truth. False doctrine and judgment are not of Me. My law is love.
Sadduceeism :: leaven of unbelief. I am Spirit. I am in you. You are in Me. I am Spirit. The supernatural is a manifestation of the spirit realm and My power. Unbelief leads to death. Only believe, and you will see Me in new and mighty ways.
Herodianism :: leaven of the world standards. Do not let the world come into you. You are a bride and thus a daughter of the Most High. Pure is the bride.
War is to be waged in the spirit. Love is to be shown in the natural.
My judgments will stand.
Love always.”
These divisive spirits seek to align Christians against Christians and believers against non-believers and non-believers against non-believers. This is becoming increasingly evident with examples like the rapid growth in Hinduism, Islam and other world religions. Wicca is one of many religions that lay claim to increasing in growth faster 1(percentage-wise) than any of the other “religions”. People are looking for answers and finding them in potentially dangerous areas.
From Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, we find:
The shift away from Christianity and other organized religions:
The United States appears to be going through an unprecedented change in religious practices. Large numbers of American adults are disaffiliating themselves from Christianity and from other organized religions. Since World War II, this process had been observed in other countries, like the U.K., other European countries, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. But, until recently, affiliation with Christianity had been at a high level — about 87% — and stable in the U.S.
Polling data from the 2001 ARIS study, described below, indicate that:
81% of American adults identify themselves with a specific religion
• 76.5% (159 million) of Americans identify themselves as Christian. This is a major slide from 86.2% in 1990. Identification with Christianity has suffered a loss of 9.7 percentage points in 11 years — about 0.9 percentage points per year. This decline is identical to that observed in Canada between 1981 and 2001.
If this trend has continued, then:
o at the present time (2007-MAY), only 71% of American adults consider themselves Christian
o The percentage will dip below 70% in 2008
o By about the year 2042, non-Christians will outnumber the Christians in the U.S.
• 52% of Americans identified themselves as Protestant.
• 24.5% are Roman Catholic.
• 1.3% are Jewish.
• 0.5% are Muslim, followers of Islam.
• The fastest growing religion (in terms of percentage) is Wicca — a Neopagan religion that is sometimes referred to as Witchcraft. Numbers of adherents went from 8,000 in 1990 to 134,000 in 2001. Their numbers of adherents are doubling about every 30 months. Wiccans in Australia have a very similar growth pattern, from fewer than 2,000 in 1996 to 9,000 in 2001. In Canada, Wiccans and other Neopagans showed the greatest percentage growth of any faith group. They totaled 21,080 members in 1991, an increase of 281% from 1990.
14.1% do not follow any organized religion. This is an unusually rapid increase — almost a doubling — from only 8% in 1990. There are more Americans who say they are not affiliated with any organized religion than there are Episcopalians, Methodists, and Lutherans taken together.
The unaffiliated vary from a low of 3% in North Dakota to 25% in Washington State. “The six states with the highest percentage of people saying they have no religion are all Western states, with the exception of Vermont at 22%.
A USA Today/Gallup Poll in 2002-JAN showed that almost half of American adults appear to be alienated from organized religion. If current trends continue, most adults will not call themselves religious within a few years. Results include:
• About 50% consider themselves religious (down from 54% in 1999-DEC)
• About 33% consider themselves “spiritual but not religious” (up from 30%)
• About 10% regard themselves as neither spiritual or religious
The rise in numbers of Agnostics, Atheists, Humanists and other non-theists.
Prior to 1492, the entire population of what was to become the United States of America and Canada followed about 500 forms of Native American Spirituality. With the influx of immigrants from Europe and the genocide of the native population, the U.S. became predominately Protestant Christian by the time of the Revolutionary War.
From 1972 to 1993, the General Social Survey of the National Opinion Research Center found that Protestants constituted about 63% of the population. This declined to 52% in 2002. Protestants are believed to have slipped to a minority position sometime between 2004 and 2006 for the first time since the year 1776.
Classifications of Christians:
One source estimates that there are 34,000 separate faith groups in the world that consider themselves to be Christian. In fact, many consider themselves alone to be the only “true” Christian church. Within North America, there are in excess of 2,000 faith groups that regard themselves as Christian.
There are lots of different ways in which individual Christians and faith groups can be sortied them into identifiable groups. A few examples are on the basis of:
• History: There are four to seven meta-groups: (Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism……)
• Theological and social views: There are three main wings: (conservative, mainline and liberal); some refer to them as two (conservative and mainline) or (early and emerging Christian paradigm)
• Past schisms: There are fifteen or so religious families, (Adventist, Baptist, Lutheran, Reform….)
