The Birth of the Church Demonstrates its Purpose
In his book People of Spirit: Exploring Luke’s View of the Church (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), Graham H. Twelftree examines the church from the perspective of Luke through his Gospel and Acts. In the second chapter of this very interesting book, Twelftree asks when the church started. Is the origin of the church found at Pentecost with the coming of the Holy Spirit? Twelftree says, “No.”
In considering Luke’s view of the origin and purpose of the Church, two points can be made. First, an unavoidable conclusion to be drawn from this chapter is that from Luke’s perspective the Church has its origin in the ministry of Jesus and is recreated by the risen Jesus to be the renewed people of God. In the simple unaided call of the apostles and the collection of them around Jesus, the Church had its origins or birth..
We can say that Luke would not call Pentecost the birth of the Church. For him the origins of the Church is in the call and community of the followers of Jesus during his ministry. Perhaps Luke would say that what was born in hope in the ministry of the earthly Jesus was given the ‘breath’ (pneuma) of life and power in the promised coming of the ‘Spirit’ (pneuma). This means that, for Luke, the Church does not occupy a period in history separate from that of Jesus. Rather, the Church was called into existence by him and is a continuation of his ministry. (p 28)
Twelftree bases his conclusion on several pieces of textual evidence. First, Luke writes in Acts 1:1 that his previous work (the Gospel of Luke) was about “all that Jesus began to do and teach.” It follows, then, that the Book of Acts is about what Jesus continued to do and teach. Thus, one of the connections between the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts is found in the ministry of the earthly Jesus and its continuation in the life of the church.
Also, Twelftree demonstrates that Luke uses the twelve apostles as characters to connect his Gospel to Acts. In fact, as the first people who were called to follow Jesus in his earthly ministry, the apostles form the core of the church after Jesus’ ascension. However, not long into the Book of Acts, Luke demonstrates how the ministry of Jesus which had been continued by the twelve apostles, was then further continued by others.
Thus, while the twelve apostles connect the Gospel to Acts, and while the twelve represent the birth of the church and the continuation of Jesus’ ministry, the importance of the twelve soon diminished, being replaced by the importance of all believers as they continued what Jesus did and taught. Twelftree writes:
In eventually promoting Barnabas and particularly Paul to the rank of apostle, Luke is able to show his readers that the purpose of the Church portrayed in his Gospel and the early parts of Acts is to be the same as for the Church in the life of the readers. There is no closing of one age (the apostolic) and the initiating of another (post-apostolic) period. The kingdom, inextricably bound to the notion of mission, is conferred on the apostles, and experienced by them and expressed by them. The kingdom is also the subject of Paul’s attention as Acts closes. But this closing is the opening for the readers to continue experiencing and expressing the kingdom in their lives. (p. 29)
I’ve always considered Pentecost to be the birth of the church. But, I think that Twelftree’s arguments have merit, and that his conclusion warrants consideration. In fact, while studying the Gospel of Matthew in the last few months, I’ve recognized that Jesus called his followers to continue his ministry, especially when he sent the twelve out two-by-two in Matthew 10:5 (compare to Matthew 4:23, 9:35).
If the church’s origin is found in the ministry of Jesus, and if the church’s purpose is to continue the ministry of Jesus, what should we be doing today as the church? How should gathering together (the focus of this blog) aid in this purpose? How can gathering together distract from this purpose?
A quick question about music and singing
In Ephesians 5-6, Paul writes about the results of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Part of his description involves music and singing:
[B]e filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart… (Ephesians 5:18b-19 ESV)
Paul indicates that the outward expression of our “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” is directed toward “one another,” while the inward expression (our “heart”) is directed toward the Lord.
How should this affect our music and singing (and the purpose of our music and singing) when we gather together with the church?
21st Century Church Contest Entries
Energion’s blogging/essay contest is finished. All the submissions are in, and the judging has begun. I know, because I’m one of the judges. Without giving away my preferences or rankings, I thought I would share some thoughts from each essay (in the order listed by Energion):
From A. Amos Love’s submission:
This congregation of “Disciples of Christ,†“the ekklesia of God,†“ sons of God,†will;
Forsake all…
Love not the world…
Love not their own life…
Just want to know Him…
Count all things but dung…
Always take the lower place…
Make themselves of no reputation…
From Arthur Sido’s submission:
Scripture does not lay out a specific, liturgical schedule of events to govern the lives of believers nor is one desirable. All too often we have tried to push Scripture aside when it comes to the gathering of the New Covenant people as the church and replaced it with our own pragmatic solutions, rituals and traditions which may bring us comfort and a sense of being religious but bring little glory to God. Isn’t bringing glory to God what the gathering of the church is supposed to be about?
From Lew Ayotte’s submission:
When the Assembly of Christ is about building one another up, not dividing over leaders or denominations, focused on recognizing their own leaders, they will inherently be about fulfilling the Great Commission. In fact, I believe following Jesus’ command here may be like second nature to them. They will see the world through His eyes instead of their own. As the Assembly of Christ, reaching our neighbors will not be based on a program, chant, or weekly exercise… it will be according to Christ’s example. Each member in the assembly will recognize their responsibilities, although different, each one has an extremely important role.
