A TRUE AND FAITHFUL WITNESS
Are you committed to being a true and faithful witness to the Lord Jesus Christ of the New Testament Gospel?
The Jesus of the "Signs" Now the "Christ" of Apostolic
Government
It all seems innocent enough. You are simply required to pray a prayer. And
the prayer is even in the Bible! Certainly nothing could be wrong with that.
“Look – it says it right here” – Acts 4:29b-30 (NASB) – “grant that Thy bond-
servants may speak Thy Word with all confidence, while Thou dost extend Thy
hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Thy holy
servant Jesus.” Go ahead. Pray the prayer. After all, we don’t want you to
“miss out” on what God is doing.
Many have heard something like these introductory remarks. This has invited
many through the front door of that which is (was) popularly termed the “signs
and wonders movement” in our generation. And it should be noted that there
are probably Christians who have gone through this front door – undoubtedly.
But they should not have done so. And further developments have taken place
over the last several years. The “movement” and its’ underlying thought has
now settled in and been made part of a number of “evangelical” churches. And
many of its’ proponents have been dispersed into the mainstream of
“evangelicalism.” But we are now seeing that the spirit of the Jesus behind the
movement has expanded his role as “Lord.” He has “morphed” from only
providing individual “signs and wonders” for the people to beginning to deliver
fresh revelations. And seeing as the leaders have now bought into “Kingdom
Now/Dominion” theology this Jesus will begin to more and more be delivering
the kingdoms of the world into the hands of a new order of apostles and
prophets!
Every true saint who is interested in this movement should also be aware of
what is called “The New Apostolic Reformation” which is headed up by C. Peter
Wagner. And to get a recent understanding of the thoughts of C. Peter
Wagner you should read “Don’t Let Religion Control You!” in the March 2004
issue of Charisma Magazine. This article, read with care, will help you to
clearly see one aspect of the thinking of the movement. C. Peter Wagner
was/is a leader within the “signs and wonders” movement. And he may in fact
be the lead “power-broker” of the combining of the “signs and wonders”
movement with the “church-growth” movement in our generation. The signs
and wonders movement was possibly best embodied in the late John Wimber
of the Vineyard Churches. And the church-growth movement can historically
be linked to such men as Robert Schuller.
It should be noted that the first thing Wagner does is “demonize” those who
hold to “tradition” within the church. And in regards to what tradition does he
speak? Such as: good, bad, inconsequential, or Biblical? He does not say.
He just paints a huge canvass of demonic activity which he calls “the spirit of
religion” in the introductory statements and labels them as tradition. (There is
a cartoon of a devil with his hand inserted in the back of a man who is
preaching from his pulpit.) Then he begins to categorize these “demons” of
religion and tradition. But here is the real kicker. Because the Bible does not
tell us much about this “spirit of religion” then “we must depend, more than
some other subjects, on God’s fresh revelation.” In other words, we are now
required to depend on revelation apart from Holy Scripture by his own
statement! We need to simply realize this: he is painting a broad canvas and
saying people who hold to “tradition” have demons and demonic-structures
controlling them! So are we now to depend upon Wagner’s “fresh revelations”
to know about the subject! No! The Bible ITSELF helps us understand the
reality of the “powers of darkness” both in the world and their struggling
against the true saint. (Ephesians 6:10-20) The Bible ITSELF tells us that
Jesus Himself already conquered all of the powers at the cross and He is
already in authority over everything! (Colossians 2:15; Matthew 28:18-20)
And if you are in Christ you have already been wonderfully united to Him who
is in authority over all these powers! (Ephesians 2:4-6) And the Bible ITSELF
tells us that the weapons of our warfare are spiritual and involve taking our
“thoughts” captive unto obedience to Jesus Christ. (II Corinthians 10:3-6) And
the Bible ITSELF is filled with “traditions” that we are supposed to firmly grasp.
And the ONLY way we can do all of this is to understand those thoughts of
God that He has clearly and fully revealed in the HOLY SCRIPTURE. But,
evidently, if you are not “under” Wagner’s order and warnings via his fresh
revelations about “corporate demonic-structure” in our world, then you must
be controlled by the demonic structures themselves through your adherence
to “tradition.”
