5. The Crisis of Organization Random or Guided Growth?
Alliance Witness, 1980-03-19, P.24-25.

WHEN the apostolic church began to grow rapidly in Jerusalem, the growth carried with it its own crisis. If the crisis had not been adequately taken care of, the growth of the movement could have caused its downfall.

The leaders of the Jerusalem church were alarmed by a sign of the crisis-murmuring (Acts 6:1). They turned the crisis into a blessing by a wise act: they had the church organized in a better way.

(1) And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

(2) Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

(3) Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

(4) But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

(5) And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

(6) Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.

(7) And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith (Acts 6:1-7).

The leaders of the Jerusalem church were faced with at least nine potential tensions in the church. Each of these could have done much harm to the church, weakening her fellowship life, threatening her unity and diverting the energy of her leadership from its legitimate use, thus arresting her growth and progress.

There could have been

1. tension between spiritual ministry and administration (6:2)

2. tension between spiritual ministry and service of love (6:1)

3. tension caused by social differences among church members (6:1)

4. tension between rapid growth and growth pains (6:1)

5. tension between the insight of the leaders and the understanding of the church members (6:5)

6. tension caused by racial differences among church leaders (6:5)

7. tension between jobs and the right people for those jobs (6:3)

8. tension between human appointment and a sense of calling from God (6:3)

9. tension between work and prayer (6:4).

The tension between the insight of the leaders and the understanding of the church members was wisely handled by the leaders through effective communication (6:2-4). It is one thing for leaders to have a right judgment, but it is another for them to successfully pass it on to church members. Many leaders fail here.

It is interesting to notice that the apostles solved the problem of tension between jobs and the right people for them by listing the qualifications for the jobs, including both character and wisdom, which form a balanced combination. Good character is not the only key; wisdom, which includes the needed knowledge, is also indispensable.

All these tensions were dissolved by wise organization in the early church.

Good organization means

1. making arrangements to mobilize all manpower in the church

2. creating channels to release the power and work of the Holy Spirit

3. developing the best methods to use all resources, both spiritual and material

4. having programs for training and developing spiritual gifts

5. creating an effective system of communication between members and leaders and between all departments in a church

6. devising ways and means to avoid tension and waste in any area of church life, due to either overlapping or neglect

7. providing opportunities for fellowship and for outlets for service

8. setting up practical steps for church growth in order to carry out the Great Commission.

This kind of organization is greatly needed by all churches today.

It is spiritually immature to despise organization. God is a great organizer, as witnessed by the universe, His handiwork.

The Holy Spirit is a great organizer in providing spiritual gifts for all members of the living Body of Christ after the wonderful pattern of the human body, and in mapping out the strategy of world evangelization through missions across the centuries.

The Lord Jesus showed Himself a great organizer when He commanded the crowd of five thousand people to sit down in groups of fifty while He fed them all with five loaves of bread and two fish, and when He sent out His disciples two by two to preach the gospel of the kingdom of heaven.

We see many signs of strong organization in the apostolic church. For instance, it had great growth pains in the first weeks of its existence when at least eight thousand new converts were added to the fellowship. This tremendous influx of newcomers in such a short time must have created many big problems, which could have overwhelmed the whole church. Yet the church solved all of them and showed no signs of weakening.

Again, the apostolic church had to be well organized in order to handle the enormous offerings sent in by thousands of Christians who had sold all their possessions and given the entire proceeds from these transactions to the church. No scandal arose about the mismanagement of funds. On the contrary, as it is clearly recorded in Acts right after the account of the selfless act of giving on the part of church members, the leaders of the church were greatly respected by the common people (5: 13).

All these are great testimonies to the dedication as well as the wisdom and ability of the leaders of the early church to deal with both spiritual and temporal problems.

People get more and more organized in life as they mature. In the same way, no church is mature unless it is properly organized for effective witness and growth.

But organization if taken to extremes suffocates spiritual vitality rather than releasing it. It stereotypes and freezes spirituality; it produces clerks rather than leaders. We can be overorganized as much as under-organized.

4. The Crisis of Substituting for the Supernatural
Alliance Witness, 1980-03-05, P.24-25.

WHEN Jesus appeared to His disciples on a mount in Galilee after His resurrection and gave them the Great Commission, they must have been greatly excited.

Doubtless they were full of enthusiasm and zeal to do something big for the Lord. But Jesus said to them in effect: “Don’t do anything. Just pray and wait for power from on high.” It must have been very hard and humiliating for them to do this.

But at this critical moment the disciples decided to distrust their natural strength, zeal and determination and follow the Lord’s instruction to pray and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit with His supernatural power. That was the wisest thing they could do.

Their faith and obedience were sorely tried when they prayed and waited for nine days and nothing happened. Nevertheless they persevered, and then on the tenth day, with the coming of the feast of Pentecost, the promise of the Lord was fulfilled. The Holy Spirit descended on them in the form of cloven tongues of fire.

The whole situation was gloriously and significantly supernatural.

First, the timing was supernatural. The disciples did not understand at first why they had to pray and wait for ten long days for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Later they realized that the delay was not merely a matter of God testing their faith; it went much deeper.

At Pentecost the Jews celebrate the giving of the Law by God to the Chosen People. It is therefore deeply meaningful that God chose this day for the coming of the Holy Spirit. It indicates that the Spirit of life was given by God to replace the Law of the letter and that the people of God are no longer under the bondage of the Law, but under the Spirit of life and grace.

On the other hand, the coming of the Holy Spirit was the fulfillment of Old Testament typology as seen in the feasts enumerated in Leviticus 23. One of these was the feast of Pentecost, at which a “new meat offering” was to be made to God, a wonderful symbol of the new quality of Christians wrought through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

Second, the beginning of the Christian church was heralded by the supernatural appearing of cloven tongues of fire on the heads of the disciples. This bestowed on them the fiery power of speech that convicted three thousand people of their sinfulness and turned them to God as the first fruits of the newly founded church of Christ.

Third, the tremendous spiritual power that was possessed by the new church, through the work of the Holy Spirit, was supernatural. This supernatural element was symbolized by the “rushing mighty wind” that accompanied the coming of the Holy spirit.

The wind reminds us of the wind in Ezekiel’s vision of the valley filled with dry bones (chapter 37). God commanded Ezekiel io prophesy to the dry bones. As he did so, a wind came to them as breath, and they received life and were transformed into a mighty army.

Viewed from this Biblical background, the rushing mighty wind at Pentecost is seen as symbolic of a strong breath of new life that transformed the early disciples into a mighty army of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Christians who were filled with the Spirit became strong in dedication, strong in faith, strong in prayer, strong in love, strong in overcoming sin and selfishness, strong in facing persecution, and strong in witnessing for the Lord. The weaklings before Pentecost became warriors after it.

Fourth, the speaking in tongues was supernatural. It was three things in one: fulfillment, prophecy and antidote.

The speaking in tongues was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, as pointed out by the apostle Peter: “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh” (Acts 2:16-17).

It was a prophetic picture of the future spreading of the gospel under the power of the Holy Spirit to all nations, where different tongues are spoken. The seemingly strange phenomenon of speaking in tongues at Pentecost was a supernatural sign of assurance that God graciously gave to his church at the outset of its task of worldwide evangelism. This is of great encouragement to those who are engaged in evangelism and missions today.

It was an antidote to the confounding of languages that happened at the building of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). The confusion of languages was brought about by sin-the self-exaltation of man against God, symbolized by the tower. With the confusion of languages came all kinds of confusion-moral, religious, family, social.

God, in His plan of salvation, sent the Holy Spirit into the world as an antidote to sin and to the confusion caused by sin. His bringing the redeemed people from all nations and ages into one bond of love in Christ is beautifully symbolized by the supernatural phenomenon of speaking with tongues. This means that all tongues unite in praising God and in proclaiming His great doings. Sin causes division, but the Holy Spirit bestows unity.

