The Worst Worldliness in the World

There are often discussions among holiness-minded Apostolics about avoiding worldliness. And this is a good thing. Lord knows, we need to avoid being worldly. The warning of John stills thunders, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.” But in our carefulness to avoid worldliness, we sometimes miss the worst worldliness in the world–what Paul calls “self-made religion.” Look at what he said: 

“If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch ( referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” (Colossians 2:20-23) 

 

The key here is “the elemental spirits of the world.” This is the stoicheia (rendered “elements,” “rudiments” and “principles” in the KJV) that Paul speaks of now and then. The stoicheia are the “spirit-systems” that make up the religious, political and social structures of the world. If I may oversimplify it a bit, the stoicheia are the systems of the world that the principalities and powers indwell in order to control the affairs of men.

When scripture warns us about the evil of the world, this is “the world” being referenced. There are two “worlds,” as it were: the world of God’s good creation, which God loves; and the world of the fallen system that lies in darkness under the control of rebel powers who resist the irresistible rule of King Jesus. This is the world that stands in defiance as the enemy of God, and this is the world that God hates and that we must refuse to love. 

 

The stoicheia that Paul condemns here in Colossians 2 is the stoicheia of Judaism. Paul preaches against “human precepts and teachings” that flow out of tradition and not out of Christ. This alerts us to a sobering reality: self-made religion becomes a stoicheia. a spirit-system that evil powers indwell in order to control the souls of men. This means that any form of religion that is based on regulations that flow out of human tradition rather than out of the teaching of Jesus is actually a part of the world system that God so deeply hates. 

 

Think about this now. Self-made religion, and that would include any and all forms of Apostolic practice that do not flow out of Jesus, is a part of “the world.” And, since this form of worldliness masquerades as holiness, it is the most dangerous of all worldliness-es. (Pardon the ungrammatical plural there. Couldn’t think of better way to say it.) There is no worse way to be worldly than to be falsely religious. 

 

I think we need to think about this. Everything we teach and preach must flow out of Jesus, out of His teaching and the teaching of His apostles. Whatever we embrace and preserve that is nothing more than tradition must be discarded before it becomes a house that is “empty, swept and garnished.” This sort of religious chicanery is exactly what Jesus warned against when He used the empty house example–the empty house was Israel’s temple that had become the habitation of demons. It had become the stoicheia. 

 

The bottom line is that our holiness doctrine must conform to Christ. Otherwise, our “holiness” becomes the worst worldliness in the world. 

 

 

 

Esther’s Call: Coming to the Kingdom for Such a Time As This

Yesterday, I posted the Mother’s Day message from last Sunday.  It has prompted quite a bit of favorable response, so I thought I would go back to Mother’s Day 2012 and post the text of the sermon that I preached then. Possibly it will prove helpful for those who, like me, are working their way through the question of women in ministry and seeking a biblical balance.

This is a lengthy post, so grab a gallon of iced tea, some chips and salsa and settle in for a while. Look forward to your responses. 

Esther’s Call: Coming to the Kingdom for Such a Time As This

Text: Esther 4:13-14

Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Today is Mother’s Day, and first of all, I would like to wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, most of all, to my mother, to my wife and to my daughters, for the mothers they shall be, by the grace of God. I pray God’s blessings on all of you today.

 

Since today is Mother’s Day, I want to preach a message that has been working in my spirit for many months. For several years now, I have been wrestling with the issue of women in ministry and the areas of involvement that women are biblically allowed and encouraged to have. There is no doubt that there are biblical limitations on gender roles and the involvement of women in leading the church. But there also is no doubt that there is a great deal of opportunity for women in ministry that has not been properly defined and facilitated. I want to talk about that today.

 

Women around the world live in varying degrees of liberty and oppression. We should say from the start that the Christian faith has been the prime force in liberating women from abuse and oppression. But there are still many areas of the world where women are treated as property and as beasts to be exploited by men. This is ungodly and must be opposed by all who worship the Creator. How did we get here? How did we get to the place where women, created in the image of God, should be treated as second class citizens? 

