Every believer knows that the Church is brought forth by the Holy Spirit. This is revealed in the first few chapters of the Book of Acts. But the majority of Christians do not understand the utmost importance and significance of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers collectively. The Church is the Body of Christ and ultimately all true believers collectively will become the Bride of Christ.
An interesting Parable
By way of introduction let us take a close look at Genesis 24 where we read about Abraham looking for a bride for his only son Isaac. It is a picture of God the Father looking for a Bride for His only son Jesus Christ. This is a true story and also scripturally a parable - an unnamed parable.
In this parable Abraham represents God, Isaac represents God's Son and Rebekah, the chosen bride represents the Church. Th servant or steward, who is unnamed, is the Holy Spirit. This is so typical of the Holy Spirit - He never attracts attention and does not even name Himself.
If you consider all that is involved in the story it will give you a vivid picture of how the Church is totally dependent on the Holy Spirit. The agent that selected the bride was not the son but the steward. The moment Rebekah made the right response and indicated that she was the chosen bride the steward opened up his treasure and began to bestow gifts. He had ten camel loads of gifts which were quite a lot. The fact that Rebekah visibly adorned herself with the gifts was the evidence that she was the chosen bride.
This picture clearly shows that it is totally contrary to all logic that any Church that rejects the gifts of the Holy Spirit could claim to be the Bride of Christ.
Rebekah made her decision in total reliance on the steward. She had never seen Abraham, never seen Isaac and she had never been where they lived. The only source of information she had about every thing was imparted by the steward and the only way to get there was to follow the steward.
This is a reminder and a picture of how totally the Church depends on the Holy Spirit. There is no other way we can know about God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son unless the Holy Spirit chooses to reveal them to us. There is no other way we can receive our inheritance and there is no other way we can be marked out as the true Church! He is the exclusive administrator of the entire inheritance from God! The Church cannot bypass or snub the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said, "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven" (Luke 12:10, NKJV).
Revelation of the Council of the Godhead
God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit take council together. Out of this council proceeds the counsel that determines the course of history. Everything the Godhead does is out of collective decision.
Here are some examples:
1. Creation of man - God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; ...." (Gen. 1:26).
2. The Fall - The Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil" (Gen 3:22).
3. Commission of Isaiah - The Lord said, "Whom shall I send and who will go for Us" (Isaiah 6:8)?
Notice that the counsel of the Godhead always proceeds out of plurality.
In order for us to get revelation on how God is saying or doing we need to gain access to hear the council of the Godhead. The key is the Holy Spirit.
Jesus, at the close of His ministry on earth, said to His disciples:
"When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:13 - 15, NKJV, emphasis added).
The Holy Spirit hears the council of the godhead and therefore He can tell us what is coming. The Holy Spirit is the only channel of access to the council of the Godhead. We, the Church, are interested to know because it is the council of the Godhead that decides the course of history.
Paul said, "But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him'. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God" (1 Cor. 2:9, 10).
The Church has the Mind of Christ
Paul said further on in the same Chapter (1 Cor. 2).
"But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For 'who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?' But we have the mind of Christ" (Verses 14 to 16).
It is very important to note that Paul did not say, "I have the mind of Christ". His emphasis was on the plural. It is impossible for any on of us to completely appropriate the mind of Christ on our own. The mind of Christ is imparted by the Holy Spirit just as the ministry gifts for the Church are imparted by the Holy Spirit. Some one said - "God has hidden His wisdom in the other members of the Body so no one can say he has it all!"
The spiritual principle we need to grasp at is: The counsil of the Body of Christ is a projection of the council of the Godhead. In other words, the council of God's people proceeds out of the council of the Godhead in heaven.
I believe the way God took Israel out of the bondage of Egypt gives us a pattern of how the Church should do things collectively as a Body of believers. Israel moved together and stayed together under the direction of God. When they entered into the Promised Land under Joshua, God absolutely insistent of one thing - every Israelite had to be there, not one was to be left behind. God is also saying the same thing to the Church - either we all do it or no body does! Individualism has no place in the Church. The Corinthian Church was in a mess because of individualism. They had the doctrine, they had the gifts, but they lack one important thing - right relationship!
