Ecclesiology
Ministries in the Church- III
Teachers
Lesson XXIV
May 3, 2007
1.
1 Corinthians
12:28. God hath set in the Church:
First Apostles
Secondarily Prophets
Thirdly Teachers
After that All other
ministries.
1 Corinthians 12: 28
(28) And God hath set some in the church, first apostles,
secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles,
then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
Since
the years 1947-1949, we have witnessed the rise of what we can only identify as
many strange doctrines.
Hebrews
13:9 “Be not
carried about with divers and strange doctrines.”
Hebrews 13:9
(9) Be not carried about with divers and strange
doctrines. For [it is] a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not
with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
Most,
if not all of these doctrines have been propagated by men who have claimed to
be either Apostles, Prophets, or as having some other extra-ordinary, last days’
ministry. Here is a partial list of
doctrines we classify as being strange.
1) The manifestation of the
sons of God, in this present age
Romans 8:18-25
(18) For I reckon that the sufferings of this present
time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed
in us.
(19) For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
(20) For the creature was made subject to vanity, not
willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected [the same] in hope,
(21) Because the creature itself also shall be delivered
from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of
God.
(22) For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain
together until now.
(23) And not only [they], but ourselves also, which have
the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves
groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, [to wit], the redemption of
our body.
(24) For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is
not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope
for?
(25) But if we hope for that we see not, [then] do we
with patience wait for [it].
The
Bible teaches in Romans 8:18-19: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall
be revealed in us. For the
earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the
manifestation of the sons of God.”
One
must read at least to verse 25 and then notice that this manifestation of the
sons of God has to do with the ‘redemption of our body’ (verse 23) for which,
at this present time, we wait.
1 John 3:2 tells us plainly:
(2) Beloved, now are we the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when
he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
And
not until then shall we be manifest as the sons of God. Some dear saints were taught and believed
that they were being manifest sons and that they would
never die. However, I attended some of
their funerals!
I
am observing more and more, that most, if not all of these strange
doctrine-teachers, have dismissed the doctrine of the Rapture, in fact they
make fun of it.
2) The Man-child doctrine
A
strange interpretation of Revelation 12:5.
Revelation 12:5
(5) And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule
all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and [to]
his throne.
In
his paper “Last Days Leaven”, Don Calsen states: Those who taught this doctrine believed that
Revelation 12 was teaching that it means literally, ‘a son of a male’. I
confess I could never understand this teaching.
But that was not a problem to those who believe it, because they claimed
to be on a higher level of understanding than I. Reminding me of what I heard a brother say
who had tried to share the Gospel of John with a Hindu. The Hindu replied: “My understanding is above that.”
Anyone
whose understanding is above the Bible has rejected the Bible as the Word of
God.
3) The first-fruits
company.
A new name for the old doctrine of ‘partial rapture’.
We
recall a paper published in
1 Corinthians 15:20-23
(20) But now is Christ risen
from the dead, [and] become the firstfruits of them
that slept.
(21) For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also
the resurrection of the dead.
(22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all
be made alive.
(23) But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his
coming.
Here
is what they did: “Christ, the first
fruits, afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.” By using or inserting this comma they were
able to divide the Church into two classes.
‘first-fruits’ and ‘others.’ But 1 Corinthians 15:20 states plainly that
Christ is the firstfruits, which, by the way, is an
Old Testament word! Leviticus 23:10 used
it in reference to Israel’s harvest.
Leviticus 23:10
(10) Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto
them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto
you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
Here
are some notes taken at a Bible Study in 1927, taught by A.W. Smith:
4
The Partial Rapture is heresy because it reverses the order of
grace.
4
It teaches confidence in the flesh.
4
It denies the unity of the body of Christ.
4
It fails to recognize the intimate relation existing between the
Head of the body and all its
members.
4
The order of grace is to first assure us of Rapture and then
exhort us to walk worthy. The Partial
Rapture theory urges us to walk worthy in order that we may attain Rapture.
4
Our Rapture means the redemption of our bodies, which is the
future tense of our so great salvation.
I
add to the last word, a salvation which
from beginning to end is all of grace,
not of works of any kind.
When
I learned about this false doctrine, I began to realize how important
punctuation is in writing.
