Glory to God! I trust you’re well and enjoying your Inheritance in Christ Jesus.
Welcome to the 2nd part of our series where we’re discussing the crisis facing the Church today.
The Church has an identity crisis, instead of being Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we’ve become denomination and movement members.
And yesterday we discovered that the reason for these divisions is the Church’s departure from the Great Commission which demands that we make Disciples of all nations and teach them to obey all things the Lord Jesus Christ commanded.
It’s the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ that are the curriculum for raising Disciples. That’s because He didn’t tell us to go teach all nations the Bible, but rather we should teach them to obey everything that He commanded.
Of course the whole bible is inspired but the Lord Jesus Christ singled out what He commanded as the main Curriculum for producing Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:20 says, ‘And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.’
The Church is founded on the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, as a result, we need to read, study, meditate on, preach and teach the Writings of the Apostles and Prophets. That’s because they’re inspired.
However, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Chief Cornerstone. A corner stone is also known as the foundation stone. It’s the stone that’s laid first and then the rest of the stones are laid to conform to the size and shape of the corner stone. The whole building depends on the corner stone because should it be removed, the entire structure would collapse.
This is how we should view the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ recorded in the 4 Gospels. The Red Letters in your Bible are the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ, and everything in the Church depends on these Words. When you remove these Words, the whole structure will crumble.
That’s why the Lord Jesus Christ commanded the Apostles to make Disciples by teaching others what He commanded them. This is significant.
The Words of the Lord Jesus Christ are the Chief Cornerstone of the Church. He Himself is the Chief Cornerstone and because the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word are One, His Words are the Chief Cornerstone.
It’s not enough to say we preach Christ, we must preach what Christ preached because He told the Apostles to teach others to obey whatsoever He commanded them.
And because they had sat under His Ministry for three and a half years, they went out and did exactly that. They took what they learned in those years and made Disciples based on those Words as the main Curriculum.
It’s important to note that I’m not in any way suggesting that we discard other parts of the Scriptures. No, the Apostles and Prophets are inspired. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself quoted the Prophets and the Apostles also quoted the Prophets. Both are the Foundation, but the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ are the Chief Cornerstone.
That means all Scripture is inspired, however, there’s an information hierarchy, there’s an order of preference.
That means, instead of interpreting the Lord Jesus Christ through the Apostles and Prophets, we should interpret the Apostles and Prophets based on the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Instead of starting with the Apostles and Prophets, we should start with the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ. We should start with the Chief Cornerstone.
The reason the Lord Jesus Christ insisted that the Apostles should teach others whatsoever He commanded them is because that’s the only way to produce Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Inspired as they are, the Writings of the Prophets alone will not make you a Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Studying the Psalms or the Proverbs will not make you a Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Powerful as they are, the Epistles of the Apostles will not make you a Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many have tried to raise Disciples through their Letters but ended up becoming disciples of the Apostles or even those of their Spiritual Fathers and Mothers.
In fact, failure to interpret the Apostle Paul in particular through the lens of the 4 Gospels has led to more heresies than anything else. Just about every false doctrine in the Church is based on Paul’s Letters.
Those who put Paul first and make him the Chief Cornerstone have distorted Scripture and brought confusion and deception to the Church.
It’s only when we go back to God’s Order of preference and accept that the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ are paramount can we see the woods for the trees.
That way Paul is accorded his rightful place in the Building like the other Apostles and Prophets. The Writings of the Apostles and Prophets depend on the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ, not the other way round.
The Writings of the Apostles and Prophets should be read as what supports the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ, not the other way round. The Words of the Lord Jesus Christ should be seen as the main source of Sound Doctrine and the Writings of the Apostles and Prophets should be seen as what reinforces the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If we’ll do that, our identity crisis will cease and we’ll become who God intended us to be, Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Tomorrow we’ll go further and discover more. If this Teaching has blessed you, please share it with your friends. Like the page so that your friends can see all our new updates. Invite them to also like the page.
Glory to God!