His Nature, in His Church

It is well understood that God is much too complex to confine to a few words in a little chapter in this little book.  My efforts here are restricted to setting simple markers concerning God's nature. My hope is that it will be basic enough to prove secure through the attacks of  religious and denominational confusion. God's nature is seen in His Holiness, Love and Power. These three streams of Christianity each have their own focus.

These three streams must eventually become the "River Of Life".

and other denominations divided byAuthority, Doctrine, Property or Finances.

Any fresh understanding of doctrine should be in unity with the apostolic doctrine and the Biblical traditions of the Early Church. And most important,

SHOULD BE CONFIRMATION BY THE HOLY  SPIRIT WITH SIGNS FOLLOWING

The Holy Spirit will always confirm any anointed gathering (2 Tim.3:1-5) Doctrine should always be on the altar of God's grace and made alive by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Fellowship is always incomplete without the presence of the Holy Spirit in His love, holiness and power and the balance of God's nature. Ministries need to learn from each other in order to come into a valid Biblical unity.  There is but one and only one Church of Jesus Christ of which all believers, disciples and elders are members. 

Each stream in the body of Christ has a precious truth. Each stream needs to lovingly come back together if we are to see the glory of Jesus Christ on earth as it is in Heaven. The Charismatic need to ask the Orthodox to come and teach on order and structure and the Orthodox need to ask the Baptist to come and teach on grace and the Baptist and Orthodox need to ask the Charismatic to come and share on how to minister in the power of God for the work of Christ. Buildings in a local area should be open to any elder who would share a clear gospel message about Jesus. The elders in the body of Christ should openly support and trust one another and trade pulpits in faith as easily as they go out to lunch with each other. Then, and only then, we will start to see Jesus in all of His glory. The stuff belongs to Jesus, it is not for the building of personal kingdoms of religious traditions. We must come to have the same care one for another as our Lord has for us. When the money flows together for the Glory of the Kingdom in a given area then we will be getting close to our Lord's teachings on unity.

Warnings Concerning Religious Imbalances

If  an unbalanced church matures it will tend to first lose God's power, then holiness, and then God's love to become indulgent, liberal, and finally to become only social and apostate.

Holy Spirit:  Fruits, Gifts & Ministries
(Galatians, 5:22-26)

Fruits of the Holy Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.  Let us not be desirous of vain glory,  provoking one another, envying one another .

The gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit will always find a foundation in the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is produced by our love for our Lord Jesus Christ. In understanding His great love for us by the cost to Him of our salvation,we love Him. It is only when we completely trust Him with the very core of our being and come to the " Unity of the Faith" (Eph.4:13) that we will see the doors really open to the gifts and the ministries of the Holy Spirit. Gifts and ministries are given by the Holy Spirit for the purposes of God in building "His Church". They are used (and sometime abused), and sometimes totally forgotten. However, they do not certify a  ministry in the Church without the confirmation of local servant elders in consensual unity as directed by the Holy Spirit. The organized church seems to have forgotten to read all of the directions for the construction of  "His Church" (Eph. 4: 1-32). In the final analysis all will be vanity in any building for Jesus unless bathed at all times in the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26). Any effective ministry will grow only by loving influence in love, holiness and power. If there is not true united prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, The ministry, in time, will become just a another of man's well meaning clubs or organizations.

Discipleship and Other Methods of Training by the Holy Spirit

Personal: Direct, by the Holy Spirit; (Paul in the desert).

Apprenticeship: Along side as mentor or teacher;  as Paul with Timothy).

Forum: Interactive teaching; (Paul on Mars Hill).

Liturgical: Training by repetition, Hebrew-Christian traditions.

Prophetical: God speaks directly through the elders & disciples.

House Church: The Holy Spirit moves in community for vision, correction, evangelism or the Gifts of the Spirit in the gatherings.

Gifts
(1 Cor. 12:6-11)

Please remember these are gifts and not ministries. The believer is to build their faith so that any one or more of these gifts may flow through them at any time by the power of the Holy Spirit for the Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. These gifts are given through the believer at a point of faith and need, and then the gift is given and is gone until the next gift is needed and given. In this way the Holy Spirit encourages supernatural faith. The least of the gifts, tongues seem to help pave the way for the needed growth in the use of the other gifts.

1. Wisdom:
God's direct wisdom to meet a specific need. Sometimes wisdom is used with knowledge received as another gift from someone else.

2. Word of knowledge:  
Knowledge may be God's revelation of personal inside information about a matter. It always requires God's wisdom as to what to do.

3. Faith:      
Supernatural gift of believing faith for power from the Holy Spirit to meet a specific need or emergency.

