What God Planned - Part III
D. Dardano, D. Cipolla, H. Cipolla
September 28, 2014
The text which is contented in this page was taken literaly from the speech
given in public, so it wasn't prepared and edited as a formal wrinting.
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  • This third part of the What God planned series is for all the churches under the authority of this apostolic-prophetic ministry. The bible shows us some general characteristics of the apostolic teams and the work they do in the Lord. Now we are going to refer to these characteristics to describe some of the tasks that we carry out. Since all of them are founded in the word, they are not the result of us selecting a style of working based in our own criteria or personalities.

 

    1. Spiritual Paternity:
      • This is the anointing that the Lord grants so the function of a spiritual father is exercised, a father that seeks the whole growth and development of his children. This is why spiritual fathers can spawn spiritual children, and their greatest desire is to see Christ formed in them (see Galatians 2:20). We are going to clarify some points that are important for us to mention because we must avoid the incorrect interpretation of the meaning of spiritual paternity referred to in the Word. Jesus Said:
        “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18, NIV).
        Jesus was speaking about the Holy Spirit that those who believed in Him would receive. This is why no son or daughter of God is an orphan since Christ inhabits him through the Holy Spirit. Jesus also said:
        “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9, NIV).
        These are defining words from Jesus, because all of Gods children have a heavenly Father. This is why when we speak about spiritual paternity we are referring to a function that the Lord delegates, it doesn’t nullify or replace God’s paternity. Jesus spoke in spiritual terms and he was emphatic when he mentioned that no believer should call anyone on earth father (this doesn’t apply when referring to children towards their natural parents). This is why no true spiritual father wants to be called father, because his only objective is to see Christ formed in every believer.
        Another important clarification is that it’s common belief that every Christian who preaches the gospel to anyone who surrenders to Christ becomes that new believer’s spiritual father, but this is untrue. Preaching the gospel is the task of every believer and that does not mean they are spiritual fathers.
      • Spiritual paternity is fundamental in an apostolic team, which is why this team can develop other functions that the Lord delegates. The word demonstrates that spiritual paternity is exercised in two ways: towards the ministers and towards the local churches.
        “To Timothy my true son in the faith” (1st Timothy 1:2a, NIV).
        “I… Paul… appeal to you fro my son Onesimus; who became my son while I was in chains” (Philemon 9-10, NIV).
        “ She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark” (1st Peter 5:13, NIV).
        “ 14 I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. 15 Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel” (1st Corinthians 4:14-15, NIV).
        “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children” (1st Thessalonians 2:11, NIV).
        “ And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming” (1st John 2:28, NIV). “My little children, les us not love in word or tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1st John 3:18, NKJV).
      • The human mind usually classifies and identifies people into one function. However, a person can receive more than one ministerial trade from the Lord. This reality is reflected in apostles like Peter and Jacob (Jesus’ brother in the flesh), who were also elders or pastors (see 2nd John 1, 3rd John 1, Revelations 1:1-2, NIV) and in Paul who was also a teacher and a prophet (see 2nd Timothy 1:11, 1st Corinthians 15:51-52, NIV).
        Of course, there are also cases where some are only constituted with one ministerial function. In the second part of this teaching, we referred to the indivisible ministerial unity between apostles and prophets, but that unity does not mean that every apostle is also a prophet or vice versa. Their spiritual unity is absolutely necessary so that the church can receive revelation about its foundation, Jesus Christ, but this can’t be applied to the topic of paternity. Why not? Simply because spiritual paternity is exclusively related to the apostolic ministry. This is why all the Biblical passages we just read were written by apostles, because they were given the anointing of spiritual paternity.
      • Anyone can think that if the apostolic ministry has received this exertion of the spiritual paternity from the Lord, then the reach of the other ministries is less, but it certainly isn’t. It’s interesting to note that no ministry out of the five replaces the other, instead they complement and drive each other to work as a team, and each of them providing the anointing they have received to build up the Church. Now, when a church is under apostolic authority, the anointing of spiritual paternity embraces the entire church and it flows throughout the body. It is truly important to have these proper spiritual criteria in order to value the particular and irreplaceable anointing of each ministry, and also to avoid the inappropriate valuation of the apostolic ministry.
