Introduction

Everyone wants to be a success. I have never met anyone who purposely set out to be a failure. Undoubtedly, this is why so much has been written on the topic “How to be a Success” and why these books are so popular. I think it was Theodore Roosevelt who said, “The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.” The simple reality is that failure is one of those ugly realities of life—a common experience to all of us to some degree. Thus, the ability to handle failure in its various forms and degrees is a vital part of the spiritual life and another sign of maturity. A careful study of the Bible reveals that most of the great figures of Scripture experienced failure at one time or another, yet those failures did not keep them from effective service for God. As a partial list, this was true of Abraham, Moses, Elijah, David, and Peter. Though they failed at some point, and often in significant ways, they not only recovered from their failure, but they used it as a tool of growth—they learned from their failure, confessed it to God, and were often able to be used in even mightier ways.

The manner in which a leader meets his own failure will have a significant effect on his future ministry. One would have been justified in concluding that Peter’s failure in the judgment hall had forever slammed the door on leadership in Christ’s kingdom. Instead, the depth of his repentance and the reality of his love for Christ reopened the door of opportunity to a yet wider sphere of service. “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”

A study of Bible characters reveals that most of those who made history were men who failed at some point, and some of them drastically, but who refused to continue lying in the dust. Their very failure and repentance secured for them a more ample conception of the grace of God. They learned to know Him as the God of the second chance to His children who had failed Him—and third chance, too.

The historian Froude wrote, “The worth of a man must be measured by his life, not by his failure under a singular and peculiar trial. Peter the apostle, through forewarned, thrice denied his Master on the first alarm of danger; yet that Master, who knew his nature in its strength and in its infirmity, chose him.¹⁵⁹

Understanding the amazing grace of God and His incredible forgiveness and acceptance through Christ, a mature Christian is one who has grasped the truth that his or her failure is not the end of an effective life with and for the Lord. While there may be consequences to live with (as with David) and serious issues to work through, the mature believer rests in the grace of God and uses the failure as a backdoor to success through growth and understanding.

A favorite hymn for many Christians is “Victory in Jesus” because there IS victory in the Savior. In fact, Christians are super-conquerors in Christ. They are those who have, as translated by the NET Bible, “complete victory” (Rom. 8:37). Significantly, this statement by Paul is made in a context that considers the reality of the varied onslaughts of life which must include failure.

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or death? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:35-39).

In view of this, we often speak of the victorious Christian life. But the truth is there is a lot of defeat in the Christian’s life because none of us will always and perfectly appropriate the victory over sin that Christ has accomplished for us by the cross. Further, the amount of deliverance we each experience is a matter of growth; so on the road to maturity and even after reaching a certain degree of spiritual maturity, Christians will sin and fail—sometimes seriously so. We don’t like to talk about it or admit it, but there is a lot of failure. Failure is a fact of life for the Christian community, but God’s grace is more than adequate to overcome any situation. The mature Christian is one who has learned to apply God’s grace remedy for failure.

The Prevailing Attitude About Failure

Presently the bookstores are full of popular “How to Succeed Manuals” on every conceivable subject. And why is that? Because we are so concerned with the glory of God? I would hope so, but there are also other reasons. Too often, it is because we look at failure with eyes of scorn. We view failure as a Waterloo. We see it as the plague of plagues and as the worst thing that could happen to us.

As a result, the fear of failure has many people in neutral or paralyzed or playing the game of cover up. We consciously or subconsciously ignore our sins and failures because to admit them is to admit failure and that’s a plague worse than death. People often refuse to tackle a job or take on a responsibility for fear of failure. People believe if they fail they are no good. They think failure means you are a bad person and you are a failure. But, as previously mentioned, most of the great leaders in Scripture at some time in their careers experienced some sort of failure. For instance:

• When Abraham should have stayed in the land and trusted the Lord, he fled to Egypt because of the drought. And this was by no means the last of Abraham’s failures.
• Moses, in trying to help his people, ran ahead of the Lord and killed the Egyptian. Later, against the command of God, he struck the rock in his anger.
• When David should have been out in the field of battle, he stayed home and committed adultery with Bathsheba and then plotted the murder of her husband.
• Peter, in spite of his self-confidence and his great boast, denied the Lord, as did the rest of the disciples who fled before the evening our Lord’s arrest was over.

There is a fundamental principle here. Sometimes God must engineer failure in us before He can bring about success with us. Our failures are often rungs on the ladder of growth—if we will learn from our mistakes rather than grovel in the dirt.

This is not to make excuses for sin or to place a premium on mistakes or failure. This does not mean that a person must fail before they can be a success, but our failures, whether in the form of rebellion or just foolish blunders, can become tools of learning and stepping stones to success. The point is, we should never allow our fear of failure to paralyze us from tackling a job or trying something that challenges our comfort zone.

Nor should we allow past failures to keep us down or keep us from recovering and moving on in the service of the Savior. This means we should never allow failure to make us think we are a failure or that we can never change or that we can never again count for the Lord or that God can’t do anything with us because we have failed in some way. The Bible says we are all sinners and prone to failure, but in Christ we can become overcomers.

After the horrible carnage and Confederate retreat at Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee wrote this to Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy: “We must expect reverses, even defeats. They are sent to teach us wisdom and prudence, to call forth greater energies, and to prevent our falling into greater disasters.”¹⁶⁰

Mature Attitudes About Failure and Success

(1) Mature believers understand that a Christian can become successful in spite of failure because of God’s incredible grace and forgiveness. We may have to live with the results of some of our failures or sins, yet God is free to continue to love us in Christ and use us for His purposes because of grace (cf. John 21 & Peter).

(2) The mature believer seeks to use failures as lessons for growth and change. Mature believers will act on two principles: (a) They understand that failures remind us of the consequences of our decisions. We reap what we sow. This is the law of harvest. Failures remind us of what can happen, they can make us careful, but they should not be allowed to paralyze us. (b) The mature believer recognizes that our failures show us what we should and should not do; they become lessons in where we went wrong and why. You know what they say, “hindsight is 10/20.” It can help us avoid the same mistake twice if we will learn from history.

Thomas Edison invented the microphone, the phonograph, the incandescent light, the storage battery, talking movies, and more than 1000 other things. December 1914 he had worked for 10 years on a storage battery. This had greatly strained his finances. This particular evening spontaneous combustion had broken out in the film room. Within minutes all the packing compounds, celluloid for records and film, and other flammable goods were in flames. Fire companies from eight surrounding towns arrived, but the heat was so intense and the water pressure so low that the attempt to douse the flames was futile. Everything was destroyed. Edison was 67.

With all his assets going up in a whoosh (although the damage exceeded two million dollars, the buildings were only insured for $238,000 because they were made of concrete and thought to be fireproof), would his spirit be broken?

The inventor’s 24-year old son, Charles, searched frantically for his father. He finally found him, calmly watching the fire, his face glowing in the reflection, his white hair blowing in the wind. “My heart ached for him,” said Charles. “He was 67—no longer a young man—and everything was going up in flames. When he saw me, he shouted, ‘Charles, where’s your mother?’ When I told him I didn’t know, he said, ‘Find her. Bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as she lives.’”

The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, “There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.” Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver the first phonograph.¹⁶¹

(3) When mature believers fail they:

• Acknowledge their failures and refuse to hide behind any lame duck excuses.
• Confess any sin to God when sin is involved is involved in the failure.
• Study or examine what happened so they can learn from the failure.
• Put it behind them and move ahead (1 John 1:9; Phil. 3:13).

Being assured of God’s forgiveness, we are to put our failures behind us, count on and rest in His forgiveness, and refuse to use them as an excuse for morbid introspection, pessimism, self pity, depression, and fear of moving on for the Lord.

(4) Mature believers grow through failure. They will know and act on certain truths:

• We are accepted in the Lord on the basis of Grace, not our performance.
• We are human and, as a result, we are not now perfect nor will we ever be.
• God still has a plan for our lives. God is not through with us yet, and we need to get on with His plan.

(5) The mature believer will be one who understands there are different kinds of failure.

• There are those who have genuinely failed according to the principles of Scripture. If we fail to know why we believe what we believe and then fail to give an adequate reason to those who ask for a reason for our hope (1 Pet. 3:15), then we have failed in our responsibility to witness. That can become a stepping stone to getting equipped and to becoming bold in our witness, but at that point there was failure.
• There is a false guilt of failure because of a wrong view of success. Many missionaries have labored faithfully in foreign countries without much success by way of converts, but that by no means indicates they are failures. A biblical illustration is Isaiah. Right from the beginning, after seeing the Lord high and lifted up, after confessing his own sin and that of his nation, and after saying, “Here am I, send me,” God sent him to preach to a people who would not listen and told him so beforehand (see Isa. 6:8-10). In the eyes of people, he was a failure, but not in God’s eyes.
• There is another class of failure; those who mistakenly believe they are successes! These believers may earn an honest living and be fine supporters of the church. They unconsciously (or sometimes all too consciously) consider themselves examples for others to follow. Yet they do not realize that from God’s perspective they are failures. One man put it this way: “I climbed the ladder of success only to discover that my ladder was leaning against the wrong wall!”

Heaven will be filled with surprises! Many “successful” Christians will be nobodies, and some whose lives were strewn with the wreckage of one failure after another will be great in the kingdom.¹⁶²

(6) The mature believer is one who understands the importance of choosing the right standard of measurement to determine success and failure. There are a number common worldly beliefs about success that people apply to themselves and others, but they are all distortions of the truth.¹⁶³ Most of these are based on some form of faulty comparison. To those who were guilty of this kind of foolishness, the apostle Paul wrote: “For we would not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who recommend themselves. But when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding” (2 Cor. 10:12, emphasis mine)

Fundamentally, this is the distortion of comparing ourselves with others. We are all to do our best according the abilities God has given us and we are right in using others as models of Christ-like character. Paul told the Corinthians, “Be imitators of me as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). But this is not the same as when we compare ourselves with other people from the standpoint of their gifts, abilities, bank accounts, possessions, position and other such standards and then attempt to determine our success or failure or that of someone else based on such comparisons.

When in seminary, we wrote our test answers in a little booklet called “The Blue Book.” After the tests were graded, they were placed in our mail boxes in the seminary mail room. Naturally, we all anticipated or dreaded, as the case might be, looking through the little glass door and seeing that little Blue Book stuffed in our box. The tendency for students was to inquire about the grades of their classmates or to loudly declare the grade they received, “Great, I made 100!” Many students refused to be involved in this game and kept their grades to themselves because of the foolish comparisons that sometimes occurred. Some students, regardless of how hard they studied, actually began to see themselves as failures because they were not able to make the high grades of some of their class mates and questioned whether or not they should even stay in seminary.

Other people determine their level of success by their bank accounts as measured by the luxury items they are able to purchase—a huge home, furniture, automobiles, boats, etc. Lutzer writes,

If money is a basis of judging success or failure, it is obvious that Jesus Christ was a failure! Consider this: when He had to pay taxes, He asked Peter to find a coin in a fish’s mouth. Why? He didn’t have a coin of His own.

Christ was born under the shelter of a stable’s roof. Most of us would be appalled if our children could not be born in a modern hospital! When He died, the soldiers cast lots for His garment. That was all He owned of this world’s goods. He died naked, in the presence of gawking bystanders.

Was Christ a failure? Yes, if money is the standard by which He is judged. The foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man did not have a place He could call home.

Of course, earning money (and even saving some) is both legitimate and necessary. But the amount we earn is not a barometer of God’s blessing.¹⁶⁴

And I might add, lots of money and things are never an evidence of success in God’s eyes. Many who are wealthy are failures from God’s viewpoint. The point, then, is the absence or presence of money is not in itself proof of success or failure.

The comparison game reaches out to almost every area of life. It may involve comparing friends, i.e., name-dropping to suggest that one is successful because he runs with the right people. Or it may involve believers comparing the size of their church, the size of their mission’s budget, the number of books one has had published, etc. None of these things are in themselves a proof of success in God’s eyes. A classic illustration is when Moses struck the rock when God had told him to only speak to the rock.

Water flowed. The people were jubilant! Was Moses a success? Yes, in the eyes of men. No, in the eyes of God! His disobedience brought water, but it also brought punishment.

Results in themselves are not a proof that God is pleased. It is possible to win attendance contests and disseminate the Gospel and see results; all these activities can be done without pleasing God! Such results can be achieved by deceptive gimmicks or for purely personal satisfaction. It is not enough to do God’s work; it must be done in his way and for His credit.¹⁶⁵

Conclusion

There are many causes for failure. Some are the product of specific acts of sin, but some are not. Some are simply the product of ignorance or of circumstances beyond our control like a drop in the stock market or extreme weather conditions (drought, floods), which can cause a farmer or rancher to lose his shirt, as they say. Naturally, this kind of failure, as serious and painful as it is, is not as serious as spiritual failure like, for instance, the sin of David. While David did recover from his sin and was still used of God afterward, there were lifelong consequences in his life and in the lives of others.

Whether caused by sin or by the many things that can happen beyond our control, all failure teaches us the important truth of just how desperately we need God and His mercy and grace in our lives. Sometimes our failures are mirrors of reproof, but always they can become tools for growth and deeper levels of trust and commitment to God if we will respond to them as such rather than rebel and become hardened through the difficulty. “God is adequate for all kinds of failure. Some failures may not be our fault, but they serve as reminders that we must live with eternal priorities in mind. Other failures are directly the result of our own sinful choices.”¹⁶⁶

Regardless, God has made more than adequate provision for us in Christ and His finished work on the cross, which is the sole basis of our relationship and forgiveness with God and our means of a meaningful and productive life with Him.

159 Oswld J. Sanders, Spiritual Leadership, Moody Press, Chicago, 1967, 1980, p. 163.

160 “Today In the Word,” Moody Bible Institute, November, 1989, p. 21.

161 Charles Swindoll, Hand Me Another Brick, Thomas Nelson, 1978, pp. 82-83.

162 Erwin W. Lutzer, Failure, the Backdoor to Success, Moody Press, Chicago, 1975, 1984, p. 17.

163 For a more detailed consideration of these issues, see Lutzer’s discussion of this on pages 20-26 of his excelent book, Failure, the Backdoor to Success.