4. Healing:    
A supernatural gift to heal in a needed situation.

5. Miracles     
A supernatural gift of altering physical circumstances in an emergency situation for the glory of the Kingdom of God.

6. Prophecy     
The gift of allowing God to speak His special direct message through a yielded vessel for edification, exhortation or comfort.

7. Discerning of spirits   
The ability to know by the Holy Spirit of a demonic, counterfeit or false spirit as in contrast to the Holy Spirit. Sometimes this can be a closest friend.

8. Tongues     
The ability to share God's thoughts in an unlearned language in an unknown language for personal prayer, singing, evangelism, or church growth. I have counted seven types of "tongues" noted  in scripture.

9.  Interpretation of tongues  
Ability to understand and share a message for God in the interpretation of tongues for building the Church

Ministers
Body Life Ministries, Elders in training   (Romans, 12:68).

Deacon/Minister: Gifting in helping with the physical support of the needy saints of a community under the direction of the council of elders. A deacon is a position of training for leadership as with Barnabas (Acts 4: 33-37). Gifted in having a surplus for helping others with needs. To minister by enabling, lifting or supporting others, a ministry of "helps"

Exhortation: Gifted to help people see the need to repent and be forgiven and restored into God's blessing and comfort through anointed words.

Giving: Gifted in the stewardship of holding the Lord's physical resources and to minister to the financial support our Lord's kingdom on earth.

Ruling: Gifted to help give support to the church and to help organize the affairs and needs of an apostolic company. This ministry it to help remove the administrative care of the Saints from the Elders that they may have more time to minister to the spiritual needs of the Saints.

Mercy:    
Gifted in extending God's love and mercy in times of deep needs, also may help converts learn to receive grace and to forgive themselves. This gift is the ability to see sinners through the eyes of God.

Elders / Bishops: (overseers)
Council of Elders, (Eph. 4:11-16,  Acts 15)

Apostles: (Defined as "first among equals" in the Orthodox Church)

Anointed as a wise master-builder sent of God for the starting of churches. He is a visionary. A  C.E.O. or Chief Executive Officer. He will seek to maintain unity in the bond of peace. He will be the primary missionary, he will not be interested in building on the ministry of others nor include the divisions of the religious church systems. In modern day ministries he will seek to guide and bring order and establish leaders but only if requested. Seventeen apostles are listed in the New Testament. Some modern day apostles are: Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel or the late John Wimber of Vinyard Christian Fellowship.

Prophet:

Anointed with a concern mainly for quality control in the Church. He is God's building inspector and will try to speak God's message without fear. He will be concerned about keeping any gathering on course with the Biblical teachings of the apostles and prophets. He will be unconcerned about rejection and will probably be an introvert. A Godly prophet will be the  target for many rocks as he will seem to be meddling in the affairs of others as he does His work. God speaks through prophets to make changes and corrections in the Church. Derek Prince is an example of a modern day prophet.

Evangelist:

Anointed with a God-given love for souls. He will be able to share visions of the Kingdom like he had been there. He will be able to share the great mysteries and the vision of life and death. He will be a spiritual salesman gifted in the winning of souls. An evangelist will have much power in the supernatural for healing and deliverance. Billy Graham is an excellent example of an evangelical evangelist but lacks the balance of the Biblical charismatic demonstration of power.

Pastor:   

A pastor is anointed to shepherd a local flock. He is called to bind up the wounded. He is a counselor, a friend. He is responsible for bringing the parts together (manufacturing). He is commissioned by the Lord to bring a fellowship of disciples  into maturity and reproduction. He is a builder of baskets to hold fruit in a local area, usually a ministry of about 70 - 120 saints. He loves to mentor and encourages leadership. When His House Church gets crowded, he will look to the elders for someone the Lord has called to assume the care of a new House Church fellowship and a new ministry will be born.

Teachers:   

Teachers are anointed to share the Word of God in great detail. He will love the study of Greek and Hebrew for the deeper understandings of doctrine. He will enjoy working closely with the Pastor to help supply needed parts. He likes to dig into the why of things. He will want to know how everything works in the Kingdom of God. He wants everyone to study and memorize scripture. A teacher is a real book worm, sometimes not very organized and usually highly independent. He will tend to supply and polish the needed parts for the Pastor.

