ECCLESIOLOGY, Part 4 - THE NEED FOR ASSEMBLING

When most people think of ‘church’, I suspect they either think of a building with a steeple, or, the people in a Sunday meeting of a congregation. In this post, I’m addressing the latter understanding of church. Christ has ordained that His church meets together regularly. The original history of the Church (the Book of Acts) reveals that the first Church met in the Jerusalem where thousands gathered in the Temple’s outdoor precinct; and, in one another’s homes around Jerusalem. As the Church grew around the Mediterranean world, local churches initially met in the large homes of wealthy householders. These Greco-Roman households provided a ready-made structure to these new churches. It wasn’t too long before problems arose in many of the local churches. This is something that we should all be very thankful for, because the result of these church problems were the New Testament epistles. Within these epistles we find the biblically ordained liturgy (how a church service is conducted) for when a church assembles. Let’s consider what this is...

1. THE CHURCH IS ORDAINED TO ASSEMBLE TOGETHER

When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus

FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:4

I grew up going to a Primary School where the Principal held an outdoor “assembly” every week. I think Mr. Blackie was ex-military, at least that’s what one of the other students said when we had to standard to attention, salute the flag, then stand at ease. It was during this weekly assembly that important announcements were made, special achievements were mentioned, and the school’s rules were reinforced. At the conclusion of the assembly we were all given a small glass bottle of milk and an al’foil lid to drink (which was no fun on a hot summer’s day after these bottles of milk had gone-off in the outdoors full-sun!) This weekly assembly gave me a fuller understanding of what the apostle Paul was referring to when he wrote to the Corinthians. When the church gathered on the Lord’s Day each week, they were to assemble. They were, in a way, to ‘stand’ to attention, give God honour, pay attention to what said, then have a time of fellowship. This was not a mere optional obligation for believers. The writer to the Hebrews exhorts all believers to not to neglect the gathering (assembling) together - as is the habit os some! (Heb. 10:25). 

A Christian is one who (i) believes (in the saving work of Jesus Christ); (ii) belongs in a local church family; and, (iii) behaves in accord with the teaching of Christ. Each church family is called to assemble each week - that is, every believer is called to join with his or her church family and praise God together, participate in the ordinance of Holy Communion together, give heed to preaching and exposition of God’s Word, worship the Lord with their giving, and minister the grace of fellowship to one another. To consider more about the theology of the assembling of the church, I suggest The Community of the King by Howard A. Snyder. 

2. THE CHURCH IS ORDAINED TO PRAISE TOGETHER

Christianity is one of the few religions in which singing is a vital component of its worship of God. When a church praises God together with singing, it helps to refocus the worshipers onto the greatness of God. Congregational praise can be a positive distraction from the cares and worries of life. Singing our praise to God can be prayerful, meditative, and uplifting.  Praising God together can also be an effective witness to outsiders:

And in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. As it is written,

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,

and sing to your name.”

ROMANS 15:9

Praising God should be thoughtful so that it engages the mind and the heart of a believer. The Church has a long tradition of producing thoughtful hymns that enable this. There some denominations of churches which will only use the Psalms as the songs of their congregational praise - but, Colossians 3:16 encourages the use of much more than Psalms as the basis for church praises:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

COLOSSIANS 3:16

This act of worship—singing—by a congregation is not dependent on whether someone is a good singer, because singing praise is a matter of heart, not talent! This is why every believer who attends their church family’s worship service is obliged to join in singing. 

3. THE CHURCH IS ORDAINED TO CONDUCT THE ORDINANCE OF HOLY COMMUNION TOGETHER

Jesus established certain ordinances (also identified as sacraments by some Church traditions) for His Church. These are universally acknowledged as holy communion (eucharist), water baptism (some denominations also refer to this as christening), and marriage. Each of these involve the interaction of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Communion - Christ, on the night He was betrayed, instigated the Lord’s Supper where He took unleavened bread, gave it to His disciples, and said “This is My body, take and eat.” Then He took the cup of unfermented fruit of the vine, and gave it to His disciples, and said, “This is My blood, drink this in remembrance of Me.”