The reality in our day and age is that people have set up an absolute “false
dichotomy” between the Word of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit of
God. And then while telling us they hold to the sole authority of Scripture for
faith and practice – that conviction (if you can call it that) has obviously been
"tweeked" and then violated. (Once they can accomplish this in your thinking
– they can begin to lead you astray from your vital abiding in the Lord Jesus
Christ). And in this process they set up a “false dichotomy” between the role of
the “mind” and the role of the “heart” in the Christian faith. And, unfortunately,
this kind of thinking is becoming increasingly rampant within the modern day
church no matter the label or denomination. And the signs and wonders
movement was and is the epitome of this type of thinking. And this false
dichotomy often takes place through the ministry of what the Bible calls
“seducing spirits.” They are seducing because they subtly draw you from the
Word and all the while help you to “feel” you are actually really now starting to
“walk in the spirit” and understand and obey the “fresh” word. So that in reality
the authority on which you base your “walk” has shifted! It has gone from the
authority of Scripture as both understood by the mind, applied to the heart and
carried out in obedience. (All of these occur through the illumination and
empowering of the Holy Spirit.) And, instead, it has settled upon the authority
of a “fresh word” or “anointed leader” as understood in your own “spirit” (which
he defines as the ministry of the Holy Spirit), but in actuality it is only your own
“intuition.” {It must be good and right because I feel good and right about it as
do all of these people around me that seem so “spiritual” to me.} But only
Scripture is to be our authority.
Wagner goes on, “The central issue is God’s new times and seasons. The
demonic strategy is to preserve the status quo through adhering to tradition.”
And he himself is “hearing what the spirit is saying collectively about new times
and seasons.” {Wagner states at the bottom of p. 85, in a rather matter of fact
way, that “…we now live in the Second Apostolic Age.”} In an attempt to justify
this “new thing” he then equates “radical change” as that which took place
between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant and associates this with
Jesus teaching on new wines/wineskins and his “New Apostolic Reformation.”
His statements and reasoning are very misleading. First of all, the better term
for the difference between the O.T. and the N.T. should be “radical
fulfillment.” {Remember Jesus preliminary statement in Mark 1:15 – “the time
is fulfilled,…} This is clearly what the Bible itself has in mind and what was in
the mind of Jesus via His constant referencing to the O.T. Scriptures being
fulfilled in and through Him. And the promise of a New Covenant is very clearly
present in the O.T. Scriptures (Jeremiah 31:31-34) and in fact its’ very nature
is seen in the blessing given to Abraham. {Read Galatians 3} God didn’t just
decide to do a “new thing” in Jesus apart from O.T. promises and symbols. He
fulfilled HIS PROMISE in Jesus Christ which He had planned from eternity and
which was “hidden” in the O.T. and “revealed” in the New! {The “new thing”
was the incredible glory that attended the promise in Christ Jesus – which the
real Apostles beheld!} Second, the new wine and new wineskins teaching of
Jesus in Matthew 9:17 is simply stating this: You can’t take “NEW” AND TRUE
THINGS and “put them in” or “place them upon” “OLD” AND FALSE THINGS
because it just does not work. The problem is: Wagner’s “new” thing is not a
“true” thing. C. Peter Wagner’s “new thing” is three-fold. One is his vague and
false teaching about “corporate demonic-structure” that Christians are to be
concerned about, and evidently fearful of and oppose because it undermines
the “work of the Spirit.” Two is his failing to even mention the sole authority of
Scripture and instead listening for fresh revelation apart from Scripture! (At
one point, he even admits he is using his imagination and invites you to join
in.) Three is seen in his statement about the role of “apostles” in the new
order “of the Spirit” which God is supposedly bringing about. This third issue is
seen in his statement, “When the Holy Spirit speaks to us about a new
wineskin – recognizing the contemporary office of apostle, for example – the
corporate spirit of religion goes into action among the leaders of the old
wineskin. It manipulates their minds to emphasize what the Spirit said (past
tense) to them when they were a new wineskin. ….” (Please note: I
Corinthians 11:1,2 NASB – “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. Now
I praise you because you remember me in everything, and hold firmly to the
traditions, just as I delivered them to you.” Paul commended them for holding
firmly to the traditions, which are now written for us in Scripture, – not holding
firmly to him.) What the Spirit said in the “past” as truth – is still truth! And it is
truth that is consequential. If we are to “hold on” and “be led by the Spirit” we
are to hold on to truth! Otherwise, there will be problems.
