Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Miletus
It seems that you have finally concluded that way... As for me, that still under the light of the Word of God to consider whether "one publication" is of the Lord or not. Only the Lord Jesus as a life-giving Spirit mingled in our spirit that we are able to discern spiritually this kind of thing.
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No, I have not finally concluded that way. I merely posed a hypothetical application to your contention that one could be both submissive and disobedient simultaneously to an ungodly authority.
Paul enjoined us to submit to one another in the fear of God (Eph. 5:21). So I submit to the brothers in Anaheim no more or no less than I submit to other christian authorities. You may fear that this brings in confusion; rather, I think it offers balance and safety. Otherwise you risk being controlled by ones who are not being led of God.
You say that the Spirit alone can discern this kind of thing, i.e. whether the "one publication" edict is of God. I disagree. We have the Bible. The Bible clearly tells us that there is one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all(Eph. 4:4-6). It does not say there is one publication. In fact, it gives us the prime example of "many publications". Did Paul try to shut down James and Jude? No, he never said only one person (Paul) can write to the saints. Mark wrote, John wrote, Peter wrote. Peter recommended Paul's ministry, even though he said it was hard for him to understand. There is clearly not "one publication" in the Bible. There are many publications, all testifying of Jesus.
"One publication only" indicates a lack of trust in the Holy Spirit. The ones who impose this policy don't trust that the Spirit indwelling others can say anything profitable for the Body of Christ. They seem to think that only the Spirit dwelling in them, the curators of the Lee archives, can edify and encourage others. This, to me, is the wrong kind of authority. It is a usurping of God's gift to all the saints, the testifying gift to speak, to declare, to preach to the nations.
The Spirit has been poured out, brothers. Don't try to keep it in your box. You will end up with nothing. Better to let others exercise their gift, and look to yourselves, praying for the Lord's shining in others, and trusting in the God who rules heaven and earth. Your attempts to 'control' the ministries of the saints is not an authority of heaven; it is the authority of fearful and untrusting men, and there is enough of that on earth already. We don't need it in the Body of Christ, certainly.