The church is spoken of as the body of Christ in Ephesians 1:22,23: the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. Christ fills the church by His Spirit. Just as our spirit gives life to our natural body, so Christ's Spirit gives life to His body the church, and it is only the Spirit of Christ dwelling in all the members of the church that gives meaning to the concept of the church as His body.
The church being the body of Christ, does not mean that the church is Christ, but rather that it belongs to Christ. In this chapter I will examine how the different members of the church all cooperate and function together as different members of the one body, to do the will of the Father, as revealed by Jesus Christ who is the head of the body.
This body, the church, is symbolised as having a head who is Christ: And He (Christ) is the head of the body, the church. (Colossians 1:18) It is the head or more specifically the mind which coordinates the rest of the body so that one leg does not go west while the other goes east.
It is appropriate that the honour of coordinating the church, should belong to Christ, so that: in all things he might have the pre-eminence. (Colossians 1:18) He is the one, through whom and for whom all things were created: whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. (Colossians 1:16)
It is no mean task that God purposes for the church. It is: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. (Ephesians 3:10) The word ‘manifold’ shows the great diversity of the wisdom of God. Yet this wisdom is to be demonstrated by the church. It is shown to those angelic beings that rebelled with Satan, with the help of those angels that are loyal to God.
The way it is shown is: according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 3:11) That purpose is to have a people among whom He can dwell and through whom He can rule. Satan now intent on preventing the church from realising it. This is why there is a battle.
But Christ has said: "I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18 NKJV) Hades or the abode of the dead is where Satan in his wisdom wants to imprison the Saints. But Christ in His wisdom has defeated Satan and: hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. (2 Timothy 1:10)
To assist the Lord in demonstrating His wisdom in defeating the principalities and powers of Satan, we must be under the headship of Christ. Total obedience is required, as it is not ourselves, but only the power and wisdom of the Lord, that can defeat Satan. And God's power only works through us when we are obedient. We must also be active in finding and exercising our God given ministry.
Different individuals in the church fulfil different roles corresponding to that of different members of a body: ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. (1 Corinthians 12:27)
All members of a body, no matter how insignificant, lowly or unseen, are necessary. Paul says that this is relevant to the body of the church when he says: And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary. (1 Corinthians 12:21,22) You should not feel inferior or useless because you think your ministry is lowly. The heart is not noticed, yet its role is vital, as it pumps oxygen and nutrients necessary for the survival and operation of the other members of the body.
Some of these lesser noticed but necessary gifts are helps (1 Corinthians 12:28), helping the elderly; contributing (Romans 12:8 NIV) money to support the work of God; and showing mercy (Romans 12:8 NIV), by visiting the sick.
It is God who determines what role each person will play: now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. (1 Corinthians 12:18) Therefore each one must find out from God what their role is. This is done through prayer and through recognising our gifts. An example of God choosing roles is seen in Acts 13:2 where: the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. If you are saved, God has called you to some role, (not necessarily full-time), and may call you to other roles in the future.
It is not natural ability, but rather the ability given by the Holy Spirit that enables one to minister in the church. A naturally good speaker should not assume that he must be a preacher; humility is required. Nor should a street sweeper think that he must be restricted to menial tasks in the church. The Holy Spirit is not restricted to natural abilities.
That it is only by the power of the Spirit that ability to minister is given, is made clear in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11: Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit . . . the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man . . . for to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. God is not saying that people are limited to one gift only, but rather that one individual differs from another.
It seems to me that in this day and age there is not sufficient reliance on the Holy Spirit. People are content for the minister to attend Bible College for a few years and then preach what he has learned. Although bible colleges are good (Elijah and Elisha established schools, and the prophetess Huldah dwelt at the college), it is possible that the whole process of training and preaching can by-pass the operation of the Holy Spirit. There also may be those in the congregation whose gift for preaching is not being utilised. It is therefore vital that all, and the pastor in particular, be observant and ready to acknowledge and foster whatever gifts the Spirit may endow upon the congregation. And where these gifts blossom into a preaching ministry, college training is in order, perhaps by correspondence, if there is not the financial means to attend full time.
