Paul’s early and middle letters were written to churches (except Philemon) to help put their roots down in the gospel of grace and then to establish and strengthen them. These latter letters are written to individuals. They also are written near the end of Paul’s life. His experience with planting churches and getting them established, underscored the need for ordered households and qualified leaders who had godly character. The priority was passing this on to the next generation of leaders, and continuum.
First Timothy was written to establish churches as a properly ordered household. This begins with the individual which then affects the marriage, the family and the church. Paul passed on to his spiritual son Timothy, the pattern necessary for him to effectively carry on Paul’s work after his departure. The pattern is sound teaching, godliness with contentment, and appointment of qualified spiritual overseers. Titus, another “true child in a common faith” was left in Crete to “put what remained into order and appoint elders in every town” (1:4-5). This would establish churches in sound doctrine, which is the proper order of God’s household as persons fulfill their biblical roles. Such roles require living by grace and maintaining purity in God’s household. Second Timothy is Paul’s last letter. As he spends his last days in prison, Paul passes on the baton to Timothy with clear instructions to commit what he had learned to other faithful leaders who will be able to entrust the timeless principles to others. The challenge of ordered households and churches that are led by faithful leaders is still a top priority today. Let’s take this seriously and not cave in to mediocrity or cultural compromise!
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Paul was unstoppable! His prison cell, probably dank and dark, became his praying and writing chamber. Each of the letters he wrote from prison begins with a prayer for those he was writing to; a great model. In none of these letters do you find a spirit of complaint or grumbling because of his circumstances. In fact, they exude delight in the Lord Jesus and a joy in the saints; those he wanted to further establish and unity around Christ and His plan for the church.
As I go through each of these letters in their chronological order, ask yourself if the attitude and spirit you see in Paul is being demonstrated in your life. Do you have the same degree of passion for maturity in your church and those you associate with as Paul did? Ephesians was written to establish and unify believers in the person of Christ and to reveal God’s eternal plan (the mystery) for the church. In this plan was revealed how the gospel of grace would impact individuals, marriages and families so that God would be glorified and make known God’s wisdom “to rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (3:10). Philippians also stressed being of one mind in the church and reflecting Christ by becoming humble servants. There was no greater pursuit for Paul than gaining Christ, having His righteousness and knowing the power of His resurrection. Through this attitude the gospel would progress rapidly. Colossians, like all the middle letters, is written to establish and unify believers in the person and eternal work of Christ as the Head of His church. Paul shows the superiority of Christ over philosophies, traditions and legalism. The preeminence of Christ focuses our attention on Him where He is, seated at the right hand of God. Philemon is intended to restore and unify relationships for the purpose of exalting Christ and spreading the gospel through obedience to it. Tomorrow we will look at Paul’s last three and final letters before his life is “poured out as a drink offering” (2 Timothy 4:6). Paul’s letters to the churches can be chronologically and theologically divided into 3 categories: his early letters, middle letters, and latter letters. This chronological order gives tremendous insights into the strategy Paul used to make these newly founded churches strong. For example, his first or early letters were tools written to establish new believers in the gospel of grace. The following is a breakdown or description of these letters in chronological order. They are tools, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that addressed specific and real life issues in these newly founded churches. Galatians was written to establish new believers in the gospel of grace. It teaches that a believer is set free from sin and law and justified by grace alone through faith. It exposes a popular substitute for the Holy Spirit in the church, which is the flesh, and calls us to return to the principles of walking and living by the Spirit. First and Second Thessalonians continues the theme of establishing believers in the gospel of grace; encouraging them to persevere and grow in their new faith, even in the face of affliction and persecution. They are encouraged to remain steady in faith even when false reports and world conditions look very much against them. The Day of the Lord will come in God’s perfect time. First Corinthians was written to unify and sanctify this new church by helping them understand the implications of the gospel as it addresses every issue that arises. They needed to put into practice their position in the risen Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Second Corinthians contains Paul’s defense of his ministry because of false teachers who undermined the gospel of grace through divisions and discredited Paul and his message. Romans presents a complete discourse and work of the gospel. Paul details the implications of sin, lays the foundation of justification by faith alone, salvation, sanctification and the resulting service in Christ Jesus our Lord. These first six letters strengthen and establish believers in the unshakable foundation of the gospel. They are the result of Paul’s personal work of evangelism, planting churches and then returning to establish them and appoint elders. Though there were opportunistic false teachers who sought to de-rail the church, Paul remained steadfastly anchored in the gospel of grace. SO MUST WE! As we know, Paul did much more than visit cities to proclaim the gospel, establish churches and then revisit them so they would be firmly established in the faith. He was also an avid writer of