We find ourselves in a day when God is revealing Himself with greater clarity, and this demands that we review the framework of the faith and the model of church as we seek to align ourselves with God, His divine patterns and His purpose for us as 21st century church and for 21st century humanity. There is no doubt that what we are currently seeing in the mind of God makes the current church model inadequate and deficient – this becomes an important issue because it means that as church we are not in a position of representing the faith before the nations. This therefore demands that we evaluate the current model of church and identify its deficiencies as we negotiate our movement towards a more perfect model of church.
The underlying philosophy here is that church lives in the realm of progressive development, Jesus said, ‘I will build my church (Matt 16:18)’ and building describes a progressive developmental activity. This implies that since the birthing of church till now, there has been progressive development (which has affected church doctrine, model and operations) – this remains true of church’s development into the future. The end result is our perfection as a people (Eph 5:25-27, Col 1:28, Ps 84:5-7). Heb 6:1 says we must move on to perfection, leaving behind the elementary teachings about Christ. The question then is what really stands on our way between our current state and that mature perfect state we need to arrive at? What really is God speaking to the church currently in terms of its next phase of development? The purpose of this paper is both to describe the next phase of development for church and to identify those things that are frustrating church’s development so that it becomes this powerful mature entity in the earth.
1. The current church model is largely a ceremonial operation or a meetings-based operation; it is not configured to shape human existence of the saints on the ground.
Jam 2:15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
Jam 2:16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
Much of what we may call ‘church building’ is largely the proclamation of the Word of God (and this is very important). But clearly church is not called to only proclaim the word of God, it is also called to build accurate systems of life that become support mechanisms for the full obedience of the Word of God by the saints. The example of Jam 2:15&16 is not quoted in this context to highlight deficiency in the area of giving or in the area of dead faith, but it is quoted to expose the very shortfall of the church. This example (of Jam 2:15&16) speaks to us about a church model that excels in proclaiming the accurate word of God without actually building kingdom systems upon which or through which the word of God is expressed in the earth (by the saints).
Example: many of us do understand that Capitalism as an ideology and economic system is ungodly, but the reality is that we do not really know what then becomes a correct economic system & ideology that reflects the kingdom of God and the nature of God. Why is this the case? It is because in church we operate only by proclamation and not really by actual building.
This brings home the fact that the current church model – even within the context of most effective churches – proclaims but does nothing to build support systems for the saints. The reality then is that as long as the saints have to rely upon worldly ideologies (be it economic or political) then they will remain victims of the world system. This means that we have built the faith as some form of Utopia (some ideal dream land) that we aspire to but that is not attainable.
The emphasis of God is not only in giving men spiritual encounter but it is in primarily defining and shaping human existence; and so therefore the emphasis of God is in crafting a human civilisation premised on Christ and His Kingdom, so that when we talk of church we need to be talking of a Global Kingdom Civilisation:
(a) God reminds us that the reason He instituted the journey of Israel in the wilderness was because He had seen the misery of His people inside Egypt (Ex 3:7). The ‘misery of His people’ is not just demonic oppression; it talks of a human existence of the saints that is influenced by the ideologies and philosophies of the world civilisation (represented here by Egypt). God therefore did not simply want to take His people out of Egypt but He wanted to bring them to His rest – God rested on the seventh day (Heb 3:3-5, Gen 2:2&3). God’s rest, which is realised on the seventh day, therefore represents the actualization of a human existence that is perfectly constituted according to God’s Word (God’s philosophy, value system, ideology & systemic arrangement). So therefore the reason for the journey was not just to enjoy manna and miracles but to come to a place of perfected humanity; to realise God’s constitutional framework for human existence. Israel never realised this, instead, they were as much oppressed in the Promised Land as they had been in Egypt, and so in essence, the journey was a waste of time and divine resource. God instituted the journey because He was not happy with the nature of human existence of His people inside Egypt. And so therefore God instituted the journey with the purpose of improving human existence of Israel (church).
(b) God reminds us that His heart is set on this mandate of ‘removing the yoke of the Assyrian from His land’ (Isa 14:24-25). Again, ‘the yoke of the Assyrian’ is not only demonic oppression but also philosophical and ideological oppression. The reality is that believers love God but are oppressed by capitalism, individualism and worldly ideologies (Rom 12:2). We have successfully built a church model that can deal with spiritual oppression (i.e. ministry of deliverance) but we have not built a church model that can deal with philosophical, ideological and systemic oppression.
(c) The prophetic directive that God gave to Israel in Jer 29 (see verses 1-14) was to initiate a civilisation inside Babylon and not just to start ceremonial operations every little corner inside the streets of Babylon. They were to build houses (i.e. define parameters for their human existence), plant gardens (i.e. start businesses), marry and have sons and daughters (produce generations), seek the stability of the city of Babylon (i.e. actively advocate principles and philosophies that would stabilize human life inside Babylon) – all of these things tell us that their mandate was really to initiate a civilisation more than any other thing. That church in Babylon did not have a church experience in the way that we have it, their church experience was stable families, establishing businesses, raising successive generations in the faith, engaging the Babylonian civilisation etc.
All of these things tell us that the emphasis of God and therefore of the faith is in shaping the nature of human existence of the saints and not just in providing spiritual encounter.
