Any time
that you get into a discussion about the Old Testament law, as a Christian you
must first answer one question and one question only, "Did Jesus fulfill the law
and the prophets of not?" Or let me
put it this way, "Was His sacrifice for us perfect or not?"
The Greek
word kataluo
{kat-al-oo'-o} in this verse was translated
destroy. It means to dissolve, disunite, to destroy, demolish,
metaphorically: to overthrow i.e. render vain, deprive of success, bring to
naught, to subvert, or overthrow.
The word fulfill was translated from pleroo {play-ro'-o}. It means to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally, to render full, i.e. to complete, to fill to the top: so that nothing shall be wanting, full measure, fill to the brim, to make complete in every particular, to render perfect, to carry through to the end, to accomplish, carry out (some undertaking), of sayings, promises, prophecies, to bring to pass, ratify, or accomplish. Jesus said that His life and sacrifice on the cross fulfilled, fully completed, and accomplished the demands of, the law and the prophets. That is why he could say with His dying breath, "IT IS FINISHED.”"
Paul
writing to the Romans said,
Where [is]
boasting then? It is excluded. By what
law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.
Don't you
see it, saints? Through faith in
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, you fulfill the whole law!
"For Christ [is] the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."
(Ro 10:4). Jesus made an end to all
the righteous demands of the law through His perfect sacrifice.
Break off that enchantment of keeping the law that has held you captive!
Again in
the book of Romans Paul said,
For what
the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending
His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin
in the flesh, that the righteous
requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the
flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4, NKJV).
But when
the fullness of the time had come, God
sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4,5).
This word
redeem is
exagorazo {ex-ag-or-ad'-zo}.
According to James Strong, the writer of the famous analytical
concordance, exagorazo
means "to redeem by payment of a price, to recover from the power of
another, to ransom, buy off, metaphorically of Christ freeing the elect from the dominion of the
Mosaic Law at the price of his vicarious death."
The Apostle
Paul wrote in chapter two of the letter to the Galatians,
I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and
not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you
force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?"
He
continued in chapter three saying:
So
those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. All who
rely on observing the law are under
a curse, for it is
written:
"Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written
in the Book of the Law." Clearly no
one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by
faith."
The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "the man who does these
things will live by them.". . .So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ
that we might be justified by faith.
Now that faith has come, we are no
longer under the supervision of the law. You
are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free,
[laity or clergy ], male nor female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
[bracketed phrases added by
author.]
THE
SHOWDOWN AT JERUSALEM
You see the
early church fathers never taught tithing or many of the rules either written or
implied in our churches today. They
believed in the power of a changed life with its new heart to lead the believer
into all righteousness. And
they also believed that God would supply their every need from His riches in
glory.
Paul had to confront certain Jewish members of the church for trying to get the Gentile believers to start keeping the law. He finally had a show-down with them in Jerusalem and the outcome of it was the following decree. "For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that you abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if you keep yourselves, you shall do well" ( Acts 15: 28-29).
Wouldn't
this have been an excellent time to lay down the law about New Testament
tithing? If this was a legal decree
coming down from the rulers of today's Churches and denominations, it would be
at the top of the list!
These are
the four Gentile Church Commandments that the apostles agreed upon:
I. Thou shalt not eat meat offered to idols.
II. Thou shalt not eat blood.
III. Thou shalt not eat meat from things strangled.
IV. Thou shalt not fornicate.
I can handle
that, can't you? All four are good
for your physical and spiritual health.
Many of us
after coming to Jesus were made aware of certain things that would be expected
of us by the clergy (and other do-gooders) now that we were "free" in Jesus.
Your list of do's and don'ts might have been similar to this:
1.) As a Christian you must give 10% of your gross income to the local
church.
2.) You must not smoke or chew (or go out with girls that do).
3.) You must pray and read your Bible every day.
4.) You must not do drugs or drink alcohol.
5.) You must be baptized.
6.) You must go to our church every Sunday, morning and evening, and Wednesday
nights would be good too.
7.) You must submit to the covering of our pastor.
8.) You must get your hair cut.
9.) You must not date unsaved men or women.
10.) You must be careful of the movies you watch.
11.) You must not dance.
12.) You must not see your friends at the tavern any more.
12.) Keep your knees together!
Et infinauseum!
Now, aren't
you feeling free already?
You see,
Jesus came to set men free of the burden of sin and the law.
He rose up in the synagogue in Nazareth and read from Isaiah,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. (Luke 4:18,19)
God has sent Jesus to break EVERY yoke and relieve EVERY burden, especially the
ones placed on the shoulders of the believer by men who should know better.
Isaiah also prophesied:
Is not this the kind of fasting that I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? (Isaiah 58:6,7)
THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT
Don't people
have faith in the ability of the Holy Spirit to lead, teach, and keep His people
in the power of a changed life and to convict them of sin where necessary?
To listen to the teachers in the Church today, you would not think so.
Jesus promised to send us help in our walk with God.
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. ( John 16:13)
But the
Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you
all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you
( John 14:26)
[Also read I John 2:20 & 27]
When we, as
well meaning Christians, set out to help the Holy Spirit by giving our young
charges in the Lord a set of rules to keep them on the straight and narrow, we
often cause more damage than good.
I remember what a thrill it was to hear a young Christian tell me how depressing
it was for him to try a marijuana cigarette again after he got saved.
"I felt the peace leaving me and it was really a downer," he said.
He had found out for himself how the Spirit could lead him into walking
in truth.
Paul warned
the foolish Galatian church, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke
of slavery" ( Galatians 5:1).
In a daily
devotional titled
A Table in the
Wilderness composed of teaching by Watchman Nee, I read the
following story that illustrates the point:
--------------
February
29
I will put
my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes. ( Ezekiel 36:27)
Late one summer I stayed at a hill resort in the
home of a mechanic and his wife, both of whom it was my joy to lead to a simple
faith in the Savior. When the time
came for me to return to Shanghai, I left with them a Bible.
During the
winter the man was in the habit of taking alcohol with his meals, sometimes to
excess. Soon, with the return of
the cold weather, the wine reappeared on the table, and, as had now become his
custom, he bowed his head to give thanks for the meal.
But today no words would come!
After one or two vain attempts he turned to his wife.
"What is wrong?" he asked. "Why
can not we pray today?" The wife
took the Bible, but turned the pages in vain, seeking light on the subject.
They could find no explanation, and I was far away.
"Just drink your wine," she said; but no, he knew he must give thanks,
and could not. "Take it away," he
exclaimed at length; and then together they asked a blessing on the meal.
When eventually the man was able to visit Shanghai he told me the story. Using and expression familiar in Chinese: "Brother Nee," he said,"Resident Boss wouldn’t let me have that drink!" "Very good," I replied. "You always listen to Resident Boss!"
------------------
If we are
truly born from above, we have a "resident boss" living inside us and we do not
need the religious legal system to keep us in check.
He draws us to do what is right with cords of love, not a straight jacket
of legalism.
"But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and
all of you know the truth" (I John 2:20).
Remember
Paul's words saints, "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-- not of the letter
(of the law) but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life"
(II Corinthians. 3:6 ).
THE LAW OF THE TITHE
I have
always found it interesting how certain church teachers have selected certain
portions of the Jewish law to carry over into this new and living covenant of
faith in Jesus Christ, then force the Gentile church to follow these Jewish laws
and customs which our so called "leaders" pick and choose for their own
convenience and well being and for the survival of their man made institutions.
The doctrine
of tithing is such an example. It
is clearly an old covenant law:
You shall
truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.
But if the
journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry [the tithe, or]
if the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from
you, when the LORD your God has blessed you,
When a man
forces this law on the people to insure for himself a steady income, or salary,
he puts himself and his church under a curse, not a blessing.
He also ceases to live by faith.
You see, Paul is teaching here that you can't pick and choose when it
comes to the law.
As we saw from Galatians chapter
three, if you follow the smallest portion
of it you must keep "everything written in the Book of the Law" perfectly.
In Galatians chapter five Paul continues this theme.
Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. . .For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough."
When you try
to build a strong argument for legalistic tithing from the New Testament, you
are really hard pressed to find any scriptural backing.
It is interesting that a practice so heavily taught today in churches is
barely mentioned by the New Covenant writers.
They only
mentioned the practice of tithing in four places:
Woe to you,
teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
You give a tenth of your spices--mint,
dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the
law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter,
without neglecting the former. (Matthew 23:23, NIV).
Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. (Luke 11:42, NIV).
Two men
went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
But the tax
collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his
breast and said, "God, have mercy
on me, a sinner."
I tell you that this man, rather than the other,
went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself
will be exalted. (Luke 18:10-14, NIV).
Just think how great he (Melchizedek)
was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!
In the one
case, the tenth is collected by men who
die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living.
In the first
two passages, Jesus is chastising the self-righteous Pharisees for tithing,
while at same time leaving what matters most undone like justice, love (mercy),
and faithfulness. He seems to be
saying that they should not have left justice, mercy and love undone in favor of
their tithing. Jesus is blasting the Pharisee who stood before God boasting of
his regular tithing on the one hand, while He commended the hated tax collector
for approaching the altar in humility and getting the forgiveness that he asked
for. Wouldn't this have been an excellent chance for Jesus to make it clear how
important it is for His church to
tithe? Instead, He stresses the
importance of showing mercy, doing justice, and walking humbly before God (Micah
6:8).
In the
Hebrews passage the author is showing us that Jesus was not of the Levitical
priesthood, but of a higher order of authority by comparing him to the
mysterious prince and priest of Salem (now called Jerusalem), Melchizedek.
Abraham gave Him ten percent of his spoils of war after rescuing his
nephew, Lot, from some heathen kings.
Here once again Jesus in the form of Melchizedek fulfilled the law of the
tithe with the help of Abraham, the man of faith.
For he
testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
It amazes me that throughout the entire New Testament , neither Jesus nor the Apostles stressed how important that it is that the Gentiles should tithe to their Churches, yet, today it is one of the most repeated teachings coming from our pulpits. As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, "The lady doth protest to much, methinks."
Look at the
contrast of Paul's heart concerning taking from the Church.
I will not
be burdensome to you for I seek not what is yours, but you, for the children
ought not save up for the parents, but the parents for the children.
And I will gladly spend and be spent for you.(2 Corinthians 12:14,15).
Now you are probably saying, "If this is so, how are we going to support all our buildings and pastoral staffs?" The New Testament church didn't see this as a problem. Those who were doing the work of ministry were walking by faith. These men and women trusted God to meet their needs and often worked to support themselves and others. These believers practiced giving to the poor and the needy ( See Acts 2:44-45, 4:32; James 1:27; I John 3:17-18), and were encouraged to support the ministries feeding them (see I Corinthians. 9:9 and I Timothy 5:18). They often gave their whole fortunes, not just ten percent, because of the overwhelming love of God for the lost, the needy and His ministers. But there were no salaries and no buildings to support, just hearts that supplied the needs of all in need out of love.
TEMPLE WORSHIP
Does the New
Testament command us to build buildings in which to worship or even give us such
an example? Search the book for
yourself. It's not there!
Jesus made it pretty clear that day to a Samaritan woman who asked Him
where she should worship.
The woman
said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
Jesus said
to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is
coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem (the temple),
worship the Father.
Steven seems
to have summed it all up with his last words before the Jewish religious leaders
killed him:
But Solomon built Him a house.
[You]
stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy
Spirit; as your fathers [did], so [do] you.
No wonder
they stoned Steven to death. He
showed the Jewish rulers that God had done away with their whole power base and
had established a new order leaving them out in the cold with their legalistic
self-righteousness.
There were
no salaries or buildings to support in the early church. That all came much later with the decline of the church.
The first church building that needed to be supported didn't come until
around 225 AD. (according to archeologists), after the apostolic visionaries
were dead and gone, but it didn't really become vogue until the advent of
Constantinian Christianity in about 325 AD.
It is not clear when legalistic tithing was reinstated, but it probably
came in around 600 AD. with the rise in power of the Catholic church with its
priesthood and cathedrals. I'm
sorry folks, but salaried staff and church buildings are a hang over from the
Dark Ages.
The Spirit
is showing us the importance of gathering in homes for support and ministry in
small groups so every person has a chance to minister to the rest and give
testimony of what God is doing in his life.
There is nothing wrong with God's people having larger gatherings in
commercial buildings for the purpose of worship and praise to Jesus.
This is often very edifying.
There are large meeting halls and parks in almost every city and town that can
be used or rented for this purpose.
Something is
dreadfully wrong with the leadership of the Church when we give God's precious
resources to a rich banking system in exorbitant interest payments so we can
have a place to worship! Just think
how many more of God's people could be supported in the work of the gospel with
the money that is now given to this Beast system.
This wasteful symbiosis sounds to me like the Whore who rides the Beast
in Revelation 17 and 18, and not the Bride of Christ.
If God moves people to give for the purpose of putting up a humble meeting hall, fine. Let it be built without the waste of usury (which God condemns in the Old Testament). Even in the old covenant the tithe was never used for buildings. The temple was built from gifts and offerings. The tithe was for widows, orphans, the homeless and destitute, and the support of the priesthood (Deuteronomy 14:27-29). The spirit of this law was evident in the Book of Acts when all gave from their abundance and no one was lacking. I believe the time is coming when we will be forced to meet in homes because of persecution and oppressive taxation on the church.
THE STOREHOUSE
Consider
this. You have heard it taught that
we are supposed to "bring the whole tithe into the storehouse"
( Malachi 3:10)? Well, where was this Old
Testament "storehouse" to where the tithe was to be brought?
In Nehemiah 10:38 it says that the storehouse
for the tithe was the house of God.
Great! So the Church is
being taught that its members are supposed to take 10 percent of their income
and put it in the collection plate on Sunday, right?
The only problem with this line of thinking is, where is the temple of
God according to the New Covenant?
It was this
very argument that got Steven put to death by the Jewish leaders.
He hit them right where it hurt. . .in the pocket book!
However,
the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:
If the temple
of God isn't made with the hands of men, then where is His house?
The answer is in Ephesians 2:19-22.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with
God's people and members of God's
household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ
Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
In him the whole building is
joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which
God lives by his Spirit.
Yes!
That's right. We are the temple of
God!
You say,
"Well, if that is true, are we supposed to give the tithe to ourselves?"
Yes and no. Our giving is
supposed to go where it is needed the most in the body of Christ.
James said it this way, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and
faultless is this: to look after
orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by
the world." (James 1:27).
This is exactly what Steven was doing before he was killed by the
religious system of his day. He was looking after the needs of the widows as one of the
Church's servants (Greek
Diakaneo).
The early
church "tithed" this way:
There were
no needy persons among them. For
from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money
from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to
anyone as he had need. (Acts 4:34-35).
You see the
offering was laid at the apostles' feet. These leaders didn't pick it up and take it to the bank to
keep it out of the reach of the congregation!
It was there to be redistributed to whoever was in need.
Consider verse six below.
Now Peter
and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
When it came to mammon, these two guys were broke, but when it came to the
riches of Christ, they were wealthy!
When It came to the needs of our brothers and sisters, James put it this way.
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and
daily food. If one of you says to
him, ’Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his
physical needs, what good is it? In
the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead
(James 2:15-16).
Most of us
in today's Church put the responsibility for the care of the needy on the
government or the Church "benevolence fund," which is usually very meager, and
we in reality do nothing about our brother or sister's needs.
The Jewish leaders had the same sin. Jesus said in Mark 7:10-13,
Moses said,
"Honor (provide for in their old age) your father and your mother," and, "Anyone
who curses his father or mother must be put to death."
But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: "Whatever help
you might otherwise have received from me is Corban"
[ that is, a gift devoted to God],
then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother.
Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed
down. And you do many things like that."
You see, we
are the temple, and the love of Jesus will show you where you should give your
support. I would venture a guess that it won't be to give it to a big time
banker (God hates usury, i.e. taking interest on a loan) to pay the mortgage on some building with His or some man's
name on it.
Yes, the New
Testament does say that a laborer is worthy of his hire, and that we are not to
muzzle the ox that grinds out the corn.
We do have an obligation to support a brother or sister who is giving all
their time to the work of the ministry, so they can be free to continue their
work without having to support themselves. But when the modern church spells laborer it is spelled
P-A-S-T-O-R. Paul wrote,
Let the
elders (older ones [plural, not the pastor only!]) who rule (guide and give aid)
well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word
and doctrine. (1Timothy. 5:17 ).
I believe that all the elders who serve the Church well should be counted worthy of double honor; the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the teachers, instead of to a single cast like class called "pastor." Still even in the support of these, the giving is going to the storehouse members of the body of Christ.
I wonder how
many more men with God's call on their life would be out their doing the work if
all of those precious resources were not being squandered on buildings,
their furnishings, and the salary of a man at the top of each local church whose
income rivals that of many of the worlds CEOs ?
OOPS! There's another one of
those holy cows!
THE
NEW TESTAMENT PRIESTHOOD
In Christ
God has set in order a new priesthood with Jesus as its high priest.
If
perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the
basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for
another priest to come--one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of
Aaron?
Therefore,
holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High
Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,
In the New
Testament Church there is no such thing as this cast system that we call clergy
and laity. What we have today is a
hangover from the church that
Emperor Constantine designed after Rome's pagan priesthood in about 311 AD. Out
of it came the Catholic Church.
What the New Testament does say is that we are all priests unto God.
Peter wrote,
Coming to
Him [as to] a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God [and]
precious,
When someone
calls you, laity, lay leader, lay person, etc., doesn't it make you feel like
one of the unwashed masses or a
second class citizen in the kingdom of God?
Well, this is not the way Jesus sees you. The scriptures have said this all along:
Do not lie
to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices
That's right
ALL of Jesus is in ALL of us! The
fullness of Jesus' priesthood has been made available in all of us!
It takes all of us to manifest the fullness of Christ, not just one or
two in each Church body (See 1 Corinthians. 12:12-30).
It is an affront to Him that His saints would be made to feel that they
are nothing but serfs whose job is to support the priest cast that rules over
them.
Don't forget
that we all have equal access to our High Priest.
For [there
is] one God and one Mediator between God and men, [the] Man Christ Jesus,
I believe we
are in the "Second Reformation."
God is restoring the priesthood and responsibility of ministry back into the
hands of all believers in Christ.
We are hearing the Spirit tell us that there is no such thing as a clergy/laity
division in God's New Testament church.
PLURALITY OF LEADERSHIP
Today,
all over the established Church,
we have a tendency to have a
"senior pastor"
who resembles a CEO more than
one who actually pastors Jesus' sheep.
But it wasn't always that way.
In the early
Church each area church had a multiplicity of eldership with no man who was the
chief elder or pastor (elders are to "shepherd the flock," see I Peter 5:1-4).
Christ Himself is the Chief Shepherd watching over us all.
Paul established a multiple leadership called elders (older saints) over
each church that he founded and they jointly shepherded the people.
Notice in each of the
following verses elders is always plural:
Acts 11:30
This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Acts 14:23
So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they
commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Acts 15:2
Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them,
they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up
to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.
Acts 15:4
And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the
apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with
them.
Acts 15:6
Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.
Acts 15:22
Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen
men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, [namely], Judas who
was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren.
Acts 15:23
They wrote this [letter] by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To
the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.
Acts 16:4
And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep,
which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem.
Acts 20:17
From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church.
Acts 20:28
Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy
Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased
with His own blood.