timely letters; some from prison. Since Paul was a master church planter, let us consider his letters like “tools” of his trade, so to speak. Just as a master carpenter or mechanic must know what tools to use on a particular job, so a master church planter should know what tools to use to make a church strong. While this seems so simple, it is amazing to see pastors, ministers and teachers using a hammer to saw a piece of wood or a saw to hammer a nail or a wrench to loosen a screw, etc. Just like carpenters and mechanics become masters of their trade, so church leaders should become master church planters and establishers using God’s tools which are His Word. God has given us every tool we need to deal with any problem one might face in the church through His Word (II Timothy 3:16-17). God has graciously and abundantly provided the necessary tools for you to make churches strong. Follow the next few blogs as we look at Paul’s letters, the order they were written and why they were written. Indigenous leaders are critical to fostering rapid maturity in a new church. Paul and Barnabas understood this principle in Acts 14 as they returned the second time to the churches that were planted on their first missionary trip. As I pointed out, they “strengthen the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith”, but that was not all. “They appointed elders for them in every church” (14:23). Perhaps not all of them were perfectly qualified according to 1 Timothy 3:1-7, but the Holy Spirit would help them grow into those qualities.
The importance of elders in each local church cannot be overstated. As Paul passed through Crete, he left Titus there with specific instructions to “put what remained into order and appoint elders in every town” (Titus 1:5). He follows this instruction with detailed teaching on how the elders should teach each age group in the church. The strategy of indigenous elders taking on this role is because they understand the culture and how to communicate biblical principles in it. If ‘outside leaders’ plant themselves in a new church, staying there for a long, undetermined length of time, the new indigenous believers will have little initiative to grow on their own and take responsibility for being self-governed. Yes, we should visit them periodically, but not for the purpose of interfering or taking over leadership. Our visits, as Paul and Barnabas did, are to promote a hunger for the Word of God and a growing thirst for the Holy Spirit to teach them in our absence (John 14:26). It is amazing what He will do in our absence if we trust Him! WE HAVE SEEN IT HAPPEN!! I want to build on my blog from yesterday, because there is so much more to Paul and Barnabas returning to the cities where they preached the gospel and planted churches. As we saw from Acts 14:22-23, their purpose in a second visit was to “strengthen the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith”. The word “strengthen” (episterizo) is a present tense verb which means that the action to make stronger or support is an ongoing function. This is pictured by placing a stake next to a young plant until it grows and matures (see picture below). This meaning is further emphasized by Luke’s use of the words “encouraging them” (parakaleo), meaning “call to one’s side, or summon together for a purpose”. It is evident that these two ideas are intended to work together as disciples are gathered for the purpose of having their faith made stronger and more mature. Though Paul and Barnabas did not spend a lot of time in any one of these places, the intensity of their visit combined with “committing them to the Lord” served to bind the new believers to the words of truth and the Head of the church, Christ. This principle is essential, not just for new church plants, but also for any church that is weak in the faith. This does not require any title for someone to fulfill. It only needs your heart ignited by the Holy Spirit to live out this principle. *As we survey the life of Paul, there was a hiatus from Acts 9:32 to 13:1. In that period, God was moving in Peter to reach out to the Gentiles with the gospel, see them receive Jesus as Savior, identify with Him in baptism, and become part of the church. Suddenly Saul (later called Paul) appears at Antioch and is set apart by the Holy Spirit with Barnabas to proclaim the gospel of grace in cities of Cyprus, Pamphylia, Pisidia and Galatia, ending up at Derbe (Acts 14:6). Why didn’t they continue from Derbe to cities in Cilicia (Tarsus where Paul was from – 11:25) and complete the circuit and return by land to Antioch? *Download Missionary Methods @ www.newfoundationsinternational.org Click Training Resources There is a very clear answer to this question. “When they had preached the gospel to that city [Derbe] and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (14:21-22). As new believers and newly planted churches, this was a critical, but calculated move of Paul and Barnabas. These men knew that opposition and persecution would quickly come from both Jews and Gentiles who were bent on mistreating and if possible, stoning them (14:5). The strengthening and encouraging factor is so important in any culture and at any time in history so new believers are strengthened. Paul’s method did not include staying in one place for years until a human determination is made that it was time to leave. Notice though how these ministers of the gospel left the new believers on their second visit: “They committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed” (14:23). This is a very significant principle that is overlooked in most church planting today. If God has worked in hearts to receive the gospel of His Son, He is also able to take care of their growth by the Holy Spirit! As we will see later, Paul returned for two more visits in order to continue the process of making them strong in faith and steadfast in biblical practice. There are many aspects of God’s plan for his church and how it can be made strong that I will cover over this series. One of the most important, is realizing that Christ is the Head of His church. It is rarely taught and seldom referred to even in Christian books, but where it is held to in the church, you will see spiritual growth and maturity. Where Christ’s headship is ignored, there will be weakness, division and false teaching.
