Spiritual Connectedness

 I and II Timothy and Titus were written towards the end of the apostle Paul's life. They are often called the 'Pastoral' epistles as their subject matter deals with the spiritual administration of the church.  I Timothy records simple instructions as to  the orderly conduct of the first century church. Our Western approach to the structure of the church is not at all based on the 1st century model.  Even those churches today that tend toward the home church miss the mark of the dynamic churches  of the early Christians.  The early church was to represent God's desire to have every believer fully functioning on all cylinders of power.

Paul was essentially responsible to teach what God had freely given in the gift of holy spirit and its effect on the newly formed church. In the 7 church epistles (Romans through Thessalonians), Paul plainly paints a complete picture of the administration of God's grace where every believer has a significant part to play. God had kept quiet about this age until he was ready to reveal it and the responsibility of revealing it was given to Paul.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Heresies started immediately emerging as the grace age started unfolding and continued to grow and it was important to maintain and preach the pure word of God. In II Timothy the heresies had grown to a proportion that it effected the church. People were losing the true understanding of what God had revealed. It is easy to teach the doctrine of the revealed grace administration, but getting one's head really into it is another story. This is so true today. Our culture, especially our religious culture overshadows and pulls Christianity in another direction. Most of what we see in today's churches has roots in the 3rd-5th century A.D.

All religion tends to categorize and divide people into groups. There are over 38,000 religious sects today. There are spiritual walls thrown up between clergy and laity, pew and pulpit, and altar rails and altars. People get bogged down in the physical structure of the church and lose sight of the spiritual blueprint. Unity is not in activities, meetings and simply social hanging out. The true church is based the spiritual reality of God and what it means to live in this age of grace.

It is up to each individual to have the a vital relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  Everyone has direct access and it is proved over and over again when people start to interact with each other. God feeds one heart here and another there and when they interact it seems like amazing coincidence when it is actually the hot line from God in both.

The energized church, consisting of Judeans and Gentiles equally, is a spiritual body growing together into the true spiritual temple of the Lord.  It consists of children, young adults, middle ager and seniors operating together and not in distinct separate groups. When a mixture of people associate through operation of the spiritual gift, needs get met and it is a vibrant and alive family of faith. Signs, miracles and wonders occurring is commonplace because God is in it.

Thankful for The Mystery

The mystery  is the great topic of the church epistles written by Paul.  Very few people really understand it completely. It is not nearly as hard to understand as it is to put into practice. Yes, it is "Christ in you" ( Romans 8:16-17, Ephesians 3, Colossians 1:27),  but what does that mean in practical living?

In Ephesians 1:18 and 19 God says:

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

And there is a lot more where this comes from! What does it mean?  It says that the believer can see and know and utilize the power that God has given us.  Imagine that! If God has enlightened our eyes, and given us all this power, why don't we use it? We don't because we haven't dared to believe it! Many things in the world talk us out of it. The world is all too ready to offer alternatives to believing God. We have not been taught how to practically live it.

When I was first learning how to read the Bible for myself,  I had a wonderful friend that loved to teach the Word.  One day I asked him about something I was having a problem with and he told me he knew how much I loved God's Word and that I needed to check in with God as to how to handle the problem. (Hey! listen, I had been raised behind the altar rail in the pews and still had somewhat of a stained glass idea of religion. My friend had at one time been there too and he was an expert on how to get out of that mindset) It was a huge turning point in my approach to God. I truly began to get real answers for myself.

It starts in Romans in realizing what has been actually been accomplished for us that none of us really deserved. That includes everybody! (Mother Teresa, the Dalai Llama, even the apostle Paul are no exceptions)  Romans is the book that when we get finished reading and assimilating, we are extremely thankful. Next, there are so many things brought up in Corinthians that help people to see how to live that thankfulness and not get caught up with things that pull people down. Natural man is pretty self-centered and seeks his own remedies for fear. The culture very quickly tries to explain human nature away and make excuses for that fear.

This precious thankfulness is further protected by the book of Galatians when man attempts to outdo God in perfecting his own practice of religion. Man sets up his own levels of accomplishment and in the process pushes God aside to watch. It is brutal to others who have not reached man's estimation of what is required. God makes it plain in Galatians in clear, straightforward grace. Believing pleases Him. Sometimes people get so wrapped up with the "Believing is action" performance mentality that they forget that believing starts with 'God so loved the world'! We love Him because He first loved us (I John 4:19).

As we wind our way to reach Ephesians, the groundwork in Romans, the weeding of Corinthians and the rock removal of Galatians helps our hearts to readily receive the unlimited supply that the big heart of God offers us without reservation. God has always been faithful. The problem is not with God; it is in man's heart where the problem lies. We could blame it on someone else like Adam. ("Why wasn't he thankful in Eden?") Adam was Adam; but Jesus Christ opened a new door for each of us.  We have nobody to blame. Thankfulness starts with each of us individually and it turns everything around!

Gen X,Y,Z? What about A,B,C?

Recently I was reading an article on the subject of  the generation gap and I wondered what the Bible says about it.

As a high school teacher, I was constantly faced with understanding 'generational issues'.  This not only had to do with students, but also with younger teachers as I grew older. I never labeled generations as X and Y, but I do recognize every generation has it's unique distinctions. I grew up in the 60's. The youth of that time had it's distinctive characteristics due to the culture at the time. Every age has it's uniqueness and its contributions. They are not all the same.

 There are those who love to magnify generational differences and rationalize differences in corporate circles. The world seems to credit older people with seasoning experience, younger people with energy and enthusiasm. I have known many older people who have enthusiasm and energy, and I have known many younger people with no energy and enthusiasm.  I have also met younger people who seem wise for their age and I have met older people that are not so wise. It isn't about age, it is about what we learn and continue to learn. I am still growing up in my 60's because growing up will never stop.

