While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Cor. 4:18
Let me pose you a question. What comparison would you, as a spiritual person, make between owning a 10 million-dollar mansion and someone whose dead bones brought a dead man back to life, in spite of the fact that, during his lifetime, this man whose dead bones brought the dead man back to life slept in “a little chamber… on the wall” whose only furnishings were “a table, and a stool, and a candlestick”? (2 Ki. 4:10)
If you are a person who only sees in the natural, I will bet that a 10 million-dollar house must sound very attractive to you.
What you don’t know you don’t know.
And what comparison, pray, could there possibly be between a man who could walk on water, as Jesus did, even though He had “nowhere to lay down” His head, and a preacher who sleeps on a million-dollar water bed?
Once again, I will bet that if you are a person who sees only in the natural, you would very much want to know how a million-dollar water bed feels like.
Finally, what similarity can we attach between a life simply lived in this world but full of eternal hope and a life richly lived down here but empty and fruitless in the Spirit?
When Hurricane Harvey hit the city of Houston, Texas, in August 2017, the most prosperous mega-church in America, which is located in Houston, closed its doors to the many desperate people who went knocking on its doors seeking for shelter from the floods. Not until it was shamed publicly did the church drag its doors open.
Imagine… unsaved people were opening their doors to the needy, and yet a church could not. That speaks of zero fruit of the Spirit. Luckily, that church preaches material prosperity and physical well-being. I am glad it does not preach spiritual well-being, otherwise it would have embarrassed God big time. Spiritual well-being involves coming to people’s help in time of need.
When we see in the Spirit, we despise not only the things of this world, but our own lives as well. We embrace the cross and crucify the flesh.
This great woman could have made Elisha a five-star hotel accomodation. But somehow she knew he would not need it. So instead she beseeched her husband:
“Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.”
I wonder who among today’s prophets would live in such an abode. Nearly all the ‘prophets’ that I know of today are competing for a spot on Forbes magazine. All you need to do is to Google any one of their names and scroll down to the column written “Net Worth”, and you will be blown away. They sport million-dollar mansions and cars.
Elisha had none of these, but he was full of the life of God! He was the compassionate Elisha who told his servant, Gehazi,
“Call this Shunammite.”
And when he had learned of her need he said to her:
“About this season… thou shall embrace a son.” (2 Ki.4:16)
This Elisha who slept in a room on the wall was the same Elisha whose bones brought to life a dead man (2 Ki. 13:21)! Elisha had been long dead; but the life of God refused to depart from his bones! The Spirit of God stayed by Elisha’s remains long after he had died! What better witness to a holy man of God.
The Bible commands us to look at the things that are not seen, not those that are seen. In other words, we are not to see in the natural, but in the Spirit!!
When we look at the things of the Spirit, we will live a powerful life of the Spirit. Our transformed lives will testify of the power of God.
What would you rather have? God is my witness. I would rather have the life of God in me as Elisha had rather than the finest trappings that this world could offer me.
[True men of God are deeply concerned about the spiritual welfare of God’s people]
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Cor. 4:18
There is a big problem in the church today. The church does not see. It is blind in the Spirit. It does not see “the things which are not seen”. In fact, the church understands only the things that are seen; and it often scoffs at the things that are not seen…
A while ago, a friend of mine was preaching in our church and he said, “There is no worse impairment than the disability to see.”
He was talking about seeing in the Spirit.
Let us read 2 Kings 4:8-10.
8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. 9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. 10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.”
Notice,
“… an holy man of God”.
I just love that. That is what a true prophet of God ought to be. Holy. Not unholy.
Today we have prophets who are anything but holy. And they are not just unholy; they are sinning big time, to the extent that they are being arrested! They are being arrested for charges ranging from rape, to money laundering and everything in between. That includes your favorite prophet from down south. And please save me the nonsense that these fellows’ arrests are “persecution for the gospel’s sake”.
But notice here that Elisha was a holy man of God.
How, pray, do we prove that Elisha was a holy man of God? Is it because this woman said so?
The answer is yes. And why, pray, should we believe her testimony? It is on account of her character. The character of the Shunammite woman allows us the privilege to believe anything this woman said. When she says that Elisha was a holy man of God we believe that is what he was.
I love the story of Elisha and the Shunammite woman. It is one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible. It is the story of a pure, holy, loving relationship between a man and woman who were not husband and wife.
I love the way the Bible portrays this woman.
“a great woman”.