The majority of the gifts of the Spirit are listed in 1 Corinthians 12:28: And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. I discuss administrative gifts in the article: Administration. Here I discuss other gifts. That the gifts of preaching the word of God are the greatest gifts can be seen from the order of the verse above, the words first, second, third and after that, signifying that the order is significant.
There are two steps involved when God speaks to man: First there is the sending down of the word from heaven through Old Testament and New Testament prophets and through Christ to give us the bible. Second, there is the understanding of that word through the power of the Holy Spirit.
To facilitate this understanding God ordains the different types of ministration listed in Ephesians 4:11: And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers. A person may have more than one gift of ministration of the word. Jesus, who was called a prophet was also a teacher and an evangelist. He is also called an Apostle (Hebrews 3:1) and a shepherd or pastor. Ephesians 4:11 was written when the foundational apostles and prophets were still alive, and most probably refers to them. But in the next few pages I will refer primarily to the situation today. Therefore my definition of words may differ slightly from the meaning of the words in this text. But the arguments that I will make in the next few pages about the types of ministry rely primarily on fundamental biblical truths, rather than on the definitions of words in Ephesians 4:11 which are somewhat general.
The Greek word for prophet in Ephesians 4:11 is one who foretells, although the word was also used in a wider sense. It is implied that what is foretold is what God is going to do. When prophesying of God there is no essential difference between one who tells what God is going to do, and one who tells what God has done, or even one who tells what God is like. So the definition of a prophet which I will use in this section is one who makes the people understand God and His ways and is based upon Revelation 19:10: the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. So speaking of the nature and glory of God, is the ministry of a prophet, not just speaking of future events.
The Old Testament, prophets spoke of the coming and redemptive work of Christ, when this was in the future. New Testament prophets also speak of the redemptive work of Christ, although this is now in the past. So prophets speak of the glorious ways of God, whether it is in the past, present or future. Prophesying of the future could focus on such things as the return of Christ (although not the date), the eternal rewards for the faithful, and the last judgement. Prophesying of the past could concern how God created the world or how He dealt with Israel or the church.
Prophets also speak of God's ways towards men in the present or near present; for example, blessings for obedience and cursings for disobedience. This was one of the main tasks of the Old Testament prophets who would warn God's people of the coming judgement if they did not repent, but promised mercy and goodness of God to those who would. Prophets could interpret the present situation in the light of God's ways and say why God was doing what He was. For example Jeremiah told the Jews in Egypt, that their evil predicament was because of their sin: did not the Lord remember them, and came it not into his mind? So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings . . . therefore is your land a desolation, and astonishment, and a curse. (Jeremiah 44:21,22).
Doctrine was revealed with the advent of Christ and His apostles, and then new prophecy ceased. Since then, prophets explain the existing prophecies in the bible, and bring it to life, but not by means of new revelations, but by understanding the existing revelations in God’s word. Paul exhorts the church: desire . . . rather that ye may prophesy. (1 Corinthians 14:1) The fact that this exhortation was given to those who would not be writing Scriptures, shows that the New Testament gift of prophecy does not necessarily mean new prophecies.
Occasionally there are prophecies related to events which God may soon bring to pass; for example, God may warn His followers of an impending famine. These sorts of prophecies are not necessarily found in the bible, but this type of prophecy is far less important to the church than that of speaking of God and His ways, from the Scriptures.
Prophets may be either male or female, as shown in 2 Kings 22:14, in the example of the prophetess Huldah who pronounced the judgement of God upon Israel but peace towards the king. In the New Testament we read of Philip who: had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. (Acts 21:9) The women also were first to see the empty tomb and the risen Christ. Their declaration of what they saw and what Christ told them was in a sense prophecy.
