Dependence in God's Kingdom

Every year, Americans around the world celebrate Independence Day on July Fourth, marking the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. While I am very grateful for America's independence from England and it's crown, I would like to talk about the need for dependence in the kingdom of God and why that is so important.

Someone I love and care about recently said to me that dependence is a problem. This person happens to be a former follower of Christ, who is no longer following or serving the Lord. He no longer wants anything to do with the Church or the Lord. But I think that this false notion that dependence is a problem is a worldly and a demonic one that has crept into the Church, and it threatens to choke the life out of those who believe it.

All throughout the Word of God we see dependence, as well as interdependence, in God's Kingdom. Here are some of the verses that teach us about it:

Dependence on God
Obviously the primary dependence that we all have is on God. He is the One who gives us all life and breath. As the apostle Paul said, "He is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else." (Ac 17:25, NIV). Every breath you take, every beat of your heart is a gift from God. Job said, "If it were his intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath, all humanity would perish together and mankind would return to the dust." (Job 34:14-15, NIV). Isaiah said the Lord gives breath to the people on earth, and life to those who walk on it (Is 42:5). Just think about that! The very breath of God is in your nostrils. So at the most basic level of life, which are your vital signs, you and I depend on God.

No matter what you undertake to do, you depend on God. If He is not doing it, then you are wasting your time. Whatever you seek to do, if the Lord does not undertake on your behalf, then your efforts are all in vain. As the psalmist wrote:

"Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain." (Ps 127:1)

The Lord Jesus Himself told His disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (Jn 15:5, NIV). Apart from Him we can do nothing. That is total and complete dependence on the Lord.

We depend on God for everything, including forgiveness, daily bread, and deliverance from evil, not to mention the salvation of our souls. That's why the Lord told us to ask the Father for these, as He taught us to pray:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one."
(Mt 6:9b-13, NIV)

Interdependence of the Members of the Body
Not only are we dependent on God and His Christ for everything, but the members of the Body of Christ are all interdependent upon each other.

One of the things my friend proudly stated to me recently regarding dependence was, "I do not rely on churches or...assigning myself to some groups." However, the Church is the household of God (1 Tim 3:15; Eph 2:19), also known as the Body of Christ, which is a worldwide group meeting in local gatherings. Hebrews 10:25 says, "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

There is one body and each member of Christ's body belongs to all the others. "For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." (Rom 12:4-5). If you cut your finger, arm, leg, or foot off your body, how long do you think that member of your body will survive on its own? All the parts must remain together and connected to the Head, which is Christ. When you cut off a body part, it rots and stinks and perishes, and that is what happens to anyone who becomes disconnected from Christ.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

"Now if the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

"The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don’t need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don’t need you!' On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." (1 Cor 12:15-27, NIV).

Any time a member of Christ's Body says they don't need the Body, they are declaring their independence, thereby separating themselves and creating a division that ought not to be there. We depend on each other in many ways, even for things we may take for granted like prayer and encouragement. Pastors depend on God to provide through the generous tithes and offerings of the members of the Church. Missionaries, evangelists, and others in ministry rely on the generous financial and prayer support of others in the Body of Christ. You cannot get around this dependence, because it is built into the fabric of our lives. That's why our relationships to one another are so important.

Dependence in Nature
We see dependence all throughout the earth in nature. God has created the world in such a way that everything is dependent upon Him for life. Job said, "In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind." (Job 12:10, NIV). The Holy Spirit spoke through the prophet Isaiah about His provision of water for the wild animals:

"The wild animals honor me,
    the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen."
(Is 43:20, NIV)

The psalmist also wrote about the earth's dependence on God:

"You care for the land and water it;
    you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,
    for so you have ordained it.
You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
You crown the year with your bounty,
    and your carts overflow with abundance.
The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
    the hills are clothed with gladness.
The meadows are covered with flocks
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;
    they shout for joy and sing."
(Ps 65:9-13, NIV)

It's easy to see. The grass depends on God for the rain and sun, as well as on the nutrients in the soil. The sheep and deer and other animals depend on God for the streams of water, as well as the grass and other plant life to eat. The fish in the sea depend on God for the water they live in to be clean and for the food He provides for them, whether it is plankton or other fish. For there are countless inter-dependencies within the food chain, including marine life. In fact, the entire food chain is a series of inter-dependencies. If any part of the ecosystem becomes out of balance, lacking in some way, then it affects all the other members of the system.

In fact, you can even see the dependencies in our earth's atmosphere. We depend on God for clean air to breath, although man does things that pollute that air. We depend on God for protection from harmful cosmic rays, particles, and objects like meteors, asteroids, coronal mass ejections, ultraviolet rays, magnetic storms, and many other threats to life on this planet. Even the very distance of the earth to the sun is perfect. Otherwise, if we were a little farther from it, the temperature would be too cold, and if we were a little closer to it, the earth would be too hot. Likewise, even the angle of earth's tilt is lovingly provided by God to sustain our life here on this planet. He is gracious and compassionate.