It was not the husband who was great. It was the woman. The Swahili Bible says that she was “a woman of position”. She was a noblewoman. But notice also how submissive this great woman was to her husband. When she decided that something needed to be done for the man of God, she beseeched her husband.
“Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.”
I just love that. You see, with God character is everything. The Bible says of our spiritual mother, Sarah:
“Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord…” (1 Pet.3:6)
And for this reason she is the mother of all who believe.
“… whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.”
The humble spirit of both Sarah and this Shunammite woman is something every woman should emulate.
It is this same quality that makes us (and God) to believe the Shunammite when she says that Elisha was a holy man of God.
1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: 7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. 8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; 9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord… Eph. 3:1-11
Who is the apostle, and who is the prophet?
May I start by saying that a true apostle or prophet is rarer than the rarest jewel. If you can find one such person, you will have found the greatest treasure you could possibly find under the sun.
But the Bible paints a frightening picture of the life that this best of the best of God’s array of vessels lives. First, the Chief Apostle, our Lord Jesus Christ, said of Himself:
“The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay down his head.” (Mat. 8:20)
This was in response to a scribe who came running to Him and who asked to be allowed to follow Jesus wherever He would go. Jesus was warning him: “Stay back! Desist! Unless you are willing to lose your life, you cannot follow me.”
They ended up crucifying Jesus Christ.
I once saw a video of some people slaughtering a man for being a Christian. They bound his hands and feet and slaughtered him the way you would slaughter a goat. Hardly something to go running to.
Likewise, the Apostle Paul says of the early apostles:
“For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” (1 Cor. 4:9)
Notice the range of losses that the apostle has to endure. He is a man “appointed to death… a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.”
In other words, he is not a worldly celebrity.
Paul continues,
“10 We are fools for Christ’s sake… we are weak… we are despised. 11 Even to this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; 12 And labour, working with our hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: 13 Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and we are the offscouring of all things unto this day.” (1 Cor. 10-13)
“Even to this present hour”.
Meaning, “Even as I write.” At the time of writing this letter to the Corinthians, Paul was undergoing these things. What a sobering thought.
“Unto this day.”
There is hardly any rest in the flesh for the apostle. Every day his body is pummeled. God uses everything in his power to bring down this man: hunger, thirst, nakedness, beatings. God goes further and attacks this man’s reputation. He casts it down. He has him defamed, and the apostle does not hire a lawyer. Instead he entreats. When he is beaten, he says, “Sorry.” Losing is the only right he has. He knows he is appointed to death.
In Colossians 1:24, Paul writes:
“Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church”.
Notice the all-important words, “in my flesh”. The word “flesh” here goes much deeper than just the flesh and bones. It talks of self. Paul gave up who he was. Paul’s life was given. He counted himself a dead man. His life was given as a sacrifice. It was given so the Church could be edified.
But more than that is the fact that Paul rejoiced in his sufferings for the Church’s sake. For most of us, the slightest inconvenience on account of the gospel can only be borne under duress! But the true servant of God goes to the slaughter rejoicing, for he knows what his death will bear in the Spirit.
The Church cannot be entrusted to just anyone. Jesus said,
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven…” (Mat. 7:21)
In the same way, not everyone who calls themselves an apostle or prophet is truly one, and God will not entrust them His church. An apostle or prophet should measure themselves by how much they are willing to suffer for the sake of the gospel. God will entrust the Church to men whom He has shaped to love the church as Christ does. The apostles and prophets of God are men who carry the selfless, sacrificial heart of Jesus.
Christ is the supreme example of the kind of dying that his followers are called to, chief of them being the apostles and prophets. We read of His example in Philippians 2:5-9
“5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal to God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Jesus started out as God, but He sank lower and lower in esteem till he became nothing.
This is hardly the kind of life anyone would desire. But this is what is needed to bring forth the best out of God’s utmost servants, the apostles and prophets.
[“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” – Rom. 8:18]
1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit Eph. 3:1-5
Finally, let us look at the New Testament. In John 21:18-19, Jesus told Peter,
“18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.”
First, let us consider verse 19.
I used to think Jesus was talking about Peter’s physical death. But scripture here is talking about how Peter would glorify God. It is so banal to think of Jesus telling Peter, “When you grow old, someone will come, bind you and go kill you” even if Jesus wanted to communicate such information to Peter.
But scripture is no ordinary writing. So there must be something more to what Jesus was saying to Peter. I believe He was telling him, “You will glorify God by dying to self. By surrendering your life (and rights) and allowing the crucified Christ to fully live in you. You will glorify God by dying to your own selfish ways and desires.”