In many churches only the pastor prophesies, but this is not as it should be. Although a pastor must be a prophet, a prophet need not be a pastor. In many churches today there is only one preacher at a meeting. However, it is often better if more than one prophet speaks: Let the prophets speak two or three. (1 Corinthians 14:29) I believe that by restricting the preaching almost entirely to ordained pastors, the Holy Spirit is quenched, and the talents of other prophets are being buried.
Whereas I defined a prophet as one who teaches about God and what He does, I will somewhat arbitrarily define a teacher as one who teaches about what men should do. I do not mean specifics, such as what car to buy, but rather how to conduct one's life and obey the Ten Commandments.
Regarding the teaching ministry of women, Paul writes: I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man. (1 Timothy 2:12) For this scripture not to contradict other scriptures allowing women to prophecy, I think we must assume that there are different types of teaching. I think that the apparent contradiction may be resolved by taking the verse allowing women to prophesy to relate to speaking about God, according to my definition of prophesy, and by taking the verse forbidding them from teaching men, to relate to teaching God's commandments. (The context of 1 Timothy 2:12 favours this interpretation as it is that of understanding God's commands, specifically not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.) Teaching what to do, even if not enforced, is a form of authority over someone but teaching about God is not. This is why women are allowed to teach men about God (ie. prophesy) but women may not teach men the commandments, such as not to steal.
As women may not teach men what to do they therefore cannot teach the whole church what to do. But women may teach commandments to other women and children as Paul writes: the aged women . . . that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. (Titus 2:3-5)
Women have an important role to play in speaking the word of God, as is clear from Philippians 4:3: help those women which laboured with me in the gospel.
The heavenly order between man and woman is discussed more fully in the article: Women’s Ministry.
Teaching commandments is so important, that some of Jesus' last words before His ascension were: All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:18-20)
A pastor (also called an elder or bishop in the bible, but often incorrectly called a priest) has an office rather than a new type of gift in speaking the word of God. Nevertheless he must be able to meet the individual spiritual needs of his flock as well as the collective needs. So he must hold: fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. (Titus 1:9) To be able to do all this the pastor must be able to teach the whole word of God. He must therefore, according to the previous definitions, be both a prophet to teach about what God does, and a teacher to teach what men should do. Because the pastor must teach men commandments, this office cannot be held by a woman.
As the title of 'pastor' refers more to his responsibilities than to his gifts of ministering the word of God, which he must have as a pre-requisite for this office, the discussion here is brief. The pastor's responsibilities are discussed in the article: Administration.
The word ‘apostle’ comes from the Greek ‘apostolos’ meaning to be sent on a mission. It may also imply being sent as someone's representative. The word in itself does not imply the receiving of new Scriptures although the apostles at the time of Christ did. The apostles at the time of Christ had a dual role: Firstly, they wrote the New Testament and brought the new Scriptures to the world; and secondly, they established the churches in that doctrine which had come from heaven. When the first part of the apostle's work was completed when the Scriptures were given, the second part of the apostles’ work was still required because churches drift away from the truth and need to be brought back to it. So it is valid to call some men today apostles, who receive no new revelation.
Fundamental to the original apostleship was being taught directly by God. This distinguished the apostles from pastors and other preachers. The twelve apostles were taught by Jesus, who is God. So also was the apostle Paul taught directly by Jesus as he testifies in Galatians 1:11,12.
That there will not be any more apostles of the class of these whom I will term special apostles, until the last days is evident from 1 Corinthians 15:8,9, where Paul says of His calling to apostleship: last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time, for I am the least of the apostles. I take this to mean, that for the most part, God's work in giving new revelation of His word to the church was completed with His teaching of the twelve apostles before Jesus' ascension, and with subsequent revelations to them soon after the ascension. So for the Apostle Paul to receive new revelation at a later stage was somewhat out of time. I do not therefore believe that there will be any new prophecies for the church until soon before Christ returns.
The special apostles who received the New Testament from Jesus include these: Firstly, the twelve apostles including Matthias who replaced Judas; then, the apostle Paul; then also the apostle James who wrote an epistle and was the Lord's brother.
