Lesson for December 29, 2013
Spiritual Dynamics
Christian Service
Often called Christian service, divine production is the responsibility of every believer. Every Church Age believer is in full-time Christian service. At the moment of salvation every believer enters into fulltime Christian service. The phrase “fulltime Christian service” does not imply the narrow view of simply being a pastor, evangelist, missionary, or a person involved in some Christian service organization. Fulltime Christian service means more than spending a maximum amount of time performing good deeds or functioning in some extensive system of works. It means execution of the Protocol Plan of God. It is not what you do that counts, but it is your status as a Christian that determines the legitimacy of your Christian service. Service is a result, never a means of fulfilling God’s plan. Arrogance substitutes Christian service for spirituality and momentum in the plan of God. You are in full time Christian service whether you know it or not and whether you are good at it or not.
Christian service is never a means but always a result of spiritual progress and growth. Spiritual skills must precede production skills for the performance of divine good. The performance of divine good is the result of our momentum through knowledge and application of Bible doctrine. First, a believer must be equipped with doctrine before they can enter into any kind of Christian service. Perception of Bible doctrine must precede Christian service to be effective. Spiritual momentum and motivation must precede Christian service. Therefore, Christian service is the result of spiritual momentum, but never the means of momentum.
Christian Service Related to Your Spiritual Gift
At the moment of salvation, every believer receives a spiritual gift from God the Holy Spirit. He knows exactly the best spiritual gift for each one of us. All spiritual gifts are discovered through learning Bible doctrine. Some people try to select their spiritual gift through emotionalism. When emotionalism selects the spiritual gift, it is always wrong. Some gifts, like the gift of helps, automatically go into action when you reach a certain stage of spiritual growth. Communication gifts (pastor-teacher and evangelist) are given to men only.
From the gift of evangelism, Christian service is the communication of the Gospel to groups of unbelievers. The gift of evangelism causes the unbeliever to listen to the believer with this gift, whereas they will not necessarily listen to other believers. From the gift of pastor-teacher, Christian service is the communication of Bible doctrine to believers. From the gift of administrative leadership and administration, Christian service is the function of church officers and deacons, and leaders in Christian service organizations. This gift includes leadership gifts. From the gift of service or ministry, Christian service is the function of all areas of administration in the local church, Christian service organizations, or teaching children in the local church. This gift does not include leadership gifts. From the gift of helps, Christian service is the function of helping others, e.g., helping the sick, the handicapped, the afflicted, the poor, the homeless. Encouragement of others is part of the gift of helps. From the gift of showing mercy, Christian service is helping the persecuted, criminals, alcoholics, drug addicts, victims of tyranny, maltreated children, etc. This is also a part of the gift of hospitality. From the gift of giving, Christian service is the function of sacrificial giving to the local church, missions, other Christian service organizations, the destitute, and the needy. You need not be wealthy to have this gift; it makes no difference what your economic status is.
Christian Service Related to Your Royal Priesthood
Every believer becomes a royal priest at salvation. (I Peter 2:5-9; Revelation 1:6; 5:10; 20:6) As a priest, you represent yourself before God. Christian service is related to our royal priesthood in certain functions. Intercessory prayer is a Christian service to others for whom you pray, provided you do so effectively. This is an invisible ministry. Giving under the privacy of your priesthood is also an invisible ministry. Giving is a private matter between you and the Lord. This is grace giving with no strings attached. The execution of the protocol plan of God through perception of doctrine is also a Christian service.
Christian Service Related to Your Royal Ambassadorship
Every believer is appointed an ambassadorship at the moment of salvation. (II Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians 6:20; Philemon 9) As a priest you represent yourself before God; as an ambassador you represent God to others. An ambassador does not appoint himself, but is appointed by a higher authority. An ambassador does not support himself, but is supported by the authority which sent him, i.e., logistical grace. An ambassador’s instructions are in written form, i.e., the mystery doctrines of the Church Age. An ambassador is not a citizen of the country to which he is sent. We have a heavenly citizenship, but serve in Satan’s world system. An ambassador does not live in the foreign country for his own personal interest, and we as royal ambassadors live in the devil’s cosmic system to serve our Lord’s interests. The ambassador does not treat any insult as personal. This is a part of spiritual self-esteem. The recall of the ambassador is often a declaration of war or a strained relationship. All Christian ambassadors are recalled at the Rapture of the Church.
The Christian service of the royal ambassador includes at least four things:
- Personal evangelism. As an ambassador for Christ, you are responsible to witness to those in your periphery.
- Missionary function. A missionary will generally have the gift of pastor-teacher or the gift of evangelism. Not all missionaries have these spiritual gifts because there are other functions in the mission field. But those in missionary leadership will normally have one of these two communication gifts. The Christian service of the missionary is very widespread. Such service includes the establishment of other local churches and the training of pastor-teachers. The Christian service of the missionary does not include changing the politics of the country, or teaching the natives to dress, to farm, to be civilized. His job is to communicate doctrine, not to civilize people; that will come with spiritual growth.
- The function of spiritual gifts, i.e. administration, teaching, helps, giving, pastor-teacher, evangelist, etc.
- The function of Christian administration in Christian groups. Christian administration is very necessary in the local church. In the mission field, there are many areas in which a number of professions and different abilities are required, e.g., logistics, the building of missionary stations, doctors, etc. Christian service organizations also need people with various abilities on their staff. In Christian organizations there is a need for those with various spiritual gifts such as administration and communication. For example, in working with young people specifically, there is tremendous need for both the spiritual gift of communication and the spiritual gift of administration.