Which brings us to Jesus’s words in verse 18:
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
Who is this “another” that Jesus was talking about?
It is Jesus Himself. We are to be prisoners of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Which brings us to the Apostle Paul and the great work that he accomplished in the Spirit.
Remember that Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:10:
“But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
Paul says that he labored more than the other apostles. That word, “laboured” as we shall see below, could better be translated “loved”. But Paul does not give himself credit for his accomplishments; on the contrary, he credits the grace of God. In clearer terms, Paul had more grace than the other apostles.
So how did Paul come to have more grace than his counterparts?
It was because he allowed himself to become a bond-slave of Jesus. He allowed Jesus to bind him hand and foot and to lead him where he would not want to go. In Ephesians 6:20 Paul says:
“I am an ambassador in bonds…”
Bonds are not the most comfortable thing for one to be in. Which means that Paul was forced into that situation. Willingly? Yes. And this brings us to 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.
“7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
The truly ‘abnormal’ thing about the Apostle Paul was that he realized that there was only one way to “labour” for God effectively. And by laboring for God it meant loving the church. Why do you think Paul wanted to be “strong”? It was for the sake of the church. Paul loved and cared for the church with everything that he had in him! And Paul realized He had to surrender self. He had to die to self in order to truly love and serve Christ’s Body, the church.
When Paul realized this, he happily stretched out his hands and allowed the Lord to bind him. He gladly gave his flesh over to the cruel messenger to be buffeted. And thus it came to be that Paul got filled to the brim with the grace of God. Grace to enable him to fulfill his desire to love the church as Christ loved it.
You can see the grace of God in Paul’s life written all over his epistles and in the Book of Acts. He was full of humility, compassion, and love towards God’s people.
And then, again, he was full of Godly wisdom. He could bring the revelation of the cross right up to any level you asked him to (1 Corinthians chapters 1 -4).
But Paul could also compassionately tackle issues which did not have a direct answer from scripture. He would therefore write the Corinthians,
“Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me… I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.” (1 Cor. chapter 12)
What humility! And what Godly advice without a “Thus saith the Lord!”
That was the Apostle Paul. Fully surrendered to God, and fully fulfilling the purpose and calling of God upon the church, which was to love it.
That’s who a true apostle is. He is one to whom the cross is revealed, to the end that he may love the church as Christ loves it.
[I do not know many things. But I do know I love the old Hillsong songs]
10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. 1 Pet. 1:10-12
One day, my wife and I were recalling a certain man of God, well known the world over through his ministry who, a few years back, had graced our annual CTMI (www.ctmi.org) conference in Mauritius.
My wife asked me, “Did you ever hear of that man again?”
I answered, “No.”
“You mean he never came back again?” she persisted.
“I think so”, I said.
The significance of what we had just spoken sank deep into us and we both fell silent. It dawned on us that this man had been unable to grasp the import of the gospel of the cross. It dawned on us even further how difficult and, in some cases, how downright impossible it is for the great men of God in this world to see in the Spirit “Jesus Christ, and him crucified”.
Scripture tells us that the prophets of old “enquired and searched diligently… of the grace that should come to”… us!
The prophets of old were great men in the Spirit. They saw and heard in the Spirit that “which it is not lawful for a man to utter” (2 Cor. 12:4).
Moreover, these men performed great and powerful miracles in the Name of the Lord. These were truly powerful men in the Spirit. Also, they underwent some of the most severe sufferings in order to bring God’s vision to fruition in our lives. And yet these men and women were denied the right to understand or experience the grace that is ours today. What a powerful realization!
But that is not all. God’s Word tells us something even more awe-inspiring about the grace that is ours today: “…which things the angels desire to look into”.
Angels are heavenly spiritual beings. They are unparalleled in power and might and wisdom. But here the Bible declares that they long to “look into” the grace that we are experiencing today.
What does scripture mean by “angels desire to look into”?
It means that God’s holy angels desire to understand, or experience the grace that can be found in the crucified life. This understanding makes us to realize that the crucified life the highest manner of life that can be lived on earth and in heaven. That is why Jesus is so exalted, because He was able to live the crucified life.
The revelation of a crucified life is the privilege that God has reserved for all who will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an indescribable privilege to be able to understand “Jesus Christ, and him crucified” Herein, in the crucified life, lies the measureless grace of God in its entirety, and God’s glory also (1 Pet. 1:11).