Jesus said: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?" (Mt 6:26-30, NIV).

Dependence Magnified in Time of Need
One thing that really helps to show a person their dependence on God is to be in need. If a person finds himself suddenly unable to breathe, and he feels he is suffocating, that will do wonders to help him realize his dependence. Initially he may receive help from another person, so that he can breathe, but ultimately that help would be useless without God. And it is God who provides the other person to help, since all things are from Him.

Likewise, if a person becomes ill to the point of being unable to take care of himself, he will quickly come to realize that he is completely dependent on others to care for him, and ultimately that means he is dependent on God to provide those people. That applies whether it is the money to pay for professional care in a hospital, nursing home, hospice, or from a home care provider, or whether it is from members of church or family or neighborhood. If he is without any of these in such a situation where he has become an invalid, then he would surely die unless God miraculously sustained him. Therefore, nobody should proudly boast that they don't depend on anyone.

Nevertheless, that is not a reason for us to neglect our own responsibilities to work for a living and to take care of ourselves and our families. It is not a license to intentionally depend on others for a free ride through life, because idleness is not a virtue. For Paul the apostle clearly taught that  "You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." (1 Thes 4:11b-12, NIV). Therefore, do your part to the extent that you are able, so that you will not be dependent on anybody, while understanding that we are all interdependent upon each other in the Body of Christ, and there are certain times when we may have to depend on others to help us.

Putting it All Together
As we have seen, dependence is not a problem as some may think. Rather it is embedded into all life, so that we may ultimately realize our dependence on God. He is our Helper, our Provider, our Healer, our Deliverer, and our Savior through His Son Jesus Christ. Our hope and our strength are in Him. Therefore, while man may celebrate his independence, we celebrate our total dependence on God.

Attribution notice: Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zonervan, used by permission. 

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like The Power of Two or Three, God's Supernatural Provision Using People, God's Supernatural Hand During Crisis, Why is the Body So Divided?, A Biblical View of the Poor, The Bad News About the Good News, Is Tithing Required for Christians?, Where Should You Give Your Tithe?, The Kingdom of God is Like This, Multiplication, as well as other articles found on the Home page of this blog. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Power of Two or Three

The Scriptures have much to teach us about the power of two or three believers. Let's examine that in God's Word to see what it says.

All Things Established
Firstly, all things are established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. This was taught in the law by Moses and repeated in the New Testament, and I would like you to keep this point in mind as you read through the remainder of my points in this article.

Moses wrote, "A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed." (Deu 19:15)

Likewise, the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "This will be my third visit to you. 'Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'” (2 Co 13:1, NIV). It's interesting to see how Paul even applied that verse from the law to his visits to the Corinthians. He considered his third upcoming visit there to be a confirming one that would establish the matters there that he was writing to them about.

The Holy Trinity
God Himself is one God in three divine Persons, and we see this Trinity all throughout Scripture.

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (Gen 1:26-27)

As I wrote in my article, The Holy Trinity, the Hebrew word for "God" here is "Elohim", which is a plural noun. In order for it to be plural, that means it must refer to more than one, even though we know that God is one (Deut 6:1). And even if you don't know any Hebrew, you should be able to easily see in these verses in Genesis 1:26-27 that there is more than one divine Person, since God speaks of Himself in the first person plural. He uses terms like "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness." He was certainly speaking of Himself in the plural form.

Another example of the Trinity all in one verse is the words of Jesus before His ascension, when He said, "And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." (Luk 24:49). Here we have Jesus speaking about "the Promise," which is the Holy Spirit, and the Father, so the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all in one verse.

Then again He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Act 1:7-8). Here we have Jesus speaking of himself when He says "My" witnesses, and of the Father when He says, "times or epochs which the Father has fixed," and of the Holy Spirit when He says, "the Holy Spirit has come upon you."

The last example I will give is from Revelation. John wrote, "John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—" (Rev 1:4-5)

In these opening verses of his apocalyptic book we again see all three Persons of the Holy Trinity. We see the Father as "Him who is and who was and who is to come," and the Holy Spirit as "the seven Spirits (or seven-fold Spirit) who are before His throne," and finally we observe "Jesus Christ" the Son. For more on this topic, please see The Holy Trinity.

So this power of two or three originates with God Himself who is three in One. The members of the Godhead are always in perfect agreement together, and He has existed like this throughout eternal ages past, without beginning. Therefore, the power of two or three is embedded in the very nature of God Himself, and perhaps it even has some connection with His other attributes, such as His omnipotence.

