Meaning
The Pattern
Pattern Overview
Church in Scripture
Why the Difference?
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Meaning
The Pattern
Pattern Overview
Church in Scripture
Why the Difference?
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If the Bible's so great, why don't the churches of today look like the church of the New Testament?
How can we know anything about anythingTo try to explain truth to him who loves it not is but to give him more plentiful material for misinterpretation. George Macdonald Do we have to make a choice between science and the Bible? NO! That is NOT where the problem is, but that is what everyone seems to want to talk about. Take science as an example. How can we know anything about the created material world around us? How can we know anything from what we can see using natural sciences? We all see the same things in the material world, but we don't come to the same answers. Why is that? How can we know anything about the Bible and what it teaches? Every person believes different things about the Bible and how it should be read. Why is that? Same scientific facts. Different answers. Same Bible. Different answers. Why is that? The true question is this: How do we come to our answers that we get from what we can see through science or what we can read in the Bible? How do we think about what we see using science or what we read in the Bible? How do we analyze what we have seen and read? How do we interpret what we have seen and read? We use logic, but logic always has a foundation. Jesus talked about building on the Rock. That Rock is Jesus Christ. He is the true foundation. There are also the false foundations of the ungodly. An example might help. Question: Why do believe in evolution? Answer: Because my science teacher told me that evolution is scientific fact. Question: Why do you believe your science teacher? Answer: because he agrees with the textbook he assigned us to read. Now, we have asked, "Why?" twice. If we continued to ask, "Why?" we would come down to the foundation of this person's thoughts. When we get down to the foundations, there are no more questions that can be answered. So where to the foundations come from? There are three possibilities.
Question: Why do believe in creation? Answer: Because God revealed this to me. He spoke to me through the Bible and gave me His faith so that I could believe Him. See how quickly we got to the foundation. This is a belief that has a foundation that is solid and that cannot be moved. In reality, the things that we make up, that are pulled from the air, are actually from demons and all the lies of demons spring from the prince of demons, Satan. So these are one and the same. Divine revelation comes from the Almighty, Creator, God, Jesus Christ. So there are only two choices, but how do we know there are only two choices? Because God has revealed this truth to us. The question then is how do we tell the difference between the revelation that comes from God and the lies of Satan? The answer is that everyone who sincerely wants to do the will of God will know. Jesus said, "If you really want to obey God, you will know if what I teach comes from God or from me" The rejection of the revelation that comes from God is not an intellectual problem. It is a moral problem. Jesus said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: For everyone who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? Matthew 7:7-11 You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. You can set the truth before someone, but you can't make anyone believe those things that they don't want to submit to. They have to want to obey God. How frequently it is brought to our attention that nothing good can be done if the will is wrong! Reason alone fails to justify itself. Richard M. Weaver Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32) "If we are not prepared to buy the truth at the cost of our own humbling we shall not receive it" Lies appear to have no price upon them. They seem cheap and they abound everywhere. But for the truth there is always an obvious price to pay. [God] has set a day when He will judge all the world's people with fairness. And He has chosen the man Jesus to do the judging for Him. God has given proof of this to all of us by raising Jesus from death" (Acts 17:31). "There is a judge for the one who rejects Me [Jesus] and does not accept My words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day" (John 12:48) That also stands for every person who speaks the utterances of Jesus. When we hear them, we hear Jesus Christ, and we either accept or reject. Every person who follows Jesus Christ is commanded to only speak His utterances and not their own. "When we love others, we know that we belong to the truth, and we feel at ease in the presence of God" (1 John 3:19) Ravi Zacharias did two open forums in a university. On the second night, one man told him that he had brought two Atheists in the night before who said that the arguments presented were so strong that they could not contend with them, but they were going to remain Atheists because that is what they prefer to be true. In listening to an unbeliever and drawing out his reasoning, the unbeliever finally came to his foundations. They turned out to be assumptions that were pulled from the air. When asked why he believed his basic assumption, the unbeliever looked startled and blurted out, “I guess I’m making the whole thing up.” It was quite a revelation to him since he hadn't even known that he had any assumptions. However, he decided to remain an Atheist because he didn’t want God to rule over him. 
