afazio

I forgot to add that it was the brothers in Jerusalem who insisted that Paul revert to the OT dispensation of putting himself and his proteges under the Nazarite vow (or some sort of then-modern facsimile that the church in Jerusalem thought would sanctify them for "the work"). (I wonder if Nee would have espoused that his current workers promulgate THAT through the churches.) Let alone that the vision of the new man was exclusive to Paul (who, of course, was NOT---in any way, shape or form) a "Jerusalemite"! In fact, that is the Paul's labor in Galatians 1 and 2----to separate himself and his work from being identified with "Jerusalem" in any way AND be identified with God alone!

Paul----certainly NOT James----had "the heavenly vision! He even referred to it as "MY gospel." And Peter even confessed that the things Paul said were "difficult to understand" and that the "unlearned" and "unstable" (I would include here James and the saints under him in Jerusalem) might "distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:15-16).

Perhaps Nee's confusion in his later years was a reason the Lord removed him (by imprisonment) from leadership over so many churches (just as He removed John the Baptist when he became a "confusing" competitor on the scene (John's "disciples" challenging "Jesus disciples---when, since Jesus was ministering, there should no longer BE "John's disciples) as opposed to only a herald (a "voice in the wilderness") POINTING TO Jesus.

And I won't even BEGIN to address the confusion of Lee and the LC cult! Amen to the fact that anyone who has touched Lee's cult needs a HUGE dose of New Testament economy! The New Covenant includes the edict that "You shall NOT teach every man his neighbor and every man his fellow servant to know the Lord, for ALL SHALL KNOW ME---from the least to the greatest of them!" Thank God, NONE OF US----regardless of our assumed "stature" can discern "the anointing" or the "leading of the Holy Spirit" for ANY other (from the least to the greatest among us). We can teach the truth of the Scriptures; however, we CANNOT determine for another HOW God is leading. So, the way "delegated authority" is taught and practiced in the LC is totally a violation of "God's New Testament ECONOMY." The examples that Nee used of OT figures such as Noah and Saul are NOT examples of NT leadership but ARE examples of CHRIST as God's ANOINTED. NT leadership is servant leadership!

Of course, there IS church government and church discipline, when necessary for specific, clearly identified SINS (NOT including differing ministries or views that are not clearly ABERRANT to the truth or the faith). "Quarantine" because of dissenting views that are taken in love and to sharpen iron in the truth of the Word of God is MORE than overreaching, it is SINFUL on the part of the church (or, in the case of the LC, the CULT).

Also, spiritual authority is NOT "delegated" authority (as is taught by both Nee and Lee). Spiritual authority is FUNCTIONAL authority. The difference between the two is that "delegated authority" is authority which is posited in a specific person----regardless of that person's condition----IN THE ABSENCE of the original authority. That is to say, if a husband leaves his wife in charge of the children while he is at work, the wife is solely responsible for the children (REGARDLESS of her CONDITION) during that time. That "authority" has been "delegated" to her by her husband. (Or, you might think of parents delegating their authority to their chosen babysitter while they go out for the evening.)

FUNCTIONAL authority is ENTIRELY DIFFERENT! Functional authority is authority which an agent possesses BECAUSE OF his own personal gift. It is fully contingent on that gift REMAINING with him/in him in order to serve. So, that agent's CONDITION is paramount in maintaining his authority. For instance, in a movie theater or a dance, if a person has a heart attack, the "authority" of a medical doctor who may simply have been a patron suddenly comes into action. Or, if someone speaks a "foreign" language in a situation, the "authority" of someone who is bilingual and can translate suddenly come into action. Similarly, spiritual authority is manifest among saints by those who perform in spiritual ways (elders in that respective congregation). If, however, the appointed elder is, for some reason, operating in his flesh, he is not functionally, at that moment, truly "in authority," since his "authority" is not POSITIONAL but functional. Similarly, a medical doctor, because he is designated as such, can fail in his "gift" and still remain recognized. However, if he fails TOO heinously, he becomes disbarred. However, a father (of children) is a delegated authority (delegated so by God in nature). Whatever his condition, he continues to be a father. He has been "appointed" in his person, irrespective of any gift.