Triune Man
Likewise, man is made in God's image with a spirit, soul, and body. In other words, you are a spirit with a soul in a body, which means you are one person with three parts. The apostle Paul wrote, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1Th 5:23)

I am not saying that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are merely three different parts of God, because they are actually three distinct and divine Persons, not parts. But there is an analogy that can be drawn between the triune nature of God and man.

A Cord of Three Strands

A cord of three strands is not easily broken and two are better than one. Solomon wrote:

"Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart." (Ecc 4:9-12)

This is self-explanatory. There is no question as to the wisdom and truth of this instruction. Two are certainly better than one for multiple reasons. For one thing, they can perform at least twice as much (if not more) work as one person.  Another thing is that one will lift the other one up if he falls. Moreover, two are able to keep each other warm.

I recall that this was an Army survival tactic in cold weather when I was in the infantry, and perhaps it still is. In fact, the Army's "buddy system" uses this same principle to ensure that the two buddies assigned to each other look out for each other in all aspects of training and warfare, not just cold weather survival.

Another reason two are better than one is that they can better defend themselves against an attacker. And finally we see the wisdom of this principle proven in a cord of three strands, which is not as easily broken as a single strand would be. Anyone who is given the choice to climb the face of a cliff using either a cord of three strands or a rope made from a single strand will choose the cord of three strands unless they have a death wish.

Church Discipline by Two or Three
The power of two or three also applies in matters of Church discipline, such as taking two others with you to address a brother who has sinned. Jesus said, "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed." (Mat 18:16)

Agreement of Two or Three 
If two or three agree as touching anything in prayer, it shall be done. Jesus said, "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven." (Mat 18:19). That is an amazing promise the Lord made to us based on the agreement of two or three believers.

Praying alone is wonderful, but you also need to pray with others. You need to have a prayer partner. So if you are a believer married to another believer, then you already have a prayer partner. If not, then ask the Lord to give you a prayer partner. This is also why group prayer meetings that have at least two or three people are even more powerful than when individuals pray alone.

In the old days, after making a significant point while preaching, fiery preachers would sometimes shout, "Can I get a witness!?" Then someone would shout, "Amen, brother!" or "Hallelujah!" When you understand the power of two or three, you will realize when someone says "Amen" (meaning "so be it") to a prayer or to some part of a message being preached, then the two come into agreement in the spirit, which powerfully establishes whatever they have agreed upon.

Two or Three Gathered in Jesus' Name
Wherever two or three are gathered in Jesus' name, He is there. That means if they are gathered for prayer, worship, fellowship, evangelism, hospitality, or whatever purpose -- as long as it is in Jesus' name, then He has promised to be there. He said, "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." (Mt 18:20).

This is one reason why you should be a part of a congregation, because there are no lone rangers in the kingdom of God. I learned this the hard way as a new believer over thirty years ago. As a young infantryman in the US Army stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia in the United States, I had only been saved for about three months before I received a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) to Berlin, Germany. I brought my Bible with me to Germany, along with my Christian music recordings, and Christian music videos, but I could not find a solid Christian friend to fellowship with. I also did not agree with something about the way the Protestant chapel conducted services, so I did not attend them. Instead, I tried to walk with Jesus alone, without any fellowship, and this led to me drifting away from the Lord for the first few months I was in Germany. You can read more about that in my article Drifting Away. It was not until I went back to church and repented for my sins that I came back to the Lord six months after being transferred overseas.

That's one reason why the Bible teaches us that we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves. The apostle said, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Heb 10:24-25, NIV). There is power when two or three gather in Jesus' name, and the presence of the Lord is there.

Let me also say to you that this point, combined with my previous point about the power of agreement among two or three believers, is one reason why Life Transformation Groups, as well as small home group meetings and house churches are so effective. It is easier to have two or three or ten or twelve people in agreement that to have three, four, or five hundred people all in perfect agreement. The larger the group, the less likely it is that they will all be in perfect agreement.

Sent Out Two by Two
Jesus sent the Twelve out two-by-two in six pairs to preach that men should repent. "And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits;" (Mar 6:7). Likewise, Jesus later sent the Seventy out two-by-two in thirty-five pairs (Lk 10:1). They were instructed to heal those "who are sick, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'" (Luk 10:9). They went out, and returned afterward rejoicing. "The seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.'" (Luk 10:17). Once again it was the Lord's power demonstrated in pairs of two people who were in agreement in Jesus' name. This was the apostolic pattern followed by Peter and John, as well as Paul and Barnabas, as well as Paul and Silas.

Twelve Witnesses
Jesus chose Twelve to be witnesses of His life, death, and resurrection (Mk 3:14-19; Ac 1:21-22). The fact that He died and rose again from the dead, and all that He taught during His earthly ministry, are established by the testimony of the Twelve.

