As different brothers and sisters in various parts of the
world have read the first drafts of this book I have been
privileged to receive some feedback. Perhaps surprisingly,
most of the responses have been very positive. It seems
that men and women all over the globe are hungering for
just this kind of church experience. Countless numbers are
unsatisfied with the current condition of Jesus’ church and
are searching for something much more eternal and spiritually
edifying.
However, there seem to be a few who still have trouble
with the idea of a complete liberty from human, institutional
leadership. They seem to feel that there must be at
least a little bit of positional authority in the body of Christ
just in case things get out of control or to deal with a few
special situations. The idea of a complete absence of any
human authority figure seems to them to be unthinkable.
These assertions are usually supported by some of the
Bible verses which we have already examined earlier in
this writing. It was my hope that the explanations offered
and the better translations of these verses already presented
would have been adequate to assuage the hearts and
minds of everyone who is genuinely interested in obeying
the Lord in this question. However, since this is such an
important issue, it seems good to touch again briefly on
this subject here at the end of this book.
The practice of human, positional authority cannot be
biblical for several essential reasons perhaps not yet fully
clarified. Firstly, it violates the principle of Jesus being the
unique life source of His body. Anything which might originate
from another source, i.e. a human authority figure,
cannot produce anything of spiritual value. Instead, it is a
serious mistake. It is an act which, although it might seem
good, produces only wood, hay and stubble.
This fact is very important. This is an essential, unalterable
principle. Only the “fountain of life” gives rise to
the new creation. All other sources, no matter how good or
right or “qualified” they may seem, are utterly rejected.
They are impotent, being unable to generate anything truly
spiritual or eternal.
Secondly, any exercise of mere positional authority
violates the free will of the believers. Such authority works
in a way which God never, ever works. Let us think about
this together. Human or positional authority would only
be necessary when someone is unwilling to obey the spiritual
authority of Jesus flowing through His body. If someone
will not obey God speaking to them through His word,
His Spirit, other believers etc. then we might imagine that
someone more tangible could give this person a little
“push” in the right direction. They could apply some small
earthly force to help this person do the right thing.
Yet this is something which God never does. If and
when anyone is unwilling to obey, He never forces them.
Jesus never, ever, makes anyone go one centimeter beyond
where he or she is willing to go, even if it is for their own
good. Even if someone is about to commit a serious sin,
God does not rush down from heaven to make them stop.
Think about this a moment. If God will not do something,
should we be trying to do it in His place?
No amount of earthly pressure to try to make someone
do anything, even if it is the will of God, will be of any eternal
value. Even if we can persuade someone to obey, and
to do something which is obviously right, if there is any
resistance within them to this path, then they will gain no
spiritual benefit. Any “obedience to God” which is not
from the heart is useless. It will do nothing to transform
them. Conversely, when the heart is open and ready to
obey, positional authority is completely unnecessary.
Since the exercise of positional authority violates these
two clear, essential, inviolable principles it cannot be
thought of as being from God. Therefore, we must readjust
our thinking to conform to God’s revealed will. We must
not be held prisoners to common practice and teaching.
Instead, we must understand any and all Bible verses only
in ways which conform to absolute spiritual principles and
also to the plain teachings of Jesus which we have examined
in earlier chapters.