It seems as if the Scriptural order of the Church is widely rejected by religious people. There are several reasons. First, any precept of God is spiritual in nature. Spiritual things must be revealed. They are not reasoned out. Even the Scripture says that spiritual things must be spiritually discerned. How can someone walk according to something they can't understand. Every Christian should be in constant prayer for God's continual unfolding revelation. There are things that God would love to reveal to each of us, but we have not yet become alive enough to God that we can receive them. We all walk at a much lower level than God intends. Jesus bought a lot for us on Calvary, which we have not yet been able to receive. May we continue to learn how to yield to the Spirit of God. Sometimes, a Christian may see God's order in Scripture, and God may begin to reveal the meaning and application, but tradition and the pressure of organizations prevent the Christian from obeying God in the matter. When we disobey God, our senses become dull. Once a person has failed to follow the leading of God, that person may make up a different way or try to explain away the Scripture. Often, theologies about God and the Scripture will keep us from moving forward with God. We have been brainwashed by theology. It doesn't take much leaven to leaven the dough. Speculation and rationalization take place without our conscious effort. This theology becomes a veil in front of our eyes so that we can't understand Scripture just as it did of the religious people in the days of Christ's incarnation. The Scriptural order has very little for the flesh. The lure of money, power, and prestige may keep a person from receiving the revelation of God. There is also the natural human tendency to want to do what we want to do. The flesh does not want to be led by God and is very deceptive. It cannot be emphasized enough that Jesus paid the price for much more than just our being saved and remaining in rebellion against God. He means to transfigure us by renewing our minds. The Church plays a central role. These are not laws or rules. The ability to follow the Scriptural principles is the outgrowth of being born again and walking in the Spirit of God. People, even though they are Christians, do not want to be led by the Spirit of God. There is much for the Church to walk into, much that Jesus died for on the cross, but to receive what Jesus has for us requires that we let go of our own ways. This is how we were born again, and this is how we will receive the fullness of what God has for us. As with everything that God has given, this must be revealed to every person. Many just don't have ears to hear and a heart to understand. There are many who have been obedient to the restoration of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. There is that which started at Sharon Schools, and this is not exclusive to Sharon Schools. There may be others who have experienced the same restoration. There are many folds now and one Shepherd, Jesus, but there will come a day when there will be one Shepherd and one fold. Unity is coming, but it will come in God's timing and in His way, not through ecumenical movements and human efforts. We know that this unfolding is counterfeited. Every gift of God, including salvation, is counterfeited. By their fruits shall you know them. The Scriptural order is very plain. The counterfeits: There are many instances where authority is claimed but a man or an organization is glorified. Anyone would know that this is not from God. A friend of mine went to a seminar where anyone who wanted it could purchase the right to be a "five-fold ministry." Anyone would know that this is not from God. There is a group that saw, in Scripture, that there has to be apostles in the Church. They didn't see any, so they decided to be the apostles. Anyone would know that this is not from God. There are groups of apostles that function under a one-man ministry. Anyone would know that this is not from God. There are those who are called apostles but are not under the headship of all the other apostles. They desire to be maverick. Anyone would know that this is not from God. Some have thought that there should be apostles under the headship of a local pastor. Anyone would know that this is not from God. The Church, What Is It and What Is Its PurposeGod's method by which He intends to bring us all to fullness is through a body ministry operating in the Church He designed. (Go) Haggai 2:7-9 The Coming Glory Of The Church (Go) God Has Restored Much That Is Necessary So That The Church Can Come Into The Fullness. (Go) What is the 5-fold