Eph 3:10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
Eph 3:11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul reveals in Eph 3 that the reason why God takes time to give prophets and apostles insight into the mystery of Christ is so that church can be brought to a place of skillful human existence. The word ‘wisdom’ used in Eph 3:10 is the word ‘sophia’ and it means ‘being skillful in human affairs’; so therefore spiritual input into the church through the proclamation of the mystery of Christ has got to result in a skillful church, not only in the formation of church organisations. This practically means that church must become more and more skilful in the areas of relationships, marriage, parenting, doing business etc. It is this wisdom that must be shown to rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. Moses says this wisdom must be shown to nations (Deut 4:4-8). Eph 3:11 says this is in fact the eternal purpose of God which was accomplished in Christ Jesus.
2. The current church model operates within a generally limited framework of the faith
Gen 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
The totality of man (not just the spiritual part of man) was created within the framework of the ‘image’ of God. There is not a single aspect of the human that was left to man’s opinion. This is important to state because in creating doctrine, church has tended to emphasise only that which we may call ‘the spiritual’ side of man, affecting largely the behavioural side of the human being. We need to formulate doctrine that speaks to the totality of man (a broad-based doctrine), meaning that such doctrine must address following issues:
(a) Spiritual consciousness (& or understanding) of man regarding who God is.
(b) The philosophy of man regarding how man is to think.
(c) The value system of man that must shape up the behaviour of man.
(d) The social obligations of man determining how man relates with other men.
(e) The parental ideology that must determine how man relates with successive generations and therefore how man imparts the faith to successive generations.
(f) The ideological framework of man that shapes how man approaches politics, economics as well as how man sees the world in which he/she lives (i.e. worldview).
What we have tended to do is that we have spoken again and again on establishing a correct spiritual consciousness (or understanding) of the nature of God and have then left all other aspects (listed above) as though they must be sorted almost automatically.
We need to understand different aspects of the fall in order to understand our redemptive mandate:
2Co 11:3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
Gen 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Gen 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Gen 3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Rom 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
Aspects of the fall:
(a) Eve was deceived: the word ‘deceive’ means ‘to lead out of the right way into error’. Paul likens this word (deceive) to the word ‘led astray’ which means: ‘to wither, to corrupt in a moral sense, to corrupt opinions’. This means that what Satan did was to corrupt the mind of Eve, to twist her system of thought; this implies that the fall was philosophical, meaning that if you are to restore man back from the fall, you do need to engage the mindsets, beyond just proclaiming the word of God.
(b) According to Gen 3:6, the fall was activated through the principle of materialism. This means that for the fall to occur man had to enter into a (wrong) ideological framework about life (in this case, a materialistic framework – which in our day manifests through capitalism) – the fall was ideological. So therefore there is no way that you can restore man without redefining a correct (economic) ideological framework of human existence. One that is free from materialism. Remember Paul says materialism activates moral decay (1 Tim 6:10).
(c) According to Gen 3:7, the fall manifested itself through decay in man’s consciousness; man fell into a cosmetic consciousness (the external world took priority over the internal world – see Gen 2:25), hence man’s platform of identity was changed to skin pigmentation (colour of skin). So the fall worked itself out through progressive decay in man’s consciousness.
(d) The word ‘sinned’ used in Rom 3:23 means ‘to miss the mark on the way, to miss the mark in one’s relationship with God’. The word ‘sin’ used in Rom 5:12 means, ‘to miss the true end and scope of our lives, deviation from truth, deviation from prescribed law’. This word used in Rom 5:12 (hamartia) gives us a sense that the fall was an exodus out of God’s framework of human existence. This framework was a collection of:
- The Philosophy of God
- The Value System of God
- The Ideology (or perspective of life) of God
- The Systems (economic and political) of God…
…that man would live by. This is what the Bible otherwise calls the ‘image of God’, and the image of God is Christ Himself (Col 1:15). Christ is our philosophy (our logos – John 1:1,2&14), our value system, our ideological framework and our (economic-political) system.
All of these things mentioned above point out that man did not simply fall into a wrong habit or wrong act but that the fall was far deeper and broader than we have thought in the past. So therefore sin manifests itself not only behaviorally but also philosophically, ideologically & systemically. The issue is that the model of church we currently have deals mostly with the behavioural aspect of the man or of the fall. We do not yet have a church model that focuses on restoring back a correct ideological and philosophical framework. It is in this context that I say one of the shortfalls of the current church model is a limited framework of the faith.
Joh 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
The word ‘sin’ used in John 1:29 is the same word used in Rom 5:12 which means: ‘deviation from truth, deviation from prescribed law’. We are saying (based on this definition) that sin was not just an ungodly behavioural act but was in fact a movement away from God’s framework of human existence (the law of God); it was a movement away from the system of God – implying that the fall was systemic.
Please note the usage of the word ‘system’ here:
System: a group or combination of interrelated, interdependent, or interacting elements forming a collective entity; a methodical or coordinated assemblage of parts, facts, concepts, etc. any scheme of classification or arrangement; a network of communications, transportation, or distribution; a method or complex of methods ; any of various bodily parts or structures that are anatomically or physiologically related (Source: Collins Dictionary).
Systemic: an adjective from the word system – it is a synonym of the word ‘systematic’
Systematic: characterized by the use of order and planning; methodical; comprising or resembling a system (Collins D.)
Systematics: the study of systems and the principles of classification…(Collins D) – we need to develop kingdom systematics!
We talk of a system referring to:
(a) An ideological framework that governs the behaviour & the social arrangement of a people collectively and or that shapes the nature of human existence. An example here would be capitalism as an economic ideology. What you find is that there is may be no specific legislation that defines a particular nation or society as capitalistic and yet capitalism can exist as an ideology and still shape the nature of society.
- Ideology is defined as: a body of ideas that reflects the beliefs and interests of a nation, political system, etc. and underlies political action; the set of beliefs by which a group or society orders reality so as to render it intelligible (Collins D.).
