Category Archives: Christ

February 8, 2012

What kind of life is God pleased with?

By Josh

This is a re-post from my other blog, Reconstructing the First Century Story. I thought it might be beneficial to people, so I figured I would bring it over here in order to reach a wider audience. (As it turns out, even fewer people are interested in New Testament history than are interested in the themes I write about at this site… alas! ;) )  Either way, I hope you enjoy it!

“He will be great” (Luke 1:32).

That’s what the angel said to Mary about Jesus before he was born. And in every respect it turned out to be true. His greatness was not like that of the Roman or Greek conception; his was the greatness of a servant.

Have we ever really stopped to consider that?

Think about it this way: Jesus came to be baptized by John in the Jordan river in A.D. 28 when he was about 33 or 34 years old. It was here the heavens were opened, the Spirit of God descended like a dove, and the voice of God was heard saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16,17).

Notice, as of that moment in time Jesus had not yet healed a single person, he had not raised the dead, he had not made the deaf to hear, he had not said and done unprecedented things all throughout the region of Galilee and beyond. For all we know, all Jesus had done from his youth until that time was live and work as a carpenter in Nazareth, attend the synagogue each week and Jewish festivals each year, and just be human.

And with that normal life, His Father was well pleased.

The greatness of Jesus was not just all the miracles we read about or the unparalleled teachings or anything at all spectacular that He did. His greatness was primarily found in those thirty-three silent years, where he simply lived a normal human life in fellowship with His Father… deity and humanity co-habiting as one.

This is the kind of life which causes God to smile: a normal human life lived in fellowship with the Divine. So you and I may relieve ourselves this very moment of the pressure to be something “great” according to this world or religion’s standards. God just wants normal people doing normal things in oneness with Himself. That’s the goal of the gospel. That’s the heart of it all. That is what God has brought and is bringing us to “in Christ.”

4 comments | posted in Christ, fellowship, life, life in Christ

February 2, 2012

Christ is the conquering of death!

By Josh

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about death, and how people are driven by the fear of death. I’ve also been thinking about my dad. This should come as no surprise seeing that now is the time of year he passed away.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “Death reveals that the world is not as it should be but that it stands in need of redemption. Christ alone is the conquering of death.” I couldn’t agree more. When I sat at my dad’s bedside shortly after he passed, I was struck by the paradox of death: On one hand nature is full of it. Death has a wonderful purpose in the cycle of seasons, and all things die that they might live again in some renewed form. So death is natural.

On the other hand, anyone who has watched a loved one struggle against terminal cancer and eventually give way under that beast can tell you that there is nothing natural about death. Despite the mystery of death and resurrection being written into the very fabric of the universe, there remains another side to death’s face-an ugly side-which I dare say no honest man can face up to without being brought to realize that something is wrong with our world. The pain, the emotional trauma, the heart-wrenching effect on family and friends… all together it goes to show, like Bonhoeffer said, that something is amiss. Death is the evidence of a breakdown in the original, God-intended order of things.

The writer of Hebrews was firmly convinced that God came into our world in the person of Jesus Christ for one mighty purpose: 

…that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. (Hebrews 2:14,15)

Those are some heavy words.  But isn’t it true that people are driven by the fear of death? What else can explain man’s tireless efforts to preserve his life, to prolong it, to avoid pain at any cost, and hopefully, ultimately, to overcome death altogether and live forever? Death is an enemy-the last enemy, according to Paul (1 Corinthians 15:26)-and deep down in his heart man knows this, and he is terrified by it.

Now, I understand some cool-headed atheists out there will deny this. Come to find out, they are not at all afraid of dying. That’s fine, I understand where they’re coming from. But at the end of the day I just can’t believe it, because they’re human just like I am. We’re made of the same stuff. And this instinct-this primeval fear of dying-goes deep into the heart of man, whether he cares to admit it or not.

This is where the significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ comes into play. Without the resurrection there is no Christian message. We can go on and on about how Jesus “died for us” and everything that entails, but the fact of the matter is, until the Lord rose from the dead there was no good news to tell. Consider the two disciples on the road to Emmaus: Christ died, and though they may not have understood it, he died for them. But that meant nothing to them or to anyone as long as he stayed dead just like everyone else. Just like Lao Tze, just like Confuscius, just like the Buddha, and just like every other man and woman, even the great ones who brightened their little corner of history with flashes of light and truth.