Ministry of Elders

The Early Church sought a plural consensus in the authority of the eldership as per (Eph. 4:11).  There was always one who was called by the Holy Spirit to be the "presiding elder" or "first among equals," with the calling of an apostle, if possible: i.e., moderator.  His office was to see that everyone had free access and voice on the issues under consideration and that the servant elders of the Lord moved with the heart consensus in true unity. It was important that all of the servant elders then  present and those concerned by the matter were present. Spiritual Unity was always more important than any timing or action in the spiritual guidance of the House Church or local ministry. "Abiding in the vine," (John 15:1) is imperative for any true spiritual direction.

Problem: Many elders have become afraid to allow the Holy Spirit to really be in control of the church. They feel that things may get out of hand. They feel they might be embarrassed or exposed as ineffective. Think about it: if God is not in control of His church do we really think we can, through fear, program it into order? Who then are we really protecting, God or ourselves? Are we so presumptuous as to think we can help Him by making sure we solve all of His problems so we won't look bad? Our fears have basically put out the fire of the Holy Spirit in the church. Fear is faith going backwards. It is the glue that holds the kingdom of darkness together. In God there is no fear at all and He has not given us the spirit of fear, but love, power and a sound mind. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. Meetings must be free in the Holy Spirit or they will be dead and boring. We must take the fear lid off if we are to see Jesus. We must stop pushing Christian entertainment and programs at a theater church and go back to having fellowship with King Jesus and enjoy His wonderful love, Holy Kingdom and power in the Holy Spirit. 

"Wagner - Hout's Questionnaire":   A testing to help discern gifts and ministries that may help guide you into your future ministry. Available through Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. (Gospel Light Pub.)

"Foundations For Righteous Living": This book by Dr. Derek Prince is excellent in helping insure a balanced Christian foundation in basic doctrine. Web access: Derek Prince, Florida (Creation House).

Authority Use & Abuse

Jesus Christ is in the process of building a kingdom. A kingdom is not like a republic, democracy or even a dictatorship. A kingdom is the epitome of  the ideal governmental systems. If the king of the kingdom is perfect in love and judgement and has only positive attributes of character and love for his people then his rule will be the best possible form of government.

Unlike any other Kingdom the world has ever seen the kingdom of Jesus Christ will be totally built on the loving influence of friendship and brotherly love. No manipulation, fear, pride, threat, bribe or rejection will be allowed in the building of the structure. But in order to build a kingdom of this nature the living foundation stones must be carefully selected so that the structure will not fall down, ever.  Peter was the first to be called a stone (Matt 16:18) (I Peter 2:4-).

The faith for being included as a living stone in the kingdom of Jesus Christ is first a matter calling and of deep desire. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ is being built upon love and faith.  Its counterpart, the kingdom of darkness, is being built upon fear and unbelief. Fear is the glue that holds the kingdom of darkness together. Fear is faith going backwards. In perfect love and in God there is no fear at all. (1 John 4:16-18).

The Kingdom  must be built on faith. Authority in the Kingdom is from the bottom up and not the top down. Faith in Godly servant authority comes from the disciple to the elder. A disciple who feels the need to be under authority in the Kingdom must not allow himself to be manipulated by any top heavy authority. Even Jesus could not do many mighty works in Nazareth because of their unbelief. Jesus has told us that His Kingdom is a servant authority kingdom, the reverse in design of all of all of the world kingdoms. Authority in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is secured and maintained in loving faith.   Love and faith are the results of being saved. covered, blessed, enlightened and cared for. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ is not set up for the benefit of those in authority but for the benefit for those who have the need of faith, truth, love, growth and protection.

Abuse of authority has two great judgments in scripture for the religious counterfeits. There are also many shades of little kingdoms in between. One judgment for abuse is headed towards Babylon, the world's religious system as it becomes at the departure of the Holy Spirit and the Saints of God.  Babylon is a true dictatorship with the ultimate design of religious slavery. The other judgement is set for Laodicea, the democratic religious system where, through fear, the religiously rebellious have come to rest at the opposite side of the pendulum. Neither of these systems will produce good fruit as they have been built on the flaws of fear and pride. In Babylon, fear and pride is used as a club where you will lose salvation if you do not submit. In Laodicea fear and  pride are used to protest coming under the authority of the dictator Babylon. The religious pendulum is in full swing with perverted doctrine on both sides and there is no peace. Fear and pride rules in both directions for the blind. Denominational kingdoms are built in direct contradiction to the prayers of Jesus Christ in John 17.  Babylon says, "Serve Me, I sit as a Queen." Laodicea says, "It's up to us, let's vote." The Holy Spirit waits for the church to begin to listen, trust only Him and the Holy Scriptures. There the yoke is easy, the burden light.

The anointed leadership under Jesus Christ is a consensual relationship of servant elders. These elders must be men, anointed of God, selected by the Holy Spirit and acknowledged by the Church as holding at least one of the five eldership positions in the Body of Christ as found, ( Eph. 4:1-16).