Thus the whole situation of Pentecost was supernatural. What happened was only the beginning of the story of the early church, which was filled with the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit as recorded throughout the book of Acts.

In my study of Acts, I have discovered that there were at least fifteen important events in the history of the early church that took place under the explicit guidance of the Holy Spirit. The book could rightly be called The Acts of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles of Christ.

In reading through Acts, I have sensed an atmosphere of expectancy in the early church that supernatural manifestations of the power of God would take place at any time.

The book of Acts is only the first chapter of church history. Now almost two thousand years have passed, during which God has repeatedly manifested His grace and power in supernatural ways.

I cannot but feel that the Christian church today has, to a large extent, swung away from the supernatural pattern of the apostolic church and has settled down on the borderline of a naturalistic approach. She pays lip service to the supernatural in Christianity but conducts her activities almost exclusively along natural lines.

Are we not justified in desiring a new and more Biblical orientation in our attitude to the supernatural? It is not enough to have an open mind to the supernatural. We need a positive mind toward it; that is, we should actively seek for it and build up an atmosphere of expectancy of it.

The Bible tells us that the evil one will be more active in the last days, exercising his supernatural powers to a greater extent than ever. Few of us doubt that we are now living in the last days, and we see signs of Satan’s intensified working on every side. It is foolish to try to fight Satan with our natural powers and resources. We simply are not his equal. We are bound to be defeated if we carry on our warfare on the natural level.

There are reasons for students of Bible prophecy to believe that God, in his provision for the particular need of the last days, will give a special portion of the power of the Holy Spirit to His people before the second coming of Christ.

But we should be aware also that Satan has always been active in counterfeiting God’s best gifts to His people. This is especially true in regard to the gift of the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Disorderly and even ruinous counterfeits have appeared again and again in church history and have caused disasters.

Even in the Spirit-filled apostolic church at Jerusalem, under the watchfulness of Peter, Satan influenced the hearts of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, and used them to counterfeit a great self-denying act of dedication. The book of Revelation tells us that in the last days Satan will he able to perform miracles that will deceive even Christians.

But we need not be put off by these things. If we are, we are again falling into the trap of Satan, whose strategy is to either deceive us with counterfeits or to scare us away from the good things of God.

Nevertheless, we must be very careful to screen everything with the Word of God, which is the touchstone of all things. We can positively seek after the best gift from God on the one hand, and on the other hand coolly apply the test of the Word to everything before we receive it.

We are neither to be pressed into anything nor scared away from anything. We should act on faith that it is the will of God to give us the best, while we are sure that it is also the will of God for us to stand on His Word and not be deceived by anything.

Our goal is to receive the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, not merely the signs. If it pleases God to give us the signs, well and good. If God gives only the substance of what we seek for, that also is well and good.

If a person already has the power and fruits of the Holy Spirit, there is no need for him to seek after the signs. If he already has the signs, he should check to make sure that he has the real thing-the power and fruits of the Holy Spirit-and shows them in his life and service.

There is another point that is worthy of our special attention. We should not try to press others to seek after supernatural signs of the fullness of the Holy Spirit. If we think the signs are important, we should leave it to God to give them through our prayer. If it is the will of God for a seeker to have the signs, He will give them. If it is not the will of God and we press it, we will do much harm, as church history has proved. We should believe that God can accomplish His own purpose without our pressing.

The most important thing is that we rely on the Word of God no matter how we feel. The Word judges everything-church traditions, our preaching, our methods, our policies, our theories, our feelings, our value concepts, our standards, our experience.

Finally, we should leave room for God to disagree with our way of understanding and interpreting His Word. He is a God of surprises. He can surprise us as He surprised Moses and Peter.

Dogmatics can be so dogmatic that it leaves no room for God Himself to exercise His sovereignty. We often find man more dogmatic than the Word of God. Humility is always needed in interpreting the Bible.

3. The Crisis of Emphasis Believers or Disciples?
Alliance Witness, 1980-02-20, P.24-25.

ONE of the characteristics of the book of Acts is the almost exclusive use of the word disciple for Christians.

Disciple appears forty times while believer is used only once. Brother or brethren is found twenty-five times, saint four times.

Is there any significance in this prominent use of disciple? I think so.

It evidently reflects the popular use of the term in the early church. It was preferred by the Christian community to all other names such as believer, saint or Christian. Obviously disciple was approved by the apostles, or it would not have been adopted. The fact that Dr. Luke, the author of this book, was a follower of Paul leads us to the conclusion that Paul himself also favored the word.

There must be reasons for the preference for this title. The most logical inference is that the early Christians chose disciple because they thought it best represented the true nature of being a Christian-a Christian was a follower of Christ. This shows that the emphasis of the early church, under the leadership of the apostles, was on discipleship.

It is a great revelation to realize that the early church, when faced with the crisis of emphasis, made the wise choice of placing discipleship at the foundation of their church life. This discovery constitutes a great challenge to us today.

Evangelical Christianity, reacting to theological liberalism, has to a large extent fallen prey to a kind of “believism,” making belief the most essential factor of the Christian faith, forgetting that faith is only a means to an end, only the gateway into a vast and beautiful garden of fellowship with God. Owing to this misunderstanding of Biblical perspectives, many churches have deviated from apostolic tradition by laying emphasis on the wrong thing, with a resultant loss of spiritual power.

I believe a substantial part of the secret of the strength of the early church was its emphasis on discipleship. The church followed the apostles’ example of responding to the Lord’s call to discipleship: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” The believers expressed their willingness and readiness to deny themselves by giving everything to Christ, including their lives. This spirit was evidenced not only in the church at Jerusalem but also in

churches in Macedonia (2 Corinthians 8:1-5).

The Lord’s call to discipleship is eightfold, as we gather from the four Gospels:

1. A call to true repentance (Matthew 4:17; 9:13).

2. A call to learn of Christ (Matthew 11 :28-29).

3. A call to a life of self-denial and cross-bearing (Luke 9:23).

4. A call to a life of service (Matthew 11:29).

5. A call to live a life of blessing to others-an overflowing life (John 7:37-38).

6. A call to a life of witness to Christ (Matthew 4:19).

7. A call to walk with Christ in light-in a life of purity and fellowship with Him (John 8:12).

8. A call to a life of absolute dedication to Christ (Matthew 10:37).

Every true disciple is thus sure to be spiritual dynamite, able to accomplish great things for God. The real strength of a church is not in the number of its baptized members but rather in the number of its disciples.

It is most encouraging that in recent years a growing number of churches have awakened to the great need of discipleship and have shown a desire to start, or have already started, discipleship training programs. This is something that all church leaders should encourage so that it will become a general movement.

In putting emphasis on discipleship, we of course should not belittle or neglect the other titles applied to Christians in Acts, as well as in other books of the New Testament. Five terms have been used: believer, saint, Christian, brother and disciple. Each one has its own value and importance and should be properly understood when put together, they form a complete picture of the Biblical concept of a Christian.

The Christian is a believer: one who believes and appropriates all God’s promises to him. He is a saint one who is sanctified and separated unto God. He is a Christian: one who is possessed by Christ. He is a brother: one who enjoys close fellowship with other children of God. And he is a disciple: one who is a student and follower of Christ.

Keep the right emphasis without losing the balance. Maintain the balance, but with a special emphasis on discipleship.

2. The Crisis of Persecution
Alliance Witness, 1980-01-23, P.20-21.

THE history of the early church is the history of persecution and growth.

Naturally speaking, persecution and growth are an antithesis to each other. But through their faith and dedication the early Christians found the crisis of persecution turned into a channel of growth under the grace of God. The antithesis became a synthesis.

Persecution resulted in growth in four ways for the early church.