Three Synoptic Gospels
Consider the fact that there are three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) that testify of essentially the same things, plus a fourth gospel by John to overlay a spiritual layer of understanding. The Lord established the gospel not with one witness, but four.

Not Good to Be Alone
It is not good for man to be alone. Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." (Ge 2:18). This was true of Adam when he was all alone in the world without a companion, and it is true today as well. There are many lonely people in the world, such as widows and widowers. Many of these people are shut-ins and they are all alone. Others may be in the hospital, the nursing home, or even in prison, and while they have people around them, they are lonely. They need a visit from someone who cares.

This Scripture doesn't necessarily mean it is better to be married than single. As I wrote in my article, The Gift of Celibacy, some remain single for the sake of the kingdom; and it's best for them to do so. But that doesn't mean they are supposed to be a "lone ranger" and go through life all alone. While they may not be married, they still need fellowship. And even those in ministry need to have a ministry partner. Sometimes this will be a family member or someone else in Christ that they serve with in ministry as the early apostles did.

Two Become One
The two (man and woman) shall become one flesh. This is repeated many times in Scripture.

"That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." (Gen 2:24, NIV)

Jesus said, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh" (Mt 19:5. NIV)

In Mark's gospel, he records that Jesus said, "And the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh." (Mk 10:8, NIV)

The apostle Paul wrote, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." (Eph 5:31).

This illustrates how two people can be one in the same way that the three divine persons of the Holy Trinity are One. And since there are two of them, then as long as they come together in Christ, they are a microcosm of the Church. They both have a partner to agree with in prayer anywhere they go in the world.

Jesus Had a Witness
Even Jesus had a witness. He had the Father and the works He did by the power of the Spirit.

He said, "If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form." (Joh 5:31-37).

Jesus identified His two witnesses: 1) "the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me." I believe this implied the Holy Spirit through Whom He did all of His works; and 2) "the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me." So the Father and the works that Jesus did by the Spirit provided the powerful testimony that established all that He did and said, as well as His divine identity.

Two Final Witnesses
Let me also remind you that there will be the two final witnesses who prophesy for three and a half years.

"And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth." (Rev 11:3-4; cf. Zech 4:11-14)

These two witnesses operate together in Jesus' name and we can assume based on Scripture that the Father does for them whatever they ask of Him in agreement. If anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouths and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire." (Rev 11:5-6)

Three Apostles on the Mount of Transfiguration
We also see the power of two or three in that Jesus took three apostles with Him onto the Mount of Transfiguration. "Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves." (Mat 17:1).

Two Prophets on the Mount of Transfiguration
Then there was the appearance of Moses and Elijah - two witnesses on the mountain with Jesus.

"And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, 'This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!'" (Mat 17:2-5)

That was an amazing experience that was powerfully established by three witnesses from heaven -- God the Father, Moses, and Elijah, as well as three witnesses from earth -- Peter, James, and John.

Witness of the Spirit
We have the testimony (or witness) of the Spirit.

Paul wrote, "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God." (Rom 8:16)

The apostle wrote, "And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying..." (Heb 10:15). After saying this, he quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures. This illustrates that the Holy Spirit as the author of Scripture testifies to us as believers through the Word of God.

Satanic Trinity
Even satan has an evil counterfeit trinity, consisting of himself the dragon, the beast (or antichrist), and the false prophet. Apparently satan seeks to play a role corresponding to the Father, while the antichrist attempts to replace Jesus Christ in ruling the world, and the false prophet performs miraculous signs and wonders that counterfeit the works of the Holy Spirit.

The apostle John wrote, "And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names." (Rev 13:1). In this verse we see the dragon or devil and the beast or antichrist.

John continued later in the same chapter, "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon." (Rev 13:11). In this verse we see the false prophet, which together with the devil and the beast comprise the satanic trinity. The devil, too, understands the power of two or three. He knows this power is evident in the Holy Trinity, and is embedded in all life that God has created. He will seek to counterfeit it on earth during the three-and-a-half year Great Tribulation. During that time he will seek to rule the whole world through the beast and the false prophet, but will do so to his own ruin. For the Scripture tells us of his final demise in Revelation 20:10. It says, "And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." (Rev 20:10). Their condemnation is deserved.

Tower of Babel
One last example of using the power of two or three for evil was when the people of Shinar decided to build a tower that would reach to the heavens. God went to see it for Himself and "The Lord said, 'If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.'” (Gen 11:6-7, NIV). Thus the tower was never finished and became known as the Tower of Babel. But it serves as an example of the power of two or three in agreement, because had they continued what they were doing, nothing they planned to do would have been impossible for them.

