Is God’s Manifest Presence In The Church Weaker Today Than In The Early Church?
Q: Why has God’s presence in the church become weaker than it was in the days of the apostles? What should we do to bring His presence and the dominion of His Spirit back among us in such a magnificent and joyful way?
A: First of all, the church today is staggeringly larger than it was in the first century. I don’t doubt that there are such displays of God’s power and Christian faithfulness happening at places around the world. Maybe it’s not happening in the Christian communities we see or hear about, but we shouldn’t think that it’s not happening elsewhere.
Secondly, I don’t think you can get away from the idea that there was a purity about God’s work and God’s power so close to the time of the apostles. Now, nobody should over-romanticize the early church. They had their problems. Read 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, or the Book James. These letters addressed problems in the early church. The Book of James was probably the first book of the New Testament written. Look at the issues James addresses in the church within 15 or 20 years of Jesus’ Ascension to heaven. Wow.
We want to be careful not to over-romanticize the early church. We need get back to the source. That source is really preserved for us in the Bible, in the Scriptures that they themselves understood and taught, both the Hebrew Scriptures (which we know as the Old Testament) and the Scriptures that were being produced in that very first century (our modern-day New Testament).
Thirdly, we pray and we say, “Lord, if there’s going to be revival, let it start with me.” We really want to avoid the attitude that prays, “Well, Lord, I’m fine, but would You revive that other person? Would You bring everybody else up to my spiritual level?” We need to guard against that type of attitude.
Finally, consider this. When we read the book of Acts, there is a miracle on nearly every page. We can look at all that God was doing and yet easily forget that the book of Acts was written over a 30-year period. We are part of a church movement, Calvary Chapel, and we’re very grateful for what God has done in our lives and the lives of so many people we know through the Calvary Chapel movement. If you took the first 30 years of the Calvary Chapel movement, say 1968 to 1998, and wrote a book of highlights and amazing things that God did, it would read very much like the book of Acts. In no way am I disparaging what God did in the early apostolic church. It was glorious and powerful. But it’s helpful to remember that the book of Acts spans 30 plus years, and it gives us the highlights during only those 30 years.