Christ’s New World
Order:
Lessons from the Upper Room
Charles Faupel
We have,
over the past decade or so, been hearing much about “the new world order.” This agenda has dominated policies and
strategies of nations around the world as part of an effort to establish: a
one-world government, a one-world economy, and a one-world religion. Almost daily we hear of yet another effort
toward this end. All of this has raised
a level of fear and even paranoia among conservative Christians and
non-Christians alike who are adamantly opposed to the imposition of any
political order that would transcend national sovereignty. Or any religious
order that would limit in any way one’s freedom to worship as they see
fit. These are all very legitimate and honorable
concerns. I would suggest, however, that
the evangelical right has become unduly preoccupied with what they see the
enemy doing, and because of this, has lost its focus
on that to which we have been called: establishing
His kingdom (i.e., Christ’s “New World Order”) in the place of our habitation. Instead, most of conservative Christianity
has been fighting an enemy that has already been defeated.
The New World Order:
Reconstructing the Tower of Babel
The efforts of the global elites of our day has been nothing
other than an attempt to rebuild the tower of Babel. That story did not end so well for those
master craftsmen. I have not heard many
sermons preached using the story of the tower of Babel as the text. Those I do
recall, and any I have come across always seemed to depict the builders of this
tower as wicked men consumed by greed and a lust for self-recognition. These
sins were, no doubt, at play here. We must, however, take note of the fact that
those involved in this story were the direct descendants of Noah. These were
the righteous remnant which was spared from the devastation of the flood! God
had already completed His purging of wickedness. This is a very important
consideration. We must understand that God’s people, His remnant, are just as
capable of a Babel response to our circumstances as is the ungodly world around
us. It is true that there are many churches and others who claim the name of
Christ who actively participate in the efforts to promote the agenda being
carried forth by those who would seek to create this monolith known as the New
World Order. I would suggest, however,
that those on the political and religious right who oppose these efforts
through political and judicial means are setting about attempting to build
their own Babel tower. The defining
characteristic of this Babel narrative is that all of the activities described
in this short story in Genesis are carried forth out of a motivation that is
fueled by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was, in short, a flesh
response to the circumstances in which they found themselves. They had been
sojourning and found a pleasant plain of Shinar which they decided to make
their permanent dwelling place. They then reasoned with one another “Let us
make brick...” and “Let us build a city and a tower.” It was certainly a
reasonable desire for a people who had been on the move for what appears to be
at least three generations as recorded in the previous chapter of Genesis. It
was, however, a response that was dictated by what they saw as best or right or
good. This was not a response of obedience to the God who had saved them from
the ravages of the flood. The sons of Noah were still operating out of the tree
of knowledge of good and evil. It is also important to note just what it was in
their reasoning that led them to build this city and tower. In the rendition of
King James, “And they said, Go to, let us
build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven and let us make us
a name lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth” (Genesis
11:4). They were motivated by a fear of being scattered abroad upon the face of
the earth, not being recognized as a people. This desire for permanence and
recognition has always been a part of the Adamic race
since Adams expulsion from Eden. The lust for bigger homes, recognition in the
communities of which we are a part, and the leaving of
legacies which would memorialize us for decades and even centuries to come has
never left us. The human race has always been looking for a return to Eden, and
we been motivated out of a strong desire for self-preservation. God recognized
the potential and the abilities that man had to accomplish his self-centered
desires. Out of the abundance of His grace, God chose to frustrate and thwart
these efforts. The text says that He did this by confusing their language. The
story begins by noting, “And the whole earth was of one language and of one
speech.” Two distinct words are used to refer to “language” and “speech”
respectively. The Hebrew word translated “language” is saphah, which can be translated
“lip” or “language” as it is here. This word has also been translated “brink”
or “bank” as of a river, seen in Genesis 41:17 where Pharaoh is relating to
Joseph his dream about standing on the bank of a river. This translation of saphah would
suggest a boundary, a juncture of one placement (land) and another (water).