The good news is in the resurrection, for “Christ alone is the conquering of death.” Until death is defeated, man is not free. Rather, he is “subject to lifelong slavery” through the fear of what is to come, namely death.

So I’ve been thinking about all this and how it pertains to my life and the thoughts I have about my dad. And I can say with all honesty, through my faith and experience of Christ in the Spirit, that the resurrection of the Lord has worked an incredibly practical effect in my life. I wrestle with fear and doubt just like the next guy, but I can testify that the sting of death is gone for me. From the day my dad fell asleep until now, I can say that I sense him with me as much and sometimes more than I did before when he was living in the flesh. What’s more, I can say that with each passing day, even as I move on with my family and my life, I am not haunted by the fear that I am losing more of dad through the  passing of time. A lot of people feel that way, I think. They feel that as the initial trauma goes away, time passes, and memories begin to fade, they are somehow moving further and further away from their loved one. I have the opposite sense. For me every day is not a drifting away from dad, despite the pain I feel from missing him; on the contrary, with each day that passes I have a growing sense of closeness to him… a drawing together rather than a fading away. 

This is the reality of Christ in me, the hope of glory! Nothing in life can amount to this experience which is mine, and I hope yours, by faith. It is a tremendous joy, a liberation, which I can’t fathom knowing any other way. Yes, something is terribly wrong with our world-death reveals it-and in this life we will have pain and sorrow. ”But take heart,” Jesus said to the twelve, and through their testimony to us, “for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33)!

5 comments | posted in Christ, death, resurrection

January 25, 2012

Watching my son, seeing the Lord

By Josh

With utmost confidence I can say that my wife and kids have been the greatest teachers in my life when it comes to knowing God. Watching our kids grow up I can see the Lord so clearly just by being with them and observing the way they are. 

For instance, the other day I was with my son in his room. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere on this blog, my son absolutely loves Thomas the Train. In fact, it would be safe to say he’s a Thomas fanatic. Anyway, he often asks me to play trains with him. The other night was one of those times.

Josh (my son) received a new set from my brother and his wife for Christmas. It’s the biggest Thomas set we own to date. So when Josh told me he wanted to take it apart and put it back together all by himself, I was a little hesitant. The fact of the matter is I was afraid I’d have to do it myself if he wasn’t able to figure it out!

However, I was in for a pleasant surprise. Josh took it all apart, laid the tracks and pieces in their respective piles, and began to rebuild. I merely sat to the side and watched. Now, unless you’re a dad or have ever been a dad you may not understand this, but I was absolutely delighted as I watched my boy work. Piece by piece he put that set back together-thinking it through, correcting his mistakes, and changing this piece for that. There was even a point at which I thought he’d messed up the design and would have to go back and fix it, but come to find out (as I did at the end) he was right all along! I was impressed, to say the least.

Anyway, I can’t adequately describe the joy I had watching my son build that track. To see his creativity, to share in his discovery, and to express my pride and delight at his building in such a way that brought a smile to his face when he was finished gave me an awesome insight into the Lord. I could sense the mutual joy between Father and Son as they counseled and created our universe, taking delight in one another as they labored together.  I sensed the joy they share in everyday life-creating, molding, shaping, touching lives, and doing all that they do. It’s indescribable, really. But I got a taste of it in that moment watching my four-year old do his thing, as the student, shall we say, became the teacher. :)

I’d be interested to hear any similar insights or experiences you might have. It doesn’t have to be a father-and-son thing, either, just some way in which you saw the beauty of the Lord through a relationship, a happening, or whatever. Here’s your chance to chime right in.

4 comments | posted in Christ, family life, fellowship, life, life in Christ

January 11, 2012

Worship in the New Testament

By Josh

With all the talk in Christian circles about worship, worship services, experiencing God through worship, and so on, you’d think the New Testament was full of such sentiment, too, right?

Guess again.

The idea that humanity was created to worship God, or that one day when we die we’ll all go to heaven and have one big worship party around the throne for endless ages is nowhere to be found in scripture. Even in the story of creation, where you might (rightly) assume we’d be given some view of God’s original intention for mankind, we find no such element. Strange, is it not? We do find some mention of eating and drinking, of walking, of bearing God’s image and exercising authority, but not a single word about worship. Nowhere does God say, “Adam, you are a worm of the dust and I am Almighty God. I have created you to worship me for who I am.”