Again, Wagner characterizes “the spirit of religion” as having a “collective”
assignment. This spirit works on “groups” and it “casts a spell over the
leaders of whole segments of God’s people.” In one way, Wagner is correct.
The people of God both individually and corporately can become “bewitched”
according to Paul’s questioning of the Galatians. In our generation we should
know this because of the following. Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose-
Driven ™ Life,” did his Doctoral of Ministry Thesis under the mentoring of C.
Peter Wagner at Fuller Seminary. And yet in the first session of the “40 Days
of Purpose” video tape – Warren tells people (who otherwise do not know or
understand God and His purpose for them) that they are now a “part of the
family of God” after having delivered a message and leading them in a prayer.
But he omits telling them that Jesus had to go to Calvary to die for their sins,
nor any Biblical understanding about a call to repentance/faith, etc! Talk
about some spirit or spirits casting a spell! Evidently Wagner can see this
“spirit” behind those who want to be “traditional” – but doesn’t now see it
behind the man whom he mentored for his doctoral of ministry degree!
Based on the continued “morphing by the spirit” of the Jesus he is following it
would seem the movement is ultimately leading us to follow a different Christ
from the Lord Jesus Christ of the Scriptures. {That is rather a bold and
somewhat vilifying statement – and I would tend to agree it may be perceived
as such. But not more vilifying than the article I just reviewed which tells me
that if I don’t follow C. Peter Wagner I have come under the control of
demons!} And the reason is simply this. Jesus Christ did not view or promote
this false dichotomy between the Word of God and the ministry of the Holy
Spirit of God. NEVER!!! EVER!!! And Scripture was the complete and final
authority for Him. After all – He Himself was and is the incarnate Word. He
certainly would have made known in His earthly ministry if the written Word
somehow lacked in any way!!! Which He didn’t!!! And the true church of Jesus
Christ has always recognized that when the Apostles died, so died the work of
“revelation” through them. The canon of Scripture is closed. And when we
see Jesus, for example, interacting with the Sadducees it does not say that
they simply misunderstood the “power of God” – He said that they did not
understand “the Scriptures nor the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29) There is
a big difference. Jesus expected them to understand the real meaning of
Scripture so then they would understand what God was doing or would do!
This is the sequence - Understand the Scripture to then understand God and
His ministry by the Spirit! And why is this so? Because the Holy Spirit
breathed out the truth of the Word of God!!! That Spirit does not do or teach
things contrary to what is revealed in the Word!!! And if you seriously want to
walk in and obey the Spirit He first gives you an appetite for the truth of the
Word in the inner man!!! It is His order of things! And this is so because the
Spirit makes known the Lord Jesus Christ who is right now seated at the right
hand of God the Father and who is also the Lord Jesus Christ of the HOLY
SCRIPTURES!!! To create a false dichotomy is absurd and then to label it a
“spirit of religion” without any qualifications is deceptive!!! Here – let me put
this ring in your nose. I wish I could count the number of times that I have read
or heard supposed “shepherds” of God babble on about their own seductive
doctrines and this on the pretense of helping us understand those “nasty”
Pharisees. We don’t want you to be “legalistic” and miss the work of the Spirit
just like those “nasty Pharisees” they say. But the reality is those nasty
Pharisees had embraced bad doctrine versus good doctrine. And because the
Pharisees embraced bad theology they then had too high a view of
themselves in relation to the Word of God due to their self-imposed
misunderstanding of that Word! Because, taken on its’ own, NO ONE CAN
HAVE TOO HIGH A VIEW OF THE WORD OF GOD!!! NO ONE!!! It is
impossible! And the Scriptures themselves warn us against those who would
have us embrace false versus true teaching. You can also “check out” an
early and clear example in history of the church resisting those who wanted to
step outside of the N.T. teachings and “follow the spirit” in Montanus and his
followers in the mid-second century a.d.
Now – ponder this for a moment. Evidently, people who now desire to live only
by the authority of the Word of God (II Timothy 3:16,17) and directly unto Him
as priests (I Peter 2:4-10) and don’t want to be a part of Wagner’s “new thing”
– have a “spirit of religion” upon them!!! The title of the article to refresh our
memories is “Don’t Let Religion Control You!” It seems to me the only
conclusion Wagner is providing is “Let Fresh Revelation of the “Spirit” Control
You! And by the way – I am His new “Apostle.” And “the spirit of religion”
(those who aren’t a part of Wagner’s “new thing”) must be opposed “now”
according to Wagner! Notice in the article: According to his own word it must
be opposed! He won’t allow for contrary voices!
