The Organic Church
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Important messages
“You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual
house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ.” 1
Peter 2:5
The Laodicean identity
“You say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of
nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and
blind and naked”… Behold, I stand at the
door and knock…” Revelation 3:17, 20
What we are considering in this part of our lesson is a call of
Christ from outside the Laodicean church. From the very beginning of
this lesson, I would like you to notice two Greek nouns. One is apostasion and its feminine form is apostasia. The first means divorce and the second means apostasy. They are obviously very
closely related in definition and a common meaning would be separation. When
Paul speaks of an apostasy in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, he is speaking of an
end-time condition in the church, which can easily be interpreted as a divorce from Christ… a bride gone her
own way.
Would this not describe the situation
in Laodicea? Christ is outside seeking entrance and inside, the church is
operating without the presence and direction of the Lord. One of the evidences
of the divorce is that the mentality of the church is very different, even
opposite, from the mind of Christ. The church says, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing”;
Jesus says, “You are wretched and
miserable and poor and blind and naked.” Not long ago, a believer told me
that he had come out of a certain group thinking that he knew just about
everything. Shortly thereafter he joined a good Bible study course and very
humbly confessed, “I found out I knew nothing.” The light of truth is painful
to our spiritual eyes, when it gives us an accurate picture of our condition.
So also to this church, the
Lord offers disciplinary measures (“those
whom I love, I reprove and discipline”) that would turn their spiritual
poverty to riches, their nakedness would be covered with vestments of
righteousness, and their blindness would be cured by an anointing that will
bring spiritual wisdom and knowledge. However, if they will not repent and
submit to Him, then as He is not in them, so they will not be in Him. He will
vomit them out.
Recognizing
the body of Christ
Usually a message on united effort or of the ministry of the
body working together will be directed strictly to a local body of believers.
Such a message will not be effective, in fact it will be hypocritical, unless
there is an appreciation and a recognition of the whole body of Christ and a
full understanding of what the body consists. Among many, there is a great lack
of an accurate understanding.
First of all, no
denomination or organization can ever see itself exclusively as the church;
that is usually understood, except among the cults, who exclude all others and
consider themselves the only means of salvation and to leave them, they would
tell you, is to endanger your soul. Secondly, it is less understood that organizations
should not consider themselves to be even a part of the church! Why? Because
the church is organic and alive; the church is a people, called out of the
world and separated for God. A denomination or organization likely contains
these people, but it must be understood that the people are the church and not the temporal, physical and
organizational body that surrounds them. It is simply to be considered a tool.
Before going any farther, I
want to interject here, a very important distinction between true, believing
groups and denominations that are liberal in doctrine and practice. Those who
know me, know my hatred for ecumenicalism. Why do I hate it? Because it is a
false, man-made attempt to bring things together, which are not from the same
spiritual source and that is, in fact, a work of the devil. It is an effort to syncretize, which is defined as an attempt to unite and harmonize without
critical examination or logical unity. Paul teaches, for instance, that the
flesh and the spirit are contrary to each other (Gal.5:17), and those who are
not born of the Spirit cannot walk in the Spirit. We cannot expect that those
who have been born twice be united with those born once.
Paul prohibits such a union
in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15: “Do not be
bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and
lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has
Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?”
However, thirdly, having clarified that there are those in the general realm of
Christianity, who are not genuine Christians, there must be an appreciation and
recognition of the full body of Christ. What is this body, this church?
A very good and clear answer
is given us in Hebrews 12:22-23 and, to be brief, I will point out what
concerns us in this article, that is, the strictly human element in the church:
“You have come to… the general assembly
and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven… to the spirits of the
righteous made perfect…” The general assembly and church are all those
everywhere, who are set apart for God (as the firstborn in Israel) and whose
name is enrolled in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The church also consists of those,
who have gone on to heaven (spirits made perfect), those sometimes called the victorious church. This is the body that
Paul speaks of in Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 10:17, 12:12 and onward, Ephesians
2:15- 22, 4:3-6, 11-16 and Colossians 3:15.
We are to recognize and
appreciate every born-again saint, washed in the blood of the Lamb, regardless
of his denominational ties or lack of them, over this entire planet. He is a
brother, born of the Father, and part of our family. We are to pray for him
when he suffers, rejoice with him when he is blessed. As much as is possible,
we are to seek to know him, be interested in his labors, and be involved in his
life. We need him and he needs us. Jude speaks of those, who are sectarian,
whom he calls divisive (v.19). I think that verse can be applied, to those that
concentrate entirely on their group or church and do not have this larger
picture of the body of Christ. If we are like that, then our talk about unity
and cooperation within our particular movement or local body, is hypocrisy!
In the apostolic times,
there were no divisions formed by various groups, as we have them today, but
already there were people with a divisive spirit among the believers. I used to
hear more about the danger of dividing the body of Christ and, along with that
talk, was the hope that before He returned, the true church would find unity
again. That would be a spiritual work, which must take place in the hearts of
Christians.