ministry and why is it important? (Go) The Reality of the Body of Christ (Go) Discerning Christ In Your Brother or Sister, the Gifts, Ministries, Offices, and Ordinances of the Body of Christ (Go) Are All Who Call Themselves Christians Free from Religious Systems of this Age? (Go) What are the Scriptural Christianity Teachings? (Go) What are the gifts of the Spirit and how are they received? (Go) Misconceptions About the Church (Go) Fulfillment: Understanding What It Is To Be a Christian and Understanding Christianity (Go) What is God's way to come to full maturity in Christ, and how can I know it is the right way? By the Church. By that which every joint supplies. (Go) Are the local churches to teach no other doctrine than the Apostle's Doctrine? (Go) Aren’t there false apostles and false prophets? (Go) Why is the 5-fold ministry of the Scripture so unpopular? (Go) Ephesians 4:15-16, Body Ministry By That Which Every Joint Supplies (Go) Aren't apostles something from the past? (Go) Is there really any pattern in Scripture for the Church? Yes. Most people don't like it. (Go) What does the Bible say about the government of the church? (Go) What About Pastors, Elders and Deacons? (Go) Isn't God's way like a smorgasbord where you can pick and choose what you want or don't want? No. (Go) Was There Such a Thing as The Apostolic Age? (Go) What Are the Two Main Purposes of the Church? (Go) What are the strengths and weaknesses that can be seen in the Church? (Go) What is the Real Church, and what is its purpose? (Go) What is Great Babylon and How is it Falling Today? (Go) Can human effort help the church to fulfil its mission in the earth? (Go) Is God's Way something where I can design it myself? (Go) There will be a coming together of the Body of Christ in unity? (Go) What is God's plan for building the church? (Go) How can the church come to the full glory God has planned for her? (Go) Define Church: The Greek Word For Church, Ekklesia, Literally Means Called Out of Summoned (Go) What do the Scriptures teach how God designed the Church? (Go) What is the foundation of the church? (Go) What is God's way of bringing the Church to unity and to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ? (Go) Can Spiritual Gifts, Offices, And Ministries Be Counterfeited? (Go) What Happened To the Church that It No Longer Follows the Biblical Pattern? (Go) What Is the Problem with Forbidding the People of God to Partake of the Power of the Spirit of God? (Go) Why have so many Christians rejected the traditional church organizations? (Go) Humanistic Speculations Have A Way Of Creeping Into The Church. They Are Poison From The Evil One. (Go) Meaning of Life (Go) We Need The Church (Go) Who sets ministries in the Church and how does God say that is to be decided? (Go) Questions and Answers: What is the role of the deacons in this situation? (Go) Questions and Answers: What is the Church; How should it be governed? (Go) 2 Corinthians 11:13-14, False Apostles (Go) Don't Be Fooled By The Many False Promises Of The Worldly Systems And All Their Empty Promises (Go) Following Hireling Preachers: The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. (Go) Following people who were not sent by God (Go) Galatians 2:2 Paul Went To The Other Apostles By Revelation To Make Sure He Was Not Off Track. He Was Not Independent. (Go) Was Peter the foundation of the church and the first pope? (Go) Seek to Know God. (Go) God's Order Works. (Go) James 5:14-15, The Elders Anoint With Oil For Healing (Go) Feedback Question: James 5:13 (Go) Scriptures that use the Word, Church (Go) Taking Ground, Holding Ground, Total Victory (Go) The Problem Of Churches That Are Not Fulfilling Their Purpose. (Go) Your Purpose in Life (Go) John 3:16 What does it really mean? (Go) Why must I believe in Jesus to be saved? (Go) To Successfully Fulfill Your Purpose in Life, You Must be Born Again (Go) How Can I Introduce Foundational Truth About the Five Fold Gifting to My Church? (Go) Why is the pattern of Scripture so important? (Go) Apostles and the 5-fold Ministries In the Bible (Go) ApostlesHow Long Will There Be Apostles? (Go) 1 Corinthians 1:1-4:2 The Pattern Of Apostles (Go) 1 Corinthians 12:28-30, God Hath Set Some In The Church, First Apostles, Secondarily Prophets, (Go) 2 Corinthians 11:13-14, False Apostles (Go) Acts 15:2-16:4, God's Order For Establishing Doctrine In The Universal Church (Go) Acts 8:14-20, Apostles Being Led By The Holy Spirit (Go) Aren't There False Apostles Out There? (Go) Don't Be Fooled By The Many False Promises Of The Worldly Systems And All Their Empty Promises (Go) Don't Some Theologians And Scholars Say That There