(c) A system can refer to the totality of laws that govern a people or a nation e.g. constitution of a nation.
(d) A system can refer to an institutionalized ideology e.g. democracy is a political ideology that is institutionalized through laws, law enforcement agencies, establishment of government etc.
(e) A system can be a combination of ideology, processes & institutions that become the engine driver of human existence e.g. we can talk of a political system as a combination of an ideology of democracy, a process of electing or setting up governments, the formation of the various institutions of governments (example of government institutions would be various departments, municipalities etc.).
(f) A system can be a particular age or dispensation e.g. we can look at the 21st century as a system that is made up of a combination of ideologies, processes, philosophy etc. Examples of the components of the 21st century would be:
- Liberalism that is encased in (or expressed through) democracy.
- Individualistic philosophy and lifestyle.
- Moral Apathy and Decay
- Materialism that is encased in (or expressed through) Capitalism etc.
E.g. when Paul talks about the ‘god of this age’ who blinds in 2 Cor 4:4, he is referring to a dispensation as a system.
It is always important to note that systems will also affect the nature of human existence or will always affect the social arrangement of a people; e.g.
- Capitalism affects and or erases people’s sense of moral and social obligation (and so can violates commands like ‘love your neighbour as yourself’).
- Liberalism affects or determines the kind of laws we see.
God established this understanding of connectivity between people and systems in Jer 29:7: ‘if it (i.e. the city) propers (or becomes stable), you too will be stable. And so in Jer 29:7 God deals with the need for us not only to see the connectivity between us and systems but also to see engagement of systems as one basic imperative (i.e. as an important duty) we have from the Lord.
- Systems affect the nature of human existence: this is why God wants to remove ‘the yoke of the Assyrian’ or oppressive systems (Isa 14:24&25).
It is important that we understand that the genesis or origin of all systems is spiritual:
- Apostle John was taken away in the spirit to see Babylon (this World Civilisation), see Rev 17:3.
- Paul says our struggle is not against flesh and blood (or mere humans) but against the structure of demonic ranks in the realm of the spirit (Eph 6:12).
- There are demonic princes that seek to enforce themselves over the nature of human existence hence we see ‘the prince of Persia’ in Dan 10:13.
- Jesus refers to Satan as the prince of this world (John 14:30).
Important to note that God is the highest Authority who rules over human affairs and who therefore conditions systems that shape human existence:
- He sets in Kings (Dan 2:21)
- He forms governments or systems of rulership (Rom 13:1&2).
- All conditions of humanity in all ages or dispensations were formed through (the rhema) or through divine prophetic utterance of God so that what we see originates from Divine Intent and not out of good or bad circumstance (Heb 11:3) – this includes the systems that prevail in a particular human age (like the 21st century).
So what is the Process of the Formation of Systems?
- All Systems have spiritual genesis
- Systems are formed through the consciousness, philosophy and ideology of man e.g. Eve was deceived and they both realised they were naked – Gen 3:7 (this implied shift in consciousness), i.e. this sudden realization of nakedness (when it did not matter before as seen in Gen 2:25) implied that man shifted to cosmetic consciousness. 1 Tim 4:1 tells us that the demonic realm is able to inspire human thinking into a certain ideological direction.
- Systems are then ‘formalized’ through institutionalization e.g. we have constitution, legislations, government bodies or structures, law enforcement agencies etc. and all these are an expression of the ideology of democracy.
John 1:29 cont…
We were on John 1:29 saying that the fall was systemic as well in that it represented a formation of new alternative ideological framework, value system etc. that was different to that of God. Jesus comes to take away the sin of the world. This means that redemption must produce a shift back to God’s system for human existence. So that when someone gets saved, they don’t only change behaviorally but also ideologically and philosophically.
This brings us to the issue of a limited church model again or a church that operates within a limited framework of the faith: the issue is what kind of redemption are we (as churches) administering? And the answer is that we are administering limited redemption that focuses largely on behavioural change, and to a certain extent, on philosophical change. God is now giving us a church model that administers holistic redemption, not only looking at behavioural change but also at philosophical and ideological change.
Heb 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly,
1Pe 2:6 For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
The framework of the faith is laid for us in the two scriptures above:
- Firstly, we have not come to Mt Sinai (Heb 12:18) but to Mt Zion (Heb 12:22). Zion is the framework of the faith.
- Secondly, God lays a stone in Zion (1 Pet 2:6), so therefore the building of the faith actually occurs in Zion and so Zion defines the nature of that which we are building.
The question then is: what is Zion? Zion is a City (‘city’ is a metaphor for human civilisation) and so Zion is a Civilisation.
- And so effecting a human civilisation (or development or perfection of a people) premised on the nature of Christ & His kingdom is in fact the framework of the faith.
- Effecting a human civilisation (or development or perfection of a people) is in fact the context of our building process.
John the Baptist shows us this in his building process:
- He proclaims the kingdom (Matt 3:2) and so therefore he sets the broad doctrine of the kingdom of God.
- He baptizes the people (Mark 1:4) and so takes the people through a spiritual encounter.
- He work-shops the people on kingdom systematics or kingdom ideological framework (Luke 3:10-14).
So John was not building a ‘local church’ or ‘a church organisation’ but was pioneering a human civilisation premised on Christ and His kingdom.
3. The current church model has not empowered the saints against the onslaught and or doctrine of the world system (or world civilisation).