That is why the Apostle Paul declares that when he went to the Corinthians, he “determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2)
Why should he? Paul had seen in the Spirit the glory of this privilege, and he was not about to play games with it.
But this is also a glory that has bypassed the great men and women of God in this world. For only the humble in heart can experience the crucified life and the grace and the glory to be found therein.
The Apostle Peter therefore shows those of us who have seen this glory of the crucified life and who have allowed themselves to be under the hand of God the great responsibility that we have: “13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” (1 Pet. 1:13-17).
Under the Old Covenant, the highest spiritual ministry that God gave to his people was the ministry of the prophet. In other words, if God wanted to communicate something really important to His people He sent the prophets. The Bible tells us so in Hebrews 1:1:
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets…”
But in the New Covenant, we see the arrival of a new ministry, the apostle. This ministry is greater than that of the prophet, for in 1 Corinthians 12:28 the Apostle Paul writes: “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers …”
So what does the apostle do? Actually, he does not do much. All he carries is a message. But it is a message full of the power of God. The apostle’s message has the power to transform a man from being carnal to being spiritual. In other words, from a person of sin to a person of righteousness. In even better words, from a person who does not please God to one who pleases God.
The message that the apostle carries is the message of the cross. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: “17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:17-18).
The message of the cross of Jesus is greater than baptism or any outside markings. There are some Christian denominations that put all their emphasis on baptism. To them, getting baptized is synonymous with being born again. But one could come out of the water and be no different from someone who has just taken a bath.
The second birth, however, is a miracle of God that occurs in a man’s heart, and this miracle is what transforms a man. That is why the Apostle Paul says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature” (Gal. 6:17).
In Hebrews 6:1 the Apostle Paul also writes:
“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection…”
And in Colossians 1:28: “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
Even as God wills that we all be saved, yet it is our perfection that God is most concerned. Hence the revelation of the cross through the apostolic gospel.
In the Old Testament, the cross had been revealed since God’s dealings with Adam. But it was never revealed clearly, for God waited until the fullness of time would come, when Christ, the perfect Lamb, would be sacrificed on the cross. All the Old Testament prophets therefore saw the cross, but they did not see it clearly. Nonetheless, everyone who pleased God in the Old Testament had to have carried the cross, one way or another. But it is clear from the Bible that these were only a handful of people.
When Jesus went up to heaven, He sent us His Holy Spirit. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment…” (Jn. 16:8)
That statement by Jesus immediately sets alarm bells ringing in us that these things – sin, righteousness and judgment – were not dealt with sufficiently under the law of the Old Covenant.
Or they were not dealt with at all.
But now, through the ministry of the apostle, the Holy Spirit would effectively deal with these things. If it is sin it would be defeated. If it is righteousness it would be established. And men will be made to know that a time is coming when all will be judged by a righteous Judge.
Everything is bound up within the cross of Jesus Christ. It is through the cross that these things will be accomplished. If these things were not made clear under the Old Covenant, now, under the New, they will become clear as day, for Christ has accomplished all.
The apostle, therefore, is like a professional, sent by God. If you are taught something by an amateur, it is not always clear or perfect. When the professional arrives, however, everything flows smoothly. He brings things out more clearly and perfects everything.
That is what the apostle does through revealing the power and grace that is found in the cross. Any child of God who submits himself under the ministry of the apostle can understand all that the cross is meant to do in their lives, not bits and pieces about salvation. When the message of the cross is delivered to the church under the anointing of the apostolic ministry, God’s people can understand that, even as they rejoice at the fact of their salvation, yet, more importantly, they realize they are called upon to suffer for the sake of the gospel.
In this way, both the flesh and sin are confronted in church.
In the Old Testament, very few people pleased God. Not many did His will. God had a difficult time dealing with His people. But God bore with them, sometimes punishing them according to the law, although He never punished them according to the extent of their evil ways because He is a merciful God.
But in the New Testament, God expects all His children to walk in the fullness of His will, and to please Him fully. Not by law, but by grace.
Still, for the believer who does not walk in this revelation, the gospel of the cross is as difficult as trying to commit a Ph.D dissertation to a kid in kindergarten. He will say, “Too hard!” – and seek for an option that eases the suffering on his flesh. That is why, for many Christians who are not under the apostolic ministry, all they know about the cross is that Christ died there for their sins (the initial salvation). They do not know the role of the cross in enabling them to live a victorious life over their flesh and over sin.
The apostolic message is one of self-denial, of taking up our cross daily and following Christ:
“…For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter” – Rom. 8:36.