Were Only 12 Apostles And That Is All There Will Ever Be? (Go) False Kingdoms (Go) Following people who were not sent by God (Go) Galatians 2:2 Paul Went To The Other Apostles By Revelation To Make Sure He Was Not Off Track. He Was Not Independent. (Go) God's method by which He intends to bring us all to fullness is through a body ministry operating in the Church He designed. (Go) Was Peter the foundation of the church and the first pope? (Go) Seek to Know God. (Go) God's Order Works. (Go) Isn't God's way like a smorgasbord where you can pick and choose what you want or don't want? No. (Go) God Forbids Speculation. (Go) Is there really any pattern in Scripture for the Church? Yes. Most people don't like it. (Go) Holiness Brings Clearer Vision and Hearing (Go) How Can I Know God's Will And Be Led By The Spirit Of God? (Go) Was There Such a Thing as The Apostolic Age? (Go) Jeremiah 23:16-22 False Prophets (Go) Joel 2:25-32 The Restoration In The Remnant (Go) Are the local churches to teach no other doctrine than the Apostle's Doctrine? (Go) Matthew 11:25 God Has Hid These Things From The Wise And Prudent, And Hast Revealed Them Unto Babes. (Go) Press Toward The Mark Of Your High Calling In Christ Jesus (Go) The Bible -- Satan Knows that He Can Keep You in Frustration if You are Not Faithfully being Fed by the Bible. (Go) Questions and Answers: What is the Church; How should it be governed? (Go) Questions and Answers: What is the role of the deacons in this situation? (Go) Receiving Revelation (Go) Romans 8:28-29 God's purpose for our lives is that we become like Jesus. (Go) What is the 5-fold ministry and why is it important? (Go) Aren't apostles something from the past? (Go) Seek The Lord For Revelation As You Read The Scripture (Go) Taking Ground, Holding Ground, Total Victory (Go) The Problem Of Churches That Are Not Fulfilling Their Purpose. (Go) What does the Bible say about the government of the church? (Go) Why is the 5-fold ministry of the Scripture so unpopular? (Go) Aren’t there false apostles and false prophets? (Go) The Move of the Spirit of 1948 From the Papers and Memories of Milford E. Kirkpatrick (Go) How can the church come to the full glory God has planned for her? (Go) There will be a coming together of the Body of Christ in unity? (Go) Universal Elders Traveling Ministries (Go) Walking In Submission Will Cause You To Grow In Christ. (Go) Can The Ministries And Offices Of The Church Be Counterfeited? (Go) What do the Scriptures teach how God designed the Church? (Go) What is the Real Church, and what is its purpose? (Go) What is the Scriptural Order of Apostles (Go) Your Purpose in Life (Go) Did God restore the 5-fold ministry? (Go) John 3:16 What does it really mean? (Go) Apostles and the 5-fold Ministries In the Bible (Go) Questions and Answers: Please help me to connect the old testament ministers to the new testament fivefold offices clearly stating the similarities of these offices. (Go) Bible Dictionary: Define Apostle, Definition of Apostle (Go) The Duration of the Apostles--How Long Will Apostles Be In the Church? (Go) What Does the Bible Say About False Apostles, False Prophets, False Teachers, and False Pastors? (Go) Apostles are NOT Infallible. There are NO Infallible Human Beings. (Go) Apostles Equip the Church with the Foundation (Go) Apostles Equip the Church with Doctrine and Revelation (Go) Apostles Equip the Church with Government (Go) Apostles Equip the Members of the Churches with Spiritual Gifts (Go) Twenty Apostles are Named in the New Testament of the Bible (Go) Apostles Had the Ministries of Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher (Go) Who Sets an Apostle? How Do Apostles Become Apostles? (Go) God's WayThe Real Church is Not Only God's METHOD to Bring Us to Fulfillment, but it IS the Fulfillment (Go) The Calling Of God (Go) What are the Scriptural Christianity Teachings? (Go) No Response: The Seed that Falls by the Way Side, the Trampled Path (Go) Isn't God's way like a smorgasbord where you can pick and choose what you want or don't want? No. (Go) What are the strengths and weaknesses that can be seen in the Church? (Go) How do churches become confused? (Go) Wisdom: Righteousness (Go) Wisdom: Holiness (Go) The Reality of Christ, the Head of the Body (Go) To Successfully Fulfill Your Purpose in Life, You Must be Born Again (Go) Gal 5:23 Questions and Answers: What do you mean by against such there is no law? (Go) Questions and Answers: What is the Church; How should it be governed? (Go) 1Timothy 5:17-19, The Order Of Local Elders (Go) 1 Corinthians 1:1-4:2 The Pattern Of Apostles (Go) 1 Corinthians 12:28-30, God Hath Set Some In The