Note here
that it says that all of the elders in the Ephesian church were to shepherd the
flock, not just one pastor or senior elder.
Continuing with the "elders'" verses:
Acts 21:18
On the following [day] Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were
present.
Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the
saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops (overseers) and
deacons (servants):
1 Timothy
5:17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially
those who labor in the word and doctrine
Titus 1:5
For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things
that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you-
James 5:14
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let
them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
1Peter 5:1
The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of
the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be
revealed:
1 Peter 5:2
Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by
compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
1 Peter 5:5
Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to [your] elders. Yes, all of
[you] be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God
resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
Revelation
4:4 Around the throne [were] twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw
twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold
on their heads.
Revelation
4:10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and
worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne
In these last two verses even God believes in a multiplicity of eldership in His
heavenly leadership!
Now
lets see where this word elder is used in a singular form in the epistles:
Titus 5:19
Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three
witnesses.
1 Peter 5:1
The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of
the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be
revealed:
2 John 1:1
The elder, To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not
only I, but also all those who have known the truth,
3 John 1:1
The elder, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth:
Nowhere in
the New Testament does it mention that a single elder is in charge or
single-handedly making the decisions over a local church.
Even in Jerusalem where the Pharisees with their legalistic minds had
infiltrated the Church, decisions were made in multiplicity (See Acts chapter
15).
I believe
the best example of godly leadership in practice in a local church is portrayed
in Acts chapter thirteen:
1 Now in
the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been
brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord and
fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work
to which I have called them."
3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and
laid hands on them, they sent [them] away. (Acts 13:1-3).
These elders who were made up of prophets and teachers were giving themselves to fasting and ministering to the Lord and the Holy Spirit spoke through them. Their was no argument, no contention, no debate. God was able to freely speak his governing will to them and they did it! There was a whole different scene in Jerusalem two chapters later.
OPEN HANDED LEADERSHIP
So with all
of this in mind, what attitude should we have toward God's people as His
priests?
Jesus said,
"The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over
them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. . .but
you shall not be so; but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the
younger..." (Luke 22:25,26).
When the disciples were arguing over who would be greatest in the
kingdom, He sat a little child down in their midst and said, "Unless you are
converted and become like children, you shall not enter
the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:1-3)
Today in the
church this concept of Godly leadership from a position of childlike-ness and
weakness has almost been lost.
Instead, there is a two-fold dynamic which restricts the spiritual growth of the
church. One aspect of this is the
"Give us a King" mentality (see 1 Samuel chapter 8), and the other, men who
"love the preeminence" (3 John 9),
taking control of the church.
These both restrict the life of the church in the Holy Spirit and sever it from
God's blessing.
The
Israelites in the wilderness rebelled against God and said,
"Let us make us a captain and let us return into Egypt."
(Numbers 14:4).
When we want to make a man
our leader, we are telling God we want to go back to Egypt.
The "one-man band" style of leadership is not God's way, nor do godly men
desire it.
Moses cried
out to God that leading the children of Israel in the wilderness was too big a
burden. He asked for help.
God agreed to take the anointing on Moses and put it on seventy other
elders, who had proven themselves, so they could also lead.
When the anointing fell on them, they all prophesied continuously, even
two who were not present at the time but elsewhere in the camp.
Joshua wanted to forbid Eldad and Medad from prophesying because they
were off "doing their own thing."
Moses exemplified God's heart when he said to Joshua, "Are you jealous for my
sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord
would put His Spirit upon them" (Numbers 11:29).
Godly leadership is never threatened when God leads others to minister in the gifts God has given them. In Mark 9 the disciples found someone who wasn't of their number casting out demons in the name of Jesus. They forbade him to do this, but when they reported the incident to Jesus, He surprised them by replying, "Forbid him not...for he that is not against us is on our part."
The disciples of John the Baptist were threatened when they realized that Jesus, whom John had baptized, was now baptizing more disciples than John. The prophet's reply is recorded in John 3:26-30: "A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven... He must increase, but I must decrease."
