Ephesians 4:13

5/21/11

Greetings,

                 Jesus is returning for a glorious church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

                “That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:27)

What does it mean to be a glorious church? In Ephesians chapter four we find God’s purpose for instituting the five-fold ministry (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers). God wants to use the five-fold ministry to get the church to this glorious state. The five-fold ministry is given until certain things are true of the corporate body of Christ. When these things are true of us, we will be the “glorious church” that the Apostle Paul says will be presented to Jesus at His coming. Consider the follow Scripture:

                “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Notice that this passage lists several qualities that constitute the fulfillment of the mission for the five-fold ministry. Let’s break down the qualities and provide some working definitions:

Ø  Unity of the Faith: This will occur when the church believes the same thing about God that He believes about Himself, the same thing about ourselves that God believes, and when we understand the Bible to say what God intended to communicate. This is a place of doctrinal and operational unity based on fully revealed truth. Does this sound impossible? Sure, but that doesn’t mean that it is. Until people have united around fully revealed truth as opposed to their denominational handbooks of doctrine, this will not be true, and Jesus cannot return. Where is this principle found? In Daniel 12:4 the prophet is told to seal the book until the time of the end. This means that there will be certain things that God will not even reveal to His people regarding His Word until the last days. These unsealed truths will need to be received and understood in unity as part of coming to the “unity of the faith.”

Ø  Knowledge of the Son of God: The word used for knowledge is the Greek word epiginosko, which means know, acknowledge, perceive, take knowledge of, have knowledge of, or know well. This type of knowledge involves a degree of intimacy with the object (or person) that is being known. In this case, it requires intimacy with the Savior of our souls. This goes beyond anything you can get from going to church on a regular basis, serving on the local PTA (Parent Teacher’s Association), volunteering at the soup kitchen or teaching a Bible study. This is a walk with God that can be described with one simple word—romance. You can’t fake this. Before a bride is given away in marriage to the groom, she is (or at least she should be!) head over heels in love with him. This is different than reading His bio and hearing others talk about His qualities. We must corporately come to a place of intimate knowledge of the Son of God.

Ø  Unto a Perfect Man: The word translated perfect is the Greek word teleios and can also be understood as coming of full age. When we are born again, we are born spiritual infants. Our spirit needs to grow and develop just like our natural bodies will grow and develop. There are four stages according to the apostle John (1 John 2:12-14). He first uses the Greek term teknion in verse 12 which refers to infants or new Christian converts. This is translated as “little children” in the KJV. Then in verse 13 he uses the term paidon which is also translated “little children” in the KJV. However, paidon refers to young children or immature believers that have been converted for some time. John then uses the term neaniskos which is translated as young men. These are maturing Christians that are moving towards manhood in the faith. Lastly he uses the term patēr which means father. These are mature Christians. This does not mean that they have been warming the pew for 40 years. This has nothing to do with involvement in their local church or the number of literal children they have conceived. This has to do with true spiritual maturity. They have had Christ formed in them (Galatians 4:19) and like Jesus, they will fully complete the course given to them by God (2 Timothy 4:7, John 17:4). Paul said that in the first church there were not many fathers (1 Corinthians 4:15), but in the last generation God is going to change this.

Ø  Unto the Measure of the Stature of the fullness of Christ: This is a place where it becomes difficult to tell the difference between the church and the God of the church, Jesus Christ. In the book of Revelation chapter 1 John sees a vision of Jesus in the midst of the seven lamp stands. The seven lamp stands are the seven churches. With Jesus in their midst this illustrates a fusion, and this fusion goes far beyond the spiritual fusion between us and the Holy Spirit when we are saved (1 Corinthians 6:17). This means that the body of Christ will look like, act like, and function like Jesus. In the same way that Jesus had control over His physical body when He lived on earth, He intends to have control over His body of believers prior to His return. He is the head, we are the body.

From my perspective Ephesians chapter four is the heart cry of Jesus for His church. It also provides His strategy for seeing His people come to our appointed destination. Next week we are going to continue talking about this chapter.

