The Doctrine of the Spirit-filled Church

Francis Vlok

• Publisher: Elm Hill
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781595559685
• Topic: Theologie & Religion
• Subtopic: Christliche Konfessionen

The Lord Jesus Christ declared... I will build My church: and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16: 18). Throughout the past two thousand years, the church has proclaimed a variety of methods for people to follow in Jesus' steps. Yet, few have followed His instructions and built the church according to Christ's teachings which were entrusted to the ministers in His church. The first church was rooted and grounded in the Apostles' Doctrine (Acts 2: 42) and as such the church was built on the sure foundation. Sadly, it has not always contended for the faith but designed and adopted methods that are not in accordance with Christ's teachings.

Now is the appropriate time for the church to return to the biblical structure and conform to tenets found in the Bible. This book contains all the tenets of the Apostles' Doctrine in one volume. It expounds the deep truths within the Holy Writ and leads ministers to once again conform to the perfect will of God (Romans 12: 1-2).

PART 1

1. DOCTRINE – Introduction

The introduction references the importance of the place doctrine has, the purpose in the church, and the protection it has of the church.

2. DOCTRINE – The essence and nucleus of doctrine explains the meaning of sound doctrine based on God who is love.

3. DOCTRINE – Intrinsic doctrinal beliefs—where it began.

4. DOCTRINE – God’s and man’s instruments focus on the work of the Holy Spirit in believers’ lives and the methodology man implements to receive the contents of sound doctrine.

5. DOCTRINE – Of the Spirit-filled church refers to the original apostolic Spirit-filled church from the Day of Pentecost and its development through the centuries. It explains the move away from the Holy Spirit’s revelation to a legalistic and humanistic church governed by man’s ordinances. The conclusion of this chapter directs believers to the return of the church to the revealed truth from the Holy Spirit as it once again is beginning to understand the Godhead’s work amongst believers and, in particular, the work of the Holy Spirit from 1900 until today.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Doctrine – Its Place in the Church

1. Doctrine is vital to the church. It focuses as a light, guide, and premise from which the church should function.

2. Doctrine is the extrapolation of the Word of God and detailed in such a way that members of the church are made aware of the spiritual intentions of each word within the Holy Writ.

3. Doctrine’s place in the church must be the reenforcement of the foundation—the Word of God—upon which members build their faith. (Jude 1:20) Faith is … evidence of things not seen… (Hebrews 11:1), and doctrine helps the believer focus on the light that guides him on the path, illuminating the way for him. It helps expose the path that is entrenched in the firm foundation of biblical principles that undergird the believer’s faith.

4. Doctrine never divides; it distinguishes truth from error. Truth from error is exposed when sound doctrine is applied. (2 Timothy 4:3–4) The Word of God is the plumb line and the only reference believers need to guide their faith along the path of truth.

5. Doctrine never divides; it separates assumption from fact. Too many assume that God will never banish a sinner to eternal damnation. Yet the Word clearly states, and it is therefore a doctrinal fact, that the wages of sin is death. The Word declares, He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:36 NKJV)

6. Doctrine never divides; it guides. Life’s all-consuming passions easily sway a loose and unbridled belief. It is sound doctrine that guides the believer along the straight and narrow.

7. Doctrine that is rooted in the depth of the Word contains intrinsic elements that prevent it from being corrupt and apt to divide.

8. The error that causes confusion and division is highlighted when believers become skeptical and doubt the truth. These two hindrances—skepticism and doubt—temper the solidity of sound doctrine, and the error of “basic doctrine” becomes the measurement of a skeptical believer’s beliefs.

9. Lewis Sperry Chafer emphasizes that “since doctrine is the bone structure of the body of revealed truth, the neglect of it must result in a message characterized by uncertainties, inaccuracies, and immaturity….”