From David Blanton’s submission:
Finally, a Jesus Christ ministry cannot help but look like Christ Jesus, the only mirror that is worth measuring itself against. What did the Good Samaritan look like? The parable never gave the listener a physical description because it wasn’t important. The only radical ministry is the one that has Christ Jesus as its center, who said to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself. If a ministry does that, then it cannot help but look like a Jesus Christ ministry. Does the ministry look forward or backward or does it abstain from the obtuseness of looking anywhere but its center?
From Lionel Woods’ submission:
When the disciples met with Christ, He was modeling community before them. They asked “where are you staying†and He answered “come and seeâ€. From that day forward they lived in a community, sharing, eating, living amongst, and knowing one another. They would have looked at what we giggle at today as a cult. We think that type of life on life is appalling, idiotic, unnecessary, we believe that type of life is too radical, ridiculous, we cling on to our autonomy like it is a right, my friends it is not. We belong to a King. A King who has created us for this community a community to reflect who He is.
From James Lee’s submission:
This aptly demonstrates the need for our ministry to each other and provides a point of commonality that will equip us to be true salt and light in the world while loving each other. We cannot accomplish the tasks of discipleship and proclamation of the Gospel through political agendas, legislated morality, bully pulpits, and sectarian distinctions that scream we are right and you are wrong. We can only accomplish true ministry in this century through the power of Christ, His Holy Spirit, and a love for one another that strengthens us to face the enemy head on, and storm the gates of hell with the victory that was wrought in the spotless Lamb’s blood.
From Christopher Larson’s submission:
Such ministry will seek to avoid the two pitfalls of pragmatism on the one hand and self important hyper-spiritual perfection on the other. it will celebrate the freedom to do many things so that one thing might in the end be done, and it will celebrate all who share that calling as brothers and sisters in the ministry that takes many external forms, but in the end is one, (Pslam 119:63). Our goal will be to always ‘remember Jesus Christ’ in whatever form our work may take, and to know however difficult the path may seem He is Lord and He is not in chains, but freely working in and through us to bring forth a people for Himself, (2 Timothy 2:1-9).
I enjoyed all of the submissions. They all caused me to think about the church of Jesus Christ in the 21st century in different ways. I encourage you to read each of the essays.
NT Theology Lecture: The Assembled Church in Corinth
Yesterday, I had an opportunity to present a lecture in New Testament Theology. Dave Black asked me to speak in his class on the topic of the assembling of the church in 1 Corinthians 12-14.
I presented the lecture titled “The Assembled Church in Corinth” as an exercise in New Testament Theology, hopefully to not only encourage the students in their understanding of the church, but also in their understanding and practice of New Testament and Biblical Theology.
I’ve added the mp3 file to my Resources page. You can either download the recording, or stream it online. Also, I’ve included a pdf file of my outline on that same page.
This is the outline that I used for my presentation:
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The Assembled Church
I. Introduction and Background
Andrew Chester – “The Pauline Communities†– A Vision for the Church: Studies in Early Christian Ecclesiology (ed. Markus Bockmuehl and Michael B. Thompson; Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1997):
Paul’s vision for the communities that he wrote to can be summed up quite succinctly. He sees them as being a new creation in Christ, filled with the Spirit, possessing gifts of the Spirit and overflowing with the fruit of the Spirit, controlled above all by love; they are communities that should be pure and holy, mutually supportive and interdependent, completely united, transcending the oppositions and tensions between different groups within the community, and with every kind of barrier that would divide them in normal society broken down.
This brief summary may seem over-idealized; it may indeed seem somewhat grandiose and abstract, especially in the light of the occasional letter that Paul wrote to quite different communities, often on very specific and mundane issues… It is also to be said that theory and practice in any case often fail to coincide, and the way that a particular community lives can be very far removed from Paul’s vision of what it should be. Paul himself is made painfully aware of this. Indeed, it is probably true to say that we have a semblance of Paul’s vision for his communities, to a large extent, because of the problems that have arisen in a number of those communities and that Paul feels the need to counter. That is, Paul finds himself faced with what he considers false practice, or even a complete negation of his ideal of the Christian community, and hence has to urge those in these communities that he has founded to become what they know they should be, and not remain as they are. (105)
As Chester points out, we have Paul’s vision for the church because the churches that Paul wrote to were not living according to that vision.
The church in Corinth is a good example of a church that failed to live according to that vision.
Margaret Mitchell (Paul and the Rhetoric of Reconciliation) suggests that Paul’s purpose in writing to the church in Corinth was to reconcile the many factions that had formed. Why? Because division and factions were contrary to what he taught in all the churches.
A. Division from one another
- In Chapters 1-3, they were dividing around certain leaders / apostles.
- In Chapters 6-8, they were dividing around certain doctrines (strong/weak)
- In Chapter 11, they were dividing on economics
- In Chapters 12-14, they were dividing around spiritual gifts
B. Division from other churches
Paul consistently reminds them that all churches practice the same things. This begins in the greeting while Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are not independent but, “to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.†(1 Corinthians 1:2)
- (1 Corinthians 4:17) That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.
- (1 Corinthians 7:17) Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.
- (1 Corinthians 11:16) If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.
