Ordinary Power: Jesus’ Kingdom and the New Royalty in the Church
Introduction
For a long time I have puzzled and prayed about the lack of genuine kingdom power in the church we know today – such as undeniable miracles, deliverances from demonic presences and radical life conversions. In recent weeks I believe God has been giving me a simple insight that opens up this question at greater depth. It relates to the ordinariness of Jesus. I want to start with a prophetic picture, develop this theme at length and then describe what I believe is wrong with the church today.
A Prophetic Picture
Whilst praying with a small group recently the following well known verse came to mind: “ Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” (Rev 3:20). This was accompanied by an unusual picture; people were preparing to welcome Jesus into their dining rooms (i.e. their lives) by putting out their best dining sets and silverware. I could sense the Spirit saying, “I don’t want any pretence or defence, Jesus is just an ordinary person to be welcomed like any other.” What does it mean to say that Jesus is an “ordinary person”?
One Ordinary Life
For most of his life Jesus was the working man fromNazareth. God lived in the flesh of an earthly man in a typical Palestinian peasant house of the time. He ate, sweated, spoke, slept, went to the toilet and grew weary like all his family and neighbours. All of this was so simple and ordinary that no – one (apart from special divine revelation) recognised him as the Son of God. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Heb 13:8). He has always been, both in a theological and everyday sense, “the same person”.
For me, the seamless robe that Jesus wore (John 19:23) is a prophetic symbol for the fact that he was always the same person – in his eternal state with the glory of the Father (John 17:5), in the lowliness of his incarnation (2 Cor 8:9), at the carpenter’s bench (Mark 6:3), at his baptism and anointing with power (Acts 10:38), throughout his ministry, death and present heavenly glory (Acts 3:13). The character of the human person who could sit down and talk to the woman at the well (John 4:7 ff.) or embrace small children (Mark 10:13- 16) has not changed – at all.
This ordinary person however manifested extraordinary power, “They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”” (Mark1:27). Importantly, Jesus nowhere attributes his miracles to his being God, but to the Holy Spirit. “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then thekingdomofGodhas come to you.” (Matt12:28). In other words, it was Jesus’ humanity that was open to the power of God, in a way that the humanness of others was not. The key to Jesus’ power was his humility.
“Let the same mind be in you that wasin Christ Jesus,who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:5 – 11).
This text teaches that the humility of the eternal (God) nature of Jesus and the humility of his human nature were in a partnership that enabled the power of God to flow through him whenever the Father willed (Luke 6:19; 8:46; John 14:10). In other words, it was because Jesus was an ordinary person in his humanity that such extraordinary works could flow out of his life. This is very good news for us, because it means that in principle God’s power can flow through our lives too.
Ordinary Christians with Extraordinary Power
In criticising the claims of Christianity, a past president ofIndiasaid Christians are “ordinary people who make extraordinary claims”. This is a fair statement to make about much of the church inAustraliatoday. Underneath our veneer the problems in the marriages, families and overall health of believers look very much like that of the general population. It has become undeniably obvious that without an extraordinary demonstration of the power of thekingdomofGodthis nation will never turn to Christ. How will this display come about?
When the apostles arrived in Thessalonica it was said, “These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also.” (Acts 17:6). I believe God is talking about an inversion of values in the church. He is at work establishing the values of his kingdom. In thekingdom ofGod, which is the expression of his ruling power, the least are the greatest (Luke9:48), the meek reign (Matt 5:4) and the poor in spirit inherit the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:3). Those who enter God’s kingdom must possess the simplicity of little children (Matt 18:4; Luke18:17). This is strong medicine indeed; but it is the consistent message of the New Testament.
“ Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are,so that no one might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Cor1:26 -29).
I sense God is hard at work stripping away all our pretensions and defenses so that Christ might indeed dwell in our hearts by faith (Eph3:17). Only when we are stripped away to nothing but simplicity will we find rest and peace in God alone (Rom 8:6).
