Appraising a favorite quote, Surely, you must have one among several that could be considered?
Here’s one of mine, ,
You cannot have the indwelling [also infilling] without turning the [Church service] gavel to the Holy Spirit and you turn to a great truth, for the Holy Spirit is the vicar of Christ (John 16:7,14:26) – C.M. Ward
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you, ,But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, ,has set you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, , will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you. (John 16:7, Acts 20:28, John 14:26)
One thing we all agree on is this: Jesus did physically leave us, Hooray! Long-live the thing we agree on, NOT on things that divide us! But, as we know, that fundamental, victorious unity is short-lived. Let’s talk about it.
Some we must admit, are unavoidable, but, I suggest here the vast majority are quite infantile! Among the many things Brother Ward said in his lifetime, some, I hold in sharp disagreement. But this ‘truth’ as he says is as unfiltered as it gets.
For there are so many influences around that the young convert is faced with such a steep uphill battle that they would benefit far more from you who hold the truth if we could step back from the playing field just long enough to address some of these things that ends up distancing themselves from biblical truths.
The Elephant Issue, Doctrinal Bias Gone Bonkers
New Testament OS (‘Oversight’, Hebrews 13:7), or
New Testament DO (‘Double-honor’, 1Timothy 5:17)?
One of the first things to slap a new convert’s face is our UN-CHRISTIAN divide over the “Vicar”. A search within AI is futile;
Vicar: Pastor, Elder, Minister, Bishop, Deacon
OS: Pastor, Elder, Minister, Bishop, Deacon
AI tries to apply subtle variables to the differences of Church OS vs Vicar, but is incapable of removing them from those who are considered to be a ‘Vicar’. So the question remains over this issue that has done far more than just threatened unity which we are told over and over in the NT to keep. That question is, by the New Testament standard, how well has DO survived? We know Cephas (Peter) found error enough “to be blamed”, Has today’s DO found error? I just told you it does – divisions.
How do we know? Ask yourself, Does today’s DO demonstrate an approval for the excellence of 1 John 2:27, or treat it as “a lie”?
But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
There may be other examples, but if those are sound, so will they be here, will either be shown to treat the ‘Vicar’ as worthy of far more than DO, or, well within the above NT bounds!