• Denominations, (from the Amish to The Way)
• Specific belief (Arminianism, British Israelism, Calvinism…)
• A group of beliefs: One example is the Barna Research Group; they sort persons who regard themselves as Christian into a number of sub-groups.
More Info: http://www.religioustolerance.org/christ7.htm
1: Source: Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance (http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_prac2.htm)
The Enemy Exposed
In Mathew 22, we see Jesus bring forth the enemy’s attack and warning for all. In verses 15-33, Jesus is approached on two different occasions with testing and accusations. The first comes from the Pharisees and the Herodians. The law and the order of the world. They test him with the question about paying taxes. The Pharisees aim was to “entangle Him with His own talk” or twist His words around and turn them back against Him. We find this in motion everywhere in the church today with denominational arguments about what is legal vs. what isn’t legal, what brings salvation vs. what doesn’t, do we dunk or sprinkle, etc. Secondly, the law doesn’t necessarily stand by itself when coming against Christ. In this case, the Herodians were sent with the Pharisees’ disciples to discuss the issue of taxes. As Jesus quickly points out, Caesar’s financial issues are for Caesar. But, we see behind the scenes that the attempt of trapping Jesus comes in the form of legalism around a worldly issue. Paying taxes was and is a big deal. The enemy uses real issues to bring us into agreement with him.
We then see the counter attack after Jesus astonishes the Pharisees and Herodians. The Sadducees show up the same day. Their line of questioning lies in the realm of legalism applied in the spirit. They mix one dimension with another. The law says that a widow shall marry her husband’s brother if she didn’t have any children by her previous husband. This goes on seven times in their example. They then use this example in the exact area that they do not believe in – the resurrection. We commonly see today legalism abound in many churches. Coupled with unbelief, a great stirring occurs. There is no healing today. There are no apostles today. That was of yesterday. God doesn’t work that way today. Over and over, unbelief arises with its foundation built upon some legal line. As Jesus points out to the Sadducees in verse 29, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.”
Inside Christianity, we find that pastors often come under heavy attack just like Jesus was. Legalism is rampant. Unbelief is problematic. God’s power is squashed, if that is even possible. Lines are drawn that work to bring believer against believer and church against church.
The enemy works hard to divide the church or get it into a frenzy of rituals and beliefs that bring people into fixated states of church practice. The Holy Spirit is ignored altogether and replaced with the influence of demonic spirits.
Again, this is evidenced by the state of the church in America today. The impact of this battle is staggering. The local church continues to weaken, and people leave for other “religions” or no religion at all. Some local churches get caught up in the worldly standards of entertainment and water down the Gospel. Many fail to preach what Jesus professed and did all the time in terms confronting sin and walking in the supernatural. Over time, the enemy has gained ground in key areas that originally led multitudes to believing in Him as God’s Son.
The devil’s strategy also pits the local churches against each other and creates division in the Body. The lie says that our way of “doing” church is the only way, so judgment comes freely against anyone not like us. Our truth is the only truth when it very well might be that our truth is all that God has revealed to us, and others have a different revelation of the same truth. Collectively, we could have a greater revelation of God’s complete truth, but the enemy keeps us divided.
We see mainline denomination attacking other mainline denomination. Small churches speak out against megachurches. Non-denominational churches speak out against the denominational churches. Many churches seem to constantly compare themselves to each other. Non-church goers see and hear about our behaviors and hypocrisy and would rather choose false religions rather than take on what we have. They don’t want what we have.
Even pastors of some of the most prominent churches speak out unrighteous judgment and accusation freely today. And, it appears that our eyes are closed to it. Congregants are moved to judge other believers simply because they attend a church unlike theirs. They gain permission to compare themselves when a preacher speaks out against the brethren of another church. Their agreement allows the enemy to gain a greater foothold. Pride runs rampant. It appears that if you don’t act, worship, pray, sing, preach and praise God in a certain way, then you are a heathen and stand in judgment by God and are destined for the pits of hell. Each church knows exactly how God wants “it” done, and everyone else is misguided.
This by no means suggests that churches are free from sin and from practices that need be addressed. There is truth to be proclaimed, and righteous judgment is at hand.