 

It all started at the beginning, which is where most things start. God created Adam and Eve as the expressions of His image in the world. The image of God is revealed in both male and female. The man and the woman worked together as equals, though because Adam was created first and the woman was created for him, the man was the head of the family, the captain of the team. But sin distorted this reality. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were both cursed, as was the serpent. Part of the curse of the woman was that “your desire shall be unto–or, against–your husband, and he shall rule over you.” This was not the way God created them to be, but since the fall, the man subordinates the woman and the woman resists his rule.

 

Throughout the Old Testament, there were many instances where women broke through this subjection. Some did so in godless ways, such as Jezebel. Others did so in godly ways, such as Deborah and others who led the people of God. These godly women in the Old Testament, and there are too many to name today, were a sign of something greater to come. Just like God told Eve that her seed would bring salvation to the world, thus giving woman a prominent place in the scheme of redemption, so God reminded women now and then that they were not created to be suppressed. The female judges and prophets of the Old Testament were signs of a new age to come when all things would be made new, and women would be free to stand side by side with man again with no fear of oppression. 

 

This dawning reality began to brighten the world even further when Jesus came. Jesus was amazing in how He defied the prevailing attitude of the Jewish leaders, the men who thanked God daily that they were not made a woman. Women were not allowed to give testimony in court. And there were many other limitations on the roles of women. But when Jesus came, He defied many of those oppressive customs, and women began to experience involvement and opportunity in the ministry of Jesus that had been denied them before. 

 

Of course, this is just what the prophets foretold. God promised through Joel–and Peter quoted it on the Day of Pentecost–that “your sons and daughters will prophesy; upon your your male servants and female servants will I pour out my Spirit.” The reality of Pentecost is that a new world is breaking in upon the old. Let me stop and say this here: we are not truly Pentecostal unless our sons and daughters are prophesying! The refusal to permit women to be involved in prophecy–and prophecy is bringing a message from God–is not a Pentecostal attitude. It is a throwback to the curse.

 

Paul tells us that in Christ we are no longer “Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and free.” Of course, Paul knows very well that we still live on this side of the resurrection where marriage and family order still define social order and that gender roles are still necessary. This is why he teaches wives to submit to their husbands. But this submission is set in the context of the coming kingdom when all inequality will be finally broken. Paul says that this submission is set within the larger framework of “husbands, love your wives.” When men love their wives as Christ loved the church, then women will have no problem submitting, for they are submitting to love rather than power. 

 

The reality of the New Testament regarding women is astounding, considering the way the world was then. Jesus sat with the woman at the well, which was scandalous. His ministry was supported financially by women, and He was constantly followed by them. He allowed Mary to sit at His feet and receive instruction, a privilege restricted to men in Jesus’ time. Peter declares that the time has come for both sons and daughters to prophesy, and Phillip’s daughters took this quite seriously, for “Phillip had four daughters, and they prophesied.”

 

Paul had witnessed the fervor of women for the things of God, with Lydia and others helping found churches and becoming benefactors and patronesses of the church. Paul commends women specifically by name for their work in the kingdom. Romans 16 is a great example of this. Indeed, Romans 16 is an astounding chapter, where Paul lists woman after woman that was involved in the ministry in various ways.  Phoebe was a female servant of the church, and that word is “deacon,” though it is not clear whether this was an ordained office or just a recognized function. Priscilla was involved prominently in the ministry of the Word with Aquila, so much so that she is listed first. Adronicus and Junia were apparently a husband and wife team of apostles, or missionaries, as we would say it, that were prominent among the apostles. Again and again, women are constantly involved.

 

Of course, Paul also restricted the role of women in ministry. This must not be avoided or simply explained away. Those who argue that Paul’s restrictions on women in the ministry are simply outdated products of that time and culture are opening themselves up to explaining away pretty much all of scripture. There is really very little of our Bible that is not culturally conditioned. We could explain away baptism, communion, most of all holiness and modesty standards, and even the prohibition against homosexuality, which, come to think of it, is exactly what is being done.