“As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ” – Gal. 6:12
“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” – Gal. 6:14.
That is why all the other ministries, including that of the prophet, must come under the ministry of the apostle, for grace’s sake. The grace of Jesus Christ diffuses from this one ministry – this ministry that clearly sees the cross – to the other ministries. Any ministry purporting to work outside the authority of the apostolic ministry is simply lighting strange fires.
The Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians, “You may have ten thousand teachers, but it is I who bore you in the gospel!”
There are many churches today where you find the pastor is the alpha and omega. In others it is the bishop, or the archbishop. In others it is make-believe ‘apostles’, ‘prophets’, etc. There are all kinds and all levels of spiritual leaders, but the true father of the church is the apostle. He has the authority and power in the Spirit to bring and men and women into the true image of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Where the apostolic ministry is not, there is no grace, there is only law. That is why pastors introduce long strings of rules, laws and regulations (do’s and don’ts) in church.
The Apostle does not do that. Did you ever read how Paul dealt with the Corinthians even after they had reneged on their contributions for the church in Jerusalem for a whole year? He did not threaten them. Nor did he set a law on them. Nor did he tell them, “Ok, let’s try the ten percent.”
On the contrary, he used the example of the Macedonians to encourage the Corinthians to give. He dealt with them the way a father would deal with his children.
Instead of giving them rules and principles, Paul talked to them about the grace of God. Indeed, he was in effect telling them: If it is not of grace, it is not worth it. All that God accepts is what has been accomplished in our hearts as a result of the working of the Holy Spirit.
Now, today, you have very many teachings in church about giving. All are geared to make God’s people to give. I went to one church where I found five different categories of envelopes, each one for a different offering!
All this is due to a lack of a connection with the apostolic gospel. Without the apostolic message, law reigns supreme. It might be more so in some churches than in others; but still it is law.
The gospel is about setting people free and only the apostolic gospel of grace and truth can do that.
Have you seen the light? Which by interpretation means, have you met up with the true ministry of the apostle,the one who can show you the strait and narrow way?
Is the cross close enough to you that you are able to take it up daily and follow Christ? (Lk 9:23)
[“Have you seen the light?” One of the most beautiful songs, here beautifully sang]
25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? Lk. 24:26
Notice that Jesus tells His disciples here that all the Old Testament spoke of His sufferings. All. Not one prophet did not speak about the sufferings of Christ.
More importantly, though, notice how Christ’s sufferings are tied up with the glory to come. In other words, for Christ to enter into His glory, the door that He had to pass through was sufferings!
It is incredible how carnal – how un-spiritual – the church today has become. We have no vision of the eternal glory. Less so is our perception of the road we need to take to arrive at that goal.
Nowadays, the church is full of prophets and other ministers who prophesy about what God’s people are going to enjoy once they believe on Christ. I remember, many years ago, I went to a lunch-time fellowship in the city and I heard one of the most famous preachers of that time saying, “God is about to give you that Mercedes Benz that you have been praying for!”
And the hall was packed full of God’s people.
In retrospect, now, I cannot understand the logic of that statement. A Mercedes Benz! What does a Mercedes Benz have to do with the Kingdom of God?
That’s how far today’s ‘prophets’ have gone from hearing from God.
But with the Old Testaments prophets, the singular message they heard from God was the sufferings of Christ. They did not hear any other message. They did not hear the message of prosperity.
In the New Testament, God brought the message of Christ’s sufferings closer to His people, beginning with His apostles. God always begins with the apostles. He reveals His message to them, then He applies that message to their lives. The Apostle Paul received a singular revelation of the sufferings of Christ for the church. When he went to the Corinthians, therefore, he says, “1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” 1 Cor. 2:1-2
In effect, Paul was saying he received the same revelation of the sufferings of Christ that the Old Testament prophets received.
After He gave him this revelation, God brought this revelation to work first in Paul’s life. In Acts 20:22-23, the Apostle Paul, speaking to the Ephesian elders, says, “22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: 23 Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.”
The Holy Spirit did not witness that Paul would suffer in a few cities. No. The Holy Spirit witnessed to Paul that he would suffer in every city. Every city! And so this most faithful of God’s servants walked about with a thorn in his flesh all his life.
