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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