The bible also speaks of another lesser class of apostles: those who did not receive new Scriptures and whom I will term ordinary apostles. Examples of this class are: Barnabas (according to Acts 14:14: the apostles, Barnabas and Paul); and Andronicus and Junia (according to Romans 16:7: Andronicus and Junia . . . who are of note among the apostles), and Timothy and Silvanus (according to 1 Thessalonians 1:1,2:6: Paul, Silvanus and Timotheus . . . as the apostles of Christ.)
The role of modern apostles will be similar to that of this class of apostles, who did not write or receive any new Scriptures. However, most so-called apostles today are not true apostles because they do not fulfil the conditions for apostleship. In the early church false apostles were liars (Revelation 2:2). But today men wrongly claiming to be apostles are probably merely mistaken. However when men have lost the vision God may raise up apostles to reteach His people. Perhaps Martin Luther and John Wesley are examples of ordinary apostles.
An example of apostolic ministry was illustrated by the conference of apostles described in Acts 15, where they resolved for the churches, the authority the Old Testament ceremonial laws, that they were no longer required to be kept. This type of ministry is still required today.
The ability to profoundly understand the meaning of the existing scriptures is the fundamental gift of a modern ordinary apostle. Either God will teach him directly from the Scriptures or he will have the ability to discern truth from error in what he learns from others. He will be both a prophet and a teacher of very extensive ability. He will normally teach many churches and establish them in the truth.
A mark of the early special apostles is that they had seen the Lord Jesus Christ, as Paul testifies in 1 Corinthians 9:1: Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Modern ordinary apostles will not see Jesus with their natural eyes as did these early apostles, but they may see Him in a vision. I should add that I have little confidence in most alleged sightings of Jesus today, firstly because of the lack of glory, and secondly because as Jesus is in heaven He can only be seen by a vision. He is not, therefore, at a certain time and place.
A characteristic of an apostle is meekness. Moses who was an apostle is described in Numbers 12:3: Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. This was also the apostle Paul's nature and he says of himself: Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. (1 Thessalonians 2:6,7) Although an apostle may be zealous for the church, he should not be zealous for himself, except to establish the authority of the word of God he teaches.
God marked out the early special apostles with mighty signs as Paul writes: Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds. (2 Corinthians 12:12) Perhaps with ordinary apostles God would not perform such miracles. Nevertheless, God would still show that He was with them.
As apostles must teach men commandments, a woman cannot be an apostle.
An evangelist is one whose ministry is to the unsaved. Evangelists should not think that the message to the unsaved consists entirely of describing the way to forgiveness. Many unsaved people are not yet interested in forgiveness, nor are they ready to repent. There may be much work to do before a person is ready to be told the way of forgiveness. When Jesus sent out his disciple He said: And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. (John 4:37,38) Jesus is teaching here that labouring often precedes the reaping of repentance. Thus evangelists have a duty not only to reap, but also to labour, so that others in turn may reap where they have laboured.
The labouring work of an evanglist should include many aspects of doctrine such as: the eternal reward for the good, and the punishment for the evil; the character of God in terms of His love, His power and glory, and His anger; and the laws of God about sin, which also teach us of God's character and of His concern for man. Evangelists should also convince the hearers by presenting evidence for the truth.
This varied labouring, instead of constantly attempting to reap, will make the life of the evangelist much more interesting, as he will be tailoring his message to meet the needs of the hearers (although this does not always mean answering all their questions). Varied labouring will make the evangelist's life more restful as there will also be less resistance from people tired of continually hearing the same thing. People should learn from the example of Christ, who when He taught the multitude, did not say the same thing over and over again. If an evangelist thinks of himself as a labourer he will be satisfied when he has laboured because God is pleased with him. He will not be desperate to reap which can sometimes frighten people away. There is a time for everything including reaping.
