Christ Bible Church -

 

A Table in the Wilderness

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WORD and SPIRIT

 “Who also made us sufficient as

ministers of the new covenant, not of

the letter but of the Spirit; for the

letter kills, but the Spirit gives

life” (2 Cor.3:6).

A tragic event that has plagued the church throughout its long history is when God’s presence and blessing depart from His people. The Bible warns the professing church over and over again that if God’s people persist in sin and abandon close fellowship with Him, His Spirit will be quenched and His abiding presence removed. Ichabod will be it’s new name – “the glory is departed” (1 Sam.4:21). Israel in the Old Testament and the churches of Revelation 2 and 3 are the most striking examples of what happens when God finally gives His luke-warm, hypocritical, lifeless, people over to their own ways -- “Judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Pet.4:17). Perhaps the most astonishing and grievous thing of all is that they are usually unaware when His presence and blessing have departed. Having lost God’s spiritual blessing they content themselves with artificial programs and increased numbers as evidence of God’s continued favor.

 Indeed, the flesh can produce outward results without any need for God. External growth may occur, but for all intents and purposes the church has become a mere religious organization with the name “Christian” attached to it but with no spiritual substance. The Bible says many of these so-called churches are “synagogues of Satan” (Rev.2:9; 3:9). They are deceived and blind to the reality that God has long since removed His blessing from them and has extinguished their lampstand.  What a horrible tragedy!

Many true Christians in dead churches have long languished under ministries of death and have cried to the Lord to be delivered from spiritual bondage and brought back into the land of the living.  When a church’s lampstand is finally put out it is often due to the failure to maintain a “ministry of the Spirit” (2 Cor.3:8). It is much easier to build a church around a teaching ministry, than both the ministries of the Word and Spirit -- but both are commanded! Let me enlarge upon our subject of “Word and Spirit” by touching on three related points from scripture.

1. Life

“The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor.3:6). The Apostle Paul here is not implying that the word of God is not as important as the Holy Spirit. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit are not in competition with one another. Paul is teaching that both are absolutely necessary for a ministry of life to exist.  To prove this Paul points to the source of our sufficiency as new covenant ministers. “Clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tab-lets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God (vss.3,5).” The source of our sufficiency is not the word alone. If it was then Paul would not have said, “our sufficiency is from God” (3:5b). Paul tells the Corinthians that he ministered Christ to them “not with ink,” that is, not by the word alone, but by “the Spirit of the living God” (3:3). If the Holy Spirit didn’t give life and power to Paul’s preaching, his words would have fallen on deaf ears. Likewise, if the word by itself could produce spiritual results then why do we need to spend hours crying to God in prayer for the Holy Spirit’s blessing If the word alone could produce converts then why did Jesus teach that the Holy Spirit’s power was necessary in making the gospel effectual?  -- “Tarry in Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high” (Acts 24:49).

Moreover, Paul’s use of the term “living” God (2 Cor.3:3) is not trivial. The Holy Spirit’s purpose in anointing the spoken word is to bring life out of death because, “God is not the God of the dead but of the living” (Mt.22:32). New Testament pastors are called “ministers of the Spirit” because it is through their public and private ministrations, that the Holy Spirit renews and perpetuates God’s life in His saints. And without the Spirit’s influence the word of God produces death, not life (2 Cor.3:7-9).

Some will inevitably misunderstand what we are saying and somehow believe that we are disparaging the word of God. On the contrary, we are not putting down the word but are elevating both Word and Spirit to their scriptural place and inseparable relationship as the God ordained means of creating and sustaining spiritual life.

 2. Balance

Both Word and Spirit provide a vital and indispensable ministry in the local church. We call it a balanced ministry. Without this balance the church will eventually be-come anemic, deformed, and dead in some or all of its parts. Jesus refers to this need of balance in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are life.”  Here Jesus requires both “word” and “Spirit” to bring life.

Furthermore, balance is necessary if we are to worship God acceptably as indicated in John 4:24, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth.” We must lament and mourn the fact that in many churches an abominable imbalance exists in their approach to worship. The true believer, the one who is born of the Spirit, the one who knows God in his heart, will never be satisfied, edified, and nourished in a worship service where the Holy Spirit’s ministry and presence is totally absent. For God to be pleased with our worship He must be worshipped in truth (sound doctrine) and Spirit. How often is lip-service paid to God in our public prayers: “God help us to worship you in Spirit and in truth,” but deep inside we lack the hunger, thirst, faith, sincerity, and heart purity necessary to bring the Holy Spirit’s abiding presence and blessing to our worship. God have mercy upon us if all we have to offer Him in worship are liturgy, rituals, ceremonies, traditions, programs, religious words and fleshly techniques.  In recent years we have witnessed a notorious absence of the power of the Holy Spirit in its teaching, preaching, fellowship, worship services, leaders, and church life. The church desperately and urgently needs to restore the balance of Word and Spirit in its worship, preaching, and body life so that its glorious doctrines may be adorned in the mighty power of the Holy Spirit!  “For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance” (1 Thess.1:5).