- (1 Corinthian 14:33-34) For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says.
Paul expected consistent behavior and practices in all the churches.
II. Paul’s Corrections
Paul corrects the divisive attitudes and actions of the Corinthians believers.
A. Identity
In spite of their problems, Paul continually recognizes them as the church, as separated from the world (i.e. holy) by God, as called by God, as brothers and sisters.
- (1 Corinthians 1:2) To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints
- (1 Corinthians 1:4) I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus
- (1 Corinthians 1:9) God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
- (1 Corinthians 1:30) He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
Notice that this is all in the first chapter! Paul does not say that the Corinthians WILL BE the church if they do certain things right. They ARE the church. This becomes very important when we begin discussing the church meeting.
B. Character and Practices
Paul expects children of God to display a certain character and do certain things, not in order to become God’s children, but because they ARE ALREADY God’s children.
In fact, Paul dedicates much of his letter to demonstrating that their character and practices are not aligned to their identity.
C. Who is responsible for correcting these problems?
Paul addresses his letter to the church. He describes the problems to the church. He calls on the church to take action to correct the issues involved. While leaders (elders/pastors) can help the church understand their identity and their responsibilities as children of God, leaders cannot correct the church or obey for the church.
Once again, this becomes very important as we begin to think about the church meeting.
III. The Question about Spiritual Gifts (Analysis)
Paul talks about the church gathering in 1 Corinthians 14. But, we must not separate these passages from their context. 1 Corinthians 14 is part of a longer section concerning spiritual gifts. This section begins in 1 Corinthians 12 with the phrase “Now concerning spiritual gifts…â€, and ends at 1 Corinthians 14:40, after which there is a change of subject. There are other linguistic connections throughout this section and especially between the beginnings of chapter 12 and the end of chapter 14.
So, Paul’s primary teaching about the church meeting falls in a section of Scripture where he is answering questions or dealing with issues concerning spiritual gifts.
A. Corinthians 1-11
Before we begin analyzing 1 Corinthians 12-14, we should realize that this letter is a whole discourse. We should place the section within the letter, and also look for information within 1 Corinthians 1-11 that may lead up to this section:
- (1 Corinthians 1:4-8) Paul is grateful that the grace of God has enriched the believers in Corinth such that they do not lack any spiritual gift.
- (1 Corinthians 8:1) All of us possess knowledge. This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. (Key concepts that bridge the entire letter – also found in 1 Cor 12-14)
- (1 Corinthians 11:1-16) Men and women prophesying. Since we learn later that prophesy is for the purpose of edifying the church, the setting seems to be a church meeting.
- (1 Corinthians 11:17-34) Problems when the Corinthians are sharing the common meal (Lord’s Supper) together. In this passage in particular we see that carrying out certain activities is not the point of meeting together.
B. Corinthians 12-14
Meaning is found primarily is paragraphs. Paragraphs are made up of sentences which offer propositions, illustrations, arguments, etc. But, the author’s meaning is found at the paragraph level. Thus, we should analyze our passage paragraph by paragraph.
There are 14 paragraphs in 1 Corinthians 12-14:
Paragraph 1: (12:1-3) (3 sentences)
Introduction: Although once they were guided by idols that could not speak, now they are guided by the Holy Spirit who leads them to proclaim “Jesus is Lord.â€
Paragraph 2: (12:4-11) (17 sentences)
Despite the many different ways that God gifts, serves, and empowers, all of the gifts are given for the same reason: for the mutual benefit of the church.
Paragraph 3: (12:12-26) (21 sentences)
Though our gifts are different, we are all part of the same body, and we need one another, especially those whose gifts seem less significant.
Paragraph 4: (12:27-30) (9 sentences)
We are not part of just any group. We are part of God’s group – Christ’s body – and God decides how to place us in his group.
Paragraph 5: (12:31-13:3) (5 sentences)
Exercising our spiritual gifts is not as important as demonstrating love to one another.
Paragraph 6: (13:4-8a) (16 sentences)
Love causes us to give preference to others, always.
Paragraph 7: (13:8b-10) (6 sentences)
Spiritual gifts will one day cease to be necessary.
Paragraph 8: (13:11-12) (8 sentences)
Today we are like immature children, but we are growing toward a mature state.
Paragraph 9: (13:13) (2 sentences)
Even in that mature state – when faith and hope are not necessary – we will still love one another.
Paragraph 10: (14:1-5) (11 sentences)
We demonstrate love in the use of our spiritual gifts when we use them primarily to build up others, especially when the church is assembled together.
Paragraph 11: (14:6-14) (13 sentences)
If I exercise a spiritual gift (such as tongues) in way that you do not understand, then I am not building up the church.
Paragraph 12: (14:15-19) (9 sentences)
When the church is meeting together, it is more important that the church is built up than for someone to exercise their spiritual gifts, even someone who is very spiritual.
Paragraph 13: (14:20-25) (11 sentences)
While there is a purpose for those gifts that do not build up the church, that purpose is not carried out when the church is assembled.
Paragraph 14: (14:26-40) (27 sentences)
So, whenever the church is gathered together, everything that we do together should be done for the purpose of building up the church.
