Shopping For a Clearer Perspective

Daily writing promptWhere would you go on a shopping spree?View all responses

As humans our perspective can get foggy, habit bound, and bogged down in the same ole same ole. But there is hope. We can always shop for a fresh, encouraging perspective. Let me help you do that. Let’s go online shopping in your heart.

What should we look for? Our hope is in Christ and in being directly and inwardly led by His Spirit — “Christ in you the hope of glory.” Timothy Tennent wrote: “Many of the acts of worship in the Psalms are quite different from what we might experience on a typical Sunday in church.” Let’s get back to gathering for worship under the direct inner leading of the Holy Spirit.

Here are some heart insights that came to my mind this morning that are helping me gain perspective on how the body of Christ can function more effectively and how it can more clearly demonstrate the kingdom (direct inner government) of God:

* The body of Christ is all the people worldwide who are living under the direct Headship of the risen Jesus by being internally led by His Spirit.
* The ekklesia is any gathering of two or more Christ-followers to listen to and be directly led by the Holy Spirit together. The ekklesia is continually being built by the living Jesus (Matthew 16:18) wherever people gather in His name to let Him lead them by His Spirit and assemble them together heart-to-heart on the rock of direct revelation from God.
* A church is a human led religious organization that is substituted for Christ’s Spirit-led ekklesia assemblies. (Theologian Emil Bruener wrote in his book “The Misunderstanding of the Church:” “What we know as the church or churches resulting from the historical developments cannot claim to be the ekklesia in the New Testament sense.”
* Christ’s apostles are “sent ones.” That’s what the Greek word “apostle” literally means. To be sent on a mission by the Holy Spirit is to be an apostle (a missionary). (Acts 13:2)
* Christ’s prophets are people who hear directly from God (Revelation 2:7) and are prompted by the Spirit to share what they have seen and heard. They are revealers who show people what God is saying and doing.
* Christ’s evangelists are Spirit-led recruiters for the body of Christ. To introduce people to the risen Jesus and help them surrender to the direct inner government of His kingdom is to be an evangelist.
* Christ’s pastors are shepherds. They are Spirit-directed overseers who observe and watch over gatherings of the body of Christ. Anyone who watches out for other Christ-followers and compassionately redirects them when they are off track is an overseer.
* Christ’s teachers are disciple makers. They train and coach people to daily follow and obey the risen Jesus. (Matthew 28:19-20)
* Don’t just study or memorize or analyze the 5 gifts that Christ is giving the members of His body, (Ephesians 4:7-16) demonstrate them in your daily life. Find people who are functioning as sent ones, as revealers, as recruiters, as overseers, and as disciple makers and let them help train you to be directly led by the Spirit so that you too can demonstrate the functions of those 5 gifts. (Ephesians 4:12-13)

Jesus prayed that all of His followers be united as one. (John 17:21) However, churches are shattered and scattered. According to bibleanalysis.org, there are more than 45,000 Christian denominations worldwide. Today the concept of church is like a beautiful wine carafe (pitcher) that has been dropped and shattered and then pounded with a hammer until it is nothing but tiny shreds. How we need to return to the beautiful unity of Christ’s Spirit-led ekklesia.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the ekklesia and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant ekklesia, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”(Ephesians 5:25-27)

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