164 Lutzer, p. 21.

165 Lutzer, p. 25.

166 Lutzer, p. 42.

Appendix: Discussion Questions for Marks of Maturity

MEN 7/52 is a men's ministry of bible.org. Our desire is to see all men become true followers of Jesus Christ 7 days a week/52 weeks a year.

These studies were developed in a team training environment where men were being trained for their role as church leaders, as fathers, and as effective members of a society that desperately needs to see what authentic, biblical Christianity looks like. So, exactly what does a mature Christian look like? A mature Christian is a believer whose life begins to take on the character of Christ-likeness. But what exactly is that? What are the specific qualities that mark out a person as Christ-like? This is the focus and point of this study.

The qualities that should characterize Christian leaders are also the marks of spiritual maturity as described in the Bible. While all of the qualities that will be discussed in this series are not unique to Christianity and are often promoted and taught in the secular world, many of them are, by their very nature, distinctive to the Bible or biblical Christianity. Thus, the characteristics that should mark out a Christian leader are also the marks of biblical maturity which are in essence the product of true spirituality. In fact, biblical spirituality can be described by the term maturity since Christian maturity is the result of growth produced by the ministry of the Spirit in the light of the Word over time. It is this biblical/spiritual element, at least in part, that makes the marks of Christian leadership distinctively Christian.

Session 18

It is stated in the text that “sometimes God must engineer failure in us before He can bring about success with us” (p. 152).

1. What are some of the significant failures you have experiences in your life?

2. How did you process these failures with the Lord?

3. Describe the lessons you learned through your experience and processing of these failures.

4. How did these failures prepare you to be a better servant of the Lord?

5. What successes have you experienced because of the lessons you learned during your times of failure?

6. What is it that allows a mature believer to succeed in spite of failure?

7. How does a mature believer use failure as lessons for growth and change?

8. What are the four key actions mature believers take when they fail?

9. The mature believer relies on three truths that allow them to grow through failure. What are they?

10. Describe, in your own words, the three different kinds of failure a mature believer understands.

11. In measuring success and failure, the mature believer uses a specific standard. Please describe this standard and how it is used.

12. What measurements of success and failure do you use in the following areas?

• Your home life and your family’s growth
• Your areas of ministry
• Your workplace and the conduct of your responsibilities

13. To whom do you compare yourself as you succeed or fail in the following areas?

• Your home
• Your spiritual growth
• Your career development
• Your position in your community

14. How do you evaluate yourself when you see someone who:

• Makes more money that you
• Drives a nicer car than yours
• Lives in a bigger house than yours
• Has higher career achievements than you
• Takes more expensive vacations than you

15. As a mature believer, what standard must you use in any area of your life to measure your growth and success?

Group Discussion

• How are the materialistic temptations and expectations of our culture seducing you away from measuring your success biblically?
• What daily disciplines do you need to practice so that you can use your failures as preparation for biblical success?

Introduction

It has often been said, and I believe rightfully so, that Christianity is not simply a way of life, but a life to be lived, the life of the risen Christ Himself who dwells in the heart and life of every believer. Christianity is a supernatural way of life, but such supernatural life never happens naturally or automatically. It is always and only the product of intimate fellowship with the Lord Jesus sometimes called “the abiding life.” It is in this intimacy of fellowship that the believer must learn to walk in conscious dependence on the principles and promises of God’s Holy Word as it reveals the person and life of Christ in all His sufficiency. Of course, the experience of His life never does away with our God-given personalities, but it does bring them under the control and influence of the Lord Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit who desires to reproduce Christ’s character within us—transforming our lives into His.

Our Lord sought to impress this truth upon His followers and His disciples throughout His ministry and one such time was the last Passover when He also instituted the Lord’s Supper. In essence, the Lord’s Supper through its symbols that represent His person and work becomes a reminder that His life is to be the very source of our life.

It is highly significant that the discourse on the vine and branches occurred almost immediately after the institution of the Lord’s Supper and this time of fellowship with the Savior. By the symbolic acts and elements of the Supper, Jesus sought to establish a symbolic act of worship that would be a perpetual reminder that His life alone must be the very source of ours. He wanted to remind His disciples that without Him they could do nothing. When properly grasped, the Lord’s Supper, in symbolic fashion, teaches us the truth of John 15:1-7. The institution of the Supper and the discourses that followed in John 14-17 were designed to portray and teach the need of faith in God’s activity in the person of His Son who is the Bread of Life and the Lamb of God.

However, the importance and meaning of the Lord’s Supper as a time of worship and fellowship was highlighted or intensified by the events and many competing agendas that surrounded it. The events recorded for us both before and after the Lord instituted the Supper are important vehicles of instruction, challenge, and rebuke for these events revealed a series of agendas that were competing with the Lord’s agenda through the teachings of the Passover and the Lord’s Supper.

First, the events described in Luke 22 verses 1-7 and verse 31 remind us of the treacherous work and agenda of Satan to hinder the plan of God. Just in this passage alone, we see some of the typical actions of the Devil that reveal his agenda.

• Satan’s Agenda is to Dominate: As we see in the life of Judas, Satan works to dominate the lives of men to keep them from coming under the saving power, authority, and control of the life of the Lord Jesus.
• Satan’s Agenda is to Delude: As seen in the life of Judas, Satan works overtime to delude people into the pursuit of life by means of the substitutes of the world. The delusion is that they can find happiness and security in things like wealth, position, and power. Judas was seeking his security in material wealth.
• Satan’s Agenda is to Destroy: As seen in his control of the religious leaders who were seeking a means to put Christ to death, Satan’s agenda is to destroy the truth regarding the person of Christ.
• Satan’s Agenda is to Distract and Divide: This is evident later on in this chapter in the attitudes of the disciples who were arguing over who was the greatest. Clearly, Satan’s agenda is to distract and divide our allegiance and focus on the person of Christ.
• Satan’s Agenda is ALWAYS to Distort the plan of God: Christ’s plan or agenda, as so clearly seen in His own example, is that we might live as servants (Luke 22:24-27).

Second, these events, those before and after, also serve as a warning and a reminder of what mankind and the world system that lies under Satan’s control are really like. They warn us that the very nature of man and life in all of its hustle and bustle, its agitations and aspirations, its events and activities, all tend to distract, distort, and disorient us from the Lord Jesus as the means of our life. Even in the midst of acts of worship they illustrate how we can be completely distracted and drawn away from Christ into pettiness and preoccupation with mundane and secondary things like our desire to be first, or to live for the praise men.

Third, they serve to emphasize the absolute necessity of that which the Lord’s Supper stands for, namely, life by virtue of Christ’s marvelous person, liberating death, resurrection, and life. It reminds us of the sufficiency of Christ as the very source, force, and course of life. Indeed, as the Apostle Paul would later teach the church, we are in Him complete (Col. 2:10) and blessed with every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3) but we are constantly faced with the threat to try and live apart from Him.

Fourth and finally, these events surrounding the institution of the Lord’s Supper warn us that when we come together for worship we can actually come together not for the better, but for the worse as Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 11:17, “But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.” We can be outwardly full of religiosity, but inwardly full of carnality, acting in ways that are totally inconsistent with the truth of the Lord’s Supper and our new life in Christ Jesus (cf. Isa. 29:13).

In recording the institution of the Lord’s Supper, Luke purposefully included the fact of the betrayal and the events which led to it (22:1-6, 21). This is not without purpose. Paul likewise mentions the betrayal in his teaching on the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:23.

So what can we learn from Luke 22:1-6 concerning our walk with Christ and how this relates to the Lord’s Supper, its significance, and our worship in general? In these six verses we will see a number of things that not only reveal Satan’s agenda, but how his influence can often affect our corporate and individual worship and walk with the Savior.

The Ever Present Agenda of the Enemy
Luke 22:1-6

Satan’s Investigation (22:2)

In verse one Luke calls our attention to the fact that a very important time of worship, the Passover, was approaching. This was a time that spoke of God’s saving grace in the Messiah. The Passover as with the Lord’s Supper was to be a time of reflection, a time to count on the promises and blessings of God along with the responsibilities that come to believers. Above all, as the Passover had pointed to the coming Messiah, so the Lord’s Supper would point men to Jesus as the Christ as the long expected Savior of the Old Testament Scripture.

But before moving on to the Passover meal, as if to remind us of the ever present work of the enemy to oppose the worship of Christ and our ability to trust in the resources of His life, Luke describes how the chief priests and scribes were seeking to put Christ to death and in such a way that this activity is clearly related to the work of Satan (vs. 2). “Were seeking” is an imperfect of continual action in the Greek text. It means they were constantly seeking some means and opportunity to hinder the ministry and work of Christ.

But just what does that mean to us? What can we learn from this brief account of this nefarious activity mentioned in the context of these two events, the Passover and the institution of the Lord’s Supper?

The scribes and chief priests represent the world and religion under Satan’s control and direction (cf. John 8:43-47). In this we see a clear illustration of Satan’s constant activity who, as a roaring lion, is on the prowl to seek and destroy, and pervert and counterfeit the work of God and His plan for men in and through the person and work of Jesus Christ. From this we can see a couple of principles.

Principle # 1: Satan is our ever present adversary who tempts, lies, suggests, perverts, distracts, blinds, deceives, schemes, and does everything he can to negatively influence or control the hearts of men and keep them from truly resting in and relating their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 22:31).

Principle # 2: Satan never sleeps. He is always seeking opportunities to carry out his schemes. He looks for a foothold or a beachhead to launch his attacks (2 Cor. 2:11: “in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes”). Satan is ever investigating us in order to entice us away from our Lord and he uses every conceivable bait available (2 Tim. 2:26).

Illustrations: For some people, Satan’s snares include money and the things people think money can buy like financial security and possessions. This was Judas’ downfall. For others his snares would include pleasure, fun and games, and the physical appetites of the body. Still for others it may be mental and emotional appetites, the desire for position, power, prestige, recognition, and the praise of men. This was one of the problems of the disciples which hindered their ability that evening to truly respond to what the Lord was teaching in the Passover meal and the Lord’s Supper (cf. vss. 24f with John 13:1-4). Or it may be a combination of the above (cf. 2 Cor. 2:11). So Satan, through his demonic forces, is watching and investigating us.

Of course, the objective of Satan’s investigation is infiltration.

Satan’s Infiltration (22:3-5)

In verse 3 we are told, “Satan entered into Judas.” Here we see how Satan infiltrates the lives of men to defeat, distract, control, and ruin. Note the following four points about infiltration or Satan’s activity to neutralize us.

(1) Satan can make inroads into anyone’s life. Whether believer or unbeliever you are the object of Satan’s schemes and strategies. Judas was an unbeliever, but being a believer does not exempt us from his attacks. Bible students disagree about the depths of his inroads, but to be sure, they can occur to the point of neutralizing our impact for Christ and Christ’s impact on us. We see this in the life of Peter on that very night and the Lord even called this to Peter’s attention later on that evening (cf. vs. 31).

(2) Satan’s infiltration is seldom sudden. It is usually gradual, digging deeper, inch by inch, to make his inroads into our lives. But nearly always his success is related to our lack of watchfulness, faith, and real commitment to Jesus Christ. Judas had failed to truly believe and commit himself to the Lord. Though he was with the Lord every day, seeing His works and hearing His words, still, he kept himself from the Lord because of avarice, his lust for money, and his unwillingness to rest in the Lord’s care and love. This was the beachhead by which Satan gained control of Judas—the deceitfulness of riches (1 Tim. 6:9f). But it can be the deceitfulness of any kind of sin (Heb. 3:13) which hardens the soul and keeps it from commitment to Christ and resting in the resources of His life (1 Pet. 2:11).

(3) Everyone of us has his or her own weaknesses—and Satan both investigates each of us to locate just where those weaknesses are, and then seeks ways to capitalize on those weaknesses to get a foothold or to establish a beachhead to distract us from the Savior and what His life means to us (again, cf. 2 Cor. 2:11).

What is Satan seeking to do? He wants:

to distract us from Christ as the source of life,

to get us to act independently of the Lord to satisfy our wants and even our legitimate needs,

to get us to come up with some kind of strategy by which we seek to maintain control while at the same time acting religious and thus deceiving ourselves,

and to deceive us into thinking that happiness comes in the fulfillment of our desires by our methods rather than through knowing, trusting, and serving the living Christ whereby we learn to live in total dependence upon Him.

(4) Infiltration (Satan’s deceptions and inroads into one’s life), if not arrested, will lead to spiritual disaster. In other words, in some way or another, we end up betraying our Lord by the way we live. No, we may not out and out deny Christ, but there are many ways we can begin to ignore His call and purpose.

Remember, before that night was over, even after these men had this wonderful time with our Lord with the Passover, the institution of the Supper, and the discourses of John 14, 15, 16, and 17, He was left all alone, all had forsaken Him.

This logically leads us to our next point.

Judas’ Deception (22:3b, 6a, 21)

Verse 3b calls our attention to the fact Judas “belonged to the number of the twelve.” He was sitting with the Savior with his hand on the table of fellowship. But Judas was living a lie. He appeared to be “one of the twelve,” one of the faithful followers of Christ, but this was a deception. He was acting religiously, but without real faith in Christ. He said the right things, went through the right motions, put on the right face, engaged in religious activity, and even acted concerned for the poor, but he was as phony as a lead nickel—he was living a masquerade, a sham.

Note verse 6a. Here we see Judas consenting to betray the Lord. “And he consented” is a tense (aorist tense) in the Greek which looks at an act as a simple event. But it often, as here, may also express the culmination of a series of events (culminative aorist). This was the culmination of the process of Satan’s infiltration. Inch by inch, bit by bit, Satan continued to gain more and more ground into the thinking and aspirations of Judas.

Man’s deception usually means a double deception: First, Judas’ was deceived by Satan via the deceitfulness of riches, and then he began to live a life of deception himself. It was Paul who reminded us that, “… evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (cf. 2 Tim. 3:13, NIV).

“Consented” is the Greek word, exomologeo, which means, “to agree with, to confess, acknowledge” or it may even mean, “to promise or praise.” It is used here of Judas’ agreement and promise to betray the Lord, but does not the choice of this particular word also, in a very striking way, point out a principle—a very important principle?