Paul's
letters repeatedly encourage members of Christ's body to edify one another.
Some of the most notable passages are found in I Corinthians. "Now there
are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.
And there are a variety of effects, but the same God who works all things
in all persons. But to each one is
given the manifestation of the Spirit
for the common good.... But one and the same Spirit works all these
things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills." (1 Corinthians
12:4-11). Paul also said, "...When
you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a
tongue, has an interpretation. Let
all things be done for edification" (1 Corinthians 14:26).
Other related passages are
Romans 12:6, I Corinthians 7:7, Ephesians 4:7 -13, I Thessalonians 5:20,
and I Corinthians 14:39.
Can't you
see that God's leaders are never threatened by another man's ministry or
calling? To the contrary, they encourage others to go on in their callings and are
servants to the one called. Where
is this kind of leader today? My
experience is that they are few and far between.
GIVE US A KING SO WE CAN BE LIKE THE WORLD SYSTEM!
In I Samuel
chapter 8, the people rebelled against God, who they could not see, and asked
Samuel to given them a king. "We
will have a king over us," they
said,
"that we
might be like all the nations and that our king may judge us and go out before
us and fight our battles."
The Lord instructed Samuel to do as they
wished, for they had rejected God that He should no longer rule over them.
When we take a man, whether he be an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor
or a teacher, and put him in a position to rule over us, we reject God's rule
and we get what we deserve.
I believe
this type of leadership that lords over God's people is the root of the division
in the Church today. Paul chastised
the Corinthian church when he said,
"For you, being so wise, bear with the foolish [leaders] gladly.
For you bear with anyone if he enslaves you, if he devours you, if he
takes advantage of you, if he exalts himself, if he hits you in the face.
To my shame, I must say that we have been weak by comparison." (2
Corinthians 11:19-21).
Jesus said
to the Church at Pergamum, "...you also have some who in the same way hold the
teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent
therefore or else... I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth"
(Revelation 2:15,16). The word
Nicolaitan in the Greek is from two words, Nikos and Laodikeus, and it
literally means
victorious over the people.
The false doctrine of clergy ruling
over the laity like a conquering
monarch goes back to the first century of the church and God hates it
(See Rev. 2:6,15.)!
Here in
America we tend to choose the beautiful and the powerful as our leaders.
Saul was tall, dark, and handsome.
He really stood out in a crowd (See 1 Samuel 9:12).
God chose him to save the Israelites from the Philistines.
He was definitely king material, but God also warned them that this "king
business" was not what it at first appears.
He will
take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will
run in front of his chariots.
Jeremiah
lamented about his people in his day:
An
astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land:
God was warning Israel that a man can't handle power righteously. As Sir J. E. E. Dahlberg observed, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Years later,
God repented of choosing Saul as king and chose another, this time a man after
this own heart. David was a lowly
herder of sheep, but Saul herded asses (See 1 Samuel 9:3).
David was just a boy when God chose him (You must come as a child).
When Samuel was looking over his brothers in Jesse's house, he was about
to choose another tall, dark, and handsome type, Eliab, when God warned him not
to. "But the Lord said to Samuel,
'Do not look at his appearance, or at the height of his stature, because I have
rejected him [Eliab]; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'"
(1 Samuel 16:7).
Samuel asked
Jesse if these were all his sons. "Oh
yeah," Jesse seems to reply,
"there is David. He’s out with the sheep because I knew there was no way God
could want the runt of the litter."
Everyone was surprised when Samuel chose David because of his heart.
David could have been that kid that
left standing there alone after both captains of a sandlot baseball game
had chosen their teams. Do you want
to choose elder material for your body?
Choose from the world’s rejects.
God does. Jesus did not chose a single religious leader to be his
disciple. Do you remember the story
of Gideon? Our God chooses the weak
things of this world to confound the mighty (See 1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
Christ came
to set men free of the tyranny of sin and sinful men who would bind burdens and
put them on men’s shoulders but do
nothing to carry those burdens themselves (See Matthew 23). Don't be foolish and allow yourself to be deceived.