1. At Jerusalem, Peter and other apostles were jailed three times (4:3; 5:18; 12:4) and threatened and beaten many times. But this tremendous pressure pulled the disciples closer together than ever, drove them to their knees and brought their heroic nature into greater relief. They rejoiced when they suffered shame and violence for the name of Christ, and they worked harder in witnessing for the Lord.

It is very significant that persecution and church growth are directly linked together in the following passage:

And when they had called the apostles, and beaten them. they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied . . . (5:40-6:1).

2. Then Stephen was stoned to death as the first martyr in the history of the Christian church. A marvelous vision was given to him as he died. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This vision enabled him to be victorious over death and hatred, and he prayed the same prayer of love and forgiveness for his enemies as the Lord Himself prayed on the cross.

When Stephen’s vision was passed on to others it became a great source of encouragement and inspiration for the whole church. Martyrdom was no. longer something to be afraid of, but rather an honor to covet. Obviously the death of Stephen was not a blow to the early church, but instead it actually promoted the spirit of evangelism.

If the death of Stephen was a blow at all, it was to the self-assurance of Saul, who witnessed it. It served to prepare his heart to receive the overpowering and illuminating light of revelation from the resurrected Lord on Saul’s way to Damascus.

3. Beginning with the martyrdom of Stephen, a new and greater wave of persecution spread throughout the city of Jerusalem, and disciples began to scatter outside that city. But the whole situation was a blessing in disguise. The persecution served as an explosion for the furtherance of the gospel in every direction.

There are at least six directions in which evangelism developed. First, through the ministry of Philip, the evangelist, the gospel spread throughout the cities of Samaria with great success.

Then, through the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, the Good News was sent to North Africa.

Again through the itinerary efforts of Philip, the gospel reached the region of Azotus, on the western coast of Palestine.

Christian refugees went up north as far as Antioch, preaching the gospel as they traveled, not only to Jews but also to Gentiles. They finally settled in the city of Antioch.

Other disciples scattered to Phoenicia and Cyprus in the west and preached the gospel there.

Through the ministry of Peter the gospel spread to Joppa, Lydda, Saron and Caesarea along the coast, to the northwest of Jerusalem.

4. Persecution roared under King Herod (see Acts 12). James, a major leader of the Jerusalem Christians, was killed and Peter was thrown into prison. The church faced a great crisis.

At this most critical moment the whole church did the best thing they could do-they turned to God in united and believing prayer. That they had true faith in their prayer was evidenced by their continuing to pray in spite of the fact that James had been killed even as they prayed for him. His death might have seemed to prove that God did not hear their prayer. They had the, right kind of faith and the right kind of attitude in prayer-may God’s will be done, whether it be life or death.

Then God intervened in response to their faith. A miracle happened, and the whole situation changed-a great crisis was turned into a great blessing.

In Acts we read of two miracles that happened in prison, one at Jerusalem (chapter 12) and the other at Philippi (chapter 16), both as God’s response to faith.

This persecution purified and strengthened the Christians’ faith, which came out of the great trial more precious than gold. The quality of the church became more refined than ever. We find these meaningful words in 12:24: “The word of God grew and multiplied.”

Persecution served a fourfold purpose in the early church: it was a catalyst to bring out the best in the disciples of Christ, it brought about a new vision of the glory of God for those who suffered for Christ, it caused an explosion for the further spreading of the gospel, and it refined the qualities of the church.

That persecution and trial are part of the secret of the growth and development of the Christian church across the centuries is abundantly proved by history. But this message has a special relevance today when so many of our churches are faced with persecution in so many areas in the world.

We need to learn how to face possible persecution. We must not be caught unprepared.

1. The Crisis of Individualism
Alliance Witness, 1980-01-23, P.23-24.

IN MY study of the book of Acts, I have discovered twelve crises in the history of the apostolic church. It seemed almost too good to be true that every crisis was, under the grace of God, turned into a blessing for the people of God.

The study of history always makes us wiser if we really understand it. Ours is an age of great crises. As we go through various crises today we too may be guided by the same basic principles that helped the early church. I pray that the Holy Spirit will illuminate our hearts and minds so that we shall truly benefit from our study of this book.

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added lo their number daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:41-47 NIV).

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was with them ail. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need (4:32-35 NIV).

To a large degree the success of the apostolic church hung on a vital issue: whether it came into being in the form of redeemed individuals loosely joined together very much the same as the average church today, or whether it emerged as a community of Christians strongly knit together, lovingly committed one to another, witnessing in a united front, living in close fellowship, eating from a common kitchen and absolutely dedicated to the same Christ. It was of colossal consequence that, when faced with choosing between these two possibilities, the leaders of the early church under divine guidance made the decision to follow the latter.

Do you think that it was merely incidental that the Christians in the apostolic church sold all their possessions and pooled their funds and lived a communal life? By no means! It was in fact their lifeline! 1 am convinced that they could not have survived the many pressures on them but for their strong united front produced by thousands of lives inseparably banded together by their sharing everything as an expression of utmost dedication to a common purpose. This high concentration of strength, under divine guidance, was absolutely necessary for creating the visibility and power needed for growth and expansion.

I believe we have a great need today for “community theology” or, to be more Biblical, a “Kingdom theology.” The Christian church has on the whole developed along individualistic lines, sadly lacking an adequate concept of community life, community witness and community dynamics. This has resulted in the impoverishment and weakening of the church. It is time for us to come back to the Biblical pattern of church life.

In the Old Testament the glorious ideal life that the prophets, under divine inspiration, projected into the future is a Kingdom life, or community life, in which the will of God is fulfilled and the glory of God is manifested through the corporate life of the Chosen People. God did not select simply individuals but a community of people to be His representatives in the world.

In the New Testament the Lord Himself preached the gospel of the Kingdom of God, not a gospel of redeemed individuals. There is a vast difference between a gospel of redeemed individuals and the gospel of the Kingdom of redeemed people. The fact that the Lord’s teaching on the Kingdom constitutes two-thirds of the content of the Gospel of Matthew shows how much emphasis the Lord placed on the corporate life of the redeemed people rather than on individuals. This emphasis is most significant and we should never change it.

The apostle Paul teaches that the church is the Body of Christ, and Christians, as members of the Body, have a “body life” that is a community life. The church is a “called-out community,” one called out from the world.

Paul also tells us that individually every Christian is a new man (Ephesians 4:24) and collectively the whole church is a new man (2:15). It is important for us to remember that it is difficult for the individual new man to live a new life in the world without the fellowship of the collective new man.

The Christian life is basically a fellowship life-fellowship with God vertically and fellowship with other Christians horizontally. The strong expression that one Christian is no Christian probably is an overstatement, but certainly there is truth in it. When the Christian life is devoid of fellowship it is substantially lacking in reality. A basic philosophy of the church is that it exists for a fivefold purpose: worship, teaching, service, witness and fellowship.

God may be called a collective God of the Holy Trinity. He is singularly plural and plurally singular. And this collective God has a collective church, which is the collective Body of the collective Christ who has both the nature of God and the nature

of man as represented by His resurrected body, which remains with Him forever. This Body of Christ has a destiny which is beautifully depicted by the collective bride of the Lamb (Revelation 21:2). Paul tells us that the whole church is the bride of

Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:32). God’s plan is never merely a plan of individual salvation, although personal salvation is a necessary step for collective salvation, which is the final objective of divine activities in redemption.

Evidently there has not been adequate teaching in our churches on the collective nature of God’s plan of salvation for man. And as a result of this lack our churches have on the whole deserted the Biblical pattern and have followed the line of emphasis on the value of the individual. Consequently churches are so individually

oriented and fragmented that they have lost the power they were meant to have.

Ironically, it is heretical groups such as the Mormons, the Children of God and Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church that have made the best use of community dynamics. But fortunately there are also more orthodox groups that have exercised power through collective channels, for example, the Little Flock movement in the Chinese church, the Jesus Family on mainland China, the “Jesus people” in North America, the Bakht Singh movement in India.