 3. Religiosity And Hyper-Intellectualism.

The Pharisees were experts in the rules and regulations of the Old Testament, and yet they were almost completely ignorant of it’s underlying spiritual meaning, and they certainly had no personal relationship with the God of the scriptures.  Jesus told the Pharisees the reason for their unbelief and their ultimate rejection of His teachings and ministry, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” (Jn.6:63a). The Pharisees were teachers and caretakers of the law, but the Holy Spirit had not illuminated their darkened minds to comprehend truth spiritually. Only the Holy Spirit can transform the dead letter into “living epistles.” Thus, having no capacity to see things with “spiritual eyes” the Pharisees had no other realm in which they could perform their duties but the purely intellectual, religious, and physical. Their lack of the Holy Spirit’s illumination and power led to the unthinkable:  They rejected and crucified their Messiah. They were blind leaders of the blind.

The absence of the Holy Spirit cast great darkness on the minds and hearts of the Pharisees.  Jesus identifies this problem with piercing clarity by telling them, and these are they which testify of Me” (Jn.5:39). They had committed what Adolph Saphir calls bibliolatry (making an idol of the Bible and it’s doctrines). The Pharisees were professional religionists whose religion, scriptures, system of doctrine, and national heritage were ends in them-selves.  However, God never gave any gift, benefit, or privilege to us that are ends in themselves except Jesus Christ! ”These are they which testify of ME .” All of God’s gifts, aids, means, tools, and benefits -- including the scriptures, the church, and every other spiritual blessing -- are but servants to lead us to Christ!  The ultimate purpose of the written word is to bring us into contact with the living word, Jesus. “For Christ is the end of the law” (Rom.10:4).  “For no other foundation can any-one lay, than that which is laid which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor.3:11).  What about us? What about our churches and ministers? What about you, dear reader? Has the Holy Spirit burdened your heart to see Jesus Christ as the most important ministry in your life and in your church? Without this conviction we tend to drift towards religiosity and hyper-rationalism. Hold on to your first love, Jesus Christ. If you have wandered from Him be encouraged and return to Him, for God says, “If you will return to Me, I will return to You.” May God give us grace to know Him in both Word and Spirit!

 Joseph Jacowitz

 

SPIRITUAL MINISTRY

1 Cor. 2:1-5

The modern church is saturated with ministry gimmicks and clever methodologies in her so-called efforts to reach out to the unsaved and to edify the saints of God. When all is said and done -- when the smoke has cleared and the dust has settled -- the burning questions still remain in the consciousness of those who are enjoying real, vital contact with the Living God:  Where is the power of God in all of this activity? Are the “spiritual results” which we are supposed to be witnessing in the church’s ministries genuine realities, which can only be explained by some supernatural intervention in time and space -- things which actually count in God’s eyes -- or are we merely spectators to illegitimate children spun out of the womb of a humanistic mother? Where is spiritual ministry?

 The Merely Human Tools (V. 1)

In addressing the church at Corinth, Paul had to deal with a number of potential perversions of Christianity. These ugly fruits sprung out of the soil of both Jewish and Greek distortions of the biblical gospel. To the sign-requesting Jews, the message of a crucified Christ was a stumbling block. To the wisdom-addicted Greeks, the same sacrificial, propitiatory death of the God-Man was foolishness (1 Cor. 1:22-24). “And I brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God” (1 Cor. 2:1). Paul’s preaching was not characterized by the genius of rhetorical arts and devices, nor by the impressive philosophical arguments which scratched the intellectual itch of the man-idolizing elitists. Granted, God can use the Spirit-wrought gifts of an Apollos, who was “an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures” (Acts 18:24). He can use the bold preaching of humble fishermen who are obviously “uneducated and untrained” (Acts 4:13).   He can use the “contemptible speech” (2 Cor. 10:10) of a well educated former religious zealot and persecutor of the church. And a carnal church could build a following around all three! (1 Cor. 1:12).

Much of the approach of today’s well-heeded “Dr. Theologians” is characterized by the same mindset Paul is addressing. Rather than seeking to understand the Bible with the help of the Holy Spirit -- and being content to let “insolvable mysteries” and “angst-inducing paradoxes” lie on the table, to the glory of a God who has some element of mystery -- many approach Scripture by saying, “If the Bible says ‘A’ and the Bible says ‘B’, then we are warranted to conclude ‘C’.” Great so far, but what if ‘C’ can’t be supported by the Bible?  Has this erroneous “reasoning from the Scriptures” (Acts 17:2) replaced the Holy Spirit’s interpretive ministry (1 Cor. 2:6-16, note v. 13) with human, intellectual sovereignty? Ironically, many who do this very thing profess to adhere to the absolute sovereignty of God! Many of the church’s methodological approaches cannot be supported by Scripture, but they certainly sound convincing and logical, from a human standpoint, and so, the church machine grinds forward.

