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
2017, 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.
1 Corinthians 3:12-13New
Living Translation (NLT)
12 Anyone who builds on
that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay,
or straw. 13 But on the judgement day, fire will reveal what kind of work each
builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.
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
people 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 ministry areas
here are given and available to all
regardless if they are male or female.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment