About three years ago, while sitting around the fire pit in our backyard, a friend asked me a question. “What is it that the early church had, that we are missing, that causes the difference between their experience and our experience?” Answering that question took two years, and finally made clear what I was missing in all the years since I began the search to know Him. It took another year for it to sink in enough that I could express it, and another two to post it here. I hope it helps.
One of the first things I found when I began researching this was ‘the hymn of the word’. History declares that John opens his gospel with part of a song from that early church! This song, found in the gospel of John 1:1-14 describes the knowledge and experience of who Jesus was to them. It is here that we begin to find the differences between their experience and what we experience today, and is when the teaching of those men began to sink in…
What we see in that song is that according to the early Church:
Jesus Christ is the Word of God; and is God.
Jesus Christ is life, and that life shines as the light of men.
Jesus Christ is light of the world.
Jesus Christ is salvation.
We later see that he is also: the way, the light, and the truth.
It is not a coincidence that the early church, who; living their lives by his life, taking Jesus Christ as their everything; as their all in all, was known as the way. The early church lived their life by his life; not by bible study, not by the inspiring sermon of the week or the illustrious theological works of the age, but by the life of their indwelling Lord.
Did they have teachers? Yes they did. Men who were led by the Holy Spirit and who taught ‘sound doctrine’. What was that ‘sound doctrine’? It was simply that Jesus Christ saved them, that His life alone could and did change them; that His life alone was the life of the church, that His life alone was worthy, and that their lives were now hid in his, and His life now existed in them, and that they could live by that life. They taught the church to daily seek His face, to seek his voice, to seek his desires, and to live by His life. They taught nothing more, and nothing less. There are no doctrines in the bible. There is only Jesus Christ.
It was the Holy Spirit who taught the early church, and taught them in what one spirit filled man called the ‘School of Christ’. The Holy Spirit didn’t teach them things or doctrines but only taught them Christ. They were not taught church doctrine, not baptism, or its various forms, not sanctification, not prophecy, or unity, not obedience, not patience, not even kindness, but only Jesus Christ who is the embodiment of all those things.
Did they at some point receive teaching in some of those things? Yes, but only because they had lost their way, (as we will discuss later) and needed to refocus on He who was important.
What do we hear today?
Today, you will hear that He is all of the above, but, if you listen more closely, those very things are then replaced with:
The bible is the Word of God.
The bible will show you how to live.
The bible is the light for your road.
The bible will keep you out of trouble.
God no longer speaks to us as he did in those days. Now we have to read the bible instead.
I once even heard a man proclaim that since all scripture was inspired by God, and since the bible is scripture, and since scripture was the word of God, and the Word of God is God, then it is obvious that the Bible is God. This is nothing but lunacy in the name of Christianity. While this is not the norm, it does feed on the prevalent thought of our time; that the bible has surpassed the indwelling Holy Spirit in its importance to our Christian lives.
This century takes the bible and puts it in the place once given to Jesus Christ alone. And here we begin to see the contrast; the difference. They were the people of Jesus Christ. They lived by his life and were known by the world as ‘The way’. We have become ‘a people of the book’ and are known by the world as ‘bible thumpers’. Do you see the difference? How should we live? It is Simple. You have within you His life. Live by it. This is the simplest truth in the universe, and one that is so completely missed.
Does a cat have to learn to meow? No. It is part of ‘cat life’. Cats live by ‘cat life’. Let me say this again. How should Christians live? It is Simple. You have within you His life. Divine Life. Live by it. Live your life entirely by the divine life that is within you. It reflects on every thought you make, and every action you choose. You have the capability to live your every moment by that life. That is what changed the world once. It can do so again.
Is it wrong to read the bible? No. Absolutely not, the bible was written as a sign to point to Jesus. You would be offended if your loved one never bothered to read what you had written to them. And so you should indeed read what you have been given. Reading the bible is a wonderful way to see Our Lord. Is it wrong to make the bible your focus? It is death. Only Jesus is worthy of your focus.
It is possible to study the bible for years and not know Christ. Yet, by knowing Christ, it is not possible to study a bible without seeing him on every page. It is merely a matter of focus. Once you change your focus from bible study to knowing Christ, the book opens up its mysteries and study finally shows real fruit.
If you ever studied geometry, you know that no matter how complex a shape may be, it can only have one center. If that center is anything other than Jesus Christ, then it is the wrong center. Jesus said, ”My father is spirit, and if you want to know him, you will do so in spirit.” You will live by His life. You cant be ‘bible centered’. You must be ‘Christ centered’.
Jesus also said something to the effect of “You read the scriptures because you seek eternal life, but they only point at me. I am eternal life, I am the truth, I am the Life, I am the way.
Everything you seek is in me.” The Bible contains truth and points at the truth, it points at the way, it points at the light, it chronicles life, but only Jesus IS the way, IS the truth, IS the light, and IS the life.