Church, First Apostles, Secondarily Prophets, (Go) 2 Corinthians 11:13-14, False Apostles (Go) Acts 15:2-16:4, God's Order For Establishing Doctrine In The Universal Church (Go) Acts 8:14-20, Apostles Being Led By The Holy Spirit (Go) Aren't There False Apostles Out There? (Go) Is Being Filled With The Spirit And Speaking In Tongues Biblical? (Go) Being Set Into Your Ministry By The Laying On Of Hands And Prophecy Of The Presbytery Will Build You Up (Go) Discerning Christ In Your Brother or Sister, the Gifts, Ministries, Offices, and Ordinances of the Body of Christ (Go) Don't Be Fooled By The Many False Promises Of The Worldly Systems And All Their Empty Promises (Go) Don't Some Theologians And Scholars Say That There Were Only 12 Apostles And That Is All There Will Ever Be? (Go) False Kingdoms (Go) Following Hireling Preachers: The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. (Go) Following people who were not sent by God (Go) Galatians 2:2 Paul Went To The Other Apostles By Revelation To Make Sure He Was Not Off Track. He Was Not Independent. (Go) God's method by which He intends to bring us all to fullness is through a body ministry operating in the Church He designed. (Go) Was Peter the foundation of the church and the first pope? (Go) Seek to Know God. (Go) God's Order Works. (Go) Is there really any pattern in Scripture for the Church? Yes. Most people don't like it. (Go) Holiness Brings Clearer Vision and Hearing (Go) How Can I Know God's Will And Be Led By The Spirit Of God? (Go) Was There Such a Thing as The Apostolic Age? (Go) James 5:14-15, The Elders Anoint With Oil For Healing (Go) Feedback Question: James 5:13 (Go) Jeremiah 23:16-22 False Prophets (Go) Are the local churches to teach no other doctrine than the Apostle's Doctrine? (Go) Misconceptions About the Church (Go) Questions and Answers: What is the role of the deacons in this situation? (Go) Aren't apostles something from the past? (Go) Taking Ground, Holding Ground, Total Victory (Go) The Problem Of Churches That Are Not Fulfilling Their Purpose. (Go) Why is the 5-fold ministry of the Scripture so unpopular? (Go) The Move of the Spirit of 1948 From the Papers and Memories of Milford E. Kirkpatrick (Go) What About Pastors, Elders and Deacons? (Go) Can The Ministries And Offices Of The Church Be Counterfeited? (Go) Your Purpose in Life (Go) Why is the pattern of Scripture so important? (Go) Is God's Way something where I can design it myself? (Go) Isn't it just being picky to want to do things the Scriptural way? (Go) Author/Compiler Last updated: Sep, 2011 |
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God has established the pattern of Scripture, for life and for the Church. You can feel free to use the Contact Form further down on this page to ask any question regarding this pattern of Scripture. The Church, the Body of Christ, and discernment of this Body, is the method that God is using to finish the work in His Body. The Body of Christ, God's Temple, is built up by that which every joint supplies, building each other up in love, and the Temple must be built according to the pattern of Scripture. 
We believe the Holy Scriptures teach:
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Contact FormYou can feel free to use this Contact Form to ask any question regarding this pattern of Scripture. The Church, the Body of Christ, and discernment of this Body, is the method that God is using to finish the work in His Body. The Body of Christ, God's Temple, is built up by that which every joint supplies, building each other up in love, and the Temple must be built according to the pattern of Scripture. If you would like to ask any other question on any subject or submit a correction or suggestion you may use this form.Please remember to include your email address if you want an answer. John 10:35b the Scripture cannot be broken, Put a Link To This Page on Your Site. HTML Code: Links: SeekFind.net ~ If the Bible's so great, why don't the churches of today look like the church of the New Testament? If the Bible's so great, why don't the churches of today look like the church of the New Testament? Human theology and reasoning is not necessarily correct, but the Bible is without error. The Bible can only be understood by revelation, and revelation is given by the Spirit of God. God does reveal in His own way. But we only know in part. If we think we know any thing, we do not know it as we ought. We are instructed, by God, to keep seeking Him. The Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth. The truth sets us free. Lies bind us. Whoever seeks Jesus does find Him. Jesus is the truth. 
THE CONCLUSION |