The Principle: When we fail to acknowledge and act on the worth of Christ as our Savior and Lord, indeed, as the source of our security and life, and when we fail to honestly acknowledge the sin in our lives, it will inevitably lead to this double deception: being deceived and deceiving—hypocritical behavior that will lead to defection and betrayal. And by sin we are talking about not just the obvious and overt kind of sin, but the root causes like a spirit of independence, or our man-made strategies by which we seek to control and solve our problems.

In other words, such failure to acknowledge and count on the worth of Christ inevitably leads to agreement with the activities and inroads of the Devil himself. There is simply no middle ground or position of neutrality.

And there is another principle here: We can get by with our deception for a while, but eventually the truth comes to the surface and we act according to those lusts or evil desires that are really controlling us. Eventually we act according to our selfish desires and we end up, if this is not arrested, in defection and in some way, we betray our Lord. The flesh simply cannot produce true godliness or faithfulness.

Judas’ Defection (22:4-6)

The natural outworking of this double deception and phony Christian living is some form of defection.

In verse 6 we read, “he began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him.” Judas was now totally under the control of Satan operating according to that which had come to fill his heart.

Let me state the principle this way. Spurious Christianity, that which is not truly authentic, will seek and find opportunities, consciously or unconsciously, to betray the Lord. And this can apply even to the true believer if he is not truly walking with the Lord and depending on Christ as the source of his Christian life.

Why? How can this be, especially for the true believer like Peter and the disciples? When any individual, no matter how overtly religious, is really operating from the resources of his own life, when he has not really taken his spiritual life seriously, when he is living on the fringes of commitment, when he is failing to honestly deal with his inner life and the root causes of sin like a spirit of independence, then, he will eventually act from the source of his own weakness and from the true nature of what fills his heart, from the fleshly desires and independent strategies that control and motivate him (see Matt. 12:34-35).

Why? Because the flesh cannot overcome Satan or self!

What are some of the more subtle ways we may defect or betray our Lord? Every time we seek our own good or desires or will or wants at the expense of our Lord and His character, His reputation, and His purposes or will, we are in one sense and to some degree defecting and betraying the Savior.

When Christ is not allowed to be the Lord of one’s life by commitment and by daily fellowship with Him, feeding and living by faith in what His life means to us, we will invariable act on our own behalf and against the desires and best interest of the Lord.

How then does all this relate to the Lord’s Supper? Scripture strongly stresses that the Lord’s Supper was instituted on the very night the Lord was betrayed. This is not without significance or purpose. Paul declares to us, “for I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed, took bread …” (1 Cor. 11:23).

The same emphasis is seen in the gospels. The betrayal is an important part of the events recorded in connection with the Lord’s Supper. In addition, Matthew, Mark, and Luke also stress the defection or squabble of the other disciples after the Supper and the arrest of the Lord as He Himself predicted (Matt. 26:31).

As believers meet around the Lord’s Table, they should think about these concepts in relation to their own personal lives, the concepts of investigation, infiltration, deception and defection. How real am I? In what ways could I be betraying Christ and the trusts He has committed to my charge?

First Corinthians 11:28 teaches us we are to examine ourselves, and then we are to partake of the bread and the cup. Why? So that as we partake, having confessed all known sin and having earnestly reflected and counted on the meaning of the bread and the cup, we might also count on Christ as our life, the hope of glory, and as our defense against the inroads of Satan.

(1) Know that Satan is investigating your life and mine. He is looking for chinks in our armor, places where he can get a foothold to deter us from resting and counting on the Savior as our life.

(2) Honestly examine yourself—your attitudes, sources of security and happiness, your values and priorities. Has he made any headway? Is there anything we are clinging to that is keeping us from full commitment to Christ? Let us also ask ourselves, do I really mean business with the Lord, or am I simply religious, caught up in the desires of my own flesh like the disciples. How do we stand toward materialism, prestige, pleasure, power, position, and praise from people? Am I looking to these things for my security and happiness rather than resting in my new life in Christ?

(3) We might ask ourselves questions such as:

• Am I seeking my security in a job, or in my bank account, or even in another human being?
• Am I seeking a sense of personal worth and value from a job, or from a position in the church, or from the praise I receive from others?
• Or, am I feeding on the Lord and what He is to me, and as a result, finding all of these things, security, value, strength, and approval from Him.

Friends, that’s what the Lord’s Supper is all about. Let’s be real with the Savior. Christ told the disciples that night that He intensely desired to eat the Passover with them. This was a declaration of His commitment to the Father’s plan and to our salvation.

The Lord’s Supper as a remembrance should be a reminder to each of us of a double sacrifice and a double commitment—His sacrifice for us and commitment to us, and ours to Him that we might become committed to each other and the needs of the world.

Position in the kingdom is based on losing ourselves in Christ and servant-like behavior. The Lord’s Supper reminds us of our responsibility to share our lives as servants.

Preparation for the Passover
and the Institution of the Lord’s Supper
(Luke 22:7-13)

The key events in this chapter are the celebration of the Passover and the institution of the Lord’s Supper. Since both were acts of worship and fellowship which visualized (1) God’s activity and provision for man in the person and work of Christ and (2) man’s need of faith and commitment to live through fellowship with God’s Son, we can learn some important lessons here that pertain to worship.

Verses 7-13 form part of the background and scenario to that special night with the Lord and drive home two key responsibilities, preparation and submission. The simple thrust of these verses is that for all genuine, bonafide, and meaningful worship, indeed, for true spiritual living, we need careful preparation that leads to resting in the Savior and out of that, to submission and obedience to the person of Christ.

The concept of preparation and its necessity for a truly worshipful observance of the Passover is found in at least six places in this passage.

First, it is found in the anticipation of verse 1. It was time for the celebration of the Pascal lamb. If it was to be celebrated and with meaning, obviously certain things had to be done. In fact, “it seems that since the days of the Dispersion, the Jews had added an extra day at the beginning of the eight days of this festival season and called it the Day of Preparation.”¹ This, then, was the day of preparation.

Second, the idea of preparation is seen four more times in the repetition of the word “prepare” in verses 8, 9, 12, and 13.

Finally, the idea of preparation is seen a sixth time in the provision of the large, furnished, upper room, a special place to meet where the disciples could privately, like a family, observe the Passover with Jesus.

Note two things about this time of preparation:

(1) There was the Command of the Lord (vs. 8): The preparations were done at the Lord’s command. What was done here was a result of His directions and the obedience or submission of the disciples.

(2) There was the Provision of the Lord (vss. 10-12): There may be an element of the miraculous in this. Some think that previous arrangements had been made. The text does not say they had been made and the manner in which they were to find the furnished room seems a little at odds with a prearranged set up. At any rate, the point is the Lord provided that which was necessary for this time of fellowship and worship.

Application: Does this not remind us of how the Lord provides all that we need to both know and relate our lives to His glorious life? Our need is to respond in faith, and then, through dependence on His life, to be obedient and prepare for worship that we might appropriate what He has provided.

Let’s note some of the effort that was involved in preparation for the Passover.

(1) A site had to be selected. This was no small thing for thousands of pilgrims were in Jerusalem looking for a suitable place to celebrate the Passover. Point: the Lord will provide a place and a means to get to know Him and what His person, death, and life mean to us if we are available.

(2) The site had to be made ready. It had to be cleansed or purified.

(3) A lamb had to be selected, taken to the temple, examined, sacrificed, and roasted.

(4) The other food items had to be provided, the bitter herbs, the bread, the sauce, and the wine.

(5) And above all of this, there was the need of spiritual preparation. For effective and meaningful worship to occur, worship that is not merely lip service, there must be, by the very nature of worship, the proper preparation both physically and spiritually. The Lord and Scripture demand this. As the Lord told the woman at the well, “God is spirit, and those that worship Him, must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).

Like the disciples, we tend to readily take care of the physical preparation, but oh, how we need care in the spiritual realm of preparing our hearts so we can truly relate our lives to the living God.

This the disciples failed to do. Satan had made inroads into their lives, and their hearts and minds were not in the least prepared for what they were doing. As the verses that follow show us, though they all appeared to have the same agenda, each of the disciples had agendas that were very different from Christ’s. Through the symbols of the Passover and the communion He would institute, His agenda was to teach them truth that would always remind them of the nature and value of His life to theirs. Because of this, later that evening, the Lord, taking the position of a slave which none of them were willing to do, addressed the need of preparation both directly and symbolically in His actions and instruction in John 13.

While the Lord selflessly anticipated the blessings to come through His sacrifice (cf. 22:15), the disciples were selfishly striving for positions of honor at the table and in the kingdom (22:24f). Rather than resting in their significance through their relationship and union in Him, they were vying for position.

On the basis of this emphasis in these verses, I would like to suggest some concepts of preparation that I believe are essential for the proper worship of God, for worship that has an electric impact on our lives.

You can’t lay hold of a million volts of electricity without a corresponding effect. Likewise, we can’t worship the living God in Spirit and in truth without a corresponding effect. The issue is, are we doing that? Worship in spirit and truth demands biblical preparation!

Essentials Aspects of Preparation

Physical Preparation

At Home: a good night’s rest, setting out clothes for the kids the night before, arising early enough to get to church without being in a rush and without being half mad at each other or the kids, etc.

At Church: A lot of work goes in to preparation for an effective worship service, the cleaning of the building, preparing and setting up of visual aids, the preparation of a bulletin and the elements when the Lord’s Supper is observed, and on the list goes. This is all needful, helpful, and makes our worship time more enjoyable and meaningful. But this is not the crucial part.

Spiritual Preparation

(1) Modulation and Mobilization:

Modulation: This is the process of changing from one tone to another; to modulate means to tune, to adjust to another key. It’s equivalent to getting in tune, adjusting to pitch with God.

Mobilization: This means putting into movement, making ready; to mobilize means to release resources for use, to mobilize for action.

The Means: Restoration—modulation and mobilization requires restoration to fellowship: seeking to maintain a conscience void of offense according to the standards of God’s Word, His Truth (2 Cor 11:27-30; 1 John 1:9; John 13:8f).

So what exactly does this mean? It means humble and contrite openness before God as is seen in the response of Isaiah when he saw the Lord high and lifted up. If that is not there, then we haven’t really seen the Lord. I am reminded of the statement of Augustine. Erwin Lutzer writes, “Augustine spoke of those who have tried unsuccessfully to find God. ‘They were probably inflated by their pride of learning and so were misled into seeking Him by throwing out their chests rather than beating upon their breasts.’”²

Modulation and mobilization demands that I refocus; it calls to mind the principle of refocusing our hearts on God. To worship means to expose the life to the who and what of God. “To worship,” William Temple said, “is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, and to devote the will to the purpose of God.”

Very Important Principle: The form of our worship is not nearly so important as the spiritual condition of the heart. The disciples followed the directions the Lord gave for setting up the room for the right form of worship, but their hearts were not in tune with Christ.

(2) Harmonization:

By harmonization I mean getting in harmony not only with God, but with other members of the body of Christ. We are a body, a spiritual organism. Each is a separate member with his or her own part to play, but we must be in harmony with one another or we will look and sound horrible. We will be a strident, discordant noise that will turn people away from God and God from us.

Now what does harmonization involve?

First, harmonization involves the principle and responsibility we all have to be like-minded, to have the mind of Christ, to think with the Word, to bring every thought into obedience and captivity of Christ, to have biblical values, goals, priorities, and attitudes toward others: being understanding, loving, patient, forgiving (Phil. 1:27; 2:1-5).

Here is where Modulation forms the foundation for Harmonization. David said, “Unite my heart to fear Thy name” (Psalm 86:11). What does he mean by “unite my heart to fear Thy name”? It means to have a heart that is one with the will and purposes of God. It means “Lord, may it no longer be divided among a multiplicity of objects so it is drawn here and there by a multitude of different aims and aspirations that distract our heart and our attention from God.” To worship as a congregation we must come to God single-mindedly in full commitment to the purposes of God.

Second, harmonization involves the responsibility for reconciliation and restitution with other members of the body of Christ with whom we may be out of harmony (1 Cor 11:17-18; Luke 22:24; Matt. 5:23-24; 1 Pet 3:7).

In his book, The Ultimate Priority, John Mac Arthur wrote: “… if our corporate worship isn’t the expression of our individual worshipping lives, it is unacceptable. If you think you can live any way you want and then go to church on Sunday morning and turn on worship with the saints, you’re wrong.”

(3) Contemplation:

By contemplation I mean reflective meditation and research or revue in preparation for the services. This is important for teachers, singers, musicians, music directors, those who read the Scriptures and pray. Every aspect of the service should be thoughtfully researched and thought out. This means we need to do away with the last minute or Saturday night scramble. This is also important for the audience because it is important that they be very much involved in what is going on. How can the audience prepare? By meditation before hand, by reading a Psalm of worship or praise, by reading the passage to be studied as announced in the bulletin or the previous week or by reviewing last week’s lesson when the one doing the teaching is teaching in a series.

(4) Anticipation:

This pertains to all of us as we participate in worship in all aspects of the service. We must gather for worship so that through prayer and reliance on the Spirit of God, we come anticipating fellowship with the living God. This means seeing God in truth, beholding wondrous things from His Word (Ps. 119:12-18).

As Christians who have access to God through Jesus Christ, we should long to draw closer to God in truth. Lutzer writes, “If we are quenching our thirst at forbidden fountains, we have no reason to expect God to be satisfying. If we are not nourished by the bread from heaven, we will satiate ourselves with crumbs from the world. Once we have become addicted to the world’s nourishment, our appetite for God is spoiled.”³

“We must worship in truth. Worship is not just an emotional exercise, but a response of the heart built on truth about God. ‘The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth’ (Psalm 145:18). Worship not based on God’s truth is but an emotional encounter with oneself.” To speak of worship without obedience to truth and surrender of one’s life, values, etc., is like asking a man to walk naturally with one leg.