We hear daily that the bible is the truth and is the way, and is the life. Go to the bible for your help. This is akin to a group of people who wander out of the desert looking for Los Angeles, and after finally finding a road sign with Los Angeles printed on it, They make camp there, and insist they have found their goal. Unfortunately, they never notice the other part of the sign that says; “230 miles”. The sign is not Los Angeles. It is not what they were looking for, and to claim it to be so, and to live there only brings injury and death. The Bible was given as a sign. It points at Jesus Christ, and much like the Los Angeles sign, simply points the way to our final destination. We must go all the way there. He is not only the way, but the destination as well.
Our modern tradition is to take the letters of the New Testament and think of them as showing the structure of the church. We see what the New Testament presents of the church and we take the offices mentioned and the structures and where we think they all fit together and we combine that with the history of the gospels and of Acts, and create what we consider to be the superstructure of Christianity. We then take that structure and the categorical doctrines it created, and the New Testament becomes - and has become for Christianity in general - a crystallized system of practice, a systematic theology. And in doing this, we miss and lose the Lord.
Do you see what I mean by that? The Holy Spirit’s way is to take Christ and show Christ to the heart, and show that Christ is a heavenly order; not that the Bible forms a manual for a heavenly order, but that Christ is that order, and everything in the matter of order has to be kept immediately in relation to the living Person of Jesus Christ.
If it becomes some thing, then it becomes an earthly system; and you can make a thousand different earthly systems all built upon the Bible. It will support any number of different systems, any number of different interpretations, and all are represented by Christian groups who are certain they have the truth. And the reason they all exist is that these ‘things’ have been divorced from the Person of Jesus Christ and have become just things.
Unfortunately, this happens even if the subject is “Unity”. Anything, even something that is part of the essence of our Lord, once divorced from his person, becomes a cause of division. There are innumerable things and teachings that have gone down this road and each is in part responsible for the sad state we see today.
Just a few of the things which have been taken from the Scriptures and have become things that people have gathered around are "the kingdom of God", "holiness", "eternal security", "spiritual gifts", "freedom in Christ", "grace", "obedience" and ‘unity’.
And so, as it has worked out, some people who had an interest in holiness will group up around a holiness teaching, and they become the holyists, and it becomes an "ism", a sect, a denomination. Others split off; and form up around baptism teachings. Still others gather around spiritual gifts,
or ‘Gods sovereignty’, or ‘obedience’, or ‘salvation’ or fill in the blank with the doctrine or teaching of your choice.
In the end you get the thousands of denominations or sects that fill our world today. That would be absolutely impossible if the Person of the Jesus was dominant.
What is the kingdom of God? It is Christ. If you climb inside of the Gospels, you find that the kingdom of God is Jesus Christ. Nothing else. If you are living in Christ, you are in the kingdom, and you know, as the Holy Spirit teaches you Christ, what the kingdom is in every detail. The kingdom is not some thing, in the first place. The kingdom is simply the church, the expression and manifestation of Christ. That is all; and the same is true of everything else.
What is sanctification? It is not a doctrine. It is not an 'it' at all. It is Christ. He is made unto us sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30). He is our Holiness. He is who the father sees when he looks at us.
If you are in Christ and if the Holy Spirit is teaching you Christ, then you can see sanctification as Jesus Christ; and if you are not, or He is not, then you may have a theory and a doctrine of sanctification but that doctrine will separate you from other Christians, and cause problems in believer’s lives. Keeping Christ as our sanctification is the only way to avoid this trouble.
What about baptism? Is it by immersion or sprinkling? And when different Christians show up in the church believing one or the other, which will you throw out? Do you not see that baptism is really just Jesus Christ? Nothing but him.
All else is just an outward sign and tradition. Is it wrong to follow tradition? Not necessarily, but it’s the inner that matters most, not the outer. If all you have is the outer, why bother. Get your baptisms daily for all it will do for you. Stand in a park fountain where you can be immersed and sprinkled at once, then you can be sure all your doctrinal choices are covered. Its not about that. Its about Jesus Christ. Baptism is nothing more than being buried with Jesus Christ in his death and losing your life in his, only to find yourself raised in his resurrection. This is eternal glory.
What is ‘Eternal Security’? Is it ‘once saved, always saved’? No! Eternal security is Jesus Christ. Mention ‘Once saved, always saved’ to a new believer and they immediately doubt their salvation, as they can still see the sin in their heart. Mention ‘falling from grace’ and they know they have fallen, and you have magnified the problem. Both ‘once saved, always saved’ and ‘falling from grace’ are entirely man made systems, and have nothing whatsoever to do with the Lord Jesus.
They are merely another form of bondage to lash about the necks of believers and another ‘something else’ than Jesus Christ to be fed to Christians because systematic theology does not believe he is sufficient.
What can you say to a believer and not go down this road? You can say that he has the life of Jesus Christ in him, and that life is eternal, and will live forever, and that nothing can ever change that, and that he can, for now and forever, live by that life rather than by his own. You can tell him that in trying to do so, he will fail, and that it is ok. It was known in advance that he would fail. Just get back up and keep going. His Lord loves him and will never, ever, abandon him.
What is Unity? It is a part of our God. How do we get it? We seek to know the Lord Jesus.
We pursue him with all our hearts. If however, we pursue oneness for the sake of oneness, we completely miss the Lord Jesus and will ultimately divide, but if we stubbornly pursue the Lord Jesus, we shall ultimately be one.
As 20’th century Christians, we have lived our lives in Christian school studying systematic theology; studying all the attributes of God and attributes of Christ and the etymology of each word so we could learn what each of those things is, so we could change to become what he wanted us to be. And in so doing, we have completely missed the only one who matters, and the only way that matters, because we were never intended to be in ‘Christian School’. We were intended to be in the ‘School of Christ’, where the Holy Spirit doesn’t teach us things; but only teaches us Christ.
Not only does our bent towards systems deny his ability to change us into what he wants, but because those ‘things’ we are studying, having been divorced from his person, will only be a shadow of the real person they are a part of, they lead us not towards him, but towards living in our own mind, and simply become another cause of division and problems in the Church.
You cannot with your mind, know God. You cannot with your mind, become one with your father in heaven, and without that, you cannot see His bride for who she really is, nor can you help her in the fashion she most desires to get ready for her wedding day.
The best you can hope for from this method is to feed your understanding. I repeat, You CANNOT know spirit with your mind. Remember Jesus’s words. “My father is spirit. Those who will know him, will do so in spirit and in truth.” The Holy Spirit shall lead us into all Truth. What truth is that? More specifically, who is that? It is Jesus Christ. No more. No less. Yes, Jesus Christ is not only the way, He is the destination.
It is a common belief in our day that people need a system to help them answer the questions that ‘Jesus as everything’ isn’t sufficient to answer. We are told that systematic theology offers some benefit to those who can’t grasp Jesus. ‘All that stuff about Jesus as everything is true, but people don’t get it. They do however get systems, so they need a system to follow.’
Is it possible that a tool or a system could be used to show us something of our Lord, that we may not otherwise see? Yes it is. But, is it possible for you, having begun by the spirit, to now perfect yourself by the power of your mind? No. Your flesh is the only thing a system can affect. Only the Holy Spirit can affect our spirit, and he only shares one thing with us; the life of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Please don’t be too offended by this story. It is relevant.
There was a man who went to a baker to get some brownies. He ordered a dozen brownies and the baker got them from the case and bagged them up for him. On his way out of the store, he took one out and bit into it. It had a wild and peculiar flavor. It wasn’t that it wasn’t good. It was just so different. There was something about it that was vaguely familiar but he was sure he had never tasted anything like it before. He stopped, turned, and asked the baker what was in them. The baker proceeded to explain how it was a very old family recipe. They used only the very best hand milled flour, the best chocolate, the freshest eggs, whole milk fresh from the cow this morning that had been kept just a few degrees above freezing until its use. Oh, and we add just a tiny bit of dog crap. Seeing the look on his patrons face, he added, “Don’t worry, It isn’t much.”
The question then becomes, “When you are talking about brownies is how much dog crap is too much dog crap?” The answer of course is that any amount above zero is way, way too much. The same thing applies when you are speaking of the things of God and of the Church.
Our dear brother Paul, in writing the New Testament, stated that Christians need food and that there are two types of food. There is Jesus Christ, who is good food, and there is everything else, which is crap.
This is what systematic theology attempts to replace Jesus Christ with. It (like brownies) may look good on the surface, but it is toxic to the believer, and toxic to the church. Don’t eat it.
What is this crap? It is the ‘things’ that have been divorced from his person and they can only cause damage.
What does it mean to take him as our everything? Take a look at something we call ‘fruit of the Spirit’.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:19-23)
What does this mean? What is love? Real love? Real love is Jesus Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Real love is just Jesus. Anything else is just a shadow of real love.
Let me repeat that, because it took me years to get it.
Real love is Jesus Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Real love is just Jesus. Anything else is just a shadow of real love.
What is patience? Real patience? Real patience is Jesus Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Real patience is just Jesus. Anything else is just a shadow of real patience.
What about Real joy? Real peace? Real goodness? The same thing applies. The same thing is true. All of these things are attributes of our Lord, but seeing them in their fullness may only be done by seeing Him. There is no other way.
We were not asked to manufacture these attributes for ourselves, nor to pray that the Lord would increase our portion of them, He has already given us ALL of them, and each one in the fullest amount it can possibly be given, We were simply asked to live by the life that embodies them.
He doesn’t give patience or love or peace or kindness or joy as a thing, but he gives his son Jesus who embodies all these things. Do you see the difference? Know him and know all these things, Seek these things instead of him, and you will get something far less.
Did you ever ask for patience and not get it? What that prayer is really asking is “I know you have already given me your son, and He is the best you have to give, but I want something else.”. Is it any wonder that such prayers are met with silence?
What is the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’? Let me answer with another question. What is the fruit of an apple? It is an Apple. Again, What is the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’? It is Spirit. And again, what is the Fruit of the Spirit? It is the same spirit that was the firstborn of the spirit. It is nothing else but Jesus Christ.
As I said earlier, He is not only the way, but also the destination. Cease living by your life. Live by His life, not your own, and you (and we) will become known as part of the way, instead of as a bible thumper. It is a difference that changed the world once, and can do so again.
Where does the church fit into all this? Well, ask him if he wants you to be a part of his church; if he wants you to meet with other Christians. Of course you can meet the Lord outside of the church. He will feed you outside the church, but you will ultimately (and probably secretly) crave for the feast you see the church having. Why? He always feeds his people when they are in a wilderness. But the wilderness is a place meant for Christians to pass through, not to make residence. Why would you choose to be satisfied with rice cakes when surrounded by a great feast that is yours to enjoy and all you have to do is show up?
Think of a stomach. A stomach does not live on the food it ingests. It will absolutely starve to death on a diet of the very best food you can get. The stomach does not live on filet mignon and fresh asparagus and twice baked potatoes. Not even French silk chocolate pie will do the job. In order to be fed, the stomach must take all the food it has been given, process it, and give it to the rest of the body. The body then processes that food, and gives back to the stomach what it needs to live.
This is equally true of the food your Lord gives you. Just like your stomach, It is imperative to your own health that you give away, to the body, those things your Lord has given you and that you allow them to give back the nourishment you really need. Remember that the church is the body of Christ and that you are a part of that body. Even when he feeds you directly, you cannot separate yourself from them for long and expect to grow.
What is the Church? A group of people gathered together? No. What does Paul say? Paul doesn’t shy away from it. He has seen the Lord expressed as his church and states it for what it is. ‘The Church is Christ.’ We have read that over and over and never seen it, so I’ll repeat it again. ‘The Church is Christ.’ This is the central point of Pauls teaching about the church. The great mystery spoken on in Ephesians. ‘The Church is Christ.’ It is the full expression of the Lord Jesus on the earth today, and is the real reason that Christians cannot get the food they need in the wilderness.
So, again, where does the church fit into all this? Well, First, there is no such thing as a ‘bible centered church’. The church, by definition, is centered on Jesus Christ. If it is not, then it is not the church, just another religious organization. A church may only be centered on Jesus Christ. The church is the bride of Christ. She is not an it. A church is not a denomination, nor a local portion of it. She is not someplace you go. The very concept of ‘going to church’ denies who she is.
She is, for a lack of other words; the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose. She is the reason for creation. A woman does not become a bride so that she can sit around and read her grooms love letters. No. She does it to be with the author of those letters. The universe was created for the church; not the other way around. Just as you possess a portion of your Lord, so do each of your brothers and sisters in the Lord, and it is your birthright to know Him through them. Do you want to know the Lord? Then you will know him in and through the church. Remember Paul’s words? ‘The church is Christ.’ She is the full embodiment of Christ on the earth today. Even if they call it (going to church), it is your birthright to meet with other Christians and to know the Lord with them and through them.
Are you a simple brother or sister in the church? It is your birthright to be a part of the church. It is your birthright to take part in church meetings and to share that portion of Christ that was given to you. It is your birthright to know Him through your brothers and sisters in the church. It is your birthright to share with your brothers and sisters those songs and spiritual wonders your father has given you; and to have them share the same with you. As you give away what you have received, you will find that you are being fed. You will also experience bad things. The people around you will fail, just like you do, just like I do. They will share with you not just the Lord you wanted but many other things you didn’t want and didn’t need. You will probably get a whiff of ‘those’ brownies more than once. I know I have bitten into more than my share. I have even served more than my share to other poor believers. The important point is this. The church is Christ. If you want him, this is where you will find him.
You will encounter problems; some of them will be so bad that they threaten to split the church into pieces. Cling to Him. Ignore everything else, and cling to Him. Focusing on anything but Him will lead to the same hurts and injuries and church splits we have seen for centuries. These are the same things that led our forefathers to kill one another in the name of Christ. Walk away from those things; Treat them as if they were dead. Bury them in a grave, walk away from them and cling to Him. They are not important. He is. Not only you as an individual, but the church as a group must take Him as their everything. He can and will use these circumstances to grow you and to grow his church.
Eat Christ. Drink Christ. Breathe Christ. Live Christ. Live in Him. Live through him. Allow him to live through you. This is not only the basis of an individuals life, it is also the basis of a churches life. This is the big secret of the difference between 20 centuries ago and now. If we are to share their experience, Jesus Christ must become our All.
He must be our everything; our light, our way, our truth, our patience, our wisdom, our joy, our peace. Our all in all. We must, individually and corporately, return to living by his life alone; to hear with his ears, to see with his eyes, to think with his mind, and to feel with his heart. Then, ultimately, we will find that we live in a church that speaks with his mouth.
One of the first things I found when I began researching this was ‘the hymn of the word’. History declares that John opens his gospel with part of a song from that early church! This song, found in the gospel of John 1:1-14 describes the knowledge and experience of who Jesus was to them. It is here that we begin to find the differences between their experience and what we experience today, and is when the teaching of those men began to sink in…
What we see in that song is that according to the early Church:
Jesus Christ is the Word of God; and is God.
Jesus Christ is life, and that life shines as the light of men.
Jesus Christ is light of the world.
Jesus Christ is salvation.
We later see that he is also: the way, the light, and the truth.
It is not a coincidence that the early church, who; living their lives by his life, taking Jesus Christ as their everything; as their all in all, was known as the way. The early church lived their life by his life; not by bible study, not by the inspiring sermon of the week or the illustrious theological works of the age, but by the life of their indwelling Lord.
Did they have teachers? Yes they did. Men who were led by the Holy Spirit and who taught ‘sound doctrine’. What was that ‘sound doctrine’? It was simply that Jesus Christ saved them, that His life alone could and did change them; that His life alone was the life of the church, that His life alone was worthy, and that their lives were now hid in his, and His life now existed in them, and that they could live by that life. They taught the church to daily seek His face, to seek his voice, to seek his desires, and to live by His life. They taught nothing more, and nothing less. There are no doctrines in the bible. There is only Jesus Christ.
It was the Holy Spirit who taught the early church, and taught them in what one spirit filled man called the ‘School of Christ’. The Holy Spirit didn’t teach them things or doctrines but only taught them Christ. They were not taught church doctrine, not baptism, or its various forms, not sanctification, not prophecy, or unity, not obedience, not patience, not even kindness, but only Jesus Christ who is the embodiment of all those things.
Did they at some point receive teaching in some of those things? Yes, but only because they had lost their way, (as we will discuss later) and needed to refocus on He who was important.
What do we hear today?
Today, you will hear that He is all of the above, but, if you listen more closely, those very things are then replaced with:
The bible is the Word of God.
The bible will show you how to live.
The bible is the light for your road.
The bible will keep you out of trouble.
God no longer speaks to us as he did in those days. Now we have to read the bible instead.
I once even heard a man proclaim that since all scripture was inspired by God, and since the bible is scripture, and since scripture was the word of God, and the Word of God is God, then it is obvious that the Bible is God. This is nothing but lunacy in the name of Christianity. While this is not the norm, it does feed on the prevalent thought of our time; that the bible has surpassed the indwelling Holy Spirit in its importance to our Christian lives.
This century takes the bible and puts it in the place once given to Jesus Christ alone. And here we begin to see the contrast; the difference. They were the people of Jesus Christ. They lived by his life and were known by the world as ‘The way’. We have become ‘a people of the book’ and are known by the world as ‘bible thumpers’. Do you see the difference? How should we live? It is Simple. You have within you His life. Live by it. This is the simplest truth in the universe, and one that is so completely missed.
Does a cat have to learn to meow? No. It is part of ‘cat life’. Cats live by ‘cat life’. Let me say this again. How should Christians live? It is Simple. You have within you His life. Divine Life. Live by it. Live your life entirely by the divine life that is within you. It reflects on every thought you make, and every action you choose. You have the capability to live your every moment by that life. That is what changed the world once. It can do so again.
Is it wrong to read the bible? No. Absolutely not, the bible was written as a sign to point to Jesus. You would be offended if your loved one never bothered to read what you had written to them. And so you should indeed read what you have been given. Reading the bible is a wonderful way to see Our Lord. Is it wrong to make the bible your focus? It is death. Only Jesus is worthy of your focus.
It is possible to study the bible for years and not know Christ. Yet, by knowing Christ, it is not possible to study a bible without seeing him on every page. It is merely a matter of focus. Once you change your focus from bible study to knowing Christ, the book opens up its mysteries and study finally shows real fruit.
If you ever studied geometry, you know that no matter how complex a shape may be, it can only have one center. If that center is anything other than Jesus Christ, then it is the wrong center. Jesus said, ”My father is spirit, and if you want to know him, you will do so in spirit.” You will live by His life. You cant be ‘bible centered’. You must be ‘Christ centered’.
Jesus also said something to the effect of “You read the scriptures because you seek eternal life, but they only point at me. I am eternal life, I am the truth, I am the Life, I am the way.
Everything you seek is in me.” The Bible contains truth and points at the truth, it points at the way, it points at the light, it chronicles life, but only Jesus IS the way, IS the truth, IS the light, and IS the life.
We hear daily that the bible is the truth and is the way, and is the life. Go to the bible for your help. This is akin to a group of people who wander out of the desert looking for Los Angeles, and after finally finding a road sign with Los Angeles printed on it, They make camp there, and insist they have found their goal. Unfortunately, they never notice the other part of the sign that says; “230 miles”. The sign is not Los Angeles. It is not what they were looking for, and to claim it to be so, and to live there only brings injury and death. The Bible was given as a sign. It points at Jesus Christ, and much like the Los Angeles sign, simply points the way to our final destination. We must go all the way there. He is not only the way, but the destination as well.
Our modern tradition is to take the letters of the New Testament and think of them as showing the structure of the church. We see what the New Testament presents of the church and we take the offices mentioned and the structures and where we think they all fit together and we combine that with the history of the gospels and of Acts, and create what we consider to be the superstructure of Christianity. We then take that structure and the categorical doctrines it created, and the New Testament becomes - and has become for Christianity in general - a crystallized system of practice, a systematic theology. And in doing this, we miss and lose the Lord.
Do you see what I mean by that? The Holy Spirit’s way is to take Christ and show Christ to the heart, and show that Christ is a heavenly order; not that the Bible forms a manual for a heavenly order, but that Christ is that order, and everything in the matter of order has to be kept immediately in relation to the living Person of Jesus Christ.
If it becomes some thing, then it becomes an earthly system; and you can make a thousand different earthly systems all built upon the Bible. It will support any number of different systems, any number of different interpretations, and all are represented by Christian groups who are certain they have the truth. And the reason they all exist is that these ‘things’ have been divorced from the Person of Jesus Christ and have become just things.
Unfortunately, this happens even if the subject is “Unity”. Anything, even something that is part of the essence of our Lord, once divorced from his person, becomes a cause of division. There are innumerable things and teachings that have gone down this road and each is in part responsible for the sad state we see today.
Just a few of the things which have been taken from the Scriptures and have become things that people have gathered around are "the kingdom of God", "holiness", "eternal security", "spiritual gifts", "freedom in Christ", "grace", "obedience" and ‘unity’.
And so, as it has worked out, some people who had an interest in holiness will group up around a holiness teaching, and they become the holyists, and it becomes an "ism", a sect, a denomination. Others split off; and form up around baptism teachings. Still others gather around spiritual gifts,
or ‘Gods sovereignty’, or ‘obedience’, or ‘salvation’ or fill in the blank with the doctrine or teaching of your choice.
In the end you get the thousands of denominations or sects that fill our world today. That would be absolutely impossible if the Person of the Jesus was dominant.
What is the kingdom of God? It is Christ. If you climb inside of the Gospels, you find that the kingdom of God is Jesus Christ. Nothing else. If you are living in Christ, you are in the kingdom, and you know, as the Holy Spirit teaches you Christ, what the kingdom is in every detail. The kingdom is not some thing, in the first place. The kingdom is simply the church, the expression and manifestation of Christ. That is all; and the same is true of everything else.
What is sanctification? It is not a doctrine. It is not an 'it' at all. It is Christ. He is made unto us sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30). He is our Holiness. He is who the father sees when he looks at us.
If you are in Christ and if the Holy Spirit is teaching you Christ, then you can see sanctification as Jesus Christ; and if you are not, or He is not, then you may have a theory and a doctrine of sanctification but that doctrine will separate you from other Christians, and cause problems in believer’s lives. Keeping Christ as our sanctification is the only way to avoid this trouble.
What about baptism? Is it by immersion or sprinkling? And when different Christians show up in the church believing one or the other, which will you throw out? Do you not see that baptism is really just Jesus Christ? Nothing but him.
All else is just an outward sign and tradition. Is it wrong to follow tradition? Not necessarily, but it’s the inner that matters most, not the outer. If all you have is the outer, why bother. Get your baptisms daily for all it will do for you. Stand in a park fountain where you can be immersed and sprinkled at once, then you can be sure all your doctrinal choices are covered. Its not about that. Its about Jesus Christ. Baptism is nothing more than being buried with Jesus Christ in his death and losing your life in his, only to find yourself raised in his resurrection. This is eternal glory.
What is ‘Eternal Security’? Is it ‘once saved, always saved’? No! Eternal security is Jesus Christ. Mention ‘Once saved, always saved’ to a new believer and they immediately doubt their salvation, as they can still see the sin in their heart. Mention ‘falling from grace’ and they know they have fallen, and you have magnified the problem. Both ‘once saved, always saved’ and ‘falling from grace’ are entirely man made systems, and have nothing whatsoever to do with the Lord Jesus.
They are merely another form of bondage to lash about the necks of believers and another ‘something else’ than Jesus Christ to be fed to Christians because systematic theology does not believe he is sufficient.
What can you say to a believer and not go down this road? You can say that he has the life of Jesus Christ in him, and that life is eternal, and will live forever, and that nothing can ever change that, and that he can, for now and forever, live by that life rather than by his own. You can tell him that in trying to do so, he will fail, and that it is ok. It was known in advance that he would fail. Just get back up and keep going. His Lord loves him and will never, ever, abandon him.