When we become ordinary people, like Jesus, we will find that it is a natural thing for the Son and Father “to make their home” in us (John14:23). This is not a visitation from heaven that comes and goes (Luke19:44), like most revival movements, but what some have called “continuous revival”. It represents the realisation that through grace and by sharing in the life of Christ it is now wholly natural for God and humans to live in one another (2 Cor 5:17). Hence there is no need for us to defend ourselves against God or to pretend that we ourselves are some sort of gods. It is the latter that is emerging as the characteristic error of our time.
The New Royalty
Sociologists and church historians have long observed that all normal social groupings go through the following pattern. The first generation is open to creativity and prophetically challenges the dominant social structures of the day, the second generation consolidates the gains of the first, and the third generation seeks accommodation with prevailing power structures to increase their credibility and influence. This is the process of institutionalisation that has overtaken seemingly all the major church groups in western society. Sadly, it is most evident in that part of Christianity where I began my spiritual journey – with Pentecostals and their preoccupation with finance, numbers, names and politics.
In prayer this week I felt God was telling me things have turned into a “celebrity circus” with high powered, well paid extroverted personalities on a conference circuit that never ends. At a more popular level, we are witnessing a “leadership binge” like nothing I have seen in my over thirty years as a Christian. Everywhere one hears about things like professionalism, excellence, money and growth.
We are seeing the emergence of a “new royalty”, a ruling hierarchy in the church whose privileges and positions far exceed anything enjoyed by the majority of Christians, not only inAustraliabut in the rest of the world. Can anyone claim that this is the lifestyle of Jesus or Paul? Or Francis ofAssisi, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, William Carey, William Booth , Smith Wigglesworth, Mother Teresa etc.
The church is saturated with activism, and behind the scenes it is costing many high profile leaders very dearly – in both health and relationship breakdown. There is a massive deception at work amongst us (Rev 17:1ff.).
In dealing with the spiritual pretensions of the Corinthians, surely people like our own culture, the apostle speaks sarcastically, “Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Quite apart from us you have become kings! Indeed, I wish that you had become kings, so that we might be kings with you!” (1 Cor 4:8). (He then goes to speak extensively of his apostolic suffering. (1 Cor 4:9 -13)). Paul may not look like a king, in fact he looked, spoke, sweated and died like an ordinary man, like Jesus, but like Jesus he manifested the power of God (Rom 15:19;1 Cor 2:4; 2 Cor 6:7).
Things to Come
Contrary to popular expectation God is not a self- impressed Person, but a triune network of relationships (the trinity) where each Person is impressed by the others and all are amazed at their teamwork – this is the meaning of their glory. In other words, each of the persons of the trinity (Father, Son, and Spirit) sees himself as an “ordinary Person”. This is the glory we are all invited to share through the Person of Jesus Christ.
The great need of our day is not for more “anointed leaders” but for those who will uphold the finished work of Christ (John19:30), proclaiming that in Jesus there is “complete redemption now” (Wesley). There can be only one King, one royalty, and one ruling power – Jesus. God will not share his power in full measure with anyone who seeks or receives glory for themselves. This is a foundational cause of the spiritual paralysis of our time.
He is however poised to share his power with the nameless and faceless servants of the gospel inPerth. Who are these people and what will they do? Mary prophesied,
“He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly” (Luke1:52). The lowly are the broken, addicted, abused and marginalised, the poor who know God is their only hope, the aboriginal people who in the midst of social crisis beyond the reach of money call out to Jesus, the relationally destitute whose own moral resources are bankrupt. These are the ordinary people whom God has chosen to experience extraordinary power – so that it might be undeniably clear that all the glory belongs to him (Isa 42:8).
Whoever these people are, they will carry the presence of Jesus into every strata and corner of society in a seamless way with results nothing short of miraculous. In doing this, without great resources of money, media, spectacle or fame they will stir up great opposition (John15:18-19). The grace that is upon them will polarise the church, and out of envy (cf. Matt 27:18; Acts13:45) the “older brother” will persecute the younger. In other words, they will carry on the faithful testimony of Jesus (Rev 1:9;19:10) that so many have been praying for so long.
When all this takes place, I pray I will be simple enough to recognise that it is my Jesus who is on the loose.