II. Chapter Twenty-two
II. The Church of the Broken-Down Wall
Every local church is ordained of
God to be a living organism for discipleship.
If any local church fails at that mission, that local church has failed
in its missional purpose of evangelism. Discipleship is “perfecting the
saints” (the priesthood of all believers) in KNOWING and LIVING the Word of
God. Therefore, discipleship is about
teaching right “doctrine” (II Timothy 3:16-17) and teaching believers to “walk
in the light” (right doctrine) (I John 1:7) enabled by the indwelling
Holy Spirit (grace living).
The “mystery of iniquity” (II
Thessalonians 2:7, the demonic influences of all levels of evil in the world)
oppose discipleship at every possible level and in every way possible. Therefore, EVERY believer MUST be involved in
the command to “fight the good fight of faith” (I Timothy 6:12). EVERY believer MUST be
involved in the command to “fight the good fight of faith” because he fights
for his own discipleship survival and for those he seeks to disciple. To compromise “the faith” to any degree makes
the compromiser part of the “mystery of iniquity.”
In most part, modern Evangelical
Christianity has lost what it means to disciple people and “fight the good fight of faith” (I Timothy 6:12). In most part, modern
Evangelical Christianity has been overcome with crowd gathering tactics as
opposed to disciple making. In order to
gather crowds and keep crowds coming, certain divisive truths must be
ignored. In order to gather crowds and
keep crowds coming, the Gospel message must be made more inclusive
creating a façade of salvation and a greater façade of spirituality without any
specificity regarding what is sin and what is worldliness.
“1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the
grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that thou hast heard
of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who
shall be able {to arrive, capable, or seasoned; refers to a
trustworthy change of successors in faithful teachers} to teach others
also. 3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of
Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself
with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath
chosen him to be a soldier. 5 And if a man also strive for
masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully” (II
Timothy 2:1-5).
Modern Evangelical Christianity no
longer strives to master the teachings of Jesus or to bring the human
nature under the Lordship of Christ. The metaphor
Paul uses in II Timothy 2:5 is the Greek Olympic games and the stringent
training necessary for an athlete to compete SUCCESSFULLY hoping to be a
winner. Before any individual could hope
to be declared the master of his event, he needed to know the rules of
the game in which he competed AND he needed to master his own body to train it
for the extreme requirements necessary to the competition. This is the metaphor Paul uses to describe
the necessities for fighting “the
good fight of faith” (I Timothy 6:12).
TESTS OF FELLOWSHIP
Many
Evangelical churches no longer require agreement on specific doctrines
or practices before people can become part of the “fellowship” (working
partnership) of a local church’s ministries. Such agreements negatively reduce the size of
the crowds that will attend and the size of the offerings. Local churches that are people builders,
and not just crowd gatherers, understand that there must be foundational
doctrinal unity upon which a local church can grow (not unanimity, or
perfect agreement on EVERYTHING).
These foundational requirements are usually spelled out in a local church’s
Constitution and By Laws. This TEST OF
FELLOWSHIP is to what a local church’s Constitution and By Laws are
often referred. TEST OF FELLOWSHIP is
defined doctrines to which a person must agree, defined practices to which a
person must pursue, and other practices from which he must abstain.
WHY ARE SUCH THINGS NECESSARY?
First, stating what a local church
believes upfront is honest. Christians
should be honest and not covert about beliefs. Often, when new believers become part of a
local church, they come in ignorance of doctrine. Many come to Christ and a local church with
innumerable false doctrines and having had many immoral practices condoned by
false teachers. THESE THINGS MUST BE
CONFRONTED AND ADDRESSED PRIOR TO BECOMING PART OF THE WORKING MINISTRY
(FELLOWSHIP) OF A LOCAL: CHURCH. To
count oneself as part of the functional family of God comes with specific
truths and exacting requirements. If a
local church wants to walk with God, all local church members must agree
to a specific, Bible defined destination.
“1 Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against
you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from
the land of Egypt, saying, 2 You only have I known of all the
families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. 3
Can two walk together, except they be agreed {general principle here applied
to the nation of Israel and God; ‘can two people walk together except they
agree on the same destination’}” (Amos 3:1-3)?
In a
discussion with a person moving to another city about a local church that his
family was attending, he brought to me that local church’s doctrinal
statement. The doctrinal statement was
one sheet of paper written in a size 16 font to fill the page. The individual said there was nothing in
the doctrinal statement with which he disagreed. There was a simple reason for this: THERE WAS
NOTHING IN THE DOCTRINAL STATEMENT BUT VAGARIES AND AMBIGUITIES. In this scenario, there can be no experts
on what the Bible teaches, and everyone’s interpretation must be considered
equally as viable as anyone else. PRACTICUM:
if this is what defines “unity of the Spirit,” then the preacher must stay in
the Gospels and avoid the epistles at any cost!
This is not “the faith.”
“Beloved,
when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was
needful {absolutely essential} for me to write unto you, and exhort
{parakaléō; to call to nearness or to the comfort of righteousness} you
that ye should earnestly contend {epa prefix; agonizingly
struggle} for the faith {things/doctrines believed} which
was once {for all time} delivered unto the saints {as guardians and
preservers for which each will be held accountable}” (Jude 1:3).