And what about the New Testament? We Christians believe that God became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. And though Jesus’ disciples were slow to grasp the significance of who He was, there were flashes of light here and there which helped them to see into the mystery surrounding this unconventional Rabbi in whose footsteps they were following.

So did they spend their days prostrated at his feet? Singing praises and chanting hallelujah as they swayed from side to side to the heavenly music? Actually, no. In all the gospels we only find one or two instances where it says “they worshipped him.” And in each of those moments their worship was a spontaneous response to some clear, heaven-sent revelation to their hearts concerning Christ.

Looking at my own life and relationship with the Lord, I find it to be very similar to this pattern. In all honesty I can think of only a few times when true, spontaneous worship has risen from my spirit unto the Lord. And each time it was in response to some sighting I’d just received of Christ.

For instance, I can take you back to the very moment and the spot on the bed where I was sitting in the room of a friend at college when I first said the word ”hallelujah” in true and living response to a revelation of the Lord. It was during a time of fellowship as I sat listening to some brothers share about their experience of God. As one of them spoke it was like a light turned on inside my spirit-some connection was made-and I saw the Lord in a way I’d never seen Him before. Instantly, without thought, from hidden depths within me, worship arose and came out of my mouth in that word which I’d used rhetorically countless times before. 

This is not to say I was never sincere in my attempts to ”worship” God, or ”press in” to His presence in all those church services from the past. I was, actually. But so much work remained to be done in me (and still does) in the way of what the writer to the Hebrews calls “dividing between soul and spirit.” I had no idea that the majority of my thoughts and feelings of connecting with God in those moments was taking place mostly in the realm of my soul, and therefore was very natural and not spiritual. Unfortunately, this is what so much of what passes for “worship” across the Christian world today seems to be based upon: A highly orchestrated emotional experience (or, for you thinkers out there, an intellectual experience) masquerading as fellowship with the living God.

The soul is an incredible thing, don’t get me wrong. Our minds are God-given. The intellect, the emotions, the will-all are wonderful in their proper place. But they are there to express the life of God residing in our spirit, not to be the source of our living themselves. This is where we all know so very little compared with what we ought to know. This, in fact, makes up a great deal of the Christian quest: learning to live by the life of God in our spirit rather than the natural life we each possess in ourselves. And what a long and arduous quest it is! But well worth the effort, if you ask me. I was never fully convinced I was connecting with God in those vaunted times of “worship” anyway, to tell you the truth. I strained and strived and tried my best, but deep down I knew I was really just practicing at faking it.

:)

I hope what I’m trying to say with this post has come across clearly enough. Dividing between soul and spirit is not a topic that gets much airplay in the evangelical world today. I would love to open up a conversation among anyone out there who has anything to say in relation to the thoughts I’ve shared here.

10 comments | posted in Christ, life in Christ, scripture, soul & spirit, worship

December 7, 2011

The goal of the gospel

By Josh

Matthew 26:6-13 contains one of the most beautiful stories in all of scripture. Jesus is at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper. John’s account tells us that Lazarus is also there, along with Mary and Martha (who is serving the dinner) and other of Jesus’ disciples. Even a large crowd of Jews shows up for the occasion, not just to see Jesus but Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead.

At some point in the meal Mary comes and kneels at Jesus’ feet. She breaks an alabaster box of very expensive perfume and begins to wash his feet, wiping them with her hair. Fragrance from the perfume fills the entire house.  But not everyone is pleased with this extravagance.  Certain of the disciples, namely Judas, asks indignantly about the purpose of this waste (take note, however, that Matthew records it as being not only Judas but all of the disciples who were upset).

But Jesus stands firm against their callousness. The woman “has done a beautiful thing to me,” he says, and then adds, “Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Whatever took place in that moment of time, then, to the Lord Jesus at least it had tremendous significance. I find it interesting to observe this setting. Here you have a dinner being given for the Lord. He is the centerpiece around which everyone present is gathered. However, different people are there for different reasons. The motives of the people in attendance are mixed. Some are there as his followers and disciples, learning from him as they do every day. A few, like Martha, are there to serve him. Others are there merely to see the power and outcome of his miraculous deeds. Among the Jews also there were probably some present who were involved in plotting to kill him. And then there was Judas, who had no genuine care for the poor but was there to use his position with the Lord as a means to his own end. So there are mixed motives present with everyone in the house.

