By Wendell Tenison
"For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor." Galatians 2:18 "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;" 1Tim.4:1 Click to Return to Articles Page
Under the law of Moses, God was married to Israel. The "el" in the name Israel is one of the names of God. Therefore, by the ordinance of God they were husband and wife..
Jer 3:14 "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:"
Jer 3:20 "Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD."
The apostle Paul makes it very clear that as a wife was bound to her husband by the law of God as long as he lived, but if he be dead she could be married to another. Israel was bound to God by the law of Moses, but when Jesus nailed the law to his tree, it became a curse and was dead and they were free to marry another, even to him who was raised from the dead. However, in Christ, now both Jew and Gentile have the honor and privilege to be married to Christ.
Rom 7:1-4 "Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?.....For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.....So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man......Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God."
2 Cor 11:2 "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."
Writing to the Gentile church at Ephesus, Paul gives the standard by which all marriages exist, bone of bone and flesh of flesh.
Eph 5:28-32 "So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself......For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:.....For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones......For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh......This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church."
Rev 22:17 "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
There is no argument, Christ is married to his bride, the church, but is his bride nameless without an identity? If so, this is the first case where a bride is nameless or the husband refuses her to wear his name. The mystery of Christ and his body the church as one flesh has not been taught nor will it be. Why? Keep the members illiterate.
Of course, we follow the oligarchs of the apostate church. They are saying, that our Lord was not capable of establishing a church that we can pattern after. The apostle Paul has an answer to these evil thinking men.
Rom 3:4 "God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged."
Jesus Christ did leave model churches for us to follow and the first criteria is the following:
John 4:24 "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
The trend nowadays is to go through the drive by window and receive the communion, a canned sermon leaflet and by all means leave a contribution and head on to the fishing hole. This has nothing to do with worshipping God in spirit and truth. It is an age old problem that has plagued the church for decades and that is playing church as little children play house and cowboys and Indians..
Phil 3:3 "For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."
Rom 15:6 "That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Cor 1:9-10 "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord......Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."
2 Cor 13:11 "Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you."
Phil 2:2 "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind."
This is the model church in the new testament that we have the same mind and spirit. Paul had some blunt words for those who were otherwise minded.
Phil 3:16-17 "Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing......Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample."
The apostate false brethren are saying, Paul you are legalistic! What do you mean, to mark them? We want to fellowship them.
Gal 1:6-8 "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:.....Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ......But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."
Paul you are legalistic! Do you not know that we have church doctrine which is another gospel that contradicts the gospel of Christ?
Gal 3:1 "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?"
Paul you are out in left field, you are too legalistic! Some of our members will break fellowship and our contribution will suffer.
Adolescence pertains to early teen years, but the real problem is that of spiritual dwarfs in the church. There are thousands of members who have never gained adulthood in the church, because of being malnourished with the milk of the gospel only. This starvation leads to all kinds of deformity to the point of never regaining proper spiritual growth.
1 Pet 2:2 "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:"
Once converted, too many members believe that they are ready to convert the world, but not having a real desire for the sincere milk of the word and grow patiently, they will fall flat on their faces.
Heb 5:12-14 "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat......For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe......But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
This is why the spiritual dwarfs in Christ cannot discern good from evil, that is, to recognize false doctrine when they hear it. Not only does this apply to the average member, but to a great many preachers who have never grown beyond spiritual childhood.
1 Cor 3:1-4 "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ......I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able......For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?.....For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?"
If preachers, teachers and members who are caught in the jaws of this vise would just read their new testaments, they would soon learn that their state is that of being carnal and not spiritual. This is a well established fact that if a baby refuses to eat and drink they will die. The same is true spiritually.
Eph 4:13-14 "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:.....That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;"
The church of our dear Lord reached spiritual maturity in the unity of the faith centuries ago and became a perfect man unto the measure and stature of the fulness of Christ. In verse fourteen, Paul gives an accurate description of hundreds of thousands in the church today who are infants being carried about of every wind of doctrine.
Amos 8:11-12 "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:.....And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it."
God be thanked that he has not sent a famine in the land of his word, because of those who refuse to hear it. However, God has done something worse than that to those who refuse to hear his word.
2 Th 2:10-12 "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved......And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:.....That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
We wonder why so many embrace false doctrine; Paul just gave us the answer.
Paul you are legalistic and narrow minded!
As one apostate preacher featured in the Christian Chronicle, March 2007; "I do not see a 'model church' in the New Testament. On the contrary, I see a lot of diversity, founded on the principle of the lordship of Christ and his death, burial and resurrection."
Contrary to the words of Jesus, diverse beliefs in doctrines of men does not authorize diversity in unity.
Eph 4:11-14 "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;.....For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:.....Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:.....That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;"
The Holy Spirit gave some this and some that for the perfecting of the saints, work of the ministry, edifying of the body of Christ, until they all came in the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God. The problem has been for the last fifty years that without the knowledge of the Son of God, the unity of the faith that must be in harmony with the Godhead, has disappeared in a great many churches.