Although evangelists should not preach only judgement against sin, there is a place for it, as we read in Acts 24:25 about the apostle Paul who: as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgement to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time. Felix was made to tremble because terrible judgement awaits those who wickedly hurt the saints (with understanding rather than ignorance), and Felix had power to do this. But speaking to the unsaved in general should concern God's hope for them of heaven, and its reward. It is unlikely that they would be among the wicked one in a thousand who face wrath. Jesus' warnings (Matt 18:6-10) was against those who offend weak believers by trying to turn them aside, or harm them. We should focus on the rewards. Judgement should be seen in the context of vengeance upon our enemies, rather than punishment of all the foolish and sinful. In this context Paul said: And have hope toward God . . . that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. (Acts 24:15)
Evangelists must also speak of who God is. Paul tells the Athenians about God Himself, saying: whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and al things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands. Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. (Acts 17:23) One way to show men the nature of God, His righteousness and His goodness, is to speak of the life of the Lord Jesus.
The unsaved also need to be told of God's laws against sin. Galatians 3:24 says that: the law was our school-master to bring us unto Christ. There are several facets involved in the law being our school master. One of these is the Old Testament sacrifices which teach us of Christ. Another use of the law is to make people aware of how sinful they are.
By speaking of the Ten Commandments, people will be reminded when they are sinning against God. Most are aware of how the Lord Jesus appeared to the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. But they may not be aware of the preparation of heart, which the Lord did in Paul prior to this, through such messengers as the martyr Stephen in Acts 7. Paul's conviction of sin prior to his conversion is shown by the Lord's word to him at his conversion: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. (Acts 9:5)
By hearing God's law, Paul became convinced of how sinful he was, as he testified in Romans 7:7: I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. In other words these words of the tenth commandment made known to Paul how covetous he was. The preaching of all God's commandments can reveal to man how serious his sins are. This is the meaning of Romans 7:13 where Paul says: sin, that it might appear sin . . . that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
Evangelists must also prove their case. There are many evidences for the truth of the God of the bible. Firstly, that there is one all powerful God, is evident from the creation of the world and of life. To confirm the truth of the bible there are the Old Testament prophecies of Christ which were fulfilled. Then there are also the miracles of Christ. The greatest miracle was the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as Paul says: He hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)
Another evidence of the truth of the bible is the power and beauty of the written words themselves. These words of Jesus had such power that the first attempt of the chief priests to arrest Jesus failed, for the officers refused to carry out the instruction saying: Never man spake like this man. (John 7:46)
There are some things which should not be told to unbelievers because God does not want to share all His teachings with everyone: give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. (Matthew 7:6). Those who are genuinely seeking God may be told more than those who only want to ridicule. Those who are ashamed of their sins and would like to change, may be helped, whereas those who justify themselves to the extent that they will not repent, yet still come to Christian meetings, need to be rebuked.
Some people suffer foolishly, because they speak too much to those who don't want to hear. Gentleness is required when speaking God's word, as it was prophesied of Christ in Isaiah 42:1,2: Behold my servant, whom I uphold . . . He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. Not causing one's voice to be heard in the streets means not speaking over the top of someone and shouting them down. It does not mean not to preach in the streets, for even Jesus did this as recorded in John 7:37: Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Regarding those who do not want to hear, God has given man free will. If they reject God by refusing to hear His word then God is their judge. Perhaps we could tell them that they are wrong not to seek God, their creator, but probably no more.
Boldness however is required when someone tries to prevent us from speaking to someone else who does want to hear. The apostles ignored such dissuasion from the high priest and the rulers, elders and scribes saying to them: Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:19,20). Paul also feared God more than man saying: woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16)
One of the motivations for evangelism should be to bring joy to the heart of God as Jesus taught: joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. (Luke 15:7).
Whilst not all are called to be full-time evangelists we are all called to evangelise a little.
