Temple Cleansing

Ron McGatlin

December 14, 2007

(Note: We continue in a season of change characterized by greater revealed understanding of the Bible. The return to understanding the apostolic ministry has been coming to light for the past decade or so. We are all attempting to see through our previous religious colored glasses that are gradually clearing. For that reason we are at different places in our receptivity and are seeing different parts of the whole progressively. In other words we probably all do not have the full light on the matter but are progressing piece by piece. And of course, no brief article can bring the whole picture. If what is presented here does not fit your current view please be patient with me and let's all seek the Holy Spirit to clear our glasses to see more of the pure light. In much love and respect - Ron).

Current news continues to expose moral failures and vile actions in church people clearly indicating there is an obvious and desperate need for pure holy life from God to replace the mixture we have experienced in religious church systems. Holy apostolic and prophetic leadership is needed to bring forth the powerful work of Christ Jesus by His Spirit to cleanse and renew God’s temple on earth. Holy people of God are needed to speak forth and demonstrate in love and power the reality of the kingdom of God from heaven on earth.

The pure, holy ekklesia is being formed outside the camp of religion under the leadership of Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Humble, brokenhearted people of God grieve in intercession for the multitudes being led astray by winds of deceptive practices and false teachings. There is a remnant of holy people crying out to God for the redemption of the people being led astray by impure, needy leaders. Leaders who are the gifted ones that should be demonstrating righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit are caught up in lingering past religious ways and slipping into flesh tainted living on the broad way that leads to destruction.

Many people including apostolic “sent ones” desire to cleanse the church. However, many of them do not realize that they are the church. We are the church and collectively the temple of God on earth.

Cleansing must begin with the elders who lead. Elders bring forth the youngers who will follow them into maturity of real holiness in the Spirit. The spiritual gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher flowing through pure-hearted holy elders into the maturing ekklesia is the way of God to build the reality of Christ into His Body on earth.

Elders are like fathers to the spiritually young and brothers to the mature. They cease being fathers to the mature brothers and sisters. The people must be discipled to grow safely into maturity and become elders to disciple others. The temporary work of being a father is for the purpose of bringing the spiritually young ones to the Father through Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit. They are then sons of God and sons of the kingdom but not sons of earthly spiritual fathers. They become brothers to the ones who were their earthly fathers. (Of course all this is non-distinct male and female as we walk in the Spirit.)

Sadly the training of spiritual children has passed from elder fathers to institutions. Institutions were developed to replace discipleship in the homes and natural life situations. Public schools were developed for secular training and Sunday schools for spiritual training dividing the soul from the spirit in the child. This also relieved the fathers of their God-given potential and gifting to train the children and eventually release them as mature brothers and sisters in the Lord. There are elder and younger brothers and sisters. We each may mentor a younger or be mentored by an elder.

In this early season of apostolic restoration, some apostolic ministers have given up on the religious church system and are seeking to build other systems some consisting of a network of sons over which they serve as fathers. There are major problems with this type reformation attempt. One problem is that this is not a pure or total transformation and often carries some of the same old error the church has suffered greatly from for many centuries. It is often tainted with the same human rule over the church. There is no record of first century apostles having a network of sons that supported them. As far as I know, Paul mentioned only Timothy and Titus as true sons in the faith. The apostles ministered to the church in whatever city and especially to the elders in the church.

Men ruling as heads in place of Christ comes from the belief that the gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, and teacher are ruling offices in the church. These are leadership gifts to the Body that function in elders to serve in the ekklesia. Peter spoke of himself as an elder and like Paul always met with elders in the church in different cities. There were elders that taught and ruled and elders that served in the other gifts. A number of elders were present in the churches of the first century. There were also traveling elders including, but not limited to, those with the job description and gifting of apostle.

1 Tim 5:17: Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.

1 Pet 5:1: The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:

2 John 1:1 KJV: The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;

In the Jewish religion of the day elders ruled under or with the High Priest. In the church elders rule under or with our Apostle and High Priest the Lord Jesus Christ.

Heb 3:1: Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,

It was always God’s intent to personally be the only Father and King of His people. Though it was not God’s original intent, Priests were established by God in the Old Testament before Christ came to rent the veil and open the way for God to dwell in His temple not made with hands.

The erroneous religious systems have established heads called popes, priests, bishops, pastors, vicars, senior pastors, apostles, and others names, to stand in the place where they ought not to stand as heads of the church. There is one head to the ekklesia and one Body, Christ Jesus. In the kingdom age church, we are all at one level of brother with one another and are called brethren by our Lord, Savior, and King Christ Jesus.

Heb 2:10-11: For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Mat 23:8-10: "But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. "And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.

Mat 25:40: "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

And on many other occasions Christ Jesus referred to those who followed Him as brethren. I don’t remember any occasion of Jesus referring to followers as sons. He spoke of them as sons of God, sons of the father, and sons of the kingdom among others, but not as His sons.

The Love Deficit

Through the past systems with their many lacks, abuses, and improper activities, a mammoth love deficit has been generated in the people of God and all the world. It is God’s people who are to bring the person of Christ and His love into the hearts and lives of the world. The kingdom of God on earth flows or does not flow through God’s people. Life in the world has been greatly perverted and painfully warped into need and greed-based competitive lives of darkness robbed of the beauty and love of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The pure holy love of God that brought Christ Jesus from heaven to the cross weeps for its children. There is a great hole in the heart of God longing for the love of His children to come to Him and to be poured out to a world starved for the real love of God. Don’t try to talk to God about your new system, but loose your life and receive the immeasurable, never-ending flood of the liquid fire of His love and pour it out to His people.

Choosing Life

The Journey of life consists of choices. In the natural world there are choices that we make and choices that others make for us. Very small children have their choices made for them by parents. In the fallen world system, many are held captive by some form of tyranny or natural restraints which limit the choices they can make. There is bondage that people enter into by choice and loose some ability to choose as a result. The world is crying out for us today to choose the pure holy sacrifice of our lives to fully connect with the stream of liquid fire of love from heaven and be poured out to flow Christ Jesus to the love-starved people of the world.

Real freedom is the unrestrained ability to choose life in Christ. In Christ Jesus there is complete freedom. Living in Christ by the Spirit there is unrestrained freedom to choose the kingdom of God lifestyle.

We choose today Father to give all we are, all we have, and lay down all our baggage from the past to touch Your Heart and do all we can to fill the hole with all the love and life we have. We humbly ask, Father, give us more to love you with and to pour out on our brothers and sisters. You have melted us with your love, now sustain us to serve. Thank You Father for the breaking of our hearts with your pure, sweet love. Heaven has come to us as Your Spirit saturates and abides with us. Thank You. Truly, it is the heart of Jesus from which we pray. Amen

Keep on pursuing love.
It never fails.
Ron McGatlin
www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net