In all these groups, cell fellowship or group dynamics (group interaction) has always played an important role. The Communists have made the widest and best use of community dynamics in modern history. This is the basic factor in the success of their indoctrination and mobilization program in China. But historically the apostolic church was the first to apply this great strategy with amazing success.

Recently there has been good teaching on “body life” as a means of church growth. But there is still a great need for a resurgence of understanding and an application of this Biblical concept of collectivism in our churches today. The spreading of this concept and the heightening of fellowship life in our churches will be a great service to the cause of Christ.

Alliance Witness, 1970.05.13, P. 8-9.

WE CAN never overestimate the importance of the Holy Spirit.

He was the center of the Lord’s last discourse (John 14:16), and it was none other than the Holy Spirit concerning whom Jesus gave His “last commandment” to His disciples just before His ascension: “Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).

Jesus thought so much of the Holy Spirit that He called Him “the promise of my Father” (Luke 24:49). He is the sum total of all spiritual blessings and powers. Again Jesus called Him, in effect, “the Good Gift” (see Luke 11:3). We simply cannot brush aside something on which the Lord has laid so much emphasis.

The Lord committed to His followers the task of evangelizing the world. But clearly and emphatically He told them that they had power to fulfill this Great Commission only when they had received the Holy Spirit. “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Power is, in every sphere of work, the one all-important requisite. Even more this is true with the church’s mission, for “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” We need a supernatural power against a supernatural enemy, and only the Holy Spirit can supply this power.

It is interesting to note that of all the “armour of God which Paul speaks of in Ephesians 6, the “sword of the Spirit” is the only offensive and active piece, without which you can never win a battle. Faith without works is dead, as the body without the spirit is dead.

This is a most important truth. The form of godliness without power is dead; worship without spirit and truth is dead; giving without love is dead; oratory without unction is dead; the letter without the spirit is dead; and a missionary apparatus without the power of the Holy Spirit is dead.

The Spirit-filled church at Jerusalem expanded along three main routes:

( 1 ) By the converted “devout Jews” who were present at the Pentecostal scene and who went back to their own places with the gospel.

(2) By the Christians who scattered after the martyrdom of Spirit-filled Stephen and the persecution that followed, and then in turn by the Spirit-filled, Spirit-led ministry of Philip, advancing to Samaria and Ethiopia.

(3) By other scattering Christians who took the northern route to Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, and in turn from the Spirit-filled church at Antioch to Asia Minor and Eu- rope. We see the Holy Spirit at work in all these directions.

Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit and he, with a few helpers, started churches that had fellowship with him in spreading the gospel “from the first day until now”; that showed “work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope”; that were “enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in (them).”

Dr. J. H. Bavinck, of Holland, has pointed out in his book An Introduction to the Science of Missions, that the conviction of sin which is necessary for salvation cannot be brought about by a philosophical approach alone, based on natural theology, using reason as a common premise for arguing against the falsity of heathen ways of life and faith. “The Holy Spirit alone,” says Dr. Bavinck, “can call to repentance, and we are only means in His hand.”

I believe that there is scriptural basis for the expectation of a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church just before Christ comes back.

Peter spoke of Joel’s prophecy of the outpouring of the Spirit before “the great… day of the Lord” as having been fulfilled at Pentecost. Some people feel that this is a mis- interpretation on the part of Peter, since the Great Day of the Lord was not at hand when Pentecost came. Indeed, it would have been a mistake but for the fact that the fulfillment of this prophecy is evidently divided into two stages.

The first was fulfilled at Pentecost, and the second will he fulfilled just before the Great Day of the Lord actually comes.

This division is also true of the coming of Christ. The first advent and the second coming were spoken of as one event in the Old Testament. Both stages are heralded by “Elias”— the first Elias being in the person of John the Baptist (Matthew 11:10; Luke 1:17), and the second receiving mention in Revelation 11, just before the Lord comes back. So both are in perfect harmony with Old Testament prophecy (Malachi 4:5).

Let us remind ourselves of Paul’s words to the Galatians: “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (3:3). Since it was by the power of the Holy Spirit that missions were started, are we to finish the task by human efforts? Even as the Galatian Christians fell prey to legalism, so the church of this age has fallen prey to “techniqueism” which has been allowed to take the place of the Holy Spirit, the real source of power.

When missionary effort becomes devoid of the Holy Spirit, it is rendered merely a human affair; and as such it is a hopeless situation. But if it remains in the control of the Holy Spirit the task will be accomplished!

There should be a renewed call to a revival of utter dependence on the Holy Spirit, and a diligent seeking after His fullness in our individual lives and in our work. Then a true revival will be realized.

Alliance Witness, 1969.07.09, P. 7-9.

THE LORD has never given His church any task to do which is beyond possible success. Every commandment implies strength and power for its necessary performance. “As thy days, so shall thy strength be” (Deut. 33:25).

The resources which the Lord made available to the seven churches of Asia Minor continue to be adequate provision for the need of His church today. What were those resources?

There was, first, the sharp sword with two edges.

Christ Jesus is described in Revelation 2:12 as having a “sharp sword with two edges.” In Ephesians 6:17 the Word of God is called a sword. In Hebrews 4: 12 the Word is described as sharper than a two­ edged sword. It is effective and powerful.

God says, “My word … shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isa. 55: 11). In a wider sense, the Word of God is equated with the gospel.

Paul declared, “The gospel … is the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16). He had unlimited confidence in it. He did not trust in his own learning or ability or eloquence. He called himself an earthen vessel. The treasure was the gospel.

Paul showed his genuine confidence in the power of the gospel by preaching simply, employing no “excellency of speech or of wisdom” (1 Cor. 2: 1). He believed that it was the gospel itself, applied by the Holy Spirit to the hearts of men, which could change lives.

We have our resource of efficiency right in the gospel itself. We believe and act on the belief that the gospel, when received and rightly understood and applied, is sufficient   to meet all the spiritual needs of man.

Down through the ages thousands and thousands of Christians paid a great price, often life itself, to preach the gospel because they had absolute faith in its power and efficacy. The fact that the gospel has been received all over the world and that millions of lives have been changed by it is justification of our confidence in that gospel of Jesus Christ.

But we must note that when the gospel is falsely understood or partially applied, or when it is adulterated with human teachings, it does not produce the expected results. All spiritual potential is inherent in genuine conversion, but the convert needs the light of the Word of God. Just as the small child needs guidance, so does the convert.

Personal conversion, resulting from the full acceptance and application of the gospel, must be kept in the very center of everything we do in our evangelistic witness. We reaffirm our absolute faith in the power of God to save, to lift, to transform, to reform in an age of substitutes for the true gospel.

The church had also the seven Spirits of God as its resource.

The Holy Spirit occupies a prominent place in these letters of the Lord. At the close of every letter the voice of the Holy Spirit applies the Lord’s words to the Christian hearers. In addition, the Lord describes Himself as the One who has the “seven Spirits of God” (Rev. 3: 1), indicating that the Holy Spirit is the remedy for the lack of life in the church at Sardis.

The “seven Spirits” is a special designation of the Holy Spirit in reference to His sufficiency, His power and His perfection of ministry. The Holy Spirit is the absolutely indispensable resource of the Christian church.

The Holy Spirit had a place which was unique in the life and ministry of our Lord when He was here on earth. He figured prominently in the apostolic church, as the Book of Acts testifies. And He has a prominent place in the true church today.

Of the fifteen most important events in the history of the apostolic church, as recorded in Acts, the Holy Spirit played a leading role in practically all of them. Most had to do with evangelism. In fact, the supernatural sign of     speaking with tongues, which accompanied the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, was itself a clear and divinely appointed indication that the purpose and the work of the Holy Spirit is to equip the church to take the gospel to all races and nations where different tongues are spoken.