What does it mean that Christ is Head of His church? First, God has placed Christ in that position; “And He [God] put all things under His [Christ] feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body” (Ephesians 1:22-23; see also Colossians 1:18; 2:10). This means that everything the church does is under Christ’s authority and direction. It is evident throughout the Book of Acts that Christ was directing and leading His church through the Holy Spirit who dwells in every believer. Second, the headship of Christ also means that we are subject to Him because of the authority God has placed in Him (see 1 Corinthians 11:3). Where persons do not submit to His authority, there will be deviant teaching because leaders are “not holding fast to the Head” (Colossians 2:19). On the other hand, if leaders and the body in general are “holding fast to the Head”, then “the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.” The question is; are we acknowledging Christ as our Head, not just in the church, but starting in our personal lives, marriages and families? As I have been given the privilege to visit many churches around the world, some small, some large, I am heartbroken at the general weakness and immaturity in most. I have been in some church buildings that would easily seat several hundred, but only twenty-five or thirty attended.
In the following blogs I want to trace the method used in the early church, and particularly by Paul, that strengthened and established churches that were strong in faith, resistant to false teaching and able to multiply. There was a Holy Spirit-given discontent with just being religious. To start, Paul refers to himself as “a skilled master builder” by the “grace of God given to” him. He “laid a foundation” through his ministry that endured, “which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:10-11). If any existing church is to be strong, they must build on this foundation. That is why Paul’s first letters focus on the pure gospel. There was a movement in the early church to weaken the church by some preaching a false gospel. This had to be confronted if new believers and churches were going to stand firm in the grace of Christ. I will go into more detail when we look at Paul’s first letter – Galatians. I encourage you to read it through. Let us not be afraid to examine our churches and ask whether they are strong and well established. We will also outline what marks a church like this. I have never been in the military or places of extreme danger, but I have experienced moments in my life when “the Lord stood by me and strengthened me” (2 Timothy 4:17). I will never forget a serious car accident at the age of 19, or a terrifying hour in New Delhi, India six years ago. At both occasions, I literally cried out to the Lord for help and His presence, to which He responded with loving grace immediately. Paul went through far more times like this that were much worse than anything I have ever experienced. Most of what Paul endured was because he was fearlessly proclaiming the gospel which was met with hostile forces that wanted him dead so his voice would be silenced. Paul says, “I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.” He knew why “the Lord stood by” him and why he was “rescued”, “So that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.” There was a purpose to his life that had eternal consequences. Any risk was worth taking because Jesus and His message was worthy of every risk in getting it proclaimed. I speak directly to those of us today who carry the precious gospel of God’s grace in Christ; what do you value more? Remember Paul’s words in Acts 20:24’ “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself.” What Paul said to the Ephesian elders was exactly what he indicated to Timothy his spiritual son; “if only I may…testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” With those values and that vision, Paul’s closes his final letter with, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen!” (2 Timothy 4:18). What unshakeable confidence! My readers, I ask that you stop right now and take inventory of what is most valuable in your life. Have you put the gospel and its eternal redeeming power above everything else in life? Do you carry it to the nations with the confidence that Paul had? You can – if you let the Spirit empower you! |
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