The Bible says it is Christ who strengthens us as we believe. The secret that God had hidden became available to us after the resurrection and is fully taught in the epistles written by Paul and it transcends all age groups, from the youngest child to the oldest elder.

Colossians 1:26-27 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

A, B, C cannot live without X, Y, and Z and the rest of the alphabet for that matter to make words that communicate whole thoughts. The same is true for each member of the family of God in working together to produce genuine results.  Respect for the Christ in each other regardless of age, sex, race or whatever else tries to split and separate the body of Christ is important. It is without these obstacles and divisions that we can truly continue to grow and learn and the outcome will be:

Psalm 145:4: One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

JOY!

Once you have tasted and lived even a smidgeon of the richness of the mystery talked about in Ephesians 3, there is no return to the lackluster humdrum of everyday religion. Loving God  is a moment by moment walk of confidence and true freedom. The  joy of enjoying the same confidence and freedom with others is an irreplaceable treasure not to be treated lightly.

 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me(Paul) the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: 7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. 8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;9And to make all men see what is the fellowship (link) of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12 In whom we have boldness (link) and access with confidence by the faith of him.

-->  Camaraderie, friendship, community are all examples of groups of people relating together; but genuine fellowship based on God’s Word is the highest form of relationships. It is what the mystery is all about. It is Christ in every believer functioning together, openly and honestly believing together, respecting together, and accomplishing great things together. It does not happen without the ‘unity of the spirit’. It cannot be fabricated, manufactured, forced, or compromised by untruth.

1 John 1:5-7 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship (link) with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship (link) one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

I have participated on many, many, many teams during my lifetime, and the only truly effective ones were those based on acting on the principles in the Word.   Some of the people I worked with may have not even been aware that they were utilizing Biblical principles but they still worked regardless. Light is light no matter which room it is in. God's methods and practices, whether He gets the credit or not, absolutely work! It is pure joy to do things God's way.

E=mc2 (Ephesians=mystery x completelycompletelycomplete)

According to Einstein and his theory of relativity, matter is a manifestation of energy. Energy can manifest itself in a number of ways, light, heat, sound, electrically, chemically, etc. You can’t see energy, only the effects of it can be seen in matter.

How has God manifested Himself?  Light shone out of darkness, creation, a bush burned, the Red Sea parted, a still small voice whispered to Elijah, a man was raised from the dead, tongues of fire showed up on the day of Pentecost, and many, many, many other examples; not to mention the ones not written about. Think about in your own life, all those wonderful moments that you knew that something bigger than you was in operation in your life.

The greatest move of God is in the heart of an individual when he accepts the real deal of Jesus Christ getting up, ascending and sitting down on the right hand of God.  God needs matter to express His spirit. When we change our citizenship from this world to the one from above, we, as individuals manifest the nature of God through the spirit that takes up residence in our hearts. Collectively when we gather with others who know and respect how God works in each individual, God has room to work even bigger.  It is absolute brilliance!

There are a lot of books written about teamwork, management and relationships and they all have some good points on how to work with others. There is no mistaking the dynamics of a group that has the energy of God working in it. It also can be just as evident when God is not the force behind something.

Romans 8:28 (Amplified Bible)28We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed but it can be transformed. Thank God! Every person who believes becomes a dynamic force as God comes into manifestation in the senses realm through that person. Put a couple of people together that think this way and it is out of this world. It is what it means to be truly seated in the heavenlies (Ephesians).

Leaders

Leaders inspire people that is why they are called leaders. It is as simple as that.  No fancy titles, no lofty elitism, stiff respect or futile fawning. Leadership is a quality not a title. It is a living breathing component or characteristic of people who are led by something greater than themselves. In the Bible the greatest leaders were those who loved God and believed Him, people like Joseph, Debra, Nehemiah, Mordecai, and ultimately Jesus Christ.

The word ‘inspiration’ comes from a word meaning 'to breathe in'. When we breathe oxygen into our bodies, it is sent to our cells and when combined with food produces energy which is vital to the activity of the body. Oxygen is an essential ingredient required to keep the body fired up. So is inspiration to the mind.

Inspiration is quite different from authority. Inspiration provides the essential component for action. It stimulates action. Authority is positional and it is the right to control, command or  determine what’s what. Paul was an example of a man who had authority. He was:

 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; (Phil 3:5)

He was a member of the Sanhedrin. He had position upon position. When he came to the realization that it was not what his heart was about, he gave all up and became the true leader of the first century church. God was able to work in him to set down the heart of the mystery as a result of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. The Word of God in the seven church epistles is inspiring to every individual who sees himself in them and wants to help others see all they could be in Christ. He became a man of inspiration and still is today.

In Acts 15 we see a great example of Paul’s leadership characteristics. He just doesn’t back away from standing up for the church that God had established in the grace administration. He boldly communicated his heart in the conflict about circumcision. He communicated with James, the Jerusalem saints and Peter and held the line on what was dragging the newly formed church down in their thinking and in their exercising of positional authority rather than the heart of the mystery.

Jesus Christ’s life was an inspiration. He trained the twelve, he sent them out, he sent out the seventy. He taught and led, and sent. His first Words to Peter and Andrew were “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Following and leading go hand in hand and are mutually dependent on each other as they interchange according to the circumstances. All of us are leaders in some form or another, be it as, friends moms, dads, husbands, wives, or workers in any capacity of life.

I love the quote John Quincy Adams quote,  “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
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