“When Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples this question: “What are the people saying about me, the Son of Man? Who do they believe I am?” They answered, “Some are convinced you are John the Baptizer, others say you are Elijah reincarnated, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” “But you—who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked. Simon Peter spoke up and said, “You are the Anointed One, the Son of the living God!” Jesus replied, “You are favored and privileged Simeon, son of Jonah! For you didn’t discover this on your own, but my Father in heaven has supernaturally revealed it to you.I give you the name Peter, a stone. And this truth of who I am will be the bedrock foundation on which I will build my church—my legislative assembly, and the power of death (the Gates of Hell) will not be able to overpower it! I will give you the keys of heaven’s kingdom realm to forbid on earth that which is forbidden in heaven, and to release on earth that which is released in heaven.” He then gave his disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was God’s Anointed One. (Matthew 16:13-20) TPT
I like this Passion Translation of Matthew 16. It clarifies that it is not upon Peter that the Church is built but upon Peter’s confession of Who Christ is, “the Anointed One the Son of the living God” and the fact that Jesus marveled that Peter heard this revelation from our Father in heaven Who spoke to Peter supernaturally. It is through revelations from our Father, such as this, that our Church is rooted and will never perish.
I have studied much over the past 82 years of my life. My studies took me through various schools, Colleges, Universities, Bible school and other formal means of learning but I have learned more through my travels, reading books, personal studies and relationships than I have ever learned in any school. Of course my personal times with my Lord has revealed much which I would have never learned by any other means. Throughout all these years my faith has grown more and more to the point where I am at a dichotomy regarding the Church. I feel both enormously blessed and exceedingly lacking. It is this dichotomy to which I am addressing in this paper.
Definition
The Church
There is only one (ignoring the title of this paper) that I recognize and it is that established by Jesus Christ, its supreme head, mentioned in the scripture above.
Two Churches?
Although I believe in only one Church I see two types of believers; those raised in Western cultures and those in the East and Southern America, who are under constant physical, political and theological persecution.
History of our Belief
In the early beginnings of the Church the Apostles probably established a list of beliefs that at a later date became what is known today as The Nicene Creed. There is some controversy over the who, where and when this originally took place. Today we look at the Creed as a statement of beliefs adopted by Christians Churches that may date back as far as 325 AD. (for more information see here) The Creed itself summarizes the beliefs of Christians around the world including the acceptance of the doctrine of the Trinity and the Divinity of Jesus Christ. As time passed on portions of it were used as liturgy in baptisms and other religious ceremonies. It is the fundamental belief system of those in the Church that we call Christians. The text reads as follows.
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial (who together) with the Father; through Him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic (Universal) and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
This document represents the cornerstone of what Christians believe today. It is from this Creed that I base my understanding of the Church and Christianity. Having now established the Church’s beliefs let us look into the ways these beliefs are executed.
My Church
This is where I am exceedingly blessed. Being raised in the United States and the Church that now exists in the West, I have been blessed beyond measure. To get to the point, the Church in the United States is easy, compared to what is happening in the Eastern Churches today and even South America. We are somewhat coddled and protected. However we are persecuted by those who are anti-Christ and look for humanistic answers for what we call faith. Our laws are changing to legalize sin. We are engaged in Spiritual Warfare like never before. Sadly, few Church members are taught who we should be fighting and how we should fight. But fight we must. However, our life is easy compared to Eastern Christian Churches where the mention of Jesus Christ and that you are a follower will bring death to you and your family. We know this but, knowing this and applying this to our Christian lives is different. This is such a dichotomy that it is often hard to believe.
Churches in the 3rd World
Churches in third World countries is much different than ours. These Churches are closer in resemblance to those established by the Apostles. Their persecution, being fed to the lions, being crucified as Jesus was, etc. more closely resembles many Churches in third World countries. The persecution of this side of the Church is much more severe than that which we endure and is seldom spoken of. Unless we Christians in the West read books such as “Tortured for Christ” by Richard Wurmbrand, and read magazines like “Voice of the Martyrs” we have little knowledge of what our Church in the West is still going through.
My Moral Dilemma
I would love to sit back and say. “Ya, I can do that. I can keep my faith in the sight of immediate death of self or family. I would never give up my faith submitting to this kind of persecution.” But would I? I’ve never been there. I have been blessed by my Western Church. Now, I have been shunned and even thrown out of a church because I didn’t agree with the Pastor. I see the evil in our Nation and in its philosophy, politics and churches. I’ve even been avoided by certain family members because of the way I practice my faith. (I’ve often thought that that was because I practice my faith and they only claim it without works.) But I look back and see this as an easy persecution. I’ve never been at deaths door because of my faith. I pay I never will but I also pray that I could if I had too. When I look at this scripture I wonder. Maybe I couldn’t handle that type of testing and persecution.
“We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously.” (1Corinthians 10:13) TPT
So where are we in this Western Church of ours. We have several denominations because we can’t agree with one another. We fight among ourselves because we like this Church over that Church. We even get mad at God Himself if we aren’t healed or He doesn’t answer our prayer the way we would like Him too.