      • Now we are going to refer specifically to the ministry that the Lord commended to us, its normal for some people to divide the apostolic function from the prophetic one and think that this team is made up of apostolic married couple and to prophetic married couples. However, this is not correct. Why not? Because we wouldn’t be able to exert spiritual paternity if we weren’t all apostles. In summary, if there are different ministerial functions that can be identified in the work we do, this is a team of apostles, containing a prophetic anointing that is indispensable for the task that the Lord has commanded us to take on.
    2. Living in the Same Spirit:
      • It’s one of those concrete and beneficial results produced by the flowing of the spiritual paternity in the Church. One same spirit is the evidence of the unity of the Holy Spirit within the children of God to be in agreement (see Ephesians 4:3, NIV), which brings a same way of thinking, feeling and speaking.
        “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1st Corinthians 1:10, NKJV).
        Why did Paul, through the Holy Spirit, order the church in Corinthians to live in the same spirit? Because he needed to attack the division that was infiltrating the local church. Every kind of division debilitates the church and damages the conscience of its members so they no longer perceive the sense of spiritual unity that exists between them. On the other hand, when there is one way of thinking, one opinion and feeling, it shows that the members of the body are allowing Christ, the head of the church to govern them. In other words, living in the same spirit is the only way to keep divisions in the body from existing.
      • Spiritual paternity transmits the divine genetics, this means all the characteristics of God applied to His children. Thanks to these genetics, the Holy Spirit works in all of God’s children so they can be joined in one like mind, Christ’s, and in this way they can think and feel the same things. The pastors and members of a local church think and feel the same way their apostolic authority does when they receive the genetics of this spiritual paternity with a docile and willing spirit. Since the pastors work in a continuous way in the local church, they have a transcendent participation in allowing the spiritual paternity to be transmitted efficiently from the apostolic authority to the members of the body.
    3. Care and Protection:
      • An apostolic team gives itself completely for the benefit of the Church in the development of the spiritual paternity. Through the care and protection the body of Christ is fed, cared for, covered, perfected, equipped, enabled, and driven to reach the wholeness of its purpose.
        “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches” (2nd Corinthians 11:28, NIV).
        14 Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but their parents for their children. 15 So I will gladly spend for you everything that I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less?” (2nd Corinthians 12:14-15 NIV).
        “19 My dear children, for who I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…” (Galatians 4:19, NIV).
        “6 When we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. 8 So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us” (1st Thessalonians 2:7-8, NKJV).
      • Now, the task that we carry out reaches the ministers and their families, and the churches they watch over as pastors. One main objective in every one of our trips is to minister to the pastors at a personal level that includes their marriage and their family and every area of their lives, to ensure that they are living as God wants them to, and that the Holy Spirit is flowing freely within them. This is vital and fundamental for the health and direction of the church that they watch over.
      • The pastors also inform us of everything related to the local congregation, such as the lives of the members in every area, the development of the different ministries and the activities that the church carries out. We work in depth with every aspect of the church, and if necessary, we intervene when there is a particular situation occurring with a member. We also have meetings with people who have been identified as having a ministerial calling from the Lord in order to provide guidance to their lives. We advise the pastors to use their time wisely, not using it almost exclusively to focus on the problems that the members present, but instead in guiding the church to live and manifest the Kingdom of God. We always emphasize that the members should be focused on the task of speaking to other people about Christ. In our conversations with the pastors we urge them to be attentive to what the Lord is showing them about the different ways in which the local church can carry out its mission of sharing the gospel.
    4. Apostolic Doctrine:
      5. It’s part of the ministerial function of apostles and prophets to establish the apostolic doctrine, in other words, the fundamental truths that the apostles mentioned in the New Testament taught the Church (see Acts 2:42).