Once we understand Paul’s argument and progression, we also need to determine why he wrote this passage. Obviously, he was answering a question or dealing with an issue concerning spiritual gifts, but could there have been another reason for 1 Corinthians 12-14?
The linguistic concept of prominence can help us to determine Paul’s focus. By examining grammatical and syntactical structures, rhetoric, repetition, and other linguistic devices, we can attempt to discern what was most important to Paul.
Two paragraphs stand out as prominent in this passage:
- Paragraph 9 stands out because of the rhetorical devices that Paul used. Thus, Paul was emphasizing the importance of love in the exercise of spiritual gifts.
- Paragraph 14 stands out because of the grammatical and syntactical structures. Thus, Paul was also emphasizing the use of spiritual gifts whenever the church assembled.
Since Paragraph 14 is prominent, let’s consider it in more detail:
Whenever the church comes together… whatever is done should be done for edification.
I. 2-3 people speak in tongues if there is interpretation, otherwise they should be silent.
II. 2-3 people prophesy, while others weight what they say.
- Prophecy
- If one person is prophesying and another stands to speak, the first is to be silent.
- Everyone is able to prophesy in a manner that allows everyone to grow.
- The prophets are in control of their gift, because God does not cause confusion.
- Weighing Prophecy
- Women should not weigh prophesy, but should remain silent during that time of the meeting.
- God does not speak only to the prophets.
- True prophets should recognize the truth of what Paul writes here.
Whether prophecy or speaking in tongues (with interpretation) (or the exercise of any other spiritual gift) everything should be done decently and in order (as described above).
Why would Paul only focus on tongues and prophecy in this section?
It is a paradigm:
1.   “Tongues†represents any gift that is not immediately understandable and thus is not edifying to the church.
2.   “Prophecy†represents any gift that is immediately understandable and thus is edifying to the church.
How do you think Paul would treat interpreted tongues?
Where would “teaching†fall in this paradigm? So, which instructions should we follow for teaching?
These are the types of questions that we need to consider as we “synthesize†the information into a New Testament theology.
IV. The Church Assembled (Synthesis)
In this section, I’m going to make some general remarks concerning the assembling of the church according to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Much of this will come from the passage that we just analyzed (1 Corinthians 12-14), but in order to determine a theology of the book, we must consider the entire book. To do a complete study, we would need to analyze each section – paragraph by paragraph – and consider the purpose of each section and paragraph and how each one relates to the entire letter.
1. When the church in Corinth came together, they ate together. Eating was not considered a separate part of their meeting; instead, they considered it “The Lord’s Supper.†Paul encouraged this thinking as long as there were no factions. Paul exhorted them to treat one another as equals in the way that they ate together.
(1 Corinthians 11:17-33)
2. Men and women both took part in the church meeting. Paul encouraged men and women to pray and prophesy. He also recognized the importance of the spiritual gifts of all believers. Certainly, there were limitations, as with all aspects of the church meeting. (1 Corinthians 11:2-16; 1 Corinthians 12)
3. There was no distinction between different kinds of church meetings. Paul gives his instructions in the context of “whenever you come together.†This does not mean that the church in Corinth did not meet at different times for specific activities (service, prayer, etc.), but Paul would expect the same principles to guide each type of meeting. (1 Corinthians 14:26)
4. The purpose for the church assembling is mutual edification. Whenever the church in Corinth came together, he expected them to work together in order to build up one another. When the church is meeting, the spiritual giftedness of an individual is not as important as the edification of the church. (1 Corinthians 14:1-26)
5. The precise nature of the spiritual gift is not as important as the manner in which it is exercised and the intended result. Paul does not define the various spiritual gifts, and he never gives us the same list twice. We do not decide if our speech is encouraging or instructing or both. (1 Corinthians 12)
6. Several people should speak during the church meeting, and everyone is responsible for discerning what is said. This makes more sense when we understand that the main form of teaching during this time was discussion, not lecture. But, Paul’s vision included multiple people speaking in order to build up the church, while other have the opportunity to consider and question what is said, again in order to build up the church. (1 Corinthians 14:26-40)
7. Love is more important than anything else. We must never forget this. If we are not demonstrating love for one another (especially for those who seem less significant or less gifted or less anything), then we are not meeting as the church as Paul envisioned. (1 Corinthians 13)
When placing this passage within the context of the whole letter, it may be beneficial to consider how we as the church can demonstrate certain key ideas while the church is meeting. For example:
1. I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. (1 Corinthians 1:10)
2. I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people… but now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of … not even to eat with such a one. (1 Corinthians 5:9-11)
3. I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be served. (1 Corinthians 10:33)
The unhypocritcal church
A couple of years ago, I published three posts called “The unhypocritical church” (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). The posts were based on a study of, meditation on, and comparison to Romans 12 (especially verses 9-21). Here are the three posts together:
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Most theologians comment about how “theological” the book of Romans is. This simply means that Paul speaks in terms that most closely resemble how modern theologians speak. Of course, Romans is far from a “systematic theology”. But Romans does include a good deal of theology – that is, Paul tells us what he things about God and people and salvation.