No, we may not simply ignore what Paul taught. He said that he did not permit women to teach or to usurp authority over men. He also said that women must keep silence in the church, for it is not permitted for them to speak. He said these things, and we must not simply toss them out. 

 

But what did he mean by these things? It is true that he commanded the women to keep silent in the church, but then he also said that they may pray and prophesy as long as their head is covered. And it is obvious from the context that he is speaking about a public worship service when men are present. How do we reconcile this seeming contradiction in Paul’s teaching? Simply by looking closer at the context of the restrictive texts. 

 

In I Timothy 2, where he says that women cannot teach or usurp authority over men, Paul is simply saying what he said: women may not teach in a way that exercises authority over the church. And the key word is “over.” They may not teach or exercise authority over men. But as 1 Corinthians 11 makes clear, they may pray and prophesy under authority. As long as they minister under the proper headship, they are free to minister.

Of course, this is also true of men. Kingdom authority flows down from God to Christ to man to woman. We are authorized to lead the church in prayer and prophecy (declaring the Word of God) as long as we stand under the canopy of biblical authority.

Women may pray and prophesy, but they may not teach in a ruling office where men are compelled by God to submit to their rule. This is confirmed by the fact that Paul moves immediately from discussing women teaching to a discussion of the office of the bishop and his qualifications to rule the church. The rulers of the church are the elders of the congregation, the heads of households, the fathers of Israel. So, women may teach and exercise authority as long as it is not over the church in the sense of ruling the congregation, binding and loosing, remitting and retaining, judging and enforcing. Those who “have the rule over you” are men. The church is a household of households ruled by the heads of the households, the elders of the church. (How can a man rule the church well if he does not rule his household well? See 1 Timothy 3.) This is what Paul restricts in 1 Timothy 2. 

 

What about 1 Corinthians 14 where Paul commands the women to be silent in the church? Here, Paul addresses a specific situation. In the context, the prophets are speaking “by two and by three” and the others are judging. When something is revealed to another that sits by, the first prophet must hold his peace and allow the second prophet to speak. There is a “school of the prophets” thing going on here where men are allowed a great deal of latitude in interrupting and correcting one another. This is high-powered prophetic discussion! Paul does not want the women jumping in the middle this. To do so would be confusion and cause great insult to the male ego.

This reminds me of the commandment in the Law of Moses that forbade women from intervening in a fight between two men. 

 

I have taught for many years that Paul was not saying that women cannot speak at all, for they may pray and prophesy. But Paul was saying that the women may not get involved in this sort of speaking, when the prophets are having a back and forth interaction. The women may not interrupt the preaching to offer judgments, objections or to ask questions. Let her do this at home with her husband.

Now, we do not permit this sort of thing at all these days, for men or women. In our day, custom requires that both men and women keep silence in the church while the preacher is preaching. I am not sure what to think about all of that, and whether we should be allowing more prophetic give and take, but regardless, this sort of interruption seems to be what Paul restricted. 

 

I recently read a book called Roman Women, Roman Wives that strengthened my opinion on this. The author states that the “law” to which Paul refers in 1 Corinthians 14 is a Roman law that allowed women to serve as attorneys but prohibited them from interrupting two or more men in court when they were having an argument. This writer thinks that this is the law that Paul has in mind when he restricts the women from interrupting the prophets and requires them to “ask their husbands at home” if they have an opinion, a question or an objection. I think this is just about exactly right. 

 

So, women may not occupy ruling offices and teach men in an authoritative way that requires men to submit to their rule in the church. Women are also prohibited from interrupting men as they speak back and forth in prophecy, though at other times they may pray and prophesy. When these texts are seen in the larger context of the New Testament, there really are very few restrictions on women in ministry. God poured out the Holy Ghost so that sons and daughters would prophesy. We must encourage this to happen.