If the church you attend is based on this give us a king model, ask God
to lead you to Godly leadership, elders (mature, older saints) who are about the
business of building up the saints to fulfill their callings.
Remember
God’s way is to give.
"Give and it shall be given unto you....For by your standard of measure it will
be measured to you in return" (Luke 6:38). If
you are employing a tight fisted style of leadership over Jesus' sheep, don't be
surprised if you are losing them.
Jesus is drawing His flock to Himself and out of the hands of abusive and
possessive shepherds. Read and pray
over Ezekiel chapter 34. Jesus said
that when the steward forgot that he, too, was a servant and began abusing his
fellow servants he lost his stewardship and was cast out into the place that was
appointed for the hypocrites. But
to those who he finds giving His household
meat in due season [His word that He is speaking to the Church today], "He will
make him ruler over all His goods" (Matthew 24:45-51). Remember it was prophesied about Jesus that "a bruised reed He would not break and a smoking
flax he would not quench" (Isaiah 42:3).
Strengthen that which remains.
Back in the
beginning of this section I quoted Jesus in Luke 22:25 and 26. The New American Standard puts it this way: "And He said to
them, 'The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority
over them are called "Benefactors." But not so with you, but let him who is the
greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant.'"
This phrase
exercise lordship
or
lord it over
is from the Greek word, kurieuo {ko-ree-yoo'-o}.
It means to have dominion over, exercise lordship over, or be Lord of. Jesus said this is not the godly way to lead His sheep but it
is the way of worldly leadership.
He is the only one who has the right to lead in this manner and even He leads in
humility and not with heavy hand (Ssee John 10 and Psalms 23).
SO WHAT IS LEFT?
Not much if
you are looking for an earthly kingdom to be what men call "the Church."
Jesus told us not to expect a visible kingdom:
Now when He
was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them
and said, "The kingdom of God does not
come with observation;
God's leaders are not even to desire to be high profile, but humble and simple
men like the Master.
Come to Me,
all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
So you see, in Christ's true Church there are no men ruling for Him, no
legalistic tithing to support them, no clergy - laity division, no garish
buildings that need constant support, and oh yes, no seminaries either, but one
body in which all are priests. We
are called to just be family and love one another with the same example that
Jesus and the early Church gave us. If we give any honor at all it is to be to
the "least of these, My (His) brethren" and not to those who are highly visible
and endowed (see James 2:1-7).
Oh you
foolish Christians, are you better than Jesus?
Can you complete for God what Jesus has already made complete?
Who has bewitched you? Paul
pleaded with the church at Galatia:
O foolish
Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before
whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?
I am sure
that some of you who practice heavy handed control and teach God’s people to
keep the law are boiling against me and this teaching by now, but consider
this...if we who believe this way are in error, we are in good company.
Stephen’s
accusers said, "They also
set up false witnesses who said, 'This man does not cease to speak blasphemous
words against this holy place (the temple) and the law.'" (Acts 6:13 ).
Of Paul they
said, "This [fellow] persuades men to worship God contrary to the law." (Acts
18:13). And "Men of Israel, help!
This is the man who teaches all [men] everywhere against the people, the law,
and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has
defiled this holy place." (Acts 21:28).
And even
Jesus came under this same attack,
"Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false
testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many
false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses
came forward and said, 'This [fellow] said, "I am able to destroy the temple of
God and to build it in three days."'" (Matthew 26:59-61).
Yes, the law
is holy and the temple is holy! But
the whole law is summed up in the phrase,
"You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole mind, and
your whole strength and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." As
for the temple,
we the Church are God's temple,
not some heavily mortgaged pile of bricks, mortar and wood that sucks the life
blood out of the ecclesia of God.
Then
Jesus went out and departed from the
temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.
Would you be
one to "rule" the Bride of Christ?
Not me, brother! The days of these kind of so-called "ministers" are coming to
an end.
Then comes
the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when
He puts an end to all rule and all
authority and power.
Then I,
John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.