Eph 4:14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
Where we talk of establishing ourselves doctrinally, it is often against the erroneous or obsolete expressions of the faith (e.g. erroneous = Jehova’s Witness; obsolete = Pentecostal framework). Eph 4:14 is one scripture I have been thinking about, that when God talks of a church that is not tossed back and forth by every wind of doctrine – this wind of doctrine also includes the doctrine of the world system (or world civilisation).
The world system does have doctrine and we are warned in Rom 12:2 not to fall into its patterns. What is this doctrine of the world system? It is materialism (or capitalism), liberalism & individualism (see Gen 3:6, 1 John 2:15&16, 2 Tim 3:1-5). How does the doctrine of the world system get to us?
(a) Through the education system: education is the most common form of impartation that the world system uses. The reality is that all of us have been through the education system (of course in varying degrees). The reality is that most if not all of us have been through some form of primary education. Solomon says, ‘train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it’ (Prov 22:6). The reality therefore is that most (if not all) of us have been shaped in terms of our psyche (in its primary form) by this education system. The reality is that when we grow, we view life really based on the prism or perspective that we got from the world system when we were still young. Solomon says the most powerful thing that anybody can do is to shape thinking patterns of people while such people are still in their formative years. The question is: who shaped our economic views, our political views etc. it is largely the education system we went through. So that the education system really serves as an advocate of the philosophy of the world. This does not mean that we are not to go to schools, as long as we do not have ours we have to go to the schooling system of the world – but this does mean that we must be conscious of and understand this reality. Remember that when we understand we will not become victims (Rev 13:18).
(b) Through media and arts: e.g. much of what we call fashion today is an expression of individualistic liberal mindsets.
(c) Through the general literature of the world: e.g. books we read – again this does not mean that we must not read books. The solution to these things is not to remain ignorant and lock your self in some ‘cell’ but is it to gain understanding.
The above listed things are some of the channels that the world system uses to indoctrinate us. Now church in its current form is not built to counteract this world indoctrination. We need to come to a realization that ‘every wind of doctrine’ really does not only refer to erroneous obsolete doctrinal positions within the church but also erroneous doctrinal positions from the world, e.g. erroneous economic and political ideologies.
4. The doctrine of the current church model does not (explicitly) produce a well defined philosophy
We are told in John 1:1,2&14 that Jesus is the Word that was in the beginning, the Word that was with God and the Word that was God. He is the Word that became flesh. The word ‘Word’ used here is the Greek word ‘Logos’. Jesus is the Logos which was God and which became flesh. The word ‘logos’ does not simply speak of ‘the written word’, the word ‘Logos’ actually means: reasoning that becomes the basis of something uttered, intelligence etc. – and so therefore this word (logos) speaks of a system of thought. According to John 1, God expresses Himself through a well defined, well articulated system of thought. This is embodied in Christ. So that Christ is therefore an expression of Divine Philosophy. He is the Word, He is the Logos. If Christ is the Word, the embodiment of a system of thought, then Christ is in fact our knowledge system, He is our Doctrine.
- This therefore means that doctrine is not simply in believing that Christ was manifested in the flesh, died and arose on the third day, ascended to heaven and is coming back. This is foundational, very simplistic (but important) aspect of our belief system – it is however not sufficient for a people who want to define and shape human existence.
- This also means that doctrine is not simply revelation truth that gets preached on Sunday.
- Doctrine is a well defined system of thought that defines and shapes the nature of human existence of a people collectively (the saints).
1Pe 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
Peter here is talking about the reason upon which our hope is founded. The word ‘reason’ is again the word ‘logos’. And so Peter says all saints must be able to articulate their system of thought, their philosophy to those outside the faith, not just to only quote verses. This means that:
- All believers must be trained in the philosophy of the faith.
- All believers must be philosophical (we need a philosophical church).
- All believers must be able to competently articulate the philosophy of the faith.
The problem again, is that we have not seen an emergence of teachers who are philosophers of the faith. The function of the teacher of the Word of God, which is defined in the Greek word ‘didasko’ actually means: ‘to set the mind right, the skill to influence the understanding (perspective) of those being taught’. This means that a teacher ought to be a philosopher of the faith first before teaching the Word of God.
The truth is that we have not seen this philosophical dimension in the current teaching ministry of the church, all we have seen is proclamation of revelation truth that largely becomes ‘a spiritual identity’ of the saints without necessarily shaping human existence of the saints on the ground – what I mean is that such teaching does not explicitly tell the saints how they need to be raising their kids, how they need to be doing business, how they need to approach economics, how they need to approach politics, how they need to approach environmental issues in this age of Global Warming etc.
5. The current church model lacks Ideological Framework and Systemic Development
Luk 3:10 "What should we do then?" the crowd asked.
Luk 3:11 John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
John the Baptist teaches us how to build the faith and how to advance the kingdom of God in this earth. We are told that he firstly preached the kingdom of God. And so clearly John had a doctrinal position and a doctrinal framework which was ‘the kingdom of God’ (Matt 3:2). John went on to define the socio-economic ideological position for his disciples which was founded on the principles of productivity, equity and solidarity (love your neighbour as you love yourself) – see Luke 3:10&11. The issue that John was addressing was that one needed to firstly accumulate wealth before sharing with his fellow brothers and sisters (hence John combined productivity with equity).
Now what we see in John is that not only did He proclaim the kingdom but he also work-shopped his disciples on the ideological framework that such a kingdom produces. So that the faith was not just a ceremonial experience but an ideological experience. Once the kingdom was translated into ideology, then it could become a system that governed the existence of all disciples of John. What I mean here is that the ideology of productivity and equity became a common standard that governed how John’s disciples lived. So the kingdom was a spiritual experienced (he baptized them), an ideological experience (they had an ideology of sharing) and a systemic experience (their lives took a certain direction that was dictated upon by a kingdom-compliant ideology). In this context, John did not have a local church, he did not have a church organisation but a kingdom civilisation. This is why John’s disciples could survive powerfully long after John’s death (e.g. Apostle Paul meets John’s disciples late in Acts 19:1-8, and these disciples become a seed that Paul uses to plant the powerful apostolic church of Ephesus).