Even as of late, we have watched as pastors and priests in high places come to a crashing fall. Darkness is coming into the light. But, we must remember that God is the judge of all.
As soon as we judge, we are then judged accordingly (Matt 7:1-2). We best beware that the plank must be removed from our own eye before tending to our brothers. If our house is not in order, we carry no anointing for helping others to clean up their own houses. Any efforts will be completely of the flesh and without fruit.
Jesus explained the path to righteous judgment in John 5:30:
I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
It is not for us to judge. God judges. As we hear, we judge, and our judgment is righteous for it is God’s judgment that we proclaim. We are clearly seeing an increase in the apostolic and prophetic. People who lead and hear God and His heart for the Bride are surfacing to pass His judgment on and provide direction as we enter this new season. This helps illustrate the importance of all offices of the five-fold ministries.
Another observation is that there are many churches that are staying true to their first love that have still come into agreement with the religious, worldly, powerless and divisional spirits, even unknowingly. By the time the darkness does actually come out into the light, much damage and destruction has happened.
A good example of this is found in dead, old, denominational churches. People do the tradition and routine and show up every Sunday morning like they have for countless years, but the Spirit is not present. It’s obvious. There is little fruit. Few are saved. Yet, the attendees remain oblivious.
Religion
The religious spirit operates out of a number of modes, and one of the more prevalent involves creating an atmosphere where the rituals and traditions of God are worshipped rather than God Himself. It often begins with the poverty spirit’s attack that we must continually “do” to gain the acceptance of God. We then move to a constant “must do” mode, and “do it this way mode”. Works-based religion is the root rather than abiding in His Glory and Victory already obtained. This allows for a spirit of judgment and division to enter. We start to look at others and measure them according to our standards. As division occurs, greater ground is lost, and further judgment enters creating greater division. This fuels the creation of new religions and perpetuates the cycle.
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Jesus is the way – period. The essence of Christianity is Jesus Himself and Him crucified & resurrected for the forgiveness of sin. The religious spirit desires to twist this in every other possible direction.
The lie is that “your way of doing it is wrong, and my way is the only way”. In actuality, Jesus already laid out the only way, and that is Him. When agreed with, this lie provides the seed necessary for judgment against the brethren to be planted and watered. It also provides the ground necessary for believers to view non-believers as enemies of God rather than children of God whom He desires to be saved.
Worldliness
Herod’s order was world order. Today’s world order is full of sin and tolerance for sin – even amongst believers. We seem to grow more tolerant every day. Look at Hollywood or at what comes on our televisions every night. Look at the pressure that our school-aged children face to conform and perform. We work ourselves to death to afford insane luxuries.
Mammon is the god of America. Sex is her harlot sister.
Men trade in their wives for newer models like they were cars. Women trade in their own flesh for plastic in anticipation of their men trading them in.
Where is God in all of this? We push Him out the door and lock it tightly.
The worldly spirit gets us focusing on all things except God.
In the local church, we see this manifest in consumerism. Worship is replaced by entertainment. People will choose not to attend a church simply because their favorite pastor is not there that week, and they don’t like how the other person might communicate. The complaints are high about quality and what programs. Little attention is given to serving rather than being served.
Unbelief (lack of miracles)
The Sadducees would not believe in the resurrection. They could not come to grips with the supernatural. This assault seeks to limit God’s power through unbelief.
Jesus’ response to the spirit of unbelief? It is found in John 10:37-38:
If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.
Jesus makes it pretty easy for us along this line. If He does not do the works of our Father, there is no foundation for belief. We are exempt from believing.
We see that Jesus was addressing the Jews at Solomon’s porch during Feast of Dedication (in remembrance of the cleansing of the temple) in Jerusalem. This took place right in the center of the religious battle and was addressed directly to those that did not believe that He was the Son of God.
Today, we have our own religious battle, and believer’s still fall into this trap. The common theme is that miracles happened way back then but not today. This is the lie that fuels unbelief that Christ is not alive and working in our world today. He most certainly performs miracles today, and we most certainly perform greater works that He did back then.
Reports come from all over the world with people being raised from the dead, the blind gaining sight, the deaf hearing, and the list goes on. Miracles are increasing in number.
There is no basis for unbelief. To not believe in miracles is to deny Christ Himself.