Discussion

1.       What is the unity of the faith?

2.       What is the knowledge of the son of God?

3.       What does it mean to come to a “perfect” man?

4.       What does it mean to come to the measure of the statures of the fullness of Christ?

5.       What role will unity play in fulfilling the mission of the five-fold ministry?

Wineskins

Greetings,

                When we consider the topic of unity we often give it a mental assent. This means that we acknowledge that it is a biblical concept and we may even acknowledge that there is power to be tapped into with it. However, when it comes to practical implementation, it remains outside of the confines of our reality. In other words, because we cannot see or understand the logistics behind coordinating a work of unity, we continue in a pattern of mental assent but little to no progress.

                In this letter I am going to discuss an obvious obstacle that stands between where the church is and where Christ wants her to be. This obstacle is doctrinal differences. This is a very real, and a very big issue. It is difficult to work with someone that believes A when you believe B. Even when you agree to disagree, if you attempt to teach the same group of people, they will have to make a decision between A and B. It is inevitable that some will get convinced of A, some will get convinced of B, and the people will divide.

                When an outsider looks in on the church they may conclude that this is a random unexplainable phenomenon. Without a historical perspective, there is no reason to conclude otherwise. So why do some Christians believe A while others believe B if it is not a random unexplainable phenomenon? Let’s take a look at what Jesus says:

                “And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.” (Luke 5:36-39)

                In this parable the wine becomes a symbol of the works of the Holy Spirit, or in other words what God is doing among His people. Jesus describes these works as being contained by wineskins. In that day wineskins were leather containers that would become brittle with time. In context, we know that Jesus was explaining that the new message that He came to bring could not be contained by the old wineskin of Judaism. By trying to fit the gospel of the kingdom into the traditions of Judaism, it would cause the “wineskin” of Judaism to burst. However, since we know that the Holy Spirit works through the church, we can also define the wineskins as the organized church. In both approaches, we are looking at the same principle.

                A majority of people can agree that God’s final revelation of truth did not stop at the Roman Catholic Church. It is a fact that many (although not all) Roman Catholic Churches do not teach that we are saved by grace through faith. Instead they teach salvation by works. As a result of the work of Martin Luther, the foundation of the protestant movement was established—namely that we are saved by grace through faith. This is why the first step in Christianity is to receive Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. If we do not do this, we are not saved and we will not go to heaven when we die.

                So how do we get from the work of Martin Luther in the sixteenth century to the doctrinal mess in the church today? The fact of the matter is that Martin Luther was one man with one lifetime. The difficulty that he had to overcome in order to reestablish this central doctrine to Christianity consumed much of his life. As a result, he did not overhaul every tradition he carried away from the Roman Catholic Church. Today, except for a few doctrinal differences, most Lutheran churches are conducted in ways that are very similar to Roman Catholic Churches. They also practice infant baptism.

                In effect, what Martin Luther did was create a new wineskin. The Holy Spirit was doing a new thing and this thing could not be contained by the old wineskin of the Roman Catholic Church at that time. One hundred years later, an outsider might have listened to the Roman Catholic stance on salvation by works and the Lutheran stance on salvation by grace through faith and concluded that this was a random unexplainable phenomenon. However, if they understand the history, what they see is a move of God to bring people into the freedom and liberty of Jesus Christ. The difference in doctrine was actually established by a restorative work of the Holy Spirit, not by two people reading the same book and deciding to disagree.

                Unfortunately, the Lutheran church became an old wineskin after enough time had passed. When God performed the next restorative work in His people, the Lutheran church rejected it. This work of restoration involved the issue of baptism. In the Bible, everyone that was baptized was done so by full immersion after they had made a quality decision to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The Lutherans practiced infant baptism by sprinkling water on babies that were yet too young to make a decision for or against Christ. This tradition had carried over from the Roman Catholic Church. Initially, those that argued and began to practice full immersion baptism came under persecution. This persecution came from both the Roman Catholic Church and Lutherans. Some of these people who began to call themselves Baptists were actually drowned and killed.