Whether someone is a teacher, a prophet or an evangelist, the fruit of their ministry depends very much on the goodness of their lives. Jesus said: every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (Matthew 7:17) So ministers must look to the word of God and obey it, following the example of Ezra who: had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgements. (Ezra 7:10)
It is good also to follow Ezra's method of teaching, described in Nehemiah 8:8: So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. This is the way to be God's messenger; it is to help people to understand what God says so that when they hear the words of God from the bible it will mean something to them. It is not good enough to tell people interpretations of doctrine all the time. This must be complemented with saying what God says in God's own words. For practical purposes it may not always be possible to fit everything God says about a subject into a message. Sometimes this must be left for other messages or for the hearer's personal bible reading. But in the long term the teacher's words should not replace God's words.
One of the gifts of the Spirit from 1 Corinthians 12:9 is: faith, and from 1 Corinthians 12:28: miracles. These are probably one and the same gift, as normal faith for salvation would not be called an extra gift. Therefore this special faith is probably the faith to work miracles. Jesus said: Have faith in God. For verily, I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. (Mark 11:22,23) Jesus said this in relation to the fig tree which He had cursed and that had withered away, as Peter had just remarked upon. Jesus did not curse the fig tree for no reason or because He was angry. It was to be a sign of the power of prayer.
Now prayer is never to no purpose. We cannot expect God to remove mountains just because we like to see them move or to give us a feeling of power. There must be a reason for the moving of the mountain or the cursing of the fig tree and this reason is usually the work of God.
Such a reason was evident when after a sorcerer had sought to hinder Paul from preaching to a deputy: Saul, (who is also called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, and said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. (Acts 13:9-12) In this case, the sorcerer was the mountain between Paul's preaching and the deputy's believing, and the mountain was removed by Paul's cursing of the sorcerer as the Lord cursed the fig tree.
Miracles and signs are needed for two main reasons: to accomplish the impossible; and to convince unbelievers. It is my opinion that both these reasons apply most when the church is being founded in a new or hostile region such as in the first century. One would therefore expect to see fewer miracles once the church had been established. Nevertheless one would still expect to see miracles, as Satan, our adversary, will continue to hinder the church, and will need to be overcome by the power of God. This power is available to us today, as Jesus' promise was not restricted to the first century, when He said: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do. (John 14:12)
Although miracles are of lesser importance than preaching, I believe that the lack of miracles in Western churches is indicative of the general lack of working of the Holy Spirit. However, the primary way in which God works is through the preaching of the bible which is His word. The power of God's word is spoken of in Jeremiah 23:29: Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Miracles, if they occur, should only be of secondary importance.
The purpose of a miracle is usually only to confirm the truth of the word. According to Mark 16:20: And they went forth and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Where miracles have replaced the word of God in importance, the miracles are not achieving their full purpose.
Jesus told us that signs or miracles are not always necessary in a work of God, when He said: An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. (Matthew 12:39) This was the sign of resurrection. After saying this, Jesus went on to speak of the importance of taking heed to preaching and to recognising the wisdom of God as in olden days, when they took heed to the preaching of Jonah and recognised the wisdom of Solomon.
The word of God is eternal, and obedience to it brings promise of eternal reward. Miracles are only of temporary value and are therefore of lesser importance. We should not need miracles to convince us of the truth of the word of God, especially if we have the Holy Spirit. It was in reproof that Jesus said: Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. (John 4:48) If our preoccupation is with signs and wonders rather than the word of God, we are not spiritual.
The Holy Spirit must use a miracle to convince men of the power and deity and truth of the Lord Jesus, or the miracle is to no avail. For this to happen the Holy Spirit must give, not only the ability to minister the word of God, but also the power to convince the hearers. Jesus said: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me. (Acts 1:8) In John 16:7,8 Jesus speaks of the persuasive work of the Holy Spirit: It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter (Holy Spirit) will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement. If the Holy Spirit is truly working, souls should be being convinced of their sin, of judgement to come upon Satan, of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, and of their need to repent. If this is not happening, the Spirit is not working.