Dual-pronged Attack
The enemy’s method for attack has been rather simple. He twists the truth of the gospel into false doctrine and religion and works people into a frenzy of believing that “theirs” is the only gospel. He seeks to destroy unity. As a divided people along religious lines it is easy to provoke destructive and deadly behavior. His attack comes in a couple of ways:
Divide and Conquer
Accusation
With a religious spirit dictating how things need be done, people are open to developing an accusatory or blame mentality between each other. The enemy is trying to get people to focus on people. “They are lost.” “They don’t get it.” “They do it wrong.” This is unrighteous judgment.
Inside the walls of Christianity, we measure how well/poorly other churches do, how many people attend, how they worship, etc. Our focus looks at the individual rather than the mission. We fail to see that we are all God’s children, and He loves each of us. We miss the fact that God is infinite, and as children, we are in His image, infinite. Therefore, there must be more than one single way of doing church and still maintain that Jesus is the only way. However, there are expressions that allow one person to grow in intimacy with Christ that vary from person to person. These variations, as long as they maintain the truth, should be respected among men. After all, our struggles are not with each other:
Ephesians 6:12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
As we engage our enemy, we must come to terms with this truth. We are not at war with each other.
Division
Another wave comes through division. Once we start judging each other, we are open for separation. Judgment destroys unity. It robs the body of its full function and synergy. It kills Kingdom progress. The result – our house is divided.
Matthew 12:25
But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
It’s important to note that Jesus said “EVERY kingdom”. Every means all. And, the Kingdom of Heaven is near.
Paul reminds us with whom our battle truly lies. Jesus points out his game plan. Together, we see the enemy’s strategy for destroying the local church.
There is great opportunity for the local church today. If we repent of our agreement with the enemy and come back together as a single body, we will overcome. A kingdom divided will not stand. We have no choice but to unify. Perhaps then we should view each individual church as a member of the Body. Each church serves the other church out of Love and works to leverage the gifts of the other members for its own good as well as leveraging its gifts for the completion of the rest of the Body. The strength of three cords is not quickly broken. Today’s church barely operates as a single strand. It is time to unite together and with Christ, as our Head.
The statistics above show the impact of a divided house
Worship False gods
Without a relational foundation built on the Rock, once we get a sour taste in our mouth from our “religion”, we open ourselves up to the lie that the answer is found elsewhere.
Disrupting the Status Quo
Even at the base of Mt. Sinai, false gods popped up. Right at the point of Moses receiving God’s law, Baal shows his ugly head, and it continues today.
The enemy seeks to get us worshipping anything but the one true God. Desires of the flesh are easy temptations. As they have increased, sin’s effect has increased, and tolerance for sin has increased. False gods have sprung up everywhere. There is no reverence for God – no fear at all. God’s authority is usurped and ignored. The local church must speak out and lead the path to repentance.
We saw this spirit at work in Acts when Paul and Silas were attacked by “angry mobs in the marketplace of Thessalonica and again when they preached in Berea.
The accusation is found in verses 6-7 of Acts 17:
v6 These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.
So we see that a trait of the Herodian spirit is to defend violently worldliness and its order. The people did not want the same thing to happen there. It was comfortable there. It was fine as is. Why change the world? We like our gods. There is no reason to look at your God. It would only threaten what we enjoy.
When Herod’s kingdom was threatened by Jesus at birth, he killed every boy under 2 years of age. The same spirit attempts to kill off Jesus and anyone worshipping Him as King of all. It does not want its comfort and idols of worshipped disturbed by the true King. America is heavily influenced by this spirit in its quest for materialism, wealth and power.
After Paul leaves Berea, he ends up in Athens where he waits for Silas and Timothy. “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.” Idolatry is everywhere. It is a key litmus test for the Herodian spirit’s influence.
Paul shows us how to respond. He goes into their places of worship and the marketplace and “reasons” with them. He confronts them right where they are. He doesn’t fold into and become “of the world”.
v22-23 Paul sums it all up:
Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:
THE UNKNOWN GOD.
The Greeks had so many Gods that they didn’t want to leave any out. So, they even worshipped one they didn’t know. That’s the world today. It worships everything in the world – even those it doesn’t know, as gods (like our god of sport, for example).
The lie has come in small increments, which is to be expected. Otherwise, we would see it for what it is and easily rebuke it. No, the people have gradually accepted the devil’s ways in place of God’s ways. Our resistance to sin dissipates. Even our legislation has moved in a more sinful direction.
Again, repentance is the key. And, we need to be wise in how we attack the world’s order.
Fear of Man
In Acts 17:7, we find a familiar weapon: peer pressure.