¶ Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

MATTHEW 26:26-29

Holy Communion is a sacred ordinance of the Church. The earliest Christians came to recognise this ordinance as a significant aspect of their Sunday worship service. They understood Christ’s emphatic statement that the bread and wine - the elements (also referred to as 'accidents' by some church traditions) - were “My body” and “My blood” meant that when believers celebrated Holy Communion in faith that Christ Himself was present by His Spirit. That is, when the early believers ate and drank the communion elements in faith, they were actually nourishing their souls on Christ. Perhaps churches today might need to recapture some of this reverence for this sacred ordinance. At the very least, celebrating Holy Communion as a church congregation is one of the sacred things which constitutes an assembling of believers as a church.

4. WHEN THE CHURCH ASSEMBLES IT IS TO GIVE HEED TO THE PREACHING AND TEACHING OF GOD’S WORD

The apostle Paul told Timothy, his lieutenant, that his role at Ephesus was to preach the Word (2Tim. 4:2). The preaching and teaching of God’s Word was instigated by the apostles from the Church’s outset (note Acts 15:35; 1Peter 1:25). This demands two important things. Firstly, preachers and teachers of God’s Word are responsible for developing their skill and expertise to fulfil their ministry. I would strongly encourage preachers to learn how to preach the Word of God expositionally, rather than reading or reciting a sermon from a script. Do not read your sermon - preach it! For any preacher who would like to begin to hone their craft, I suggest, The Preacher’s Portrait, some New Testament Word Studies, by John R. W. Stott. Preachers should remember that the aim of a sermon was for a congregation not merely to hear a sermon, but to apply its lessons by heeding it.

Secondly, believers must learn how to listen and heed the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. Believers should bring their bibles to church and come prepared to take notes of what is preached and taught. This is an important component of what Christ has ordained for His church when they assemble.

5. WHEN THE CHURCH ASSEMBLES IT IS TO WORSHIP GOD THROUGH ITS GIVING

The Mosaic Law prescribed in the Old Testament including the bringing animals to be sacrificed, offerings of gold and silver (money), and the concept of regular giving in support of the Levites and priests referred to as tithes. Jesus told His hearers that they should tithe (Matt. 23:23). This was said in the context of the Mosaic Law still being current - despite the general corruption of the Levites and priests. It might then be tempting to dismiss to dismiss such a comment from Christ with a wave of the hand and a “But we’re now in the New Covenant” exclamation. However, before you do so, consider that much of what Christ taught about New Covenant ethics went higher - not lower - than Old Covenant ethics. Consider what Christ said about such things like murder, or adultery. In the case of murder, Jesus raised the standard to hating being equivalent to the sin of murder (Matt. 5:21-22), and for adultery He raised it to lusting after a woman being equivalent to adultery (Matt. 5:27-28)! 

In the early chapters of the Book of Acts we see how the early Church understood what Christ was teaching about giving - and it was certainly not a lower standard than the Old Covenant.

And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

ACTS 4:33-37

The apostle Paul instructed the Corinthians that as they met each Sunday (“the first day of the week”) to also receive a special offering to support the impoverished Jerusalem believers (1Cor. 16:2). In writing to the Ephesians via Timothy, Paul stated that the church was to support those who dedicated themselves to the preaching and teaching of God’s Word (1Tim 5:17). Today, giving continues to be an act of worship by New Covenant believers who give as God has blessed them.

As the Church expanded around the Empire and beyond, and churches grew where it was impracticable to continue meeting in homes of even wealthy householders, funds were raised to build houses of worship and teaching. Yet, the primary need for believers to give financially to their local church was to support the ministry of those who shepherded the local church congregation. Today, this same purpose remains and is supplemented when wealthier churches give to missions projects beyond their immediate locality as well.

6. WHEN THE CHURCH ASSEMBLES IT IS TO MINISTER THE GRACE OF GOD ONE TO ANOTHER THROUGH FELLOWSHIP

When the church assembles it is also called to fellowship. This is a spiritual discipline which seeks to be commune through Christ with a brother or sister in Christ. It involves listening, caring, responding, and sharing. It is an important part of what happens when a church assembles. Done well, it is a blessing. Done effectively, it results in prayer. Done habitually it leads to closeness with another brother or sister in Christ. While it has a place in the time that a church family has met for weekly worship, it also takes place outside of this time.