(5) Familiarization or Rehearsal:

By this I am speaking about the pursuit of excellence, not to please men, or to receive praise and applause, the approbation of men, but to bring glory to God and to be an instrument for the blessing of men. As I am writing this, my wife and I are visiting friends who have a lovely beach house on Whidbey Island overlooking the water. Whidbey is one of the Islands on the Puget Sound across from Seattle. The scenery is beautiful and in front of me is a large, clean picture window that gives a clear view of the water and more of the island across the harbor. If the window was either stained glass (calling attention to itself) or coated with grime and dirt, it would hinder or certainly mar the view, but as it is it allows a full and unhindered view of the beauty of God’s creation. Proper preparation for worship is needed by all if the worship service is to honor the Lord and reflect His glory, but it is particularly important for those who have a part in leading the service not so they can be a stained glass window that calls attention to itself, but that they may clearly point people to the Lord Jesus.

We need to work and practice on what we are doing in the worship service or in a Sunday School class or whatever. Musicians should know their music, song leaders should know their hymns, teachers should know their material, ushers should be versed in their responsibilities, and preachers, of course should know their subject and be ready to proclaim the message God has given them from His Holy Word.

Indeed, the absence of proper preparation can often hinder and detract from our worship. On the other hand, one can rehearse until the cows come home, but if the heart is not right with the Lord, it will be just cold religious externalism (Isa. 29:13).

(6) Submission or Obedience:

This simply means that we should all be obedient and submissive to the biblical principles laid out for us in the Word that pertain to our worship or our times when we meet together. The disciples, Peter and John, followed the Lord’s directives as to the physical arrangements, but they all had much to learn in the realm of spiritual preparation without which there is no worship in spirit and truth.

No matter how eloquent the physical presentation or the setting, without the proper preparation, both physical and the spiritual preparation of the heart, worship loses its power and potential for God’s glory and our edification. We assemble, as Paul warns us, “not for the better, but for the worse” (1 Cor. 11:17).

The Institution of the Lord’s Supper
Luke 22:14-22

The setting for the institution of the Lord’s Supper was the feast of Passover. This had reminded Israel of God’s mighty redemption of His people from Egypt, but it had also been a redemptive type of the coming Savior.

Now the Savior had not only come, but it was time for Him to go to the cross where He would die as the Lamb of God. So during this meal of what actually became the last Passover, the Lord turned to the future and His imminent death and instituted the Lord’s Supper. In connection with this He said, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” Why? Well, think about why the Lord had come and about that which characterized His life—LOVE. He earnestly desired to eat that last Passover not only because of what it meant as a foreshadow of His person and work, but because on this night He would also institute what we have come to call communion or the Lord’s Supper which would come to have great meaning to all believers if properly understood and practiced.

What then does the Lord’s Supper mean to us? In this part of this study we will cover two biblical descriptions of this ordinance.

Descriptions of the Lord’s Supper

A Remembrance (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24-25)

That evening, after the breaking and sharing of the bread, and again in connection with sharing the cup, Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” This act of worship is to be done in remembrance of Christ, but why? Because in His absence, Christ desires all believers to continually remember Him in the fullness of the benefits of His death and life because He and He alone is to be the source of our spiritual lives. It is His desire that we regularly partake of these elements as they speak of His offer of His life, of sharing in the fruits of His sacrifice for us, and in the reality of His spiritual presence and life in our midst as the dynamic of the Christian life.

The Lord’s Supper is not just a religious exercise, and certainly not a religious work by which we keep ourselves in God’s grace, a totally contradictory idea. Nor is it to be a religious experience through which we obtain a rosy glow and have a religious encounter with ourselves. Rather it is to be a time in which we remember Him so that we personally relate to the Savior with the goal of living in greater dependence on Him for every aspect of life.

A. W. Tozer has written something which is certainly applicable here:

Many of us Christians have become extremely skillful in arranging our lives so as to admit the truth of Christianity without being embarrassed by its implications. We arrange things so that we can get on well enough without divine aid, while at the same time ostensibly seeking it. We boast in the Lord but watch carefully that we never get caught depending on Him. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Pseudo faith always arranges a way out to serve in case God fails it. Real faith knows only one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second way or makeshift substitutes. For true faith, it is either God or total collapse … ⁴

In other words, we want to be religious, but we want to maintain control so we never get into the predicament of having to trust the living Christ as the only source of our daily experience.

Then just what does doing this in remembrance of Him entail? It is not simply a recalling of a past event, but a dynamic and personal recalling of and reflection on certain spiritual truths, past, present and future, so that those truths become a present and vivid reality in which one may share and from which one may draw strength.

No longer were His disciples to look back to redemptive shadows and types, or depend on themselves as the source of their spiritual lives.

(1) From now on they were to remember Him as the perfect and final sacrifice for sin.

(2) From now on they were to remember Him as the means of their life both for the present and the future. But why is that?

(3) Because from now on they were to remember Him as the greatest manifestation in history of the power and kingdom of God, greater than even creation itself. Jesus Christ becomes the new standard for the power of God in human history both for the present and for the future.

(4) The reason is because in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone does man find God’s solution to sin and death, to an abundant life, a life that pleases God, and to life eternal.

Life is to be found not in religion, nor science, nor psychology, nor humanism, nor materialism, nor the great American dream, and certainly not in the eastern mystery religions of the new age or of any other age.

Application: So whenever we partake of the Lord’s Supper, let us partake together in a very reflective way that we may truly recall who Jesus Christ is, what He has done, will do, and how essential it is that we live in dependence on Him.

A Fellowship (see also 1 Cor. 10:15-17)

The Lord’s Supper is a sharing or partaking, or to use the Greek words of the New Testament, a koinonia and a metochos. It is an act of worship in which we, in a very real way, can share, have fellowship with our Lord and with one another as we share and think together on the person and work of Christ, past, present, and future as portrayed in (1) the meaning of the elements and (2) the acts or worship connected with them.

1 Cor. 10:15-17 I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. 16 Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing (koinonia) in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing (koinonia) in the body of Christ?

Explanation:

Luke 22:14—At the appointed time, the Apostles gathered together and met with the Lord for this celebration of worship and fellowship. Please note the order. “He reclined,” He took the lead, “and the apostles with Him,” that is, they followed His lead and reclined together around the table to share in the events of the evening. As it was then, so it should be now. The Lord Jesus is just as much with us, though unseen, as He was present with them. He said, “where two or three are gathered together in My Name there am I in the midst of them.”

In John’s vision of the glorified Savior in Revelation 1:13, the Lord is portrayed as standing in the middle of the seven golden lampstands which were the seven churches of Asia Minor and which many believe are also representative of the church throughout history. In Revelation 2:1 we read that the Lord Jesus is the one who “walks among the seven golden lampstands.” Here is a beautiful picture of the continuing ministry of the Savior in the midst of His church.

(1) His position in the center of the seven lampstands highlights the centrality of Jesus Christ to the life and worship of the church.

(2) His action of walking in the midst of the lampstands highlights His activity in our midst to minister, observe, direct, protect, supply, and even discipline His church as is needed.

The Lord, as the living and glorified Savior, though physically unseen, is nevertheless very much in our midst to lead us in our fellowship and worship of Him. How we need to be ever mindful of His presence and ministry.

The Lord, though physically unseen, is in our presence to minister to our needs through His Spirit, His Word, and through the truths of the Lord’s Supper. And by faith, we are responsible to respond to His ministry and presence.

Application: The irony of all this is that though the disciples were with the Lord physically, they were not with it spiritually, they were not sharing with Him and relating to what He was doing because they were occupied with their position in the kingdom, rather than with the Lord Jesus and who He was, what He meant to them, and was attempting to teach them.

Though reclining at the table was the custom of the day, it clearly portrayed the concept of fellowship, rest, and spiritual sustenance that our worship and fellowship with Jesus Christ in the Word and around the Lord’s table should bring into our lives. Reclining at the table pictures (1) feeding and drawing sustenance and strength from the Lord and (2) having fellowship with one another as we share together in the things of Christ.

Our time around the Lord’s table should never be just a religious experience, or a ritual, or a ho-hum habit, but a very significant time where believers together earnestly reflect on His person, work, and life.

Nature and Meaning of the Lord’s Supper

The Nature

It is a visualized act of worship which symbolically visualizes spiritual truth for our edification using two symbolic elements: the bread and the cup, and four symbolic actions: (1) breaking the bread and sharing it, (2) eating the bread, (3) pouring and passing the cup, and (4) drinking the fruit of the vine from the cup.

The Meaning of the Elements and Symbolic Acts

The Elements:

(1) The Bread: The bread symbolically speaks of the body or the person of Christ as the God-man Savior, the one who was and is the bread of life come down from heaven as God’s solution to man’s sinful state (Matt. 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24). The bread remains bread, but it symbolizes the concept of the incarnation. God the Son in the person of Jesus Christ took upon Himself true and sinless humanity that He might die for us, and now lives on in His glorified state to be our life and to be in our midst as the head of the body of Christ, His church (John 6:32-33, 38, 48-58).

(2) The Cup: The cup was filled with the fruit of the vine which was red like blood. This, as Christ taught, is symbolic of the blood of the covenant which was shed on behalf of many.

The cup with its blood red wine calls to mind the cross and the death Christ died as our sinless substitute. It proclaims the Lord’s death as accomplished, but it is not a reenactment of His death; it simply reminds us salvation has been accomplished and our sins put away as far as the east is from the west. It portrays His life given in death as God’s Lamb.

It also stands for the new covenant, the concept that the Old Testament or old covenant in types and shadows has been fulfilled and put away, and that we have God’s guarantee of the forgiveness of our sins based on the finished work and death of Christ (Heb. 10:14-18).

The Four Symbolic Acts:

(1) The breaking of the bread: Portrays God’s provision and offer of life. According to the custom of ancient times, bread was broken, not cut, and it was broken to share with others. It was a preliminary to eating, partaking, and sharing in the meal. Scripturally, the same emphasis is seen. In fact, the Lord’s Supper is called “the breaking of bread” because it was a time of communion, of fellowship with the Lord and with others (Acts 2:42, 46; 20:7, 11; 1 Cor. 10:16b).

Sometimes we have viewed the breaking of the bread as symbolic of the death of Christ. Some later MSS of 1 Corinthians 11:24 read, “this is my body which is broken for you.” So we have often taught and heard that the breaking of the bread is symbolic of the death of Christ. But the earlier and what many believe are the more reliable Greek MSS do not have this reading. Is this the emphasis of the breaking of the bread?

The emphasis on the breaking of the bread as symbolic of Christ’s death is probably wrong, or at least it is not primary. In fact, this focus could actually cause us to miss what our Lord intended for us to see according the cultural significance of breaking bread and passing of the cup.

His death is certainly portrayed in the bread and the cup which together portray a sinless life given in death as our substitute for sin’s penalty. But the breaking of the bread stands for the concept of sharing and partaking of the Lord in fellowship. It speaks of His offer of His life to us and of our need to share Him with others (see Luke 22:17; 24:30-31). Paul focuses our attention on this very thing in 1 Corinthians 10:16b which reads, “is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?”

(2) Eating the bread that is given and shared: Portrays our human responsibility and response. This part of the celebration portrays faith in the person and presence of Jesus Christ. It indicates our faith in the life He offers us, both spiritual life (abundant life), and eternal life.

It further should remind us of our need to feed, or live daily by virtue of who Christ is, and what He did for us, and is to us. It should indicate our desire to continue to have fellowship with Him and to enjoy His presence and His ministry in our lives through the Word and through prayer.

(3) Pouring of the cup that is given and shared: Portrays God’s divine provision and offer. This portrays Christ’s offer of the fruits of His death for us as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Robert Saucy writes, “The elements signify something which is done toward man. For this reason, the actions of breaking the bread and pouring the wine do not represent the dying of Christ, but are only involved in the giving of the fruit of His death to the disciples.”⁵

These actions of breaking and pouring represent the offering of Himself to us as the Victorious Savior and are an expression of His desire for fellowship with us through that which He accomplished and is to us. The breaking and pouring stand for the offer and provision of salvation, the assurance of forgiveness, the assurance of His divine presence to be our life, and of His desire for us to live by His life (cf. Luke 22:15). It portrays offering, sharing, and partaking in the fruits of Christ’s death.

(4) Drinking of the cup: Portrays human responsibility and response. As with eating the bread, drinking of the cup portrays our faith in the Lord and our desire to continue to live by virtue of the finished work of Christ as the means of our deliverance from sin’s penalty and power.

Meaning of the Lord’s Supper in Its Time Element

In Relation to the Past

The Supper is first and foremost a remembrance of Christ’s death as that climatic event which brought about the promise of forgiveness of sins and reconciliation to God. It deals with the past and with the fact of the removal of the penalty of sin. This is why Paul said “for as often as you eat the bread and drink the cup, you proclaim His death until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).

The separate bread and wine signify his body and blood, and together speak of His sacrificial death as the Lamb of God. It took a perfect and sinless person, the Lord Jesus, dying for us to pay for our sins. But there is more, and this is so important!

In Relation to the Present

The Supper is a reminder of our present fellowship with Christ and of His presence with us.

It is not the recalling of a figure of history who has long passed away, but the proclamation of the death of the risen Lord who is present in the church. He who invited the disciples to share the last Supper continues to be the real Host at each communion service.⁶

As such He continues to be the very source of our spiritual life, without whom we cannot live the Christian life. Our Lord is present spiritually, and eating and drinking of the elements which speak of His Person and work, not only signifies faith in Him and trust in His death, but also the necessity to partake in the riches of His life in continued fellowship with Him in the Word and in prayer. As 1 Corinthians 10:16 states, the Supper is a sharing in the Person and work of Christ.

The outward action of eating and drinking, then, are to be an expression of an inner communion and an inward faith of one who is counting on the worth of the Savior as the source of his or her own spiritual life. It is a reminder of our need and His ever present availability to be the source of our daily life.

The real presence of Christ in the Supper is thus no different than His real presence in the Word. In the one He encounters His people in visible elements and in the other (the Word) in the words of Scripture.⁷

In Relation to the Future

With the words of verse 16, our attention is directed to the future and our eventual reunion with the Lord through the rapture (the catching up of the body of Christ to be with Christ, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) and our time with Him in the joys and blessings of the millennial kingdom.

