Coming forward in all faith, knowing that God calls to His own (and His voice is Jesus, the Word of God) and Jesus seeks out and calls to His own. The sheep know the voice of their Lord. Jesus exchanges His righteous life for the sinful lives of those given into His care and the Father has put everything in heaven and earth in His care. The Father is faithful to the promise of the Son and sends to us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks to us the Word. Jesus lifts us up and introduces us to the Father in the name of Christ Jesus. We are seen in the righteousness of our Lord Jesus. Some are called and some are anointed and ordained by the Father to teach the Kingdom of God. It is not a calling of man, but of God – it is not an anointing of man, but of God – it is not an ordination of man, but of God.
The calling is not because of the righteousness of the one being called, but the righteousness of God that is Christ Jesus. The calling of men to other men into service is to the service of flesh. The calling of God into service is to the service of Spirit. Men call people to them to serve them. God calls people into service to serve the body of Christ. The members of the body may be in a fellowship or they may be wondering lost and wounded by the men serving men and themselves and calling it Christ. There are some that label ministries by the scripture reading in Ephesians, claiming that the order of ministry is apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. One label they place on the ministry is “five-fold.” They claim it is an order of authority. We are not called into a ministry of authority, but of service. The called are the servants; the master is the greatest servant.
In First Corinthians it is written, “God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrators, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have the gift of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?” What happened to the evangelists and pastors in that listing? Is it a mistake? No. First pastors are teachers that watch over a fellowship. Second, evangelists are called to reach out into the community at large and not to the “church.” That does not mean that evangelists do not minister in a building labeled as a church. There are many fellowships that meet in such building that are not church. In the statement above from First Corinthians there are many myths of doctrine exposed. Not everyone speaks in tongues. Not everyone has the gift of healing. Not everyone is called to teach. We are different parts of the same body being one Spirit called to different ministries.
There are men that have doctrines that are in place to exclude people from ministry or at least from their acceptance into the ministry. It is not their ministry. It is not for them to choose or to call or to ordain. There are some that know they are called; they have heard the voice of God and they know the voice of their Lord, but their fellowship does not grow. They see others that teach a doctrine of mixed truth (that appears to be truth) with large fellowships. Why does the one, that knows God has called, not have a fellowship? If a man is ordained by men and teaches with half-truths and lies, that man may find followers that seek nothing else. If God ordains one to be a minister of Christ Jesus and then that one places himself under the authority of men and teaches doctrines of half-truth and lies, the fellowship that God sends to him will not stay. God appoints some to be teacher and some evangelists. God leads evangelists to teachers to be taught and God sends evangelists to teachers that have gone astray; the evangelist seeks the lost, even the lost ministers of Jesus. Authority does not come from doctrine, but from God and has been given to Jesus.
It does not cause me distress that I do not qualify according the doctrines of men. Timothy (that was instructed by Paul to drink a little wine for his stomach’s sake) would not qualify under the doctrines of man to hold the position he held. Men hold so close to their own doctrine as to change the Lord’s supper so that they may obey their doctrine instead of God. Men hold so close to their own doctrine as to change the creation of God and claim that Sunday is the Lord’s day. The Lord created everyday and everyday is the Lords’. Paul asked us not to judge one another in food or drink or day and weeks. The Kingdom of God is not food or drink. The doctrine of man states that if the kingdom is not food or drink then their doctrine can decide what you should eat or drink. The doctrine of man states that if the kingdom is not days or weeks, then they can decide what days or weeks are glorified. Paul said that nothing was sin to him, but some things are not uplifting. Man’s doctrine states that it is sin to disobey man’s doctrine. Jesus came because God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son to give us life. Man’s doctrines state that we have to earn life and pay to keep it. When I say man or men, I am speaking of those that claim authority to church doctrine, those that use the name of Christ without God’s anointing. The calling, anointing and ordination are from God into Jesus or of man into flesh (greed, deception, half-truths and lies). Jesus said for us to dwell in Him and He in us. Jesus is life and Jesus is a gift form God.