Hence, by noting that the sons of Noah were of one language suggests not only that they spoke
the same cultural language with the same word definitions, but that they were
on the “brink” of moving into a new dimension, a place that God was forbidding
them to enter. The word “speech” is an entirely different Hebrew word. It is
the word davar
or dabar, a
word which has a far broader connotation and is used in a myriad of ways
throughout the Old Testament. It has been used to refer to actions, a manner of
conducting one’s self, or simply to “things” or “this thing” (for example,
Genesis 20:10 where Abimelech said to Abram, “What sawest
thou that thou hast done this thing?”) Davar, in short is a Hebrew word that goes far beyond a
spoken language. It connotes a confluence of thoughts, words and actions. When
the narrative says that the sons of Noah were of “one speech,” therefore, it is
suggesting that they were of one mind, of one purpose, in lock step in their
determination to build a city and a tower. The introduction to this story of
Babel, therefore, seems to be emphasizing that this people were of one mind and
purpose, unified by a common language, to establish themselves,
to dominate and control their circumstances, and to set forth and secure their
own future. In the words of a crooner who would come several millennia later,
they were going to do it “my way.” Most importantly, they were united in this
effort. It is important to understand this broader davar understanding, I believe,
because it is this very mindset that characterizes the world stage
today—whether this be in the world of science,
politics or religion. We live in a world where man, through various human
institutions, has determined to pursue his dreams, goals and agendas, and has
been developing strategies and technologies to accomplish this in a most
streamlined fashion. Indeed, we are increasingly seeing dissonant voices silenced
through various “cancel culture” means including draconian censorship,
accusations of “conspiracy theory,” and even litigation. God was not going to
have it. As well-intentioned as these people might have been, they were “on the
brink” of moving forth into a dimension, a lifestyle, a purpose which was of
their own making, without regard to the plan and purposes of God. And the unity
of language, purpose and determination which they enjoyed would thrust them
forward into this dimension in which they were not prepared to enter. The
account states, “And the Lord said,
Behold, the people is one and they have all one language, and this they begin
to do and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to
do.” (Genesis 11:6) God was perfectly aware of the power of their unity.
The mighty strength that unity of mind and purpose brings to any circumstance
cannot be too strongly emphasized. Seeing that the capacity of these children
of Noah to move forward with their carnal purposes knew no bounds in this
powerful unified state in which they found themselves, God Almighty set about
to intervene. There is an important lesson here for the true ecclesia of God as
we are confronted by the power of the enemy in our day, and as we consider how
we are to respond to the evil around us. When such harmony, as existed among
the descendants of Noah at Babel, is in agreement with and under the Lordship
of Christ there is nothing that can come in its way—not even the gates of hell
(Matthew 16:18). God’s people must learn this, for those whose mind and purpose
controlled by the adversary (the god of self) certainly have. What God did at
Babel is a picture of God’s response to the grandiose efforts of man in our day
as we see and experience the oppressive powers of leaders of government,
industry, science, education and religion acting in concert to further their
agendas. God confused their language. The result of this confusion of language
(thought, word, purpose and action) was that they were scattered abroad upon
the face of the earth (Genesis 11:8). Their power was broken, their goals and
purposes shattered. They were no longer a force to be reckoned with. The tower
of global domination that is being built today indeed looks invincible, and some
feel helpless in the face of it. But this is God’s battle already won. The
Babel account is a picture of how the mighty hand of God will bring to ruin all
of the plans of men by confusing their language, by bringing discord, and
introducing conflicting purposes and strategies. The story of Babel is
instructive therefore—not so much to highlight the triumph of good men over
evil men, nor even to demonstrate the power of God to confuse languages to
thwart the purposes of evil men. The story is instructive, rather, in that it
reveals a motive of self-preservation and that this motive was not birthed in an obedience to God, but generated out of a selfish desire
to establish a legacy and a fear that they would be scattered and forgotten. The story also reveals the power of unity in
accomplishing even such fleshly goals. God is ultimately sovereign, however in
bringing to naught the most lofty goals of men through the bringing of
confusion into their midst. Ironically, the very thing that they were seeking
to prevent (being scattered) was brought about by God through His intervention
in the disruption of the unity that He brought.