The Lord Jesus called the Holy Spirit the “promise of my Father” (Luke 24: 49). He also referred to Him, in effect, as the good Gift (Luke 11: 13). On another occasion He said, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12). Although at the time His disciples did not understand His statement, they later realized that He was referring to His church which, empowered by the Holy Spirit, would do greater works than He Himself had done during His ministry on earth.

Moreover, the Lord called the Holy Spirit “another Comforter” (John 14:16). The word “another” indicates that the Holy Spirit was going to be to the disciples all that Jesus had been to them previously. He was to be another “All-Sufficiency” to them.

Jesus’ final command to His disciples just before His ascension was to “tarry… in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The Lord committed to His followers the task of evangelism, but clearly and emphatically He told them that they had power to fulfill this Great Commission only when they had received the power of the Holy Spirit. “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me… unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The Holy Spirit has empowered the church to produce fruits in evangelism. Witness the five thousand converted under Peter’s preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit. And the over one million converts in West Polynesia from 1811 to 1907. Or the fact that during the first eighty years of evangelistic work in Burma there was the equivalent of one new convert every three hours around the clock 365 days a year and that one in ten became an active worker for the Lord. Or the history of the Fiji Islands in the nineteenth century when James Calvert, who went there to bury eighty human victims of a cannibal feast, stayed fifty years and founded 1,300 churches.

The Holy Spirit empowered the church to stand true to the Lord in times of persecution. The Holy Spirit empowered the church to give sacrificially. The Holy Spirit is the greatest resource we have for our task of evangelism.

Not only does the church have the sharp, two-edged sword and the seven Spirits of God, but its resources include the overcomers and the “seven stars.”

“He that overcometh” (Rev. 2:11) refers to the best portion of Christians in the seven  churches. They were the faithful, obedient, fruitful members, the pillars, the hope and the living resource of the household of God.

It is true that the Holy Spirit is the great resource of the churches, yet He must have channels for His power men and women “meet for the master’s use.” The Lord is counting on His people to evangelize this world. He has no other plan. Methods   and techniques and media of communication are important, but without the dedicated man they will be of little consequence. If men fail, evangelism fails.

Usable Christians are the heart of effective evangelism. They are hearts beating with zeal and dedication; a dead heart is of no use. However superbly organized a movement may be, it is bound to fail without fully dedicated people.

There is important truth in the statement that “men look for methods but God looks for men.” There were men and women in the Ephesian church who toiled for the Lord and kept doctrinally pure. Men and women in the Smyrna church were rich in spiritual things and were faithful unto death. Some in the Pergamos church, Antipas among them, witnessed with their blood. There were men and women in the Thyatira church who were strong in grace and increased in good works. There were those in the Sardis church who walked with the Lord in white garments in spite of the generally dead condition of the church. There were men and women in the Philadelphia church who entered an open door in obedience and faith in spite of their limited strength. There were the resource people of the day. They were the indispensables.

“The seven stars” (Rev. 2:1) were the leaders of the seven churches. They were in the right hand of the Lord. The Lord kept them, provided for them, controlled them, used them. They were key persons.

It is a great comfort as well as a great challenge to be in the right hand of the Lord.  It is a privilege indeed to know that all our needs will be provided for if we seek first His righteousness and His Kingdom. Yet what a responsibility is incumbent on a leader! May God grant that every leader is indeed in God’s right hand, ready for His use.

But there was one further resource: The First and the Last.

The Lord thus designated Himself in Revelation 2:8 and indicated that He was the Alpha and Omega, the Author and Finisher, the Creator and Destination.

Jesus Christ is the all-sufficiency of the church. It is He who “walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks” (Rev. 2:1), making abundant provision for the church’s need. We have a glorious, victorious Lord! Our cause can never fail because it is the cause of Him who is Alpha and Omega.

This One in the midst of the candlesticks rekindles our first love when we lose it.  The Holder of the seven stars lifts us up when we are downcast and refreshes us with His provision. The First and the Last will finish what He has begun through us and carry our mission for Him to a triumphant completion. He who was dead and is alive understands our weaknesses and problems and will help us through. He who has the sharp sword with two edges provides us with His Word as the criterion for all doctrine.

As Son of God and only qualified Mediator between God and man, He bestows on us full grace from that efficacious office. He whose eyes are a flame of fire and whose feet are fine brass detects all impurities and purges His church. He who has the seven Spirits of God continues to breathe His life into His church. He who has the key of David opens a wide door for us that no man can shut. The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God can justly demand the first place in His church and fulfills His headship by making avail­ able to the church all His riches.

This is the Lord of the seven churches. This is the Lord of our churches today. We fall prostrate before Him in adoration and trust and dedication.

Our hope is as bright as the promises of the Lord. The promises to the churches are concerned with the end of time and the future life. We look forward to partaking of the “tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7). We look for deliverance from the “hurt of the second death” (2:11), to the joy of receiving the “hidden manna” (2:17), to the “white stone” with a new name written on it (2:17), to the privilege of ruling with the eternal King (2:26), to the glory of walking with the Lord in white garments (3:5), to the honor of being pillars in the temple of God (3: 12), to the favor of dining at the table of the Lord (3:20).

These are real and precious promises. They have both a future and a present significance, inasmuch as our future life is not isolated from the fruitage of this life.

What we are and what we have done here on earth have much to do with our life in heaven. There is a continuity of fruitage between the two. We can say that he who over­ comes begins to enjoy these promises in this life, which is only a foretaste of the perfection awaiting him.

The coming of the Lord is explicitly announced or implicitly stated five times in these two chapters. The second coming of the Lord is the blessed hope and consummation of the church. Everything is leading to that glorious event. The prophets foretold it, the Lord Himself confirmed it and repeated it, the apostles proclaimed it and we, following them, preach it, live it, hope it and rejoice in it.

Biblical evangelism is filled with significance in view of the second coming of the Lord. The church is not doomed to failure. It is promised a glorious consummation when her warfare is completed in the coming of the Victorious One!

Alliance Witness, 1969.06.25, P. 5-6.

OPPORTUNITIES hide in challenges. Challenges, when taken in a victorious spirit, produce opportunities. When unrecognized, they become destructive blows.

The seven churches in Asia Minor had at least five kinds of challenges which have counterparts in our generation.

There was the challenge of pagan religions. The first temple of the imperial cult in the Roman Empire was built about 29 B.C. It was erected at Pergamos in honor of Augustus. Thus Pergamos was the center of official Roman religion, a religion mixed with politics.

Pergamos was also the center of four popular pagan cults: Zeus, Athena, Dionysus and Asclepius. The famous temple of Artemis and shrines for three Roman emperors were in Ephesus. Both the imperial religion and the oriental mystery religions were expanding.

These religions affected Christianity in three ways. The educated people and philosophers dismissed Christianity as another mystery religion. It suffered by competition with accepted customs and it was persecuted. In a word, the expansion of pagan religions was at once a threat and a challenge to the Christian church.

The churches in turn reacted to the challenge. They accelerated their evangelistic outreach, strengthened their doctrinal base and were stead­ fast to the point of adding to the number of martyrs.

Today a number of oriental religions have revived. Buddhism and Islam, for instance, have learned from Christianity to be missionary. The resurgence of ethnic religions has had much to do with the rise of nationalism. All of this constitutes a great challenge to the Christian church. We must buy up time and opportunities for aggressive witnessing. We must make effective plans for a powerful evangelistic thrust before it is too late.

Then, too, there was the challenge to fulfill the highest aspirations of pagan culture and religion. It is evident that the Lord, in His letters to the seven churches, referred to the cultural and religious backgrounds of their cities. It is not an overstatement to say that inherent in these letters is the idea that Christianity is the fulfillment of the best aspirations in pagan culture and religion. The Christian churches were challenged to prove it so.