 

My goal today in this message is two-fold. First, I do not want to lose the biblical teaching of the headship of men in worship according to 1 Corinthians 11. But on the other hand, I think we have restricted women in ministry far too much for far too long. Our fear of women who have been pushy and aggressive has caused us to overreact in the opposite direction. If we were writing our own Romans 16 today, where would our list of prominent women in ministry be? Where are our Lydia’s? Where are our Phoebe’s? Where are the daughters of Philip prophesying?

 

I have four girls, Alaina, Natalie, Ana and Ella, and I want to see them have every opportunity for ministry that God will permit them to have. I look around here today and I see a room full of women, from older women and to young girls, that have limitless potential for the kingdom of God. I see Esther’s in this room, women that God has poured out His Spirit upon you so that you may be powerfully used in the kingdom of God. I see Esther’s who have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. 

 

I see untapped potential that has been capped off because you have not felt that you could be involved in ministry, in praying and prophesying, in missionary work and helping found churches. I have come today to tell you that God wants to use you. He wants to anoint you in praying and prophesying, in the gifts of the Spirit. There are some of you girls that want to be missionaries. God wants to raise you up to take the gospel to distant lands. No doubt, the churches you establish will have to be ordered according to the New Testament and the men that God saves will have be ordained to rule the churches. But there is no reason in the world why you girls cannot take the gospel to those who have never heard. 

 

I am reaching today for those who want to be used in the kingdom of God. This is Mother’s Day, but I am preaching to all women. In fact, I am broadening the call right now to include everyone, both women and men, who desires to be used of God in the kingdom of God. I am reaching for those who are tired of living a life with no meaning. God created you to serve Him. What better day than Mother’s Day to turn your life over to God?

I am reaching out for anyone who feels the call of the Spirit. If you believe that God is calling to work in His kingdom, to help advance the rule of God in the world, then I am calling you today. Girls, mothers, wives, sisters, if you feel that God has called you to the kingdom for such a time as this, then come now and make yourself available for His service. 

First the Bad News

Did you hear the latest? There is a lot of bad news today. As there was yesterday. And as there will be tomorrow. Bad news is a daily routine since the fall of Adam. But these days, it seems that the bad news is the getting worse news. There are a couple of reasons for this, I think. 

First, the bad news is worse news because of immediate, global reporting of the news. We hear about everything terrible going on in the world, and we hear about it almost instantly.

Second, there is no doubt that sin has become increasingly sinful. Modern warfare multiplies casualties. Chemically developed drugs enslave the souls of men like never before. Modern medicine makes abortion the world’s most terrible holocaust. The collapse of Western Christendom has left a moral vacuum where mortal sin has become a badge of honor, where we call good evil and evil good.

The rise of radical Islam makes the bad news worse news through terrorism and global persecution. The anonymity of the Internet has made sin universally available like never before and mainstreamed perversion. The iniquitous is ubiquitous. (Pardon that terrible rhyme. Could not be helped. OCD.) On and on.

 

But there is good news. First the bad news, then the good news. The good news is the gospel. And I don’t mean just the “Jesus loves you” gospel that the graffiti on the bridge boldly proclaims. (Never quite understood the logic behind vandalism evangelism.) No, I mean the whole the gospel, the gospel that God is making all things new in the resurrection of Jesus. I mean the gospel that we share in this promise and process when we are raised with Christ and ascend to rule together with Him in heavenly places. This gospel is the good news, and the church should tell it every day.

 

However, the church is hampered in its calling to proclaim the good news because the church seems to be just as obsessed with the bad news as the rest of the world around us. You would think we had never heard about the resurrection. Christians complain constantly about how bad things are, and we are right that things are bad. But, for crying out loud (quite literally), the church has the answer to the bad news. Why don’t we stop wailing about the world going to hell in a hand basket and start preaching the gospel? There is hope for the world right here and right now! It is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and if we do not preach it, who will?