In fact, Chapters 1 through 11 are filled with theology. We learn that all people are sinful – all people are separated from God – all people deserve eternal separation from God. We also learn that the remedy is found in the person of Jesus Christ – his death, burial, and resurrection – and that the remedy is administered through the person and presence and power of the Holy Spirit. But, Paul doesn’t stop there.
In Chapter 12, Paul begins to show how his “theology” should work itself out in the lives of all followers of Jesus Christ. He begins by showing that a life sacrificed to God will lead to a life that is tranformed – changed – into a life that is acceptable to God. This life will demonstrate the gifts of the Spirit because it will be controlled by the Spirit. The Spirit will manifest himself differently in different people, but the manifestation of the Spirit’s gifts will always be for the same purpose. But, Paul doesn’t stop there.
In Romans 12:9-21, Paul lays down specific characteristics of the life that is led by the Spirit. This is what he says:
Let love be genuine (unhypocritical). Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21 ESV)
Notice how the genuine (unhypocritical) love of Spirit-indwelled, Spirit-led believers is described:
- holding fast to good
- loving one another
- honoring one another
- serving the Lord fervently
- rejoicing
- patient
- praying
- giving to needy believers
- being hospitable (loving strangers)
- blessing
- living in harmony
- humble
- doing what is honorable
- living in peace with all
This is how the church of God should live. This is how the church of God should be described. In fact, the “theology” of the previous 11 chapters means little if the lives of believers are not being transformed by the indwelled Spirit.
So, where do you stop? Do you stop at discussing theology? Or, do you see the power of the Spirit at work in your life? How does a description of your life match up to Paul’s description of the Spirit-led, transformed life?
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“The unhypocritcal church – Part 2”
When I wrote the post “The unhypocritical church“, I did not plan for it to continue into a second part. However, as I have been meditating on Romans 12 for the last few days, there are a few more thoughts that I want to share.
Sunday morning, we gathered with the church like we do every week. After the formal part of our meeting concluded, people hung around talking for about an hour. At one point, my daughter and another girl her age stood by the door and, like good stewardesses, greeted those who left by saying, “Buh-bye. See you next week.” This was funny at first. Then I realized exactly what they were saying. They recognized that we would not see many of these people for seven days.
Sunday afternoon, as I published the post called “The unhypocritical church” and thought about the episode with my daughter and her friend, I realized that it would be impossible to carry out the teachings of Romans 12:9-21 if we only see one another once a week in a formal setting. Look at this list again:
- holding fast to good
- loving one another
- honoring one another
- serving the Lord fervently
- rejoicing
- patient
- praying
- giving to needy
- believers
- being hospitable (loving strangers)
- blessing
- living in harmony
- humble
- doing what is honorable
- living in peace with all
Sure, some of these we could probably do once a week, and pretend to have carried out Paul’s intention. But, can we have patience with one another if we only see each other once every seven days? Can we live in harmony with one another if we only see each other once every seven days? Similarly, we are to help one another live according to these descriptions. Can we help one another be hospitable toward strangers if we only see one another on Sunday?
This passage (Romans 12:9-21) is about community. Paul does not state, “Live as a community with your brothers and sisters in Christ”. However, he describes believers living together in such a way that they must recognize themselves as a Spirit-indwelled, Spirit-led community in order to see these descriptions carried out in their lives. There is no way to understand “church” as a once or twice a week event and have these characteristics. No, Paul is not describing an event, or a location, or an organization. Paul is describing a way-of-life for people who are following their Master together.
Among the church where God has placed me, I recognize these characteristics in many of my brothers and sisters. On Sunday, I heard that several people are spending their Labor Day Monday helping some friends work on their houses. I heard about other friends who are donating furniture and delivering it to someone that they do not know, but who is in need of furniture. Other friends are spending their day off by working on cars for their brothers and sisters. In activities such as these (and probably many others that I do not know about), the love of Christ is manifest and proclaimed both to believers and to unbelievers alike.
A community… a kingdom community, ruled by the King, looking out for one another, serving one another and the world, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, and warmly welcoming those who accept his grace and mercy. This is the kind of church that Paul is describing. This is the church of unypocritical love. This is how I want to live my life.
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“The unhypocritical church – Part 3”
I think this will be my last post on Romans 12:9-21 for now. As a reminder, this is what Paul writes:
Let love be genuine (unhypocritical). Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21 ESV)
Once again, notice how the genuine (unhypocritical) love of Spirit-indwelled, Spirit-led believers is described:
- holding fast to good
- loving one another
- honoring one another
- serving the Lord fervently
- rejoicing
- patient
- praying
- giving to needy believers
- being hospitable (loving strangers)
- blessing
- living in harmony
- humble
- doing what is honorable
- living in peace with all
This is how the church of God should live. This description should characterize each believer and each group of beleivers.
Over the last few days, I have been asking myself which of these characteristics are evident in my life and which characteristics are absent. I can look back over the last few years and see where God has grown me and changed me. But, I can also see where I am not living as God intends. Specifically, God is still teaching me how to show hospitality (that is, love for strangers as opposed to love for those who I already know and love) and how to give to those who are in need. Perhaps, most of all, this is showing me areas in my life where I am not submitting to the presence of God.
As Joel pointed out in a recent post, we must begin with a proper understanind of who we are in Christ. I would also add that we should also recognize the awesome power and presence of the Holy Spirit who indwells us and changes us from the inside out.