That is the spirit that we need to catch. Failure to do so will find us out of league with Christ. We are all aware that after our initial confession of Christ into our hearts, life goes on. What many of us do not realize is that this life that goes on must of necessity be an identification with Christ in the Spirit, in His sufferings and death – towards the goal of eternal glory. In other words, the life that we now live in Christ is a lost life in the natural. It is not a life where we simply rejoice because God has “put food on my table”. The latter – which is all too common today – is too simplistic an interpretation of the Christian life. It is too basic! Ultimately, it is a carnal understanding of the Christian life that we have been called to. Significantly, it is an interpretation that is bound to keep us spiritual “babes” forever. And there is no sadder place for Christ to find one of His children when He comes back!
In today’s tech world there is something called “upgrading”. People are always upgrading from one app to the next.
In the Spirit, too, we need to upgrade. For, since Christ was to be a true Son of God, the Old Testament prophets did not see Him in the Spirit receiving childish things like Mercedes Benzes. On the contrary, they foresaw Him suffering and dying in the flesh. They saw Him in His perfect “upgraded” status. This is the core of spiritual maturity.
Let us pray to God to reveal to us the singular gospel that He revealed to the Apostle Paul, “Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Then, and only then can we be sure we are on the right track – the road to the eternal glory.
[Below: In a village deep in rural Singida, a young girl poses for a photograph]
32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;
33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.
34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Heb. 10:32-34
The early church certainly did undergo persecution. There is no question about that. But there is also no question about the fact that, despite this persecution, or probably because of it the early church was also a church in which the grace of God flowed abundantly.
In Acts 21:8-11 we read: 8 And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. 9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. 10 And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. 11 And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. Acts 21:11
This man, Philip, had four girls, all virgins, who prophesied! Without a doubt, this ought to be declared the first wonder of the modern world.
Here we have all four sisters in one family prophesying. Not one or two, but all four. And the Bible goes to pains to point out that all these girls were virgins, which I am sure points to the importance that God attaches to those who are willing to pay the price to become “vessels of honor” (2 Tim. 2:20-22).
But notice also that these four girls were not prophets; they simply prophesied. This is a ministry of exhortation or direction to the church through a direct Word from the Holy Spirit. It is a slightly lower ministry than the ministry of the prophet. (The functioning of the Holy Spirit within the church is infinitely unlimitable, and that is why we cannot have a tunnel vision of the Holy Spirit’s operation within the church.)
And, therefore, these girls stayed with Paul for “many days”, but it was not given them to tell Paul what would befall him in Jerusalem. It required a prophet of God, Agabus, to travel all the way from Judaea to come and confirm to Paul the weighty matter of his impending persecution in Jerusalem.
Notice also that the Bible refers to both Philip and Agabus by their spiritual offices, “evangelist” and “prophet”. The Bible does not call the girls prophets.
In other words, women may not hold office in the Spirit, which designates authority; but women can minister in the Spirit in many different roles.
(One more thing we need to point out is that these girls were prophesying in the church. There are people who will say that women ought not to open their mouths in church; but I can assure you that these girls were not prophesying in their father’s living room. They were prophesying in the church. There are all kinds of misunderstandings of scripture simply because people will not rely on the Holy Spirit, but on their minds. But the Holy Spirit is faithful, and the minute we turn to Him, He opens up the Word to us. Actually, there are two ways of reading scripture: you can read and try to understand it by using your very fine mind; or you can decide to become a fool for Christ’s sake and pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide and help you. One approach will bring you life; the other, law (“It is written!”) – and death.)
But what I want us to notice here is the incredible grace that was in the early church. This church, which was persecuted left, right and centre, was the same church that produced men like Philip, Agabus, and Paul – and these four extraordinary sisters.
Probably the modern church is not as persecuted as the early church was, and that is why it is difficult to find this pervasiveness of grace operating in today’s church as was the case with the early church. Maybe someone will point to the great move of the Holy Spirit during the charismatic era, and the many miracles and healings that took place then. That was the grace of God at work all right; but it is what I would call the “tip of the iceberg”. There is so much more grace at work when people are denying their flesh and partaking of the sufferings of Christ: there is so much more inner glory. There is victory over sin, joy, and peace. Even death has no power over such people.
No one desires persecution, nor does the Bible tell us to pray for persecution. But on the other hand, if you give the flesh too much rope, the Spirit is stifled. That is why, whether we are persecuted or not, we should always carry the mind that Christ had of denying the flesh. The flesh is our No.1 enemy. The Bible says about our Lord Jesus Christ, “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me… By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Heb. 10:5, 10).
Notice the word “offering” there. The believer’s body has been given him/her, not to be pampered, but to be sacrificed. And that is the mind that we need to carry.