So that John teaches us that doctrine must become a foundation from which we develop kingdom ideology and systems. Doctrine is inextricably linked to Ideological Formation and Systemic Development.
6. The current church model has produced believers who lack systemic competence, and who are therefore naïve in their interaction with the world system or world civilisation
Since church currently does not have an ideological framework and a system that shapes how saints exist inside the world civilisation, the saints have therefore tended to be very naïve (i.e. simple or shallow) in their interaction with the world civilisation.
Rom 12:2 warns of not conforming to the patterns of the world. But then the thing is, after preaching Rom 12:2, do we then go on to define proper patterns by which saints can actually live? Rev 18:4 demands that the saints engage what we call systemic exodus – ‘come out of Babylon’. What is Babylon? Babylon is this World Civilisation in which we live. So when God says come out of her my people what really is He meaning? God is talking about coming out of the philosophy and ideology of the world (James 4:4). What are these ideologies and philosophies? Liberalism (which in simple terms is emphasis on individual freedom at the expense of corporate wellbeing, emphasis on individual freedom at the expense of ethics), capitalism (free market system founded on the philosophy of the survival of the fittest), individualism, moral apathy etc. The reality is the most saints still have to live by the ideology of capitalism in order to survive. Rev 18:4 is calling for a revolt against this world civilisation. And so you must have a church that comes to a place of intelligent dealings with the world.
Rev 13:15 He (the beast) was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.
Rev 13:16 He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead,
Rev 13:17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18 This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.
The beast represents for us this world civilisation. Verse 17 reveals that the real battle against this world system is in the market place. And verse 18 calls for a church that comes to a place of intelligent dealings with the world. Verse 18 is therefore calling for systemic competence in the saints. The ability to calculate the code of the beast or the system of principles by which the world system is arranged and by which the world system operates is what ensures our victory against the system. This ability to calculate the code of the beast, this ability to understand (by wisdom or insight) a system of principles, ideologies, philosophies that defines the very arrangement of the world is what gives us power to overcome the system. As long as we do not understand how the world is configured, we will remain victims of the world civilisation. Moreover, as long as the saints do not understand what ‘Babylon’ is (or how the world system is arranged) as long as they cannot calculate the code of the beast (Rev 13:18), then they will not know what is they need to come out of (as Rev 18:4 demands). Just as Jesus warned His disciples of the yeast (or doctrine) of the Pharisees (Matt 16:6&12), just as Paul warned the Roman believers about the patterns of this world (Rom 12:2) so must we empower the saints to understand better the world in which they live, and to understand how such a world seeks to produce in them a crooked mindset and ideological framework. So that when we say, ‘do not conform to the patterns of this world’ we actually go on to describe such patterns and then defined correct ones as John the Baptist did in Luke 3:10&11. Systemic competence is therefore a spiritual imperative in the last days.
Pro 7:6 At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice.
Pro 7:7 I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgment.
Pro 7:8 He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house
Pro 7:9 at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in.
Pro 7:10 Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute (see Rev 17) and with crafty intent.
Pro 7:11 (She is loud and defiant, her feet never stay at home;
Pro 7:12 now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.)
Pro 7:13 She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said:
Prov 7:6-13 really talks to us about a simple or naïve church (represented by the simple youth) that is not empowered to deal with the craftiness of the world civilisation (the prostitute, as also described in Rev 17).
7. The current church model has not produced collective existence of the saints but only ceremonial fellowship
Psa 133:1 A song of ascents. Of David. How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!
Ps 133 is not a Sunday morning scripture but a human existence scripture. The current church model lacks the power to produce a sense of collective existence in the saints. The current church model is inherently ceremonial in its emphasis, and so where it speaks of ‘fellowship’ or ‘community’, such is experienced largely within the context of either a church meeting or a church programme – outside of this framework (church meetings and church programmes) saints do not really have co-existence.
Scriptures like Ps 133 are not scriptures that find expression within a ceremonial framework but such scriptures demand that we begin to exist in the earth (not just as people who are members of church organisations) but as a society, as a nation; hence the emphasis in Ps 133 is ‘brothers who live together’ and not ‘brothers who meet together’.
Act 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
The word ‘fellowship’ is the word ‘koinonia’. This word means the ff.
(a) Partnership, participation, social intercourse, communication, contribution, communion, distribution.
(b) The word is used to describe collection of money on behalf of the poor (Rom 15:26, 2 Cor 9:13, Heb 13:16).
(c) ‘Koinonia’ comes from the word ‘koinonos’ which means: a sharer, an associate, a companion; a person of whom one is the companion; a person with whom you partake in something.
(d) ‘Koinonos’ comes from the word ‘koinos’: meaning that which is shared by all.
The verb of ‘Koinonia’ (which is a noun) is the word ‘koinoneo’ which means: to share with others.
So therefore the word fellowship does not just describe people who are in talking terms or people who share a cup of tea from time to time (although this would be part of it). But the word fellowship goes on to describe:
(a) Co-existence of the saints – fellowship can therefore not be talked of where a sense of collective existence does not exist.
(b) An ideology of shared life that manifests itself in people’s socio-economic attitudes. ‘Fellowship’ is not just a nice ‘spiritual term’; it actually describes an economic ideology of a people who have come to understand that they do have socio-economic obligations to each other.
