Download PDF version: The Church Has Abdicated Her Authority Rather Than Take Responsibility
I would submit that the reason why many churches, even those that claim the Charismatic/Pentecostal label, aren’t experiencing the power of God is that they have abdicated their kingdom authority to move in the gifts of the Spirit. In many cases they have refused to take up their mantel of responsibility to contend for the truth. Kingdom authority requires taking responsibility.
To operate in the gifts, let alone teach followers of Jesus how to operate, demands taking responsibility to hold the standard set forth in scripture. The gifts are messy; they operate through imperfect people where the Lord proclaims, “… My power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corithians 12:9 ESV).”
Rather than risk not being “perfect” in the use of the gifts, many churches have made a deliberate choice to throw out the baby with the bathwater, forgetting that there is only one who is perfect — Jesus Christ. This desire for pseudo-perfection is nothing but pride, and having chosen pride rather than the truth of depending upon the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth has withdrawn. This is the greatest tragedy of the Church in our time.
Many Church leaders would rather expound upon their successes and the so-called “strength” of their congregations, in direct contrast to Paul’s position of humility before God saying, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9).”
The gifts of the Holy Spirit demand operating from a basis of humility, rather than pride cloaked in self-sufficiency. The choice is simple. Either we can choose to agree with who the Lord says we are, i.e. blind, naked, wretched, miserable and poor (Revelation 3:17) while operating in the gifts from a position of humility, yielding to the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and seeing the manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power…or choose to walk in pride that results in the lifting of His grace. God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; I Peter 5:5).
Simply put, either we can choose to walk in pride that results in powerlessness coupled with a form of godliness or we can choose to walk in humility that brings life and become open floodgates that allow the Spirit of God to flow through us to a lost and dying world.
I think we can all agree that there is nothing perfect about walking in death.
Mark Biteler
