This teaching written ten years ago.
Apostles and Prophets
1 Corinthians 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps,(“ taking up the cause”; to aid) governments, diversities of tongues.
The NT Church must have an apostolic and prophetic emphasis or mantle. This is because apostles and prophets are foundation layers in the church.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.
Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Foundation consisting in the apostles and prophets; Greek case of location: the building up of the church occurs IN what the apostles and prophets lay. The senior pastor must have an apostolic mantle. The leadership staff must have an apostolic and prophetic vision of their local body.
This foundation, being the person of Christ revealed, to a specific local body through the logos and rhema word. His direction, His will, wisdom, gifts, power.
Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder(technician, designer, architect or craftsman)and maker(worker for the masses; the one who does the physical construction) is God.
1Co 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise ( SOPHOS or one who builds by the patterns of God coming out of mysteries) masterbuilder (architect), I have laid ( I have established and fixed in place) (PERFECT TENSE) the foundation, and another buildeth( CONTINUALLY BUILDS UPON IT) thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
Re 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The article (“The) not before prophets shows that apostles and prophets are of the same kind of people.
2Pe 3:2 That ye may be mindful of the( RHEMA) words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
We see another reason apostles and prophets are of vital importance to a local congregation. Both, as we have said, are called to reveal the Person of Christ. In Second Peter three and two, the emphasis is on the rhema words of the prophets and the commandments of the apostles. The revelation of the Person of Christ, through the mouths of prophets, is more geared in realm of the progression of time. The prophet reveals Christ and His purposes in the local body from moment to moment as the circumstances and the affairs of the church call for it.
The prophet also supplies direction, vision, and guidance for a local body.
The apostolic ministers reveal the Person of Christ, in relationship to the foundation of the written word.
The NT church is the Bride of Christ.
The preparation of the Bride of Christ will usher in His Second Coming.
Rev 19:7 (AV) Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. (Aorist active Indicative) Tense of absolute completion
The NT is God’s Receptacle or Funneling Ground where He Funnels all that He is and Has
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us (Greek accusative case ; to funnel into) with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us (Greek accusative case; to funnel into) in all wisdom and prudence;
God funnels all into the church by means of His riches.
The riches are in a mystery form inside of Christ. As Christ is revealed, these riches are revealed along with Him. The revealed Christ becomes the foundation of the local church upon where it builds upon.
His riches then are known instrumentally by the church, and are located within the church itself.
The revealed Christ becomes the object of the church. The church grows into Christ in all things. This is the internal growth of the church.
Many churches grows up into things; blessings, prosperity, programs. Its growth is lopsided.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
The external growth of the church is to thrust or propel Christ in His invisible riches outside of the church via spiritual gifts as visible glory. The church then becomes a center of revival in the community where it is placed.
The church is transformed as it sees the revealed man of the Spirit, Christ Jesus in its midst.
The world is transformed as it sees the revealed spiritual man Christ Jesus in the church. This is revival.
The NT Church is the Fullness of God (The Store House of God’s Invisible Riches located in Mysteries Within the Church which make up the Person of Christ)
Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Fullness: What is the Coca Cola? Is it the bottle, or is it the liquid inside of it? It is that brown, sweet, delightful liquid that we gulp down and enjoy. So what is this fluid called Coca Cola made of? It is made up of every ingredient that is perfectly mixed in its required quantities and precise order, to lawfully recognize and labeled it as this reality that is Coca Cola. This is the fullness of Coca Cola! The fullness of Coca Cola is the very essence and nature of this liquid, which makes it to be Coca Cola and nothing else.
Mysteries are the doctrines of God’s patterns, blueprints and administrations of His kingdom, will, and counsels. They are also the Christ and the riches, blessings, and treasures, of God deposited inside of Him.
They are manifested through revelation knowledge, and glorify or make God visible.
God has deposited IN THIS MYSTERY FORM, His fullness, or His inheritance within the realm or sphere of His saints.
The fullness of God is the revealed Christ.