Yet there is one among them whose motivation, beyond any other, is out of pure love for her Lord. And with no regard for appearance she pours out an extravagant display of affection toward the One she loves. Her display draws an immediate reaction from those watching and from the Lord himself. They are repulsed; He is pleased. And the remark Jesus makes about Mary’s devotion is chock full of wonderful meaning.

When the Lord said that what Mary did on this occasion would be told in memory of her wherever the gospel was preached He was saying something very significant. At the heart of the gospel story is a woman who wastes everything she has on the Lord Jesus Christ, for this is what the gospel is intended to produce: a people (a corporate woman if you will, the Bride of Christ) whose lives are spent so lavishly at his feet that even many of His well-meaning followers will look on and ask “Why this waste? This person has such talent, such gifting, such ability that could be put to good use. Why would they waste it all in this way?”

Angus Kinnear tells the story of a young Watchman Nee going once to visit an old friend and mentor. The story is taken from his book Against the Tide: The Story of Watchman Nee, and it’s just too good to not include here. Fighting tuberculosis, Watchman refused to invoncenience his friend by staying and decided to return home by the river…

“But on the two-hour journey his fever returned, and with it the devil to assail him by using the depressive effects of the tuberculosis to draw out his inner resentments. ‘You had a bright future, full of possibilities, and you gave it up to serve God. That was splendid. But then you had a promising ministry in which, with your gifts, you were assured of success; and that, too, you threw away. For what? You relinquished so much; what have you gained? Sometimes God hears your prayers. Often enough He is silent. Compare yourself with that other fellow out there now in the big evangelical system. He, too, had a bright future, and he has never let it go. He is spiritually prosperous and God honors his ministry. He gets souls saved and they go on with God. And moreoever, he looks like a Christian, so happy, so satisfied, so assured. Do you? Take a look at yourself!’

“Disembarking, he went to his parents’ home on the waterfront to pay them his respects and attend to the business that had brought him… Next day he ventured out into the town, sorrowfully avoiding the two meeting places of the long-divided local church. Below the bridge the cormorant fishers were at work, and he paused to watch them as he used to when a child, marveling at the patience of the captive birds. He walked slowly, leaning on a stick.

“All at once, there on the street, whom should he encounter but one of his former Trinity College professors. He greeted him with a bow, and the man took him into a tea shop where they sat down. After a few sharp inquiries he stopped and looked Watchman up and down. ‘What is this?’ he exclaimed with evident dismay. ‘We thought a lot of you at high school, and had hopes that you would achieve something great. Do you mean to say you are still like this?’

“Traditionally the Chinese student holds his teacher in high regard, returning to him formal thanks for each scholastic success; so the very pointed question struck cruelly home. Here was one whom Watchman instinctively honored and who saw him merely as an educational dropout. He quailed before the man’s penetrating gaze. For it was true: his health was broken, his prospects gone; what had he to show? And here was his old teacher of Chinese law asking, ‘Are you still not an inch further forward? No progress, no career, no nothing?’ In that moment Ni To-sheng, grown man as he was, was close to tears.

“And the very next instant (as he tells us), ‘I really knew what it meant to have the Spirit of glory resting upon me. I could look up and say, “Lord, I praise You that I have chosen the best way.” To my professor it was a total waste to serve the Lord Jesus; but that is the goal of the gospel-to give everything to God.’

Amen! May the Lord find such a people, like Mary, and like this brother… a people whose lives are wasted in love upon Him for the full satisfaction of His heart’s desire. And may the world, through this people, come to see just how worthy He really is!

8 comments | posted in Christ, church, eternal purpose, love

December 3, 2011

Debunking the myths surrounding organic church

By Josh

When you get the chance you should stop by the blog of Milt Rodriguez. Milt is halfway through a series on 10 Myths about Organic Church, and so far each post has been choc full of good insight from a brother who has ample experience following and serving the Lord outside traditional Christianity.

Myth #1 was that organic church is a new method for doing church. You actually get this impression from a growing number of folks these days, but the kind of church life Milt participates in and writes about is far from being just another model of doing church. Thank God, I say.

Myth #2 was that organic church is a new movement. Lots of good insight here. History is often the best education a person can have, and here Milt takes a look at church history from an angle few people ever consider. Well worth the read.