 

As I see it, this problem is sort of like a group of doctors standing around in the emergency room fussing about how bad things are these days. Sickness like we’ve never seen. Automobile accidents, unprecedented trauma. Women abused, and children molested. Infectious diseases spreading like wildfire. Have you ever seen the like of it, George? I know it, Pete, I know it. What’s this world a-coming to?  My, my, my. Tsk, tsk.

 

Makes me want to say, “Hey you! Yeah, you in the white coat with the stethoscope dangling from your indignation swollen neck. You. How about coming out of the corner and helping these people lying scattered around your emergency room floor?” And the constant refrain of Christians who bemoan the state of the world while never coming out of their corner to administer the gospel to the dying makes me want to say much the same thing. “Hey you! Yeah, you with the jumbo Bible laid across your lap, with a fistful of highlighters and a blog that curses the darkness with ineffectual regularity. You, sweaty and glassy-eyed from your last Sunday night shout out. How about coming out of your corner and preaching the gospel to the lost and dying?” Makes me want to say it. So I will. 

 

First the bad news, then the good news. But for many Christians the bad news is the only news. They never quite make it to the “then the good news” part. Looks to me like that needs to change. I wonder how many of us today could commit that for every conversation we have bemoaning the sad state of the world, we will talk to someone about the amazing future that is coming when God makes all things new? And how about inviting them to join us as we advance the world to come?

 

Have you heard the latest? Jesus is raised from the dead. He ascended on high and rules the world. He sent back His Holy Spirit to redeem us and enlist us in the task of advancing His rule throughout the world. Have you heard? The church of Jesus is mediating Christ’s love to all nations, and the world is becoming a better place because of it.

Have you heard the latest? Jesus is coming again, and He plans to make heaven and earth one unbroken reality where God dwells among men and man is restored to his rightful place as God’s regent ruler over the entire universe. Have you heard? The good news outweighs the bad news. I can’t complain. 

How about you, my Christian friend? Are you truly a gospel believer, or just a Christian? Have you heard the good news? Do you believe the good news? Have you told someone the good news? Today would be a good a day to start.

First the bad news. But don’t let the bad news be the last news. 

Three Amazing Promises for Women

You Have to Go Through Hell to Get to Heaven

I am working on a message that I hope to preach soon. Here are the rough–really rough–notes so far. 

I think I should begin by looking at the macro picture of how Jesus is bringing us all to heaven, and by heaven I mean this creation made new through union with heaven when heaven comes to earth.

Then, I should show in Ephesians 4 that Jesus could not take us to heaven without first going through hell.

Finally, I should look at the micro picture of how what is true in the larger sense is true in our lives as individuals. We have to go through hell to get to heaven.

What Jesus did in the deep when He confronted the powers of hell has to be reenacted in us. Only then can we ascend to rule with Christ. Or, to put it better, there are realms and areas of our life where this happens a dimension at a time. It is not necessary to have 100% victory in order to rule with Jesus, but our life is like regions of the promised land where strongholds remain. We may rule in certain areas and not in others. But each area of dominion that we gain, we gain as we confront the depths of the heart. 

 

Look at the text:

 

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. (In saying, He ascended, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:7-16)

 

This is an amazing picture of the purpose of God. When Jesus is finished, He will have built His church in every nation and subdued all of His enemies under His feet. And all of this shall occur prior to the Second Coming. (1 Corinthians 15) The destiny of the church is to share in the ascension of Jesus and the filling of “all things” in a new creation. When we talk about making it to heaven, this is the reality that we are talking about. Heaven is not a new reality detached from this present, material creation. Heaven and earth shall become one, unbroken reality flooded with the Spirit of God mediated through the glorified Christ and His body, the church. (Revelation 21, 22)

 

But before we can get to heaven, we have to go through hell. Jesus went through hell when He was buried in a borrowed tomb and descended into the deep and preached to the spirits in prison the gospel of His victory over all powers. We were created to share in the rule of Jesus, but before we can reign with Him we must suffer with Him. 