We are also one with all
those, who have paved the way for us, many of whom have been tortured and have
sacrificed their lives to give us Bibles in our native tongue, who have fought
lies and heresies to give us good doctrine, who have brought continuing life
through revivals and have given us literature and hymns for our learning and
blessing. They are as much a part of the one church as anyone alive today and
we ought to be as familiar, as possible, with their lives and teachings. We
should read their books and sing their songs. Part of the problem in Laodicea
was a tremendous arrogance, related to self-sufficiency… “I have need of nothing”.
Only Christ can build His church
Christ said, “I
will build my church” and only He can build it. Only He can unite all that
is godly from the church down through the ages, with the work that He is doing
through His church today. They are all living stones, to which no man can give
life and no man can organize or control. That plan will continue into the
future to finally bring about the answer to the prayer that He taught us to
pray: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” As
in Ephesians 4, only He calls forth the various ministries necessary to equip
the saints and build up the body of Christ. One ministry may be called from one
area and may come together with one from another area, perhaps without any
knowledge between them that it is happening. They will fit together perfectly.
We
are talking about a supernatural church with supernatural ministry for eternal
purposes. To operate according to natural talents and abilities will not
fulfill the purpose of God. Look at the nine gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14. They
are all supernatural and the motivational force behind them is a supernatural
love that only comes from heaven. Only agape enables us to feed the
flock of God. I suggest that the gifts mentioned in Romans 12:6-8 are also
supernatural gifts. Although they may appear more natural than those in 1
Corinthians, they are given directly by God, “according to the grace given
to us… according to the proportion of his faith.”
There
is nothing natural at all in these ministries. The apostles are not encouraging
the member of the body of Christ to be faithful in functioning according to
human or fleshly ways. As the Laodiceans thought themselves to be rich in
this world, they became wealthy and in need of nothing. That will produce
wood, hay and stubble.
Peter
takes similar gifts, as those mentioned in Romans… hospitality, speaking, and
serving, but notice: “Whoever speaks, as one who is speaking the utterances
of God; whoever serves as one who is serving by the strength which God
supplies” (1 P.4:9-11) If you do all this by your natural
talents and abilities, with which you were born, you will get the glory for
that… and rightly so! You did it. But if you do it in the power of the Holy
Spirit, as Peter commands, only that way “in all things God may be glorified
through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever,
Amen.”
The
call to the individual church member
Now, you will notice at the end of the message to the Laodicean
body, Jesus turns his attention to the individual: “Behold, I stand at the
door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to
him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” A message is given to the individual
in each case in all seven churches: “To him who overcomes…” (2:7;
11; 17; 23; 26-28 and 3:5; 12; 20-21).
Jesus is outside the
Laodicean church door and this is His call to the church member to open the
door to Him. The member is inside the church, but he needs personal fellowship
with Christ. I have noticed over the years a growing emphasis on the importance
of being part of a body of believers. Of course, I will not take issue with
something that is unquestionably biblical and necessary. However, sometimes a
picture is painted of weak and disabled Christians, drawing on one another for
strength. Therefore, I will say that true and scriptural teaching on the
function of a local body, must be well balanced with teaching on the
relationship between the individual and His Lord.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul
compares the church to a body. You cannot have an effectively working spiritual
body, if you do not have individuals, who are strong in their personal
relationship with the Lord and operate in the supernatural strength of the Holy
Spirit. It is true that there is a certain dependence in the body among the
members, but that does not take away from the responsibility of each member to
fulfill his role individually. The shoulder cannot be the arm and the arm
cannot be the hand. Each member must strongly and supernaturally carry out his
own function. In the body of Christ, there should not be invalid parts.
Although Jesus sent
his disciples out two-by-two and that may well be the normal principle in
Christian service, don’t make it a hard-and-fast law! Paul received his
ministry to the Gentiles personally and Ananias was called individually and
alone to go to him. Peter apparently traveled from Jerusalem to Joppa alone,
then Jewish disciples from Joppa accompanied him to Caesarea. Stephen preached
alone and died alone. Philip went down to Samaria and the Bible gives no record
of any companion. Afterwards he went from Samaria, down to Jerusalem and on
towards Gaza alone. Then the Spirit of the Lord snatched him away alone.
 |
| Nicolae Moldoveanu |
The heavenly Architect
has the blue print and everyone must be given freedom to fulfill our part in
the plan. Nicolae Moldoveanu spent five years of torture in a communist prison
for his faith, composing 361 songs in his head and committing them to memory.