[Below: Life for the early Christians was a life of great persecution and profound want]
The father figure is God’s greatest creation. There is no bigger tragedy than for a child to grow up without a father. I know people who will point to so-and-so to try to prove that you can achieve so much without being raised by a father, but I am not talking about achievements here.
Whatever way one looks at it, God certainly had a purpose in putting a man in the house. A father in the house carries authority. That is what he was created for above everything else. And authority brings order.
To be honest, I personally cannot claim to have accomplished even half of what I know I need to accomplish in my house. I cannot even claim to be half the idea of what some people regard as a man (After these two submissions, I am sure my enemies can now sleep in peace).
But one thing I have stone-cold accomplished in life is that my children know that there is a father in the house. Of that I have no doubt. They know the meaning of authority in our house. There are times I have gone to extremes, sure, but it has served in them knowing that there is something called authority in our house.
My wife can scale Mt. Everest and come back, but she can do nothing when it comes to authority in the house. That is my office and even if I am not there she cannot usurp it.
I have been away from home many times and there are times when my wife thought she could “control” our teenage kids. But every time she would try such a stunt, it always back-fired, and she had to call me from wherever I was, even when I was far away in a neighboring country. And all the kids needed to hear was my voice – and order would return to that house.
I am not saying they became angels or anything. Nor am I saying that my children will succeed in life because of that. But my children have always known there is a father in the house. And that has always brought order back to that house even in the worst of situations. If my children refused for me to chastise them, they would become bastards. The Bible says so in Hebrews 12:8.
Today people fear the term “order”. But it is a spiritual term.
(It is in connection to these issues that the Bible says that every woman must be under the authority of a man, and that every man must be under the authority of Christ (1 Cor. 11:3). Anything outside this order is unbiblical.
That is why also there can be no woman in the five-fold ministry because these are ministries of authority within the church. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:11-12: “11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”
A woman can minister in many other areas within the Body of Christ, but not in the five-fold ministry.)
A lack of a father in the church has brought about all the chaos and disorder that we are witnessing in the church today.
And the Apostle Paul, speaking with regard to the ministry of the apostle, he writes the Corinthians, “14 I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. 15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.” 1 Cor. 4:14-15
Paul was telling the Corinthians that he was their father. He had begotten them in the true gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of the cross (1 Cor. 2:2). He had preached the singular gospel – the gospel that tells you to deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow Christ – that only could produce mature sons and daughters in the Spirit. As a result, they were now his bona fide “sons” – but sons of God’s Kingdom also because Paul was under the authority of Christ.
Paul therefore could “shame” them if it came to that, as he does in 1 Cor. 6:5 and elsewhere, he could warn them; indeed, he could do anything with them to bring order into their lives.
No other ministry can beget sons in the gospel of Jesus Christ except the ministry of the apostle. He alone has been put by God in the church to bring the revelation of the cross in the church. All other ministry are dependent on this ministry together with the ministry of the prophet. Upon these two ministries is the church built (Eph. 2:20). People may beget many other things, I don’t know; but the Bible makes it clear that it is only the ministry of the apostle that can beget sons in the gospel.
Indeed a lack of this ministry within the church, or a lack of submission to it, has brought about so much destruction to the church of Jesus Christ.
I doubt any book exiting would suffice to list all the different things that are going all wrong with the church today. Every one of us is a witness of at least something that is wrong with the church.
The root of this problem is that there is no father in the house. There is no man in the house to bring order.
That is why, if you look carefully particularly on many Christian TV channels, you will find many young preachers today. (In Africa nearly all of them dress the same way). You will find these young men saying and doing the most abominable things in their “churches”; and if you follow them up they will tell you they have their own independent “ministries”.
They have no one they are subject to. They do not know anything about authority, nor submission.
But with the early church, if you saw a young man preaching or pastoring a church, he always had a father behind him. The Bible is replete with these examples. We find Timothy and Titus, for example, and many others.
You wouldn’t have found these young preachers telling their congregations to eat grass, for example, or to bring in all their money so they could live like kings.
No; these were young men (notice, not women) who had been raised the hard way. There was no spiritual frivolousness about their lives. They had a father, and there was order in their lives.
It is high time that the church woke up and acknowledged that it desperately needs the five-fold ministry, and to allow the ministry of apostle and prophet to have their true place in church – that there may be order and growth in the Body of Christ.
As long as this blog exists, it will be dedicated to bringing out the singular apostolic revelation that Christ bequeathed the church, and which the Apostle Paul so ably set forth in his writings and without which there is no true church.