The Lord’s Supper not only looks back to the first advent of Christ and the cross, but it looks forward with joy and expectation to the future and our partnership with Him in the future kingdom when all our enemies (sin, Satan, the world system, and death) will be put under His feet and He will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. As believers in Christ, we will be there with Him in that glorious place, and if we have lived by virtue of His life through faith, we will know the joys of rewards, reigning with Him in His glory.

So sharing together in the Lord’s Supper not only looks to the past and reminds us of the accomplishments of the Savior’s death, but it should also be an anticipation of the future and should remind us of the need to live as sojourners, as those who live for eternal treasures rather than for the passing pleasures of this life (see Heb. 11:25; 1 Pet. 1:17-19; 2:11).

With this anticipation of the glory of the future for those who have put their faith in Christ, there is the immediate reference (vss. 21-23) to the judgment that would fall on Judas. The betrayal of the Savior by Judas, as one who had rejected His saving life, is brought to the forefront. While a glorious future awaits those who put their trust in the Savior, only divine judgment, eternal separation from God, awaits those who reject Jesus Christ and put their trust in other things like materialism or the religions of the world.

While this is not the prominent focus, the reference to the woe awaiting Judas teaches us the Lord’s Supper is also a testimony or a declaration of the doom that awaits those who, like Judas, have failed to put their trust in the person and work of Christ. Remember, Judas’ betrayal was but the product of his rejection of Christ as his personal Savior.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior through faith in (1) His person as God’s Son, the God-Man Savior, and (2) in His work on the cross where He died for your sin, may we encourage you to acknowledge your sinfulness, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and believe, trust, in Jesus Christ alone as your personal Savior.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.

John 1:11 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

1 Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1994, p. 415.

2 Erwin Lutzer, Moody Monthly, Jan. 1984, pp. 112f.

3 Ibid.

4 A. W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous, Christian Publications, pp. 49-50.

5 Robert L. Saucy, The Church in God’s Program, Moody Press, Chicago, 1972, p. 220.

6 Ibid., p. 220.

7 Saucy, p. 224.

The Essence of the Church and Disciple-Making Communities

Introduction

The way we use the word "church" in our contemporary culture reflects a variety of understandings. People use the word to refer to a building, to a program, to a denomination, to an institution, to a home Bible study, care group, two christians fellowshipping together, etc. Now all these concepts, held either consciously and reflectively or subconsciously and intuitively impact our understanding of what the church is and therefore what it should do (and should not do) and how it should do it. Thus what one believes about the nature of the church impacts how one understands its ministries and organizations.

For our purposes today, we want to focus primarily, though not exclusively, on the nature of the church. In other words, we want to ask and answer the question: "What is the church?" What is its fundamental nature which distinguishes it in its own right and in relation to other organizations, etc? Now, in order to answer this question properly we must realize at the outset that this question is not being asked in a theological and historical vacuum. There are sociological factors, in the providence of God, that stimulate and shape the answers being given. So here's the point: If we fail to realize and appreciate the human element in the development of any particular ecclesiology, we will tend to resist creative reflection, helpful criticism, and potential change. And, in the end, this posture has generally led the church into powerlessness in its personal and corporate life as well as culturally insensitive expressions in its missional life. This is generally what happens when people consciously or unconsciously wed the gospel or the Bible to their particular form of church.¹

For example, during the Protestant reformation the question of the essential nature of the true church was debated vigorously-a debate fueled by both cultural/political as well as theological/pastoral questions. One element of the larger question was framed as such: Is the essential nature of the church visible and human (i.e., an unbroken chain of human succession from the apostles, as in Catholic theology) or invisible and spiritual (i.e., all those in spiritual union with the resurrected Christ, whether connected to Rome or not; so Luther, Calvin)? For the reformers the answer was straightforward, in that while there is no church without people, the essence of the church (or, who constitutes the people of God) is invisible and spiritual. It consists of those who possess the Spirit, and are therefore united by Him to each other in Christ. Thus, the claim to historical succession from Paul is no guarantee of the presence of genuine faith or a true church. To the reformers, the Roman church had a shell, appearing like Christianity on the outside, but essentially bankrupt, without the Spirit, and in deviation from genuine apostolic teaching.

Now, in our day, undoubtedly due to (1) unrest with the status quo or traditional forms of church, combined with widespread desires to seek new expressions for local gatherings; (2) the rapid expansion of the persecuted church in Asia, etc. (3) and the serious and far reaching impact of globalization/ postmodernism (technopoly, media, language, image),² the church senses the need to rethink her ministries and organization, usually as a response to indictments of irrelevancy.

The unfortunate aspect to this "response" is that in much of the popular writing on the church, little sustained reflection is given to the nature of the church. As Evangelicals we have tended to jump directly into revamping our ministries or systematically overhauling our organizations. This often betrays the fact that our leaders are thinking of the church in primarily sociological (corporate?) and historical categories rather than biblical and theological. Both are absolutely necessary, but the latter acts as the critic and foundation of the former and this discernment process should not be short-circuited with a "hurry-up offense" attitude.

Thus it is necessary, especially in a shifting/changing culture, to give some prayerful and scripturally informed thought to what the church is. Only then can we confidently follow the Spirit into a politically, morally, culturally, and technologically uncertain age. Only then can we humbly glorify the Father, through the Son, in the personal leading and power of the Holy Spirit. Only then will we be kept from drifting into irrelevancy through cultural and unwanted dissociation, on the one hand, or uncritical accommodation, on the other.

Now the thesis of this paper is that discussion of the nature of the church must begin with thinking about the nature of the God who created the church. In short, it is my contention that the nature of the church flows, in many respects, directly out of the nature of God. So, in this paper we will reflect on our great and awesome God, his Trinitarian nature, and his powerful, redemptive reign. This theological background will form the backdrop to discussions about the nature of the church. Our discussion of the church will be framed in terms of the Nicene confession; it is through this confession that we will begin to see the church for what it is, not primarily what it does. Finally, from our discussion of the church's nature we will proceed to highlight certain "realities" that should characterize our new churches and discipleship ministries.

I. Our Great and Awesome God

A. God's Trinitarian Nature Implies His Social-ness: The Ultimate (Triune) Society

The doctrine of the trinity is the affirmation based on the evidence of scripture that there is one God who exists eternally in three distinguishable persons, i.e., the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A specific way of speaking about this phenomenon is to say that God is: one in essence/substance (homoousios), three in subsistence. The prominent contribution of the OT to trinitarianism, while providing what some consider to be evidence of the divinity of the Son and the Spirit, is to repeatedly affirm the unity of God, both numerically and qualitatively. This unity is developed in the NT, however, in light of the coming and teaching of Christ, and shown to be more complex than had hitherto been known or understood. In the NT all three (i.e., the Father, Son and Spirit) are said to be divine, to do the works of God, and to be worshipped as God. The Father is clearly divine in the NT. The Son is deity (John 1:1; Titus 2:13), yet constantly distinguishes himself from the Father and the Spirit. And the Spirit is said to be God (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 5:3-5) and to be distinguished from the Father and the Son. Thus there is no room in the Biblical portrait for three gods (tritheism) or one God who manifests himself in three different modes (modalism). The Biblical portrait of God is that he is Trinitarian.

Thus the holy trinity is in itself a community. Further, it is a community characterized not by estrangement, strife, self-seeking, bitterness, and one-upmanship. Rather it is a community rooted in selfless, passionate love, crystal clear transparency, and mutual honor. God is and always has been a social being in that even before creation the members of the trinity loved, honored, and enjoyed each other in an unending chorus of bliss and pure joy. The Father has always deeply loved the Son and the Spirit, the Son has always passionately loved the Father and the Spirit, and the Spirit has always single-mindedly loved the Father and the Son. All their inner workings and relationships are bathed in the most amazing and pure love.

From God as trinity, then, flows his relationship to the world and especially the church, which itself has been designed to reflect the harmony and beauty inherent in the Trinitarian society of heaven. Despite what some atheistic anthropologists say, we did not invent community; it flows from who God is and the fact that the human family has been created in his image. We desire relationships with others; it's wired on the hard drive. As blue is to sky, so is our inherent desire for community and friendship. We see this in marriage, family, extended family, close friends, the development of the "city," and especially in God's newly redeemed community, the church. The church must realize that vital, growing relationships are part and parcel of God's redeeming work in the church. Further, our ability to grasp the depth of the love of Christ is seriously diminished if we're not rooted in loving, nurturing communities (Eph 3:14-21). In short, the fact that God is Trinitarian and not Unitarian should tell us something about our need for real, honest, transparent, and truly loving communities.

B. God's Trinitarian Nature Implies His Missional-ness: The Well-Spring of All Love and Mission

1. The Father Is Seeking... (John 4:23)

How can it be that our all-powerful, all-sufficient, all knowing God would be searching for anything? But, indeed, Jesus says he is searching for one thing, i.e., those who will worship him in spirit and truth. The fact that he seeks people to enter into relationship with him is amazing, especially when we consider his self-sufficiency. But when we stop for a moment and meditate on his Trinitarian nature, it comes as no surprise that he wants to invite people into his circle of friendship. God's nature is thus ultimately missional.

2. The Divine Family at Work (Ephesians 1:3-14)

I said above that when we reflect on God's Trinitarian nature it comes as no surprise that he seeks worshippers to enter into relationship with him. This does not mean that we're worthy for such a calling; indeed, we are completely and utterly unworthy! Make no mistake about that. But God's passion for relationship moved ahead with a plan to conquer our rebellious souls and reconcile us. The holy, loving, and heavenly community, working intimately together, has won salvation for lost and erring rebels. Together, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have worked out their undefeatable plan of redemption on the stage of human history. The Father chose people to be saved, the Son died for them, and the Spirit applies the benefits of Christ's death to them.

II. The Kingdom of God: Trinitarian Redemptive Reign with Power
-A Biblical/Historical Overview

A. God's Story: From Beginning to End

The Bible, God's story as it were, is a mosaic filled with gardens, cities, serpents, God and so-called gods, kings, and peasants, but the plot-line uniting the whole is simple and powerful. It can be accurately summed up in four words: creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. Now what is important for our purposes is that this overall structure reveals God's missional nature. We see it in creation, especially in terms of his relationship to man, the pinnacle of his creation. He created man, male and female, and pursued fellowship with him in the Garden (cf. Gen 3:8). We see it in redemption. When man sinned, it was the Lord who pursued him while both Adam and Eve hid behind their own "religion" of autonomy (Gen 3:7). God's grace is obviously missional in nature, leading our Lord and Savior out of heaven and straight to the cross (Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 1:20). The church is the result of his missional nature and his second coming, with all its attending judgments and blessing, is to complete his mission of bringing all things under his rule. In short, our missional God delivers, speaks, judges, saves, guides, etc. from within history as One who remains sovereign over history (Eph 1:11). Jesus said "My father is always working" (John 5:17).

B. The Coming of Christ and the Inauguration of God's Redemptive Reign (Kingdom): The "Now/Not Yet"

1. John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-12)

John's ministry was to clear the "way of the Lord" by preparing Israel spiritually for her Messiah. He boldly and without fail announced the nearness of God's kingdom, summoning Israel to repentance/baptism in preparation for the king's presence. Both by his lifestyle and preaching he testified to Messiah and Messiah's future work of baptizing His loyal subjects with the Spirit.

2. The Ministry of Jesus Christ: His Words and Works

a. His Preaching (Mark 1:14-15)

Jesus himself, just like his forerunner John, heralded the coming of the kingdom of God. Indeed, as our Lord began his ministry in Galilee, this was his message: "Repent for the kingdom of God is near!"

b. His Messianic Works (Matthew 4:1-11; 8-9; 12:15-37)

Jesus' preaching was accompanied by many miraculous signs authenticating and revealing the presence and nature of his kingdom. His miracles reveal His love, holiness, power, mercy, compassion, and judgment. In short, they reveal Him to be God himself, clothed in human flesh, extending His powerful saving arm on behalf of a lost and hurting world.

3. Jesus' Death, Resurrection, Exaltation, and Inaugurated Reign (Acts 2:32-36; 1 Corinthians 15:26)

The ultimate demonstration of God's love is to be decisively found in Christ's willingness to suffer for his people, to give his life to redeem an erring and sinful humanity. It was in this very selfless act that the penalty of sin was paid, the power of darkness defeated, and the prisoners set free! The death of Christ was followed by the greatest demonstration of God's power ever, i.e., the resurrection of Christ from the dead. God's power to bring the universe back into conformity with His will was exerted in that moment of triumph. Jesus' death and resurrection proved his worthiness to be exalted, i.e., to sit at God's right hand (in fulfillment of Psalm 2 and 110). From this privileged position he has poured out the Holy Spirit upon all those who receive Him in faith!

4. Pentecost (Acts 2)

Pentecost marks the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit promised by John the Baptist (Mark 1:8). As soon as the Messiah had been exalted to his Father's right hand, he poured out the Spirit (Acts 2:33) The kingdom of God had come with greater power than every before because God drew closer to his people than ever before. Every Christian since Pentecost possesses the Spirit and indeed without the Spirit a person does not belong to Christ (Rom 8:9).

5. The Kingdom Is Both "Now" and "Not Yet" (Romans 8)

Every Christian possesses the Spirit of God living in them. For His part the Spirit makes all the blessings of God real in our experience, especially our sonship and God's fatherhood. Through the Spirit we have come to know that God is truly our Father and we are his specially adopted children. We cry out to Him, "Abba, Father!" The Spirit also testifies through the Scripture he inspired that there is more to come. Through him we experience the kingdom of God and are sealed for the day when we shall enter into his presence and receive our total inheritance (2 Cor 1:21-22; 5:5; Eph 1:13-14). In the meantime, while we experience joy, we also experience pain, sorrow, and suffering. "We groan inwardly," Paul says, "as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies" (Rom 8:23).

6. Consummation (Acts 3:19-21; Revelation 21-22)

At some appointed day in the future, God will usher in the kingdom in a full and complete way. All death, mourning, crying and pain will be done away with. The finally impenitent will be judged and for those who know Christ, God will be their God and Father in a marvelous, unending, unthreatened relationship of joy. For their part, the company of the redeemed will enjoy and relate to him as completely redeemed human beings, not hindered in the least by even the presence of sin, let alone its power. In the present "now" of salvation, however, we are seeking to see God's glory and presence manifested in and through his church; we long to experience a taste of heaven in the "here and now" (cf. Rom 5:1-5).