Myth #3 was that organic church is a spontaneous free-for-all. Nothing could be further from the truth, according to Milt. Meetings are not meant for people to just come together and spout off whatever they want to say, meetings are for the specific purpose of exhibiting Christ in all His glorious fullness!

Myth #4 was that organic churches do not have leaders. This is a big one. I enjoyed reading what Milt had to say as he struck this one down.

Most recently Milt has set his crosshairs on the myth that organic church is all about rapid multiplication of churches and discipleship. Rather than let me spoil the show, however, why not hop over and read it for yourself. I’ve met Milt a couple times in person and he is a good brother, full of faith and a passion for the Lord Jesus.

3 comments | posted in blogger review, Christ, church, organic church

November 10, 2011

Moving towards a practical experience of the Lord

By Josh

We all need a vision of the Lord. Without vision, the scripture says, things fall apart. Vision has a way of uniting and holding together. Yet vision alone is not enough. Ultimately that grand vision must issue into something practical and real. Otherwise we will be left to wander in the realm of mere theory for the rest of our lives. Yes, vision is important, and there can be no beginning of the spiritual quest or church life without it, but vision alone is limited as to how far it can take us.

The Lord has saved us and brought us into a relationship with Himself so that He may be real to us. Experience is what we all so often lack of God. Many have a great deal of vision, or revelation, but very little has been wrought out in actual experience.

I remember my first days of seeing the Lord Jesus Christ. I’m talking about real heart revelation. The same goes for the church. When I first began to get an objective revelation of the Lord and His Bride, I was overwhelmed. The vision was staggering. It led me out of institutional Christianity. It liberated me from many of my tired, old mindsets.

Even here, though, I eventually began to discover the limitations of vision and the need for something more. I was reading a lot of T. Austin Sparks in those days, and when it comes to the presentation of the vision of Christ and the church, Sparks is without peer. But for myself, I did not know how to translate what I saw into practice. Eventually it became frustrating rather than rewarding. This is because what is objective must become subjective or else it will lose its value to us.  God in heaven must become God within. The Christ of the cosmos must become my inner life supply, an indwelling Lord. I must come to know the Lord deeply in my spirit, and it must be real, living experience. Otherwise I will abandon the vision that once drove me as a mere pipe dream and return to being content with that surface-level, objective kind of relationship to God that most of Christianity seems to be built upon.

The way the Lord presents Himself in the gospel of John is staggering in its simplicity. Here, among other things, the Lord presents Himself as food and drink. Food and drink are things we need for our life, and as good as they may look or smell to us on the outside, until we receive them within-until we actually partake of them-they remain nothing and of no value to us. The Lord is like that. We may hunger for Him, thirst for Him, smell His fragrance and be so drawn by the vision to follow Him, but until we discover Him in the unexplored depths of our spirit and begin to touch and know Him there He will forever remain an elusive concept to us. I can believe all I want, study all I want, talk and think about God all I want, but until I know Him in the Spirit all I have is a theory. All our talking, thinking, studying, and faithful seeking is meant to issue in a real encounter with the Lord Himself, and until we have this we do not really have eternal life.

But take heart! For the Lord is incredibly gracious, eager to reveal Himself to those who will become like little children before Him. We may glory in the objective vision of Christ Paul received on the road to Damascus, where Jesus appeared to him from heaven, but the greater thing, the thing Paul would go on exploring in greater depth for the remainder of his life, was his subsequent experience of Christ within. “When it pleased the Lord to reveal His Son in me…” (Galatians 1:16)

So then, may the Lord give us vision. May our view of the Lord Jesus increase and abound. But may we also discover a very real and practical Lord dwelling in our spirits-a Life we can live by and a Land we may explore, day by day, moment by moment.

5 comments | posted in Christ, fellowship, life in Christ

November 6, 2011

The greatest prospect ever given to man

By Josh

It is all too common for people to look at the life of Jesus Christ-even we Christians who hold Him to be sinless, the perfect Man, and the full expression of the Godhead-and miss seeing the wellspring of His incredible life. It is also possible to so overemphasize the deity of Christ that the fact of His humanity is lost sight of. Jesus was a man, a man just like you and me. Yes, He was God, but he was also just a man. He was flesh and bone, he got tired, and he wrestled with every anxiety and temptation known to mankind. Jesus was fully human, the son of man.   