Ephesus was called “The Light of Asia.” But its academic learning, its philosophy, religion, arts and luxury did not constitute the real light of the human soul. Our Lord challenged the Ephesian church to continue to prove that it was a true light-giving candlestick.

At Thyatira there were trade unions or guilds which functioned, according to W. M. Ramsay, as social welfare services to those within the restrictive unions. The Lord com­ mended the Thyatira church for being love-centered, not interest­ centered, and for fulfilling the aspiration of service in a pagan culture, reaching out beyond their bounds to all in need.

Pergamos had a cult which worshiped Asclepius, the god of medicine, and attempted to discover the hidden sources of life. The Lord said to the Pergamos church that He was the hidden manna for the true life of man, the fulfillment of man’s quest for the springs of life.

Philadelphia (literally, “brotherly love”) was built by a king in memory of his brother, The king’s love and loyalty toward his brother earned for him the name Philadelphus, The church in Philadelphia was reminded of her love both to her Brother-King,

the Lord, and to her fellowmen. We show our real love to our fellowmen by giving them through evangelism the best possible gift — eternal salvation and fellowship with our Heavenly Father.

Laodicea, a city famed for its eye medicine, had a church which was “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (3: 17), The Lord challenged the Laodiceans to apply the vision of Himself to them­ selves, then to others who needed to see the riches of faith in Jesus Christ.

There was also the challenge of the faithful minority. The prophet Elijah turned pessimistic when he was persecuted by Jezebel. He thought he was the only one left to stand for Jehovah. But God told him that He had kept seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed to Baal.

Compared with one lone prophet. seven thousand seems a large number; compared with all the host of Israel it was very small. Both in the history of Israel and in church history the truly faithful people of God are a minority. Nevertheless, they are always an influential force, vital to the carrying out of God’s divine plan.

The Lord commended the “few names” the small minority in the church at Sardis who had not defiled their garments by the deadness of the church. They were the salt and light in that church. They were the Gideons, Elijahs, Calebs and Joshuas who had withstood strong under­ currents of conformity. They defied the pressure put on them to compromise. They walked in firm step with the Lord and they called on the whole congregation to follow them.

Evangelicals today are challenged to follow the Lord in unfaltering devotion and loyalty and to stand in the best tradition of the historic Christian church.

That tradition is sevenfold: (1) purity of character, indicated by the white garments of Sardis; (2) an emphasis on spirituality rather than form, indicated by the victorious few; (3) purity of doctrine, exemplified by the Ephesian church; (4) “first love” devotion, which the Ephesian church at one time had; (5) bravery in the face of persecution. expressed by the church in Smyrna and by Antipas; (6) obedience and faith in evangelism, testified to by the church in Philadelphia; (7) good works, shown by the church in Thyatira.

This is “mainstream Christianity” in the real sense of the term. We are called to follow the mainstream as represented by the faithful Christians in the seven churches.

Further, there was the challenge of the open door. “Behold,” said the Lord, “I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it” (3:8) These are most precious words.

But everything depends on the One who spoke them. Who was He? “He that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.” The Lord of Harvest, the Lord of opportunities, the Lord of the keys, the Lord of all situations, the Lord of all laborers, the Lord of all impossibilities — He spoke them!

The Lord has indeed opened a wide door for us today. We cannot name any time in history when there were more favorable opportunities to witness for the Lord. People are more ready to listen. We have modern means of mass communication, an unparalleled challenge to us.

But let us note that, although the door is surely open, we must be prepared to pay the price of spiritual war. Open doors and adversaries are always twins. Yet even when there is adversity God sees to it that His purpose is carried out. He promised victory over the enemy to the church in Philadelphia. Let us lay hold on His promise and grasp every opportunity as it comes.

Finally, there were the exhortations of the Lord. These fall into two main categories: to return and to hold fast. To return to their earlier state of spirituality and to hold fast to currently possessed ground

To the Ephesian church the Lord said, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works” (2:5). This is return — return to their first love.

To the Sardis church He said, “Remember… how thou hast received and heard” (3:3). This is return to the original message of the gospel, return to their original vitality.

The Lord said to the faithful in the Thyatira church, “That which ye have already hold fast till I come” (2:25). He said to the Philadelphia church, “Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” (3:11)

In these two chapters the Lord gives seven calls to His churches, each one introduced by the word “Behold!”

“Behold, I come quickly” (3:11) The Lord is coming back again! His return is the great incentive to evangelism.

“Behold, I will cast her into a bed” (2:22). The Lord will judge the unfaithful. Our failures will be judged by the Lord. We are servants who must give account in the judgment day.

“Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it” (3:8). It is a  comfort to know we will always have some kind of opportunity to witness for the Lord. We must seize every possible advantage to proclaim the gospel.

“Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison… be thou faithful unto death” (2:10). This is a call to prepare for times of persecution.

“Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet” (3:9) This is a call to faith for victory over our enemies. God will give us victory! We are made “more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock” (3:20). This is a call to fellowship with our Lord. Before He opens the door of opportunity for us, we must open our door to Him. He must enter our hearts and lives and have His way in our midst before He can reach out through us.

The seventh is in verse 15 of chapter 3, though the word “behold” is not actually there. The Chinese rendering is much stronger than the English. “Oh, that thou   wert cold or hot” — a strong call to be zealous for the Lord.

Alliance Witness, 1969.06.11, P.6-8.

WE HAVE BEEN talking about the failures and problems of the seven churches, but that is not the whole picture. If it were it would be a total defeat, not only for the churches but also for God Himself. The churches had strengths and victories which make glorious reading. There was always a nucleus of people within the churches who showed forth the power and triumph of God. Those people are challenging examples for us today.

Some found victory over limitations (Rev. 3:8). The church in Philadelphia had “a little strength.” It was limited in its natural resources. Yet the people obeyed the command of the Lord, entered the open door and fulfilled their mission. They had real victory over limitations.

The history of missions is filled with illustrations of how churches and groups with limited natural strength accomplished great things for God. They believed in the God of impossibilities. The Lord said to His small group of disciples, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

The Moravian missionary movement began with a group of about six hundred people, but it developed under divine resources into a mighty movement which sent out 2,710 missionaries in 120 years to very difficult places all over the world. A page of glorious victory over limitations was written in church history.

If we wait until we have adequate natural resources before we begin making thrusts in evangelism we shall never start, because we never have enough. Our victory is constituted in obedience to the command of God, moving out in faith even with all our limitations. The first law of nature is self-preservation; the first law of grace is self-denial, and the first law of faith is to look away from self to God.

A grumbling church can never be a missionary church. Let us stop deploring our shortage of natural resources and lay hold on the same Lord who enabled the church at Philadelphia to fulfill its commission.

Some found victory over evil and impurity (Rev. 2:2). The Ephesian Christians maintained purity in conduct. They did not condone sin or impurity in their church. Rather, they held high spiritual and ethical standards in a prosperous but corrupt society.

There is no evidence that the city of Ephesus had a more favorable environment for Christians than did Laodicea. In all probability the inhabitants of the two cities were equally materialistic and equally polluted by the impure temple worship and festivals. Perhaps it was worse at Ephesus because of the famous temple of Artemis with its huge open auditorium known as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Ephesians were fully exposed to the influence of Greek philosophy and mythology, fully subject to intrinsic evils commonly woven into the life of wealthy metropolitan cities. Yet while the Laodicean church sank in worldiness and materialism, the Ephesian church resisted and overcame the adverse tide.

It was a remarkable spiritual achievement and proves that victory is not determined by environment or social conditions. Christian purity triumphed over social corruption. This is a glorious testimony to the transforming power of the gospel.

The Ephesian church did not accept the moral standards of the day. The believers were willing to pay a dear price to withstand the degrading influences in their community. This has much to say to our generation.