C. The Redemptive Reign of God and the Church

An important question to be answered in determining the precise nature of the church is her relationship to the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God may be thought of as the redemptive reign of God and the church as the realm in which that reign is visibly manifested. But the church is not the kingdom, as some theologians have contested, though the relationship between the two should not be totally separated. Ladd makes five helpful observations regarding the relationship of the church to the kingdom:

(1) the church is not the kingdom;

(2) the kingdom creates the church;

(3) the church witnesses to the kingdom of God;

(4) the church is the instrument of the kingdom;

(5) the church is the custodian of the kingdom.³

III. The Fundamental Nature of the Church

A. A General Definition of the Church

The church is our Trinitarian God's unique and dynamic presence, activity, and life in the world through a specially redeemed, human community that is created, indwelt, empowered, and missionaly directed by His Spirit.

B. Fundamental Attributes of the Church: Some Help from the Past⁴

1. The Oneness (and Diversity) of the Church

The true church worldwide, the universal church, is essentially one church in which every member partakes in the life giving Spirit and each member is forever connected to all the others in an eternal communion with Christ. Th us the true church has a spiritual oneness that flows from her common redemption and relationship with the living God. Again, we are united to each other through the Spirit who indwells us. But the one church takes on different and at times quite diverse forms in various geographical locales. This is good and necessary given the various contexts in which the redeemed community finds itself in worship and mission. Now it is true that diversity has often led to disunity, but this is not a necessary prerequisite for diversity, nor does it reflect who we really are in Christ.

Thus the essential oneness of the church, flowing as it does from the oneness of our Trinitarian God, should lead to real unity (not just conformity) among churches of diverse backgrounds, ethnicity, and perspectives. Both these truths, i.e., the oneness and diversity of the church, should not be pitted against one another, as if they were in conflict. They are not. In other words, since we are one community in the Spirit, we ought to strive for unity within and among our local churches. Jesus prayed for his church that it would be one, just as he and the Father are one (John 17:22).

2. The Holy (and human) Nature of the Church

The church is holy in that it is a creation in which God himself dwells by his Holy Spirit. The church (local and universal) experiences his redemptive reign as he breathes life, purity, and power into her on a moment by moment basis. Since the church is a creation of God it ought to reflect his attributes, e.g., holiness, love, and purity. But the church is also human in that it is composed of redeemed, Spirit renewed, human beings. Thus it has a dual nature, holy and human! This means that as the church lives out its dual nature it will need to rely on the Spirit/Word as it thinks through adopting patterns of thought, structures, and agendas. We cannot simply and uncritically mimic the culture in the ways it promotes its institutions and agendas. We cannot do this for the church of God is not merely a human institution. It is nothing less than fully human, but it is more than just human. We are Spirit indwelt communities and we must live out our birthright in the power of the Spirit. Again, this does not mean that we do not need structures to promote God's will. We do. But we must be led by the Spirit of God, through the word of God, to adopt organizational structures that suit who we are!

3. The Catholic (and Local) Nature of the Church

The church exists in all cultures and in any one culture. It is both universal and local. The church is not limited to time and space, nor is it wedded to a single political, ideological, or philosophical tradition. Rather, the church universal, as it contextualizes itself in any one setting often stands over and against much in that setting. It speaks out against fallenness and wickedness when it sees it, all the while loving, helping, and caring for people in that setting. Thus the church can, and indeed does, exist in communist countries and democratic countries, in Muslim countries and in religiously pluralistic countries.

4. The Apostolic (and Sent) Nature of the Church

The church is apostolic in that it rest its convictions in apostolic doctrine now vouchsafed to us through the apostolic testimony preserved in Holy Scripture. All our beliefs about God, the gospel, the church, and the world should be derived either directly from or in keeping with God's Word to us. But the church is also apostolic in that it is sent. The church is a result of the Spirit's redeeming work in the world and as such her existence reflects God's mission in the world. This is true whether she lives properly or powerfully preaches the gospel. The mere fact that she exists in a dark and lost world indicates her "sent-ness." From her nature as "one sent into the world" she ought to live in a way that displays God's holiness, love, and wisdom, as she powerfully proclaims the gospel and as God extends his redemptive reign through her.

IV. Planting Local Churches and Disciplemaking Communities:
Fundamental Realities to be Sought in Our New Churches
and Emphases in Our Discipleship Efforts

1. Hungering for the Dynamic Leading of the Spirit of God through the Word of God and Providence

2. Joyful, Christ-like Leadership that Wisely Shepherds and Prayerfully Releases People

3. Ceaseless Personal and Corporate Prayer/Communion with God

4. Celebrating Diversity, Seeking Unity, and Blessing Other Christian Churches

5. Sustained Promotion of Spirit-Sponsored Faith and `Relational Godliness' among Our People

6. Crying Out for Richness, Truth, and Freedom in Corporate Worship

7. Vigorously and in Unity Engaging the Satanic "Powers" Attacking Our Church(es) and Blinding Our Friends and Cities to the Glory of Christ

8. A Community Ethos in Outreach: Corporate and Informed Ministry among Pre-Christians

9. Unreserved, Informed, and Shameless Boasting in the Power of the Gospel

10. Local and World Vision: "Multiplying"-Seeing God's Redemptive Reign Come with Power

V. Selected Bibliography

Anderson, Leith. A Church for the 21^st Century: Bringing Change to Your Church to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Society. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany, 1992.

Barna, George. User Friendly Churches. Ventura, CA: Regal, 1991.

Blauw, Johannes. The Missionary Nature of the Church. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962.

Bosch, David J. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1991.

Clowney, Edmund P. The Church. Contours of Christian Theology. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1995.

Faircloth, Samuel D. Church Planting for Reproduction. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991.

George, Carl F. Prepare Your Church for the Future. Tarrytown, NY: Revell, 1991.

Giles, Kevin. What on Earth Is the Church? Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1995.

Hunter George G. III. Church for the Unchurched. Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1996.

Lewis, Larry L. The Church Planters Handbook. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1992.

Minear, Paul. S. Images of the Church in the New Testament. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster, 1960.

Nevius, John L. The Planting and Development of Missionary Churches. Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1958.

Newbigen, Lesslie. The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.

______.The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.

Van Gelder, Craig. The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000.

Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Church. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995.

¹ Admittedly, this is a complex issue involving the question of the church's nature, its mission, the contextualization of the gospel within varying cultures, the work of the Holy Spirit, etc. We cannot discuss all this at the present time, but suffice it to say here that the church needs to be conscious of her historical situation.

² See Walter Truett Anderson, Reality Isn't What It Used To Be: Theatrical Politics, Ready-To-Wear Religion, Global Myths, Primitive Chic, and Other Wonders of the Modern Postmodern World (San Francisco: Harper, 1990); David S. Dockery, The Challenge of Postmodernism: An Evangelical Engagement (Baker: Grand Rapids, 1995); Stanley Grenz, A Primer on Postmodernism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996); Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (New York: Penguin, 1985); idem., Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (New York: Vintage, 1992); Craig VanGelder, ed., Confident Witness-Changing World: Rediscovering the Gospel in North America (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999).

³ For his defense of these points see, George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, rev. ed., ed. Donald A. Hagner (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 109-117.

⁴ I am indebted to Craig Van Gelder, The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000), ch. 5: 101-26, for his discussion of the Nicene Creed (i.e., "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church).

Preface

With the Bible as the basis or foundation, philosophy is used here in the sense of a formulated system or belief regarding the ministry of the local church. This study is presented only as an overview and not intended to be a detailed explanation of this subject. For a more detailed investigation of the issues presented here, the reader is encouraged to consider the Bibliography at the end of this overview.

PART I:
The Identification of the Church
(Understanding the Character of the Church)

Manifold Descriptions of the Church and Their Purpose

The Varied Descriptions of the Church

In a context dealing with the purpose and ministry of the church in the world, Peter addresses his readers as: (1) living stones who were being built up for a spiritual house, (2) a holy and royal priesthood, (3) a people belonging only to God, and (4) aliens and strangers (1 Pet. 2:5, 9, 11). These are similes of identification which call attention to who and what the people of God are, but there is another purpose as well. Peter also wants us to reflect on what the people of God ought to be doing. We are to be engaged in building up this spiritual house, offering spiritual sacrifices in the worship of God, proclaiming the excellencies of God to a world lost in darkness, and abstaining from fleshly lusts so that we can keep our behavior, our manner of life and testimony, excellent before an unbelieving world lest we ignore and discredit our witness.

Throughout the New Testament, the writers employed numerous descriptive terms to call our attention to the nature and identity of the church. It is defined by a variety of literal terms and portrayed by one rich analogy after another. The church is likened to salt, light, sheep, a bride, a spiritual temple, a household, members of Christ’s body, branches in the vine, athletes, soldiers, and heavenly lights. Its people are called children of God, adopted sons, priests, servants, bondslaves, stewards, and partners with Christ, just to name a few. One author estimates that there are over eighty images or figures of the church.¹

As Saucy suggests, The nature of the church is far too broad to be exhausted in the meaning of the one word ekklesia. . . . This richness of description precludes a narrow concept of the church and warns against magnification of one aspect to the disregard of others.²

The Purposes of the Varied Descriptions

We might well ask the question, why such a variety of descriptions? Notice that most of these pictures imply action and ministry. They describe the character, conduct, and calling of the church. Undoubtedly, God has painted such pictures in Scripture in order to challenge, motivate, and charge us into action. It is absolutely imperative that we grasp this vision of who we are as God’s people, where we are, and why we are here—God’s representatives in an alien country. And the hope is that we become gripped by this truth or we will fail to see and respond to the purpose for our existence.

Two Models of the Church Compared and Their Products

The Two Models Compared³

The Two Products

Quite obviously the biblical model leads to a healthy, ministering church whereas the traditional model leads to a sterile, ineffective church where the affliction of “spectatoritis,” the rust of institutionalism, and the self-indulgence of consumerism has all but reduced the church to invalid status. Rather than the picture of a well-trained soldier or athlete, the church today looks more like a patient dependent on a host of life support systems.

This naturally leads us to what the church ought to be doing in the light of who it is.

PART II:
The Vocation and Operation of the Church

(Understanding the Calling and Conduct of the Church)

Purposes of the Church

The great purpose of the church is to be to the praise of God’s glory and grace (Eph. 1:6, 12). The praise of God’s glory occurs when people come to Christ and become conformed into His image. Saving sinful people and making them like God’s Son manifests the glory of God’s divine essence (His love, grace, mercy, power, goodness, sovereignty, and holiness). In this primary purpose, the church is to be used of God to bring people to Christ and see them transformed to His character (Col. 1:28). Included in this are three major objectives which the church must intensely pursue.

Exalting the Lord

Everything that the church does must first and foremost exalt and honor the Lord (1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:17).

Equipping the Saints

“Equipping” is one of the primary ways to help people become like Jesus Christ. This is accomplished as the gifted people of the church pour their lives into others and they in turn reach out to others with the vision of every believer a minister and an ambassador (Eph. 4:11-16).

Evangelizing the Lost

If a church is not reaching out to the lost, it is not fulfilling one of the great reasons God has left her on this planet. When we do not evangelize, we fossilize (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Col. 4:3).

Priorities of the Church—Its Ministry Objectives

Purposes or goals are only accomplished when we set objectives that move us toward our goals and work at reaching them. God has established certain vehicular objectives which will carry us toward His ultimate designs for the church, but we must know what they are and be committed to their use. So, what are they?

The church is to function under two forms. First, the church is to be gathered for instruction, edification, worship and fellowship. However, true worship and fellowship is seen in Scripture as an outgrowth and a response to biblical revelation. Second, as a further outgrowth of the church gathered and the impact of that on its spiritual life, the church is scattered throughout the week for the purpose of evangelism and ministry. The church must evaluate what it is doing. Are its activities, programs, committees, etc., contributing to the major purposes and objectives according to its calling as the people of God, or has it lost its way in institutionalism.

The Church Gathered—Edification—Equipping Saints

Ministry of the Word—Instruction Through . . . 

(1) Preaching (Ezra 6:14; Neh. 8:8; 2 Tim. 4:1-3). The Word of God must be faithfully preached from the pulpit: (a) inductively, (b) exegetically, and (c) expositionally.

(2) Teaching (Ezra 7:10; Acts 20:20; Col. 1:28). The Word of God must also be taught in both large and small group settings. This involves questions and answers, and practical dialogue together around the Word with practical applications that hit people where they live.

(3) Training (2 Tim. 2:2-4). Believers must be trained in such practical aspects as how to study their Bibles, how to pray, how to witness, how to walk in the power of the Spirit, etc., that they may, in turn, be able to train others.

(4) Exhorting (Col. 1:28; 3:16). The church must be exhorted to positive decisions for Christ that promote commitment and Christ-like values and living.

Ministry of Worship—Exalting God by . . .

(1) Giving Praise and Thanksgiving (Heb. 13:15; Col. 1:12; 3:15-17). Believers need to be taught and challenged to live by praise and thanksgiving as they share together in the riches of Christ. To encourage this, the church needs some public opportunity to express its adoration to God individually as well as corporately.

(2) Singing and Making Melody (Acts 16:25; 1 Cor. 14:26; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). As with all other aspects of worship, music must be the product of spirit-motivated expression to God and should be designed to encourage and unite hearts together in adoration of Him.

(3) Baptizing (Matt. 28:19; 1 Pet. 3:21). Baptism is to be a public demonstration of a believer’s faith, understanding of his or her position in Christ with its ramifications, and this includes commitment to walk with Christ in newness of life.

(4) Taking Communion (1 Cor. 11:23-24). As a public act of worship, the communion service should be designed to promote soul searching, evaluation, and reflection on the Savior and what He means to our life. It is a Redeclaration, a testimony of one’s faith in Christ in both His first and second advents, a Remembrance, an act of worship by which we remember and count on the person and work of Christ as the source and means of life, and an expression of the Relationship of harmony and oneness of mind in love, values, and commitment that should exist in the body of Christ.

