Pablem or Steak
In my weekly Zoom discussion group, we have been researching and seeking to properly exegete the origin and development of the church. We are studying chronologically the development starting with the statements of our Lord to His disciples in Matthew 16 and 18, then to Pentecost, the book of Acts, and each epistle as they were written in chronological order. In the last few weeks, we have sought to understand the location of each epistle in the timeline beginning with James, then Galatians, and now 1 and 2 Thessalonians. I appreciate the valuable assistance my brothers in Christ are providing me as we seek to understand the nature of the church through the lens of the progress of revelation and the progress of illumination as the churches, once established, responded to Paul’s instructions regarding the purpose and inner working of a functioning church.
One of the first observations we have made is that the purpose of the church was and is to meet the physical and spiritual needs of individuals in the church and to equip them to function as a body to accomplish this purpose.
The prison epistles had not been written by the time Paul reached Corinth on his second missionary journey, so we are careful not to pour future revelation and illumination into this chronology at the time 1 and 2 Thessalonians were written. Only a few months had elapsed since Paul had been driven from Thessalonica. Persecution had intensified. So his two epistles, written almost simultaneously, were to inform, encourage, and strengthen the church as it suffered persecution.
Paul wrote:
We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.[i]
Paul had equipped them with the Word of God as it had been revealed to him through what was written in the past and was coming to him by direct revelation. It took hold of them. The Holy Spirit was guiding and empowering them to face the onslaught of persecution for their faith.
In his follow-up letter, he explained further God’s revelation to that point in time and praised them for their response to the persecution and hardship they were enduring:
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.[ii]
Why did the church in Thessalonica and other places where the gospel had been preached respond so fervently? Two things; they understood God’s revelation and they were empowered by the Holy Spirit. The churches were functioning effectively as local bodies because they were equipped. The task ahead was to replicate that equipping process so individuals would gather together (Greek: ekklesia) as local bodies of believers to do the work of the ministry of the gospel.
In an earlier epistle, the book of Galatians, Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia explaining how the church was to function under the new covenant. If the law of Moses was not to be the guiding force of governance among God’s people as it was under the old covenant, what was to be their guide? To answer this question Paul laid out what the new covenant was and how it was to function.
In Galatians chapter 2, Paul explained the reaction of the apostles in Jerusalem when he laid out for them the new revelation given to him as to what the church was.
First, the Church will be populated by individuals who are sons of God by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.[iii]
Second, the Church will be populated by individuals who walk (peripateo) in the Spirit.[iv]
Third, the Church will be a gathering of individuals who corporately walk (stoicheo) in the Spirit.[v]
Individual believers took what James and Paul had written up to that point in time when Paul was at Corinth and collectively became churches, ekklesia, and were guided by what had been spoken to them when Paul and others were present and what had been written to that point. They were equipped to face the persecution and trials of life in a hostile environment.
Today we have the complete revelation, the progress of illumination, the progress of doctrine, and computers to examine every detail of God’s revelation to the church. We have gifted orators, megachurches, and the internet to spread the gospel. But are God’s people equipped for what is taking place in the world today?
I testify to you that in my ministry to which God called me, a ministry to churches from the northwest to the southwest and to the Rocky Mountains, I have had the privilege of witnessing the ministry of many churches. Unfortunately, I testify that I saw many churches that were not equipped to face what we now see coming. Individuals have not been equipped. Many local churches do not walk corporately in the Spirit. I fear for my brothers and sister in Christ because they have been lulled to sleep by preaching pablum instead of meat. They have been fed rather than equipped to feed themselves.
When I broke my neck two years ago, I was unable to feed myself. Because of the nature of where the most damage occurred, I had difficulty swallowing and had to have a special diet of soft food. I couldn’t use my hands to feed myself. I felt helpless. I praise the Lord for the excellent care provided to me during those twenty days of recovery in the hospital and months of outpatient therapy. I had to learn to walk. How to get in and out of bed. How to groom myself. But the entire time was spent teaching me how to take care of myself. I was equipped to live on my own again.
Is the church equipping the body today? Big churches are not necessarily mature bodies of believers. Small churches that lack the vision of what a church really should be are not mature bodies of believers. Sitting and listening to a motivational speaker is not equipping the saints to walk on their own. It takes hands-on ministry by individuals who are themselves mature and equipped. It cannot be done organizationally. The hospital, as an organization, did not help me recover. Individuals who knew how to do it helped me to walk again and live on my own again.
I no longer go to rehab, but the doctors and their staff continue to watch over me carefully because of pre-existing and lingering health problems. What a wonderful day in which we live when we have so many tools available to maintain our health even in the midst of a pandemic.
In a sense, the church is in the midst of a spiritual pandemic. God’s people are faced with questions regarding how to live and walk spiritually as individuals and as corporate bodies. How effective is the equipping process? Are individuals and churches ready for the spiritual battles ahead?
It is time to get serious and address this need head-on. It is a day to be mature sons of God who are spiritually old enough to know, understand, and obey our heavenly father. It is time for churches to grow up as well.
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[i] 1 Thess 1:2-10.
[ii] 2 Thess 1:3-4.
[iii] Gal 3:26.
[iv] Gal 5:16. Note the term walk is peripateo referring to the conduct of each individual.
[v] Gal 5:25. Note the term walk is stoicheo referring to the corporate body walking together.