Leadership according to New Testament precepts
We experience Jesus Christ as He reveals Himself to us. He reveals Himself through the gifts of the Spirit. He reveals Himself through the all-participating and all-functioning ministry of the saints. Where He is the Head and in control, there the revelation of Himself is sublime, unlimited, and to the honor and glorification of His holy name. Where He is not in control, there the revelation of Himself is partial, limited, and small, often resulting in confusion and a lack of understanding among the faithful about His true nature and intentions.
To understand this better, we must look at Jesus’ life and experiences when He walked the earth:
Jesus was not a welcome visitor when he came to disrupt the religion of the Jews at the age of thirty. He fearlessly exposed the legalistic, dead religion and faith of the Jewish leaders, highlighting their hypocrisy and the ways in which they had strayed from the true teachings of God. He did not ignore the situation.
What He found on earth was not what God had established. It was a dead religion that the Jewish leaders of the Old Testament had established for themselves, just as the institutional church had established for itself. So they also systematically introduced changes over the years and changed the “relational faith” of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and Samuel into a legalistic religion. It was also just an “organizational faith”. Jesus confronted the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders with the reality of a relational faith, just as the institutional church of today is also faced with this challenge.
However, this is where the similarity between Jewish leaders and the institutional church ends. The Jewish leaders were evil leaders, and they totally rejected Jesus Christ, which is not the case with the institutional church. The institutional church is filled with beautiful, Spirit-filled leaders and children of God who worship Him in spirit and in truth with the most beautiful motives, zeal, and attitude. They love God and want to please Him. This devotion is also why God blesses them and works with them. They also inherited the consequences of events that occurred long ago and have continued to unfold over the years.
Unfortunately, the New Testament Jewish leaders continued where their Old Testament counterparts left off, perpetuating the same issues of resistance to change and spiritual stagnation. However, for every leader and every child of God, there comes a day when they will have to decide whether to continue with what they are doing or whether to move on. The pillar of cloud has already begun to move. It is time for the church to set up camp and move with the pillar of cloud. There are practical methods by which established institutional congregations can make the transition to house church congregations without too much inconvenience, such as implementing small group meetings (if it is done correctly), fostering community engagement, and encouraging shared leadership among members. This is already happening in many countries.
To return to the confrontation that took place between Jesus and the Jewish leaders, see what Matthew says about this:
Matthew 15:1-3
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem, saying, Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, “Honor your father and mother.” He that curseth father or mother shall die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or mother, It is a gift by any means that thou mightest have been profited by me; he need not honor his father or mother. Thus, ye have made the commandment of God of none effect for the sake of your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.
Matthew 23:1-39
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do; but do not do according to their deeds, for they say and do not do. For they bind up heavy burdens grievous to be borne and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with one of their fingers. And they do all their works to be seen by men, and they enlarge their fringes and the borders of their garments.
And they love the best places at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But ye, be not called Rabbi, for one is your Master, even Christ, and ye are all brethren. And call no man your father upon earth, for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be you called teachers, for one is your Master, even Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. For whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye go not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore, you will receive a greater condemnation. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel over sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, you make him twofold the child of hell and worse than yourselves. Woe to you, blind guides! Who says, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound. You fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?’ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is bound. You fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? Whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it; and whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and anise and coriander and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done and not to have left the other undone. Blind guides, you who strain out the gnat but swallow the camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but inside they are full of extortion and excess. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the platter so that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the tombs of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up the measure of your fathers. Serpents, generation of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of hell? Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes; and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth. from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth until ye say, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
A place where Jesus could be at home
From the above passage of Scripture, it is very clear that Jesus was not satisfied with what He found in terms of the Jews’ faith. He was not at home in this man-made religious setup. He therefore clearly spoke out against it. From the above passage of Scripture, it is not difficult to understand that Jesus was a hated person for the Jews and that they despised Him. He was denounced as a glutton and a winebibber and even as a tool in the hands of Satan. Over time, there was open hostility towards Him, and the Jews were out to expose Him with all kinds of trick questions and to ultimately murder Him, as they sought to eliminate what they perceived as a threat to their religious authority and beliefs. This world was certainly not always a friendly place for Jesus. It must have been very difficult for Jesus. He must have felt like an intruder among them.
Jesus was rejected by “Jerusalem,” and therefore, He never spent the night in Jerusalem. He did not visit the city often, but the few times He was there, He would retreat to Bethany before evening, to the house of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, where He could find love and peace.