And yet look at the life He lived! He did wonders. He healed the sick. He loved people. He spoke with an authority no one had ever heard before. He threatened the whole superstructure of the religious system. He shook the Empire to its very core.

And He did it all… as a man. Don’t you ever stop to wonder at the source of such an incredible life?

Simply put, the source of the Jesus’ living was the indwelling life of His Father. His own confession-”I do and say nothing but what I see and hear from my Father”-signifies as much. There was a Divine life within the spirit of this simple Nazarene which moved Him to do and say the things He did. What a thought!

But that’s only the half of it. The most incredible prospect ever to graze the consciousness of man is found in what Jesus said in John 6:57:

“As the living Father sent me, and I live by the Father, so whoever feeds on me will live by me!”

Can you see what the Lord is saying here? Basically He is saying that what the Father was to Him He is now to us, and that just as He lived by the life of God in His spirit, we too may live by His life in us! No difference! No separation! No one kind of living for the Lord Jesus and another kind of living for us! The same life Jesus lived by is the life we have to live by as well! What a prospect!

The fact is most of us have never seen this. I can’t tell you how many days of my life I’ve overlooked it. Jesus of Nazareth did not get out of bed each morning and live by a certain ethical code or set of rules. He did not read the scriptures as a manual on “how to be the Son of God.” He enjoyed communion with God in His Spirit as a man just as He did in the eternals before taking on flesh, and His daily living was regulated by the flow of that life within Him. This was His wellspring for being. This too is our source of life. This is the prospect He left us with which we so often overlook. Jesus was a man, and the life He lived came out of this inward fellowship He experienced with His Father. We have been called into the same fellowship. So turn within to your spirit. Quiet yourself and wait before the Lord until you sense the presence of His life deep inside. Behold Him there. Practice turning to Him throughout the day, moment by moment if you can. Let the transformation that comes from this daily exchange be the source of your living just as it was for the Lord.  

4 comments | posted in Christ, eternal purpose, fellowship, life, life in Christ

November 2, 2011

What is an apostle?

By Josh

“He gave some to be apostles…” (Ephesians 4:11)

Recently we took a brief look at Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus-commonly known as the “pastoral epistles”-and saw how contrary to popular belief these men were not pastors (not in the modern sense of the word) but apostles. This begs the question, what is an apostle? From superhuman Christian to a relic of bygone ages, concepts of apostleship abound in the Christian world.

To start with, the basic meaning of the word apostle is “sent one.” An apostle, therfore, is one who is sent by another. Interestingly enough, the New Testament reveals four different orders of apostles. Let’s consider these now, beginning with  

The Lord Jesus Christ, the first apostle.

The writer to the Hebrews refers to Jesus as “the apostle… of our confession” (Heb. 3:1). The Lord Jesus was the original apostle of God, sent by our Father into the world for the salvation of man and the bringing back into play of God’s eternal purpose. As an apostle, as in every other way, there is none like Christ. He is pre-eminent in His apostleship. After Him, we have

The twelve apostles of the Lamb.

When Jesus began to travel and teach as a rabbi he gathered twelve men to himself who then spent the better part of three or four years following the Lord wherever he went. They became learners, or disciples, of Jesus. At the end of that time, after the Lord was crucified and had risen from the dead, he appeared to them and said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). With this sending the disciples became apostles. The apostleship of the twelve is unique and not to be compared with the many sent ones who would follow in their stead, as evidenced by the vision of the New Jerusalem given to John in Revelation 21:14, where he saw inscribed on the foundation of the city the names of these twelve men and none other.

However, contrary to the belief of some, apostleship did not end with the deaths of the twelve. The idea that the first century was marked off as some special apostolic ”age” after which there would cease to be apostles, prophets, miracles, signs and wonders forms the teaching commonly known as cessationism. Cessationism is a man-made doctrine that holds no water when held up to the light of scripture. One simple proof of this can be seen in Revelation 2:2. Here the Lord commends the church at Ephesus for testing those who claimed to be apostles but were not. If the only genuine apostles to exist in the first century were the twelve disciples of Jesus then such a test would be ridiculously unneccesary, for all you would need to know is whether or not such a one claiming to be an apostle was in fact Peter, James, John, or one of the others. No actual testing would be required. But there were indeed other apostles besides the twelve, starting with

Paul and Barnabas, the apostles of the Spirit.

Acts 13:1-4-”Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid hands on them and sent them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.”

