For the past few weeks we have been investigating how our individual families and churches will function as we learn to conform them to their biblical pattern. These are the weapons, along with the civil government (which we will soon examine), that God has given us to successfully carry out our eternal purpose of ruling over the earth (Genesis 1:26-28). How these weapons are used constitutes one of the two edges of the Sword of the Word of God. As the author of Hebrews…

This title may be the question we are asking ourselves as we have discussed church leadership in thelast few blog postings. Interestingly, this universally-used word for church leadership—”pastor” (Gk., poimen)—is used only one time in the New Testament as a noun (Ephesians 4:11), and there it is among a list, NOT OF AUTHORITATIVE OFFICES, BUT OF INFLUENTIAL GIFTS–gifts that are the men themselves, called by Jesus Christ and given by Him to His church.  There they serve a specific function in the body of…

When one sees the word “church” in the New Testament it means something entirely different to the reader today than it did when originally written. As regular readers of this blog know, we want to present the original, intended meaning of “church” and present the amazing possibility of doing our best to follow that today! For example, in the New Testament church there was NO CHURCH AUTHORITY GREATER THAN THE LOCAL CHURCH; each was completely autonomous, independent of any extra-local authority. Of course, there…

Last week, we looked at the three structural models for today’s church, which unconsciously functions in society today as if it were a type of business—a ”sole proprietorship” (episcopal), “stockholder-officer” (presbyterian), or “partnership” (congregational). Are any of them what the Bible teaches they should be? A common thread  runs through each of these models (thus throughout all of American churches today), and that is the concept of the PROFESSIONAL CLERGY–men who are “called to the ministry.” It is considered normal for all to see…

We have discussed in this blog my belief that the wineskin of the New Testament church is made up of believers who have particular characteristics. These Christians have 1.) become as little children of their Father, Jehovah God (Matthew 18:2-5). They 2.) walk fully “walk in the light” together (James 5:16; 1 John 1:5-10), confessing  their sins to one another, freely and openly. I firmly believe that THE BIBLICAL CHURCH will eventually naturally, spontaneously and unconsciously (NSU) result as these believers do so! They…

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.” (Mark 2:22). These words from the mouth of Jesus are most easily applied today to the traditional church (the wineskin) and the message it proclaims (the wine). In Jesus’ day, the obvious application was the new wine of Jesus’ teaching and the old wineskin of the pharisaic religion that…

Last week we saw that Proverbs 29:18 gives us the big-picture orientation of life—forest-and-not-just-tree orientation. Without seeing the forest, we will not see or understand God’s eternal purpose for our lives. Could it be that GOD REALLY MEANT IT when He said, in Genesis 1:26-28, that man was created to 1.) bear God’s image, 2.) rule over the earth, and 3.) reproduce others to fill that earth and make man’s rule permanent—and that is our eternal purpose, our “forest?” I believe that He absolutely…

In recent weeks we have been investigating the “big picture” of the Eternal Purpose of God, as revealed to us in the Scriptures. His Purpose begins with 1.) creation of the earth, 2.) creation of man to rule over it, 3.) man’s fall into sin, and then 4.) man’s redemption by the birth,, life, death, resurrection, and ascent into heaven of Jesus Christ. This Eternal Purpose continues with this mind-blowing revelation: God, “…even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…

I am ranting constantly on this blog that God’s way of operation in our lives is always natural, spontaneous and unconscious (NSU), butwe don’t really believe it—not even I, the ranter!  Our addiction to the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, of which we all ate through Adam in the Garden of Eden, tells us that “Yes, you can be an outstanding Christian that people notice! You can be successful and productive, if you just try a little harder…

In last week’s blog posting, we saw that for the first time since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, God’s eternal purpose for man was fulfilled. In God’s Court of Divine Justice, a man, Jesus Christ, was crowned to RULE OVER THE EARTH, AS KING OF ALL KINGS AND LORD OF ALL LORDS!  When Jesus reported to God at the Ascension that His mission of saving mankind had been accomplished, Daniel and David had already prophetically told us what happened next: “THEN TO…