(c) The word fellowship therefore takes ‘offering’ or ‘giving’ beyond a ceremonial practice, i.e. beyond something that gets done on Sunday morning to something that becomes an ethos of the people.
(d) Fellowship therefore becomes the economic philosophy of the people.
(e) The word fellowship also seeks to establish the principle of equity among people (as we see e.g. in Rom 15:26), it demands that those who are in a favorable economic condition should help those who are not – the word therefore truly describes a very serious economic ideology of the kingdom of God; it describes a process of redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor. This describes life beyond local church or kingdom community; it describes our becoming a civilisation.
1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
There is a need at this time that we rediscover the nationhood of the church. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood and a holy nation. Emphasis of being a nation is on our collective existence (obviously this gets fulfilled primarily within one’s immediate community of believers) but the issue is that in local communities the principle of collective existence must be fulfilled. As Senior Elders we need to relocate the churches we lead from ceremonial fellowship to co-existence.
Joh 13:34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Collective existence must mean a process of dynamic social interaction among the saints that is founded on the principle of agape (love). Jesus says this will the basis upon which men validate us as true spiritual beings who are following on the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ.
8. The Current Church Model does not have a system that facilitates for the progression of the faith, i.e. a system of generational succession.
Psa 22:30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.
Psa 22:31 They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn-- for he has done it.
The word ‘posterity’ means: ‘future or succeeding generations, all of one’s descendants’. God is served not by individuals or by a generation living in a certain dispensation but by the succession of generations. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Ex 3:6). If God is served by the succession of generations, then the question is, do we have a church model that allows God to be truly served by ‘posterity’ and not just by communities existing inside church organisations.
It is a proven fact that church organisations or institutions do not have the power to preserve and progress the faith in the earth, advancing the faith is a duty of generations and not institutions. This is why God wanted the ark to be carried by priests and not in a cart (1 Chron 13:7-10, 1 Chron 15:2).
Heb 11:39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.
Heb 11:40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Heb 11:40 establishes this truth that the faith progresses through the succession of generations and not through institutions or church organisations. So we need to rediscover generational consciousness as a necessary philosophy for us to build the faith properly in the earth.
The whole purpose of the reformation is to redesign the social arrangement of the church so that the church exists as a human civilisation that proceeds from one generation to another – God has sent the spirit or mantle of Elijah into the church to turn the hearts of fathers to sons and the hearts of sons to fathers (Mal 4:5&6).
Psa 78:3 what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us.
Psa 78:4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.
Psa 78:5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children,
Psa 78:6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.
Psa 78:7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
Ps 78 tells us that generational succession is what facilitates for the progression of the faith. Not only so, Ps 78 also tells us that generational succession does not happen by chance or by circumstance but by design. Generational succession is therefore a deliberate process of downloading the faith from one generation to another. Generational Succession is a management system that must be employed in the church if the faith is to progress powerfully in the future.
Generational succession cannot happen by the current Sunday School or Children’s Church system – there has got to be a system of impartation of the faith to the next generation that does not simply focus on producing a generation that knows the information of the Bible or a generation that is schooled simply in the culture of attending church and of understanding salvation on a limited ‘personal’ level - but a system of impartation must be devised that produces emerging generations who understand the progressive purpose of God within the context of macro conditions of humanity.
Psa 79:13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
Psa 145:4 One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.
This generational building in the church is not possible within the current ceremonial church model that emphasizes the building of organisations as opposed to a human civilisation premised on Christ and His kingdom. The whole issue of producing disciples or students of the faith (and not simply church members) also captures the reality of mobilizing successive generations. Most great leaders in recent history of the church have tended to leave us with huge church organisations or ministries without disciples or sons in the faith. By ‘sons’ I don’t simply mean someone who gets born again through your ministry but I mean someone who adopts your philosophy, value system & ways in Christ as his/her own. For example: Timothy did not get saved through Paul (by the time the two met, Timothy was a well established believer who was already well respected by his fellow believers – Acts 16:1-3) and yet Paul refers to Timothy as his son in the faith (1 Tim 1:2, Phil 2:19-24), because Timothy had learned and adopted the ways of Paul (2 Tim 1:13, 2 Tim 3:10&11). And so I guess we are to make a distinction between ‘a son in salvation’ and ‘a son in the faith’. Many leaders tend to boast about how many people they have preached salvation to, this is great – but we need people who become sons in the faith because this is what preserves the kingdom of God in the earth. The reality is that Jesus had thousands and thousands of followers but only 120 were found in the upper room, these are the ones who ensured that the faith progresses – they became the seedbed for the birthing of church.
Developing a System of Imparting the faith to the Next Generation:
Psa 71:18 Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.
Psa 102:18 Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD:
I want to repeat that imparting the faith to the next generation is not something that is God’s responsibility only, nor is it something that happens by chance – it has got to be a strategic deliberate process. In Ps 71:18 David is praying that God would keep him alive and healthy so that he can then impart the faith to the next generation. Ps 102:18 takes this a step further: it talks about putting down a doctrinal record for a generation yet to be born.
