Quote:
Originally Posted by Drake
ZNP,
I’ll repeat myself and clarify...
The primary question is “what is the ministry of the age?” First, do you believe there is such a thing? If not, then all considerations about the minister of the age are moot.
If you believe there is a ministry of the age then do you believe the Lord raises up someone to take the lead in that age? If not, then all considerations about the minister of the age are moot.
If you believe that there is a ministry of the age and you also believe that God raises up someone to take the lead in that age then identifying the lead minister in that age is directly tied to the definition of the ministry of the age. Therefore, I believe that the ministry of the age is that the Lord has a special calling to return to the oneness in practicality expressed through local churches as the procedure to build the Body of Christ to consummate the present age and thereby hasten the Lords return to establish His physical kingdom on earth for 1000 years. In this I’m not following a doctrine, I am pursuing a vision. And without question if you believe that is the definition of the ministry of the age then there is also no doubt who the lead ministers of the age are.... Brothers Nee and Lee.
Drake
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Whoa ... Whoa ... whole lotta hocus pocus going on here.
Drake, you start out real general in scope to get all believers on board, then you waved your hands a few times and came up with Nee and Lee. Paul called this "
the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to a system of error." (Eph 4.14)
Firstly, all believers accept there is a ministry of the age. It is the New Testament ministry of the Lord during this age of grace. Jesus Christ is everything in this ministry because He Himself enacted the New Covenant with His own life and His own shed blood. The only One that God has actually "
raised up" is Jesus, His son.
Paul's "heavenly vision" was actually no different from the Great Commission. His ministry was not "unique," because like the other apostles he was charged to take the gospel to the Gentile nations. In a previous post I mentioned Thomas, the apostle to India, and Bartholomew, the apostle to Albania.
Yes, there are many ministers throughout the age of grace, too many to mention. Yes, Paul was chosen to be a pattern for the church, but never chosen to be a "minister of the age." Hundreds of verses could be cited where Paul would directly dispute any such claims. During the 1st century church, there were many ministers -- apostles -- who took the lead as "lead ministers." Just because the details of the Twelve are not recorded in Acts, does not mean they never happened,
God alone knows the entire history of the church! The Spirit selected a small part to record in the Bible!
Regarding your "
special calling to return to the oneness in practicality," I accepted this for decades. I was completely sold on it. Then I witnessed how LSM surreptitiously acted contrary to what they taught. Then I read the testimonies in our history and discovered that this teaching "
to return to the oneness in practicality," was actually never practiced. It was merely used by hypocrites to condemn all other Christians and give themselves special standing. I have written hundreds of posts detailing this hypocrisy.