I
Corinthians 1:12-13 and 3:4-11 New Living Translation.
12
Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow
Apollos,” or “I follow Peter, [d]” or “I follow only Christ.” 13 Has Christ
been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you
baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! …… 4 When one of you says, “I am a
follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just
like people of the world? 5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only
God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work
the Lord gave us. 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but
it was God who made it grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who
does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8 The one
who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both
will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9 For we are both God’s workers. And
you are God’s field. You are God’s building. 10 Because of God’s grace to me, I
have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it.
But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.11 for no one
can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
Today
when we walk in the places we live, we see buildings that are used for various
purposes, some buildings are where we live, other buildings are where we work,
shop, rest and relax, there are specialist buildings such as Train Stations,
Churches and Hospitals, each building has a specific function and role to
fulfil that more often is unique to that building, sometimes buildings can be
adapted and changed to serve a different purpose than their original purpose,
some buildings have been left desolate and have become ruins and monuments,
some buildings are empty because no one can find a use for them anymore. Each building we see regardless of its use
and purpose needs a foundation.
The
Lord Jesus said in Matthew 7:24 NLT, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and
follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock” see Matthew
7:24-27 and Luke 47- 49 for the context. Luke 6:47-48 NLT says , “47 I will show you what it’s like
when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. 48 It is
like a person building a house that digs deep and lays the foundation on solid
rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm
because it is well built.
Today
in 2013, we see various versions of the Bible, that are available for us to
read and study, I do use the New American Standard Bible, and when I write I
use Bible Gateway which has dozens of Bible Versions. I’ve used various
versions of the Bible since I was saved at 11 but at the end of day as The
Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3: 15-17 NLT, “15 You have been taught the holy
Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the
salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired
by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is
wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what
is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
To
develop and progress in our Christian walk and witness, to be more effective
disciples of our Lord and Saviour we must read and study God’s Written Word
daily. When I was in Sunday school, I
remember singing this song “Read your Bible, Pray every day, if you want to
Grow “If that was important for me as a child how much more important is for me
as a more mature Christian today?
When
someone builds a foundation for a building, if they decide to use cheap or
substandard building materials wouldn’t that building look strange or be
dangerous and likely to collapse, yet if we don’t as Christians build using the
correct building materials wouldn’t our lives and our Christian Witness look
equally strange, look dangerous or likely to collapse see 1 Corinthians 3:12-13
NLT.
We
build our Christian Life and Witness not on the latest fads or fashions, the
opinions or perspectives of others however appealing or relevant they seem, we
don’t build on what the non-Christian or anti-Christian demands of our Society
are. We build on God’s Word the Bible
that has been and still is God’s Inspired Word; there is nothing more relevant
to us today than God’s Word
The
Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:20 NLT, “20 Together, we are his house, built
on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ
Jesus himself.”
To
lead His Church into the fullness and completeness that He always intended it
to be, Our Lord Jesus set apart Leadership Gifts, that this He has called in
the past and is calling today specific individuals to positions of Leadership
in His Church, today we have various names, titles and badges and descriptions
of Leadership that vary from Church to Church!.
We have built man-made structures and systems
from the early days of the Church to co-ordinate what happens in the Church,
I’m not against co-ordination or structure and systems but the organization of
Church isn’t the central purpose of the Church, in many cases we have made a
god of organization. The Church is a
living and breathing organism, the organization is the servant of the organism
but more often or not the organism has become the servant of the organization.
I’m
not saying that the Church and our Church Meetings become a free for all, the
place of gossip and chat, good ideas and the downright weird and wacky,
although it can happen, however, there is a divinely inspired framework for the
correct method of Church Structure.
In
the New Testament especially Paul’s epistles, we see God’s structure for the
Church and how the Church should be organized and lead. Today we have Vicars, Priests, Bishops,
Archbishops, Reverends etc. etc., we give people titles and badges and
recognition, but are they God given titles, badges and recognition or are they
man given?
We
see both in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4, part of God’s structure and
framework for the church, 1 Corinthians
12:28 ESVA, “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets,
third teachers, then miracles then gifts of healing, helping, administrating,
and various kinds of tongues. For the context see 1 Corinthians 12:27-30, and
Ephesians 4:11-13 NLT, “11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church:
the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12
Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the
church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such
unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the
Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. For the context
see Ephesians 4:11-16.
The
first part of God’s structure for the Church are The Apostles, The Prophets,
The Evangelists, The Pastors or Shepherds and The Teachers which are five
distinct ministry areas given to certain individuals in the Church, these Men
and their ministries are gifts given by our Lord and Saviour as gifts to His
Church, the second part of God’s structure are the Elders and Deacons, I
believe that all the other ministry areas here are given to Men, and although I
respect and honour the role/s of the Ladies in the Church, the biblical example
of Leadership in the Church is uniquely for Men. The descriptions of the roles of The Elders
and Deacons in the Church are found in 1 Timothy 3:1-13. Firstly Elders In 1 Timothy 3:1-2 NLT, “This
is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be an elder, [a] he desires an honourable
position.” 2 So an elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be
faithful to his wife. [b] He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have
a good reputation. Then Secondly Deacons in I Timothy 3:8 NLT, “In the same
way, deacons must be well respected and have integrity.”
I
believe that the correct indeed the only way for His Church to move forward in
the 21st Century and face all the challenges and opportunities that it brings
is firstly live as disciples, be in relational covenant with each other and
follow Our Saviour’s leadership and direction in our lives, and follow the
example and influence of those God has called to lead us, I would describe this
a restoration or renewal of Apostolic Christianity. For my American readers, I
mean New Testament Christianity, not Apostolic in the context of the Oneness
Gospel.
Yours
in His Grace
Blair
Humphreys
Southport,
Merseyside
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