Last week we dealt with the whole issue of God’s word as a system of reasoning.
John 1:1-2
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. NIV
The word “Word” here is the Greek word “logos” which means “reasoning”. John here celebrates divine reasoning as a preeminent component of God’s nature (in the beginning was…). If we build church in the earth, that church must resemble this aspect of God’s nature. Remember God said, “let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” We have to resemble the “image” of God in its fullness. Paul proclaimed to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 4:13
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. NIV
That which we build in the earth has got to fully resemble the diverse components of God’s nature.
The Word of God expresses Divine-Creative Power
In Genesis 1 we see the word of God in action. We see God speaking things into existence. The consistent phrase is “let there be”. This shows us that the word of God is not simply a “letter” but it is truly spirit (John 6:63).
Genesis 1:3-5
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day. NIV
Whenever we see the phrase, “God said” then we know that the word of God is being released. We know from Genesis 1 that the proclamation of God’s word brings divine arrangement and order in creation and or in human life. Before God’s divine intervention, the earth was formless, without shape and order (Gen 1:2). The proclamation of God’s word brought order and arrangement. So therefore the word of God is not proclaimed haphazardly, it carries divine design in it. When we think of God’s power carried by His word we must also think of the arrangement, design and order that God’s word always seeks to produce. After God’s proclamation in Genesis 1, we see the end result being an orderly eco-system (Rom 1:20). This is the same pattern church has to follow. Every element of power that God discharges through us must help bring arrangement and order in human life. The tendency is to display God’s power but move away from order. By “order”, I am not simply referring to the protocols of church service or meetings but I mean order in the arrangement of human life. Since the earth’s showed evidence of experiencing God’s power by becoming orderly, so too must the people who experience the power of God’s word every Sunday show evidence by becoming more orderly and mature in their lives.
This is critically important when we consider the scripture below:
2 Thessalonians 2:8-12
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. NIV
While we embrace authentic power-manifestations coming from the Lord, we also want to be careful of the counterfeit that comes from the enemy. Note this that the enemy’s power can also heal, i.e. it can produce spiritual works but cannot bring people to a place of divine order and correctness. This is the reality in the last days. The power of the enemy produces (a) chaos (or deception) in people’s lives (2 Thes 2:11) and also (b) lacks godly fruit or character (Matt 7:15-20). And so any church environment that emphasises “power-manifestations” without putting emphasis on Christ’s values and standards needs to be questioned seriously. The point here is that God’s power does not only produce works but divine order. For example, God’s healing power must bring people to a place of submission, holiness and commitment to God’s kingdom. It must not leave them having experienced the power but lacking divine order in their lives. The actualisation of such a divine order in people’s lives relies heavily on the one administering the word and power of God (i.e. the leader).
The big example we have in God’s word is the deliverance of Jewish people from Egypt. God later made it clear that He did not display the power to Pharaoh simply because He was proving some point but that He delivered them in order to bring them to divine order of life. He wanted to use them as a template of correct life before the nations (Deut 4:5-8). When God did not get this, He actually judged the people:
1 Corinthians 10:1-6
1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. NIV
Jude 5
5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. NIV
God does not function out of giftedness; He functions out of purpose. Whenever He displays His power, He is thinking about bringing life to a place of correction and order.
So the release of God’s power always connects to the bigger reality of bringing things back to their correct arrangement and order.
The Word of God as a System of Human Development
2 Timothy 3:16
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, NIV
The word of God is also a tool by which we can construct human life in all of its areas and levels. This actually makes church a system of human development. The word of God can be used to build people in the following areas:
- Correct Inner Life (life motives).
- Godly Mindsets.
- Godly Behaviour & Character
- Correct Lifestyle
- Relational Competence
- Human Productivity
- Correct Worldview and Life Orientation
Consider the following scriptures:
(a) 2 Timothy 3:15
15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. NIV
The scriptures are able to make you wise. “Make you wise” means a process of becoming something that you were not before. The word “wise” here defines someone who has become a skilful expert in God and in life. So the word of God, if taught correctly, can produce a people who have Kingdom Life Skills, who therefore know how to approach life and how to deal with issues of life correctly.
(b) 2 Thes 3:10
10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." NIV
The word of God can develop people in the areas of work ethic and productivity. The first man God made was introduced to work and labour, Gen 2:15. So therefore working is not for the sophisticated few. Anybody in the kingdom of God should appreciate and celebrate working.
Psalm 104 celebrates some of the wonders of God. Inside this system of God that is being celebrated is the whole issue of man waking up in the morning to engage in work.
Psalms 104:23
23 Then man goes out to his work,
to his labor until evening. NIV
The word that is used as “work” in 2 Thes 3:10 means: “to toil, to labour, to be engaged in”. The issue here is not one of being employed in an organisation. One can work without being employed. The scripture does not say, “if a man is not employed he shall not eat”. “Work” can be things one does at home – the basic issue from God is that of kingdom productivity. For example, those committed to staying at home in order to raise kids are doing serious business for God. We have to be careful not to be deceived by this Babylonian Economic System that defines “work” within a limited and shallow context of “employment” and “salary”.
This issue of work is the basic component of the gospel of the kingdom. It is expressed in the basic principles of creation (Gen 2:15). So therefore the word of God can develop people in the area of human productivity.
(c) Rom 12:2
Romans 12:2
2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will. NIV
The word of God can be used to develop mindsets and worldviews that in turn allow people to interact with the system of the world much more effectively and skilfully. For people to come to such levels of personal competence, they need to be trained in righteousness.
Discipleship as a Mechanism of Human Development
Matthew 28:18-20
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." NIV
The idea of discipleship meant that people needed to be trained, schooled and developed into certain qualities, understanding and abilities. There were disciples of the Pharisees, John and Jesus. All these people were trained and schooled to see God a certain way and to interact with life in a certain way.
Acts 4:13
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. NIV
What becomes clear in Acts 4:13 is that Jesus took the apostles through a process of real, practical training for a period of 3 years. In the end, He produced a people who had a developed understanding, articulation and skill in life. This is what we mostly lack in the church. We have many church members who have not necessarily been schooled and developed in certain qualities, mentalities and competences. “Schooling” here goes beyond taking somebody through a Bible class. In fact, the word “disciple” is defined in the Greek as “one who is a student of another both in doctrine and in conduct”. So to disciple is not only about taking people into a classroom to teach them the Bible. It is also exposing people to your mentality, values and worldview through dynamic on-going interaction (just as Jesus used to do). This is why people would talk about “his ways” to guys like Timothy (2 Tim 1:13; 3:10-11). So when Paul says, “follow me as I follow Christ” he is really talking about discipleship. But for true discipleship to take place, there must be real trust between the “student” (the disciple) and the “leader”.
The current structure of the church service mostly encourages the kind of building that is spontaneous and impulsive without any real relationship between those who are teaching and those who are learning – this compromises issues of discipleship and human development, essentially compromising the effectiveness of God’s word in people’s lives. We forget that divine inspiration produces order and arrangement. This God who has anointed us produced an earthly system with hours, days and months. Every day, the sun rises in the morning and sets in the afternoon. That is, divine power and wisdom can flow through set arrangements, and can also produce arrangement and order. We therefore have to find balance between spontaneous and systematic building – understanding that both are spiritual and divine if properly administered.
If we are serious about positioning church as a system of human development (discipleship), then we need to appreciate more and more the issue of systematic building in our approaches and structures.
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