“They are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king – Jesus.”
This is the same card that Caiaphas and the others played when promoting that they served Caesar and then exerted heavy pressure on Pilate to succumb to their desires to crucify Christ. The world order is laden with pressure from others. It seeks to fulfill selfish ambition and its motives.
Herod tends to operate out of fear. The spirit of fear is a key instrument used by the devil to attempt to overcome the church. We see evidence of this at John the Baptist’s imprisonment. John became fearful that Jesus was not actually the Messiah. He sends word to Jesus asking if He were the One to come or was there another. Herod was fearful of killing John for what that might cost him. But, he ultimately gave into an incestually-warped lap dance and killed Herod anyway.
But, the Fear of the Lord is the first step to wisdom (Psalm 111:10). And, wisdom is what defeated Herod.
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Matt 10:16 Again, we see the reference to wisdom as the means to survival in the world. Jesus sends us out into the world, where the wolves are. Yet, it is wisdom that he directs us to.
“Fear not, I have overcome the world.”
Approval of men. Acceptance of man. Wars against the humility of God. Stealing the worship.
The Herodian spirit tries to get us worried or afraid of what man might think of us. This keeps people from operating out of the fullness of Christ. It works hand in hand with the unbelief spirit.
“The power of God was long ago; that doesn’t happen now. Besides, what will everyone think of you if you pray in tongues or lift your arms in worship. Certainly, you will be made a fool, etc., etc.”
Matthew 2:16
Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry…
Wisdom defeats Herod. Fear of the Lord is the beginning.
New Beginnings
It is time…
It is time for a change. It is time for repentance. It is time that the Body comes together for the glory of God.
It is time to drag this ugly darkness into the light. Bless God. We will take back the land that the enemy has stolen.
The local church strategy unites the local churches into a true representation of the Body. Those found unwilling to repent of sinful ways or varying from the truth will be dealt with biblically, in love. We already have guidelines established by God Himself. There is no reason to redefine or reinvent what God has given man.
To this end, we must recognize that individually and corporately, we have giftedness and ministry calls that are unique yet when combined with the gifts and ministries of other members, create a greater resemblance of a true Body instead of a bunch of scattered, dry bones laying around the desert floor. Rather than comparing ourselves, the local church should work to unify and evaluate its role within the five-fold ministry and giftedness for operating out of its call as part of a greater organism, as God has directed. Each church is to recognize the gifting and anointing of the other churches and seek to serve those churches out of love.
For example, some churches are wonderfully blessed with evangelism. Their church does a great job at saving souls. However, there is little going on in terms of the prophetic. Another one, on the other hand, does operate out of prophetic and enjoys great success there.
If these two churches were to serve one another, as being members of the same body would tend to suggest, God would have greater room to operate. Biblical principles would flow. The enemy would lose ground. The Kingdom would expand.
This, however, takes great humility.
And Jesus was all about humility. It is time to wash some feet. We need beautiful feet.
Strategic Steps for the Church – Unity in Spirit
We are one body with one Head – Jesus. Our aim then should be to present ourselves as completely whole. We cannot serve two masters. Jesus must be the head of a single Body. This body is His bride. She must be pure and spotless and wrinkle free, presentable to a King.
Presenting the Bride as Whole
If our aim is to unify the church body to serve Christ as our Headship, we find three keys from scripture that point us to specific steps to achieving this goal:
1) Know and understand the purpose to which God has called you.
2) Identify the giftedness provided and required for that purpose, and foster those gifts.
3) Build interdependence upon the local churches to serve one another for the building up of the Body out of each respective purpose and gifts.
Identifying the Role of the Church – Know Your Purpose
Ephesians 4:11-16
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Not everyone is called to an office. He gave “some”… Therefore, it is important to discern whether one is called to an office or simply gifted in a specific area. The office of a prophet is quite different than being a person who is prophetically gifted to serve.
Secondly, each office serves a specific function. It does not say that we are a called to all offices. Likewise, perhaps, a church is not intended to serve the function of all offices. Certainly, there will be churches that display characteristics of all offices, but what if a single church is called to one specific office and further called to work with other local churches that hold separate offices? Together, all members work to build up the entire body. This brings the body together in unity. We find throughout scripture that God looks for interdependence and unification. Unity provides protection against immaturity that allows us to be influenced by false doctrine, trickery of men and cunning craftiness of deceitful planning. Unity serves to build up the body and get the body working together.