Christian Service Related to Your Invisible Impact
The ultimate in Christian service is related to invisible impact. Invisible impact depends entirely upon spiritual growth. The greatest service you render to the Lord is invisible service, and it depends on the filling of the Holy Spirit, metabolization and application of doctrine, and personal love for God as the motivation. The most important part of Christian service is consistent perception, metabolization and application of Bible doctrine. When you listen to the teaching of Bible doctrine, you are preparing for the most important Christian service you can render as a believer.
Spiritual skills must precede production skills in the performance of divine good. Spiritual skills plus production skills equals the performance of divine good. Production skills minus spiritual skills equal the performance of dead works. Therefore, it is imperative under the protocol plan of God that before a believer gets too heavily involved in Christian service, he or she must grow spiritually. This spiritual growth and momentum comes only from the cognition of Bible doctrine, not from good deeds and Christian service.
The effectiveness of Christian service is based on the attainment of spiritual self-esteem and the advance to occupation with Christ. The priority for invisible impact is the understanding of Bible doctrine with emphasis on the inculcation of the mystery doctrine for the Church. If you are ever going to have maximum production of divine good you must start by learning doctrine. Once you have your number one priority correct, you must now concentrate on the study of doctrine. Then you must organize your life around continuing the consistent intake of doctrine, so that you are not distracted by those who say you need to be doing something. Then you must organize your thinking about what is the most important thing in life, so that you are not distracted. Now you have momentum from your consistent intake of doctrine. Eventually you reach spiritual adulthood and have executed the protocol plan of God. Now you are in a position to have maximum production in life and glorification of God. Maximum production comes in two categories: 1) Visible production of divine good 2) Invisible impact of the invisible hero, in which he has an impact on history and an impact on the Angelic Conflict.
The biggest part of Christian service and the greatest deeds in all of human history are performed by those believers having invisible impact on history and on angels. The greatest production of the Christian life is invisible, and it is related directly to Bible doctrine. Invisible impact can occur only through the execution of the unique spiritual life of the Church Age. The execution of the unique spiritual life demands cognition and inculcation of Bible doctrine. This does not diminish the importance of visible Christian service categories, but it is important to learn that invisible impact belongs to the mature believer, the winner, the invisible hero, who executes the unique spiritual life.
Overt Christian service related to one’s spiritual gift, royal priesthood, and royal ambassadorship becomes most effective in spiritual adulthood. Spiritual adulthood is the status of effective overt Christian service as well as effective invisible service. For example: 1) In spiritual self-esteem, the status of cognitive self-confidence, a believer produces more divine good than in spiritual adolescence, which can be very unstable when it comes to divine service and good deeds, due to lack of understanding 2) In spiritual autonomy, the status of cognitive independence, there is production of much more divine good than ever could occur in spiritual adolescence 3) In spiritual maturity, the status of spiritual invincibility, there is production of maximum divine good in both overt and invisible service for God.
The invisible impact of the invisible hero exists in five categories:
- Personal impact, which is the service of blessing by association to others who are associated with the invisible hero in some way. This often occurs without the other person knowing it.
- Historical impact, which is blessing by association to the client nation through the formation of a pivot of mature believers. The pivot is formed through believers, who have executed the unique spiritual life of the Church Age. The size of the pivot of invisible heroes determines the blessing or cursing of that nation. As goes the believer so goes the client nation to God. Therefore, the size of the pivot becomes the determining factor in history under the principle that Jesus Christ controls history. A large pivot of invisible heroes means national blessing and prosperity both in spiritual affairs and in the function of government, the status of law enforcement, the military establishment, and the economic and cultural concepts of that nation. A small pivot of invisible heroes results in five cycles of discipline. (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28:49-67)
- International impact, which is blessing by association to other nations through the spiritually mature missionary. The spiritually mature missionary has an impact under blessing by association. They are a blessing to the client nation from which they come and to the foreign nation to which they go.
- Angelic impact is the invisible hero becoming a witness for God against Satan in his appeal trial during the course of human history. (1 Peter 1:12; 1 Corinthians 4:9; Ephesians 3:10; I Timothy 5:21)
- This is the greatest area of glorification of God and Christian service.
- This divine good is unseen by humans, but seen by billions of angels.
- The impact of the invisible hero in the Angelic Conflict will be revealed only in eternity at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
- The importance of this invisible impact is based on the fact that the Church Age is the only prolonged period in history where angelic conflict is totally invisible.
- Heritage impact, which is blessing by association with the invisible hero after his or her death. The invisible hero leaves behind blessing by association to the next generation of his loved ones, friends, and associates. This is often why the “wicked” prosper.
- The secret to maximum production in the Christian life is maximum doctrine in the soul, learning more and more Bible doctrine.
Principles of Christian Service
- The only legitimate production of the protocol plan of God is divine good.
- Divine good is the only good or Christian service that meets the standards of God. Divine good is the good of God; therefore, it is absolute, and the believer is helpless to perform divine good apart from God’s grace and the filling of the Holy Spirit.
- The performance of Christian service or good deeds in the status of arrogance or lust motivation parlays good deeds into dead works, evil, or both. Such dead works are rejected by God at the Judgment Seat of Christ. It is not the deed or service itself that distinguishes between dead works and divine good but the spiritual status of the believer performing the deed or service. Consequently, when a believer in carnality performs a given deed, it is classified as dead works, but when the believer under the filling of the Holy Spirit performs the same deed it is classified as divine good.
- Christian service is the result of spiritual growth and momentum, never the means. Christian service is a legitimate function of the Protocol Plan of God, but not the means of executing that plan. Christian service, like all functions of divine good, is always the result of the filling of the Holy Spirit, as well as cognition and inculcation of Bible doctrine. Therefore, Christian service must always be related to residence in God’s power system under the enabling power of the Holy Spirit and momentum from metabolized doctrine. Christian service must never be performed with eyes on people. The Lord Jesus Christ must always be the role model.