Ministry of Fellowship—Sharing Together by . . . 

(1) Encouraging (Heb. 10:24-25). Believers must be challenged to encourage one another in the practical areas of the Christian life. A key part of this could be small groups which provide for individual sharing, encouragement, and accountability.

(2) Counseling (Rom. 16:14; 1 Thess. 5:14). As believers within the body are built up in the Word, trained for ministry, and exercise their gifts, they should naturally be able to meet many of the counseling needs within the church.

(3) Disciplining (Matt. 18:15-20; Gal. 6:1-4). Because of the clear mandates of Scripture, church discipline is not an option. It is vital for the purity, power, progress, and purpose of the church. Without this restorative ministry, conditions continue which defile, weaken, hinder, and divert the church from its holy calling. However, discipline must be carried out with biblical attitudes, motives, and goals.

(4) Sharing, Giving (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 8-9; Gal. 6:7; 1 John 3:16-17). The church must be taught the principles of grace giving, eternal priorities, and encouraged to sacrificially meet the needs of the ministry of the church and others through words, deeds, and gifts of love.

(5) Laboring Together as a Team (1 Cor. 12:4-11, 14f; Phil. 1:27; 1 Pet. 4:10-11). Recognizing the body concept and learning to work together as a team with every believer knowing and using their gift(s) is critical for the proper and effective functioning of the body of Christ.

(6) Helping (Rom. 15:1-3; 16:2; Phil. 2:4; 4:3; 1 Thess. 5:14; Tit. 2:14; 3:1, 8, 14). As members of the body of Christ, we need one another and we must learn to care for one another. Another dimension of a healthy church is taking interest in those who need help, being zealous and ready for every good deed in order to meet pressing needs.

Ministry of Prayer—Calling on the Lord by . . . 

(1) Confession (1 Cor. 11:28; 1 John 1:9; Ps. 66:18; Prov. 28:13). Believers should be encouraged to keep short accounts with God in order to keep a conscience void of offense and stay in fellowship for the purpose of God’s glory, effective prayer, meaningful worship, biblical understanding and growth, and effective ministry by the power of the Holy Spirit.

(2) Adoration (Eph. 3:20-21). Believers need to be challenged to make every aspect of their life an act of worship to God by which they count and act on the glories of God’s person and grace. Unless this is true, the Sunday worship service becomes mere lip service, an exercise of self-worship by which people seek to satisfy selfish ends while they manage to keep their hearts from God (Isa. 29:13).

(3) Intercession and Petition (Eph. 6:18-19; Col. 4:2-3, 12; Phil. 4:6-7; 2 Tim. 2:1f). Effectual prayer for others, for oneself and family, for the nation and its leaders, and for the ministry of the church is crucial to all that the church is and does.

The Church Scattered—Evangelization—Penetrating Society

Doing Good—Our Walk—Modeling the Word (Titus 3:1, 8, 14)

(1) Making Friends (Matt. 22:39; Luke 10:33; John 4:4f; Gal. 6:10a; Tit. 3:14). Believers must be taught and encouraged to build bridges and develop relationships with the lost. Penetrating society for contact is vital to evangelism. People must learn to help their neighbors, show mercy, and, according to their ability, give to those in need to demonstrate the love of Christ and build bridges for the gospel.

(2) Preserving (Matt. 5:13-16; 2 Thess. 2:6-7). The calling of the church is not to control the political process at local, state, or national levels, but to seek genuine political and moral reform by spiritual renewal through prayer and reaching our society for Christ because it is impossible to effect genuine political reform through legislation without spiritual reformation.

Sharing the Gospel—Our Talk—Giving Out the Word (Col. 4:5-6; 1 Thess. 1:7-8)

(1) The Means—Personal Witnessing (Rom. 10:17; Luke 10:2). The church must be involved in an active ministry of sharing the gospel to the lost. This should involve an outreach to all ages and groups in order to fulfill the great commission.

(2) The Methods—Sharing, Refuting, Reasoning, Persuading, Demonstrating, Proving (Acts 9:22; 17:17; 18:4, 28; 19:8-9; 1 Pet. 3:15). While only the Spirit of God can illuminate a person’s heart to the truth of the gospel, God still uses the witness of the believer.

The Motivation—Preparation Through Training

Because of this, the church must be taught, trained, and challenged not only to share its faith, but to be able to give a verbal defense for what it believes (Eph. 4:11f; Acts 1:8; Matt. 28:19-20).

Performance Standards of Success

False Standards of Measurement

Biblical success for a church should never be measured in bodies, bucks, and buildings, or names, numbers, and noses, or in action, activities, and busy agendas, or even in the presence of sound beliefs and teaching. Even a casual reading of the letters to the seven churches of Revelation 2-3 make this clear.

True Standards of Measurement

The basic question is not how many people are present, but how Christ-like are the people? How much are they allowing the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to impact their lives? How well are they fulfilling the great purposes of Scripture? Are the people growing in the Word and in their relationship with Christ? What kind of families does it have? What kind of values, priorities, and pursuits are controlling the lives of its people? Are they honest in business, trained to share their faith, involved in ministry and penetrating society—the work place, their neighborhoods, friends, associates, and family?

PART III:
The Direction, Administration, and
Organization of the Church

Principles of Leadership in the Church

The Principle of Identification

Because of confusion regarding the roles of pastor and flock, a confusion created largely by certain cultural expectations that have developed over the years, it has become even more imperative that we all have a clear biblical understanding of who the leaders and people are if churches are going to have effective ministries. Why? Because it affects what they do and expect from one another. (Compare (Eph. 4:12; 1 Thess. 5:12-13; Heb. 13:7, 17).

The Leaders

The leaders of the church are referred to as “elders” (presbuteroi, Acts 20:17; 1 Tim. 5:17), “overseers” (episkopoi, Acts 20:28; Phil. 1:1), “leaders” (proistamenoi, Rom. 12:8; 1 Thess. 5:12), and “pastor/teachers” (poimenas-didaskalous, Eph. 4:11; cf. also Acts 20:28 and 1 Pet. 5:2 with 1 Tim. 3:2, “able to teach,” 5:17b, and Tit. 1:9). Though each of these terms may describe the different aspects of leadership, they seem to be used interchangeably to designate the same office. Above all, as Ephesians 4:11f makes clear, they are equippers whose agenda (priorities, allotment of time, and duties) are to be ordered by the Word of God, not by the agendas of people following their cultural expectations set by the traditions of men.

The People

The people of the church are ministers who are to be trained for the kind of growth in the Word that results in changed lives and ministry. Pastors/elders are to be a gifted, trained, and skilled believers whom God has called to lead a group of fellow priests or ministers, not a minister who leads a group of lay spectators. [See Appendix A for elaboration.]

The Principle of Pastoral Priorities in Responsibilities

The Necessity of Establishing Priorities (Acts 6:2)

When the apostles were confronted with how to meet the needs of the people, they first approached the problem by establishing priorities. They said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.” Biblical priorities must determine responsibilities.

The Necessity of Training and Delegation (Acts 6:3-4; Ex. 18:1f; 1 Tim. 4:6, 11-16; 2 Tim. 2:2, 15)

Facing the limitations of one man, the necessity of priorities, and the giftedness of the body of Christ naturally leads to the importance of training and delegation. Neither Moses, following Jethro’s advice, nor the apostles ignored the legitimate needs of the people, but neither did they allow themselves to be distracted from the primary needs of the people and the priorities of the Word. It becomes important, therefore, for pastors to train the body of saints in the basics of the Word and delegate various aspects of ministry to other members of the body according to their gifts and the Lord’s leading in each believer’s life.

Personal Priorities for Pastors or Elders—The pursuit of God (Matt. 6:33)

God is the central priority. Everything else flows from this center like spokes in a wheel (Prov. 4:23; Matt. 12:34-35; 23:6).

(1) A strong marriage relationship (Eph. 5:25; 1 Tim. 3:4).

(2) Training and disciplining one’s children (Eph. 6:4; 1 Tim. 3:4-5).

(3) Serving the church in his pastoral responsibilities as set forth in Scripture (1 Pet. 5:2-3).

(4) Modeling the character of Christ (1 Tim. 4:12, 15; 1 Pet. 5:3).

(5) Modeling the great commission: doing the work of evangelism with neighbors, friends, relatives, etc. (1 Tim. 3:7).

Please note: Serving the church is not number one on the list of personal priorities. It is one of four key responsibilities. Too many men have ignored this and have broken up on the rocks of adultery or divorce or have experienced spiritual burnout because they put their ministry ahead of their relationship with God and ignored their families.

Pastoral Priorities for Pastors/Elders

PRIMARY

(1) Prayer, in-depth Bible study, and spiritual preparation for teaching and communicating the Word. Teaching then becomes an overflow of a life bathed in the Word (Ezra 7:6-10; John 15:7; Eph. 5:18; Col. 3:1-3, 16; 1 Tim. 4:14-16; 2 Tim. 2:15).

(2) Preaching and teaching the Word (1 Tim. 4:6, 11-13; 2 Tim. 4:1-2; 1 Cor. 9:16). Some Goals:

• Teach the people to love the Word of God (Isa. 66:2; Ps. 1:1-3).
• Lead people to submit to the authority of the Word and to see obedience as a major goal of their lives (Josh. 1:8).
• Demonstrate that the proclamation of the Word is critical to worship (John 4:24).
• Motivate people to look for and live in view of the coming of the Lord (Tit. 2:1, 11-15).
• Motivate people to good deeds or ministry (Tit. 2:14; 3:1, 8, 14)

(3) Discipling leaders and future leaders (Matt. 28:19-20; 2 Tim. 2:2)

SECONDARY

(1) Calling, visiting, counseling (Rom. 15:1-4; 1 Thess. 5:11-12; Jam. 1:27; 5:14).

(2) Administrative functions: thinking, planning and organizing, letters, etc.

The Principle of Plurality and Equality

In keeping with maintaining the priorities, the limited capacity of one man, and the giftedness of the body of Christ under His headship, authority, and preeminence, New Testament leadership appears to have been plural and equal with no system of hierarchy. Certain men will naturally function as leaders among the leaders because of their training, giftedness, wisdom, knowledge, and experience, but all are equal and accountable to each other. (Compare Acts 15 and the leadership demonstrated by James among the leaders of the church at Jerusalem. Also compare Acts 14:23; 20:17; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 5:17.) See Appendix B for elaboration.

The Principle of Selectivity and Quality

The most important element in selecting leaders is their spiritual qualification. Selection is the process of applying biblical standards to the selection of leaders, but these are to be leaders chosen by the Holy Spirit. It means the greatest need is not leaders, but spiritual men. It also necessitates the intentional training and preparation of men to take a leadership role (Acts 6:3; 1 Tim. 3:1f; 2 Tim. 2:2; Tit. 1:6f).

In his classic on leadership, Oswald Sanders writes,

The Holy Spirit does not take control of any man or body of men against their will. When He sees elected to positions of leadership men who lack spiritual fitness to cooperate with Him, He quietly withdraws and leaves them to implement their own policy according to their own standards, but without His aid. The inevitable issue is an unspiritual administration.⁴

Choosing men according to biblical standards means we must seek to select only those who have modeled commitment and obedience as an emergent leadership. This creates standards and establishes training examples who model the message (1 Tim. 4:12; 1 Pet. 5:3).

The Principle of Purity of Philosophy

(1) Definition: Philosophical purity simply refers to an agreement, especially among the leaders, but extending to a broad base in the congregation, concerning (1) the purposes, goals, and product of the church, (2) the priority of certain ministries over others (exposition, training, evangelism, etc., versus some of the typical expectations that people have regarding the church), and (3) the methods used to reach those objectives.

(2) Description: Philosophical purity means unity or oneness of mind, harmonious agreement, but not necessarily unanimity, the complete agreement on all issues (cf. Phil. 1:27; 1 Cor. 1:10). Unity means coming to a working agreement based on a common objective.

(3) Necessity: Philosophical purity is vital to the kind of ministry that is able to multiply itself in growing, mature people who become engaged in the work of ministry in evangelism and edification.

(4) Key Scriptures: John 17:11-23; Eph. 4:3-16; Phil. 1:27; 2:2.

The Principle of Servant-Like Ministry

The church must be led by those who have the heart and life of a servant whose motives are pure (John 13:1f; Luke 22:26; 1 Thess. 2:3-8).

The Principle of Autonomy

Each local church is a separate entity in and of itself with its own God-given leaders and is answerable directly and only to Christ (Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 5:3).

Principles of Administration and Organization for the Church

Principles of Administration

The following is summarized from Sharpening the Focus of the Church:⁵

(1) Face the Reality of the Problems: Problems do not go away, they only get worse. They must be faced and dealt with according to the principles of Scripture.

(2) Develop a Clear Understanding of the Problem Before Seeking Concrete Solutions: This means getting all the facts available and then prayerfully seeking biblical solutions.

(3) Delegate Responsibility to Qualified People: This principle follows naturally the “establishment of priorities” as seen in Exodus 18 and Acts 6. Note: Scripture stresses that this must be done with people who are qualified spiritually and by their ability (gifts and training as is needed).

(4) Establish Priorities According to Biblical Agendas: In solving problems and meeting the needs of people, we must, as emphasized above, act in accord with God’s priorities or we create overload and burnout (cf. Ex. 18:18).

(5) Solve Problems Creatively Under the Leading of the Holy Spirit: It is easy to get locked into administrative routines that kill the freedom of the Spirit of God to lead us in different ways and use our God-given creativity.

Principles of Organization⁶

(1) Organize to Apply New Testament Principles and to Accomplish New Testament Purposes: Organization must never become an end in itself. We must seek to develop structures for the church which will help us accomplish New Testament purposes and objectives. When an organizational form ceases or fails to do that, it needs to be abandoned.

(2) Organize to Meet Needs According to Biblical Standards: We must never organize to organize. The New Testament church organized only when a need arose and only as long as the need existed.

(3) Keep Organization Simple: This follows the former. Organization must be functional to accomplish biblical purposes, goals, etc., and to meet needs. A good test: is the structure serving the goals or has it become an end in itself? Is it serving or is it being served?