The Essence of the Gospel
I believe the gospel is essentially an invitation from the Godhead to join them. It is an invitation to join the fellowship of the Godhead. The is made clear by John:
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. This life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:1 - 3, NIV, emphasis added).
Your salvation and my salvation have been collectively decided by the council of the Godhead before we were born!
Human authority in the Church
The ultimate human authority in the Church, in line with the Godhead, is plural. However within that plurality there are God ordained principles to follow. The primary principle is - Unity but not equality. Please read my "Father's Day" message - "God's Mandate for fathers".
Jesus said, "I and My Father are one" (John 10:30). He also said, "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28).
In the Godhead there is perfect unity and yet there is no equality. So, within the unity (in the Church) there is also a distinction that does not put every body on the same level. Unfortunately in the contemporary culture, influenced by the New Age philosophy, unity means egalitarianism - the belief that all people are equal and should have the same rights. Egalitarianism says, "I am as good as my father, I'm as good as the president, I'm as good as the Pastor; don't say any body is better than any body else, we are all alike. Egalitarianism is taking democracy to the extreme. The spirit behind it is not the Spirit of God. Actually it is contrary to the deepest principles of God. God does not run the universe as a democracy - no such thing as casting of vote! Similarly there is no such thing as casting of votes in Church administration! There are denominational Churches doing just that - casting of votes to elect a Church president and a Bishop. This is totally out of line with, and totally against any New Testament Church principle.
Principles pertaining to the Godhead and the Church
In the Godhead there are three eternal principles that must be taken in the right order - Fatherhood, Headship and Fellowship. The same principles apply also to the Church.
I have dealt with the principles of Fatherhood (Eph. 3:14, 15) and Headship (1 Cor. 11:3) in my message - "God's Mandate for fathers". Out of Fatherhood proceeds Headship and where both are functioning in harmony then you can have fellowship (1 John 1:1 - 3).
Practical application for the Church
It is useless to have a lot of theory if you cannot apply it to the Local Church. So, in my opinion, if we want to reproduce the council of the Godhead to the council on earth (the Church) we have to receive the counsel of the Holy Spirit. The Church is totally dependent on the Holy Spirit. In order to receive the Holy Spirit we have to behave in a way which attracts the Holy Spirit - not offend Him but to please Him. To do that we have to be rightly related to one another in the Local Church - He comes only where we are rightly related and stays away when we are not.
So, the key to effective collective leadership is right relationship within the leadership. Right relationship will reproduce what is in the Godhead - Fatherhood, Headship and fellowship. The essence of what we are looking for is discerning Fatherhood, recognizing that Fatherhood gives Heaship and when they are both properly functioning we will have fellowship; our relationship will be such that the Holy Spirit will be with us and in us, and He will open to us the counsel of God.
In my opinion, in order to succeed as a leader, you have to find out (to discern) your appointed function and you have to function in right relationship to the other leaders who are in the council in which you are a part.
The key is the fear of the Lord.
Paul said, "... submitting to one another in the fear of God" (Eph. 5:21, NKJV).
The psalmist (David) said, "The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant" (Ps. 25:14, NASB, emphasis added).
The word "secret" in other passages of Scripture is translated as "counsel" which comes from the council of the Godhead. In other words, the secret council (the counsel of the council) of God is for those who fear Him and His covenant becomes a reality to them. Until we enter into the secret council of the Lord we simply cannot understand His covenant.
Covenant is one of the hardest things for the natural mind to understand but only comes by way of revelation. God gives His revelation not on the basis of Seminary or Bible School training or intellectual ability but on the basis of Christian character. The basic character requirement is the fear of the Lord. Therefore the secret council of the Lord is only available to those who fear Him; following that comes the the revelation of His covenant. What a fantastic wealth of promises of God attached to the fear of the Lord!
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