Putting it All Together

As we have seen from Scripture, there is amazing power in two or three in Christ. This applies in many different ways to every area of life, whether to Jesus being in the midst of two or three believers gathering in His name, or the Father doing anything that two or three believers agree about and ask Him for in Jesus' name. It also applies to matters of Church discipline, as well as marriage and ministry. In fact, as we have learned, all things are established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. I hope this has helped to build your faith, strengthen and encourage you, and show you another important secret of the kingdom of God. Now go put it into practice for the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ!

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB., copyright The Lockman Foundation, used by permission. Other Scriptures from The Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zonervan, used by permission. Photo image copyright Saint George Island United Methodist Church, used according to Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes only.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like Dependence in God's Kingdom, The Holy Trinity, Life Transformation Groups, How to Start an LTG, The Gift of Celibacy, Outpouring of the Spirit, The Link Between Two Realms, Drifting Away, and Supernatural Power for All Disciples, as well as other articles found on the Home page of this blog. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Why is the Body So Divided?

Someone once asked me about the reason for divisions in the church. He wrote: "Why do you think there are so many different beliefs within Christianity and so many different denominations? When Jesus established the Church, it was only one Church, and the saints were of one mind and one heart."

In response I agreed that when Jesus established the Church, it was only one Church, and the saints were of one mind and one heart. That's the way it's supposed to be, so it started off healthy. On the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church, they were all in one accord. "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place." (Act 2:1).

The believers had all things in common. "They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;" (Act 2:42-44)

The congregation was of one heart and soul. "And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them." (Act 4:32)

Paul said, "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Eph 4:4-6, NIV)

He also wrote, "Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind." (Phil 2:2, NIV)

Since there is only one Body, which was united at the beginning, and since it was God's intention that the Church remain united, then anyone who did not do so was in the flesh. When divisions were created in the Body, it was a result of someone being in the flesh. 

One the one hand you had people who taught heresy, rejected the truth, and corrupted their ways, and others needed to separate from those people, when the heretics refused to submit to the Word of God. One such example was when Martin Luther attempted to bring reformation within the Church with his 95 Theses that exposed abuses in the Church. The leaders of the Roman Church refused to listen and excommunicated him when he refused to recant. That same scenario has been repeated many other times throughout Church history on large and small scales.

There were also heretics teaching error beginning in the first century, as we see from 2 Pet 2, Jude, Galatians and other epistles, as well as Rev 2. Coupled with this there were others who felt -- either rightly or wrongly -- that their particular doctrine was the correct interpretation of Scripture, that they must separate from others who did not agree with them, and become a distinctive group. Some may have sincerely done so to maintain doctrinal purity, even if their doctrine itself was not actually sound, and others may have done so for carnal reasons. For example, some people followed their favorite leader. This even occurred in the first century, so it didn't take long for things to become divided:

"Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, 'I am of Paul,' and 'I of Apollos,' and 'I of Cephas,' and 'I of Christ.' Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void." (1 Cor 1:10-17)

So as you can see, what we began with on the Day of Pentecost and in Jerusalem with the church being in one accord and devoted to the apostles' teaching, soon developed divisions, which have continued ever since.

There is a flip side to the divisions in that they show us something about the people involved on both sides of the split.  They show which ones have God's approval. Paul said, "No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval." (1 Cor 11:19). They also show which ones did not belong to us in the first place. John said, "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." (1 Jn 2:19).

Putting it All Together
Just as there is only one Body, it's God's will that we all be in one accord, of one heart and soul, that we all agree and that there be no divisions among us, but that we be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. Therefore, when divisions do occur, it shows us who has God's approval and who does not really belong to us.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible NIV, where noted. Segmented orange image courtesy of Ometria.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I recommend reading these related articles: The Kingdom of God is Like This, The Nature of False Prophets, The Difference Between a Disciple and a Believer, Having a Servant's Heart, and The Cost of Discipleship. You may also like the other posts in this blog available through the Home page. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org

God's Supernatural Hand During Crisis

I realized for the first time today, as I read Acts 12, that the apostles Paul and Barnabas were in Jerusalem delivering their gifts to the poor when Herod had James executed and Peter imprisoned, from which he miraculously escaped.  I never noticed this before.

But as I examined the passage further, I saw how the supernatural hand of God moved during a major political, social, and environmental crisis.  I began to see how this applies to the current crisis we are experiencing in the world. This gives us another great picture of what the kingdom of God is like.

The church’s unselfish response to worldwide famine
During the first century, a prophet from Jerusalem went to Antioch and spoke of a global famine that would come, which is equivalent to a modern day Great Depression.  “One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius. And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea. And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.” (Act 11:28-30)

Even though the prophecy was that the great famine would be all over the world, the church in Antioch acted entirely unselfishly, thinking about their brethren in Judea, and sending gifts to them.  Their first thought was for the well-being of their brothers and sisters in Judea.