Why was He so loved in that house? Because they accepted Jesus as the Son of God. They recognized Him as who He said He was. They also had a relationship with Him. They had a revelation of Him as the Son of God, not as a man. And He loved them very much. This behavior is in stark contrast to His relationship with the church leaders of His day. He was unwelcome in Jerusalem and the Pharisees’ homes, but one place welcomed him.
John 11:5
And Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
John 11:34-36
and said, Where have you laid him? They said to him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. The Jews said, therefore, “See how he loved him!”
Remember He did not have His own house. He said to someone at one point: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Jesus sometimes wanted to escape a little from the hostile world of the Pharisees and, of course, also wanted to take a break from the exhausting ministry He was engaged in. His Father’s work was not easy, because He often had to heal the sick and teach the people about the Kingdom of God until late at night. The crowds always sought Him out, and then He had to serve. He never turned them away. It was then very pleasant for Jesus to escape to a place where He was loved and absolutely welcome to rest a little. He was always a highly honored and beloved guest of honor in the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Here, he was more than welcome.
What exactly is a house or a home in the true sense of the word?
It’s a place where you can relax a bit after a long day at work. You can kick off your shoes and move around comfortably.
It’s a place where you can relax, be comfortable, and be yourself.
It is a place where you can enjoy freedom and do what you want without having to consider all sorts of complications.
It’s a place where you can express your personality.
This is a place where you can communicate freely.
It is a place of safety and security.
It is a place where you are received kindly and joyfully, accepted, and welcomed.
It is a place where your secrets, passions, and desires can be safely entrusted to your family.
This is the place where you are lord and king.
Community experience is “home experience”
Do you also think that a person is different in your home where you “fellowship” with your family? Do you act differently towards them than towards others? We should also experience this attitude and privilege during congregation meetings. These points mentioned above are precisely what Jesus experienced in Bethany with these three loved ones of His. If Jesus had not yet arrived, Mary and Martha had already run out to Him. They could not wait to see Him. Jesus felt very honored and loved to be “clung to” by these loved ones of His. Mary could never wait for Him to come, because she hung on His lips when He was at their house.
Luke 10:38-42
And as they went, he came to a certain village, and a woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was much concerned about all things. And she came and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Please tell Mary that she should help me. But Jesus answered and said unto her, “Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
When Jesus and some of his disciples were with Mary, she usually gathered with his disciples around Jesus. In this intimate gathering, they saw and heard very intimate things, such as Jesus’ teachings and personal stories that were not shared with the crowd outside. These were things that were not shared with the crowd outside.
It was only meant for those who were very close to Jesus. Those who loved Him very much, those who gathered so intimately around Him, were aware of a Jesus who did not hold back. Here, He confidently poured out the mysteries of God, His secrets, desires, passion, and His heart before them, His beloved family. Here, there was no question of hostility, prejudice, unbelief, rituals, rules, regulations, religion, ulterior motives, inferiority, arrogance, knowing better, or hidden agendas. Except for Judas, of course, who was highly infuriated when Mary poured the bottle of expensive perfume on Jesus. He carried the purse and stole some of the money. He would very much like to sell the expensive perfume for his own profit.
Everyone in the room hung on Jesus’ lips, drinking in what He had to say. They were flooded with His love. They had revelations from Him that the crowd outside did not know about. This experience is the essence of the house church congregation: this intimate grouping around Jesus. The religious leaders of his day were blissfully unaware of these revelations from Jesus. However, these intimate friends of Jesus knew a “different” Jesus who was not wrapped in a haze of religion.
There is an indescribable, breathtaking, wonderful, majestic Jesus that will leave you gasping for breath, who is not well-known in the institutional church.
He is an inexplicable being with an indescribable beauty of colors, aroma, light, love, power, and a presence in which you would not be able to stand upright when He appears to you in His full glory.
Let’s take a look at who Jesus is:
“He is the King of all kings, He is the King of righteousness. He is the King of the ages, He is the King of heaven, He is the King of glory. He is the Lord of lords. He is a sovereign King, no means of measure can define His limitless love, He’s enduringly strong, entirely sincere, eternally steadfast, He’s immortally graceful, imperially powerful, impartially merciful, He’s the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world, He’s God’s Son, He’s the sinners Savior, He’s the centerpiece of civilization, He’s unparalleled, He’s unprecedented, He’s the loftiest idea in literature, He’s the highest personality in philosophy, He’s the fundamental doctrine of true theology, He’s the only one qualified to be an all sufficient Savior, He supplies strength to the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried, He sympathizes and He saves; He strengthens and He sustains. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick. He cleanses the lepers; He forgives sinners. He discharges debtors, He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble, He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate, He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent, He beautifies the meek, He’s the key of knowledge, He’s the wellspring of wisdom, He’s the doorway of deliverance, He’s the pathway of peace, He’s the roadway of righteousness, He’s the highway of holiness, He’s the gateway of glory, His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes, His word is enough, His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteousness, His yoke is easy, His burden is light, He’s indescribable, He’s incomprehensible, He’s invincible, He’s irresistible, You can’t get Him out of your mind, you can’t get Him off your hand, you can’t outlive Him and you can’t live without Him, the Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him, Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him, Herod couldn’t kill Him, death couldn’t handle Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him.