Beginning with this understanding, I am going to ask you the same question that I have been asking myself: Meditating on the description of the unhypocritical (genuine) love of Romans 12:9-21, where is God still working in your life? In what ways are you not submitting to God’s presence in your life?
More on calling and gifting
James at “Idle musings of a bookseller” continues to quote from Kung’s book Why Priests? One of his latest posts is called “A calling is the requirement“. He quotes:
…it must be said that charism in the strict sense, i.e., a calling from God in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, stands by itself and does not flow from the institution. It is a free calling to a free ministry in the Church, which the Church leadership can suppress or even worse extinguish only at its own expense. A thoroughgoing direct or indirect “bureaucratizing” of a charism contradicts the New Testament. As the New Testament shows, a charism has no need at all of prior legitimation by a Church institution. On the contrary, there are in fact institutions and representations of institutions who have nothing charismatic about them: for instance, ordained Church functionaries who carry out their ministry mechanically and show no sign of a genuine calling of of the Spirit of Christ.—Why Priests?, page 87
May those of us who are leaders in the church never find ourselves suppressing or extinguishing the work of the Spirit through another believer. May we never seek to build an institution which has nothing charismatic (of the Spirit) about it.
Local and Itinerant
In my previous post, I mentioned that I was going to cover two different aspects of the ways in which God uses people to serve the church. I covered the first aspect in yesterday’s post “Speaking and Serving“. Today, I am covering the second aspect “Local and Itinerant”.
It seems, as we study Scripture, that believers offered two types of service to churches: itinerant service and local service.
When I say “itinerant service”, I’m talking about service offered by those believers who travel from place to place, sometimes staying in one place for an extended period, but never with the intention of remaining in one place. Paul and Barnabas would be included in this group (following the events of Acts 13:1-3. Similarly, many of their travelling companions would be included in this group (i.e. John Mark, Silas, Timothy, Titus, Luke).
“Itinerant service” included many types of giftings, and it would be difficult to distinguish some giftings as only itinerant. However, it seems that the apostolic gift was intended as an itinerant gift. Even as an apostle and even with the desire to go where there was no gospel witness and no church, Paul did return to the same areas many times in order to strengthen the churches there. So, “itinerant service” is not limited to travelling to areas where there are no churches.
Several passages of Scripture refer to this type of “itinerant service” to the church. For instance, in 1 Corinthians 9:1-6, Paul seems to point to a group of people who are travelling from place to place. Similarly, we see that Paul did not intend for Timothy and Titus to remain in Ephesus and Crete, respectively. Finally, John commends Gaius for taking care of those brothers who were travelling through his area.
Besides “itinerant service”, there seems to be another type of service offered to the church as well: “local service”. In this case, I’m using the word “local” as an antonym for “itinerant”. Those who offer “local service” intend to remain in one place, serving the church in that place. In fact, this would probably be the predominant type of service recognized in Scripture.
Before Acts 13:1-3, it seems that both Paul and Barnabas intended to remain in whatever place they were in, serving the church there. Similarly, Paul intended for the elders in Ephesus to remain in Ephesus caring for the people there (Acts 20:28). When John writes his third letter, he distinguishes between those brothers who are travelling, and Gaius, Diotrephes, and Demetrius, who apparently remained in the same location.
However, just because someone offers “local service”, this doesn’t mean that that person never travels to another location. However, it does mean that the person intends to return to their home location. For example, Epaphroditus brought a gift to Paul from the church in Phillipi, but intended to return. Those who travelled for a short time (to help Paul, for instance) would often serve alongside Paul while with him, but they still intended to return to their home location.
Do you think it is legitimate to distinguish between itinerant service and local service? Do you this distinction is helpful? Why or why not?
Speaking and Serving
Last week, I had several very good conversations with people concerning various ways in which God uses people to serve the church. Some of these discussion were triggered by the “Developing a Biblical Ecclesiology” seminar from several days ago. So, if you talked with me last week, you may see bits and pieces of our conversation here.
I’m going to cover these discussions in two different posts. The first – this post – will cover two fundamental categories of how God uses his people – through speaking and through serving. The next post – tomorrow – will cover how God uses some people in one locality or community, while he uses others across different localities or communities.
Friday night before the seminar, part of our discussion centered around the topic of spiritual gifts. As we know, there are several spiritual gift lists in Scripture (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28-30; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 4:11). As Dave Black pointed out, though, while some are supernaturally gifted to do certain things (i.e. teaching), all followers of Jesus are responsible for doing these same things (i.e. teaching).
Thus, all are responsible for giving, while the Spirit uses some people’s giving in supernatural ways. All are responsible for helping, while the Spirit uses some people’s helping in supernatural ways. All are responsible for teaching, while the Spirit uses some people’s teaching in supernatural ways. Those whom the Spirit normally supernaturally gifts for teaching (for example), we can call “teachers” (or “prophets” or “shepherds” or “encouragers” or “givers” etc). But, this doesn’t remove the responsibility of all to teach (or prophesy or shepherd or encourage or give etc).