Herod’s execution and imprisonment of apostles
There was a political crisis in that Herod wanted to pump himself up.  This was also a social crisis, because others were harmed by his political actions.  “Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread.” (Act 12:1-3)  Herod’s actions were entirely selfish.  If he saw that something pleased the Jews, which brought him popularity, then he did it.  No matter who had to suffer or die, Herod did whatever was politically expedient to strengthen his own position.  He didn’t care about anyone but himself.

Herod’s selfish actions during the famine and his demise
God miraculously sent an angel to rescue Peter from prison. After Peter’s escape from prison, Herod did not give glory to God, but had the guards executed. Not only did he have people put to death like he did to James and the Roman guards, he had the power to withhold food from starving people, like he did with Tyre and Sidon. He then went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there. “Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king's chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was fed by the king's country. On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. The people kept crying out, ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!’ And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.” (Act 12:20-23). 

I would imagine that there were likely disciples of Christ in the crowd down in Caesarea, who were listening to Herod’s speech, and they would have heard some of those in the crowd say that Herod was a god.  I wonder how those disciples responded among themselves.  I can just imagine that one of them might have turned to the others and said something like, “He’s only a mortal man like us, and he will die at his appointed time.  There is only one true God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever!”  And perhaps the other disciples responded by saying, “Amen!”  We don’t know if this happened, but it is quite possible, and then moments later, Herod was struck by worms and died.  Things like this happened during those days, such as the way Ananias and Saphira dropped dead and the way the Lord struck Elymas the sorcerer with blindness.

Barnabas and Saul return from Jerusalem to Antioch
“But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark.” (Act 12:24-25)  As we can see, Herod’s antics were no match for God.  Peter escaped, Paul and Barnabas delivered their gifts for the poor, the Word of the Lord continued to grow and be multiplied, and Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch.

In this passage, God’s divine activity in the church during famine and persecution was very evident.  In the midst of a major crisis -- famine and persecution, the Lord miraculously and lovingly took care of His people.  He also performed signs and wonders to confirm His Word and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Life has not changed much since then.  There is once again a global crisis, and in some parts of the world there is severe persecution.  The Lord has not changed either!  What the Lord did then He can and will do again. The kingdom of God is like this!

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. "In the Father's Hand" illustration by my daughter, C.V. Lacroix. You can find more of her lovely artwork on A Brush with Life.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like The Link Between Two Realms, God's Supernatural Provision Using People, Changing the Atmosphere, The Power of two or Three, Against Entropy, Faithful in the Little Things, and the other posts in this blog available through the Home Page. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Now I would like to ask you a question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Kingdom of God is Like This

Every living thing has its own unique genetic code known as DNA. These tiny, threadlike strands control how all plants, animals, and even bacteria are formed. DNA contains the tiny blueprints or instructions that create all living things - it is the thread between the past and the present. Our height, hair type, skin color, and other characteristics are encoded in these blue prints. Our genes give the cells of our body instructions how to build.

Since Jesus is the Life and His life is in the church, we could say that there is a type of spiritual DNA in the church. If we could understand the unique code of instructions contained at this cellular level of the church, we could better understand making disciples and church planting. In order to understand the DNA of the church, we should look at the words of Jesus that describe what the Kingdom of God is like.

Like a mustard seed 
He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES." (Mat 13:31-32; cf. Mar 4:30-32).

From this parable, we can see that the Kingdom of God begins small and grows until it reaches full maturity. He also referred to it as the Kingdom of heave, which is the same thing. It's much the same as when we plant seeds in the field. Though it begins small, when it reaches maturity, it is a place of refuge for many to come and make their home. It's a place where they can find rest.

Like a man who casts seed upon the soil
And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows--how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself (automatically); first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." (Mar 4:26-29)

Here again, Jesus likened the Kingdom of God to a seed cast upon the soil. He once again illustrated the growth that occurs from the very small seed level on to maturity. There are various stages it goes through, just as the grain first appears as a single blade, then you see a head come up. Later, there is a mature grain in the head.

Amazingly this all happens automatically. When Jesus said, "soil produces crops by itself", it was recorded in the Bible using the Greek word automatos, which means self-moved, spontaneous, or automatically. So the Kingdom grows by itself!

If you study fields of "church planting," "church growth," and "discipleship," what you will often find is men trying to use human wisdom to figure out how to get the church to grow. Many intelligent people have sought to understand exactly how this happens. But we don't fully understand how the Kingdom of God grows any more than the man planting a seed knows how the seed he has planted sprouts and grows. As the apostle Paul said, "one waters, another reaps, but God causes it to grow." It's God's part to bring the growth. We can only plant, water and reap.

Yet reaping cannot occur until harvest time comes. Until then, there is a period of waiting for the fruit.