Each office has its purpose.
If we dissect Ephesians 4.11, there are key directives for each of the offices. These characteristics are:
a. equip the saints for the work of ministry
b. for the edifying of the body
c. establishment of unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God
d. maturing the believer
e. cause growth for building up in love
Each of the five-fold ministries has a specific function. We should also take note that the collective group has the overall function as found in Ephesians 4.11.
God is placing five stones in our hands to advance the Kingdom. The role of each stone is to work together in love to build up the Body into maturity as one in Jesus. This is a long way from what the body represents today.
Each stone is refined and smoothed over by the flowing water of the Holy Spirit. Once mature, each stone becomes a weapon in the hands of God. Just a David used his stones to kill his giant, the church body shall use its stones to come against the giants seeking to destroy the Bride of Christ and the unbelieving world.
Victory is Twofold
1 Samuel 17:40-51 David & Goliath
Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.
Two deaths. David killed Goliath twice. David took the five stones from the brook. The five stones are the five-fold ministry. They had been refined by the Spirit of God and became weapons of God in the hand of a faithful man.
David used the spiritual weapons shaped by the Holy Spirit. This stressed the importance of God’s work in each area of the local church. It must be the Spirit that refines. The stones had lost their rough edges and dirt. They had been smoothed out over time in preparation for battle. All they needed was someone with enough faith in God to let them do the work that they were created to do.
We see that David killed his giant twice. The first death came at the hand of ministry through the stone slung in faith. This is the first victory – the one in the spirit realm. The second death, where David cuts off the head of Goliath, is the natural death.
Victory in the natural comes after victory in the spirit. We must allow God to war against the spiritual darkness. The battle is His. We are the vessels. We co-labor through faith, obedience and love. God does the rest through His Spirit. As we step out in spiritual victory, we can physically cut off the head of the giant that has been taunting us.
Therefore, each church is to seek God for its purpose or “stone”– the purpose that He gave them. Identification of this purpose will allow the respective local church to operate in God’s perfect will, which will free the church to do what God calls it to do and do it most effectively.
Know Your Gifts
Romans 12:3-5
Serve God with Spiritual Gifts
For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
If local churches consider themselves as individual members of a collective body, it is easier to see where they fit in with the rest of the body. Historically, local churches have tried to do all and be all. They are then sent into a mode of comparing their success with others while competing for pew occupants. Local churches need to evaluate their ministry direction as the Spirit leads and evaluate their giftedness for fulfillment of that purpose.
With humility, they can then plug into other churches to serve them out of love.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7
Spiritual Gifts: Unity in Diversity
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all…
As God is infinite, so are His ways. Man has spent a lot of energy trying to create a “single, best way” to God. This has been fueled by the religious spirit.
We must recognize our uniqueness and diversity. As man created in God’s image, there are so many shapes and sizes. So it is with gifting. But, we all have the same Spirit and the same Lord. We must leverage our diversity to reach all people groups, which will certainly be diverse. It is unity in diversity that leverages the gift to its fullest potential. If we see each other’s uniqueness as a complement to what God has not given us, the collective whole will create synergy that cannot be obtained through individualism.
Develop Interdependence in the Body
Unity and Diversity in One Body
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.
This passage is often seen and spoken about at the individual, personhood level. But, I believe that God is also showing this truth to be for the church as a picture of the body as well. Each church is an individual member of the Body of Christ. Individual churches do not seem to operate as an entire body very well. It simply goes against interdependence, which God favors highly. Individual churches should view themselves as one member of the body there to serve the entire body as a whole. Once it knows that it is an eye, it serves to see the things of God for those that serve as other parts. Together, they all move the Kingdom forward.
We find great truth in collective suffering when one member suffers. And suffering comes in many forms, whether it be as trials from God or result of our own sin or any other vehicle. We should focus more strongly on celebrating when one of the local churches is honored. The world needs to see the light. We are that light. We are salt. Our focus on what Christ is doing is so much more important than what He isn’t doing. By highlighting the things of God and His activities and victories, we can point other members and unbelievers to the truth through love.
We can avoid some suffering – that kind that results from our own sin. And judgment seems to be one of the more common sins between churches. We must not judge other members. If God wills a certain church to have a big mouth and draw large harvests, who are we to judge that church for being large? Are all hands and feet and mouths the same size? Should our approach not be to seek out ways to serve that church knowing that it has a large harvest and will need assistance from other members of the Body?