But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

FIRST JOHN 1:7

We have seen that the New Testament describes and prescribes the components of a liturgy for when a local church assembles. This includes: prayers together, the singing of praise together, partaking of Holy Communion together, hearing and heeding the teaching and preaching of God's Word, bringing our financial gifts, and prayerful/caring/thoughtful fellowship one with another. Sadly, it seems that today, many believers have come to see weekly church assembling as an optional thing. I would encourage all believers to make assembling each week with their church family one of their highest priorities. I would also strongly urge all believers to contribute their willing participation in each of the aspects of their church's liturgy outlined above. In doing so, we may once again begin to see what the apostle wrote about about in Ephesians 3:8-10. If you are interested in exploring the theology of Christian fellowship, I suggest Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Amen.

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FINDING JOY IN YOUR CHURCH THROUGH HUMILITY

 ¶ For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body,though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

First Corinthians 12:12

What is a church? Whatever it is, based on what we read in the Bible, it is an institution that can bring tremendous joy to Christ’s followers and provide a source of great grace. I have previously written about the ten distinctives of a local church which distinguishes it from what it is not – namely, a: (i) Bible study group, (ii) a para-church organisation, or even (iii) a ‘ministry’ (such as an evangelistic association or regular conference). At its core, a ‘church’ is a spiritual organism of the Body of Christ which is comprised of believers who are “in Christ” (Rom. 8:1). This is a point that Sam Allberry has made in his latest book, One with My Lord: The Life-Changing Reality of Being in Christ. Being “in Christ” means that every believer is intimately connected with Christ. This is profound. This realisation should cause a believer to regard such things as partaking of Communion together in an overwhelmingly different light. Thus, when we, the body of Christ, partake of the Bread, the Body of Christ, and the fruit of the vine, the Blood of Christ, we who are “in Christ” then have “Christ in us” through ingesting this sacred meal. It is, as the Church has long declared, “a visible act of receiving the invisible grace of God.” But there is something else more wonderful about the local church experiencing Christ together in this way: we do this as a new family. Just like in any family the church family is a means of God for each believer to minister to each other believer God’s grace in its ‘manifold’ forms which enables a believer to be strengthened and helped, resulting in and from — joy. This tremendous blessing though can only be administered and received when it is done so with humility.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
First Peter 4:10-11

It is the work of the Holy Spirit in each believer to “place them” into a local Body of Christ and to knit them together as a “dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the Cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:19-22

This means that in the wisdom of God He will bring together people from different nations, cultures, ethnicities, backgrounds and experiences and make them a united family.

This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Ephesians 3:6

But this comes with great risks. Bringing people together from such diverse backgrounds who may not have yet been instructed in the ways of Christ and His Church can quickly degenerate into enmity, factions, and schisms. This is why Christ has ordained that His Church be both ordered and led so that “the unity of the Spirit” can be intentionally upheld without compromise (Eph. 4:1-4).

 

The Role of Local Church Leaders

We noted in the opening biblical reference from First Corinthians twelve that the church is like a human body. Just as the parts of the body including its internal organs have a particular function and work together to enable the body to function as a unity, so it is with the church. Thus, Christ gifts members of His body with abilities which they are to use for the benefit of the whole body. This is the point that Paul made to the Romans (who were , based on Romans 16, meeting in many separate ‘house churches’ around Rome).

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Romans 12:4-8

In writing to the Corinthians he uses even stronger language to the describe the place of leaders within a local church (note that First and Second Corinthians was specifically not addressed to any leader or group of leaders – partly because there were so many people claiming to be the leader!). Paul counters the claim of his proud opponents at Corinth that he had no right to tell them what to do, by pointing out that Christ ordained that His church be led, “first” by apostles:

That there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together. ¶ Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
First Corinthians 12:25-28

The unknown writer to the Hebrews writing about AD 63, told them that:

¶ Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith….Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Hebrews 13:7, 13

This anonymous writer tells the Jewish believers in Jerusalem that their support and cooperation with their leaders should result in joy for their leaders. It it reasonable to see how this would also result in joy for the congregation as well since their shepherds would be leading with joy, care, courage, as they taught, prayed for, discipled, trained, and equipped those in their pastoral charge. This then leads to us considering the posture of a congregation in a joy-filled church.

