Right Division of the Word 4
By Pastor Raphael Adegoke
“15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2Timothy 2:15)
It’s another beautiful day. Blessed be the name of the Lord, the giver of all privileges for another given privilege granted to access His Word. May His name be praised forever! Amen. Last Tuesday, on this series, we considered some of the factors that influence our interpretation of the Bible and really emphasized on humility, but today we shall be considering Church practice(s).
It is an undeniable fact that every Church, that is, denomination or assembly has got its unique practice(s). Some of which are sometimes official, while some unofficial. Some of these practices are mostly a reflection of the inclinations, temperaments, affiliations, preferences, experiences, background, e.t.c., of the individuals that planted those denominations or assemblies.
It is pertinent at this juncture to know that in every denomination has got what can be regarded as: (1) The Bible Doctrine (2) The Church Doctrine (3) The Church practices. While the Bible Doctrine is the standard of God and is unchangeable, it is as well the foundation laid by the Apostles and the Prophets, with Christ being the Chief Corner Stone. To this, there are no contentions.
The Church Doctrine applies to denominations and assemblies, depending on the part such belong in the Body of Christ. “4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another.” (Rom. 12:4-5)
As regards practices, this is often what marks the uniqueness of each denomination or assembly. This is strictly a standard of practice for members of a denomination or an assembly and should never be made a general standard for all Christians, irrespective of their denominations or assemblies, but it is unfortunate that many ministers today interpret the Bible on the basis of practice. Meanwhile, the issue of practice should only be addressed at the level of application or appropriation as it applies to each denomination or assembly.
One of the major problems we’ve got in the Body of Christ today is that many people, especially renown ministers preaching and teaching using the lenses of their denominational practices to preach to or teach the entire Body of Christ. Meanwhile, if any minister will teach the entire Body of Christ, it should be the preaching or teaching the Gospel. This is universal. Thanks to God for the ecumenical councils during the early days of the Church that God used to establish, from the Bible, the doctrines of the Church.
Meanwhile, when it comes to practices, denominational practices are allowed, so far they do altar the faith of the members, take the faith of a people out of Christ and do not send a people into perdition. This is because; the care for each part of the Body is always different. The way the eyeball is cared for is different from the way the palm will be taken care. The way the tooth is taken care is always different from the way the ear is taken care, e.t.c. “11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Eph. 4:11-12).
So,whenever the Word is to be divided, the right lenses should be used, if not, we will keep having a lot of confusion in the Body of Christ and a lot of teachers wanting to teach what they have not been equipped to teach or people going beyond their sphere of .spiritual operations.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” (1 Cor. 12:4-6)
Pastor Raphael Adegoke is a Pastor in Christ Apostolic Church (Nigeria & Overseas) and a Lecturer in Christ Apostolic Church Theological Seminary.