GROWING OUR FAITH: Goals never set are goals seldom
reached
Faith is the ability to see and
understand things that are not empirically detectable or otherwise known
(Hebrews 11:1). However, the Bible teaches us that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God” (Romans 10:17). Your limited vision from your side of reality is completely
inadequate to God’s view from His side of reality! His Word gives us His view
from His side of reality. TRUST HIM! However again, to gain God’s view of reality
from His Word, a believer must rightly divide “the Word of truth” (II Timothy
2:15). To wrongly divide “the Word of
truth” is worse than total ignorance because it leads a person to look and
think in a wrong direction with a false hope for outcomes that will never
happen. Therefore, it is essential for
pastors to “labour in the word and doctrine” (I Timothy 5:17). It is indeed “labour” to accurately study and
interpret the Word of God and it is equally laborious to teach the Word of God
to people. It must be a labor of love!
The words “in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:13) refer to
those baptized by/with the Spirit into the New Genesis, of which Christ
has dominion. Therefore, the words “in Christ” refer to the
Church Age believer’s share in the dominion in the New Genesis
“in Christ.” All Church Age believers,
both Jews and Gentiles together now, have been brought into an intimate
relationship in service that no other believer since Adam has ever
experience. We who were “far
off are now made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). The intent here is that this perfect, once for
all sacrifice of Jesus brings all believer-priests into extreme nearness to God. Such a blessed privilege was never even
considered by anyone other than the Old Testament priests who served within the
Temple. We can barely grasp an
understanding of this new privilege afforded to every believer by the words “in
Christ.” Jesus is our High Priest and
we are “in Christ.” Therefore, we
have the intimate privilege of immediate and direct access to the Father’s
throne of grace “in Christ.” The one
vicarious blood sacrifice of Jesus affords every believer this intimate access
to God. This intimate access to God is
something Christians often take for granted.
This truth is also a privilege greatly abused.
“14 Seeing then that we have a great
high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let
us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not
an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet
without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in
time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).
“10 By the which will we are {positionally
and perfectly} sanctified {perfect, passive, participle} through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11
And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right
hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made
his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected {positionally;
perfect, active, indicative} for ever them that are sanctified. 15
Whereof the {indwelling, illuminating} Holy Ghost also is a
witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16 This is
the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I
will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17
And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 18 Now where
remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin” (Hebrews
10:10-18).
The statement of Hebrews 10:16 – “I will put my laws
into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them” is intended to reveal
that the New Covenant believer is a walking, breathing, living New
Testament. This contrasts with the tables
of stone upon which God etched His Word in the Old Covenant. Now, God has put His living Word into
living people to be living testaments to the miracle of the New Creation “in Christ Jesus.” When you believe these truths, they change
the way you worship, the way you pray, and the way you serve the Lord. At least they should. If they do not, perhaps the real question
must be turned to examine the reality of your New Creation.
“14 For he is our peace, who hath made {a,
a, p}[1]
both one, and hath broken down {a, a, p}[2]
the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished
{a, a, p}[3]
in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained
in ordinances; for to make {a, a, s}[4]
in himself of twain one new man, so making {pr, a, p}[5]
peace; 16 And that he might reconcile {a, a, s}[6]
both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain {a, a, p}[7]
the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were
afar off, and to them that were nigh” (Ephesians 2:14-17).
What is Paul describing
in these four verses in Ephesians 2:14-17?
We miss what Paul says if we do not see salvation as an event and sanctification as progressive. The problem lays in seeing regeneration and salvation as synonyms. They
are not. Salvation is an event that enters a person into the process of “the regeneration.”
Positionally, all that has happened to Christ Jesus has already happened to the
believer positionally (Colossians 2:10-12). Justification is not
a process that includes practical
sanctification (progressive transfiguration; Romans 12:1-2). Justification is
an event.
In the Old Testament,
before Pentecost, God-kind righteousness was imputed to the believing sinner.
In the New Testament, after Pentecost, God-kind righteousness is imparted to the believing sinner through
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (II Peter 1:4). Our soul has
been saved, our life (spirit) is being
saved, and our body will be saved
(resurrected/glorified). “And the very
God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and
body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I
Thessalonians 5:23). These truths are
equally true for both “born again” Jews and “born again” Gentiles. Together they form one new body called the Church.
The “new man” of
Ephesians 2:15 is not the individual Christian.
The context demands we maintain our view of the two corporate entities
of nation of Israel and Gentiles now coming together to form a “new man”
in the Church. The Body Principle is a metaphor with Christ
as the Head and all “born again”
believers after Pentecost as the “body.”
This context continues from Ephesians 1:22-23. We must be extremely careful not to abandon
this context in Ephesians chapter two and throughout the rest of the epistle to
the Ephesians.
“22 And
hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head
over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body,
the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians
1:22-23).
“12 For as
the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body,
being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one
Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or
Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink
into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many” (I
Corinthians 12:12-14).
[1]
Aorist, Active, Participle
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
Ibid.
[4]
Aorist, Active, Subjunctive ; the mood of possibility or potential
[5]
Present, Active, Participle
[6]
Aorist, Active, Subjunctive ; the mood of possibility or potential
[7]
Aorist, Active, Participle
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Numerous studies and series are available free of charge for local churches at: http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/
Dr. Lance Ketchum serves the Lord as a Church Planter, Evangelist/Revivalist.
He has served the Lord for over 50 years.
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1 comment:
Thanks for sharing, it was interesting to read!
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