Like a man who sowed good seed in his field
Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."' " (Mat 13:24-30)

Here again, the Lord compared the kingdom of heaven to seed that is planted in a field. It was good seed meant to bear good fruit. But an enemy planted bad seed in his field among the good seed. The bad seed was meant to bring forth weeds. This same phenomenon occurs in the Kingdom of God. While we are planting good seed, the enemy is busy planting bad seed.

Naturally, we would like to see the weeds pulled out. We would like to see what the devil has planted in God's Kingdom removed now. But the Lord is wise. He knows that doing so now would also do harm to the good seed growing in His Kingdom. So he patiently waits until harvest time.

At harvest time, and only then, the Lord will reap the harvest. Both the wheat and the weeds will be taken up, which represents the righteous and the wicked. Only then will they be separated out from one another. Until then, there will be a mixture of wicked people among the righteous. This does not mean we tolerate wickedness in the Church. It means that there will be wicked people all around the righteous until the end. It means there will be people in the Church who are insincere and are actually weeds. But when the Lord separates them at harvest time, He will bundle the weeds together and burn them up. The wheat, or righteous ones, He will keep for Himself.

Like yeast that a woman mixed
He spoke another parable to them, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened." (Mat 13:33; cf. Luk 13:20-21).

Hopefully you can see by now that these parables all illustrate how God's Kingdom always begins at the micro level with small things and progresses gradually but steadily to the macro level of large things. When a woman puts yeast into a large amount of flour, it eventually permeates every part of the flour and when it is bakes in the oven it will rise.

In the Kingdom of God, men often seek to begin at the macro level and proceed to the micro level. They often begin with trying to establish a church by collecting people into a building, holding large group meetings, in the hopes that later they will develop leaders from within the group, and then eventually see individual disciples start to grow. This is backwards. In God's Kingdom, it always begins first with the micro and proceeds to the macro.

First begin by planting seeds of the gospel in people's hearts, make disciples in small groups, then later you can develop leaders from among them. Only once you have multiplied disciples and developed leaders can you begin to plant churches. If you do it any other way, you will end up with a room full of believers that don't follow.

Like a treasure hidden in the field
"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (Mat 13:44)

With this parable, Jesus illustrated the hidden nature of God's Kingdom. The treasure's of His Kingdom are extremely precious. They do not lie on the surface where all can see them with the naked eye. They are hidden beneath the surface for those who would search for them to find. And when a man finds the treasure's of God's Kingdom, he will part with all his earthly possessions to obtain these treasures. He knows that although others do not yet see it, he has found something worth more than all he owns. No price is too great for him to pay for it.

This doesn't men you can buy your way into heaven. It means that when you truly discover God's Kingdom, you will be willing to give up all you have for the sake it, in order to obtain it's treasures. And the greatest Treasure of God's Kingdom of Jesus the Great King.

Yet so many churches are full of people who are not willing to part with what they possess. They have not discovered the treasure of God's Kingdom. These are people whom leaders have collected into a building. Which kind of church would you rather lead or belong to? I'd rather lead a church full of people who have discovered the treasure and sold out for Jesus!

Like a merchant seeking fine pearls
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it." (Mat 13:45-46)

Do you see here again the seeking, the searching that goes on prior to entering the Kingdom of God. In Jesus' day, it was not like today, when pearls can be produced artificially inside mollusks. Back then pearls were produced naturally in these mollusks, so they were quite rare. When a merchant found a pearl of great price, he would go and sell all he had to buy that one little pearl that was still hidden to the masses.

Yet how many churches are a gathering of great masses of people, most of whom have never given up their own lives. They've never truly discovered the Pearl of great price. You can gather people into buildings and into large groups all you like. But the Pearl of God's Kingdom is generally not discovered in mass as a group. It is discovered individually by those who are seeking it. So this again highlights for us the individual nature of the experience with God's Kingdom, and the decision making process that occurs. 

Like a dragnet cast into the sea 
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Mat 13:47-50)

This parable illustrates the same thing as the parable of the wheat and weeds. At the end of the age, God will gather people of every kind, the righteous and the wicked. Only then will He separate them out from one another. Of course, He will throw the wicked into the furnace of fire like the fisherman does with bad fish. But the righteous He will take out and gather to Himself.

Like a landowner who went out early in the morning
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; and to those he said, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' And so they went."

"Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?' "They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too.'"

"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.' When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.'"

"But he answered and said to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?' So the last shall be first, and the first last." (Mat 20:1-16)

Jesus illustrated with this parable that He is like a landowner who employs laborers to work in His vineyard. He employs them at different times. There are some who will not be employed until the end. But He will pay all his workers generously. In fact, some who enter His service last and spend less time working will be paid just as much as much as those who have served Him from the beginning.