The Mode of God’s Fullness
Through revelation knowledge this inheritance becomes revealed and becomes one of God’s riches within us. The revelation of a mystery is our understanding of a portion of God’s inheritance. The church manifests the invisible riches of God into the external world through spiritual gifts, making any one of His riches visible in the mode of glory.
God has funneled all the riches of his grace into the church, and then makes known and manifests this mystery through the church so that the fullness of the God’s glory may be manifested through the church by spiritual gifts and ministries as glory.
Praise is produced through mankind back to God as His the glory manifested through the saints.
Glory is the God’s mode to make His riches becoming visible.
1 Cor 12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
Different riches are manifested through the different operations of God. Operations are effective displays of God’s power through the believer to effectively transfer the riches from inside the believer to the external world in accordance to the specific ministerial circumstances.
The transferred riches, which inside the believer were part of God’s inheritance in a mystery form, now empowered externally by the operations of God are made visible as the glory of God.
The NT Church Is Fitly Joined Together (Setting the Fullness of God in the Proper Place in the Church)
1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Eph 1:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple( Holy of Holies) in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
“Fitly framed together” pertains to the placing the people of the church where they belong as to their charismatic gifts, callings and ministries, just as rooms and furniture are placed where they belong in a building.
The church is built-up through the use of spiritual gifts, ministries, and callings. To “fitly frame together” is the effective operations of all ministries by all members within a local assembly.
Joining, cementing, and fitting together to form a building must take place, so that the building can then be raised up. The joining, cementing and fitting of believers must likewise take place.
The fitly framed people become the fitly framed building that grows unto a The Holy of Holies of the Lord.
Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working (Energy) in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
The church grows as each member within the local body supplies his or her part in accordance to the spiritual gifts and ministries, which the Lord has given to each of them. “Every joint supplieth.”
By every joint (believer) yielding nourishment and working to its ( his or her) peak spiritual performance, and by means of every contact, furnished by every believer, this supplies the body of the knowledge of the revealed Christ.
“Every joint of supply” “To supply” is defined as furnishing a chorus liberally with all that it needs. Every joint of supply is each member of a local body as he or she effectively supplies the revelation of the Son of God through their ministries to manifest the Spirit.
EVERY” parishioner has the responsibility to work within a congregation at his or her “PEAK LEVEL OF SPIRIT LED PERFORMANCE”. This requires uncompromising obedience to God, and dedication to the local body
According to the working in due measure of each several part . Greek paraphrase: The revelation of Christ is limited to the energy (that will make His revelation fully operational) put forth by the measure and quality of the “measure of supply” through the parishioners’ charismatic ministries.
Philemon 1:6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual(energized) by the acknowledging( full and precise knowledge) of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
The NT Church Must be Knit Together (Revealing the Fullness of God Inside the Church)
Col 2:2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement( full and precise knowledge) of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.
The knitting together comes as the members of the local church are “fitly framed together” into a proper building for the Lord through the ministries and callings of every person.
Christ then will be revealed in the church through the ministries of the congregation, and will bring the local body into the spiritual riches that are created by the confidence of fully understanding of the correct revelation of Christ. This is the full assurance of understanding
The revealed Person of Christ is whom the church grows internally into all things.
The revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ allows for an assembly to grow up into Him in all things. The revealed Person of Christ becomes its model, pattern, or example. Growing up into Christ allows the saints within the church to achieve the same maturity that Christ has in the very thing that they grow fully into Him in. The church is the only institution that allows for people to grow fully in to Christ in all things. Growing up into our example makes us like our example.
The revealed Person of Christ within the church is then propelled outside the church via spiritual gifts as visible glory. This is the Christ that will draw all men unto Himself. This is revival.
God’s Apple Pie
Do you remember in elementary school teachers using the example of an apple pie cut into eight pieces? They would use this to help us comprehend fractions. Every piece of the sliced pie would now become 1/8 of the pie. Four pieces would be equal ½; seven pieces would be 7/8; and the eight pieces together would make the whole of the pie.
The fullness of the Lord and His manifested glory in just the same way. The church is the apple pie. If only one member of the church displays the fullness of the Lord, the assembly will manifest only 1/8 of his glory. If half of church’s members are holding to their responsibility to be filled with the Spirit, that local body will manifest 1/2 of God’s glory. Displaying the fullness of the Lord takes the active participation of every member in a local body.
