Unfortunately, there are more than a few folks in the religious realm who would have us believe that they are God's representatives and/or are somehow acting in the capacity of an essential link to the Divine. In fact, many of them claim to be acting in some official capacity (e.g. an apostle, evangelist, prophet, etc.). The clear implication being (when it isn't explicitly stated) that God is using them to communicate with us or to somehow facilitate our relationship with Him.
Could this be true? Is it possible that God is actually using one or more of them in such a way? Do we need someone to facilitate our relationship with God?
During the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, the gospel according to John informs us that Christ told Thomas: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) In other words, Jesus appears to have been very explicit in his declaration that we can only have access to God through him.
The gospel according to Matthew informs us that the curtain that concealed the most Holy place in the Temple was ripped open at the moment of Christ's death (Matthew 27:50-51). Symbolically, of course, this signified that everyone then had direct access to God - that there was no longer any veil between us and the place where God lived.
Paul told the saints at Rome that they had been "reconciled to God by the death of his Son" (Romans 5:10). He wrote to the saints at Corinth that God had "reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ" (II Corinthians 5:18). Likewise, the epistle to the Colossians states that God reconciled everything to himself through Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:19-20).
In the first epistle to Timothy, we read that there is "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (I Timothy 2:5) Likewise, in the epistle to the Hebrews, Christ is identified as THE mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6, 9:15 and 12:24).
Finally, we must not forget that those who have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as an offering for their sins have also been given access to God's Holy Spirit. In fact, Scripture informs us that the Holy Spirit actually dwells within Christians (see Acts 2:4, 33, 38, 4:31, 5:32, 8:17-19, 10:44-45, 11:24, 13:9, 52, 15:8, 19:1-6, Romans 5:5, 15:13, 16, I Corinthians 6:19, II Corinthians 13:14, Hebrews 6:4). Christ himself had told his disciples that God would send them a "Comforter" (John 14:16, 26, 15:26, 16:7). Notice too that Christ never said that this gift would be restricted to the leadership of the Church. In other words, ALL Christians have access to this Divine spark!
Hence, from the perspective of Scripture, it appears that Jesus Christ has given us direct access to God. In other words, because of Christ, we don't need anyone else to act as a go-between for us. We can go directly to God in prayer. Christ has given us right standing with God, and we don't need anyone else to mediate or facilitate that relationship for us! Moreover, Scripture makes clear that ALL Christians have received the gift of the Holy Spirit - a very personal, real and direct connection to God. Let's all try to remember this the next time we hear someone suggest that they can introduce us to God or act as his ambassador to us!
The following comment was posted to my private e-mail account:
ReplyDelete"Back in WCG days, the teaching was that one could have more -- or less! -- of the holy spirit than another. This was based, as I recall, on Numbers 11:17 and 25 where we read about some of the spirit that Moses had received being taken and shared with 70 elders. Therefore, the argument went, some in the church (meaning the high-ups in the hierarchy) had 'more of the spirit' and hence were "more converted," etc., etc. So, the desire to be more special than others lived (and lives?) on."
I think that this comment accurately reflects the thinking of Armstrong and his followers on this topic. And, while I would agree with the premise that some individuals can have more or less of the Holy Spirit (I think Scripture is clear on this point), I would say that there is absolutely no indication in Scripture that having more of the Spirit entitles one to a greater voice or a more prominent position within the Church. After all, I think that everyone would agree that the Spirit is the gift of God - that "He" is the source of that Spirit. In other words, your gift isn't dependent on them in any way. Moreover, Divine revelation is effected through the agency of the Holy Spirit. Hence, anytime that spiritual information is miraculously revealed to a human mind that is accomplished by DIVINE action. In other words, the revelation is personal and it comes directly from God in EVERY instance! Once again, no middleman or intermediary is needed.
As for those verses referenced above from the book of Numbers, I think that the context makes plain that the Spirit was shared with those individuals because God intended for them to assist Moses in his duties relative to the Israelites. Moreover, the context seems to suggest that this was a temporary gift which did not reflect the actual conversion of the individuals in question - but was, once again, designed only to assist Moses at that particular moment in time.