Imagine what a megachurch, holding the office of the evangelist, could do with its great harvest if it sought out and partnered with churches serving in the area of teaching or the prophetic or any other office where its gifts are not as prominent. Even at the leadership level, if senior pastors gifted in one area were to partner with, say a prophetic church(es), what kind of impact would the two working together have? Then imagine what the unbelieving world would see and hear as victories were had and both churches were recognized as having participated – even with their great differences.
I believe that as individual churches seek out other members of the body (churches) that hold other offices and have other gifts, they will see greater fruit among them collectively than either could on its own. This has always been God’s economy. As more and more members work together, the Body really starts to take on the appearance of a single entity – a wholeness. Jesus didn’t say he was coming back for a harem. There is only one Bride.
God is also raising up apostles and prophets today. He is restoring His order and offices to the way that He envisioned originally. Many pastors are charged (by their congregations) with fulfilling the roles of offices that they are not called to. The local church must look within its walls to instill people gifted and called to roles to those positions. The local church will operate much more effectively. The pastor must be returned to the position of tending to the flock rather than carrying the weight of two or three offices simultaneously.
The local church needs to closely evaluate its role within the community, nation and international sphere to serve other members out of the offices and gifts that God has placed in it. This allows the church to easily identify how it can serve the other members so that the entire body operates more like one.
And, if Jesus is coming back to an unspotted and unwrinkled Bride, certainly all parts of the body should be in the right places and working.
Applying it All
1 Corinthians 13
The Greatest Gift
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
This passage highlights the great challenge facing the local church today. We act very childishly. The world sees hypocrisy and judgment. We see opportunity. Our unity through love is our greatest weapon.
“The greatest of these is love.” We must never lose sight that we have amazing gifts. We are called to high offices with much responsibility. But, at the end of the day, it means nothing if we don’t love. If ever there were a time in history where Christianity were in the spotlight, now would seem to be the time. There is so much going on in the world. The battle lines are being drawn along many fronts. Many of these are prophetic and are the fulfillment of prophecies from long ago. We have a golden opportunity to live as a single Body who is the Bride of the perfect Husband. We have an opportunity to show our love for One who first loved us. It is time to love. It is time to be love.
God’s Heart is for His church to love. There is no greater currency. Love never fails.This is the call of unity. We must love. We must love as one. It is an immediate call.
We must break the spirits that try to divide the Body and dismantle Christianity.
We must be one with Him. And He is love.
Blueprint for Communion with God
Gensis 25:8-9
And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.
God wants to dwell among us. He wants to be with us. The tabernacle provides the prophetic insight into how we can grow in communion and love with God.
Tabernacle Provides the Guidance
God’s blueprint for leading people into deep communion with Himself is found in the tabernacle plans as God laid them out centuries ago. Each step provides a greater progression deeper into the heart of God and greater revelation of truth. As individuals move into the deeper things of God, they gain in anointing, gifting and purpose. Each step provides a greater reliance on the Holy Spirit and communion with our Father through Jesus.
The tabernacle was divided into three sections, the outer court, the inner court and the holy of holies. The outer court provided a gateway for the masses to come into the presence of the Lord, albeit at a distance. Judah (“praise”) led all of the twelve tribes through the only doorway into the outer court. The inner court is the first area that has cover and access was limited. The Holy of the Holies was guarded by the veil, and only the Chief Priest could go into that area on an annual basis. Access to God was severely limited to a single person, once a year. With the death of Christ, the veil was torn, and access was provided to everyone. It is the job of the five-fold ministry to equip the church to lead non-believers into the general presence of God (outer court) and then lead believers into the deep presence of God (inner court & holy of holies).
a. Outer court (Doorway led through praise)
i. Altar = Sacrifice/Blood of Christ
ii. Laver = Baptism/Death Association to Sin
Altar and Laver
Churches focusing on evangelism will find great activity in the outer court. Characteristics of this ministry include basic gospel teaching like messages of salvation. Praise music is chosen over deeper worship styles. Conversions and baptisms carry a greater focus as compared to spiritual gifts. It is commonplace to have a seeker-friendly mindset in this atmosphere. As is the case with the outer court, the masses come. Megachurches are not uncommon. Entrance into the outer court is through praise and thanksgiving, which is why we see Judah lined up just outside the gate.