The lessons
from this story are most instructive for us as God’s people regarding how we
are to respond to such efforts. The
efforts that we see taking place by what are generally considered
“conservatives,” is no less an effort at self-preservation carried out by
well-meaning people attempting to preserve a legacy which they hold dear. We hear much about wanting to “preserve the
republic;” to “bring back morality into our schools and the public square”
(usually referring to a morality of the 1940’s and 1950’s, which, if we will
remember, was also a morality that condoned horrendous treatment of people of
color); or to “maintain the purity of the faith” (which usually means to
preserve the traditions of the religious order of which one is a part). While there is much that is noble in these
aspirations, we must remember that these “good” things to which we aspire come
from the same tree as the “evil” that we are fighting against—the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. Furthermore, the means used to accomplish these
goals are, for the most part, birthed from the same tree. The realization of these goals is sought
through the political process of electing the right president or congressman,
through the courts and other carnal means.
There has been a long record of such efforts throughout our nation’s
history, including the passage of the 18th Amendment, prohibiting
the manufacturing and sale of alcohol in the United States. It was believed by the zealots behind its
passage that this would bring morality back into the United States. The result? It provided an open door for organized crime
to expand its power in our society, a reality that is still with us today,
though that amendment was repealed by the passage of the 21st
Amendment nearly 100 years ago. We also
witnessed the efforts of the Moral Majority in the 1980’s to bring morality
back into the public square through the political process. As noble as these efforts were, they were all
an attempt to accomplish (in their view) godly goals, but through carnal and
fleshly means. They reflect the same
“Babel” foundation as the evils that they are fighting.
I must
confess that I am sympathetic with most of the goals that contemporary
“patriots,” “freedom fighters” and other “culture warriors” want to see
achieved. I have come to understand,
however, that any effort that is birthed out of the tree of knowledge of good
and evil—even the “good” side of that tree—will find only limited and temporary
success at best. We must remember that
the story of the building of the tower of Babel did not end well for its
builders. I would suggest that there is
another response to the global “tower builders” of our day that the Lord would
have us take. It is a response to be
directed by our Head, Jesus Christ by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Some of the strategies may look very similar
to what we see taking place today, but with one important difference: they will be directed by the Holy Spirit in
total submission to Christ, our Head.
Might I be so bold as to suggest that the foundation for this response
can be found in the life-changing and earth-shaking experience of the early
disciples that glorious day in the upper room.
The Upper Room
Experience
Some time
back I wrote an article entitled Baptism
in the Spirit: Another Look wherein I suggested that the Acts 2
experience is best understood as a shadow and a type of greater spiritual
things to come.[1] In that article, I addressed the various
aspects of that Upper Room experience and what they might represent in terms of
our experience today. It occurs to me
that this profound experience of the early disciples contains the seed for the
triumphant establishment of the Kingdom of God.
It is a type, a foreshadowing
God’s One World Government. May God give
us spiritual eyes to see how this experience serves as the foundation for what
God purposes as He establishes His Kingdom.
The Believers were in One Accord
The first
thing that we must note in the Upper Room experience is that those gathered
were in one accord (v. 1). There was a
unity of spirit among those gathered. We
must understand that this was not some contrived unity created through the
forming of some overarching organization such as the World Council of Churches
seeking to create some monolithic entity with a common doctrine, liturgy and
ecclesiology. Such efforts are really no
different than (and indeed are part of) the efforts of the globalist agenda
today. Nor does this unity consist of an homogeneity of doctrine and beliefs. One of the greatest traps of the enemy, in my
view, is that we must be “like-minded” to have true fellowship with one
another. Like-mindedness, for most
people, means that we gather with those who believe the same way that we do, at
least on all major points of doctrine.
It is such a position that has resulted in the fragmentation of Christianity
into nearly 45,000 denominations (Johnson, 2019).
The unity
that was experienced in the Upper Room was much deeper and more powerful than
monolithic organizations or common beliefs.
These believers were bonded together by virtue of grueling and sometimes
brutal experiences as a result of their obedience to Christ. They had at least tasted of the taking up of
their crosses in obedience to their Lord, though they would certainly
experience ever deeper levels of crucifixion in the months and years
ahead. Out of these experiences, they
developed a deep love for one another and for Christ. It was a love that would lay down their lives
for one another. It is only this sort of
unity—nothing short of that for which Jesus prayed in John 17—that will usher
in the Kingdom of God in our day. And
this sort of unity is only realized as the cross is applied to our lives
through the fires of His purging, and, being so emptied, we conduct ourselves
in the power and directive of the Holy Spirit within.