Here
is an example. The School Board was
complaining to a teacher that she was taking too much time teaching
punctuation. So she went to the
black-board and wrote: “The Board says the teacher is foolish.” They agreed.
Then she added punctuation. “The
Board,” says the teacher, “is foolish.”
Punctuation
can change the meaning.
4) Restorationists
The
main emphasis of this teaching is the restoration of the five-fold ministries
of Ephesians 4:11. And that these
restored ministries will bring about a great end-times revival. In the words of another, “…this much heralded
world-wide revival never quite gets there.”
Ephesians 4:11
(11) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and
some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
2 Timothy 3:1-13
(1) This know also, that in the
last days perilous times shall come.
(2) For men shall be lovers of their own selves,
covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy,
(3) Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false
accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
(4) Traitors, heady, highminded,
lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
(5) Having a form of godliness, but denying the power
thereof: from such turn away.
(6) For of this sort are they which creep into houses,
and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers
lusts,
(7) Ever learning, and never able to come to the
knowledge of the truth.
(8) Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth:
men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
(9) But they shall proceed no further: for their folly
shall be manifest unto all [men], as theirs also was.
(10) But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of
life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
(11) Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at
Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra;
what persecutions I endured: but out of [them] all the
Lord delivered me.
(12) Yea, and all that will
live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution.
(13) But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse,
deceiving, and being deceived.
We
have been hearing about this coming revival since the 1940’s. Preachers looking for this ‘restored
Church’. This world-changing
Church! This perfected Church! They have even said that Christ cannot come
until the Church has been perfected. This
feeds the human ego, and worst of all, takes eyes and hearts of believers away from
looking for the blessed hope of the Coming of the Lord. Rather than expecting the world to see the
“glory of the Lord Himself fill the earth”, they are being taught to expect
that they themselves will be the producers and projectors of great power and
glory. This doctrine is a twin of the
‘manifestation of the sons of God’ doctrine.
To
be teaching, preaching, proclaiming a great ‘last-days’ or ‘end-times’ revival
is to contradict Scripture. In the light
of 2 Timothy 3:1-13 and elsewhere in Scripture, this is not only deception, but
it is a removing of oneself from the truth of God to believing the lies of the
Devil. One becomes like Eve who listened
to Satan say, “hath God said?”, when He had clearly spoken.
Dr.
Tim LaHaye, in the latest “Pre-Trib
Perspectives” gives this testimony regarding the questioning of the existence
of God:
“One
of the most subtle forms is what the Bible calls ‘the wisdom of this world’. I first ran into the problem over sixty years
ago while attending one of the most fundamental Christian colleges in America.
The college hired a twenty-seven year old Christian psychology professor with a
Ph. D. degree.… Instead of the wisdom of
God he gave us the wisdom of man through the minds of Freud, Skinner, Adler,
Karl Rodgers and many others committed to secularism and humanism. My mental conflicts were caused by the
teacher’s concepts that contradicted many of the Scriptures I had memorized in
Sunday School.”
These
words rang in my mind when I heard a psychologist, say on T.V. “Spanking children is just not right.” Some mothers said, “It still works for my
children,” and the psychologist replied, “ It may work
for the moment but in the long run it is harmful.”
Since
the instruction from the book of Proverbs and other passages
of Scripture have been removed from the schools, it would seem to me,
teaching children in school has become most difficult. People are still asking, “Hath God said?”, when
He has clearly spoken.
In
earlier papers we have shown that inspired Apostles and Prophets laid
the foundation, because they have given us the Scriptures, therefore their
ministry is no longer needed. But we ask,
when were other ministries taken from the Church and thus need to be
restored? That question we face now.
Recent
restoration doctrine said that teachers were restored to the Church in the
1970’s. But has there ever been a time
when the Church of every generation has not had teachers? I have on my bookshelf books written in the
1800’s by very great teachers. Their knowledge
of the Scriptures outshines much of what I read in more recent publications.
5)
Reconstructionism
On
this subject we recommend a book entitled ‘Dominion theology: Blessing or
Curse? An Analysis of Christian Reconstructionism’, written
by H. Wayne House and Thomas Ice. Much
of what we have read in this and other books makes us conclude that this is but
old fashioned post-millennialism under a new name. Before 1914, post-millennialism was very well
received. “In every way, every day the world was getting better and better.”