“So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter”
      (2nd Thessalonians 2:15, NIV).

“7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue to in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them”
      (2nd John 7-10, NIV).

      Due to our apostolic function we make sure that the church receives a doctrine that is line with the apostolic doctrine revealed in the scriptures. If for any reason the church received the wrong doctrine we correct any doctrinal errors.


    1. Direction and Order:

      These are two fundamental aspects of the apostolic work in the churches recorded in the Word.

“ Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us— whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter— asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way…”
      (2nd Thessalonians 2:1-3a, NIV).

“And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come”
      (1ª Corinthians 11:34, KJV).

      Things can’t be done any which way in the churches, they require concrete spiritual direction and an order that comes from the Lord. This is the work we do in every local church following the guidance of the Holy Spirit.


  1. The Reach of the Apostolic Authority:
  • a. It is a spiritual authority with a double reach. One on hand it acts over the called ministers to exert one of the five ministries, starting the moment they are established in their trade. On the other hand it acts over the local churches.
    “Paul and Barnabas appointed elder for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust” (Acts 14:23, NIV).
    “17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 18 When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you… 20 You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears” (Acts 20:17-18a, 20, 27-28, 31, NIV).
    “This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority— the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down” (2nd Corinthians 13:10, NIV).
    These passages express spiritual guidelines we apply in our work. This is why we are able to establish ministers in their ministerial tasks, and why these ministers and the local congregations can be covered by the spiritual authority that Lord gave us. The relationship we establish has the distinct seal of being a covenant, because it is not started one day and ended the other, it is permanent.
  • When a minister decides to break the covenant for whatever the reason, and to no longer continue to be subjected to the spiritual authority of the Ministry, they can’t expect the church to join them in their decision and cease to be under the authority of the Ministry as well, because the church does not belong to the minister. When this situation occurs we meet with this minister to make him think about their decision in the Lord. We also meet with the local church, so that all the facts and issues can be exposed and that the church can spiritually discern everything that is on the table. When this point is reached, the members of the body must decide under which authority they will remain, which means they must seek the Holy Spirit to make that decision.
  • The word mentions that there were no apostles and prophets in every local church, instead that there were based in a certain city and they had authority over local churches and they traveled to minister them at specific times. (see 1st Corinthians 5:3, Colossians 2:5, NIV). What is evident through the word is that the pastors remained in a local church to carry out their work. Now, nowadays it is normal to see one pastoral couple being in charge of a church or that there is more than one pastor but one is titled “principal pastor” and the rest are “associate pastors.” This model is not seen in the Bible at all, and instead we see that the local churches were led by a team of pastors (also called elders) that had the same authority, and were under apostolic authority (see Titus 1:5, James 5:14, 1st Peter 5:1, 5, NIV).
    Similar to this, we live in a certain city, but we exert the spiritual authority that the Lord has given us over churches in different countries. Our objective is that the churches under our authority adjust to the biblical model, and work with pastoral teams.


What a member can expect from his pastors

 

  • The main function of the pastors is:
    “… Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them— not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1st Peter 5:2-3, NIV).
    It is evident that being a pastor means to care for every brother in the congregation in a personal way to treat every area of their lived at a personal, marriage, and family level. It is true that the pastors must teach the word, but preaching in the services is not the only task they must take on, because preaching does not make a pastor. The pastoral task is taking care of the lives of the brothers and sisters to guide them to live the Word and for them not to hear it as a theoretical and theological thing that does not transform their lives. The must drive them to grow daily in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. It is necessary to mention that the spiritual authorities can make mistakes in words or actions, but a mistake does not disable them in their ministerial function, and it doesn’t take away ant of their spiritual authority. As humans, and no matter the task we develop, we all make mistakes. Now, if the minister’s heart is wholly for the Lord, mistakes are corrected without difficulty, but if there were a lack of integrity, these things would no longer be mistake, instead they would be an improper type of conduct that must be treated in depth. A minister with integrity will manifest the humility of Christ by being able to recognize fault and asking for the forgiveness of those whom he has affected.
  • Any brother that does not allow the pastoral work over his life is denying the function that the Lord tasked the pastors with, which is, to care for his life and guide it, as we mentioned before. A believer who acts this ways shows that he is still living in individualism and not adjusting to the model of Christ for his Church. In hindering the pastors from doing their work, he disables himself from being considered a member of the local church. In these cases the pastors have no responsibilities over his life.


What is expected from a member of a local church

 

    • Since all of the members of the local churches under the authority of the Ministry have received teachings that make up part of the apostolic doctrine, it is expected that they be willing to live at the height of the revelation they have received.
      “15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.16 Nevertheless, where to we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing” (Philippians 3:15-16, KJV).
      Based on the all of the teaching that we’ve been sharing, the brothers should understand that they are not just part of the local congregation to simply go to meetings without there being any changes to their lives produced by the Lord. This is why they should always be willing to be ministered by their pastors, being docile to the action of the Holy Spirit so that there can be radical changes in every part of their lives. This is why it is necessary to understand that the Holy Spirit always does his part, but the results depend on the willingness of the human heart.
      “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they watch over you as those who must give an account” (Hebrews 13:17a, NIV).
    • There should be a natural disposition in every member of a local church to serve the Lord in everything that they can. Now, the principle established by the word is that service is preceded by faithfulness, because it is its foundation. “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (2nd Timothy 2:2, NIV). All believers are right and capable to serve, but if they do not show that they are worthy of trust, their service has no value for the Lord. This is why every member should ask himself some self-analyzing questions:

      • Am I faithful in giving the Lord what is consecrated to Him?
      • Am I faithful to my spiritual authorities?
      • Am I faithful in the practice of what my authorities advise me to do?
      • Am I faithful to the church in which the Lord has placed me, or do I criticize it?
      • Am I faithful in my relationship of love for my brothers, or do I speak about them behind their back?
      The sincere answers to these questions show that it is not enough to have the desire to serve, the Lord also expects that there be the same spirit of faithfulness that inhabits Him, and that it be a fundamental quality in our lives.
    • If a brother sees something that is not working as it should in the local church, or if he hears inappropriate comments about his pastors or brothers, he should speak to his spiritual authorities about what is happening out of love for the Lord and the local body. And he won’t do so from a spirit of judgment, instead with a genuine desire for the Lord to bring order and restore that which is damaging the body. Before the Lord this is the spiritual action that is in line with a responsible member. Unfortunately, in some cases, there are brothers that contaminate themselves because they lend an ear to theses wrongful comments, or prefer to not speak in order to “not get into trouble,” or decide to leave the church because they have a personal problem with the ministers or the brothers within, and see so many problems they decide to disappear instead of collaborating towards a solution. Because of these attitudes there are brothers who transform into “ecclesiastical tourists” who follow their own criteria and trade the church for anything else, as many times as they consider they have to.
      “My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you” (1st Corinthians 1:11, NIV).
      The actions of Chloe’s family serve as an example to show believers who love the local body and expose to their authorities any inadequate situation, so that through them, the lord orders, corrects, and heals the church. They understand what God planned for his Church. Those who value the spiritual paternity received and understand that the Lord placed them in the local church they form a part of, will only leave that place when the Lord orders them to do so.
    • The authorities within the local church need to be alert in developing every plan that the Lord shows them for the extension of the Kingdom of God. However many member are waiting for these projects to involve themselves and to have something concrete to do in service to the Lord. If there is no plan, there only come to the meetings and don’t have the initiative to occupy the majority of their time and strength in sharing the gospel with others. There are other believers who are not satisfied because their authorities “ don’t give them anything to do.” This way of thinking and acting is a characteristic of the religious spirit. The mission that the Lord has delegated to all his children is to preach Christ in every time and place so that people can become his disciples, and they carry out this mission out of love for Him and for the people who do not know Him.

 

  • The word specifies some functions that the members of the body of Christ have:
    “From him (Christ) the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16, NVI, Text added).
    The fact that Christ is who edifies his body in love does not mean that the members have nothing to do. On the contrary, in order for the work of Christ to be perfected in the church it is necessary for every member to do the work they were assigned.
    There is a general idea of what it means to “have a ministry” in the local church, and it’s usually related to fulfilling a determined task someone assigned us. It’s normal to hear: “I serve the Lord in such and such ministry,” and to think that this means that the person is working in the activity the Lord assigned him as a member of the body of Christ. This brings up a question, is having a ministry that which allows a believer to develop the task that the Lord assigned him? What if that person didn’t have a “ministry,” would he no longer have a personal activity to complete? It evident that when the Lord planned the Church he assigned every member with a particular activity to carry out throughout his lifetime. This must be done in every place, and at all times, and it doesn’t depend on “having a ministry” to be able to do so.
  • What the lord calls to be the personal activity of every member can be seen reflected in the way the human body functions, where every member collaborates with the other because they are joined to each other. When we apply this imagery to the body of Christ, the personal activity consists in every member watching out for the other (see 1st Corinthians 12:25b, NIV), watching out for his life, and through actions and words collaborate so that together they can grow together in the life of Christ that they share. This has nothing to do with “having a ministry.” From this arises a question: how am I helping my brother grow?

What God planned is perfect when the Church lives in the Spirit adjusting itself to the Lord’s plan, when she represents Him in a worthy way, and she shows herself as the wholeness of Christ. She lives with the expectation that the Lord returns soon, and for this reason she lives focused in doing everything that manifests the Kingdom of God in the world.

DANIEL DARDANO
DANIEL CIPOLLA
HERNÁN CIPOLLA
Ministerio Apostólico-Profético “Generación en Conquista”
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