Sound as a Mighty Rushing Wind
The second
feature of the Acts 2 Upper Room experience is the sound of a mighty rushing
wind (v. 2). Wind in scripture is
typically used to refer to the Spirit of God. Indeed, the Greek word for
Spirit, as in Holy Spirit (or in the King James, Holy Ghost) is pneuma, from
which we get our word “pneumatic” referring to that which operates by air, such
as pneumatic tires or pneumatic tools. This idea is also present in the Old
Testament as the Hebrew word ruwach—which might be translated “wind” or “blast”, or
possibly more appropriately a “brooding”—is used to describe the moving or
ruminating of God on the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2). It was the “wind” or
“breath” of God that brought the very world into being. This is translated as
the “Spirit” of God in most translations. The sound as a mighty rushing wind,
therefore, can mean nothing other than the very Spirit of God.
This was a
life-giving force that would forever change these men and women. It changed
Peter from a fearful denier of Christ in the presence of a young girl to a bold
proclaimer of his Master in the presence of ruling authorities. It transformed
Stephen into a willing martyr for his Lord. This was not a mere emotional
experience at an altar. It was the energizing force that would impregnate these
early disciples with the very Spirit of God and drive their subsequent
interactions as humans infused with Divine Life, Ways and Truth. This is the
same transformative power that accompanies God’s Spirit whenever He moves upon
the hearts of men. This may take place at an emotional altar call. It may also
take place in the solitude of our own home, struggling with a personal issue in
our lives which serves as the opening for His powerful Breath of Life. We may
not even be fully conscious that anything has taken place at any given time.
However, as it is transacted within us, this mighty work is but the earnest of
a progressive saturation of His Spirit that takes place as He applies His
refining fires to our lives.
It is this dunamis power, that will ultimately transform the world and usher in
the Kingdom of God. It will not be
through the political process, electing the “right” president or congressmen to
power and enacting “Christian” legislation; nor
through the judicial process of overturning ungodly decisions. The Lord may indeed use these strategies to
accomplish His purposes, but such efforts will amount to nothing except as
birthed and energized by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Too often, well-meaning Christians and
Christian leaders are captivated by a cause that seems right in the eyes of
man, form an organization to move their cause forward, and then expect God to
get on their bandwagon and bless their cause.
If this cause is not truly birthed by the Holy Spirit, it will amount to
nothing. The Wind of the Holy Spirit is
not present. Those early disciples
transformed the world—not because they had a worthy cause or a charismatic
leader to point to, nor because they formed a powerful political organization—they
transformed the world because they were filled with and possessed by the very
Spirit of God which moved across, brooded over, their being. They then went forth doing what came
“naturally” (supernaturally) out of depths of their transformed being.
Tongues of Fire
The Acts
account indicates that tongues of fire rested upon each of the 120 that were
gathered in the upper room (v. 3). Fire almost always represents refining or
purification in scripture. Meat sacrifices made by the Israelites in the Old
Testament were always made as a burnt offering with fire. Burning with fire,
even of unblemished animals, was the purification rite. Numerous times in the
Old Testament account, most notably the city of Sodom perhaps, God rained down
fire on the wicked, an act of purging and purification. The New Testament also
speaks repeatedly of fire as a refining agent. Paul states, for example,
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day
shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try
every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide
which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work
shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself
shall be saved; yet so as by fire (1 Corinthians 3:13-15).
John the
Baptist announces the coming of the Christ as one who comes bringing a baptism
of fire:
John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize
you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am
not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will
gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire
unquenchable (Luke
3:16-17).
John the
Baptist was clearly heralding not just the coming of Jesus, but the Holy Ghost
baptism which Jesus would bring. Moreover, in this prophetic utterance, John
the Baptist was suggesting something about the nature of this baptism. It was a
baptism by fire, a baptism whose purpose was to purge, to burn the chaff with
“fire unquenchable.” The chaff is all that is within us that is not of the
Spirit of God. The “tongues of fire,” then, is a prophetic foreshadowing of the
purging and refining process that God must do in us.
God is
currently at work doing this very thing among His sons. Many in the body of Christ today are
experiencing a grueling purging as He is crucifying all sense of
self-righteousness and self-ability. We
have believed that this old Adam had already been crucified years ago, but the
Lord is now doing an even deeper crucifixion process, addressing issues within
of which we were possibly not even aware.