Many times we see things the exact opposite from the way the Lord sees them. Consequently we operate quite opposite to the way He operates. When we are making disciples or planting churches, we must be sure we approach things God's way, not man's way. We will find that God's way of making disciples is quite different from man's methods. 

Like a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves
"For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. "When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.' And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt."

"But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe.' So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.' But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 'Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?' And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." (Mat 18:23-35)

Here Jesus illustrated that those who come to Him are in need of mercy. We can never repay the debt we owe Him due to our great sin. And when we cry out for mercy, the Merciful Judge grants it. But there will naturally be someone who also owes a debt to us that they could never repay. If they cry out for mercy and ask forgiveness but we refuse to give it, then we will find that the Judge will no longer forgive us the debt we owe.

So disciples are those who forgive each other from the heart, in light of the great mercy they have received from the Lord. Yet how many churches are filled with people who do not forgive one another. They have never become disciples at all, and they are preventing God from forgiving their own sin. This experience of finding personal forgiveness from the Lord and learning to forgive others is an individual one. It does not happen in mass. 

Like a king who gave a wedding feast
"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. Again he sent out other slaves saying, 'Tell those who have been invited, "Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast."' But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them."

"But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.' Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests."

"But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen." (Mat 22:2-14)

Finally Jesus illustrated that He is the King who has invited guests to His wedding feast. Yet most of those who are invited ignore His invitation and thus insult the King. They all have excuses that they find to be quite valid. So they go on living life their own way. In fact, they often persecute the very messengers that God has sent to invite them to His wonderful wedding. Ultimately the Lord will punish them with fire for their evil behavior.

So He gives the command to His people to go the roadways and side streets, inviting everyone to the wedding feast. We are to invite all we meet to come. And many will indeed come to His wedding feast. But each individual who comes must personally put on the wedding garments. While the invitation goes to the masses, each individual must get dressed in the righteousness of God through their own personal experience at the cross.

Ultimately at the wedding He will hold in the end, the King will examine each person who comes. Then He will see who is wearing the white wedding garments He has provided. And those who are not will be bound and thrown into the outer darkness forever. So Jesus showed us that He wants His house full and the invitation goes out to the masses. But while many may be invited, only a few are chosen.

If we look at the methods of man to build churches, they seek to gather a large group together quickly and in their efforts to do so, they invite many. But when people come together for worship, some have not yet had their own personal experience with Jesus. They have never donned the garments of righteousness. It's possible they may do so eventually while attending the church. But what often happens is that they become comfortable and complacent attending the church. They blend in and the church grows through the addition of more people just like this.

Which kind of church would you rather be a part of or lead? I'd rather invite people to a personal decision for Christ, and teach them to invite others to a personal decision for Christ. Then the church will be grown from individuals who have multiplied and who each have dressed in the robes of righteousness.

Putting it All Together

• Jesus had many things to say about what the kingdom of God is like.
• From Him we learn what the church is like, because as is the Kingdom of God, so is the church.
• He compared the kingdom to various seeds, and the organic principles associated with their slow and gradual growth.
• But He also used these to teach that while the enemy may sow his own seed among the good ones, God will separate the bad from the good after they are full grown when it is time to harvest them.
• And He used these to teach that the Kingdom produces growth automatically once the Word of God is sown into people’s lives. Even though we don’t understand how it grows, it does in fact grow automatically, even when we are not doing anything to help it.
• Similarly he compared the Kingdom of God to yeast that a woman mixed into flour. In the yeast we find same principle of life growing from a very small beginning to full maturity.
• Then He compared the Kingdom of God to two small things, which both showed the great value of it and the hidden nature of it as well. He said it is like a treasure hidden in the field and like a merchant seeking fine pearls. In both cases, He showed that while the Kingdom may seem small to the natural eye, it is worth more than all our earthly possessions.
• He taught that He, the King of Kings, is not going to allow everyone into His kingdom. There are certain requirements that must be fulfilled, including treating others with mercy, love and forgiveness, as well as being robed in His righteousness. He taught that those who do not meet these requirements would face a painful, fiery, and torturous destruction in the end.
• Likewise, He compared the Kingdom of God to a dragnet cast into the sea, in order to show that while there may be many people who seem to be candidates for God’s Kingdom, He is not going to keep everyone to dwell with Him. Instead, he is going to cast out of His presence those who are bad, and they will face the fiery furnace.
• Finally, He compared His Kingdom to a landowner who hired some workers early in the day and others late in the day. He showed His fairness in rewarding alike all who are faithful to serve Him, and the seemingly upside-down or inside-out nature of how God operates.
• The DNA of the church connects the past to the present. It’s the blueprint for building the church.
• Based on the DNA of the church, what are the implications for making disciples and starting churches?

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. 

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the Home page, like Paradoxes of the Kingdom of God. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do you want to know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.


Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?" 

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.