2/5/11
Greetings,
We are officially entering into our second month of BRIDE emails on unity. Eleven months of this message are yet to come and we have only gotten our feet wet. Nonetheless, I hope that it has proven both inspirational and informative. In order for unity to come, the first thing that has to change is our hearts. Once our hearts are right, the natural response is action. Unity must be in the hearts of the people of God before it will come into manifestation. For this reason, it must be preached.
Today we are going to begin discussing the illustration of the church as the body of Christ. This illustration comes to us from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church. It begins with a discussion on the gifts or “charismas” of the Holy Spirit. Paul does not want us to be ignorant regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit so he explains them clearly. He says that their purpose is to bring a blessing to the whole body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:7). Understand that although we are on the topic of unity, in order to bring depth to this message I am going to spend the next several weeks going through the entire passage of 1 Corinthians 12. If we miss the first part, we will only have limited understanding of the rest of the passage.
Paul begins 1 Corinthians chapter 12 in the following way:
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” (1 Corinthians 12:1-3)
The word “gifts” comes from the Greek word charismas. These are supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit working through us. Thus the passage begins by discussing ways that God can work through us. Some people question if God can use them. The question is not if, but how. If you have received Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, God wants to use you more than you want to be used, and He wants to use you supernaturally!
Paul continues by reminding the Corinthians that in the past, before they received Jesus, they worshipped false Gods. The kingdom of darkness can counterfeit nearly everything that God does. Paul does not want counterfeits to enter in. He explains that anyone that will speak according to supernatural inspiration will always acknowledge Jesus as Lord if the Holy Spirit is in it. Some people think that there are only false prophets. How absurd. Could margarine exist without butter? Can the counterfeit exist without the genuine? No. Anyone speaking by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit will not call Jesus accursed and will acknowledge Jesus as Lord.
“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)
This passage describes the plurality of ways the Holy Spirit will manifest in the church. The Holy Spirit will manifest the power of God through gifts, which are discussed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. We will get to this next week.
The Holy Spirit will also manifest through administrations. God has appointed a church government which has been given by Jesus (Ephesians 4:11). Most churches today ignore this God given government and counterfeit it with man-made institutions. For instance, a board-run church is not a scriptural way to administrate the body of Christ; a congregational church where members vote is not a scriptural way to administrate the body of Christ; the catholic pope, cardinals, bishops, and priests, and those denominations that use a similar structure of government are not administrating the church scripturally. What is the result? The results are disunity, discord, indestructible denominational walls, spiritual death, religious spirits, and so forth. When we want God to work but do not do things the way God shows us to do them, we tie His hands. The church was given an apostolic government, with a plurality of offices that are appointed; those individuals appointed to them having been given supernatural mantles (Eph 4:11-15). We’ll discuss this more later on this year.
There are also different operations, referring to the ministries that spring from individuals’ graces or tendencies towards particular activities such as giving, mercy , exhortation, and so forth (Romans 12:6-8). The Holy Spirit works through all of these things at the same time to weave a corporate reality of the kingdom of heaven in our midst. I would like to go deeper into each of these topics but that is not the purpose of this letter. The purpose is to bring a difficult reality to your awareness. God cannot sustain unity in the body of Christ if we are shutting down the Holy Spirit’s ability to work in His body. For instance, many churches reject the gifts, the administrations, and the operations of the Holy Spirit. How can I turn off the faucet of my bathtub, drain the water, and get upset when I can’t enjoy a hot bath? How ridiculous it is to shut the Holy Spirit down, and then expect Him to move.
Moreover, it is not possible to maintain unity without the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you know what the enemy uses to promote unity? Mind Control. The overhaul of an individual’s ability to think for themselves has been a requirement under every satanic regime that has ever come into power. It is also the basis for both satanic and religious cults. Do you think The Nazis were bad? I assure you, we have only seen the beginning. Yet God wants to unify us, not through mind control, but by the power of His Spirit. This means that every manifestation of the Holy Spirit must be embraced, from apostolic government, to the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, to the operations of the Holy Spirit. God accomplishes His purposes through His Spirit.
“Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6)
What happens when an airplane with 4 engines flies with one engine? It slows down and causes the pilot great difficulty. What happens when an airplane with 4 engines flies with no engines? It crashes. What happens when the body of Christ shuts down the manifestations of the Holy Spirit? It fails to remain a living body--in effect, it dies.
At this point we have not yet begun to discuss the illustration of the church as the body of Christ, yet we already understand the necessity for embracing the whole passage of 1 Corinthians 12. I understand that for some readers this may be very new information. Next week we will begin with the explanation of the charismas of the Holy Spirit, so that we have understanding. After that, we’ll begin to tap into the revelation on how the church is the body of Christ on earth. Unity in the body of Christ will never be perpetuated apart from a supernatural community being continually energized by the Spirit of God.
Discussion
1.) What has your experience been with the charismas or gifts of the Holy Spirit? Have you looked at it as a necessary way through which the Holy Spirit works in the body of Christ?
2.) Have you ever heard of apostolic church government? What do you think it entails?
3.) What are the three major realms of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the church?
4.) How has the Holy Spirit impacted your thought process in the past in a way the promoted unity?
5.) How is unity impacted by the gifts, administrations, and operations of the Holy Spirit?