This deeper stripping process must take place if we are to be prepared
to rule and reign with Him in the bringing forth of His Kingdom. We must remember that His Kingdom is
established first in our hearts, within our very being, and that Kingdom must
be ruled by Him if we are to participate with Him in establishing His kingdom
in the world in which we live. And so it
is that we are confronted with character issues of which we were possibly not
even aware that plagued us, or perhaps we believed were already dealt
with. This is a painful process, but it
is God’s work of preparing a bride without spot or wrinkle. As this is taking place, we find ourselves
loving others ever more unconditionally.
There is, in this process, a growing unity with others who are
undergoing the same process as are we.
For many who
are being taken through the fires of Gehenna, there
is a sense of isolation, and even abandonment by God. This, too, is by the hand of God, as He is
teaching us to walk through these fires by faith, and not by sight or even
feeling His presence. Our first response
to such a sense of abandonment is to question our walk. Have I
made a misstep along the way that has resulted in my walking away from
God? Is there some sin in my life that
has come between me and God? I don’t
know how many times I have heard preachers proclaim that if you are not
experiencing the presence of God, it is not God who has walked away from you,
but it is you who have walked away from God.
For those whom God had called to rule and reign
with Him—His sons—you have not walked
away from God. Nor has He abandoned
you. He is so very close during these
dark hours; but it is in this very darkness that He is teaching us to walk by
faith, and He is giving us the grace to do just that. This, too, is part of the process of forging
a corporate body tightly united around its Head and His kingdom-building
purposes.
Speaking With Other Tongues
The fourth
element that characterized the experience of the early followers of Christ in
the Upper Room is that of speaking in an unknown (to them) language (vs. 4-13).
Again, we must remember that we are understanding this experience as a shadow and type, not as a prototype (as it is so understood by
classic Pentecostals). The scriptural account simply states that they “began to
speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Nothing is said
of the nature of these tongues, except that later in the same passage (v. 6) it
indicates that there were Jews of many nations who “heard them speak in his own
language.” This has been taken to mean by many Pentecostal groups that these
utterances were actually cultural languages. During the very early years of the
Pentecostal Movement, spirit-baptized believers were sent out as missionaries
throughout the world taking with them the confidence that they would be able to
converse fluently with native-speaking people groups because their spirit
language resembled Chinese, or Japanese, or Spanish, or the language of
whichever group they were being sent. Indeed, there were occasions when members
of these native speaking groups were present when the Spirit gave such
utterances and verified that they were speaking their language. Others have
contested this understanding, insisting that this spirit-language is a heavenly
language, understood in the courts of heaven and shared with the body of Christ
as the Holy Spirit gives the interpretation through another member of the body.
I would contend that neither of these understandings captures the essence of
this element of the upper-room experience. There is, I believe, a far more
profound meaning to this early experience. This meaning can only be grasped as
we understand this experience as a shadow and a type of greater spiritual
realities to come. The scriptural basis for this understanding is revealed in
what takes place following the upper-room experience:
Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that
every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and
marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue,
wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in
Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and
Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of
Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do
hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all
amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What
meaneth this? (Acts 2:6-12)
The 120 were
speaking in languages that men and women from all walks of life understood!