Eph 4:3 "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
The Lord Jesus Christ is a monarch, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. To say that there is diversity in the Lordship of Christ is to say, there is division within the Godhead. How can any man have the gaul to accuse God, Christ and the Holy Spirit of being divided?
What diversity is found in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ? The only diversity that I have found in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ is that the chief priests and elders who gave large sums of money to the soldiers to lie and say that our Lord was stolen by his disciples, Matt.28:11-15.
I believe what this preacher is tacitly saying, is that one baptism is as good as another in spite of what the Holy Spirit teaches.
Eph 4:4-6 "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;.....
One Lord, one faith, one baptism,.....One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."
There are as many baptisms as there are Gods, Fathers, Lords, Holy Spirits, faiths, bodies and hopes. Based on the scenario that one baptism is as good as another, this doctrine that is being peddled also contradicts the apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthian church.
1 Cor 12:13 "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."
Paul you are legalistic! You know that if there is only one baptism that saves, the Lord does not add people to a wrong church if their baptism does not conform to the baptism of truth? We are going to fellowship people of different faiths in spite of what you say about there being only one true faith.
Col 2:4 "And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words."
Well, as long as you have been immersed no matter into what denomination, that is sufficient grounds for fellowship. It sounds good, but just one problem; it's not true.
From another apostate preacher featured in the Christian Chronicle, March 2007; "In the 70's, we began to discover grace," Sandifer said, "and many began to acknowledge that there were others who just might get into heaven. ... We did not have an evangelistic strategy or method that was grace-centered."
You can call a horse a cow, but that does not make it one. Just because a church puts a sign upon their building reading "Church of Christ", does not necessarily make it one of his. That is what this appears to be, seeing that this church did not discover grace until the 70's. The church of our Lord has been grace-centered from the very beginning when our Lord built her in A.D.33.
Rom 5:2 "By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."
Rom 6:14-15 "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace......What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid."
Titus 2:11 "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,"
1 Pet 4:10 "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."
1 Pet 5:12 "By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand."
Eph 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"
John 1:14-17 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth......John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me......And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace......For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
In the above quotation, this preacher is tacitly saying that salvation is by grace alone. Certainly we are saved by grace, but one fact overlooked is that Jesus came not by grace only, but by truth also. To separate grace and truth is a serious mistake. All actions of man to inherit salvation must be in obedience according to truth as we shall see. The word of truth is the gospel of our salvation.
John 8:32 "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
John 17:17 "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."
John 15:3 "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you."
John 6:63 "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
Jesus said that we are made free, sanctified and made clean by his words or the truth. When are we made clean by the truth? Before or after conversion? The answer is both, at conversion and his word which is in his blood (new testament, Lk.22:20), continues to clease us if we walk in the light as he is in the light, 1Jn.1:7. The words that he spoke are spirit, life and truth. Our salvation and entry into the kingdom of Christ is dependent upon both grace and obedience to the truth. Not only are we saved by grace, but hope, Rom.8:24; faith, Eph.2:8; water, 1Pet.3:20;
Eph 1:13 "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,"
Rom 2:8 "But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,"
Mat 7:13-14 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:.....Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
1 Th 4:8 "He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit."
Rev 2:20-23 "Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols......And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not......Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds......And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works."
The Greek new testament word for strait is "narrow." The apostate members are saying, that Jesus is very legalistic by saying that the way is narrow and few there be that find it. Is the new testament true or false when it says that those who despise the word despises not man, but God? The apostate members would say to Jesus, do you not know that you are not supposed to judge? How could our Lord be so legalistic by threathening to kill a false prophet in the church and her children?
Rev 1:20 "The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches."
Rev 2:4-5 "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.......Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
The candlesticks are the seven churches to whom John was writing. When a church leaves their first love of the Lord to whom they are married, the candlestick or identity of that church is removed. This a real indentity crisis.
Gal 5:14-15 "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself......But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another."
In the words of Vernon Gruver, "there is cannibalism in many the churches." That is, the members bite and devour one another, because there is no love in that congregation. Is this reason for the Lord to remove the candlestick from that place? I think so. This is real identity crisis.
John 13:34 -35 "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another......By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
If there is not 100% love in a congregation, the world will not recognize that church as belonging to the Lord. This evil work of Satan will get more candlesticks removed than anything else. Is this an identity crisis? Absolutely.
2 Cor 11:26 "In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;"
Titus 1:16 "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."
A false brother is not a true brother. In the book of Revelation there are those who claimed to be Jews and were not. Likewise, there are those who claim to be Christian and are not. By accepting all denominations into the body of Christ, their strange doctrines are brought with them and imposed upon the church. They have a real indentity crisis, because they are not the Lord's body.
Rom 16:17-18 "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them......For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."
To mark, Thayer's Greek Lexicon, page 579; "to mark; fix ones eyes." This is not a suggestion, but a command that we mark and avoid those who cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine of Christ. Is this the will of man or the will of God?
Paul you are so legalistic and narrow minded that we cannot stand you. Take it to the bank, you apostate brethren are marked! Make no mistake about it, you are suffering from an identity crisis.
© 2007 by Wendell Tenison