– SM Lockridge
Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God, the one in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells, the living Temple of the Triune God, the One in whom eternity lives, breathes, and exists. Peter and John did not realize it, but when they touched Jesus, they touched eternity. He was before time, the A to Z of everything, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Firstborn of the created universe, who rose from the dead never to die again, the conqueror of sin, death, and the grave. the One who holds all creation together in Himself, in Him is all power, might and majesty; the Chief authority and source of all that lives; the One by whom, for whom and to whom all things were created; the One in whom all things find purpose and meaning; the One who reconciled all things in Heaven and on earth with God; the One who nailed every law, rule and regulation that condemned the children of God to the bloody cross; the One who broke every curse and nailed it to the cross. the one who is the Supreme Being in every kingdom or realm and holds the first place in all things, the One whose significance and significance have no equal in the history of mankind, the One who holds the title deed to the universe, this glorious, wonderful, limitless, incomparable, majestic, powerful, triumphant, outstanding, precious, victorious, astonishing, stunning, astonishing, encompassing, extraordinary, incredible, infinite, immense, special, magnificent, glorious, beautiful, miraculous, matchless, unparalleled, intoxicating, terrifying, dazzling, immense, immeasurable, radiant, radiant, spectacular, breathtaking, glorious Being is the most glorious phenomenon. Being that has ever existed and ever will exist.
If you do not experience Jesus in your congregation and experience life-changing revelations directly from Him that leave you gasping for breath or that leave you unshaken to your very core, then you realize today what destructive consequences religion and human ordinances have had in the church.
If you are satisfied with what you experience in your congregation, there is even more. Jesus can only be revealed in His full greatness by Himself, where He has free rein without any restrictions as the real Head of the congregation to do as He wills and can have His way in our lives without restriction through His Spirit. Only then will He make you gasp for breath. He revealed His greatness in the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
In the house of Martha and Mary, He Himself had fellowship with them. He did not share with them through one person. Where He is in practice truly the head, He reveals Himself through everyone present through the gifts of the Spirit. He does not “speak” through one person. It would really have to be a Superman, God Himself, to tell the truth. No man can understand the dynamic of 1 Corinthians 14:26, which still channels the revelation of Jesus Christ through himself. The core of the dynamic surrounding this verse is everyone’s personal and practical experiences throughout the week, which are ultimately used by the Holy Spirit, when they come together, to reveal Jesus to everyone through everyone present. Jesus speaks to everyone through everyone!
1 Corinthians 14:26
What is the matter then, brothers? When you come together, each of you has a psalm, or a teaching, or a tongue, or a revelation, or an interpretation—let everything be for edification.
Notice the word “everyone,” which indicates that everyone is actively involved. The Holy Spirit was in control and used each one to reveal Jesus to the others in His unique way. Here we can already see that Jesus is in control of the gathering through the Holy Spirit. No one obstructs His path.
Everyone waits with anticipation to see and experience what He will do next.
So if the hand doesn’t function in the gathering, Christ will not be manifested in fullness. Likewise, if the eyes fail to function, the Lord will be limited in His self-revelation. On the other hand, when every member of a local assembly functions in the meeting, Christ is seen. He is made visible. And why? Because He is assembled in our midst. Consider the analogy of a puzzle. When each puzzle piece is properly positioned in relation to the other pieces, the puzzle is assembled. The net effect? We see the entire picture. It’s the same way with Christ and His church.
– Frank Viola
What exactly should happen when we come together? What is the bride’s God-given task? When we come together, Jesus wants to reveal Himself to us today through the Holy Spirit, just as He did with Mary and her family. He wants to have personal fellowship with us, a profound relationship built on informal, pure love. The bride must therefore be receptive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance in our gatherings.
