Category Archives: Spiritual Gifts

I Am Not The Church! We Are!

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Church Is Not A Building; But A People

Jesus uses His Church as a significant means to produce His intended changes in our lives.  Now, for many professed believers, in America, that is dissident because the Western Church has been such a huge disappointment & embarrassment. The problem has never been with Jesus’ Church; but,  with the human operation of His Church! We’ve “institutionalized” it when Jesus created it to be “communal.” The Apostle Paul sets up what the Church should look like in his letter to the Church of Ephesus— I think it’s easy to forget that this is written to a specific, local Church! He writes to “…the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus…”; and, 9 times in 6 short chapters he refers to them as the “Church”— “ekklesia” is the original Greek word; and, it literally means a “called out assembly.”

The Corporate Calling Of The Church

God calls out His Church of Jesus-followers from the people of the world; and, the point of their being “called out” is to “assemble” in “community”; or, “communally” like a family; and, to meet each other’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Just take the time to read through ch. 4 of Ephesians; and, don’t read it through the glasses of your “American Church culture.” The “you’s” are NOT to be read as individual “you’s.” In context, that is clearly not what the Apostle Paul intended. It’s  “YOU”, the CHURCH, the community of believers doing life together! “I urge YOU (the Church of Ephesus),” Paul says, “to walk worthy of the calling YOU (the Church of Ephesus) have received…” It’s a corporate calling— YOU, the Church of Ephesus, have this calling TOGETHER!

God’s Grace To Build Up The Church

Paul says they ought to be so entrenched in their calling, TOGETHER, that the fruit of the Spirit is evident in the way they do ministry as a BODY— v.2 “with…humility…gentleness…patience & love…” These are the fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians,5). In v.3 there should be unity in their community that’s Holy Spirit driven “…with a peace that binds US.” Read it in context— the “US” is the Church of Ephesus! And, the Church of Ephesus is ONE BODY (v.4); and, Paul doesn’t break the body down to its “individual” parts until we get to v.7, “…now grace was given to each one of us…” And, this “grace” came to each individual, in the Church of Ephesus, in the form of a GIFT (v.8) from Jesus, our Messiah & Savior, to build up their local Church in Ephesus! Do you see it? This is a beautiful picture that the apostle has drawn for us. But we can only see it as we detach ourselves from our current culture and time period.

Jesus’ Goal For His Church

In ch.4, v.13, of Paul’s letter to the Church of Ephesus he writes, “…that we (the Church of Ephesus) reach unity in the faith and the knowledge of Jesus growing in maturity…” Because of our “American Church Culture” we read into that, our “individual” walk with Christ; but, that’s NOT the context of Paul’s words! Their spiritual maturity was not to be a “solo” act! Paul is saying that the goal was a spiritually mature “Church community”— a Church no longer resembling a bunch of immature little brats (v.14). But, a church community made up of spiritually mature believers speaking the truth to each other in love (v.15).  In the next verse, Paul tells them it’s the “whole body” (the Church of Ephesus) that ministers to their “whole body.” So, here’s the application:  Jesus intends to use our local churches to sanctify us as individuals! We grow spiritually in the BODY! That is Jesus’ design for our spiritual growth— in a community of faith!

When Good Things Become Bad Things

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Passionate For God & Others

I appreciate believers that are “free thinkers”; who, think outside the box; and challenge the way things have always been done! Not with a spirit of rebellion; but, brothers & sisters, in Christ, that are just passionate for God; and, passionate for the souls of men! And, they’re always questioning whether there’s a better way to do God’s work more effectively and with a greater degree of success. I’m talking about men & women given to prayer; who, are begging God for wisdom to do His work His way! Followers, of Jesus, who aren’t trapped by the traditions of men; even, traditions of the church that can be elevated to a place of idolatry & prominence above the Word of God, if not viewed carefully!

The Mirror Of God’s Word

It’s time to look at ourselves through the mirror of God’s Word, church! It’s time to ask ourselves the tough questions; to, investigate whether we’ve gotten off course; if, we’ve wandered away from the wisdom of God, and settled for something less than the best of God’s plans for us! Because all the good things we do can become bad things when they take the place of God’s best; and when our motive is less than pure and holy!  The Apostle Paul called out the Church of Corinth for using their gifts in ministry, only when they could be seen prominently!  The praise of men can be intoxicating! Jesus noted that many religious leaders, of His day, prayed when they could be heard in public; and, fasted only to be seen by men; and, gave money if honored for it!

Guarding Against False Motives

We all have to guard against false motives when doing our ministry! Are there certain things that are “beneath us” because no one would see us? The Apostle John, in 1 John 3:16-18, says that our ministry is properly focused when it’s motivated by a love for Christ; and, a love for others! Jesus’ ministry was others-focused— “love” for the Father above all; but also a “love” for humanity crushed by sin! Good things also become bad things, for the Church, when they are given priority over Jesus’ mandate to “…make disciples…” That is our sole purpose for existence! That has to be the grid through which we make all our decisions, Church! If that’s not how we do ministry, the “tyranny of good things” will rule instead! We can do a lot of “good things” disobediently because we fail to do the things that Scripture clearly calls us to do!

Are We Living Like A Pharisee?