Otherwise – how can the New “Apostolic” Order be established?
It is incredibly ironic that there is another article in this same issue of Charisma
titled “The Lost Gift of Discernment” with an introductory remark “We
charismatics love prophecy and revelation. But we must be aware that not all
spiritual information is from God.” No kidding! How about the “lost art” of
studying the Bible to see what true spiritual information is in the first place?
How about the "lost art" of not making room for extra-Biblical authoritative
revelation? And how about the "lost art" of confronting those who bring false
information? How are we doing at being “aware” of that?
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB
Copyright 2005, David Sheldon, all rights reserved. Can be photocopied
without charge only in its entirety including copyright information but only for
personal use or for use in small groups when leader has agreed to such use. It
cannot be edited or altered in any way. Can not be published for profit in any
form. Can be linked with title only:
The Jesus of the “Signs” Now the Jesus of “Apostolic Government” by David
Sheldon
www.atrueandfaithfulwitness.com/jesusofnewapostles.htm
Government
It all seems innocent enough. You are simply required to pray a prayer. And
the prayer is even in the Bible! Certainly nothing could be wrong with that.
“Look – it says it right here” – Acts 4:29b-30 (NASB) – “grant that Thy bond-
servants may speak Thy Word with all confidence, while Thou dost extend Thy
hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Thy holy
servant Jesus.” Go ahead. Pray the prayer. After all, we don’t want you to
“miss out” on what God is doing.
Many have heard something like these introductory remarks. This has invited
many through the front door of that which is (was) popularly termed the “signs
and wonders movement” in our generation. And it should be noted that there
are probably Christians who have gone through this front door – undoubtedly.
But they should not have done so. And further developments have taken place
over the last several years. The “movement” and its’ underlying thought has
now settled in and been made part of a number of “evangelical” churches. And
many of its’ proponents have been dispersed into the mainstream of
“evangelicalism.” But we are now seeing that the spirit of the Jesus behind the
movement has expanded his role as “Lord.” He has “morphed” from only
providing individual “signs and wonders” for the people to beginning to deliver
fresh revelations. And seeing as the leaders have now bought into “Kingdom
Now/Dominion” theology this Jesus will begin to more and more be delivering
the kingdoms of the world into the hands of a new order of apostles and
prophets!
Every true saint who is interested in this movement should also be aware of
what is called “The New Apostolic Reformation” which is headed up by C. Peter
Wagner. And to get a recent understanding of the thoughts of C. Peter
Wagner you should read “Don’t Let Religion Control You!” in the March 2004
issue of Charisma Magazine. This article, read with care, will help you to
clearly see one aspect of the thinking of the movement. C. Peter Wagner
was/is a leader within the “signs and wonders” movement. And he may in fact
be the lead “power-broker” of the combining of the “signs and wonders”
movement with the “church-growth” movement in our generation. The signs
and wonders movement was possibly best embodied in the late John Wimber
of the Vineyard Churches. And the church-growth movement can historically
be linked to such men as Robert Schuller.
It should be noted that the first thing Wagner does is “demonize” those who
hold to “tradition” within the church. And in regards to what tradition does he
speak? Such as: good, bad, inconsequential, or Biblical? He does not say.
He just paints a huge canvass of demonic activity which he calls “the spirit of
religion” in the introductory statements and labels them as tradition. (There is
a cartoon of a devil with his hand inserted in the back of a man who is
preaching from his pulpit.) Then he begins to categorize these “demons” of
religion and tradition. But here is the real kicker. Because the Bible does not
tell us much about this “spirit of religion” then “we must depend, more than
some other subjects, on God’s fresh revelation.” In other words, we are now
required to depend on revelation apart from Holy Scripture by his own
statement! We need to simply realize this: he is painting a broad canvas and
saying people who hold to “tradition” have demons and demonic-structures
controlling them! So are we now to depend upon Wagner’s “fresh revelations”
to know about the subject! No! The Bible ITSELF helps us understand the
reality of the “powers of darkness” both in the world and their struggling
against the true saint. (Ephesians 6:10-20) The Bible ITSELF tells us that
Jesus Himself already conquered all of the powers at the cross and He is
already in authority over everything! (Colossians 2:15; Matthew 28:18-20)
And if you are in Christ you have already been wonderfully united to Him who
is in authority over all these powers! (Ephesians 2:4-6) And the Bible ITSELF
tells us that the weapons of our warfare are spiritual and involve taking our
“thoughts” captive unto obedience to Jesus Christ. (II Corinthians 10:3-6) And
the Bible ITSELF is filled with “traditions” that we are supposed to firmly grasp.