I have mentioned this elsewhere in the book, but I want to emphasize it here: The weekly Sunday meetings belong to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. During these meetings, Christ is ministered to through the working of the Spirit. Nothing is controlled.
The meetings are not used to meet everyone’s needs. They are not prayer sessions. They are not “serve each other” sessions either. When we do that, we completely lose focus. This approach becomes self-centered, causing us to lose focus on the revelation of Christ. The old “care groups” of a few years ago are a good example of this. Once something like this starts, it is difficult to stop it. There is a place for this type of ministry, but it does not belong during the weekly meeting, as the primary purpose of these gatherings is to foster collective worship and spiritual growth rather than individual concerns.
House church congregation members visit each other during the week to serve each other and to meet each other’s needs. When someone really needs urgent prayer, it can be done after the meeting. According to James 5:14-15, we also see that the sick call on the elders when prayer is needed:
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil. And the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
We don’t come together to be served. We come together to serve.
The true church’s God-given task is therefore none other than the following:
The goal is to portray and present Jesus Christ to one another and to the world in a way that they have never known Him before. They do it by being functioning priests in His living house and as participating members of His body to showcase the life and kingdom of God to the utmost degree.
To let Christ, her Bridegroom, live in her. She stands on earth as living proof of the Bridegroom’s love, provision, protection, and wealth. Through her, His beauty, passion, and attractiveness are visible to the world. The Jesus in her is seen and acknowledged by the world.
The ultimate goal is to fill the universe with the glory of Christ.
To have a profound love relationship with Christ, to love Him passionately, to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge, so that the bride of Christ may be filled with all the fullness of God.
To build up the divine revelation of Jesus in obedience through the spiritual gifts until his people stand speechless and pleasantly overwhelmed in the presence of his glory and majesty.
By living a shared community life together as the family of God.
To learn together to live through the indwelling Jesus Christ.
To exercise God’s authority here on earth.
1 Corinthians 12:28
And God has set some in the church: first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, and various kinds of tongues.
Notice the word “some” used in the congregation. Again, this is not just one person. All the gifts of the Spirit cannot operate through just one person. The Scripture is clear about “everyone”.
Ephesians 4:13-16
Until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by the cunning craftiness of men in deceitful scheming, but speaking the truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by the working that every part supplies, makes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Notice the words “fitly joined together and joined together” and also “support that each member gives”. Here we see once again that everyone is involved in building up and supporting the whole body. Each member in the congregation has his function, his work, and his part in supporting the congregation. If this cooperation does not happen, the body will not be able to stand but will collapse. The tendons and the muscles hold the skeleton upright. A living organism needs each member to function healthily, or it will die or be an invalid.
What keeps the institutional church going? It does keep going, but only because it is an institution, not an organism. Like a business, the institutional church stands by good business principles, such as effective management, financial stability, and strategic planning, which help it to thrive and maintain its operations. An organization needs a competent manager. A few individuals maintain the organization. It does not need the all-participating lifestyle and all-functioning aspect of Christianity, which may overwhelm the organization with unnecessary complexities and hinder effective management. On the contrary, the institutional church does not trust the all-participating and all-functioning aspect of Christianity, believing instead that a more hierarchical and structured approach is necessary for effective governance and community engagement.
Then there is also the fear of losing control. When we start to live and work as the early Ekklesia did, meeting in homes and at work, we fear that others may develop differently from our perception of being Christ’s followers. We fear allowing others to express their opinions and will. Possibly at the heart of this fear is the lack of trust in the Holy Spirit to deal individually with people. There is also the fear that an Ekklesia meeting as families and friends will not be able to handle the theological challenges of the day. Jesus did, however, promise us that His Spirit would direct us as needed. What He wants is for His people to be humble, teachable, and accountable.
– Johan Carstens
You can see that there is no question of individualism in the true church. God always works with the corp. He works with his church as a whole. He works with his congregation as a whole. He works with and through each member. He does not work through one person with his bride or his congregation.
Fellowship in the Godhead
Even the Godhead is in communion with one another. 1 Corinthians 13 actually speaks of a love relationship that flows from the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three are equal to one another. Each knows everything the other does. There is an absolute state of mutual harmony, love, respect, and shared community life within the Divine Trinity. God’s passion and mission are to extend that same mutual harmony, love, respect, and shared community life to his church. What is in the Godhead must also be in us when we come together. This is the essence of an authentic, scripturally based Christian congregation of God.
Note that the only way that Christ can be properly expressed is if every member of a church freely supplies that aspect of the Lord that he or she has received. Make no mistake about it: The Lord Jesus cannot be fully disclosed through one member. He is far too rich for that.