GIVING

Another question which has arisen regarding the subject
of living in the body of Christ together without human
leadership is about giving. Many have been trained that
they should give to an institution. They have been taught
that they should give their “tithe” to the church where they
attend. If now they have no “church” to which to give,
what should they do?
Our response in this writing is not intended to be a
complete essay on the subject of giving. It is not our purpose
here to analyze the question of different kinds of
offerings or how much we should tithe, etc.
The main thrust of this response is that we must learn
how to follow the Holy Spirit in our giving. Just as He is to
be the Lord of every other part of our lives, so too our giving
of money, etc. should be led by Him. God will show us
where and how to give. It might be to the poor. It might be
to meet the needs of brethren around us. It might be to support
someone who has given themselves to the work of the
Lord. For example, someone might be in need of financial
help who is working as a missionary or dedicating themselves
to some spiritual work or other.
The tithe belongs to the house of God. But the house
of God is people, not some kind of organization. It is the
men and women who belong to Him who are His house.
Therefore, giving to them is giving to God’s house.
If we are part of some religious organization which
has expenses such as building maintenance, electric bills,
salaries for the workers, etc. then we have a responsibility
to pay our part of the expenses. Just as the members of a
club have their dues to pay since they benefit from the
structure and functions of that club, so too anyone who is
benefitting from their participation in an organized group
should be responsible for their part of the expenses.
However, perhaps we should be careful about calling
this giving “to God.” If we are merely paying our part, if it
is ourselves who are benefitted, then we are simply giving
to ourselves. Giving to God is a kind of giving from which
we derive no benefit.

LARGER MINISTRIES

As mentioned in an earlier chapter, it may be that
some brothers or sisters have a very powerful gift for
anointed ministry. Certainly these gifts are important and
necessary for the whole body of Christ and even unbelievers.
However, one fact seems to stand out when speaking
about such ministries. In the New Testament, both in the
ministry of Jesus and of the apostles, no ministry was ever
done as a show or spectacle. The use of powerful or more
obvious spiritual gifts was never done with the thought of
impressing others, drawing attention, or gaining fame or
fortune.
When Jesus healed some folks, He specifically told
them to be quiet about it (Mt 8:4, Lk 8:56). He did many of
His miracles in secret. He even insisted that they tell no one
that He was the Christ (Mt 16:20). Even when He healed
publicly, He did not do so as a kind of spectacle or to draw
attention to Himself. He made no effort to gain fame or followers
by the use of His gifts. The apostles in the early
church did not make a circus or show out of the ministries
which God had given them. As God used them in the normal
course of life, they used their gifts for HIS glory, not
their own.
So this leads to the obvious conclusion that we too
should not use our gifts in any way which glorifies ourselves.
Perhaps we can sing well or preach. Possibly we
have gifts of healings or miracles. We must constantly be
vigilant to use these gifts only in ways which glorify Jesus
and not ourselves.
If and when we realize that we are becoming the center
of attention or taking glory away from God, where it
belongs, then we must repent before Him and look for
ways to use our gifts which do not produce this ugly, natural
result. Certainly the Lord has given His people gifts to
use in ways which will further His wonderful and glorious
purposes and His kingdom.

REAL CHURCH MAY NOT LOOK IMPRESSIVE

As we learn to live in love with all our brothers and
sisters, we may be excited by this new experience and the
revelation which we are receiving. It may be because we
are enthusiastic about a new experience of the body of
Christ that we expect most other Christians will want to
live this way also. We even might think that our small
beginning would turn into something really impressive
which will shake the world. Just like the early disciples, we
might imagine that now is the time for Jesus to come and
take command of His church and really make things happen.
However, this may not be what really occurs.
Assuredly, as we obey our Lord, learning to meet
around Him and in submission to Him, we will see His
hand moving in power and many lives being transformed.
However, this may never become something impressive in
the eyes of the world or even other believers. Our experience
may never reach such a zenith of popularity that the
church in the whole world is instantly changed. Our way
of serving the Lord and one another will probably never
become universally popular.We should prepare our hearts
for this.
There are several reasons for this. Firstly, God’s ways
are not usually showy. He Himself is humble and seeks to
have communion with others who are humble also. God is
not desiring to make some kind of big, impressive splash
or show off His power and glory. His goal is to change men
and women into His image. So, it is probable that when He
is in control of His church, the results are not going to be
impressive in terms of world recognition, popularity, etc.
This may be perhaps compared to the first passover
meal which God instituted. This was a holy, awesome
repast. However, there was very little about it which might
attract the natural man. Yes, there was roasted meat but it
was probably without any seasoning, perhaps not even
salt. Next there were herbs, but they were bitter and unattractive.
To top it off there was a hard sort of bread without
any yeast to make it more palatable.
Secondly, very many of God’s children are not truly
seeking to be pleasing to Him or to walk in intimacy with
Him. It is sad but true that many people, who at one time
or another actually received Christ, are not following Him
with their whole heart today. While they may maintain
some appearance of Christianity, i.e. going to church meetings
once in a while or abstaining from a few grosser sins,
their hearts are not captured by a daily intimacy with
Jesus. Consequently, they will not be excited about the
kind of church experience which we are recommending.
You see, God’s ways have no appeal to the carnal man.
He offers little to attract our flesh. The same is also true of
the church experience which is led by and filled with Him.
There will be very little which will draw carnal or infantile
believers. There will not be a plethora of social events,
entertainments and/or “support groups” to hold their
attention. Only those who are serious about pleasing Jesus
will be attracted. Therefore, this way of living out the life
of Jesus with others will never be universally popular.