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 1:8-13)

We must be willing to descend into the deep, into the depth of the spiritual world around us and the depths of our own heart. We must be willing to engage in spiritual warfare with the powers of the deep, the powers that inflame the passions of men, that manipulate the human race through the deep, primal urges and instincts of the human race. We must fight these powers in prayer and fasting. But we must be willing to plunge into the heart of the earth, the heart of our own heart, as it were, and confront the powers that lurk in the deep of our own soul. The only way we can take dominion over the powers of the deep is to take dominion over the depths of our own heart. 

 

This is why we are forced to endure times of great trial, because it is only in times of great trial that we are forced to confront the depths of our own heart. Jesus did not crucify Himself. He submitted to crucifixion, but He did not crucify Himself. And we cannot crucify ourselves. We must submit to crucifixion, but someone else must do it for us.

We must go through the depths of hell before we can arise with Jesus to ascend to heaven to rule over the heavenly powers, the Powers that govern the world in defiance of Christ’s rule. The powers of the deep must be confronted before we can exercise dominion over the powers of the heavenlies.

Too many battles are lost in our struggles with the heavenly Powers because we have not dealt with the powers that exploit our heart. This is why we must not avoid dealing with the emotional wounds that enslave us. We must allow Jesus to descend with us into the depths of our own heart and take the keys to death, hell and the grave within our soul. When He preaches the gospel of His rule over our heart, then we rise with Jesus to ascend into heaven and rule with Him. 

 

We have to go through hell to get to heaven. I simply want to show that our trials are a matter of being forced by the Holy Spirit to confront the powers that lurk in the depths of our soul so that we may take the keys to our own heart. Jesus wants to give us the keys to the kingdom in our own life. But we cannot ascend with Him to rule–through we do already de jure, but not de facto–until we descend with Him to proclaim the victory of the gospel to our own soul.

 

What did Jesus do when He descended into hell? He preached the gospel! Then, He took the keys. Finally, He arose. This is what we must do. We must preach the gospel to the depths of our soul. Whatever primal passion may bind our soul can only be defeated through the power of the gospel. It is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, the victory that God has given Christ, that defeats the powers of the deep. Psychology cannot help us. Therapy cannot help us. The real key to our victory is the gospel. We must be willing to preach and believe the gospel. It is faith in Jesus that brings victory. 

 

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Only the righteous. But we are not righteous and thus cannot ascend. However, the King of glory ascends for us, and we are seated in heaven in Him. This is the gospel! We are made righteous in Jesus. Thus, we must preach the righteousness of Christ to the demons of the deep. Preach the gospel to our fears, our guilt, our addictions, our habits, our emotions, our shame. Preach the gospel!

 

Then, after we have preached the gospel to the depths of our soul and the powers that dominate us, we are given the keys to our own soul. The keys represent authority, the power to bind and loose, to open and close. When God gives us the keys to the hell within our heart, we are then in control of our passions and our passions are not in control of us. After we have the keys, then we ascend with Jesus to rule over our life. “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” (Proverbs 16:32)

Dominion in the heavenlies is really a result of dominion over our own spirit. There is a real battle within the heart that mirrors the battle in the heavenlies. The two realms are directly related. It seems in some way that the headquarters of the heavenlies is the deep, hell itself. So, if we plan to defeat the powers of the heavens, we must begin by descending into the deep. “He that ascended first descended.” 

 

We preach the gospel to our soul and the demons that enslave our soul. Then, we take the keys as the King gives us dominion and authority over the deepest regions of our heart. Then, we ascend with Jesus to take dominion over the high places, the heavenly realms, the Powers that rule the world in defiance of Christ. But this dominion all begins by descending to the depths of the heart. You have to go through hell to get to heaven. 