What is Unity? It is a part of our God. How do we get it? We seek to know the Lord Jesus.
We pursue him with all our hearts. If however, we pursue oneness for the sake of oneness, we completely miss the Lord Jesus and will ultimately divide, but if we stubbornly pursue the Lord Jesus, we shall ultimately be one.
As 20’th century Christians, we have lived our lives in Christian school studying systematic theology; studying all the attributes of God and attributes of Christ and the etymology of each word so we could learn what each of those things is, so we could change to become what he wanted us to be. And in so doing, we have completely missed the only one who matters, and the only way that matters, because we were never intended to be in ‘Christian School’. We were intended to be in the ‘School of Christ’, where the Holy Spirit doesn’t teach us things; but only teaches us Christ.
Not only does our bent towards systems deny his ability to change us into what he wants, but because those ‘things’ we are studying, having been divorced from his person, will only be a shadow of the real person they are a part of, they lead us not towards him, but towards living in our own mind, and simply become another cause of division and problems in the Church.
You cannot with your mind, know God. You cannot with your mind, become one with your father in heaven, and without that, you cannot see His bride for who she really is, nor can you help her in the fashion she most desires to get ready for her wedding day.
The best you can hope for from this method is to feed your understanding. I repeat, You CANNOT know spirit with your mind. Remember Jesus’s words. “My father is spirit. Those who will know him, will do so in spirit and in truth.” The Holy Spirit shall lead us into all Truth. What truth is that? More specifically, who is that? It is Jesus Christ. No more. No less. Yes, Jesus Christ is not only the way, He is the destination.
It is a common belief in our day that people need a system to help them answer the questions that ‘Jesus as everything’ isn’t sufficient to answer. We are told that systematic theology offers some benefit to those who can’t grasp Jesus. ‘All that stuff about Jesus as everything is true, but people don’t get it. They do however get systems, so they need a system to follow.’
Is it possible that a tool or a system could be used to show us something of our Lord, that we may not otherwise see? Yes it is. But, is it possible for you, having begun by the spirit, to now perfect yourself by the power of your mind? No. Your flesh is the only thing a system can affect. Only the Holy Spirit can affect our spirit, and he only shares one thing with us; the life of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Please don’t be too offended by this story. It is relevant.
There was a man who went to a baker to get some brownies. He ordered a dozen brownies and the baker got them from the case and bagged them up for him. On his way out of the store, he took one out and bit into it. It had a wild and peculiar flavor. It wasn’t that it wasn’t good. It was just so different. There was something about it that was vaguely familiar but he was sure he had never tasted anything like it before. He stopped, turned, and asked the baker what was in them. The baker proceeded to explain how it was a very old family recipe. They used only the very best hand milled flour, the best chocolate, the freshest eggs, whole milk fresh from the cow this morning that had been kept just a few degrees above freezing until its use. Oh, and we add just a tiny bit of dog crap. Seeing the look on his patrons face, he added, “Don’t worry, It isn’t much.”
The question then becomes, “When you are talking about brownies is how much dog crap is too much dog crap?” The answer of course is that any amount above zero is way, way too much. The same thing applies when you are speaking of the things of God and of the Church.
Our dear brother Paul, in writing the New Testament, stated that Christians need food and that there are two types of food. There is Jesus Christ, who is good food, and there is everything else, which is crap.
This is what systematic theology attempts to replace Jesus Christ with. It (like brownies) may look good on the surface, but it is toxic to the believer, and toxic to the church. Don’t eat it.
What is this crap? It is the ‘things’ that have been divorced from his person and they can only cause damage.
What does it mean to take him as our everything? Take a look at something we call ‘fruit of the Spirit’.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:19-23)
What does this mean? What is love? Real love? Real love is Jesus Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Real love is just Jesus. Anything else is just a shadow of real love.
Let me repeat that, because it took me years to get it.
Real love is Jesus Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Real love is just Jesus. Anything else is just a shadow of real love.
What is patience? Real patience? Real patience is Jesus Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Real patience is just Jesus. Anything else is just a shadow of real patience.
What about Real joy? Real peace? Real goodness? The same thing applies. The same thing is true. All of these things are attributes of our Lord, but seeing them in their fullness may only be done by seeing Him. There is no other way.
We were not asked to manufacture these attributes for ourselves, nor to pray that the Lord would increase our portion of them, He has already given us ALL of them, and each one in the fullest amount it can possibly be given, We were simply asked to live by the life that embodies them.
He doesn’t give patience or love or peace or kindness or joy as a thing, but he gives his son Jesus who embodies all these things. Do you see the difference? Know him and know all these things, Seek these things instead of him, and you will get something far less.
Did you ever ask for patience and not get it? What that prayer is really asking is “I know you have already given me your son, and He is the best you have to give, but I want something else.”. Is it any wonder that such prayers are met with silence?