Many of our present church models and strategies are incorrect in that they encourage many to become pew sitters, and very few to participate and minister. Truly then, only a small fraction of the Lord’s glory is displayed in our local assemblies.
The Fellowship of the Mystery: (God Calls His Church Out of His Glory to Participate in His Gifts, Ministries and Callings)
Exodus 16:10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numb 20:6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.
7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
God speaks to His people out of His glory
Eph 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Out of His Glory, as the revealed Person of Christ is manifested through the fitly joining together and knitting together of the church, God speaks to His church and calls it into participation with Him whether it be into deliverance, revelation of gifts or life time callings. This is the fellowship of the mystery.
The more revelation, the more will be the fellowship of the mystery and the greater will be the participation of the congregation in the glory of God via spiritual
The NT Church is a Man; The Man Christ Jesus
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
The church becomes THE MAN Christ Jesus, which internally the church grows into in all things, and externally in the world draws all people unto THE MAN, Christ Jesus. The church as a full-grown man can fully bring forth the glory of God and subsequent revival.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me
Understanding the Energy and Power of God Available to us to propel the Fullness of God Revealed Christ (GLORY) into the World by the Church:
REVIVAL!!!
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Wisdom – the revealed will of God as a blueprint or pattern coming out of a mystery.
Prudence- Executing that will step by step by the voice of the Spirit
1Co 12:11 But all these worketh (energizes) that one and the selfsame Spirit, (Spirit led works) dividing to every man severally as he will. (as he counsels)
Eph 3:7 (AV) Whereof I was made a minister (a minister ministering in spiritual gifts), according to the gift of the grace (labor) of God given unto me by the effectual working (energy) of his power.
Phillip 2:13 (AV) For it is God which worketh (is energizing) in you both to will and to do (energize) of his good pleasure.
Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working (Energy) in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Spiritual Gifts: (God’s Manifested Operations)
The Avenue to Propel The Riches of God Outside the Church
I Cor 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
1 Cor 12:6 (AV) And there are diversities of operations (the end product of what God energized), but it is the same God which worketh (energizing) all in all.
1 Cor 12:10 (AV) To another the working(the end product of what God energized) of miracles ( dunamis powers); to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
The saints are the element in which God’s riches are deposited, energized, and made known as riches in the mode of glory.
The transferred riches, which inside the believer were part of God’s inheritance, now empowered externally by the operations of God are made visible as the glory of God.
Praise is produced through mankind back to God as the glory is manifested through the saints. Glory is God’s mode to make His riches becoming visible. The final purpose and calling of the church is to make God and His riches visible.
Different riches are manifested through the different operations of God. Operations are effective displays of God’s power through the believer to effectively transfer the riches from inside the believer to the external world in accordance to the specific ministerial circumstances. These operations are what energize spiritual gifts.
The invisible works of the kingdom become visible through the spiritual gifts.
The charismatic gifts, and the signs and the wonders, are the outward display of the energy that Christ puts forth or releases as He labors within us (GRACE). They are displayed as operations. Charismatic gifts, and signs and wonders are the totally effective and fully operational works of the invisible kingdom.
What makes them fully operational is that through the energizing power of God they carry out in our physical world what God intended for them to perform and what they were already in the invisible supernatural world.
The Small Groups Model: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!!
Romans 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
1 Corinthians 16:19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
Colossians 4:15 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house
Philemon 1:2 And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house
In these meetings, spiritual gifts are discovered. Spiritual gifts inventories can be used to discover gifts.
People also become set free through personal ministry.
In these meetings the church becomes fitly joined together.
People have an opportunity to use their gifts and develop their ministries.
As these groups become fitly joined together, then they become knit together unto the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.
Christ becomes revealed and the parishioners begin to grow into the revealed Person of Christ.
This revelation of Christ is then thrust out by the power of God via spiritual gifts as His glory into the community. This is the definition of revival.
Jose and Mary Alvarez 