From a basic knowledge of church history, we can begin to recognize, understand, and avoid the traps that continue to cause many Christian movements to stumble. This is good and necessary, but we also need to understand the foundations for the coming kingdom which have been laid by our spiritual fathers and mothers so we can see more clearly what we are called to do in our own generation, and to carry this forward in preparing the way for the Lord. This is the building of the highway for our God.
The kingdom of God is basically God's government. Therefore, understanding His government is fundamental to understanding His kingdom and its coming to earth. We must therefore ask some basic questions, two of which we will consider this week:
How is the church now preparing the way for the government of God?
Does present church government reflect the government of God?
Of course, there are presently so many different and seemingly conflicting forms of church government that we might be prone to think the church must still be far from fulfilling its role of preparing the way for the kingdom. However, there is another possibility, which is that all of these diverse forms of church government reflect His coming kingdom government, in part.
In this age, we see through a glass darkly. We see and know in part, but if we start putting the parts together in the way they can fit together, we will see a much bigger picture. Even the principles of church government that we now think are in conflict with one another may not be if they were operating in their right order under the King.
Years ago, a friend of mine knew a man in his church who was an engineer of the C-5 cargo plane, at the time the largest plane in the world. This engineer was given a revelation by the Lord about how His body would come together at the end of this age, and it was like the airplane that was being designing. I believe this revelation was true, and can help us a lot with our understanding of how the kingdom will come, which the church will prepare the way for.
This engineer explained that every major section of the plane had its own group doing its design. For example, one would design the wing, another the tail, another the engines, another the fuselage, another the cockpit, and so on. The engineers were only given the specs on what they were to design, and most had little or no idea of what the plane was like that these sections were being built for. They did not need to know that, but rather focused on their part. There were executive engineers whose whole job was to see that all of these parts would fit together.
This engineer described the awe that all of them had the day the completed plane was rolled out. They could all see how their little section fit, but most had no idea of the great plane that was actually being built. They were amazed at how much others had done, too. I think this is how the whole church will also feel when the work is completed and all of the parts fit together.
As one who has traveled quite extensively, I have come across many churches and even groups of churches that really think they have a revelation of the kingdom and are building what the Lord will use to bring His kingdom, and they are right. However, what they do not see is that they are just working on one tiny little section of something far bigger than they can see at this time. As all of these get closer to completing their little part, there will be ministries provided that will help them interface with the other section that they need to be joined to.
Because government is basic to His kingdom, how the diverse forms of church government may actually work together is important to understand if we are going to build the highway for His government to come. There are many movements which are now focusing a great deal on church government. I think all of them may have something to contribute to the whole. At the same time, I do not think any of them have the whole picture, though some may think they do, which is okay at this time. However, a time is coming when we will all need to see that we are working on something far greater than any one group could have done. We will have to fit together with the rest that others have done.
That will lead us into a very delicate time when many who really have an important part of the whole will still have to make adjustments to fit with the rest. Humility will always be a major requirement for those who go to a higher level of purpose. A basic characteristic of humility is being teachable, always open to learn from others, never considering that we know all there is to know—we know in part.
In the early stages of the C-5 project, engineers from one department walking through another department may have felt no relationship to what they were doing at all. In fact, they may have thought they were working on another airplane entirely. We are still at the stage where the right hand does not seem to know what the left hand is doing, but that is about to change. The Lord is the Designer, and probably the only One who can see the whole at this time, but others are starting to have a vision of it.
When it does come together, we may find that not a single thing which anyone built in His name is wasted, but it does fit somewhere. Those who are beginning to see are not so quick to think that others who are building something very different from them are not also doing an important work. The more I have grown in my vision of the coming kingdom, the more I have come to appreciate parts of the body of Christ that I previously saw little or no use for. I now bless and appreciate them, but I do not necessarily join them because I do not want to be distracted from accomplishing the part that I have been given to work on.
Next week, we will consider how some seemingly conflicting forms of church government may actually fit together. This subject is too broad to cover in much depth in this format, but if we can just begin to see and have an appreciation for the different parts of the body of Christ, it can help us all a great deal. Presently, far too much time and energy that should be applied to building is used for attacking one another. That must and will stop, just as we are told in one of the greatest texts in the Bible on our calling as the church. This is stated clearly and powerfully in Ephesians 4:1-16:
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love,
being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.
Therefore it says, "When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men."
(Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?
He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ.
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ,
from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
This text says everything I was saying far more succinctly and powerfully. There is a certain anointing given to teachers, but it will never be as powerful as the Scriptures. Also, everything that we teach should have its basis in the Scriptures, including all of our understanding of the kingdom and kingdom government. The blueprint for the kingdom is clearly laid out in the Scriptures. Also, it is as we have the humility to read them over and over, searching for more understanding, that our eyes are opened. Whenever you see a Scripture included in a text, never skip over it, regardless of how many times you have read it or how well you think you know it. The Scriptures have the power to open our spiritual eyes. They are the eye salve the Lord has given to us.
