APOSTOLIC OR PASTORAL
The Church did not “just happen”!
The day after Pentecost, Peter didn’t simply wake-up with a random thought ...
“Hey guys, let’s start a church! Let’s go find a plot of property with a building on it, put out a sign promoting the launch of the ‘First Church of Jerusalem’, and start canvassing the streets announcing the first service coming on Resurrection Sunday!”
The church was divinely planned!
In Matthew 16:18 Jesus prophesied, “I will build MY Church”. The church was a crucial part of His plan when He came to the earth. He spent 3½ years preparing the first group of Apostles to establish the church. He built their faith, through experience, by personally demonstrating God’s power to preach The Gospel, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. He sent them out two-by-two to replicate the miracles, signs, and wonders that He had performed in their midst.
In His post-resurrection appearances, Jesus built upon His earlier teachings by giving very specific instructions. Acts1:1-2 tells us that Jesus was taken up into Heaven “after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.” The word “instructions” is the Greek word “entellomai” which means “to give orders or commands”. The NASV translates it like this …
“…about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had given orders by the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen.”
Jesus was not leaving the apostles with some helpful hint or suggestions; He was giving them ORDERS! He had a specific plan … a God-ordained strategy for how the church was to be established. And it was absolutely expected of them, that they follow His plan. The things we see the apostles do in the early chapters of the Book of Acts reflect the seriousness with which they carried out that plan.
The result? As the church followed Jesus’ plan, IT FLOURISHED; it grew as a supernatural organism. The Body of Christ quickly became known for their demonstrations of supernatural abilities that led to the lost coming to faith in Jesus, the sick were healed, the dead were raised, the lepers were cleansed, demons were cast out, and entire territories were transformed!
It was no accident that the members of the early church operated in supernatural abilities. That is exactly what Jesus’ apostolic plan called for! Unfortunately, less than 300 years later, that plan was abandoned for a new plan, a “pastoral” plan formed in the minds of men, and the church began its descent into the “Dark Ages” … an approximate 1,000-year period in which the power of the Holy Spirit was replaced by the intellect of men.
In next month’s blog, we will dig-in to the specifics of The Pastoral Church!
The day after Pentecost, Peter didn’t simply wake-up with a random thought ...
“Hey guys, let’s start a church! Let’s go find a plot of property with a building on it, put out a sign promoting the launch of the ‘First Church of Jerusalem’, and start canvassing the streets announcing the first service coming on Resurrection Sunday!”
The church was divinely planned!
In Matthew 16:18 Jesus prophesied, “I will build MY Church”. The church was a crucial part of His plan when He came to the earth. He spent 3½ years preparing the first group of Apostles to establish the church. He built their faith, through experience, by personally demonstrating God’s power to preach The Gospel, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. He sent them out two-by-two to replicate the miracles, signs, and wonders that He had performed in their midst.
In His post-resurrection appearances, Jesus built upon His earlier teachings by giving very specific instructions. Acts1:1-2 tells us that Jesus was taken up into Heaven “after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.” The word “instructions” is the Greek word “entellomai” which means “to give orders or commands”. The NASV translates it like this …
“…about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had given orders by the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen.”
Jesus was not leaving the apostles with some helpful hint or suggestions; He was giving them ORDERS! He had a specific plan … a God-ordained strategy for how the church was to be established. And it was absolutely expected of them, that they follow His plan. The things we see the apostles do in the early chapters of the Book of Acts reflect the seriousness with which they carried out that plan.
The result? As the church followed Jesus’ plan, IT FLOURISHED; it grew as a supernatural organism. The Body of Christ quickly became known for their demonstrations of supernatural abilities that led to the lost coming to faith in Jesus, the sick were healed, the dead were raised, the lepers were cleansed, demons were cast out, and entire territories were transformed!
It was no accident that the members of the early church operated in supernatural abilities. That is exactly what Jesus’ apostolic plan called for! Unfortunately, less than 300 years later, that plan was abandoned for a new plan, a “pastoral” plan formed in the minds of men, and the church began its descent into the “Dark Ages” … an approximate 1,000-year period in which the power of the Holy Spirit was replaced by the intellect of men.
In next month’s blog, we will dig-in to the specifics of The Pastoral Church!
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