The Centrality Of Christ (V. 2)

What was the foundational aspect of Paul’s ministry? “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2 cf. 3:11). This does not mean that Paul exclusively preached little gospel ditties. In fact, he labored to preach “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Paul said that Christ sent him “to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be of no effect. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:17-18). Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). Universally speaking, God is “gathering together in one all things in Christ” (Eph. 1:10). How absurd that any of our ministrations should be Christless! To truly know any-thing, we must know Christ, who is “the truth” (Jn. 14:6), “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3). Perhaps this explains the pathetic ignorance of many who have biblical education posts. Speaking charitably, yet frankly, may some of these number amongst the “perishing” (1 Cor. 1:18)?

Only that ministry which seeks to point all men to Christ crucified is, spiritually speaking, truly powerful! Even in the realm of teaching on sanctification -- teaching baptized disciples to observe all things that Christ has commanded” (Mt. 28:19-20) -- let us not fall prey to the be-witching error of beginning in the Spirit, only to seek perfection by the flesh (Gal. 3:1-3). If you’re a pastor, let none who hear you lament of the ministers of the church, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him” (Jn. 20:13). Through Christ, God has reconciled us to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross. Therefore, the Lord Jesus is to have the preeminence in all things (Col. 1:18-20). Don’t be deceived by persuasive words; don’t be cheated through philosophy and empty deceit (Col. 2:4,8). May it be evident that the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev. 1:8), Jesus Christ, truly “is all and in all (Col. 3:11).

The Insufficiency Of Self (V. 3)

“I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3). Away with our pride when we speak of the things of Christ!  Away with our self-sufficiency! It’s one thing to profess belief in the total depravity of man (Eph. 2:1-3); it’s quite another to give the impression you actually believe this about yourself! Do you know anything of this weakness, fear, and much trembling? “And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know” (1 Cor. 8:2). I can tell you if you’re trusting in your own ministerial efforts: How much do you pray for God’s help and blessing for your proclamations of truth? Are you praying – praying because you really believe that God must bless or else all is in vain – or do you rely on your intellectual gifts and rhetorical abilities, which is shown by your token, conscience-salving prayers tagged on to the final minutes of your sermon preparation? Perhaps some preachers are polar opposites from Paul, ignorantly claiming, “I AM sufficient for these things; I AM more than the greatest of all saints” (cf. 2 Cor. 2:16; Eph. 3:8).

The Power Of The Holy Spirit (V. 4-5)

“And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:4-5). Where is the “demonstration of the Spirit and of power” in our day? Do you know that when the Holy Spirit is working powerfully, someone will be glorified, and it’s not you or me! Jesus said to His disciples that when the Spirit of truth was to come, “He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you” (Jn. 16:13-14, italics mine). A powerfully working Spirit is manifested by the spotlight shining on Christ Jesus!

Oh, what grief and turmoil results from “word only” gospel preaching (1 Thes. 1:5). At Pentecost, the resurrected, ascended, exalted Lord Jesus Christ sent forth the Holy Spirit in power (Acts 2:33 cf. Jn. 15:26), and this resulted in heart-cutting preaching, true repentance, saving faith, forgiveness of sins, reception of God’s Word, and reception of the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:37-40). The result was a biblical church which experienced real church growth (Acts 2:41-47).

Here’s a vital principle to remember: The Holy Spirit always flows from the cross. Note the order: Christ crucified, and then, Pentecost. The promise of the Spirit flows from the substitutionary, curse-bearing, redemptive work of Christ (Gal 3:13-14). In other words, when the cross of Christ is placed in the back pew, word-only ministry which is devoid of the Holy Spirit’s power will rest in the pulpit. We must remember that the Father assures us of the help and influence of the Holy Spirit if we will ask Him in prayer for this good gift (Lk. 11:13). Man-made movements are built whose faith is in the wisdom of man. How many groups of churches, perhaps not openly, are following select men of influence? How many Christians talk about biblical issues by continually quoting some long-dead writer, while never praying for the Holy Spirit to shed light on the Word of God? This is not an endorsement of anti-historical, individualistic arrogance, but merely a call to return to a Holy Spirit-based approach to God’s Word and work.

May God raise up men who “speak in the sight of God in Christ” (2 Cor. 2:17); who minister God’s Word abiding in union with Christ as the branches joined to the True Vine, really believing that “without Jesus they can do nothing” (Jn. 15:1-5); who “walk in the Spirit”, not fulfilling the lust of the flesh (Gal. 5:16); who know something of “the Lord working with them” (Mk. 16:20).

The great lesson for the day is this: The Word of God must not only be understood spiritually, it must be proclaimed spiritually! May the Lord, who knows all hearts, search our hearts, as with a candle, so that we may discern if our thinking and ministering are based upon human intellect alone, or if a crucified Christ and an omnipotent Holy Spirit are truly the sum and substance of our service to our glorious Redeemer, remembering that “it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). Amen.

Scott P. Smith

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CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS MINISTRIES

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