The Church You Need To Know Series
A Church that Acts Presumptuously is not Holy Spirit-filled.
Continuing from my last post, we learned last week that Paul's Apostleship came from God and not men. Whenever men cross the line of hearing God's calling for others and assuming the authority to call them themselves, they are neither humble nor Spirit-filled.
In Acts 13, we read, "...the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Barnabas and Saul had already been called; they knew the scriptures by study and the Holy Spirit, and they were elders. However, after further prayer and fasting, we learn, "Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia..." The Church at Antioch gave away what today most would consider to be their most prized possessions: their leaders. They were living from a completely different perspective. Their perspective did not include denominational bias.
The First Church Acted Presumptuously Prior to the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Just before Pentecost, Peter and the rest took matters into their own hands. They acted like an agency of men and, separated from divine leadership, appointed Matthias to the position of Apostle. They were prayerful, well-read in the scriptures, taught by Jesus after His resurrection, and united in their belief. Put all those factors together for almost any Church, and they will be sure they're doing the right thing. However, one vital factor was still missing. The fullness of the Holy Spirit had not yet been received.
Peter quoted from two Psalms to make his point. The first was 55:12-15, where the focus had been to contrast friend and foe, followed by "For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it ...But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my familiar friend; (We should see Jesus in these words of David referring to Judas' betrayal). Peter concludes by saying, "Let death come deceitfully upon them; Let them go down alive to Sheol (hell), for evil is in their dwelling, in their midst." The last part of Peter's quote is Psalm 109:8, "Let his days be few; Let another take his office."
God chose Israel, but only the remnant was saved (Romans 9-11). In the same way, many understand themselves to be "Christian" for various reasons other than salvation. They are born into a family of Christians, they walk an aisle and say a prayer, but they do not know Christ and do not possess eternal life (John 17:3). Putting people out of the Church who do not belong is a responsibility that every believer should be willing to take part in but only by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 18:15-19).
Peter and not God answered the question of who will take his office. Matthias was chosen presumptuously and prematurely. There is no question as to Paul's Apostleship; it can be found heading up every Spirit-inspired letter signed by him. Furthermore, there can only be 12 Apostles who will sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel (Luke 22:30) during Christ's Millenial Kingdom and whose names are on the 12 foundation stones of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:14). It is sinful to presume upon the will of God.
The First Church Acted in Presumption, but was Rectified by the Apostle Paul
The Pharisees were the leading cause of Jesus's ungodly and wrongful trial, rejection, and death. Therefore, God chose to replace an Apostle with the only converted, regenerated Pharisee named in the New Testament. In His own words, Galatians 1:15-19, "But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. Then, three years later, I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him for fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's brother." Paul was not chosen by an agency of men.
After the whole debacle (Acts 15:1-35), which included an altering of the Gospel that Paul would not permit and had to set Peter straight in Jerusalem, he also speaks to how things turned out, (Galatians 2:7-9), "But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship so that we might go to the Gentiles and them to the circumcised."
When Churches act presumptuously, they should also be willing to eat humble pie and admit they were wrong.
I doubt that Peter's humbling himself before the younger Paul felt good. I don't know how Matthias felt after learning he wasn't one of the twelve. After the deaths of Ananias and Saphira, the people held the Apostles in high esteem, but I suspect that after Paul came on the scene, their imperfection was in plain view. We should all think of one another in such a way. We should not look for perfection but the Holy Spirit's presence and power.
"And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation (excess), but be filled with the Spirit," (Ephesians 5:18). Be filled is in the present continuous tense. We can't be filled from the past, and the present is not a guarantee for the future; a spirit-filled life is always lived in the present, now! "BE FILLED" is in the imperative; it is a command and not a declaration. Abraham was declared justified by faith (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:1-8); it was not an ongoing work of God. Sanctification is not a declaration but a progression in becoming increasingly faithful.
The Church that acts presumptuously assumes that what it does is correct because it believes itself to be led by God. There will be a rude awakening for all who think so well of themselves and will not allow others to correct them in this life (Psalm 19:13).
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