10. Basic doctrine is the extraction of parts or the altering of stated Word-based truths to pacify the skeptic and is the reason why so many believe that doctrine divides. It is not doctrine that divides; it is the unwilling mind of the skeptic and doubting believer who refuses to accept the inherent truth in the Word spoken by Almighty God. The impending result: believers who desire to accept basic doctrine have a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof…. (2 Timothy 3:5)

11. If basic doctrine causes such cataclysmic division, how much more does the “lack of doctrine” make shipwreck of a believer’s faith? Too many avoid the premise of sound doctrine, and because of the application of misguided faith from basic doctrine, many believers reject any form of doctrine, resulting in their walk of faith being exposed and tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine…. (Ephesians 4:14) There is no reinforcement to the foundation of their faith.

12. There is, however, a need to sound a warning: doctrine must not be the method or the overriding and dominant reason why a person becomes a believer. Sound doctrine’s place is the explanation that enhances their understanding of what they believe.

13. It is by faith and through God’s grace that believers are born again (Ephesians 2:8, Romans 10:9–10), cleansed in the shed, precious blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7), and baptized with the Holy Spirit to worship and glorify Him (Luke 3:16). They serve Him because they love Him. Believers testify about Jesus because, in their heart, they yearn to do this.

14. Believers don’t serve God, worship Him, and testify about Jesus because doctrine tells them to do this. Their motivation and inspiration is from the Holy Spirit who will guide you into all truth…. (John 16:13)

15. Believers are constrained by the love of God, for God, and through God to serve Him. It is done because they are cognizant of the mercy that flows from the Godhead and have experienced the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that has redeemed them from the curse of the law. (Galatians 3:13)

16. Doctrine can be compared to the rail tracks on which the train runs: they guide and keep the train on track. The believer is the train, empowered by the power source (the engine) the Holy Spirit, filled with the love of God, and zealous to serve God as it races along the tracks.

17. Let doctrine always be the guide that keeps a believer on the straight and narrow…. Let the power source, the Holy Spirit, lead him in the path of righteousness, and let the love for God compel him to follow in His steps….

18. Doctrine’s place is therefore signified by its ability to give direction and discipline to believers in how they operate in accordance with God’s Word. Regrettably, many believers allow emotional tendencies and experiences of the flesh to enter the realm of their walk with God. The operation of the Holy Spirit’s gifts, the time for holy worship and praise, is often infected by the mind/soul, and believers do not worship the Father in spirit and in truth…. (John 4:23­–24)

19. Conversely, if believers are bound by legalism and “doctrinal” parameters preventing them from the liberating freedom of the knowledge that whom the Son sets free is free indeed, they stifle the move of the Holy Spirit and limit His ability to achieve His mission.

20. Doctrine, in the eyes of those who believe this way, is then defined as chains that shackle the believer, and these constraints are not doctrine but rather rules and laws that inhibit spiritual growth in Christ. God’s Word states, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness … and as such, believers are filled with the Holy Spirit, not legalistic laws and rituals, and can now mount up on wings as eagles….

21. It behooves believers, therefore, to understand that doctrine is important to every believer. It must not be the binding force that quenches the Holy Spirit. It should be the illuminating beam that shines forth on the path of righteousness for every born-again believer to safely walk in the presence of the Lord.

22. Doctrine’s place is settled by the instruction in the Bible: follow after sound doctrine…. There can be no variance or accusation against doctrine. It must be present in the church because it is present in the Holy Writ.

23. The place it occupies is one of importance because it is the Word of God being placed in its correct order, and the very Word is the measurement by which all tenets are extrapolated.

24. A worthy example of this is found in the very first verse of the Bible. The condemnation that God did not create the heavens and the earth is a direct accusation against the Word, making it out to be a lie. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…. (Genesis 1:1 NKJV) There is no biblical evidence of evolution. Neither is there any evidence of cataclysmic explosions that thrust a ball of matter into the cosmos that became planet Earth. In the doctrine ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• Preface
• Word clarification
• About the Author
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
• Part 9
• Part 10
• The Way Forward
• Bibliography
• Back cover