                Beyond these two examples, there has been a long history of the Holy Spirit pouring out revelations that although at first seemed “new” were actually restorative and for the purpose of bringing people into greater and greater degrees of truth. Unfortunately, most movements that brought in restored truth suffered persecution and rejection from the established groups. Furthermore, many of these movements were riddled with a lack of doctrinal accountability and also brought with them hurtful practices that served to discredit the work that God was actually doing. In the end, we see the principle that the new wine is not poured into old wineskins but into new wineskins.

                It is interesting that Jesus adds that when new wine is poured into new wine skins, both the old and the new wine is preserved. After Jesus instituted Christianity, Judaism was preserved. After the Baptists came, the Lutheran church was still preserved. After the Pentecostals came, the Baptists, the Lutherans, the Methodists, etc. were all preserved. The point is that different doctrines do not exist as mere disagreements but exist primarily because of a progressive restorative work by God through His people.

                The unity of the church is not going to be an agreement to disagree. Instead, people from every respective move of God will come together on the same fully revealed truths. This will, in effect, become its own new wine in its own new wine skin, but be composed of a great number of people that were formerly participants in groups instituted around past moves of God. The Lutheran Institution as it exists today cannot come together with a Pentecostal Institution because their doctrinal differences are institutionalized and actually serve to define the institutions.

When Noah united the animals in the ark, the animals went in two by two, meaning that only representatives of each kind of animal actually went into the ark of unity. These animals had to leave their respective “habitats” in order to do this. These animals can prophetically represent the denominations, ministry alliances, and other groups in the body of Christ. Only representatives of each of these groups will enter into unity, not the whole percentage of people participating in them. In the end, the people that participate in these institutions will have to abandon their former perspectives and unite around the work and revelations that the Holy Spirit is sowing into those that are listening today. This is how God will unify those in His body that are willing to participate.

               

Discussion

1.       Is the concept of unity in the body of Christ real to you or is it something that you simply agree is ideal?

2.       What did you know about the history of the church prior to this email?

3.       Why do you think God has moved in incremental stages to progress the body of Christ into greater degrees of truth?

4.       Can you remember a time when you heard something about God that was new for you, and after initially rejecting it God worked in you to allow you to receive it?

5.       Will you be counted among those that unite around the work that God is doing in His people today and the truths that the Holy Spirit is revealing to those that will listen?

Heavenly Places

5/7/11

Greetings,

                God is good and His mercy endures forever! This week we are going to discuss some shocking material. I say shocking because this is the kind of material that simply is not taught. I believe that if we are called to be a heavenly people (which we are) we must be heavenly minded. What does it meant to be heavenly minded? Does it mean thinking about streets of gold and marvelous worship all day? Is there more to it?

                It is actually like the old real estate saying goes: Location, location, location! What does real estate have to do with being heavenly minded? Does a big house actually solve problems? Of course not! The point is that having a heavenly mindset begins with properly identifying your location. I have a question for you, and although it may seem ridiculous, answer this question in your head: Where are you?

                If you answered with your physical location you unfortunately failed the test. Sure, you may be sitting at your desk, standing in line at the grocery store, or lying on your bed, but that is a much less important fact. It is less important because it has no authority. The grocery store could be there today and gone tomorrow. Your true location is in heaven, and this location has authority over every dimension.

“And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” (Ephesians 2:6)

When we receive Jesus we are raised up spiritually. Our spirit which was born dead is now born again. This spirit becomes one with the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17) and begins to operate on two planes of existence at the same time. We are in heaven and we are on earth. Although we experience earth, our heavenly existence is actually more important. It holds authority over our earthly existence.

                Before we go on I want to bring this home. If your body is broken would it be broken in heaven? If your marriage is broken would it be broken in heaven? If you’re broke and in debt beyond reason, would you be broke in heaven? The answer is succinctly no. Heaven is a place of perfection. It is a place where every wrong is made right, where every tear is wiped away, and where every injustice is addressed in righteousness. If you could put all your problems in a bag and ship them to heaven… they would be replaced with new realities. It is no mystery that when we get saved we become a new creation. It is mandatory because of our new location.

