I have certainly
always felt that children acquire their concept of God from their fathers. If
he is hard, aloof, inaccessible, we translate that to God. What a
responsibility to model right ideas in the lives of our children - because they
aspire to what they see, not what they hear.
Well, James, the brother
of Jesus, was an advocate of a practical faith. He spoke of pure religion,
undefiled: one that visits widows and the fatherless. He also said, what Luther
considered borderline blasphemy, “faith without works is dead”.
He added, “show me
your faith without works and I will show you my faith with my works”. He had
many other pithy things to say about how we treat each other, the bridling of the
tongue, single-minded prayer as opposed to babblings, and so on.
It may account for his
late acceptance of Jesus as His personal redeemer. He was not evident in most
of His brother’s life work, but afterwards became an absolute pillar in the Jerusalem
church.
He never went on missionary
trips nor was he an evangelical powerhouse, but even the greatest of leaders
deferred to James. The understated, balanced wisdom he showed in the dispute
over circumcision, reveals a very pragmatic mind.
Although Paul
advocated grace above most things, in truth his teachings lean into the ideas
of James. He taught in Ephesians 4 that we are the body, the physical presence
of Jesus, on earth.
The world gets its
concept of God, from us. We are the salt of the earth.
Have you seen Jesus? I
have. Yep, personally. I saw Him standing in the midst of His people, revealed
through the collective. I saw His arms, His hands and His feet, at work in the living
stones that make up His house. No church building or religious liturgy could do
that for me.
Indeed, Paul argues
that in the dynamic of church life we grow up into His fullness and likeness,
to the extent that Paul accepts that even ministry is only a means to a greater
end, as in “these must continue until we come into the fullness of Christ”.
He argues that if we
are rooted and grounded in Jesus we will ultimately grasp the length, depth and
height of Christ and know His love in a perfect way.
Those who lead with
spirituality, tend to become spiritual hermits, isolated in their holy huddles
and somewhat irrelevant – although we have all been there at some stage.
Those who engage the practical
framework for this faith, the church, and immerse themselves into its dynamic,
will reach a fullness that will be enviable in this fragmented world.
Paul’s teachings on
leadership also reflect on a framework. Leaders miss the point when they
presume that the church is merely a platform for their scintillating
personalities and their silver tongues. That was never Paul’s inference.
As
such, ticking boxes on music, buildings, systems and ministry, absolutely
misses the point and detracts from Paul’s objectives.
A division of
functions, akin to the separation of powers, in say the US constitutional
framework, was part of the wineskin or framework that Paul had in mind.
Thus, for him, elders
were intended as gatekeepers and enablers. They should be without conflict of
interest, never promote their own ambitions or interest, but objectively govern,
keep out wolves and steward our heritage: to enable believers to become a holy
priesthood (1 Pet 2:9).
They are the heartbeat
of the faith and by that I refer to what others reduced to “laymen”. I
absolutely hate the clergy-laity model. It is not biblical at all. If Jesus was
willing to be the foundation, thus at the bottom of the pile, leaders belong
there too.
In fact Paul also cast
the Apostles and Prophets into the foundations of the church. He saw a church
with sound foundations built up into a holy habitation for God’s spirit.
The role of
ministries, is as distinct from governance and the priesthood, as prophets were
from judges or priests in the Old Testament. They do not govern, nor function
as priests, but as independent voices of challenge, inspiration and correction.
There is so much to
say about all of this, but the point is that both James and Paul saw deeper
spirituality starting with a practical framework and growing from there into a
fuller expression of the faith to which we swear allegiance.
To believers and the world
outside, to the next generation, to young and old, to male and female, Jew and
Gentile, Bond and free, Black and White (Galatians 3:28): we are the living
evidence of Christ in the world.
If you can get your
mind around it, John 17 goes on to imply that Jesus foresaw us becoming an
effective extension of the Godhead. Unbelievable.
(c) Peter Missing: bethelstone@gmail.com
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