Psalm 100:4 also provides a similar key to entering the outer court:
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
A transitional focus charges us to make sure that disciples are made and that there is a strategy for moving people past water baptism and into the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is found in the inner court and provides deeper communion with God and the Body.
b. Inner court (doorway through baptism by the Holy Spirit)
i. Candlestick = Holy Spirit lights the way
ii. Shewbread = daily bread; Word of God as daily food
iii. Altar of Incense = prayers of the saints; intercession
When Peter and John heard that there were conversions happening in Samaria (Acts 8:14-17), they went down and laid hands on the new converts, and the Holy Spirit was given to them. So, we find here the next natural step in moving new believers into a greater walk with Christ. Being brought into community with God through Christ is made manifest by the work of the Holy Spirit. We find three critical ingredients to this community as the new believer matures into a deeper walk.
Mathew 11:11-13
Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’
The Candlestick
Revelation 4:5
And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
The same seven lamps burned before the throne. These lamps signify the Spirits of God. Seven candles, seven Spirits. God’s desire is for completeness or wholeness. It is only through the work of the Spirit of God that this can be achieved. Therefore, it is critical that the local church strategy be to move believers into the baptism of the Spirit.
This baptism opens them up into greater anointing and revelation of the gifts of the Spirit, which increases the fruit from ministry efforts. As believers mature in the nature of their gifts, they can further identify with their role in the Body and Kingdom service.
Table of Shewbread
Exodus 25:30
And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always.
Mathew 6:11
Give us this day our daily bread.
John 6:32-35
Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always” And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
Our daily bread is what sustains us through life. The bread is actually from God not to God. We place our faith in Jesus on the table before God every day, always. This bread that we eat gives us life. In order to reach deep maturity in Christ, we must seek Him every day in everything. We must eat His Word and never hunger. Deep believers live on the Word of God. Jesus is the Word. This is our daily bread. In order to get to that place where we can start to hear Him and worship Him, we must know Him. His Word never fails and provides all that we need to survive and flourish with Him.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit give us the illumination to God’s Word. New things open up in the spirit realm. New insights are gained. The deeper things of God are revealed.
Altar of Incense
Genesis 25:7-10
“Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it. And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”
Revelation 5:8
Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Incense signifies worship and prayer. It is most critical for us to learn how to enter into that place of worship where we minister to the heart of God rather than always being consumers of God. We seek Him for who He is and nothing else. We pray, and He hears us. We give Him all that is due. Our worship goes all the time and is pure. There is no “strange incense” in what we bring to Him. It is perpetual. Pray without ceasing we are commanded.
This is most holy to the LORD.
c. Holy of Holies (doorway is the veil, but it is now torn)
i. Mercy Seat = propitiation for our sins; repentance & forgiveness
Mercy Seat
Genesis 25:22
And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
It is here that we get deep into community with God. “I will speak with you…” He says that He will speak with, not to us. Hearing the voice of God is most critical in developing the deep relationship. The local church must bring its flock into the deep things of God, especially learning how to hear His voice. We must approach the throne of grace boldly for grace and mercy. He desires us to meet with Him.
ii. Ark of the Covenant = presence of God
1. 10 Commandments – law of God
2. Manna – provision of God
3. Aaron’s rod – anointing of God
Ark of the Covenant
Exodus 25:21b
…and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you.
Our communion with God brings about great testimony. We carry with us experiences that bring enormous glory to God when we walk closely with Him. He does things that are unexplainable except for Him. His very presence is with us, and we reach that point where nothing but His presence satisfies.
And God gives us reminders of where we have come from when we get to this point. He writes the law on our hearts. He reminds us of His continued faithfulness and provision, and He anoints us for service in the eyes of others.
The local church must help believers reach this point with God. It is His heart to have His children know and love Him.
Exercises
Discerning Your Purpose
2) Which office has God called your church to?
3) In the local community, how will this office serve?
4) How will this office serve the body of believers?
5) How will this office serve other local churches?
6) The tabernacle blueprint: how does the local church lead people from the outer court into the deep presence of God with Him anointing the people for further ministry?
Discerning Your Gifts
1) What gifts are predominant with your office?
2) Where do you find yourself earnestly praying in terms of gifting?
3) Do you find that people coming into the church display similar gifts?
Developing Interdependence
1) What are the other local churches in your area that you identify with?
2) What are their respective offices?
3) How can your church serve them?
4) How do your gifts serve the answers above in terms of the office that you are called to?
1: Source: Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance (http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_prac2.htm)