Some evil people, who are not genuinely deceived, but hate God and cannot bear the truth of His word, will lie and say a work of God is not of God, but of the devil. This is the worst act of rebellion against God and constitutes the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, for which there is no forgiveness. Jesus warned people of this after: the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He (Jesus) hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. (Mark 3:22) Jesus then replied: Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. (Mark 3:28-30)
It is possible to be deceived about the righteousness of a man, even of the Lord Jesus. Therefore Jesus said: whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. (Matthew 12:32) The Holy Spirit is spoken of by Jesus as the: Spirit of your Father (Matthew 10:20), whom Jesus said was greater than Himself. What greater sin can there be than to say of the One who is greater than all, that He is evil?
However, whilst we should be careful about criticising miracle workers, a miracle does not prove a prophet is of God. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 says: If there arise among you a prophet . . . and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods . . . and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet . . . for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. So if a miracle worker speaks contrary to the word of God, we should not follow him.
The primary purpose of the church is to teach us about God, and to teach us and help us to do good. Spiritual gifts should be seen in the light of how useful they are in achieving this, not how showy they are. If we view spiritual gifts in this light it will reduce the possibility of being deceived by false imitation gifts.
Miracles are to convince, but not of the power of the miracle worker, but rather of the power of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. When Peter amazed the people by healing a lame man, he said: Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son, Jesus . . . And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong. (Acts 3:12-16) So miracles should not be used for the glorification of a man.
Jesus said: And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name . . . they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (Mark 16:17,18) So the Lord promises deliverance from sickness whether it be caused by nature (serpents), by man (poison), or by the devil (sickness).
Miracles of healing accomplish several purposes: Firstly they are a token of God's compassion to His people; secondly they enable Christ to triumph over the power of the enemy; and thirdly, that Christ called them signs shows that they are to convince people of the truth of Christ. But if Christ is not preached then the miracle has not achieved its purpose.
When Jesus said: these signs shall follow them that believe, the word ‘follow’ means ‘follow closely’. And Jesus said not that these signs will follow only the apostles, but rather that these signs will follow all: them that believe. This includes all true congregations of believers.
Further evidence that healings should still occur today is found in James 5:14,15: where he says: Is any sick among you? 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. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. This letter was written to all Christians at all times, including today.
But I do not think this means we should not seek medical treatment. To try to force the Lord to do a miracle by not obeying doctors, may be testing the Lord, like jumping off the pinnacle of the temple.
The Corinthians had been seeking to use gifts for gimmick value and perhaps to show off in a disorderly way. But Paul's message to this church was that the purpose of the gifts was not this, but to help others.
When someone helps another they are showing love. For this reason in the letter of 1 Corinthians, between chapters 12 and 14, which speak of spiritual gifts, Paul speaks of love. Chapter 13 concludes: And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. What the Corinthians believers should have been saying to themselves was, ‘How can I help my brother by speaking good words and doing good deeds?’ They should then have asked God to help them to do this and gone about it in an orderly, logical manner.
As the purpose of spiritual gifts is to do the will of God by building the church, it is legitimate to desire spiritual gifts. But it is not legitimate to desire gifts for one's own glorification. Such a one was Simon the sorcerer whom the people, before hearing the gospel, believed to have the great power of God. But after the people had accepted the gospel, Simon, wishing to regain his power over people, offered Peter money, saying unto him: Give also me this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money . . . thy heart is not right in the sight of God . . . thou art in the gall of bitterness. (Acts 8:19-22)
Simon pursued self-glorification, and desired spiritual gifts whereas 1 Corinthian 14:1 says: Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts. To help us to obey this scripture without falling into the trap of Simon's self-glorification we should learn two lessons.
Firstly gifts are given by God, not man. One cannot become a deacon by buying the church a stained glass window. Nor should one gain a position of power in the church by political manoeuvrings. It should be by recognition of the gift of God. The way to obtain the gift is by prayer. According to Jesus' words: If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? (Luke 11:13) Just as we received the Holy Spirit by prayer at our new birth by asking, so we may receive gifts of the Holy Spirit by asking, although there is no so-called second experience of being baptised by the Holy Spirit.