Like the Pharisees, we can become guilty of doing good things for “vainglory.” Praise can be intoxicating! And, while our motive for doing good things may be out of service at the start, it can quickly turn into a desire to receive the praises of men! That is vainglory! It’s always been man’s way, since “the Fall”, to form our own rules; and, ask God to bless them! Like the Pharisees, in Jesus’ day, we wanna play god! We’ve organized our churches as if God exists to meet our needs & cater to our comforts! Our discussions often revolve around what we want rather than what He wills! It’s time to repent; and, come home to the Father, Church! It’s time to admit how prone we are to exalt our work over God’s will; and, our dreams over God’s desires; and, our plans over God’s priorities! God’s blessing only comes to His Church when we live to make Him known among the nations! Let’s be faithful disciple-makers! That’s our calling!

Fishing For People

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I Will Make You Fish For People

Growing up in central Wisconsin, fishing was a routine part of my life for me. Our property bordered a river we frequently fished; and, a great fishing lake was only 15 minutes away. It was not uncommon for us to catch 20-30 fish in one evening. But, when my young bride and I moved to Colorado in 1984, fishing became a frustration for me. Catching Brook Trout in Colorado was a lot more difficult than catching bass and crappies in Wisconsin! It was work! You had to sneak up on them! If they spotted you, on shore, they’d go into a crazy frenzy and stir up all the dirt & sand, at the bottom of the stream, so they couldn’t be seen.  In Matthew 4:18-22 we see Jesus calling His disciples to Himself; and, because many of them were fishermen by occupation, He uses it as a metaphor when He tells them, “I will make you fish for people.”

Sneaking Up On Sinners

Now, I’m guessing that, for many of you, the whole topic of evangelism & disciple-making conjures up images of my fishing experience in Colorado— sneaking up on sinners; throwing them a line w/ some kind of “spiritual bait” on it; and, trying to hook ‘em & reel ‘em in! But, with little success to show for it,  you’ve given up; you’ve quit fishing for people; and, declared that you must not have the “gift of evangelism.” I feel your pain! I’ve been there! But, I thank God; that, over the last 20 years, He’s helped me to see the process differently. Making disciples; or, fishing for people is not about our giftedness or our clever words! It’s Jesus who has all authority over the disciple-making process— because of His person; because He is God, He carries with Him all the authority that comes with being God!

All Authority Is In Jesus

In the words leading up to His Great Commission to the Church, Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…” Matt. 28:18-20. When we fish for people we go, not in our own wisdom & authority; but, in the authority of God, the Son! And, we depend on the Holy Spirit to go ahead of us & lay the groundwork by “…convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment…” John 16:8.  The entire process is a spiritual work that Jesus oversees! When we believe it’s up to us to “win” people to Jesus, we’ve overstepped our responsibilities! We get in the way! In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” We are NOT the way to the Father! Only Jesus is the way to the Father!

What’s The Implication?

Jesus also taught that “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). It is the Holy Spirit who convicts, and the Father who draws! It’s because Jesus has all authority that He sends us by the power of His authority! We have no authority, over the disciple-making process, on our own! We “go” under the umbrella of His authority! Read Luke’s account in ch. 5:4-11 to fill in some of the details Matthew left out— when Jesus told them to cast their nets, Peter said, “…we’ve worked all night & haven’t caught a thing; but, because You told me to I’ll do it…” What happened? They caught so many fish that the nets began to tear! Jesus was teaching Peter— and us— that it’s not about our effort! When doing Jesus’ work it’s about His power & authority! We’re only called to be faithful to go share the gospel!

Give Up Your Life!

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-Great In God’s Kingdom!

In my last post we talked about the kind of life that Jesus called great! We picked up on His conversation, with the disciples, after two of them— James & John— asked if they could sit in the seat of power, next to Jesus, in His Kingdom.  “Jesus called them over and said to them, ‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions exercise power over them.  But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,  and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many” Mark 10:42-45.  In so many words, Jesus was teaching them that if you’re great in God’s Kingdom, that this world probably won’t even notice you!

-Slave Or Servant?

Jesus calls you great when you reject the world’s leadership style (v.42). He also calls you great when your ministry is measured by the people you serve (v.43).  But, there are 2 more points I’d like to draw out, from this text, related to what Jesus calls great.  He also calls you great when you humble yourself & become the world’s slave (v.44).  We touched briefly, on this point, in our last post.  The word is “doulos” in the original Greek language; and, it can only be translated accurately as “slave” in the English. So, while the Holman version actually translates it “slave”, many translations choose to use the word “servant.” And, while they can be credited with sensitivity for choosing to translate the word as “servant” because the history of slavery, in America, is so repulsive & offensive, we probably ought not change the word Jesus used.

-The Humility Of A Slave!

He meant for us to take on the humility, of a “slave,” when it comes to our ministry & service. In this way, we actually serve like Jesus did:  “Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus,” the Apostle Paul wrote, “who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave” Philippians 2:5-11.  In other words, Jesus didn’t use His title— GOD— as a BIG STICK! In His incarnation, He took the form of a SLAVE!

-Suffering For Others!

Finally, from Jesus’ words here, we discern that He calls you great when you give up your life to suffer for others (v.45). Even Jesus suffered for others, willingly, all the way to the cross! He served ‘til it hurt! ‘Til it killed Him! And, you image Jesus when you live your life similarly! That’s probably not going to get you a fancy TITLE; or, the corner office in the big corporation! But, it will get you a “Well done, good & faithful servant” from Jesus! You may have noticed that the focus, in this post, was not on spiritual gifts, the reason being, that, the greater emphasis, in Scripture, is on the heart attitude toward ministry rather than giftedness or knowledge! Jesus emphasis humility over giftedness; and, the power is never said to be in our GIFTS; but, in the Holy Spirit! So, how will you respond to needs around you? I hope like Jesus did!