What is the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’? Let me answer with another question. What is the fruit of an apple? It is an Apple. Again, What is the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’? It is Spirit. And again, what is the Fruit of the Spirit? It is the same spirit that was the firstborn of the spirit. It is nothing else but Jesus Christ.
As I said earlier, He is not only the way, but also the destination. Cease living by your life. Live by His life, not your own, and you (and we) will become known as part of the way, instead of as a bible thumper. It is a difference that changed the world once, and can do so again.
Where does the church fit into all this? Well, ask him if he wants you to be a part of his church; if he wants you to meet with other Christians. Of course you can meet the Lord outside of the church. He will feed you outside the church, but you will ultimately (and probably secretly) crave for the feast you see the church having. Why? He always feeds his people when they are in a wilderness. But the wilderness is a place meant for Christians to pass through, not to make residence. Why would you choose to be satisfied with rice cakes when surrounded by a great feast that is yours to enjoy and all you have to do is show up?
Think of a stomach. A stomach does not live on the food it ingests. It will absolutely starve to death on a diet of the very best food you can get. The stomach does not live on filet mignon and fresh asparagus and twice baked potatoes. Not even French silk chocolate pie will do the job. In order to be fed, the stomach must take all the food it has been given, process it, and give it to the rest of the body. The body then processes that food, and gives back to the stomach what it needs to live.
This is equally true of the food your Lord gives you. Just like your stomach, It is imperative to your own health that you give away, to the body, those things your Lord has given you and that you allow them to give back the nourishment you really need. Remember that the church is the body of Christ and that you are a part of that body. Even when he feeds you directly, you cannot separate yourself from them for long and expect to grow.
What is the Church? A group of people gathered together? No. What does Paul say? Paul doesn’t shy away from it. He has seen the Lord expressed as his church and states it for what it is. ‘The Church is Christ.’ We have read that over and over and never seen it, so I’ll repeat it again. ‘The Church is Christ.’ This is the central point of Pauls teaching about the church. The great mystery spoken on in Ephesians. ‘The Church is Christ.’ It is the full expression of the Lord Jesus on the earth today, and is the real reason that Christians cannot get the food they need in the wilderness.
So, again, where does the church fit into all this? Well, First, there is no such thing as a ‘bible centered church’. The church, by definition, is centered on Jesus Christ. If it is not, then it is not the church, just another religious organization. A church may only be centered on Jesus Christ. The church is the bride of Christ. She is not an it. A church is not a denomination, nor a local portion of it. She is not someplace you go. The very concept of ‘going to church’ denies who she is.
She is, for a lack of other words; the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose. She is the reason for creation. A woman does not become a bride so that she can sit around and read her grooms love letters. No. She does it to be with the author of those letters. The universe was created for the church; not the other way around. Just as you possess a portion of your Lord, so do each of your brothers and sisters in the Lord, and it is your birthright to know Him through them. Do you want to know the Lord? Then you will know him in and through the church. Remember Paul’s words? ‘The church is Christ.’ She is the full embodiment of Christ on the earth today. Even if they call it (going to church), it is your birthright to meet with other Christians and to know the Lord with them and through them.
Are you a simple brother or sister in the church? It is your birthright to be a part of the church. It is your birthright to take part in church meetings and to share that portion of Christ that was given to you. It is your birthright to know Him through your brothers and sisters in the church. It is your birthright to share with your brothers and sisters those songs and spiritual wonders your father has given you; and to have them share the same with you. As you give away what you have received, you will find that you are being fed. You will also experience bad things. The people around you will fail, just like you do, just like I do. They will share with you not just the Lord you wanted but many other things you didn’t want and didn’t need. You will probably get a whiff of ‘those’ brownies more than once. I know I have bitten into more than my share. I have even served more than my share to other poor believers. The important point is this. The church is Christ. If you want him, this is where you will find him.
You will encounter problems; some of them will be so bad that they threaten to split the church into pieces. Cling to Him. Ignore everything else, and cling to Him. Focusing on anything but Him will lead to the same hurts and injuries and church splits we have seen for centuries. These are the same things that led our forefathers to kill one another in the name of Christ. Walk away from those things; Treat them as if they were dead. Bury them in a grave, walk away from them and cling to Him. They are not important. He is. Not only you as an individual, but the church as a group must take Him as their everything. He can and will use these circumstances to grow you and to grow his church.
Eat Christ. Drink Christ. Breathe Christ. Live Christ. Live in Him. Live through him. Allow him to live through you. This is not only the basis of an individuals life, it is also the basis of a churches life. This is the big secret of the difference between 20 centuries ago and now. If we are to share their experience, Jesus Christ must become our All.
He must be our everything; our light, our way, our truth, our patience, our wisdom, our joy, our peace. Our all in all. We must, individually and corporately, return to living by his life alone; to hear with his ears, to see with his eyes, to think with his mind, and to feel with his heart. Then, ultimately, we will find that we live in a church that speaks with his mouth.