And the ONLY way we can do all of this is to understand those thoughts of
God that He has clearly and fully revealed in the HOLY SCRIPTURE. But,
evidently, if you are not “under” Wagner’s order and warnings via his fresh
revelations about “corporate demonic-structure” in our world, then you must
be controlled by the demonic structures themselves through your adherence
to “tradition.”
The reality in our day and age is that people have set up an absolute “false
dichotomy” between the Word of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit of
God. And then while telling us they hold to the sole authority of Scripture for
faith and practice – that conviction (if you can call it that) has obviously been
"tweeked" and then violated. (Once they can accomplish this in your thinking
– they can begin to lead you astray from your vital abiding in the Lord Jesus
Christ). And in this process they set up a “false dichotomy” between the role of
the “mind” and the role of the “heart” in the Christian faith. And, unfortunately,
this kind of thinking is becoming increasingly rampant within the modern day
church no matter the label or denomination. And the signs and wonders
movement was and is the epitome of this type of thinking. And this false
dichotomy often takes place through the ministry of what the Bible calls
“seducing spirits.” They are seducing because they subtly draw you from the
Word and all the while help you to “feel” you are actually really now starting to
“walk in the spirit” and understand and obey the “fresh” word. So that in reality
the authority on which you base your “walk” has shifted! It has gone from the
authority of Scripture as both understood by the mind, applied to the heart and
carried out in obedience. (All of these occur through the illumination and
empowering of the Holy Spirit.) And, instead, it has settled upon the authority
of a “fresh word” or “anointed leader” as understood in your own “spirit” (which
he defines as the ministry of the Holy Spirit), but in actuality it is only your own
“intuition.” {It must be good and right because I feel good and right about it as
do all of these people around me that seem so “spiritual” to me.} But only
Scripture is to be our authority.
Wagner goes on, “The central issue is God’s new times and seasons. The
demonic strategy is to preserve the status quo through adhering to tradition.”
And he himself is “hearing what the spirit is saying collectively about new times
and seasons.” {Wagner states at the bottom of p. 85, in a rather matter of fact
way, that “…we now live in the Second Apostolic Age.”} In an attempt to justify
this “new thing” he then equates “radical change” as that which took place
between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant and associates this with
Jesus teaching on new wines/wineskins and his “New Apostolic Reformation.”
His statements and reasoning are very misleading. First of all, the better term
for the difference between the O.T. and the N.T. should be “radical
fulfillment.” {Remember Jesus preliminary statement in Mark 1:15 – “the time
is fulfilled,…} This is clearly what the Bible itself has in mind and what was in
the mind of Jesus via His constant referencing to the O.T. Scriptures being
fulfilled in and through Him. And the promise of a New Covenant is very clearly
present in the O.T. Scriptures (Jeremiah 31:31-34) and in fact its’ very nature
is seen in the blessing given to Abraham. {Read Galatians 3} God didn’t just
decide to do a “new thing” in Jesus apart from O.T. promises and symbols. He
fulfilled HIS PROMISE in Jesus Christ which He had planned from eternity and
which was “hidden” in the O.T. and “revealed” in the New! {The “new thing”
was the incredible glory that attended the promise in Christ Jesus – which the
real Apostles beheld!} Second, the new wine and new wineskins teaching of
Jesus in Matthew 9:17 is simply stating this: You can’t take “NEW” AND TRUE
THINGS and “put them in” or “place them upon” “OLD” AND FALSE THINGS
because it just does not work. The problem is: Wagner’s “new” thing is not a
“true” thing. C. Peter Wagner’s “new thing” is three-fold. One is his vague and
false teaching about “corporate demonic-structure” that Christians are to be
concerned about, and evidently fearful of and oppose because it undermines
the “work of the Spirit.” Two is his failing to even mention the sole authority of
Scripture and instead listening for fresh revelation apart from Scripture! (At
one point, he even admits he is using his imagination and invites you to join
in.) Three is seen in his statement about the role of “apostles” in the new
order “of the Spirit” which God is supposedly bringing about. This third issue is
seen in his statement, “When the Holy Spirit speaks to us about a new
wineskin – recognizing the contemporary office of apostle, for example – the
corporate spirit of religion goes into action among the leaders of the old
wineskin. It manipulates their minds to emphasize what the Spirit said (past
tense) to them when they were a new wineskin. ….” (Please note: I
Corinthians 11:1,2 NASB – “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. Now
I praise you because you remember me in everything, and hold firmly to the
traditions, just as I delivered them to you.” Paul commended them for holding
firmly to the traditions, which are now written for us in Scripture, – not holding
firmly to him.) What the Spirit said in the “past” as truth – is still truth! And it is
truth that is consequential. If we are to “hold on” and “be led by the Spirit” we
are to hold on to truth! Otherwise, there will be problems.