TIME TOGETHER

One of the few things which we have to offer to God
is our time. He doesn’t need our human energy or efforts.
But time is an essential element in the true church experience.
In order to serve one another, love one another, build
each other up in life, use our gifts and ministries, get to
know others in the Spirit, etc. we must spend time with
each other. There is simply no substitute in our search for
more reality in our church experience than spending time
together with other believers. There is no other way in
which the relationships needed to sustain the living church
can be maintained or built up.
Here we find one of the most important keys to experiencing
the real church. We must have time to spend
together! Therefore, the availability of our time for God to
use in these aforementioned pursuits is critical. This means
that we must rearrange our priorities. We must not let
other demands and pressures dominate us.
There is a lot of truth to the saying: “People make time
for what is important to them.” For example, if someone
loves fishing, he will get up before dawn, stay up late at
night and make many other sacrifices to be able to do what
he loves. Where we invest our time reveals what is most
important in our lives.
Many brothers and sisters are held prisoner by their
businesses. They devote all their time and attention to
them. Others are distracted from the work of the Lord by
entertainments. Still others simply spend their time on the
various necessities and demands of this life. However, each
and every believer who desires to live in and experience a
more living church experience must make spending time
with other believers a priority. If they don’t, very little of
any eternal value will occur. If we do not devote time to
being with each other, the real church will not be seen.
This time together might be simple fellowship. It
might be praying together. It might be meetings, counselling
or the use of various gifts and ministries. Exactly
what we do together is not as important as the fact that we
have our time available to be with one another.
Of course the other essential ingredient is that it must
be Jesus who must be directing these occasions. Any time
two or more believers succeed in entering into His presence
together He will minister Himself to and through
them, thereby edifying His own body. When we enter into
Him together, we all will profit immensely.
Therefore, those who are serious about living Christ
together will be people who seek to devote their time to
knowing Jesus intimately and serving His body daily.
Without such a commitment of our time to the Lord, nothing
of much eternal value will happen. The work of the
Spirit among us will be severely retarded.
If and when our time is occupied with other pursuits,
no matter how logical or justifiable they may seem from a
human point of view, the true functioning of the church
will be very limited. Believers who are seeking a more living
expression of the body of Christ must rearrange their
priorities so that their time is available for their Lord to
use.
In the true expression of Jesus’ body, there are no clergymen
or women who will do all or most of the work.
Here, everyone has a responsibility before God to love and
serve. Consequently, the time we have available for God to
use becomes critical. If we are a slave to something over
which we have no control (many hours of employment for
example) then during that time we are free in regards to
the Lord’s work. But during the times in which we are free
from such demands then we must regard ourselves as the
Lord’s slave (I Cor 7:22).

Other books by this same author:
FROM GLORY TO GLORY
THY KINGDOM COME
GENUINE SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY
BABYLON
ANTICHRIST
Available from the publisher:
“A GRAIN OF WHEAT” MINISTRIES
P.O. BOX 644
LEOMINSTER, MA 01453
or
Contact the author directly:
David W. Dyer
davidwdyer@yahoo.com
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