“Live happily together in a spirit of harmony, and be as mindful of another’s worth as you are your own. Don’t live with a lofty mind-set, thinking you are too important to serve others, but be willing to do menial tasks and identify with those who are humble minded. Don’t be smug or even think for a moment that you know it all.” (Romans 12:16) TPT
In the Western Church being of “one accord” is not in our mental lexicon. If we do not have enough faith to overcome these “little things” how can we possibly overcome bigger things? Yet we continue to worry and push our little understanding of the scriptures on to others. We teach the way of Christ as being grace, love, peace and forgiving one another which is good. But, we need to teach more of the way of the Cross and that is, laying down our lives every day. Bring to the Cross your petty arguments of who is right and who is wrong. There is only one who is good, there is only one who is right. Seek Him out first before bringing your criticisms to others.
Questions
We must ask ourselves, “What do they, the persecuted Church’s of the East, think of Western Churches”? How worthy are we to be called Christians, compared to them? Are we the same kind of Christian?
Answers
We must be of one accord, of the same mind and deed. We are one Church.
“Be faithful to guard the sweet harmony of the Holy Spirit among you in the bonds of peace, being one body and one spirit, as you were all called into the same glorious hopeof divine destiny. For the Lord God is one, and so are we, for we share in one faith, one baptism, and one Father. And He is the perfect Father who leads us all, works through us all, and lives in us all! And he has generously given each one of us supernatural grace, according to the size of the gift of Christ. (Ephesians 4:3-7) TPT
There is a Resolution
It involves going back to basic Bible principals.
1. Reinstate the Five (5) fold ministries in the Church. But do this in love. Not boasting of your title or position, as many do today saying: I’m an apostle, I’m a teacher, I’m a pastor, I’m an Evangelist, I’m a Prophet; but out of love for Christ and His Church, Shepherd His people according to the gift our Father has given you.
2. Start disciplining new converts. Stop preaching the same messages over and over and over and expect your congregation to grow in the knowledge of Christ. When this is done the Church becomes a social club rather than God’s Kingdom of believers. The Church today is predominately stupid to the things of the Bible, Christ and the world. Didn’t Christ say “…disciple all Nations”? Now, what do these disciples do? With understanding, they go out and disciple others. Stop boasting on the size of your church. Concentrate on its quality rather than quantity.
“Then Jesus came close to them and said, “All the authority of the universe has been given to me. Now go in my authority and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And teach them to faithfully follow all that I have commanded you. And never forget that I am with you every day, even to the completion of this age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) TPT
3. Bring back unity in the Church by teaching only Biblical principals avoiding mans principles. Make no bargain with darkness or any shadow there-of. There should be no compromise within the Church. It is or it is not. Until this agreement is reached within yourself there is no ministry.
4. Pray!
5. There’s more. Perhaps I will expand on this later assuming if can stir up enough interest in my readers to do so. There needs to be a revolution not merely a revival, if those who believe, pray and commit, remembering that we, the Church, is the body of Christ and He has only one body. Jesus and His disciples “…turned the world upside down”, and there were only 12 of them, one of them being a traitor.
Summary
We live in a western nation, the United States of America. When we see disgruntled citizens we often forget how exceedingly blessed we are. But there are another people within our Church that are not so blessed yet they endure and prosper with a love for our Father that we have difficulty understanding. It would behoove us to learn lessons from them, those who daily face death for their faith. They think little of the concerns we have except, perhaps, to wish they were born elsewhere.
Conclusion
I want to see the Church move on to become one Church under Christ. If we continue in the same state we are in the bride of Christ will not be ready when it’s time for His return. We battle against powers of darkness, as the Book of Ephesians explains. We, the Church; must understand the enormous power of Satan and not continue preaching that we have overcome him. That time will come but meanwhile he is still prince of this world.
We must pray for the Church. NOW! Pray for my Church, in the West, and, pray for the persecuted churches in South America, Africa and the far East.
Do this Exercise
We who are older in Christ and understand God’s Word through experience, (I’m 82). Look at your past life whether in Christ or out of Christ, and contemplate all the major events in your life. Do not look at these events as a list of single happenings. Look at them differently. See a carefully orchestrated series of events of good and evil undulating (like a title wave) through your personal history. These events were not circumstantial but planned by a tremendous forces of darkness and light. Satan and Christ. They are conflicts of good and evil, one or the other having the upper hand. You can see this same wave of good and evil through out history. We are a part of this history. Either controlled by Satan or God. We Christians confess worshiping Jesus Christ and our Father God. But there is an inverted worship that leans to self and Satan that must be overcome. Can your see it in your personal history?
If there appears to be two churches, or more, then its hands are bound and the Church will never become the Glorious Church God intended it to be.
This view of history within ourselves or the world includes the history of the Church. We know there is only one Church, but where is our unity? Read Matthew 16:13-20, again. We still have the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. Do we use them? Do we know how? Or, do we just through up our hands and say, “God will do something” and not say “…here I am Lord. Use me.”
Enough Said
Thy Words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16)