Again, Wagner characterizes “the spirit of religion” as having a “collective”
assignment. This spirit works on “groups” and it “casts a spell over the
leaders of whole segments of God’s people.” In one way, Wagner is correct.
The people of God both individually and corporately can become “bewitched”
according to Paul’s questioning of the Galatians. In our generation we should
know this because of the following. Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose-
Driven ™ Life,” did his Doctoral of Ministry Thesis under the mentoring of C.
Peter Wagner at Fuller Seminary. And yet in the first session of the “40 Days
of Purpose” video tape – Warren tells people (who otherwise do not know or
understand God and His purpose for them) that they are now a “part of the
family of God” after having delivered a message and leading them in a prayer.
But he omits telling them that Jesus had to go to Calvary to die for their sins,
nor any Biblical understanding about a call to repentance/faith, etc! Talk
about some spirit or spirits casting a spell! Evidently Wagner can see this
“spirit” behind those who want to be “traditional” – but doesn’t now see it
behind the man whom he mentored for his doctoral of ministry degree!
Based on the continued “morphing by the spirit” of the Jesus he is following it
would seem the movement is ultimately leading us to follow a different Christ
from the Lord Jesus Christ of the Scriptures. {That is rather a bold and
somewhat vilifying statement – and I would tend to agree it may be perceived
as such. But not more vilifying than the article I just reviewed which tells me
that if I don’t follow C. Peter Wagner I have come under the control of
demons!} And the reason is simply this. Jesus Christ did not view or promote
this false dichotomy between the Word of God and the ministry of the Holy
Spirit of God. NEVER!!! EVER!!! And Scripture was the complete and final
authority for Him. After all – He Himself was and is the incarnate Word. He
certainly would have made known in His earthly ministry if the written Word
somehow lacked in any way!!! Which He didn’t!!! And the true church of Jesus
Christ has always recognized that when the Apostles died, so died the work of
“revelation” through them. The canon of Scripture is closed. And when we
see Jesus, for example, interacting with the Sadducees it does not say that
they simply misunderstood the “power of God” – He said that they did not
understand “the Scriptures nor the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29) There is
a big difference. Jesus expected them to understand the real meaning of
Scripture so then they would understand what God was doing or would do!
This is the sequence - Understand the Scripture to then understand God and
His ministry by the Spirit! And why is this so? Because the Holy Spirit
breathed out the truth of the Word of God!!! That Spirit does not do or teach
things contrary to what is revealed in the Word!!! And if you seriously want to
walk in and obey the Spirit He first gives you an appetite for the truth of the
Word in the inner man!!! It is His order of things! And this is so because the
Spirit makes known the Lord Jesus Christ who is right now seated at the right
hand of God the Father and who is also the Lord Jesus Christ of the HOLY
SCRIPTURES!!! To create a false dichotomy is absurd and then to label it a
“spirit of religion” without any qualifications is deceptive!!! Here – let me put
this ring in your nose. I wish I could count the number of times that I have read
or heard supposed “shepherds” of God babble on about their own seductive
doctrines and this on the pretense of helping us understand those “nasty”
Pharisees. We don’t want you to be “legalistic” and miss the work of the Spirit
just like those “nasty Pharisees” they say. But the reality is those nasty
Pharisees had embraced bad doctrine versus good doctrine. And because the
Pharisees embraced bad theology they then had too high a view of
themselves in relation to the Word of God due to their self-imposed
misunderstanding of that Word! Because, taken on its’ own, NO ONE CAN
HAVE TOO HIGH A VIEW OF THE WORD OF GOD!!! NO ONE!!! It is
impossible! And the Scriptures themselves warn us against those who would
have us embrace false versus true teaching. You can also “check out” an
early and clear example in history of the church resisting those who wanted to
step outside of the N.T. teachings and “follow the spirit” in Montanus and his
followers in the mid-second century a.d.
