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Praise God for His Church!
In these verses we see the revelation that God has committed himself to his church and that through the church his plan is becoming known such that it is being talked about even among the angels!
The church is the body of Christ and He is the head of the church. The centrality of the church is essential to God’s plan of salvation. How often do we praise God for his church?
The question that comes up is, are we in union with the Lord such that He will commit himself to what we are doing as a Church?
Watchman Nee led a church movement in China beginning in the 1930’s. During his evangelism in China just prior to the Japanese war he wrote the material that was to later become published in his study of Ephesians called “Sit, Walk, Stand.”
In “Sit, Walk, Stand” Nee states that there are four essential features of a work to which God can fully commit Himself.
The first need is a true revelation to our hearts of the eternal purpose of God. If we can identify our purpose with the eternal purpose of God then all the small questions of daily guidance will solve themselves.
Secondly, all work that is going to be effective in the divine purpose must be conceived by God. If we plan the work and then afterwards ask God to bless it, we can expect God not to commit Himself to it. There may be blessing, but it will be partial and not full. We have to learn that if God does not move we dare not move.
Thirdly, all work to be effective must depend upon the power of God alone. If we are trying to accomplish a work by our own power God need not commit Himself to it. The trouble with us is that there are so many things we can do without relying upon God’s power. When we are in conscious and continual dependence on Him, we will see God move in our lives.
Finally, the objective of all work to which God can commit Himself must be His glory. There is no room for glory to man in the work of God. Everything is to the praise of His glory and grace (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14).
When God commits himself, his “incomparably great power”, as Paul describes it in Ephesians 1:18-21, proves he is involved undeniably.
When these questions are settled between us and God, then we find Him acting supernaturally in our lives. If our work is of God as laid out above, then we can be truly effective as His church. In our absolute obedience to Him, we can use His name, and all the principalities and powers will have to recognize our authority to do so.
Praise God for His Church!
Brother:
Your reading of the Christian classics is definitely paying off. Thanks for sharing the wisdom revealed in Scripture and your own study time.
Love ya!
sit, walk, stand!!! good stuff. thanks for your depth and insight here. You are ready for RTS?
Thanks for being a learning leader, Chuck.
Let’s move HIS Church forward… for His glory.
blessings,
alan
“If we plan the work and then afterwards ask God to bless it, we can expect God not to commit Himself to it.”
I’ve done this backwards in the past and the Power was not there.
No more, my friend. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your reading (even though we tease you about it in CG). I appreciate most the third of Nee’s list – effective work is done by God’s power alone. This has been the most transformative revelation over the past few years for me. Having been raised by Ben Franklin’s “God helps those who help themselves” approach, letting go of my own plan of action so God can do His is still a challenge for me. Yet, there is tremendous peace and freedom that comes with knowing I’m not supposed to have all the answers and tremendous excitement that comes from knowing that God will choose me to do something for Him if I stop getting in His way. The third point also calls to mind Alan’s convicting comments (paraphrased) – if we aren’t doing something that requires complete dependence on God, we need to reevaluate how we are living our lives.
Chuck,
So easy to comprehend, but so hard to be sure we heard his voice. We think that we are doing what he wants us to but nothing seem to be going the way we think that it should be going. This is when faith in the bride groom takes on a whole new meaning. We have to hold true to the course that we feel that he has called us to and realize that in time he will realign our hearts or say well done. In the mean time we have to wait to hear his voice. Could he have been detained or is he just being quite? If he is just being quite then why? Some times I feel like a little kid always feeling like I am suppose to be given the reason why.
Lord, help me to trust the path that I feel you called me to despite how things look. Help me to stay on this path until you realign my heart with yours or you say well done. Please do not be long in letting me hear from you.
Regards,
Phillip
Your writing on the impact of the church and that its primary purpose is to bring glory to God is a concept so often missed in our lives. And, as you know, when tragedy struck our family, we experienced this glory in a manner I never would have dreamed possible. In my opinion, its about remaining faithful to the end. After all, what else is there?
Blessings to all,