They had a fresh message that was ultimately intended to be heard and
understood by all of creation. When God speaks, He speaks in a language
understandable by those to whom He is speaking. He spoke the language of
ancient Hebrew to the Israelites. He spoke through Paul to the Corinthians and
others in their native language of ancient Greek. And now, He was speaking to a
multitude of people gathered in Jerusalem, each in their own language! Moreover,
the “other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” extends far beyond the
ability to speak another cultural language, or even glossalalic
syllables that are of no known earthly language. The “other tongues” experience
of the 120 was portending a supernatural ability to “speak the language” of
cultures and subcultures in all of the metaphors and idioms that might be
unique to that cultural group. Indeed, Jesus used expressions and word pictures
that were commonly understood by His hearers. The good news of the Kingdom is
increasingly being taken far beyond the church walls and being brought to the
marketplace—to the streets, the shopping malls, neighborhood parks, and even to
alcoholics in bars and drug addicts in shooting galleries. It is also being
shared with Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and humanistic atheists within the
various cultures in which they find themselves. The message of the Kingdom is
being spoken forth in all of these cultures and subcultures with language,
metaphors and idioms that speak precisely to them. The “other languages” which
these early followers of Jesus experienced was a shadow, a portending, of the
supernatural infusion of His power and grace to speak that word of Life in ways
and expressions that will penetrate the heart of the hearer, just as it
penetrated the hearts of those hearers on the streets of first-century
Jerusalem. Nothing less than the force of the Holy Spirit emanating from within
those who are sharing this gospel message and anointing the ears of the hearers
will accomplish the glorious end of drawing all men (and women) to Christ. This will not take place through the creation
of supra-organizations in their attempt to unite people of faith. Such is only the illusion of unity. Nor will the so-called “godliness”[2]
that is sought by those of the Christian right be accomplished through various
and sundry political efforts. The
Kingdom of God and His righteousness will only be brought forth by the
supernatural activity of God speaking forth life through those whom He has
called out in a manner that is understood and penetrates the hearts of those
who hear. It is these “other tongues”
which have the power to transform the world.
Closing Thoughts
We have been
told that God is establishing an everlasting Kingdom. This has been prophesied by the prophets of
old.
Of the increase of his government and
peace there shall be no
end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with
judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The
zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this (Isaiah 9:7).
Such a
kingdom was also prophesied by Daniel, and Jesus came to proclaim that “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark
1:15).
That which
is being attempted today by globalist elites is a counterfeit kingdom, birthed in the heart of man in an effort to
establish some imagined utopia. The ultimate
aim of these self-appointed strategists would seem to involve the merger of
political, economic and religious institutions such that we have one world
government, one world economy and one world religion. The result of such a merger is a new world
order that somehow, magically, is supposed to result in harmony and peace for
all mankind. It is nothing less that a 21st century tower of Babel.
There is a
strong reaction to these attempts taking place throughout the world. The actions of these global elites are seen
by their opponents as an attempt to concentrate power in the hands of a small
ruling elite who, under these conditions, can dictate their will in a manner
and with a potential brutality never seen before. The backlash against this globalist agenda is
also taking place through the political process. Unprecedented campaign efforts are put forth
to elect “Christian” office holders who uphold Christian values. Legal suits are filed to overturn what are
believed to be ungodly Supreme Court decisions.
School boards are lobbied to purge their libraries of morally
questionable reading material. These may
all be honorable pursuits, but we must understand that none of this has
anything to do with the bringing forth of the Kingdom of God. None of these efforts—on either side of the
debate—will result in the utopia that their proponents envision. All are being carried out by the wisdom of
man, which Paul says is foolishness to God (1 Corinthians 3:19). As noble as these efforts might be they are
not God’s solution.
The Kingdom
of God is, even now, being birthed in the hearts of men and women who have
surrendered their will to the will of God.
They have taken on His sufferings, and they are groaning within to see
His kingdom established. They are moving
in obedience to His call. These are men
and women who have experienced the refining fire of Pentecost, as the Lord is
purging them of all of self. They are
experiencing the mighty rushing wind as the Spirit of God is empowering them to
act and to speak His life into circumstances in which they find
themselves. And as they speak, there is
a supernatural fluency which is heard and understood with transformative
clarity. These who are so called to be
the carriers of the Kingdom of God find themselves strangely in one accord with
others on this path, despite the fact that they come from different cultural
backgrounds, different theological traditions and different lifestyles. These are the ones in the Upper Room of our
day who, at the command of their Head, are tarrying in their city of Jerusalem
until they are endued with power from on high (Luke 24:49). In that Upper Room experience some 2000 years
ago we find the type, the shadow, the spiritual
ingredients for the establishment of the Kingdom of God. Let us therefore go
forth with submissive hearts to the refining, purifying and empowering work of
the Holy Spirit. Let us then speak only
what He would give us to speak and do only that which He would have us do. In so doing, let us go forth, with Christ as
our head, cooperating with Him as He establishes His Kingdom—His New World Order—in
the hearts of men and women throughout the world.
References
Johnson, Todd M. “Christianity is
Fragmented—Why?” Gordon
Conwell Theological Seminary Blog.
Available online: https://www.gordonconwell.edu/blog/christianity-is-fragmented-why/
April, 2025