But the world war disturbed that theology.
Suddenly, for many, the only way out was to join a-millennialism.
This
is but a partial list of the many present-day doctrines. As there is no new thing under the sun,
(Ecclesiastes 1:9), none of these doctrines are new doctrines, just old
doctrines with new names. “And that which is crooked cannot be made straight” (Ecclesiastes
1:15).
II 1
Corinthians 12:28 Thirdly, teachers.
Acts 13:1 “Now there were in the
Church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers…”
Acts 18:24-28 “And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria , an eloquent man, and mighty
in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This
man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, … showing from
the Scriptures …”
Acts 18:24-28
(24) And a certain Jew named Apollos,
born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, [and] mighty in
the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
(25) This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and
being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught
diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
(26) And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom
when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto [them], and expounded
unto him the way of God more perfectly.
(27) And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the
brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come,
helped them much which had believed through grace:
(28) For he mightily convinced
the Jews, [and that] publickly, shewing
by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.
1 Timothy 3:1-2 This is a true saying. If a man desire the
office of a bishop (same word as elder) he desireth a
good work. A bishop must be apt
to teach. That is, able to
teach.
1 Timothy 3:1-2
(1) This is a true saying, If a
man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good
work.
(2) A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one
wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to
hospitality, apt to teach;
1 Corinthians 3:12 Teachers build upon the
foundation of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 3:12
(12) Now if any man build upon
this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
James 3:1
(1) My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we
shall receive the greater condemnation.
“The Holy Spirit “guides into all truth”. John
16:13.
John 16:13
(13) Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he
will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
This
truth (contrary to the belief of many) is the Word of God. The Holy Spirit keeps these truths fresh in
our minds.”
To
young Timothy, who had been preaching perhaps for 12 years, Paul wrote: “Preach the Word” (2 Timothy 4:2).
2 Timothy 4:2
(2) Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
My
friend said, “Without the Bible I have nothing to say.” I would re-word that a little: Without the Bible, we have nothing worth
saying!
The
word ‘doctrine’ as used in the KJV means “teaching”.
Titus 2:7,8 In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine
(teaching) showing uncorruptness (unadulterated
speech) gravity ( dignity) sincerity and sound speech (healthy speech) as we use the phrase ‘sound body’ to mean healthy
body, Paul uses the word sound speech to mean edifying, healthy speech.
Titus 2:7-8
(7) In all things shewing
thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine [shewing]
uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
(8) Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that
is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
1 Timothy 4:13
(13) Till I come, give attendance to reading, to
exhortation, to doctrine.
2 Timothy 3:10 but thou has
fully known my doctrine…
2 Timothy 3:10
(10) But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of
life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
So
the emphasis is on teaching …
In
1 Timothy 4:15, we
read “ meditate upon these things; give
thyself wholly to them…
1 Timothy 4:15
(15) Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to
them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
For me, that verse explains what is meant in Romans 12:7, “let us wait on our
ministry”.
Romans 12:7
(7) Or ministry, [let us wait]
on [our] ministering: or he that teacheth,
on teaching;
Whatever
ministry God has given, one is encouraged to put one’s heart into it. As a
teacher, one must remember that one is always a student. If one is not learning, one is not
teaching. And if one’s teaching does not
first touch one’s life, one cannot expect that it will touch anyone else’s
life.
1 Corinthians 3:11-15
(11) For other foundation can no man lay than that is
laid, which is Jesus Christ.
(12) Now if any man build upon
this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
(13) Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day
shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try
every man's work of what sort it is.
(14) If any man's work abide
which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
(15) If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer
loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by
fire.
It
is a very serious matter to be a teacher of God’s Word. We must be reminded often that 1 Corinthians 3:11-15
teaches clearly that our work will be examined at the judgment seat of Christ
as to “what sort it is.”
To
be a teacher one must teach doctrine or one is not teaching.
I
quote from Christianity Today:
“Because the Church stopped
preaching doctrine it lost its influence for good on people’s lives.”
We
have observed that Christians who are not interested in all the major doctrines
of the Bible soon become careless about how they live.