                “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

                Heaven is a location, but unfortunately it is usually thought of as a destination. It is usually said that heaven is where we go. I am here to tell you that if you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior heaven is where you are. This must be understood. Have you ever seen someone trying to bake cookies on a roller coaster? Of course not! The reason is because they understand where they are. Satan is a professional liar. He tells Christians that they are in the kitchen when they are on a roller coaster—and many believe him. This is one reason why Christians will get out of church and go home to a pornographic video. They think that they have left a holy atmosphere.

                Now that we have established your location we are going to establish how you function there. This is going to require your ability to use your imagination and think outside of time. The fact of the matter is that everything that Jesus purchased for us was done at the cross. This is why the death of Jesus was a finished work. My sins today were paid for two-thousand years ago.  This means that the work of Jesus was done on a plane that was outside of time. We have discussed the following verse in past letters, but we are going to look at it from another angle.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare to be improper and unlawful on earth must be what is already forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth must be what is already permitted in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18 AMP)

The word translated “you” in this passage is plural. It actually means “you all” or the church acting in unity. I used the Amplified version of this text because it brings out the proper implications of the verse. We are not binding and loosing things from earth to heaven. We are binding and loosing things from heaven to earth. These things are already bound or loosed in heaven. Why?  Heaven operates outside of the confines of time and so do you! Jesus executed His work on a plane outside of time in order for His sacrifice to pay for sins not yet committed in the earth. Now when we believe in Him, we are taken into the eternal plane and operate from a new location: heaven.

The injustice that God has called you to bind is already bound in heaven: agree and it will manifest in the earth. Your financial debt has already been paid: agree and it will manifest in the earth. The peace between you and your ex-best friend has already been loosed: agree and watch things change. You are outside of time doing these things and when you do them they manifest in our time-space. Authority outside of time is the highest authority. Nothing broken is beyond fixing. Nothing ruined is beyond restoration. When we unite we tap into eternal power, eternal authority, and eternal influence. Now you know why Jesus didn’t send the apostles to create the church until He could rightly say:

“All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore [for this reason]…” (Matthew 28:18-19)

                From now on, when you are asked where you are, keep in mind your true location. We are there corporately. We need to act like it. We need to love each other here the way we already love each other there. Think about it.

Discussion

1.       Where are you?

2.       What are the two dimensional planes we primarily operate on?

3.       What are some of the implications from operating in a heavenly location?

4.       How would you treat your brothers and sister in Christ if you were experiencing the reality of being present in heaven?

5.       Is unity an important agenda for the church?

The Temple and the Bride

4/30/11

Greetings,

                I want to begin by reminding you that you are precious in the sight of God. He loves you so much and no obstacle or challenge in life can change that. You are special, you are gifted, and you were created with a purpose. You are mighty in Christ!

                This week we are going to discuss a little eschatology. Eschatology is fancy terminology for “the study of the last things.” In light of the last things, we are going to discuss the cost of unity. We are also going to define the timeframe where unity will finally be achieved.

                Many Christians are familiar with the term antichrist. This term has been popularized not only in Christian circles, but also by media. It is a fearful term that reminds us that Satan has a plan to counterfeit our very Savior. The interesting thing is that the only place where the Bible uses this term to describe this person is in 1 John 2:18. Other terms that are used for this person are little horn, king, son of perdition, man of sin, and beast.

                This antichrist is on earth for an indeterminable amount of time. However, we do know that from the time he signs a covenant with the nation of Israel (and possibly several other nations) there will be a period of seven prophetic years before the return of Christ (Daniel 9:27). We also know that this seven year period has two halves. After the first half of this seven year period, the antichrist will break his covenant and end the sacrifice and offering in the temple of Israel. He will also place the abomination of desolation at this time. The second half of this period is referred to as the great tribulation. The great tribulation begins immediately after the sacrifice is ended.