Here we have another unique set of circumstances. Barnabas and Saul had been living and teaching in the church at Antioch for some time. When they and a few of the other leading brothers were together ministering to the Lord the Holy Spirit witnessed to each of their spirits in such a profound way that all present knew the Lord’s intention for these two. They were called by the Lord, they had been trained and prepared for their ministry through years of experience in the church life, and now the Holy Spirit was signifiying that the time was right. So they left for foreign fields, “sent out by the Holy Spirit.”   As the Father had sent the Son so the Son had sent the twelve, but now we see the Spirit doing the sending. This is a new and different kind of sending, and therefore a different order, so to speak, of apostleship.  

What is the fourth order of apostleship revealed in the New Testament, the kind which is still being carried on by the Lord to this day? We find mention of it in 2 Corinthians 8:23, where Paul is speaking of Titus and the other brothers who often accompanied him on his travels and shared in his labors. Here it is we find

The apostles of the churches.

Little is known about the young men who travelled and labored with Paul on his journeys. We know of Barnabas and Silas, his co-workers for journeys one and two. What we are left to piece together is the story behind men such as Timothy, Titus, Gaius, Aristarchus, Secundus, Epaphras, and others. Paul himself refers to them as “partners… fellow workers… apostles of the churches, the glory of Christ.” But who were they? They were young men who grew up in the church life of their respective cities. Young men who burned with a passion for Christ and God’s eternal purpose, who over time showed evidence of being gifted by the Lord for a certain kind of work, namely that of apostleship. Eventually each of these men were recognized by both Paul and their fellow brothers and sisters in the church as being chosen by God for His work, and the churches sent them to join Paul on his journeys.

These are the kinds of apostles who have never in any generation been absent from the pages of church history. There were a good number of them in the first century, and it is possible their ranks were even populated by women such as Andronicus and Junia (Romans 16:7). The Lord has continued giving such brothers and sisters as gifts to His church, and their contribution to the building up of the Body of Christ is beyond value.

Having established all this, you might now be wondering, what is the mark of an apostle? How can I, like the church in Ephesus, know whether a man or woman is truly an apostle? To answer this I refer you to consider both

The sign and the seal of apostleship.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:12 of the signs of a true apostle. Most people take this passage to mean Paul is saying a true apostle will perform signs and wonders and mighty works. While this may certainly be the case, such signs may also be counterfeited or done by those who are not themselves apostles (such as Philip or Stephen). The real emphasis in this verse seems to be on “utmost patience.” An apostle, therefore, is one who draws from a seemingly endless source, whose well runs deep in Christ and is incredibly difficult to dry up. In the words of Watchman Nee, “endurance is the greatest proof of spiritual power, and it is one of the signs of an apostle. It is the ability to endure steadfastly under continuous pressure that tests the reality of an apostolic call.”

Paul was certainly an example of this kind of steadfast endurance. So much more the Lord Jesus. An uncanny ability to go to the cross, despite the pressure, the pain, the persecution, the ridicule, or the hardship is one sure test of an apostolic claim. Does a man bear suffering well? Does he in one way or another bear in his body and in his being the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ?

More convincing than the signs is the seal of an apostle. This is something Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 9:1,2 when speaking of the church in Corinth. Two things are of note in this passage. First, Paul says “if to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you…” This seems to imply that one who is really an apostle is not necessarily an apostle in every setting. For instance, Paul was sent out by the Spirit from the church at Antioch where he made his home. In Antioch Paul may have been a gifted teacher, even a prophet according to the scripture, but to the saints in Antioch Paul was just a brother. He was simply brother Paul. A good brother, yes, but just a brother nonetheless. There was nothing of the superstar mentality that permeates so much of western Christianity today. Paul was not the resident priest of the Antioch church, he had no special status, he worked a job like everyone else, and though men respected him for the measure of Christ he possessed, no one was afraid of him or looked to him in any way that puffed him up and set him apart from others. Again, Paul was just a brother.

There are many men today who claim to be apostles or who view themselves and wish to be viewed by others as apostles based simply on some gifting they think they have from the Lord. Very little witness is given to this by other brothers and sisters, often based upon the fact that there are no other brothers and sisters present to give such a witness! Years of tested, proven experience in the local church life precede any development or recognition of apostleship. This is the Lord’s way, the only safe way to guarantee that the man who is sent out to minister (not the man who simply goes out of his own accord) is no threat but rather a help to the Lord’s people. This is a very vital element that is missing in most circles today. “Apostles” form vast networks, connect with people online, build charitable organizations and speak at conferences but have no local church life in which they are nothing more than just another brother. This is a great need in the Body of Christ today.