One day I made an example to the church I’m leading about Adam Smith who was born in 1723 and died in 1790. His writings as a philosopher and economist dominate 21st century economic ideology (i.e. capitalism). Adam Smith was one of the early founders of capitalistic ideology and his books retained concepts on economics that would later be read by future generations. Centuries later here we are dominated by capitalistic thinking, and thousands and thousands of graduates around the world are baptized in capitalism every year. This is the power of keeping a doctrinal record. The question then is, what kind of books are we writing as church leaders? Do these books have the power to provide a platform for our future generations’ stable powerful existence in the years to come? Unless we reflect honestly and give honest answers to these questions, the faith will grow weaker and weaker. A people not yet created have got to praise the Lord but if we are preoccupied with building church organisations and institutions, future generations will be compromised. It is also in this context that God spoke to me (when we got our first baby), about the need to advocate generational consciousness to the church in particular and to 21st century humanity in general.
Gen 18:17 Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
Gen 18:18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
Gen 18:19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
Advocating the faith through generational succession is in fact a patriarchal mandate. This is how our forefathers like Abraham lived. They did not enjoy the audience of the masses every Sunday but they made it a point that at their death there would be at least an individual from their household, ready to take on the baton of the faith. We need leaders who capture this heart and rearrange their operations.
Psa 45:17 I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.
The only guarantee we have for nations to praise God for ever and ever is if we do in fact perpetuate God’s memory through all generations.
Psa 33:11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.
We are also told that purpose of God is never spoken within a single-generation context. We have in fact approached the prophetic speaking of God with an individualistic greedy spirit. The reality is that there are a whole lot of things God spoke to Abraham that were never fulfilled in Abraham’s day (some were fulfilled through Moses in Ex 3 and some are being fulfilled through us today). Sometimes all we need to do is to become a seedbed for the prophetic speaking of God. Becoming a seedbed does not however mean that we sit and disengage, just like the fathers of the faith, we must pursue the things God is speaking to us about (Heb 11:13,39&40) but at the same time ensure we are preparing the next generation as inheritors of God’s speaking, not just as church lovers. So we need to have a doctrinal record, we need to have a prophetic record for the next generation.
Gal 3:16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ.
Gal 3:29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Gal 3:16 nails the whole point down: the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed (the Seed is both Christ and all who are in Christ according to Gal 3:29). If God speaks to Abraham and to his seed then this means that the framework of God’s prophetic speaking is never a single-generation but the succession of generations.
Psa 48:11 Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments.
Psa 48:12 Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers,
Psa 48:13 consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation.
The need to impart the faith to the next generation puts a new demand upon parents to become students of the faith (walk about Zion…count her towers). One of the deficiencies of the current Sunday School or Children’s church system is that it tends to take away the responsibility of parents to raise their own kids in the faith (see 2 Tim 1:5, Prov 22:6). God constantly speaks about the need for parents to impart the faith to their own kids (Deut 4:9, Deut 6:7, Deut 11:19, Deut 6:20-25). Most parents are not in a position of doing this because they themselves are not students of the faith (they are simply church members who love Jesus) and so they are not in a position of articulating the faith through the channel of parenting. Imparting the faith to your kids goes beyond just praying for them before you sleep. It has become a common experience for the kids of believers not to grow in the faith but to only get saved later in life (if they do get saved at all).
Psa 89:4 'I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.'" Selah
Psa 145:13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.
The word says we must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt 6:33). This means we must put priority in establishing kingdom oriented mindsets and operations – this is the objective of reformation, to establish or produce a people who are kingdom oeriented (Matt 3:2). The issue identified in Ps 89:4 and Ps 145:13 is that the kingdom of God is not a single-generation entity, it is not an entity that can be contained inside church organisations; it demands a human arrangement on the earth that is generational in nature – ‘the throne is established through all generations’. We cannot therefore take the kingdom and force it into limited local church mentalities and operations. If you are to establish the kingdom successfully in this earth you need a human civilisation oriented operation. You need a model of church that is focused on the very nature of human existence of the saints and not just the artificial ceremonial encounters that do not produce change on the ground.
9. This current church model is inadequate to activate a dispensation of kingdom civilisation (which is now upon us).
Heb 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly,
Mt Zion is never talked of as a temple (i.e. a place of ceremonial encounter) but as a city. The concept of the ‘city’ becomes a metaphor for human civilisation. So Hebrews is establishing the truth in our hearts and minds that we have not come to interact with a ceremony (Mt Sinai – Heb 12:18) but with a civilisation of God. In this location called Mt Zion, in this framework of the faith, we are in fact receiving the kingdom of God, and so we call this a kingdom civilisation or a human civilisation premised on Christ and His kingdom.
Understanding the Architecture of the Church:
Psa 122:3 Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together.
The architecture of Jerusalem is outlined in Ps 122:3 – ‘Jerusalem is built like a city’ – Jerusalem is built like or as a civilisation; so therefore Jerusalem cannot be realised in a ceremonial model; we need to rearrange ourselves by becoming a human civilisation, only then are we going to enjoy the life that God has reserved for us. As long as all we see is attending church meetings on Sunday, attending mid-week meetings during the week etc. it means we have not comprehended the faith properly.
Eze 40:2 In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city.
Eze 40:4 The man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the house of Israel everything you see."
Eze 40:5 I saw a wall completely surrounding the temple area.
Ezekiel sees a vision and is instructed to tell us all the details of what he is seeing (vs.4). Ezekiel sees buildings that look like a city (vs.2). This again tells us the architecture of Jerusalem (we are Jerusalem) and so Ezekiel is seeing our true architecture. We need to be constructed in the earth as a civilisation and not as a ceremonial people who are about attending gatherings like other religions. As we have said in the points above, man (Adam) did not fall from a church experience but from a civilisation of God. Ezekiel goes on to say, this is the temple (in vs.5). We are defined in 1 Cor 3:16 & 2 Cor 6:16 as a temple of God – this description nails down the point that we are a spiritual people. But our spirituality is in fact realised in our arrangement as a city, a civilisation (buildings looked like a city).