Disciples who have faith for these leaders will draw these men into action. Disciples will freely, lovingly and with faith submit to a mentor relationship with an elder for spiritual growth. The Holy Spirits calls and the disciple is drawn only by faith and love. NOTE: This is no conscription or manipulation on the part of the elder. The disciple is under no obligation to continue in the relationship without faith and growth. The mentor relationship must produce a spiritual maturing process in the students life. An elder must minister with open hands. Jesus was the master. He trained three men, then twelve, then seventy, and finally after three and one-half years He began the Church with only one hundred and twenty disciples and a few personally trained elders. The Holy Spirit was then able to penetrate our world of darkness (Rev. 12:12) on the basis of this faith and basic discipleship.

This is also the reason that Ananais and Sapphira were quickly and severally judged in the book of Acts. The Holy Spirit would not allow the sanctity and power base of faith in the newly formed Church to be adulterated by their greed, fear and unbelief. Why do we allow it today? We have become religious and well-organized but unable to do the first work that the Early Church did (Acts 5: 14-16).

We have yet to learn how to lovingly yield to Godly authority and understand how it builds in the Kingdom of God. Godly Authority comes from righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. It comes from being of one mind and one spirit. God wants us to be His friends. He wants us to find great pleasure in exploring His love, His creation and serving Him. He wants to fill His creation with Himself in His forever family who have faith for Him and trust Him in every facet of their lives. He is making us into a kingdom of priests and kings unto His name. He will not allow further destruction or rebellion when this qualifying time of testing is completed. Only His friends will be with Him in the future. Only the unity of John 17 will remain.

• Servant Elders need to acknowledge the five offices given to each other by the Holy Spirit. An elder in one church, gathering or fellowship must be received in His office and gifting by the other servant elders in the local community of Christ. Faith is required to release an eldership ministry in the Holy Spirit for building our Lord's Kingdom. Matt.10:41 If there is no faith for the ministry then the ministry will be lost.
   
• Servant Elders will have the same care for one for another in financial support. Great care should be given to any finances for absolute objectivity and uniformity in fairness. This is not true today. One elder is rich while another is poor. All elders who labor in the flock will receive double  honor, (2 Tim. 5:17)   if the foundations are correctly. It seems that being a working elder was not a problem for the Early Church as Paul in some situations was totally self supporting, (Acts 18:3).
   
•  The physical facilities (churches) in a given area should be totally open without restrictions to all of the Body of Christ as per the need to do the work of the Lord. Unity in God's property is also part of unity in spirit. Many small meetings are full of the Holy Spirit and many big church buildings are dead. Facilities should be used according to the need. Property owned by the King of Kings should be administered by the Holy Spirit through the plurality and consensus of the Elders
   
• Any gifts to the ministry should be distributed through the consensual unity of the Servant Elders in a given area by the Deacons of the Church according to the specific directions of the Holy Spirit. Complete authority by scripture resides within the Council of Elders for the distribution of the tithes and offerings for the ministry of Christ for discipleship.
   
• An elder must be free to work on any and all doctrine until they come into the unity of the faith and the bond of peace. They will need and must be given freedom to slaughter the denominational and religious sacred cows. Elders will then share that common ground and eliminate the confusion and divisions among the brethren. To agree to disagree or to not fully understand a point of view  will not bring unity. But to fast and pray until all local elders come into true spiritual unity is to release the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no other way than true unity for the building of the Body of Christ. To teach that which knowingly causes division among the sheep is destructive and prideful. Elders in true unity will bring unity to the flock of God.
   
• The Kingdom of God in Christ Jesus cannot be built on the foundations of pride, fear, manipulation, threat, bribe or any other of the many negative carnal motivations. Elders must come into true authority in God's Kingdom. Elders must learn to only use only loving influence as the glue for construction. The Creator only uses faith and loving influence in creation.  Should we not follow His example and  learn to use this only and most effective means for the winning of souls and for building The Kingdom? At one time I asked the Holy Spirit for His definition of love. He said to me, "Love is the highest good for the other person, regardless of personal cost."
   
• Ultimately there will be the Twelve Apostolic Elders as the foundations and the Twelve Tribes as the gates to the City of God,  New Jerusalem  (Rev. 21:12)  Find a Servant Elder and ask him to be your teacher, mentor & guide.  Learn all that he can share with you.  If you get to a wall or a ceiling then go find another Elder who knows more and ask him to mentor you and be your teacher.  If you help the Elder with His physical load  then he may have more time to help you with your spiritual growth. 

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