[Below: the twin ministries of the apostle and prophet are the foundation of the true church]
And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. Judges 7:2
Notice in the above scripture that God was concerned “lest Israel vaunt themselves against me”. God is against human pride, and that pride is most evident when we accomplish things in our own strength. That is why God decides to do things His way, which nearly always throws out the human factor. God does so in order to seal every avenue that man would use to “vaunt” himself against Him.
There is a certain belief in church today that if you can read the Bible and you have the Holy Spirit in you, then you are self-sufficient. But that would make too many ‘self-made’ believers, and God is not about to do that.
So with the church, God decided to use a foolish way called a revelation – a revelation of the cross (1 Cor. 1:21). This revelation was the way of which Jesus spoke when He said, “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Mat. 7:14).
God would reveal it to a few men – prophets and apostles – and on this foundation He would build a church upon which “the gates of hell shall not prevail” (Mat. 16:17).
Paul confirms that in Ephesians 3:1-5: “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.”
If the apostles received the gospel through revelation, I wonder how we can receive it any other way. The way – or gospel – of the cross is a revelation. No man can know that way except it be revealed to him by God Himself.
Anyone can have the basic knowledge about the cross, that Jesus came and died for our sins, and that He rose again for our justification.
I was once invited to a wedding in a certain church and during the sermon I heard the preacher elucidate on the gospel in as clear and concise a manner as I have ever heard. And yet this is a sect which is known to have some of the most erroneous doctrines concerning the gospel.
There is a very large portion of the church today which does not have a revelation of the cross in their hearts, and that is why there are many strange doctrines within the Christian church because the minute you decide to forge ahead with the ‘gospel’ without the revelation, you throw yourself wide open to every worldly doctrine that comes along – and there is no shortage of these.
The church must submit itself under the foundation of the apostles and prophets, men who bring the revelation of the cross into the church. That is the way God builds His church.
And what is the basis of our submission to the ministries that God has ordained to build and put His house in order?
In Luke 10:21 we read, “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight”.
It is not a cut-and dried case of “So who can and who can’t receive such revelation?” Jesus here tells us exactly the kind or type of people that God has chosen to reveal the things of the Kingdom to: “babes”. He is talking about the condition of our hearts.
It is clear from scripture that God looks upon the human heart. There are many “wise and prudent” men in church, and these cannot receive the revelation of the gospel. These are men who will always contend with scripture. The Bible says God has hidden the mysteries of the Kingdom from such people.
God knows the kind of heart in which He can entrust His mysteries. In our human understanding, we would entrust things to those people who appear ‘capable’. But this is the very idea God is dead against. Not that God does not appreciate capable people, but His definition of ‘capable’ is slightly different than ours. God’s definition of ‘capability’ is humility.
The apostles were humble men. They lived the crucified life. That is why God could entrust them with the gospel. The fact that they were educated (Paul) or not (Peter and all the other fishermen) is insignificant.
God Himself tells us the kind of heart that He dwells or works with.
Isaiah 57:15 reads, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones”.
And in Isaiah 66:1-2: “1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? 2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”
You don’t find many trembling Christians today. There are self-appointed ‘apostles’ today who by this definition are not apostles at all. These men are neither humble, nor do they live a crucified life. For that very reason, even the gospel they carry is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have a blueprint of the church which is not God’s.
In the same manner there are believers today whose walk is not of true faith. Today’s church generation has been taught to “claim” things from God. But “claiming” is not faith. Throughout the gospels we see men and women who sought different forms of help from our Lord Jesus Christ, and the most notable thing about them all is that they came in humility, beseeching Him. I have not seen one instance in the scriptures where someone “claimed” or demanded anything from Jesus.
A classic case is that of the Syrophenician woman who besought Jesus “that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter” (Mk. 7:26). Jesus had closed the door. But she opened that door through her humble heart. Notice she did not “claim”. Instead, she came “and fell at his feet” (.v.25).
Many of God’s children today have a lesson to learn about humility – and about Who God really is!
True faith is found in humility. There is something about a humble heart that draws God to men.
Scripture makes it clear that we cannot choose to receive the revelation of the gospel. But we can choose to humble ourselves and order our hearts aright – and desire to know how God builds His church.
Thus only can we hope to live spiritually victorious lives, just as the Israelites under Gideon defeated the Midianites.
[Below: The bottom line: “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise” Mk. 21:16]
Cross of Christ 