Rev 21:2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
Rev 21:22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
Rev 21:24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
Apostle John also nails this issue down, that the architecture of Jerusalem is best described by the word ‘city’ (I saw a Holy City). John in fact talks of a temple-less city and therefore a temple-less kingdom civilisation. Now it is important to emphasise that we are not going to Jerusalem but we are Jerusalem. And that the city that John is seeing is not for the life after death or in immortality, how do we know this? We know it because John still sees nations (or unredeemed humanity) coming to interact with the light or with the illumination (wisdom) of this civilisation (Rev 21:24). John still talks about the healing of the nations (Rev 22:2). This means that the city finds or must find expression in the currentt mortal life.
This temple-less civilisation means that we do need to redefine platforms of spirituality. There is no temple because the temple is the Lord (Rev 21:22). This means that spirituality is not the thing we do (on Sunday) but our experience in Christ. That experience in Christ is about our transformation (our metamorphosis) – as we behold Him, we are morphing into the same image of Christ (2 Cor 3:18) and if a man is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). In this framework of life, nobody can talk to us about being spiritual unless they mean they are having an authentic transformation in Christ. No body can talk to us about being spiritual simply meaning that on Sunday they take their Bibles and go to a church meeting. Platforms of spirituality must be redefined; our spirituality is located in the following things:
(a) Our spiritual transformation in Christ (He is our temple), Rev 21:22, 2 Cor 3:18, 2 Cor 5:17.
(b) Our value system: Paul says ‘I can’t address you as spiritual but as worldly because there is still quarrelling and jealousy among you (1 Cor 3:1-4). Paul therefore is meaning that our value system is what makes us spiritual or unspiritual – i.e. spirituality is not emotionalism that gets expressed on Sunday.
(c) Our ability to walk in healthy relationships (& therefore to live in community): All of the commands of God are summed in this one command, ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ (Matt 22:37-40, Rom 13:9, John 13:34&35). God in fact demands that anybody who pursues Him (God) must also pursue relationships with his brothers and sisters; that if you say you love God but hate your brother (or live in a state of social apathy), you are a liar (1 John 4:16-21).
(d) Our ability to come to a place of collective existence – this is likened to the ordination and activation of (Aaronic) priesthood, see Ps 133.
The Spirit of God is therefore constructing a Global City – He is mobilizing a Global Kingdom Civilisation that must interact with this World Civilisation (Babylon – Rev 17).
Now, you cannot build a civilisation without the following elements being characteristics of your building process:
(a) Defining a value system that is collectively owned by those who are part of such a civilisation.
(b) Defining a philosophy that produces singleness of mind among those who are part of such a civilisation.
(c) Defining an ideological framework that governs the lives of those who are part of such a civilisation.
(d) Developing your own systems (e.g. an alternative economy) that feeds those who are part of such a civilisation.
(e) Building upon a platform of generational succession.
(f) Establishing your education systems that advocate a kingdom oriented curriculum. Isa 60:19&20 & Rev 21:23 both say the sun and the moon shall be our light, meaning that natural sources of illumination shall not feed us with knowledge and wisdom. This therefore demands that we build alternative education systems – and this further means that we need to see establishment of education systems not just as an option academic exercise but as a spiritual imperative.
The points I mention above are all elements that are lacking in the current church model. That is, you can take the most effective church in this 21st century, you will find that these elements are still lacking. What does this tell us? We need to disband and rebuild. The current 21st century church needs a structural overhaul; the very framework of the faith must be redefined. We are inadequate to capture the present emphasis of the Spirit, which is the establishment of a Global City, a Global Kingdom Civilisation. This means the present ceremonial framework in its most effective form, has become obsolete. Whether it calls itself Pentecostal, Charismatic, Kingdom, House Church etc. – the present ceremonial framework of the faith and therefore of church has become obsolete.
Ezr 4:11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent him.) To King Artaxerxes, From your servants, the men of Trans-Euphrates:
Ezr 4:12 The king should know that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.
Ezr 4:13 Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty will be paid, and the royal revenues will suffer.
Ezr 4:14 Now since we are under obligation to the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are sending this message to inform the king,
Ezr 4:15 so that a search may be made in the archives of your predecessors. In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place of rebellion from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.
Ezr 4:16 We inform the king that if this city is built and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.
The current church model, in its ceremonial nature, does not affect world economic system, but the account of Ezra 4 is that a pioneering of human civilisation premised on Christ and His kingdom shall not only affect the spirit realm (Eph 3:10) but will also have real impact upon the world economic system. The current world economic system does not even notice our presence as church because we are a ceremonial entity that is preoccupied with ‘spiritual’ things. If ‘royal revenues’ will suffer, this means that the pioneering of a Global Kingdom Civilisation shall in fact produce an establishment of an alternative economic system.
Heb 8:7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.
Heb 8:8 But God found fault with the people and said : "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
Heb 8:13 By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
Heb 8:7 records for us a time when God finally changes the framework of the faith (covenants provided a framework of the faith for the people). God is giving us a new framework (a new covenant), He is moving from a ceremonial framework to human civilisation framework. After all, in Christ we really have a civilisation – a development of a people collectively, that must result in our arrival in a place called perfection (2 Cor 5:17, Col 1:28). We are described as a people of pilgrimage, a people of journey, a people engaged in a process of development (Ps 84:5-7, Matt 23:26).
Well, how do we conclude in this, we can only conclude by saying, ‘let he with ears hear what the Spirit is saying to churches’ (Rev 2:29).
Heb 6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity (perfection), not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God…
