As In All Churches (Transformation)

In the Old Covenant, the transition from Moses to Joshua not only brought a change of church leadership, but it also ushered in a new stage. Moses, in a hierarchical sense, was not a pastor; his brother Aaron's sons were the "pastors" and Aaron the High Priest. Moses was the head of the church: he was the lawgiver; he was "above all the men which were upon the face of the earth." "And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet" (Exodus 7:1). "And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God ... And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. (Exodus 4:15-16, 30). In this new stage of church development, however, church leaders were commanded to meditate on the written Word in order to be successful as church leaders. "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success" (Joshua 1:8).

Old Covenant

Under the New Covenant no Christian man is above any other; Jesus Christ replaced Moses as the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23) and replaced Aaron as the High Priest (Hebrews 3:1). Furthermore, "I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God" (1 Corinthians 11:3). Thus, the head of every man is not the pastor; the head of every man is Christ. Pastors or other church leaders are not heads of the church; they are leaders in the church who all report to the same high priest, Jesus Christ. To claim to be the head of a particular local body of Christ is to operate in the spirit of antichrist (see "The Principality of Antichrist"). We are all brothers together; for God is not a respecter of persons (Romans 2:10-11). Only in regard to being a chosen leader is a pastor "over" the congregation; that is, he, along with the other church leaders, has the responsibility to oversee and shepherd the flock of God (Acts 20:28). Thus, church leaders are commanded to continue in the Word (John 8:31-32); that is, to read (1 Timothy 4:13), study (2 Timothy 2:15-16) and obey the Word of God: "they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience" (Luke 8:15; see also Luke 6:46; Luke 11:28). Of course, understanding of the Word of God can only be accomplished through the Spirit of God.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (Hebrews 1:1-2)

New Covenant

Service to the Lord cannot be seen from a natural perspective; it must be redefined from a spiritual perspective. Aaron Clark puts the following forth on service,

It is assumed that Jesus is engrossed with our service to Him when He is not. The Lord doesn't care about service in the sense of labor, He could force laborers. The concern of the Lord in service is not the mechanics, but the sanctification of the servant. "Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth" (John 17:17). Read it carefully.

Like Martha, many scurry about laboriously, missing the one necessity in life: sitting at the feet of Jesus patiently hearing His words [(Luke 10:38-42)]. It's a discipline that often doesn't look very spiritual to those that are troubled and full of cares. The presence of the Lord stirs us deeply and can cause an uneasiness that produces impulsive behavior that the Lord is not the least bit concerned with.

Looking busy is a subtle form of hypocrisy and an easy way to avoid the fact that one is not in fellowship with the Lord. When they do come to the Lord, it will be with an accusation and [their] interaction with others will only be to bring them into the same bondage that they are in.¹⁷¹

DRAFT V2010-06-28T4:47:26 PM