– Frank Viola
If you look a little with your mind’s eye, you will see four persons standing on the “highest” point of the universe’s horizon. In the most breathtaking, majestic glory and fullness, they stand there in a common bond and unity of eternal light, harmony, and love. The group consists of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and the bride of Christ. She is the most beautiful bride you have ever seen. Her beauty comes from the light and the glory that radiates from Jesus and shines on her. But then you notice that the light not only shines on her but also radiates from her. The same light. Then you know, he also lives in her. They are one.
You see the love in Jesus’ eyes when He looks at her. You see that He can’t take His eyes off her. He has to tear them away from her every time His attention is needed somewhere else. And you realize that He is absolutely in love with her, and you see the same in her (See Song of Solomon).
But then you notice another important thing. The God by whom and to whom and for whom all things were made shares with his bride in her entirety. You see, she is a corporate being. Her body is made up of many members. She is many, yet she is one, a unique being. The only living organism in the universe that is so uniquely composed. All the members, all the living, Spirit-filled, breathing “units” or “cells” (you and I and all the other children of God) are uniquely bound together in love and support each other in a unique way to stand here life-size before her Bridegroom.
And in Him you notice that, while His love for each individual member is clearly visible, His whole being is focused on her as a whole, the single, corporate person. God is not a man. It is quite fitting and absolutely right that only His bride in her totality should be worthy to stand before Him. No individual can stand before Him in her place.
Look and see how they “dance” the dance of life. His left arm around her waist, and her Deeds in his right hand. Her left arm around his neck. Look how gracefully they dance as they look into each other’s eyes. Their love for each other is an eternal fire that burns in their eyes for each other. Flames of love, respect, and admiration move from one to the other. There is a Divine “communication” of his deepest “God-being” that is deposited in her in a Divine way. From spirit to spirit. He presses her tightly against Him, and you realize she was born for Him. The first Adam was created from dust. From him, his Eve was also created from dust. But that is not what you see here before you. The last Adam and his bride were both born from the Spirit.
John 3:3-8
Jesus answered and said to him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus says to him, “How can a man be born when he is old?” Can he not enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto you, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof but knowest not whence it cometh and whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit.
A new species. We are not of this world. This passage says that the world doesn’t know our origin or destination; we are born of the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Look closely. We are a new species. Jesus is the firstborn of that new species. His interaction with us is not channeled through a person. This “Spirit God” communicates with his “spirit bride” in the Spirit. On the contrary, His expression to her is not an oral message or communication, because it occurs outside the soul dimension of mental knowledge. It is a revelation from the Spirit on a spiritual level.
People minister to the letter, and they minister to knowledge, which is nothing but a dead religion. Where people gather, without the Holy Spirit, in an attempt to reach God, they are busying themselves with a dead religion. Where Spirit-filled children of God gather but choose to minister from the flesh, they minister to the letter. Where people gather around Jesus Christ and allow Him to live in and through them, true worship is lived. Life is lived through the Spirit. Only the Spirit can minister spirit and life. Only the Spirit can reveal Jesus. Therefore, it is only the working of the Spirit that can reveal Him. No intellectual sermon by the best speaker ever can replace the working of the Spirit, because it serves knowledge and not life. The Spirit serves spirit, truth, and life. The flesh serves death.
Is this passage of Scripture in the Bible?
How is the matter then, brethren? When you come together, let the lead singer lead the congregation in praise and worship; let the pastor make announcements; let the pastor pray; let the pastor preach; let the pastor minister to the people through prayer; let the congregation focus all their attention on the pastor; let the congregation be silent; let everything be done for edification.
From the above, it is clear that with God, the word “individualism” does not exist with regard to his church and his bride, because this verse is not in the Bible. The verse in the Bible that pertains to this topic describes a ministry given by the Holy Spirit in which everyone participates.
“When you come together, then each one has…”
God extended the community that exists in the Godhead to his church. Therefore, the following terms were born from God: community, family, support, togetherness, helping each other, interaction, etc.
No expression of a New Testament church is ever led by just one professional “holy man” doing the business of communicating with God and then feeding some relatively passive religious consumers Moses-style. Christianity has adopted this method from pagan religions or, at best, from the Old Testament. The heavy professionalization of the church since Constantine has now been a pervasive influence long enough, dividing the people of God artificially into laity and clergy. According to the New Testament (1 Timothy 2:5), “there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
– Wolfgang Simson
The Practical House Church Manual was written by ASR Martins