Many modern religious theorists have succumbed to popular moral sophistications and deny the validity of Biblical morality. They say that love is the only guiding light in making a moral decision, that everything else is irrelevant. They substitute love for all Biblical precepts and rules, forgetting that, when undefined by principles and commandments, love is only a blind motivation. But love, as Professor John Montgomery has pointed out, must get its direction from the wise counsel embodied in the explicit commands in the Word of God.

The church is like a boat sailing on the sea. The secret of keeping it afloat is to keep the water out. The boat is indeed involved in the water, but if enough water is allowed to get into the boat it sinks. So the church should be involved in its community, yet it must keep out of it in spirit. When the sins of the world get into the church there can be only one result: the church sinks. It is buried, not involved, in the world.

Some found victory over “tribulation” (Rev. 2:8-11 ) . The Christians in Smyrna remained faithful to the Lord even in times of adversity and persecution. This reflects the quality of their spiritual life and the solidity of their foundations. The typhoon of trials could not shake them out of fellowship with God. This is glorious strength and victory.

The word Smyrna refers to myrrh, and this church had indeed presented to the Lord its King the gift of myrrh, just as the Wise Men did. What fragrance has the Smyrna church’s myrrh of suffering wafted down the corridor of church history! The great story of Polycarp’s glorious martyrdom at the age of eighty-six crowns the record of victory of this church.

“How can I deny my Lord who has loved me so much?” asked Polycarp. Those wonderful words of testimony before he was burned to death still vibrate in our ears! Indeed, church history will never be complete without these glorious pages of heroism for the Eternal King.

Our hearts are hushed with solemn gratitude and admiration before all those who have suffered for the sake of Christ. We owe them a debt that we can never repay. Today we salute all our brethren who are standing true to the Lord under persecution, and our hearts cry out to God for them.

What comfort there is in the gracious words of our Lord: “I know thy tribulation. I know thy poverty.” The Lord knows and that is enough. Does He really understand? Yes, sorrow and affliction, rejection and loneliness were His portion. He is the One who died-died the most terrible death-and rose again. He is now our merciful High Priest, praying for us at the right hand of God. He became poor for our sake, and we praise God for those who are willing to become poor for His sake.

The Lord did not say that He would remove the affliction and persecution. On the contrary, He told His followers that they would suffer. He encouraged them in the face of persecution. “Fear not,” He said. “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” The only ground for our cheer is the fact that our Lord has overcome.

It is a mystery that the Lord has permitted His church to suffer heavy persecutions, but we are reminded of the heroes of faith recorded in Hebrews 11 who went through terrible experiences without losing their faith. They did not receive God’s promise by sight. Even Moses had to find his comfort and victory in “seeing him who is invisible.”

G. Campbell Morgan has left us a wonderful thought in regard to the Lord’s comfort to the Smyrna church. He writes that, to our great surprise, the Lord said very little in the way of commending the Smyrna church three words only, “Thou art rich,” and even they were parenthetical. But in truth He gave those Christians the highest commendation. He will see that the suffering Smyrna church reaps a rich harvest. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith!

He identified their experience with His own when He was on earth. This is our greatest comfort in tribulation. We are suffering with Him!

Some found strength to increase in good works (Rev. 2:19). The church in Thyatira increased in good works and the Lord commended those believers: “Thy last works are more than the first” (ASV).

This is a remarkable phenomenon of love-service. The usual path is downward – from an enthusiastic start to a colorless, spiritless end. But the Thyatira church traveled upward in its service of love. It was a wonderful show of spiritual strength and victory over self-centeredness. The Thyatira church was justly commended by the Lord.

Good works have always been closely linked with Christianity. They are an integral part of the Christian faith. Any normal growth of the Christian church carries with it the sign of good works. They characterized the ministry of our Lord He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). They also marked the early Christians. For instance, Dorcas, a disciple at Joppa, was “full of good works” (Acts 9:36). Hospitals, schools, orphanages, homes for the aged, relief-all these have been a real part of the church’s testimony to the love of God.

The movement under the leadership of Wilberforce to abolish slave trade, prison reform under John Howard, Florence Nightingale’s efforts to improve hospital conditions, the movement pioneered by Damien to care for lepers, the movement under Barnardo and Shaftesbury for child welfare-all were motivated by the teachings of Jesus Christ and initiated by concerned Christians.

Some found victory over false apostles. The Ephesian Christians realized the great danger of false leaders. They dared to unmask the pretenders for the good of the church. It was an unpleasant task because they had to stand up and oppose someone and thus be accused of unfriendly criticism. They had to do it, however, to save the church. The Lord commended them for it, and that settles the question for us.

Satan is adept at exploiting two situations. He either instigates headstrong diehards to quarrel over petty differences or he intimidates Christians into quiescence in the face of vital issues. The church of Christ has been plagued by both. Balance is absolutely essential for the good of the church.

We are told that the Ephesian church put the false apostles to the test. It is a very wise thing to do. What was the test? Evidently the Christians examined their sayings in the light of the teaching of the true apostles. They knew what the apostles of the Lord had preached; they had it in black and white. Yes, the apostolic preaching as we find it in the Bible is always the test for every theory and doctrine.

The Lord repeats His warning against dangerous teaching seven times in these seven letters (2:2, 6, 9, 14, 15, 20; 3:9). Is that surprising? Its repetition is in proportion to its importance. Sound doctrine is a vital issue. We must heed -the Word of our Lord.

Some found strength to toil patiently for the Lord (2:2-3, 19). The words “labor” and “patience” appear several times in the Lord’s commendations to the churches in Ephesus and Thyatira. This repeated emphasis indicates that the Lord recognized their perseverance in toiling for Him. They toiled without growing weary (2:3). These are precious words. Patient toil has been one of the outstanding features in the history of missions.

Dr. R. A. Jaffray, a well-known missionary in South China, Southeast Asia and Indonesia, suffered from a weak heart and diabetes for most of his life. In spite of these handicaps he would get up at four o’clock in the morning to meditate and pray and write articles for his Bible magazine. He designed a special kind of desk which could be pulled over his bed so that he could write while reclining and thus conserve his strength.

Henry Martyn walked in the sun in Persia in temperatures of 120 degrees to preach the gospel. Bishop Schereschewsky, the nineteenth century Anglican Bishop of Shanghai and the founder of St. John’s University, suffered from a stroke which paralyzed both arms. Yet he worked for twenty-five years to translate the Bible, using his only two unparalyzed fingers to type it in Chinese. His translation is sometimes called the Version of Two Fingers.

Christian workers of this caliber seem to be increasingly rare. But strong Christians in this “foam-rubber age” are a great asset to the church.

 Alliance Witness, 1969.05.28, P.8-10.

THE SEVEN churches in Asia Minor had a number of problems, some of which also constituted their trials. In many ways their problems resemble our own.

Worldliness was the first problem-worldliness versus persecution.

The church in Smyrna suffered from persecution, while the church in Laodicea suffered from the corrupting power of worldliness. If we ask which of the two is more perilous probably worldliness would receive a unanimous vote. That is exactly the affirmation of Revelation 2 and 3, as well as of church history. The quality and strength of the Church of Christ have suffered more from the softening, corrupting, adulterating leaven of worldliness than from anything else.

The picture is very clear in these two chapters. The church in Smyrna went through persecution and the Lord called her a rich church. It is one of two churches which received only commendation from the Lord.

On the other hand the church of Laodicea prospered and became worldly-minded, with the result that she was spiritually lukewarm, complacent, self-centered and materially preoccupied. The Lord called her a poor, blind, wretched church.

Of course, we should not under- estimate the terrible nature of persecution, and we must not forget to pray for our persecuted brethren all over the world. We should also prepare ourselves for times of adversity. But we must fight a good fight in the sphere of worldliness. Worldliness saps our zeal and enthusiasm in witnessing for the Lord. You can never find a Christian lost in worldliness who is keen for the task of saving souls. We must guard against the subtle infiltration of worldliness into our churches.

Popularity was a second problem-popularity versus approval of God.