In all, he wrote over 6,000 songs and all Christians in Romania, regardless of
denomination, sing them. He said, “I don’t
want to be part of a group, because they would control me… they would enslave
me. But in the Lord Jesus, Who is the Truth, there is liberty. The truth will
set you free. Who can understand this, if he does not belong to Jesus? All that
comes into the Christian life is a plan of God. You walk and the Holy Spirit
guides. I am human: I can be wrong (he said it so humbly). I ask that I will
not hinder the unfolding of His plan.” Well-meaning
Christians could easily hinder the unfolding of His plan and thereby do what a
communist prison could not do. Even though they took away his paper and pencil,
the Holy Spirit gave him supernatural memory. The plan, the enabling, and the
glory goes to God.
There is individual
calling in the Kingdom of God, from Abraham to Paul, and everyone will give
individual account for his calling. “So then each one of us will give
an account of himself to God” (Ro.14:12). “For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed
for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2
Co.5:10)
I stand by these
apologetics. An individual obedience to Christ and an enabling by the Holy Spirit
is so necessary in ministry today, when the Laodicean mentality glorifies men
and their abilities, totally deceived in thinking that they are of great
service to God. With King Saul they boast, “I have carried out the command
of the Lord” (1 Sam.15:13), but the bleating sheep and the lowing oxen, taken
from the enemy, drown out their voices. The bleating and the lowing are the signs that warn us that God’s work has not reached
completion, as He ordered. The impulse motivating Saul was egotism. The king
was influenced by the desires of his soldiers, keeping the best for themselves,
and allowing the enemy king to survive, who should have been eliminated.
Listening to men, the word of the Lord remains unfinished. The Laodicean Church continues to exist today; He that has ears to hear, let him hear and awaken to the true
condition!
Communion with Jesus
Now, let us go on to
the meat and the joy of this study. Perhaps by clearing out the Laodicean air
and lukewarmness, we will be able to breathe and drink more freely from the
ambiance of the Holy Spirit. Wise Christians tell us of back door revivals,
before God opened the windows of heaven and drenched His waiting people with
showers of blessing. The old, wrinkled wineskins and last generation’s garments
had to march self-righteously out of the assembly before the new wine and the
holy white linen of fresh garments could quench the thirst and clothe the souls
of those who were praying and prepared for blessing.
In another study, we
contemplated the eternal, perfect, extreme love of the Lord for His disciples,
past and present. We meditated on His intense desire to meet and eat with them.
But now we see Him with a sick heart, because of a deceived, self-satisfied,
self-sufficient people. They cast Jesus aside and got wealthy by themselves and
they have all they want.
Jesus goes to the
door, raps and speaks distinctly, “Behold I stand at the door and knock; if
anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine
with him, and he with Me.” “Is there anyone in there, who can recognize My
voice?” A pastor told me about a year ago: “We’re preaching the gospel to our
people. We need to get the church people saved.” He was talking about
evangelical people and in that church, people are responding to the gospel.
The first step to
faith is in the hearing. Jesus has already said it six times… “He that has
an ear to hear, let him hear.” He said it to the multitudes after His
parables and some hearers came when He was alone. He unfolded to them the
secrets of the Kingdom of God. In these days there are hungry, thirsty people
who are ready to listen to the Word. They’re not looking at their watches; they
have time for God. When people have ears for the things of God, faith follows
right behind. They open the door by faith.
I am convinced that
the Laodicean situation depicts the evangelical church of our day, but from
that sickening condition, there comes a bright, lively response that surpasses
anything I have seen throughout my 50 years of ministry. “Yes, we hear His
voice,” they seem to say, “and we want Him more than anything or anyone else!
We don’t want the things that He can give; He is Whom we want!”
Therefore in these
trying times, in the middle of a perverse society and an almost apostate
church, Christ stands at the door. He is impassioned with extreme love and
intense desire, looking to share communion and spread the table for a hungry
people. They are all the hungrier, because of the darkness and deception that
surrounds them.
Nothing has changed,
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the instigator,
who causes us to will and do of His good pleasure. He’s the one rapping and
calling. If there is a response that leads to an open door, He is provoking it,
as well. What then is ahead? Well, He already has told us and it’s a promise. “I
will come in.” It is He that we seek and He meets with us individually. It
is an individual call, but there are thousands of people around the world, who
hear His voice and are responding.
They are not happy
with Laodicea and are not reporting all the wonderful things that Laodicea is
doing, her programs and the property that she is buying. They are not satisfied
with the beautiful new sanctuary in the suburbs, nor with the spread and growth
of “the work”. There are parched souls, who yearn for the Spring of Life. They often
stand alone in their company and others misunderstand them. “Come in,
Lord Jesus,” they cry, “You are all I long for. Nothing less will do.” He has
promised and He will fulfill His promise with intense desire. “I will come
in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”
Christ is enough for me, Christ is enough for me;
Everything I need is in you, everything I need.
NOTE: I give a much fuller teaching on the church
and give several examples of how it works practically in my book, God Made
the Country, especially in the final chapter 16.
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