(4) Keep Organization Flexible: Biblical leaders were never locked into organizational structures.

PART IV:
Primary and Critical
Foundations For the Church

The Authority of Scripture Over Belief and Practice

The prophet wrote, “I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself; Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23). The authority of the Word of God is crucial and foundational to all that it is and does. We must not operate in a way that contradicts what is written in Scripture (1 Cor. 6:4). (Compare also 1 Tim. 1:10-11; 4:1-6; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; cf. Mk. 7:8-13; Col. 2:22.)

The Necessity for Clear Vision of the Church
and Its Purpose for Being

Vision (seeing as God wants us to see) is crucial for the people of God. It is through vision that we know and stay aware of who we are, why we are here, and where we are going. Without vision, a church will end up in a maintenance program maintaining the status quo. This results in a church going nowhere (Prov. 28:18).

As God’s people, we need vision. We need to see the greatness of God and what is ours in Christ, but not simply for our own strokes or personal blessing. We need to see the world as God sees it and where our responsibilities lie as members of the body of Christ. This means a vision for (1) every member ministry, and (2) what ministry consists of in biblical terms.

The Pursuit of God—The Need for Abiding

This involves the principle of “from the inside out” (cf. Matt. 6:33; John 15:1-7; Eph. 3:16-19 with Isa. 29:13).

We are a consumer-oriented, self-centered, self-indulgent society bent on pleasing ourselves rather than seeking to know and love God. We tend to seek the wrong things and asking the wrong questions. We ask, “What can this church do for me? What can I get out of this church?” rather than “Can I know God here? What can I give, how can I serve?” We tend to worship worship and what we get out of it—a good feeling, a rosy glow, entertainment, etc., rather than thinking about God Himself and how His truth should impact our lives for God and the world. How do we turn this around? We begin by making God the number one priority and seeking to genuinely walk with Him in honest fellowship through the ministry of the indwelling Spirit of God.

Personal Commitment to God, to the Great Commission,
and the Stewardship of All We Are

To truly know God is to love God, and to love God is to be committed to Him and His purposes. It is to live with a view to eternity when we will be forever in His glorious presence. When this is not fundamental and kept in focus in the ministry of a church, the people will naturally withhold their lives because earthly and material treasures will be more important (Matt. 22:36-40; 6:19-24; Rom. 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 4:16-18).

The Priesthood of Believers and the
Principle of Every Believer Gifted by God for Service

There must be a commitment to teach the priesthood of believers and promote its implications for ministry along with its natural companion, the truth concerning spiritual gifts. Why? So more and more believers function as a body in unity with diversity. This is vital to an effective ministry. “Spectatoritis” is an ailment in the church that must be remedied if the church is to count for God (Rom. 12:3f; 1 Cor. 12:4f; Eph. 4:7f; 1 Pet. 2:5-11; 4:1-12).

Addendum A:
The Team Concept of the Body of Christ

(Every Member a Minister)

The church is not a one-man team with the minister and the so-called laymen. Sadly, and to the hurt of the body of Christ, there still exists today a spirit of clericalism—the expectation that the professional clergy does the ministry. Though the belief that pastor-teachers are to equip the saints for the work of ministry is widespread and well known, it is rarely practiced and sorely hindered by pastoral expectations that simply do not line up with Scripture. Churches give lip service to the truth of Ephesians 4:11-16, but have a hard time managing to apply it because of these long-held expectations. There is still an iron-clad expectation that the pastor is to function in three areas:

(1) He prepares, teaches, and preaches the Word

This is a biblical expectation.

(2) He is also often expected not just to be the church manager, but the main administrator

He is to keep the administrative machinery oiled and running. In other words, churches often and unrealistically want a theologian, Bible expositor, and a corporate executive all rolled up into one. Some men may have all these gifts, most do not, but even when they do, is it biblically right to expect one man to do it all? Hardly!

(3) He must care for the flock

This includes everything: hospital visitation, home visitation, counseling, conducting funerals, officiating at weddings, attendance at all committee meetings, Sunday school parties, socials, and so on. If he is not involved in all these things and at all these functions, he is sometimes labeled “uncaring,” or is criticized with remarks like, “He does not have a pastor’s heart.” This is not necessarily true because it is a matter of priorities (cf. Mk. 1:35-39) and even giftedness (Rom. 12:3-8). His commitment to teaching the Word and training people can be a greater display of love and compassion because this ultimately meets the greater needs (Acts 6:2-5).

Some of these expectations are legitimate, but some of them must also be shared by other members of the body, starting with the pastoral team (the other elders), then the deacons and extending to the whole body (Eph. 4:16). The above list of expectations leaves little time for the main function of those who labor in the Word and teaching. The study and exposition of the Word and the equipping of the flock for the work of serving or ministry is the biblical mandate and priority for pastor/elders who follow the scriptural mandate.

The false expectations of our day have caused pastors to become general (generic) in their ministries because they too often let people set the agenda for them—not the Lord. They serve the people, but not Christ. Christ and the priorities of Scripture must set the agenda for a pastor’s ministry just as our Lord allowed the Father’s will to set His agenda regardless of the pressure of people (cf. Mk. 1:35-39). When the pastor serves people, he serves their vested interest and expectations. When he serves the Lord, he serves their best interest. Only when we serve Christ can the best interests of people be served. When this is not the case, you have burnout and frustration from trying to satisfy the whims, expectations, and desires of the flock which vary almost from person to person.

Like the great commission, we have worshipped Ephesians 4:12-16, but we haven’t obeyed it. This obviously needs to change. Pastors and churches need to develop a new mind set. They must see and make room for pastors to function in a more specialized role—the role of equippers. The ministry of “equipping the saints unto the work of ministry” must set the agenda. The biblical priority is functioning as teacher/equippers who get the work of ministry done through building others. It means the multiplication of ministry through every member (Eph. 4:12-16; 2 Tim. 2:2).

Every believer is a priest of God to whom God has given personal stewardships, the stewardships of time, talents (including our spiritual gifts), truth, our bodies as God’s temple, and treasures. This means personal responsibilities to be faithful to these trusts from God. This also means a team ministry with pastor-teachers (or the pastoral team) building up the saints unto the work of the ministry (their places of service and ministry) unto the building up of the body of Christ—the spiritual (qualitative), physical (quantitative), and organic growth of the church (the development of ministries)—through the exercise of these stewardships (Eph. 4:12). This means the leadership PLUS the rest of the flock serving and striving together for the faith of the gospel (Phil. 1:27)

Addendum B:
Church Leadership

The leaders of the church are divided into two groups, elders and deacons. While considerable scriptural direction is given concerning the function and responsibilities of the elders, little or none is given for the deacons. Their function seems to be that of helpers to the elders in the work of ministry. Though the men chosen in Acts 6 are not identified as deacons, they may illustrate the concept of helping the elders in meeting the needs of the flock. We should not, however, limit the work of deacons to merely physical things for some of these men as Philip the evangelist and Stephen were gifted and served in the communication of the Word.

No little debate exists among conservative scholars regarding the number of elders each church had in New Testament times and should, therefore, have today. Some argue for the single pastor/elder while others argue for plural elders/pastors for each local church.

With one exception, whenever the New Testament speaks of elders or overseers, it speaks of them in the plural. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders (pl.) in each church in the region of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (Acts 14:23). When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he addressed the overseers and deacons (Phil. 1:1). While some passages suggest the presence of an elder who became the spokesman for the leadership and may have even functioned as a leader among the elders, there is no suggestion any place of one man who was viewed as the pastor. Such a person was always accountable to the other elders and never ruled in a hierarchical fashion as was the case with Diotrephes (3 John 9-11).

Still, there are those who argue for the concept of one pastor or senior pastor. Their primary arguments are as follows:

(1) Biblical history illustrates God’s use of one man as a leader of His people—Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, Ezra, Nehemiah, etc. It is argued that some churches claim to have a plurality of elders with no single leader, but objective observation clearly demonstrates one man often provides special leadership to the rest. But we are not under the Old Testament system, and the fact one man may function as a leader among the leaders is a poor argument for calling one man “the pastor.”

(2) When God began forming the church and planting churches, he used teams of men like Paul, Silas, and Timothy, but central to each team was the apostolic authority of men like Paul and Peter. They provided leadership among the leaders. But Paul and Peter were apostles with the foundational gift of an apostle, a gift especially used to establish the church (Eph. 2:20-21). Further, later on in his ministry, Peter saw himself as a fellow elder (cf. 1 Pet. 5:1).

(3) In Acts 15, concerning the dispute over grace and keeping the law and circumcision, several of the church leaders took prominent leadership, Peter, Paul, and Barnabas, but James is the one who gave the verdict and seems to have functioned as a kind of president of the council or leader among the leaders. But such a fact gives no more authority for “the pastor” concept than the fact that Peter was the spokesman for the apostles during the Lord’s ministry on earth.

(4) Early church history, specifically the writings of Ignatius, teach us that a single pastor or overseer, assisted by other elders and deacons, became the widespread pattern within the churches by the turn of the century.⁷ But church history should not become our authority for theology, especially if it flies in the face of the plain teaching of the New Testament.

(5) Finally, it is argued that several New Testament passages lend further support to the single pastor or at least leave room for this concept:

• 1 Timothy 3:1-12: All the terms describing the overseer or elder (both terms refer to the same office) are in the singular while all those describing deacons are plural. The Greek text employs the singular article with a singular noun, “the overseer” (ton episkopon) in verse 2. Some argue this shows that Paul had in mind a single pastor for each church. But the singular is a classic illustration of the generic article which looks collectively at a group or a class. Clearly the majority of commentators agree with this usage for the article in this passage. This is supported by the context of 1 Timothy and the plural used in 1 Timothy 5:17. Perhaps an illustration will help. If I were to say, speaking of our government, “If a man desires the office of senator, . . . for the senator must be, . . .” how would you understand this statement? Knowing the makeup of our government, you know I would be talking about a group, a class of men we call senators.
• If is often argued that the early church met in houses and probably had one elder for each house at least in the beginning stages until the church grew when more pastoral help was needed. Several of these churches constituted the church in a particular city. Even in Acts 14:23 where we are told elders were appointed in every church, this is a distinct possibility. When he speaks of “elders in each church,” Luke may be referring to the church as a whole in each city with its several house ministries. They would say the text is speaking of what they did in the three cities, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (Acts 14:21f). This idea, they would argue, finds support in Titus 1:5. But this is all supposition. The fact still remains that Scripture teaches a plurality of elders were appointed in each church.
• Revelation 2-3: Each message to the seven churches is addressed to the angel, angelos, of the church. Unless this is a guardian angel, which is very unlikely, the message is addressed to one leader who is responsible to present the message to the flock. In Acts 20, elders (plural) are gathered, yet in Revelation 2:1, one messenger is addressed. Why? The fact is, we really do not know. Perhaps the Lord simply singled out one leader to be the messenger of this special message to each of these churches. Regardless, the abundance of evidence in the rest of the New Testament supports a plurality of elders who operate on a parity with one another.

When considering all the data, three things seem to surface.

(1) All elders are pastors and should be engaged in the work of ministering the Word to the flock. But in many churches today, the leadership is divided into pastors and elders and deacons, or ruling elders and teaching elders with the ruling elders functioning more like glorified deacons or administrators who are engaged in very little pastoral ministry. They aren’t really functioning like shepherds. Note the following:

• 1 Timothy 5:17 does not distinguish between two types of elders, “ruling” and “teaching.” First, the qualifications required of elders teach us that both functions were to be united in one person. Second, the differentiation in this verse is between those who do the work of study and teaching with less energy, devotion, and excellence and those who work harder and with greater commitment.
• In nearly every passage where elders or overseers or the leaders of the church are referred to, they are mentioned in connection with their responsibility to communicate the Word in some fashion (Acts 15:6; 20:27-32; 1 Thess. 5:12; 1 Tim. 3:2; 5:17; Tit. 1:9; Heb. 13:7; cf. also Eph. 4:11).
• All the elders will not, of course, have the same abilities and will vary in their giftedness, as in a pulpit ministry, but they should all be able to teach: be knowledgeable and trained in the Word and able to communicate it (1 Tim. 3:2; Tit. 1:9). In many churches, administration is the primary function of the board of elders. Some will undoubtedly excel in administration, but teaching is a crucial function to their work as shepherds.
• Their MANDATE is to lead and protect the flock, their METHOD is by teaching and example.

(2) Among the elders there may need to be one who functions as a leader and trainer of the others at least in the initial stages of the ministry (2 Tim. 2:2). In time, more elders may need to become full-time in ministry and supported by the church as the needs develop.

(3) The rotation system of elders seems to have no biblical support and may be more harmful to a church than it is protective. A church should have no more elders than are spiritually qualified and normally these should continue to serve unless they need a sabbatical for rest or some other ministry. Rotating elders every three years, for instance, removes needed and effective leadership and often results in replacement with those who are less qualified.

Bibliography

Getz, Gene A., Sharpening the Focus of the Church, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1974.

Hull, Bill, The Disciple Making Pastor, Fleming H. Revell, Old Tappan, New Jersey, 1988.

Miller, C. John, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, Ministry Resources Library, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1986.

Radmacher, Earl D., The Nature of the Church, Western Baptist Press, Portland, Oregon, 1972.

Richards, Lawrence O. and Gib Martin, Theology of Personal Ministry, Spiritual Giftedness in the Local Church, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1980.

Saucy, Robert L., The Church in God’s Program, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1972.

Tillapaugh, Frank R., Unleashing the Church, Getting People Out of the Fortress and Into Ministry, Regal Books, Ventura, California, 1982.

Warren, Rick, The Purpose Driven Church, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1995.

1 Paul S. Minear, Images of the Church in the New Testament, p. 28.

2 Robert L. Saucy, The Church in God's Program, Moody Press, p. 19.

3 This was taken from material prepared by M. C. Hardman, Barcroft Bible Church, Arlington, Virginia.

4 J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership, p. 98.

5 Gene A. Getz, Sharpening the Focus of the Church, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1974, p. 147f.

6 Getz, p. 155f.

7 Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language, Word Books, Waco, TX, 1982, p. 85.