 

Christ is Victor

I am often asked why I assert so strongly that the church shall experience widespread evangelistic victory in the world prior to the Second Coming. Here is the answer, based largely on 1 Corinthians 15: 

1. Paul teaches plainly that Jesus shall subdue His enemies prior to the Second Coming. The last enemy that shall be defeated is death, which occurs at the resurrection of believers when Jesus comes again. The timeline is straightforward: Jesus subdues His enemies > death, the last enemy, is defeated > the defeat of death occurs at the resurrection of believers when Jesus returns. Thus, the victory of Jesus over His enemies MUST occur prior to the Second Coming. Jesus will remain in the heavens at the right hand of the Father until His enemies are made His footstool. 

2. The enemies of Jesus are the principalities and powers, which are the Powers that control every institutional structure in human society. Wherever human power is wielded, the Powers lurk behind the throne. The Powers are the enemies of Jesus, and Jesus shall subdue all rule, authority and power prior to the defeat of death in the resurrection of believers at the Second Coming. This means that the evangelistic triumph of the church shall have a visible, measurable impact on society. The world shall feel and manifest the influence of Christ’s victory over the Powers.

3. The point of Christ’s victory is the building of the church in every nation under heaven. Christ’s rule over the Powers and His subduing of their demonic control restrains the Powers so that they may not prevent the building of the church in every nation. This is why I say that the victory of Jesus is an evangelistic victory that shall effect every realm of life. The church is called to be salt and light and to make a difference everywhere it goes. The Powers cannot stop this because Jesus is subduing them through the prayer, praise and preaching of believers. This is what Jesus does.

For me, it is all about what Paul said would happen. Jesus will subdue His enemies prior to His return. His enemies are the Powers. The Powers control the world. If Jesus subdues the Powers, we cannot help but affect the world. Thus, I believe–and I think scripturally and rightly so–that the church shall experience global victory in its evangelistic task. Seems simple enough.  

Wales Recapitulatio

First of all, I hope you are duly impressed with my Latin. Now to my point. 

I returned from Wales Monday, and, as always, the first few days after returning, I spend time early mornings thinking and praying back over the trip. This visit was somewhat different. Rather than preach a conference or meeting in an established church, David Willhoite and I spend our days visiting with old friends that his father, Jackie Willhoite, met when he served as a missionary to Wales in the middle 1980’s. 

It was an interesting trip. We stayed in Cardiff, but our contacts were all a bit north of Cardiff in the Rhondda Valleys. I drove through the narrowest streets that humans have ever traversed, and all on the wrong–that is to say, left–side of the road. Was quite interesting. Kept David prayed through, a blessing his wife and family should thank me for. Having arrived safely each day at journey’s end, by the grace of God, we were well received, and I trust that we made a few good friends. We shall see how all of that develops.

 

Leaving for now the matter of right and wrong sides of the road, all of this gets me thinking about missions and methods. What is the best way to take the gospel to an area? This question always makes me rummage around a bit in what little I know about Paul’s approach to missions. I have read a pile of books on missions, and Paul’s approach to it, specifically. But the one thing that always comes back to mind for me is that Paul focused on urban centers where he established churches that became mission centers, hubs of a sort that allowed the mission to spread outward like spokes in a wheel.

Paul reached people from all walks of life, but he always ended up winning people of great influence within large cities. (See, for example, The First Urban Christians by Wayne Meeks.) Paul would follow the Spirit to a specific region, take up residence and find work in the social and cultural center of an area. Then, he would teach and preach the gospel, winning converts as the Spirit added them to the church. These converts would fan out into various communities, and the gospel would spread quickly over a fairly large area. But it always began with great revival in an urban center.

 

Paul’s approach was simple: go where the people are. Indeed, go where the influential people are. Reach the influencers, and they will reach the world. I do not mean to say that Paul ignored the lowly and the poor. On the contrary, Paul was eager to remember the poor, as he stated in Galatians 2. But he also understood the value of finding the center of social activity and planting the seed of the gospel there. 

