The New Testament Church
There are so many varieties of NT Churches today. Some have pastors. Others have pastors, evangelists, teachers.
Some have apostles and prophets and pastors, evangelists, teachers.
Many churches who say they believe there are apostles and prophets in the NT Church today have no idea who the apostle and prophets are at their church group … nor do they know what apostles and prophets do in the church today.
Our only source is the Bible.
The Bible shows us the role of the offices set up in the church by Jesus after the resurrection.
Ephesians 4 … (after Jesus arose) …
11 And HE gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into HIM in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 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.
Some churches teach that Paul was the last apostle.
Is that what the Bible teaches?
Did Jesus give only one apostle after HE was crucified and resurrected?
Or is Paul an example of the first NT apostle?
In this book, we look at the scriptures concerning what the Bible says about the NT Church.
God's Gifts To The New Testament Church
What would it be like in the town where you live if there were no police officers and no judges to rule over secular matters?
Lawlessness … every man for himself?
In the Bible, antichrist is called, “The Man of Lawlessness”. II Thess. 2
Paul said in the last days “perilous” times would come. II Tim. 3:1
In the Bible, we read: After Jesus arose (after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus), HE gave gifts to the church.
Eph. 4 … 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
We see evangelists, pastors, teachers … But where are the apostles and prophets?
Why have apostles and prophets been removed from the majority of NT church?
Why do we not hear of them and know them in the churches and know the work they do in the NT church?
In the removal by men of apostles and prophets in today’s churches, we see the lawlessness of antichrist being staged inside the churches, for the role of apostle is like a judge, using Bible and ruling over doctrines by the Holy Spirit of God … and prophets are like police officers, carrying warnings and messages of correction to the churches and to individual in the churches.
Paul said this elimination would happen in the churches and lawlessness would take place inside the churches.
Acts 20 … Paul says … For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Paul also warned us that perilous times would come in the latter days …
II Tim. 3 … 1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
We see this was going to take place in the churches.
Notice they would have “a form of godliness” … but they would deny the power of the scriptures to rule over the church and they would set up doctrine contrary to scripture inside the church, thus promoting sin and perverted doctrine inside the church.
And Paul told us it would get worse, not better.
II Tim. 3:13 … But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
You think this can’t happen in “your” church?
When was the last time you heard this preached at church?
The man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery?
I’ve been in various church groups for more than 35-years and I have never heard this doctrine spoken at any church group.
How can that be? Jesus said this. It is reported multiple times in the gospels. Paul also said this in the Bible which is inspired by God.
How can this doctrine be removed and another doctrine set up in our churches today?
Because our churches today are “latter day” and the man of lawlessness, antichrist, moved in to the positions of authority in the individual church groups and reasoned away the words of Jesus on matters that would offend people so the congregations would grow larger and larger but weaker and weaker.
A few years ago, I attended a dinner sponsored by a museum group. The seating was pre-arranged by the organization. I was seated next to a man who was wearing around his neck the largest cross I have ever seen.
This man identified himself as former pastor at Indiana Street Baptist Church.
He began speaking about their church … He said, “We have a terrible problem. We don’t have enough room to seat all the people who are coming to church. We enlarged the size of our building but we still don’t have enough room.”
I replied: “If you would start preaching what Jesus said … ‘The man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery’ … you would no longer have a problem. About ½ of the people would leave you and you would have plenty of seating."
I got up and left the dinner … not caring to sit by this man.
And what did Jesus and Paul say?
Jesus said … Mt. 5:32 … 32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
And Paul said the following is a commandment of the Lord for the NT church …
I Cor. 7 … 10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: 11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
And to the NT Church Paul explains …
Romans 7 … 1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
Ministers of God are called by God and set into the church by Jesus as ministers. They are “gifts” from Jesus to the church.
Eph. 4 … 11 And HE (Jesus) gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
As time increased, evil men crept into the churches and set up doctrine by their own rule, not by God’s rule. They set up the gathering church by their own way of thinking. They decided which men could speak and which could not speak. They said they were “protecting” the church from evil doctrine.
But their plan of “protection” is not according to Paul’s statement of what must happen when we come together as the church.
Paul said: I Cor. 14:26 … 26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
This way we, the church, would meet and the basic direction would be: Who has a word from the LORD to share today?
The Holy Spirit would be free to speak through whomever HE willed at the gathering of the church. And the body of Christ would be free to function as an entire body.
At one point, on Wednesday nights some of the churches had “testimonials”. I found that so exciting. It was more like a gathering of the church instead of a performance where everything was planned ahead.
How can a church service be planned ahead? Often billboards appear outside church buildings announcing the subject for next Sunday’s sermon.
This ends up man trying to provide for the needs of the congregation by his own fleshly thinking. He can’t know ahead of time what the congregations needs. He doesn’t even know which people will be there Sunday morning so how could he possibly know what they need ahead of time?
The way God planned for the gathering of the church was completely different from what we see today where everything is planned ahead by humans.
God taught me the following: Step out in front of the people and speak what you hear in your ear. Speak what I give you for the congregation.
God took me to 2 examples:
Jesus said … John 5:30 … I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Jesus didn’t plan what HE was going to say. Instead Jesus spoke that which HE heard from God.
And Jesus said, “I seek not mine own will …” He wasn’t trying to deal with someone in the congregation by pre-knowledge. Jesus spoke as HE heard from God and that did the work of God in the gathering of the “church”, at the synagogue where Jesus spoke most days, on the streets as Jesus met men, and when men came to HIM where HE lodged.
Wouldn’t you like to attend that type of church gathering?
This is what Paul said the gathering of the church was supposed to be. We would come together and to one would be given a psalm, another would have a revelation, another would share doctrine, the prophets would speak two or three, tongues and interpretation were given. (I Cor. 14:26)
It would take faith in God to do this … You would have to believe God would “feed” HIS people and bring forth HIS word.
The second scripture God used to teach me what to do when I spoke is as follows:
I Corinthians 2, Paul says …
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
I kept these 2 scriptures (Jn.5:30 and I Cor. 2:1-5) before me day and night for months and thought on them and they caused me to get strong enough in time to do them.
When I went out, I planned nothing. I just got with the people and spoke what I heard from God. God knows what that group needs and HE will provide for their needs when we trust in HIM.
This is what the church gathering should be whether we meet in living room, or at the grocery store in passing, or in a building called “church” building.
The church is anywhere 2 or 3 are gathered in the name of the Lord (speaking things of the Lord) … Jesus says … Mt. 18:20 … For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
When we think about Jesus walking about dealing with those things that appeared by the road where HE walked, we can see the way of God for sharing.
We share, speaking what we hear from God, wherever we are. That is the real church.
Certainly Jesus spoke in the synagogues which were buildings similar to what we know today as “church buildings”, but the amazing thing is Jesus was allowed to speak and to teach in the synagogues.
If Jesus appeared in the flesh today, HE would not be permitted to speak to most churches because HE would not be approved by the men who have taken over the local congregations.
Several year ago, I had the following dream…I went into a very large church building. It was filled with people. There was one seat in the balcony behind a pillar which seemed to be holding up the roof. I sat down in that seat. A woman sitting next to me said, “You can’t see much from that seat …” I replied: “There’s never much to see at these places anyway.”
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