To get back to my point, the other thing Paul mentions in this passage from 1 Corinthians 9 that is worthy of note is found in his reference to the Corinthian believers themselves as “the seal (or proof) of my apostleship in the Lord.” Here we have something that cannot be denied. Basically Paul is saying that the proof of apostleship-the proof that one has been called, prepared, and sent of the Lord by his own local church to build up God’s House elsewhere-is in the churches raised up through a man’s ministry. In other words, an apostle raises up churches, plain and simple. Real flesh and blood churches, that is.Visible, locatable assemblies that can be visited and have letters written to them. Organic churches that exist apart from the supporting structures of human organization, institution, and headship. And also, churches that go on living and moving and being after the apostle has left town.

If a man or woman can do this, there’s a good chance he or she is an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This principle of an apostle raising up a church and then leaving it to the headship of the Lord is all throughout the New Testament. The reasons for it are many, the examples more than evident. Even the Lord Jesus Himself said to the twelve, who would form the nucleus of the first church in Jerusalem, “it is good for you that I go away.” Every true apostle will have this same sentiment in his heart toward those he is working with to build up as the House of the Lord. It is good for every church that the apostle goes away so the members of that church can develop into a real priesthood of believers and learn how to know and follow the Lord on her own with no man, minister or “pastor” doing the work for her. Shepherding will abound in the organic expression of the church, just not in the modern official sense we see so prevailing in Protestant Christianity.

Well, perhaps that is enough to say for now on this subject. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed considering this issue the last few days. How we need apostles in the church! How we need men and women who are called and sent of God-broken, meek, well-trained servants who are thrust forth into His harvest field for the raising up of the testimony of Jesus Christ as Head over all things! May the Lord give us more such men, and may the expression of the church they raise up be of a higher quality and a deeper reality than anything any of us have yet seen! 

5 comments | posted in apostleship, Bible study, Body of Christ, Christ, church, church life, cross, life in Christ, ministry, organic church, scripture, suffering

October 25, 2011

In all our affliction He too is afflicted

By Josh

There have been a few times in my life when I’ve experienced a spontaneous rise of worship in my heart towards the Lord. Yesterday was one of those days.

My son was playing in the dining room. While he was playing I saw him dive on the floor for a toy and then shoot up at just the right angle to clip his head on the table. He paused for a split second and grabbed his head where it hit. I heard the slightest whimper, then saw him try to stand up. Instead he reached for his head again and I could tell he was trying his hardest not to cry. Immediately my heart leapt in his direction. It was all I could do to not cry myself. I quickly went over to him and rubbed his head, telling him to do the same whenever he bumped it like that and it would feel better. He smiled at me through his pain. It was such a heartwarming moment.

Unexpectedly, I received a wonderful insight into the Lord in that same moment. It came like a flash as I felt my own heart’s reaction toward my son’s pain. I saw the heart of the Father towards humanity, so willing to rush out and embrace us in our pain. A scripture from the Old Testament came to mind, speaking of Israel of old, which says something to the effect of, “in all their affliction He too was afflicted” (Isaiah 63:9). You see, we are so quick to think of God as aloof and indifferent, somehow removed from our sorrow and suffering. But the whole essence of the incarnation is that God chose to identify with us in our humanity. Rather than remain apart, He chose to come to us and embrace us in our pain, even sharing our sorrow with us. I can’t think of a lovelier Lord than this. To think that He saw us, like I saw my son, and immediately His heart was overflown with such compassion and pity for our hurt that He could think of nothing else but to run to us and share our sorrow that He might forever take it away. What a wonderful Father! What a glorious Lord!

Anyway, it was a precious moment for me, both as a father to my son and a son to my Father. I sat down on the couch with this sudden realization and all I could think to say was “Oh Lord, you are good.” It was something more than a rote declaration; it ascended from the depths of my spirit as a response to what I saw of the Lord in that moment. It was true worship. And I couldn’t do the experience justice with a thousand words. All I can say is I pray the whole world will come to know God as I saw Him in my son yesterday.

10 comments | posted in Christ, cross, life in Christ, suffering

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