The Role of Local Church Congregation

In Paul’s climax in his Epistle to the Romans, after he has spent eleven chapters explaining the gospel and what means to be saved, he then describes the posture of a believer. They are to “present their bodies as a living sacrifice” to God (Rom. 12:1). They are “not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed” in their thinking (Rom. 12:2). In additional to this, he introduces their essential virtue necessary for a local church to be functional rather than dysfunctional: humility.

¶ For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Romans 12:3

From this foundation the apostle spells out what humility within a local church for each believer looks like as he continue in Romans 12:9-21 (see the small-group Bible study teaching series I have written on this important passage- Building a Covenant Community of Believers).

I encourage you to consider this list of twenty-seven fruits of the humility virtue and see for yourself that none of them are possible without being committed to the local church where Christ has placed you. Here is the conclusion to this observation: it takes humility to surrender to Christ as you Saviour. It takes humility to be a member of a local church family. It takes humility to cooperate with a godly caring leader-shepherd within that local church. It takes humility to serve others within your local church with the gifts and ministry the Holy Spirit has given you. But the pay-off, your great joy and your church’s, is unattainable if you don’t.

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

PENTECOSTALISM - the 2 sides of REVIVAL

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Pentecostalism began with a move of God – a revival. This happened on a Jewish Festival called the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1). This was when the Holy Spirit was given and poured out, resulting in believers who were baptised in the Spirit and spoke in languages they had not learned – called speaking in tongues (Acts 2:4), and thousands of people being converted to Christ as believers. Therefore, the birth of the Church described in the early chapters of Acts began as a Pentecostal Church. This church promoted the authority of God’s Word; the need to repent and to be born-again as a convert to Christ; for believers to be filled/baptised in the Holy Spirit; and, being empowered by the Holy Spirit to live a godly and fruitful life. Added to this, the original Church described in Acts was courageously evangelistic. Every move of God (a ‘revival’) has summoned the church of that day to return to this original agenda. But with every revival there is not just blessings that result, there are also extremes that lead people into error. Today there are 279 million Pentecostal Christians around the world.

The lesson of Church history also shows that with every move of God there are indeed both blessings and extremes. We see evidence of this as early as the writing of the epistle to the Corinthians after there was a move of God that had resulted in a large church being planted. Many of the converts had been baptised in the Holy Spirit – but some extremes had then crept in. A few concerned Corinthians had written to the apostle Paul asking him to address their concerns. There were believers speaking in tongues during the service, one after another after another for a major part of their service – and doing so simply to elevate themselves and belittle those who were not yet baptised in the Spirit. The result was that Paul brought order to chaos in the Corinthian church by correcting their unbalanced use of spiritual gifts in their services (1 Cor. 14:40).

We also see blessing and extremes in modern revivals as well. One of the greatest global revivals, occurred near the turn of the twentieth century and has been described as a modern day Pentecost. As with the very earliest outpouring of the Spirit in the first century, this twentieth century revival has unfolded also with extremes which have arisen and integrated into modern Pentecostalism.

 

The Blessings of Revivals: A fresh understanding of Scripture

In 1898 all around the world it seems that God was challenging certain Christian leaders to look more closely at His Word. Revival outbreaks began in South Africa, the United Kingdom (particularly England and Wales), the United States (particularly Topeka Kansas), and Australia (particularly Good News Hall, Sunshine). These leaders recognised that despite being taught that the Bible said the gifts of the Spirit referred to in First Corinthians had ended in the first century – the Bible did not actually teach that at all. Leaders, such as Charles F. Parham, William J. Seymour, and C. L. Greenwood, began to preach and teach other believers what they had discovered and experienced. Thousands upon thousands of people around the turn of the century experienced what they described as the baptism in the Holy Spirit where they “spoke in tongues” as described in First Corinthians chapters 12 and 14.

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. / For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, / to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, / to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. / All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.
First Corinthians 12:7-11

For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. / On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. / The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. / Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.
First Corinthians 14:2-5

What led to these leaders ushering in this outpouring was the realisation that there ancient principles for correctly interpreting God’s Word. This is referreed to as ‘hermeneutics’. These principles included:

1. Read the Bible in Books not bits to draw out what it really taught (this is called the principle of exegesis rather than eisegesis),
2. Let Scripture interpret Scripture (this is called the principle of the plain to interpret the obscure),
3. Never interpret a verse of Scripture in a way that it contradicts the overall message of Scripture (this is called the principle of context).