Thus, when I think about gifting and serving other people, I like to use the broad categories that we find in 1 Peter 4:10-11:
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies – in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:10-11 ESV)
In this passage, Peter takes the emphasis off of the individual gifts, and divides all types of work among people into two different categories: speaking and serving. (In this case, since we know that “speaking” is a way to serve, we can understand “serving” as “non-speaking”.) Furthermore, Peter indicates that when we speak or serve from love (4:8-9), as directed and enabled by God, then we bring glory to God.
The reason that I like these broad categories is that I do not have to be concerned about which particular gift I am exercising. In fact, when I speak, I am not supposed to be concerned about which gift I am exercising, because I do not know how the Spirit is going to use my words. Similarly, when I serve someone, I do not know how the Spirit is going to use that either.
My focus should simply be on speaking to or serving one another and allowing the Spirit to choose how to use my words or actions. In this way, we take the focus off of the one doing the speaking or serving and we even take the focus off of the specific “gift” being exercised as if we could choose which “gift” to exercise. No, our focus is on speaking and/or serving as directed by God and allowing the Spirit to use our speaking and/or service as he chooses.
Also, these broad categories remind us that both speaking and serving remain the responsibility to ALL followers of Jesus Christ. If the Spirit normally uses my speaking as teaching, this does not remove my responsibility to serve. If the Spirit normally uses my serving as giving, this does not remove my responsibility to speak.
However, recognizing these broad categories and the responsibility of all believers to speak or to serve does not change the fact that the Spirit does choose to use some people more in one manner than in another manner. Thus, we can recognize “teachers” and “prophets” and “givers” and “helpers” etc. Also, recognizing how God generally chooses to use our own speaking and serving can help us understand how he wishes us to work among the church. Certainly, there can be times that the Spirit chooses to work in different ways, and we should also be ready for that as well.
In this view, we can see how the authors of Scripture recognize that all believers are responsible for teaching, exhorting, serving, giving, prophecy, etc., while they also recognize that some are teachers, some are exhorters, some are givers, some are prophets, etc. While it can be beneficial to both ourselves and the church to know how the Spirit generally uses our speaking/serving, it is also beneficial to recognize that we are all responsible to speak/serve.
More ready to submit than to impose
I recently read Lesslie Newbigin’s book The Household of God (Friendship Press, 1954). Kärkkäinen describes Newbigin’s ecclesiology as a “missionary ecclesiology” – “The new conciliar understanding of mission is based on the idea that the essential nature of the church is missionary, rather than mission being a task given to the church. (Velli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Introduction to Ecclesiology, Downers Grove: IVP, 2002, pg. 151).
However, Newbigin does not begin his book with mission. Instead, he begins with the essence or nature of the church:
We are to be speaking about the Church, and it is necessary at the outset to say that this means a society of human beings, which—so far as those still living in the flesh are concerned—is a visible community among the other human communities. The question, ‘What are its boundaries?,’ is part of the question we have to discuss, but just for that reason it is important to make clear that we are speaking of a society which has discernible boundaries. We are not speaking of an abstract noun, or of an invisible platonic idea… We are called to recognize and join ourselves to God’s visible congregation here on earth. This congregation is truly known only to faith, because it is constituted in and by the Holy Spirit. (19-20)
According to Newbigin, the Spirit plays an essential role in the constitution, nature, and task of the church. The Spirit primarily functions through his abiding presence:
The Holy Spirit is now [in contrast with what was described in the OT] no more an occasional visitant to a favored individual, but the abiding and indwelling principle of life in a fellowship. The supreme gift of the Spirit is not the spectacular power by which an individual may gain preeminence, but the humble and self-effacing love by which the body is built up and knit together. (115)
Finally, the Spirit also functions during the meeting of the church, not only through the gifts that he gives to those he indwells, but also – and primarily – through the manner of life of the believers who are meeting together:
In the building up of the common life of the body there will be need for the due operation of the principles both of order and of freedom. Where these clash with one another there will be room for honest difference of opinion, and there will need for a common seeking of the Spirit’s guidance. But the mark of the man in Christ will be that he is more eager to claim freedom for his brother than for himself, and more ready to submit himself to good order than to impose it on his brother. In any case the fundamental principle will always be the love which seeks not its own good, but the common good of the body. (116)
I believe this is one of the most best explanations of the work of the Spirit among the body of Christ while the church meets! When the church meets, if each individual – or any one particular individual – is seeking to exercise his or her own spiritual gifts without first considering and giving preference to other present, then this is a clear indication that there is a lack of “a common seeking of the Spirit’s guidance.”
It seems that the mark of the church today is that some people have freedom to exercise their gifts – and are even required to by the church – while others do not have that freedom. It also seems that very little “submission” is done when it comes to spiritual gifts. Certain people exercise their gifts and impose those gifts on others every time the church meets. Thus, some claim and even demand freedom for themselves, while imposing “order” on others at the same time. This is backwards!
In fact, I believe that the common, traditional way the church meets – one or a few people exercising their gifts week after week while the others watch or listen – is detrimental to the spiritual health of the church. In order for us to seek the “common good of the body” we (especially leaders – who are supposed to be mature) must submit to others and allow the Spirit to work through them – even if their “offering” is less than “excellent”.