The church at Sardis had a good name. It was a name of being alive, but she sadly missed the most important thing-approval of God. In fact, she was reproached by the Lord.

In our own day many churches seek after success and prestige rather than the pleasure of God. The twentieth century is, amid other things, a prestige-conscious age. It is hardly an overstatement to say that prestige is one of the popular goddesses today.

A prestige-obsessed church is willing to sacrifice spirituality for an empty name. There are churches more concerned with building up their own congregational strength than mounting an effective evangelistic outreach to save more people.

The Lord says, “Be watchful”! Let us watch against ambition for a vain name and for prestige. Let us apply ourselves to solid spiritual labor and genuine evangelism building with gold, silver and precious stones which will stand the test of fire in the judgment day. Such churches will receive approval and reward from God.

We next notice “Satan’s dwelling place” versus “Satan’s synagogue.”

“ Iknow thy works,” said Jesus, “and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is.” Satan had his seat- literally, his throne-in the city of Pergamos. Then the Lord refers in the same verse to “Antipas…my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.” The words “among you” here indicate that Satan bad a dwelling place within the church at Pergamos. Some Christians gave place to, or made way for, Satan in their church so that Satan gradually built up a stronghold in their midst. The workings of Satan both inside and outside the church converged in the martyrdom of Antipas.

Satan’s infiltration into the church is a subtle and terrible thing. We must watch against him every moment. “Satan’s seat” was in the city of Pergamos, but “Satan’s dwelling place” was right within the church. The first was his throne; the second was his hiding place.

“The synagogue of Satan” (2:9) is another form of his attack on the church. Commentators are divided in regard to the meaning of the expression.

Some take it to refer to the Jews who incited persecution on Christians. Others take it to mean Judaizing Christians who tried to pull Christians back to legalism. So the trouble that the church had was either persecution from followers of another religion or the pull of legalism.

Today the church is suffering either from persecution from the followers of other religions or from

extreme literalism, the essence of legalism. The church has suffered both from liberalism and from literalism—extremism.

Four things about Satan are found in these letters: the “deep things” of Satan – sophistication and degradation; “the synagogue” of Satan–extremism; “the throne” of Satan – persecution; and “the dwelling place” of Satan – infiltration. These four expressions reveal Satan’s strategy against the Church of Christ. We must guard apinst them all.

Anoth. problem was relativism versus ab.. lutism.

Both the church at Ephesus and the church at Pergamos were confronted with problems caused by the Nicolaitanes. We know very little about this heretical sect, but a few facts can be gathered from history and tradition. We know that the Nicolaitanes maintained that there was a relativity about lust. It was not necessarily bad. This ancient moral relativism is reminiscent of relativism today.

Carried into theology, relativism has given birth to four forms of thought: new conception of God, new morality, new evangelicalism and new secularism. All four “new’ s” are clearly traceable to modern relativism. God Himself is made relative -He is becoming a God-beyond- God, according to Altizer. Morality is relative – there is no absolute standard except love, which in turn is left to relative interpretations. In the new evangelicalism the absolute finality of Christ in salvation is made relative. In the new secularism the divine, the holy, the sacred is made relative, and as a result we arc left with a religionless Christianity.

Over against relativism we have Biblical absolutism in these letters of our Lord: absolute Christology, absolute purity in doctrine, absolute sanctification in life, absolute loyalty to the Lord even unto death, absolute love for the Lord and absolute judgment by the Lord. And in addition to all this, we have our absolute obedience to the absolute commandment of our Lord, the Great Commission to preach the gospel to all creatures.

Nonconformity versus involvement war also a problem.

Part of the Christians in Pergamos and in Thyatira were enticed into friendly relationships with powerful pagan influences and lustful practices. Others who stood firm in the Lord’s teaching of separation were commended by the Lord for doing so.The latter did not conform to current tides because they only conformed to Christ and His teachings.

The city of Pergamos is described as a place where Satan had his throne. His power was manifested in every phase of the life of the city, but the faithful Antipas separated

himself from all these influences and withstood evils even unto death. The Lord called him “my faithful witness” (marg.).

Christians are nonconformists in the best sense of the word because the Bible says, “Be not conformed to this world.” The Lord says that we are not of the world, even as He is not of the world (John 17:16). For this reason we are separatists.

I want to point out here that Christian separation is not in conflict with Christian involvement. The Thyatira church was deeply involved in good works and the Lord commended her. Christ was not of this world but He was involved with the suffering of mankind. His was the deepest kind of involvement-identification with the fallen human race in all its suffering and predicament. Our identification with Christ brings us into His involvement with the needs of mankind.

Another problem concerned compromise- compromise versus resistance.

Not only did the Thyatira church have a self-appointed prophetess, Jezebel, but the church allowed her to do as she pleased. The Lord said, “I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication…and she repented not.”

A very important issue is raised here: When a false teaching arises in the church, what attitude should the members take toward it? Quiescence for the sake of unity? The application of love by saying nothing against it? Or resistance with a united voice of protest as well as action?

This is a most delicate issue which needs careful handling. The Thyatira church, by her acquiescence, helped to spread false teaching and the Lord reproached her.

It is false love that condones false teaching. Likewise an appeal to unity is pointless. Unity with what? With Jezebel? With apostasy? With false teaching? A united strong protest against religious philosophies or theologies that are not in keeping with the inspired Word of God will help silence destructive voices.

We should never allow minor differences of theological interpretation to weaken our united front of evangelism. On the other hand, a strong stand is absolutely necessary for the defense of Biblical faith. Compromise here means the bankruptcy of historic Christianity. We must be politely strong and firm against all false teachings.

There was also a problem of faith versus works.

This had two phases in the seven churches: orthodox faith without love and good works without proper faith.

The Ephesian church had a flawlessly orthodox faith manifested in her testing of false apostles. But she had lost her first love. Our text here does not tell us the object of this first love, whether it was directed toward the Lord or toward her fellowmen. We have very good reason to believe that it was love for the Lord. Yet love for man is surely included in our love for the Lord. The two are never divorced.

The manifestation of love is works. An orthodox church with little love and good works does not satisfy the heart of the Lord. On the other hand, the church in Thyatira was increasing in good works which were commended by the Lord, but they had trouble in their faith.

A church of good works without proper Biblical faith cannot meet the standard of the Lord either. The Lord wants us to have both-faith based on the revealed Word of God and good works as an expression of that true faith.

Finally, there was the Word of God versus tradition.

The church at Sardis had departed to some extent from the original teaching of the Lord and the apostles. Thus the Lord said to her, “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent.”

There are two possible interpretations of this verse. First, the emphasis may be placed on the manner I which the Christians in Sardis heard and received the message of the gospel- how the gospel was preached to them in the power of the Holy Spirit and how its reception resulted in spiritual vitality. The other interpretation places the emphasis on the original message that the church received from the apostles and therefore indirectly from the Lord Himself. The church must remember it, go back to it and keep it.

The Lord’s exhortation indicates the possibility that the believers at Sardis had departed somewhat from the original message. This departure, either by additions or omissions, had greatly weakened and diminished their spiritual vitality.

In Hong Kong we have found that sometimes a church with fifty years of history has accumulated enough tradition to hinder effective evangelism and clog the channels of vitality. We must guard against additions to or omissions of Biblical teaching. We have a solemn warning against this at the close of the Book of the Revelation: “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are writ- ten in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (22:18-19).

Martin Luther protested against highly organized and complicated traditions which blinded men to the fundamental truths of the gospel and devitalized the church. Both additions and omissions can be wrapped up in tradition. There is already a huge accumulation of traditions in the Protestant churches which has done harm to our spiritual vitality.

The Word of God judges all tradition and brings us back to His power. We are called on to examine our backgrounds and see whether there is any tradition hindering effective evangelism. May God grant us deep spiritual insight and show us the way out.