FUNCTION & FORM IN THE APOSTOLIC & PROPHETIC
Bill Click
Christ's Structure is the Form which Follows the Function of His Apostolic/Prophetic Ministries
A foundational understanding of God's creativity within the universe is that everything is designed based on the active role
it is going to be purposed to take. Form follows function. Since this is the case, we must once and for all free ourselves from the religious or social idea that our identities, personalities, emphases and evaluations must be
perceived as being subject to others, or be received from our own understanding of meeting self-expectations. We were made by God in His image. It is for us to become the best "us" we can be according to His objective
reality (the Word of God) and His personal development of our lives (through the Holy Spirit).
While what makes "us" who we are may be
observed by those within our eternal family, the Church, but then again: it may not be. In other words, no one has either the right, ability, or responsibility to define us in the Kingdom of God. We are His; He is ours, and no one
has permission from Heaven to alter, interrupt or abort His Divine Right in molding, preparing, commissioning and overseeing us. That said, we must always remain alerted that as we listen for God's voice, He will speak to us from
within the Body, not just from the unconfirmed secrecy of our "closet." As the Lord develops us and we respond to Him, we not only discover who we are, but we also come to discover our niche with Him. In
addition, we find a basis for relationship and co-function with the rest of the body as well. In other words, the Apostle or Prophet (as well the Apostolic & Prophetic company) finds and keeps points of connection, fellowship,
relationship and accountability in the same way as anyone else in the church. This is true during the arduous seasons of training, partial fruitfulness (as well as later, when fully deployed in establishing and reproducing). We may try "this" or go to "that," or as Yonggi Cho is famous for saying: "I pray and then I obey." But even if we find ourselves directed by God providentially through no conscious effort
of our own, it is still the Lord who designs and directs the body as He sees fit. Our personal responsibility is to fully acknowledge His Lordship by yielding to His leading, allowing Him to continually direct our lives
(Ro.8:13-14). Our corporate responsibility is to recognize His uniqueness and cultivate the "Him" that lives within each to fully come forth. This, based on how He designed each of us to function. The prophesier will encourage you, the exhorter will call you upward, the teacher will bring you understanding, the prophet will do root work and the evangelist will
equip you in winning souls, and the apostle will bring it all together to release you and lead the advance, etc. The Gifts of the Spirit will function through all of us to mutually strengthen one other for whatever uniqueness God
has in mind for each, while the outcome of all that diversity is a body which in one individually and corporately– individually whole, yet wholly moving together (1Ths.5:23-24; 1Cor.12:12-31; Eph.2:21-22; 4:16).
Settling into Function & Formation
However we arrive at relationship with
each another, sometimes those associations are (regretfully) only transitory, and even within that scenario there can be a gap of time between "A" and "B," "C" and "D" so to speak. Times of
transition can either be blessings in disguise or serve to alienate us and prolong our journey into destiny. God wants to take the lonely times, the rejections, the failures and the inability to see what could happen actually take
place and trun them into the seasons of our greatest intimacy with Him.
Unfortunately, we have sometimes allowed the "in-between" times that we (or others) experience to become fuel for criticizing and even ridiculing parts of the body. Instead, all should be elevated to their proper place by
being encouraged throughout the process. These are (to be) unique times in which God meets with us and molds us in ways which are not plausible (or even possible) while "in the loop." Of course, our
lifestyle is not to be unsettled for years on end. Moving about frequently or being without authentic commitment along the way is a sign of unwillingness to come under God's authority in spirit, relationships– as well as in regard
to life choices. This is definitely a repentance, deliverance and discipleship issue. It indicates a deep, unresolved conflict (usually in early development) which needs to be fully settled under the blood of the Lamb by the grace
of God. Past church disappointments may be the fruit of what seems to be the issue, but the root of it lay in significant founding relationships, particularly ones with a father. To overcome such a 'history' requires that one
intentionally train themselves to consistently say "no" to the fear, flakiness and frustration that comes whenever called upon to surrender their own will to a Will that is more important. A Will that requires them to
become part of something larger than they, an entity not revolving around them.
Journeying into Function & Formation
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph,
Moses, David (& also later, Paul) could attest to the reality and value of being "on the way" without any explanation of how God was going to do what had been promised. They only knew to continue as directed. This is
not only biblically true, but reflects an essential eternal principle: those who eventually would have the greatest mention in what God would be doing had (in preparation) received significant personalized attention from Him apart
from the mainstream. This, before ever being "anointed with the oil of joy above thy fellows"
(Psa.45:7; Heb.1:9). But because we often do not perceive the season of those who "could help us if they were just 'faithful, available and teachable,'" those who are not "faithful to us," we find ourselves lashing out at the body. We also find ourselves scourging God as we mock what we do not understand, that for which we are not responsible. Again, with the qualifiers listed above.
When hurting, we do not understand that those who will receive healing in the heart are those who have been gathered together by the
Lord. We can all too easily fail to grasp that Christ binds the wounds of those who are among the outcasts of God's people (Psa.147:2; Isa.56:8). This is not a call to a dysfunctional Christian lifestyle which justifies separation,
isolation and rejection of the church by those who are offended or otherwise wounded. Instead, this is a call for the functional to rightly perceive what healing the body will actually comprise and to become yield to it and
directed into steps for it to take place. Moreover, this is a call for the dysfunctional to come and receive complete function from the Lord in the midst of the body. An imperfect, "on the way," (but
making mistakes & learning from them) expression of Christ's completeness which is fully dependent upon Him every day. But because some have not progressed past yearning for religious relief from symptoms of dysfunctional
Christian living, both they and the gathered church are less than Christ's in completeness. Because many fail to commit and move into position for righteous restoration of maturity, leaders often malign and discard that which
appears so "unseemly" to them (1Cor.12:20-26). But often, the very same leaders who are so quick to champion the inspection of everyone else's legitimacy are also experiencing that very same dilemma in their own
"covering relationships" (or lack of them). The Image of God & True Self-Image are Established in Diversity God's reasons for connecting us in non-expected ways
undoubtedly are multiple in purpose, but the most important one can often be that relationships which cause us to grow the most are those requiring us to walk with and learn from those much different from us. In the same way we do
not grow "on the mountain top" because it is time to rejoice in our progress and rest from the journey upward, we do not learn much from those who are just like us. We find so much affirmation in those relationships we
cannot be adequately called upward. In relationships with those similar to us, we only sense a 'call' to be with each other, to co-function or labor with them, to enjoy it and receive affirmation based on commonalities, not a
unique oneness in spirit. God is calling us upward in this hour, so do not be surprised when He moves to align you with those whom you would never have thought or even imagined. Be open, and go through the door, the
one marked:
Whether leading, having been called to lead, desiring to function, or just needing
to belong– we must find our place of rest by the validation from God through the Divine Image in which we have been made, and are being remade (Gen.1:27; Ro.8:29). His Spirit and ours must abide together in the agreement which
comes from the completing presence and power of His Peace (or "shabbath shalom"– Sabbath rest). No matter who we are, we must allow His Peace and the resulting sense of destiny to confirm His way for us. Even
(perhaps especially) in those instances when our minds and emotions are quick to point out obvious differences between "us" and "them."
"Imperfect, on the way (but making mistakes & learning from them) expression of Christ's completeness which is fully dependent upon Him everyday, in every way."
If we could just find a way to put all that on the church sign . . .