Read and ponder this sentence from Newbigin one more time: “But the mark of the man in Christ will be that he is more eager to claim freedom for his brother than for himself, and more ready to submit himself to good order than to impose it on his brother.” May God change us – especially us leaders – so that we are more ready to submit to others than to impose ourselves on others!
The teacher in teaching
I often write about spiritual gifts, like I did yesterday in my post “Charismatics“. Because I often write about spiritual gifts, people often reach my blog from search engines when they are seeking information about gifts.
The primary thing that people search for is something like “define the various spiritual gifts”. Thus, they want to know what it means to be a “teacher” or “prophet” or “exhorter” etc. They are probably disappointed if they read any of my blog posts, like a recent series that I published about “Spiritual Gifts“. Why? Because I do not try to define the various spiritual gifts. Why? Because, for the most part, Scripture does not define the various spiritual gifts. As I explained in that series, the authors of Scripture were not interested in defining the various gifts. Instead, they were more interested in HOW those gifts were used – whatever the gift happened to be.
For example, Paul exhorts the Romans to use their gifts which the Spirit has given them. If their gift is teaching, then they should use that gift by… guess what?… teaching. In whatever way the Spirit has gifted the individual, then the individual should exercise that gift (not trying to exercise some other gift) to the benefit of the other people in the church.
Interestingly, Paul does not limit the exercise of spiritual gifts to the leaders of the church – either the pastors/elders or the deacons or even the apostles. His exhortation is for all followers of Jesus Christ (indwelled by the Spirit) to exercise their spiritual gifts as the Spirit gives them.
Yesterday, Dave Black also wrote a very important essay called “Are You a Teacher?” He writes about the distinction between spiritual gifts and the responsibilities of all believers. Thus, the Spirit gifts some as teachers, but all are responsible to teach. The Spirit gifts some as givers, but all are responsible to give. The Spirit gifts some as pastors, but all are responsible to care for one another.
Dave writes:
Of course, all of us are to be teachers in one sense; we are to “teach … one another” (Col. 3:16). And in Hebrews we read, “By this time you ought to be teachers” (Heb. 5:11). We all have something to teach others – or should. I can’t tell you how much I delight in hearing my wife or some other member of our Sunday School class utter encouraging words of instruction during our lesson time, or in reading the Bible studies that Nathan has written, or in visiting websites written by “laypeople” that are chock full of good, practical Bible teaching. In fact, sometimes informal conversations around the Word can be more effective, more persuasive, more powerful, more life-changing than formal instruction. But this does not mean that all should be teachers in another sense. As James writes, “Let not many of you become teachers” (James 3:1).
Thus, even though some are gifted by the Spirit to teach, all are responsible to teach. It follows, then, that all of us – even those gifted by the Spirit to teach – can learn from (be taught by) others – even those NOT gifted by the Spirit to teach.
Dave also exhorts us not to leave teaching or other service only to those who have been recognized as elders or specially trained. He says:
Are you a teacher? Do you have something to contribute to the Body by way of “upbuilding, encouragement, or consolation” (1 Cor. 14:3)? I’m quite positive that you are, and that you do. Fear not then to express your spontaneous zeal in teaching others what the Lord Jesus has taught you. It matters not what level of formal academic training you may have had or not had. If we are members of the Body of Christ, we have the privilege and, yes, the responsibility of teaching one another. I emphasize this great truth everywhere I go. You do not need special training in a theological college to be a God-trained and God-taught teacher in the church. Just look at Paul’s use of theodidaktoi in 1 Thess. 4:9: “You yourselves have been God-taught.” Or read John’s instruction in 1 John 2:20, 27 about the chrisma (anointing) you have from God. Or see the promise in Jer. 31:33-34 that God would write His law on the hearts of His people and teach them directly as part of Jesus’ New Covenant ministry.
On the other hand, some of you are specially gifted in the area of teaching. Here is my advice to you: Do not think you need to be an elder or a pastor to teach! As Paul puts it in Eph. 4:11, all pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors. I believe a healthy church will have both shepherd-teachers and sheep-teachers, working together in harmony for the building up of the entire Body of Christ. In other words, a New Testament church will have a host of teachers, not only ready to impart knowledge, but to receive it.
I believe that one of the main reasons that the church is weak today is that service – especially the exercise of spiritual gifts – has been relegated to church officials only. The church as a whole does not exercise their gifts for the benefit of the church as a whole. Thus, the church is not receiving all of the “upbuilding, encouragement, and consolation” that it should. One person – of even a group – of highly trained individuals cannot take the place of the working of the Spirit through the entire church.
How has the Spirit gifted you? Then it is your responsibility to serve other believers in that capacity. If the Spirit has gifted you in teaching, then teach. Are you a pastor? Then teach. Are you not a pastor? Then teach. Do you not have a formal environment in which to teach? So what? Teach anyway in whatever opportunities the Lord gives you.
Is your spiritual gift not teaching? You are still responsible to teach, but you are also responsible to exercise whatever spiritual gifting you have been given.
If all believers started serving one another and the world as God has gifted us, I think we would see a huge difference in the church and the world today. As long as we relinquish our God-given responsibilities to others because of position or training or apathy, then I think the church will continue to be ineffective in the lives of believers and in the lives of others.