April 2001 Issued Monthly
Baptists!
Gifts Of The Spirit! And The
Five Fold Ministry!
The
Anabaptists of medieval Europe, from whom modern Baptists sprang, looked very
different from Baptists today. These original Baptists had no buildings, no
organizations, no congregational singing; worship consisted of hidden prayer
meetings and secret preaching. There were no Mission Boards, no Sunday
Schools, no Seminaries, no Christian literature. Very few had copies of
Scripture. Most Bible knowledge was committed to memory. Even so, these
churches experienced phenomenal spiritual power; power that far exceeds that
of Baptists today. Their enemies begrudgingly admitted a holy
"Presence" in them. Conversions took place even though new believers
knew they might be disowned by families and burned at the stake. Such was the
awesome strength of Anabaptist preaching. In a word, Anabaptists had tapped
into the power of the Holy Spirit. All new believers were re-baptized--hence
the name "ana" baptist.
These
underground Christians existed long before Martin Luther and the Protestant
Reformation shook Europe. Anabaptists traced their roots back to the Waldensee
Christians of the twelfth century; these, who reportedly spoke in tongues,
survived Catholic persecution by hiding out in the Pyrenees Mountains of
Southern France and Northern Spain. They, in turn, had risen from other
non-Catholic dissenters of earlier times. There is a "thread" of
such Christians running through church history. As a secret society of
believers, Anabaptists were found in practically every country of Europe.
Language, culture, and ethnic backgrounds, crosscut them with vast
dissimilarities. In spite of those obstacles, the Holy Spirit drew them into a
brotherhood of love and commonality. Persecution bonded them together.
Fox's
Book of Martyr's says the Anabaptists were more viciously persecuted than any
other European Christian sect. The Anabaptists greatest asset was their utter
dependence on the Holy Spirit. He was their only hope, and they sought Him
with consuming desperation. The result was an amazing imparting of His power
that gave them the most invincible, gospel witness in Europe. Their word
spread from village to village like fire across dry pastures. As fast as they
were destroyed, they multiplied. Sometimes, entire Anabaptist hamlets were
annihilated by their enemies. During those dark years, there was not the
slightest hint that someday these oppressed congregations would burst from
their hiding and make evangelical impact worldwide. But that would happen.
Baptist congregations would ultimately be found in the most remote parts of
the earth.
After
the Protestant Reformation, when marginal freedom was granted them, Baptists
stepped into public view and claimed opportunities denied them in the past. In
England, as well as on the Continent, the Holy Spirit quickly initiated a
restoration of spiritual gifts. This was a time of tremendous awakening and
power. John Gill, for example, 1715- 1774, as a Baptist youth, was denied
public education because his parents were not members of the Church of
England. On his own motivation, he mastered Greek, Chaldee, Aramaic, Hebrew,
Latin, and other ancient languages, and hand-wrote over 10,000 pages of
Scriptural exposition. Such was the driving force of the Holy Spirit's
presence! The University of Aberdeen later conferred upon John an Honorary
Doctorate Degree.
At
first, you may not recognize the historical accuracy of which I speak, but I
ask you, please, read this with a God-fearing mind and stay with me to the
end. In my opinion, it was the explosive restoration of certain charisma-gifts, I Corinthians 12-14, which thrust Baptists out of
obscurity onto center-stage of worldwide significance. This occurred in an
astonishingly short time. Though Baptists did not identify all these gifts by
name, the Holy Spirit began restoration of the Five Fold Ministry among them.
These were:
Apostles,
Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors,and Teachers.
Ephesians 4:11-13.
In
the mid-I 700's the Holy Spirit pushed Baptists into worldwide missionary
action. This was the most significant, challenging decision they had ever
faced. It required organization, unity, commitment, and sacrifice. William
Carey, John Ryland, and others, pleaded for support. At times, the issue was
angrily resisted and many churches refused to participate. Once, when the
appeal was being made for missionary support, an older minister shouted at the
speaker, "Young man, sit down! When God gets ready to save the heathen He
will do it without you!" But the question was not one of Baptist choice.
The Holy Spirit demanded the restoration of the gift of "sent-ones."
After centuries of neglect, this re-introduced Scriptural Apostleship to the
church. "Apo-stello," the Greek word meaning "sent forth,"
appears much more frequently in the original language than in our English
translations. This level of apostleship has no bearing on the original
"Twelve Apostles of the Lamb" whose names are in the foundation of
the Holy City. Revelation
21:14.
Current Apostleship is a lower-ranking, but nonetheless authentic, spiritual
gift, valid in every age of the church. *Nor am I suggesting that every
Baptist missionary earns the title of Apostle. Not so. Apostles are God-sent,
not man-sent. *See Gentle Conquest, October, 2000.
Restoration
of the missionary-gift gave Baptists a world-vision and taught them how to
give their lives, their love, and their resources. At that critical juncture
of church-renewal, had Baptists refused the Holy Spirit's call to missions,
they would be virtually powerless today. Thankfully, many obeyed and the
Mission Movement was quickly blessed with self- sacrificing
"sent-ones." These anointed saints, called of God, took the gospel
to every dark corner of the globe. Though Baptist missionaries endured
unspeakable hardships, everywhere they went, schools, hospitals, orphanages,
improved farming, better living conditions, strengthened family life, and
Bible Academies, sprang up. Their "Kingdom message" penetrated
earth's remote areas.
But
the Holy Spirit made other demands, He also required Baptists to restore the
spiritual gift of Teacher. This may surprise you, but in the local church,
this took form as the Sunday School. Its sudden appearance was not a frivolous
scheme of man but a God-ordained work of the Spirit. With its emphasis on
children and youth education, millions of young people were taught to love
Jesus, believe His Word, and follow His example. The Sunday School quickly
became a powerhouse of learning around the world.
Below
the surface of these innovations lay another work of the Spirit's restoration:
The rophetic Gift. While it was never acknowledged among Baptists in its
fullest capacity, many Baptist pastors experienced its wondrous power. Wilson
Thompson, Baptist preacher-evangelist in Missouri in the early 1800's, not
only had prophecy spoken
accurately over him at birth, but later preached in the anointing of its
power. When Daniel Marshall was arrested in Colonial Georgia for preaching the
gospel in Anglican territory and was snatched from the pulpit by British
soldiers, it was his wife who had the Prophetic Gift suddenly come upon her.
Acts 21:8,9. With words of authority and power, she rebuked the Constable at
Marshall's trial; boldly telling the astonished man that he was defying the
hand of God.
Next
page
Gentle
Conquest * April 2001
|