This is why Pentecostals quickly saw the need to develop Bible Schools – not simply to teach a ‘Pentecostal’ perspective on Scripture – but simply to teach what the Scriptures actually taught! This was a foundational pillar for the Pentecostal revival.

 

The Extremes of Revivals: A distortion of the Scriptures

An ‘extreme’ emphasis is often just a good thing out of balance. Consider the air we breath. It is the perfect balance of various gases: 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. What might happen if the rate of nitrogen or oxygen went up or down by just 1%? One percent either way may not seem like a big deal, but the effects would result in death for plants, sea-life, animals, and ultimately humans – even though the change may not be immediately perceptible until it is too late.

Truth is a good thing. But even an over-emphasis on a truth can cause an imbalance that can be destructive. Strong leadership is a good thing but when it is out of balance it can cause great harm. This is why moves of God (revivals) are both a wonderful opportunity for renewal and conversions but are also a cause of great danger if a truth is taken out of balance. Consider the Chinese characters for “crisis opportunity”. What the Chinese recognise as a crisis is also a moment for opportunity.

What happens when a revival truth even in God’s Word is taken out of balance?

Consider the following:

Abuses of charismatic leadership. Nearly every revival leads to the rise of highly charismatic leaders who have a magnetic personality and spiritual giftedness. But it also often leads to them promoting an over-emphasis of some Scriptural truth. This leads to a ‘novel’ teaching where ‘novel’ means “a new, not obvious, never before heard idea.” Examples of this kind of novel teaching includes:

(i) What the Bible means by ‘prophecy’. Prophecy in the Bible is either forth-telling what God has already said; or, fore-telling what God is saying He is going to do. Human nature is drawn to the person who claims that they can fore-tell the future. This has often led some charismatic leaders to claim that they are fore-telling future events as if they and God were in joint-partnership to ‘declare’ the future. They will often take out of context Romans 4:17 to justify their ‘authority’ to fore-tell:

As it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
Romans 4:17

The claim is that since God can “call into existence the things that do not exist” – then Spirit-filled believers can ‘prophetically’ do so too! But this claim to have prophetic fore-telling authority is a misrepresentation of the context that it is God alone who can do this, not us. This idea of ‘prophetic authority’ to ‘declare’ what must happen became an embarrassing practice in the 1950s when these ‘prophetic’ teachers misused Isaiah 45:11 where they claimed that God was instructing His prophets: “you command Me.”

Thus says the LORD,
The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
“Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons;
And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.
Isaiah 45:11 NKJV

But the context was not God instructing anyone to “command” Him, but, to paraphrase, actually saying, “How dare you! How dare you command Me!” It is not an instruction or even a permission – it was a rebuke!

The church today should be prophetic. The New Testament Scriptures commands us not to despise prophecy (1 Thess. 5:20). But this must be done in the light of the next verse, First Thessalonians 5:21, which says, “but test everything; hold fast what is good.” Most of our prophetic declarations should be on the basis of God’s already established Word, which is readily available to test any prophecy with. In fact, in this light, most of our preaching should be forth-telling prophecy because the primary role of a preacher is to declare God’s established Word.

The danger for a charismatic Christian leader is that he or she begins to label everything they say as a word directly from God to him or her. Even the original apostles met in Jerusalem to discuss their differences and what they each claimed was from God (Acts 15).

¶ But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” / And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. / So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. / When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. / But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” / ¶ The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.
Acts 15:1-6

Interestingly, their conclusion, announced by James (the brother of Jesus), was based on what God had already said in His Word (Acts 15:15-18) which prophesied that God would one day bring Gentiles (non-Jews) into His Kingdom:

And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, /
¶ “‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will restore it, / that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by My Name,
says the Lord, who makes these things / known from of old.’
Acts 15:15-18

When their letter was written to be sent to the churches it commenced with, “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (‘us’ not ‘me’).

Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, / it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, / men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 15:24-26

(ii) What the Bible teaches about miracles and healing. By definition, ‘miracles’ are extraordinary acts of God. They do not operate on ‘laws’ or by following a ‘formula’. This would be to operate “by the flesh” Paul says to the Galatians (Gal. 3:3). The apostle Paul’s question to the Galatians, “Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” (Gal. 3:2). Miracles and any gift from God is an act of the Lord’s grace. Even the apostle Paul who presumably had the ministry of miracles (Acts 19:11) was denied relief by God from his “thorn in the flesh” (which many scholars believe was his failing eyesight, refer to 2 Cor. 12:7-10).

