A History of the Christian Church: Book 2: From the First Great Awakening (AD 1730) to Current Church Movements in 1997 by Bill Jackson

Author:Bill Jackson
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Christian
Published: 2015-09-05T23:00:00+00:00

The renewed experience of the laying on of hands

The renewed gift of prophecy

The explosion of healing

The re-emphasis on the “fivefold ministry” of Ephesians 4.11 (some in positive ways; see below)

A new hymnody, especially songs based on Scripture, would provide the Charismatic Movement with singing, praise, and dance.

Negative influences from the Latter Rain, however, have continued to be a problem, such as the doctrine of the Manifested Sons of God, whereby Christians are invited to join an elite, “last days,” superstar army for Jesus. It is easy to see how this can be exploitive to young people who have a legitimate need for significance, perhaps even a call from God they will have to sort out. This was part of the problem or the Vineyard’s separation from IHOP in the early 1990s.[143]

One also has to be careful of rekindling the roles of Apostles and Prophets in Ephesians 4.11 that can be used to control the flock in a hierarchical way. If recognized by the Body and confirmed either locally and extra locally, all these can be affirmed to the benefit of the body. Leadership over New Testaments was based on a plural group of leaders with a recognized first among equals. We have no problem with calling someone a pastor, prophet, teacher, or evangelist. We just have not wrapped our heads around giving the title of those we recognize as those with long-term authority extra locally (the nature of the gift of apostle demands that it be an extra local gift as one having authority over many churches.[144]

We also need to be careful to watch out for leaders that use the language of Apostles and Prophets as a way of pulling rank or an overuse of the word “submission,” or other vocabulary, such as “honor,” that could be a distortion of true, biblical honor. Vocabulary that sounds biblical can be used by Satan to disguise his purposes. One need only reflect on the Trinitarian and Christological debates in the third and fourth centuries to remember how important the right words must support the right meaning. Church history is full of people who used the right words to disguise the wrong meaning. Ask God for discernment and the rule of faith to see the true theology, and then look for the fruit.

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