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)…then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matthew 24:15, 21)

Before Jesus made this comment, many of the Jews believed that the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel had already happened. They believed this because Antiochus Epiphanies, a Greek general, slaughtered a pig on the altar of the temple several hundred years prior to this comment. When Jesus said this, it was shocking. In essence, Jesus said that there was yet a future fulfillment of this prophecy. The destruction of the temple in 70 AD and the absence of a state of Israel left many confused for thousands of years

Some have suggested that this prophecy is entirely symbolic of what the antichrist wants to do to Christians because there is no literal temple in Jerusalem. I see no logical reason to conclude this. The temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem at some point in the near future. As evidence, consider these notes I took from a sermon by Jimmy DeYoung on March 11, 2011.

• Erecting the temple can be done in six months
• 28,000 priests are necessary to operate temple. A Rabbi at a Yeshiva has a computer that serves as a database for Jews qualified to be priests. They have called them all to Jerusalem to be prepared and trained because they are going to build a temple.
• The priests need a special garment made out of a single piece of cloth. There are currently 28,000 special garments already made to biblical specifications and they are in storage
• A mizrok is necessary as well. This is a container made out of pure gold and pure silver. It doesn’t have a base but a point so that it cannot be set down. These contain the blood from the blood sacrifices. If blood sits it will coagulate. The form of these containers makes it so that they cannot be set down but must be carried around by the priests at all times. Four thousand mizroks are needed and four thousand have already been prepared
• They have the table of showbread prepared
• They have the altar of incense prepared
• Two years ago they made the menorah, the seven branch candle holder, and it is on display in the Old city, the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem
• David had called for 10-string harps to be made for worship in the temple. A 10-string harp was made by Micah and Shoshanna Harrari and reported on by the paper: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126936.
• It was reported on by the newspaper that this was the first 10-string harp made in Israel in 2000 years. According to the Talmud, when the 10-string harp reappeared in Jerusalem it would be time for the Messiah to arrive.
• 2 years ago 70 Jewish wise men came together and reformed the Sanhedrin. They operate the temple and elect the high priest. Professor Weiss, spokesman for the Sanhedrin, says that the high priest has been elected.
• A conference was held a few weeks prior to March 11, 2011 for qualified priests from all over the world to receive their final training in priestly duties for the coming temple.
• 2 Rabbi’s claim to have been within 25 feet of the Ark of the Covenant and say they will bring it out from its hiding place when they have a place to put it.

                Once the temple is built, the sacrifice will resume as it did thousands of years ago. It will be conducted according to the outline provided under the Old Covenant. This is the sacrifice that the antichrist will end halfway into the seven year period we discussed.

                “And arms shall stand on his [the antichrist’s] part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.” (Daniel 11:31)

                We must understand that the eleventh chapter of Daniel, from where we take the above scripture, is entirely chronological. This means that verse 2 does not happen before verse 1. Verse 10 happens after verse 9. This is extremely important because the following verse comes after the sacrifice is taken away. It is written:

                “And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.” (Daniel 11:35)

                Since this passage is occurring after the sacrifice is removed it must occur during the great tribulation. Remember that Jesus told us the great tribulation begins when the sacrifice is removed and the abomination of desolation is placed. This passage discusses that some of them that have understanding of the True God and His ways will die during that time. These individuals will die for the purpose of making their brethren white. White means clean and pure. It also symbolizes righteousness. Where else does the Bible speak of similar activity?

                “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:26-27)

                God intends to present His Son a bride without blemish. This means she will be white, clean, and righteous. This also means that she will be unified (Ephesians 4:13). In other words, she will come to a place of maturity. Jesus is not coming back for a little girl, He is returning for a mature bride. The timeframe where people are specifically prophesied to die for this occurs during the great tribulation. The idea that God comes to catch His church away before a great tribulation is entirely illogical. According to scripture, the great tribulation will actually be the necessary medium through which God will perform this work in His church. Are you prepared?

Discussion

1.       How many prophetic years are there between the time the antichrist makes covenant with Israel and the return of Christ?

2.       What happens halfway into this seven prophetic year period?

3.       Are people prophesied to die for the sake of God’s purpose in the church before or after this midpoint event?

4.       What kind of church is Jesus returning for?

5.       Do you consider yourself mature in Christ?