It is simply not true that all believers can be “taught” to operate in the gift of miracles. Note well Paul’s rhetorical question to the Corinthians in which he has already made the answer: “No!”, plain to them:

Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
First Corinthians 12:29

We should pray for miracles and for people to be healed. We should do this with the faith that God can grant this miracle or healing. But we must always acknowledge it is God who is the Miracle Worker and the Healer and that the means by which God may answer our request may not by at the time we want it or in the way we want Him to do it.

(iii) What the Bible teaches about using our minds. It is surprising to me that despite Jesus commending the Scriptures for His followers to love the Lord your God with all your mind (Matt. 22:37) – that some revival leaders actually teach the opposite! Their encouragement to disobey the Scriptures comes disguised as statements like — “Don’t question me, just accept what I say”, “Don’t use your head, just use your heart”, “You’re ‘over-thinking’ the Bible, just accept it by faith.” This kind of attitude can even be produced in a church service by ‘mindlessly’ singing one line of a song over and over and over again. But God does not want His people to stop using their minds, or to empty their minds, or to be lulled into thoughtlessly singing a mantra. Consider what the New Testament teaches about the relationship of the believer’s mind to their devotion to Christ:

¶ For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think,
but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Romans 12:3

When I was a child, I spoke like a child,
I thought like a child,
I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man,
I gave up childish ways.
First Corinthians 13:11

¶ Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.
First Corinthians 14:20

And one of my favourite verses about thinking like a Christian:

Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Second Timothy 2:7

Why Pentecostals Must Be Discerning

Discernment is not just the ability to distinguish right from wrong. Discernment is the ability to distinguish right from nearly write. This can be difficult especially for Pentecostals because they are more open to the supernatural aspects of Christianity because of their embracing of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives and churches. But this openness comes with vulnerabilities and dangers.

To avert the dangers of these vulnerabilities Pentecostals need to be discerning and biblically informed. There is nothing wrong necessarily with exciting music, sophisticated stage and auditorium lighting (enhanced by smoke-machines), high-tech multimedia presentations which even put the speaker up on a screen before the congregation as “larger than life” — but it is not what makes Pentecostals Pentecostal. Over the past few decades several concerning trends have infiltrated the Pentecostal churches that are deeply troubling. For example, one very popular Revivalist leader wrote a book called When Heaven Invades Earth in which he teaches that “Jesus did His miracles as a man in right relationship to God…not as God” (pg. 29), and on page 79, “He [Jesus] laid aside his divinity.” He goes on to explain that since Jesus did all of His miracles “as a man” – therefore, everything Jesus could do, we can do as well because we are filled with the Holy Spirit just as He was! This may sound biblical – especially when also considering Philippians 2:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who,
though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Philippians 2:5-7

But did Jesus empty Himself of His divinity as it seems to suggest in Philippians 2:7? The emptying of Christ described in Philippians 2 is known as the kenosis of Christ (from the Greek word for emptied is ekenosis). But this was not – and could not – be Christ emptying of His divinity. When the Church leaders met in Chalcedon in AD 451 to discuss how Christ could be both fully God and fully man, they coined a term: the hyper-static union of Christ to describe this mystery of Jesus being 100% God and 100% man. Their resolution:

…[Jesus] Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures; inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ…

That is, when Jesus Christ became man, He emptied Himself of His glory (the kenosis) but at no point did He empty Himself of His deity. The reason this is critically important is because these revivalist preachers then conclude that if Jesus was just a man who was filled with the Holy Spirit and He could do extraordinary miracles – then so can we if we are believes who are filled with the Holy Spirit! This is the kind extreme false teachings that arise, as Pastor Phil Hills often says, “on the edges of revival”. I offer this as an example of the need for discernment among believers – especially Spirit-filled believers.

Perhaps you can now recognise some of the other extremes that I have alluded to in what I have offered. It is my hope that God will indeed once again pour out His Spirit on our nation and that there will be Australian Pentecostal church leaders who have learned from past mistakes and are able to shepherd a great and lasting harvest into Christ’s Kingdom as a result – and do so led by the Spirit in a godly and thoughtful way.

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.