 

I am not sure what all that means for us today. But when I consider revival in Wales, for instance, I cannot get away from the fact that Cardiff is where the next wave of revival begins. Maybe I am all wrong about that, but I keep feeling when I pray in my hotel in Cardiff that there is a great revival coming to Wales, and it is bubbling under the surface in the city centre. I have been blessed many times to worship with the beautiful congregation led by Pastor Gwyn Roberts, and I keep feeling the Spirit lead me back in prayer to them and their hopes and prayers for great revival. God is doing something there that must be cultivated and flourish.

 

I plan to return soon and spend a few days with them. They have opened their heart to me and extended invitation to do so. I would love to see God enlarge the church there to become the incubator of missions throughout the country of Wales. Imagine what could happen if God would raise up powerful men and women to go out and establish mission churches throughout the countryside. Just thinking about this as I pray this morning and dreaming about the possibilities. Only God knows what He plans to do. But whatever He plans to do, it will be born in prayer.

If you get a chance, pray with me for Wales. 

New album from Jonathan Alvear

I received Jonathan Alvear’s new album yesterday in the mail. Couldn’t wait to get it out and listen to it. I had long anticipated him recording an album. I have always loved his singing in the various meetings where I heard him sing. He sings old songs that move me deeply, songs that have powerful messages of grace and redemption, songs that renew my faith in God birthed in childhood. 

We hosted a fellowship event at our home last night, and I ripped the CD open and several gathered around to hear it play. It was amazing! Very well done. Smooth vocals and beautiful arrangements. Music is well played, and most of all, the Spirit of God rests upon it. John Carroll and I sat at the table and cried like little babies listening to the old songs done so well. 

The bottom line? Buy it. Here. You will be greatly blessed.

Cover Me: Stephen Rivers CD Release Concert

Excited to share a video of the release concert for Stephen Rivers new project, Cover Me. Stephen is worship pastor at Cornerstone Apostolic Church, and his music is an incredible blessing. Check it out! (New CD available at iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/cover-me-ep/id630870292.)

Is Jesus Married to a Man?

A visitor to my blog recently posted a comment in response to a post on gay marriage. He argued for gay marriage using this quite simple line of reasoning: As a Christian, I am married to Jesus. Jesus is a man and I am a man. That is same-sex marriage. Thus, marriage between men is okay.

I am not making that up.

I was tempted to just let this one go. The gap in this logic seems pretty obvious. But I think there may be an opportunity here to clarify the deeper principle at the root of marriage as a creational covenant manifesting the eternal image of God in a temporal relationship. So, here is my reply to him, copied from the comments section below the post “Missing the Point: Fussing About Gay Marriage”:

Jesus is married to a woman, the church. It is a matter of corporate identity. I am not married to Jesus as an individual, but as a covenant member of the body of Christ. My baptism was my covenantal incorporation into the church, the bride. The bride, the Lamb’s wife, is the city, the New Jerusalem, the church.

In Christ, there is no longer “male or female, slave or free, Greek or barbarian, Jew or Gentile,” but all of that is a matter of corporate salvation in the New Covenant, not personal identity. Our standing before God in Christ is equal, but our roles are still diverse, and our maleness and femaleness continue to manifest distinct aspects of the image of God.

This is why Paul continues to address men as men and women as women throughout his writings. The discussion of headship in I Corinthians 11 (God-Christ-husband/male-wife/female) makes no sense if God does not still recognize gender roles in the New Covenant. In the resurrection, when gender distinctions no longer play the same covenantal role that they do now, marriage will end as a gender-distinct, unity-in-diversity relational manifestation of the image of God. Then, Jesus said, we shall be as the angels. So, until the resurrection, as long as there is marriage at all, it must remain between gender-distinguished men and women.

Marriage is intended to manifest the relationship between Christ and the church, which is a marriage between a man and a woman. Thus, gay marriage strikes at the heart of God’s self-revelation, mars the male-female image of God revealed mysteriously in marriage, and makes it impossible for the willfully blinded to see God in the creational covenant of everyday relationships. That is, of course, Satan’s goal in the gay marriage agenda: to blind the world to the revelation of God manifest in marriage.