Secondly we should seek a gift on the basis of its usefulness: Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. (1 Corinthians 14:12) The way to do this is not to seek the more showy gifts of miracles, healings and tongues but rather to seek the gift of prophecy (speaking about God), which is ultimately more useful to the church: desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. (1 Corinthians 14:1)
Prophecy is valuable as Paul says: he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. (1 Corinthians 14:3) This has an eternal value in preparing men for the kingdom of heaven, whereas a healing has only temporal value, and a tongue has no value at all unless what is spoken in that tongue is wise. If we love our fellow believer then we will want to impart to them what is of eternal value.
Prophecy and teaching are also ranked more highly by God than miracles, healings and tongues, as they are listed among the best gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:28. And Paul says: covet earnestly the best gifts. (1 Corinthians 12:31) This is a word to all Christians. If we are all to desire the best gifts of prophecy and teaching, this means that any one of us can attain them. What a privilege for each and every Christian, that God wants to make him or her, His mouthpiece. But we must be willing to pay the price of discipleship, and wait for God's time.
The body of Christ is one; it is not divided according to 1 Corinthians 12:13: For by one Spirit are we all baptised into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free. We do not become part of the body of Christ by attending meetings or having our name written down. It is only the Holy Spirit that can baptise us into the body of Christ. This happens when a person is born again. Each one, no matter how different, is part of the same body.
There are various levels of unity that can be discussed with respect to today's church: unity between different denominations; unity between assemblies of the same denomination; and unity within each local assembly. In this section, I will discuss mainly the unity within a local assembly, although some of what I say may have more general application.
There was division in the church in Corinth because some Christians preferred Paul's preaching, others that of Apollos, and others that of Cephas (Peter). This had led to there being various factions in the church, of which we read in 1 Corinthians 1:10-13: Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptised in the name of Paul? These three preachers were all faithful servants of Christ, so the division could not have been caused by different doctrines of Paul, Apollos and Cephas. Yet for some reason, each of the factions had chosen to glorify the preacher rather than God who gave the preaching. The factionalism had caused contentions, which Chloe had reported to Paul.
The factionalism in Corinth most probably was caused by the neglect of preachers who did not suit a particular listener, as though the preacher, rather than God, was their judge. To illustrate my thought in a slightly ridiculous way: Perhaps Paul had preached against theft but not against adultery whereas Apollos had preached against adultery but not against theft, and also suppose that Apollos' faction were going around stealing because their leader had never told them not to, whilst Paul's faction were all committing adultery because their leader had never told them not to. We can not glorify any man, as though that one person is our sole source of guidance, as Jesus told us to call no man on the earth our father in the spiritual sense. The Corinthians neglect of preachers who did not suit them had left them without sufficient guidance, which may have led to Paul writing in 1 Corinthians 11:19: there must be also heresies among you. So we must be prepared to listen to our conscience and to God when He speaks through any preacher. However, we can ignore preachers of false doctrine.
In Corinth there was also rivalry, in that some thought they were better than others. If we see that someone is genuinely weak we should not boast that we are stronger. What we should do is to help them. If someone in the church needs our help and if we refuse to meet their needs, because they are supposedly inferior to us spiritually, we are sinning, as such a philosophy is contrary to the unity of the body.
God says: there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. (1 Corinthians 12:25,26) Just as for the natural body one does not ignore a tooth ache because teeth are not as important as eyes, so one does not ignore a suffering believer, but will seek to comfort them: comfort the feebleminded, support the weak. (1 Thessalonians 5:14) Paul also writes: Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. (Galatians 6:2,3) To those who think they are something, Jesus says: the last shall be first, and the first last. (Matthew 20:16) Although we can rejoice that the Lord has used us, we should remember that whatever gifts we have, we are at most servants who have only done their duty.
In conclusion, all members of the body should seek a ministry, especially of the word of God, so that they can help and encourage their fellow believers in love to cleave to the word of God. By so doing they fulfil Ephesians 4:15,16: Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.