Now – ponder this for a moment. Evidently, people who now desire to live only
by the authority of the Word of God (II Timothy 3:16,17) and directly unto Him
as priests (I Peter 2:4-10) and don’t want to be a part of Wagner’s “new thing”
– have a “spirit of religion” upon them!!! The title of the article to refresh our
memories is “Don’t Let Religion Control You!” It seems to me the only
conclusion Wagner is providing is “Let Fresh Revelation of the “Spirit” Control
You! And by the way – I am His new “Apostle.” And “the spirit of religion”
(those who aren’t a part of Wagner’s “new thing”) must be opposed “now”
according to Wagner! Notice in the article: According to his own word it must
be opposed! He won’t allow for contrary voices!
Otherwise – how can the New “Apostolic” Order be established?
It is incredibly ironic that there is another article in this same issue of Charisma
titled “The Lost Gift of Discernment” with an introductory remark “We
charismatics love prophecy and revelation. But we must be aware that not all
spiritual information is from God.” No kidding! How about the “lost art” of
studying the Bible to see what true spiritual information is in the first place?
How about the "lost art" of not making room for extra-Biblical authoritative
revelation? And how about the "lost art" of confronting those who bring false
information? How are we doing at being “aware” of that?
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB
Copyright 2005, David Sheldon, all rights reserved. Can be photocopied
without charge only in its entirety including copyright information but only for
personal use or for use in small groups when leader has agreed to such use. It
cannot be edited or altered in any way. Can not be published for profit in any
form. Can be linked with title only:
The Jesus of the “Signs” Now the Jesus of “Apostolic Government” by David
Sheldon
www.atrueandfaithfulwitness.com/jesusofnewapostles.htm
| All rights reserved. |
HOME
Rick Warren
Forty Days: False Gospel
Forty Days: A Closer Look
Forty Days: Which Jesus?
PDL: God's Wisdom
PDL: Exalting the Fallen Creation
PDL: A Purpose-Shaped
Worldview
Antichrist
Will Antichrist Be Revealed
Before the Tribulation?
The Great Harlot
"Mystery" Babylon
"Emerging" Church
Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell - Part 1
Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell - Part 2
Church Growth Movement
Schuller, Hybels & Warren
Review of Schuller's "Self-Esteem"
False Apostles, False
Prophets, False Revival
River of Seducing Spirits
Spiritual Warfare Script
Deception of Spiritual Warfare
Flags & Banners...Spiritual Power
Tools?
Davidic Warfare/Worship?
Jesus of the "Signs" Now the
"Christ" of Apostolic Government
Mystical Christianity?
Tenney's Mystical Deity Chase
Richard Foster: Quaker Mystic?
Willard and "The Way of Jesus"
What Oswald Chambers
Might Have Thought About
Todays "Christianity"
Rick Warren
Forty Days: False Gospel
Forty Days: A Closer Look
Forty Days: Which Jesus?
PDL: God's Wisdom
PDL: Exalting the Fallen Creation
PDL: A Purpose-Shaped
Worldview
Antichrist
Will Antichrist Be Revealed
Before the Tribulation?
The Great Harlot
"Mystery" Babylon
"Emerging" Church
Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell - Part 1
Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell - Part 2
Church Growth Movement
Schuller, Hybels & Warren
Review of Schuller's "Self-Esteem"
False Apostles, False
Prophets, False Revival
River of Seducing Spirits
Spiritual Warfare Script
Deception of Spiritual Warfare
Flags & Banners...Spiritual Power
Tools?
Davidic Warfare/Worship?
Jesus of the "Signs" Now the
"Christ" of Apostolic Government
Mystical Christianity?
Tenney's Mystical Deity Chase
Richard Foster: Quaker Mystic?
Willard and "The Way of Jesus"
What Oswald Chambers
Might Have Thought About
Todays "Christianity"