UNDERSTANDING THE PERFECT CHURCH
(week 25/10)
OLUBI JOHNSON
A perfect church is one that has a perfect leadership: one operating in cleansing and manifesting perfection and a fully submitted followership: a followership that maintains a loving and reverential heart attitude to this leadership and practices completely all of its instructions.
Ephesians 4:11-13 MKJV: And truly He gave some to be apostles, and some to be prophets, and some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, (12) for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. (13) And this until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 MKJV (12) And, brothers, we beseech you to know those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and who admonish you, (13) and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
Hebrews 13:17 NIV: Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Proverbs 4:1-2 NIV: Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. (2) I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.
How then does a perfect church come into being and how is it maintained?
A perfect church begins with a leadership that comes into the experience of the perfection and fullness of Christ in cleansing and manifesting perfection.
Once such a leadership is in manifestation, the power of the Spirit without measure which they are releasing through their prayers and walking in the Spirit will draw to them, saints who in their hearts desire to grow into perfection making them willing to follow: submit to and obey the perfect leadership.
John 6:44 NIV: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
Psalms 110:3 AMP: Your people will offer themselves willingly in the day of Your power, in the beauty of holiness and in holy array out of the womb of the morning; to You [will spring forth] Your young men, who are as the dew.
Observe that it is the power of God that makes men willing to submit to and obey the perfect leadership.
This is why the disciples who heard John declared Jesus was the Son of God were drawn to Christ by the Spirit and began to follow Him:
John 1:35-40 MKJV: Again, the next day afterward, John stood with two of his disciples. (36) And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he says, Behold the Lamb of God! (37) And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. (38) Then Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, what do you seek? They said to Him, Rabbi (which is called, being translated, Teacher), where do you live? (39) He says to them, Come and see. They came and saw where He lived, and stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. (40) One of the two who heard John and followed Him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
It is instructive to observe that these disciples were drawn to the Lord Jesus by the power of the Spirit of God through the word of the prophet: John the Baptist before any physical miracles were in manifestation. Even so now, God is drawing together the beginnings of a perfect church by the power of the Spirit of God through developed prophetic and apostolic preaching and teaching.
Now, it is vital to understand that in a perfect church, not everybody will be perfect at the same time: there is a dynamic process of growth, reward and judgement that is in constant operation that maintains the perfect church.
To further appreciate this, we need to understand that the church has 3 sections: the outer court (30-fold), the Holy Place (60-fold) and the Holiest of all (100-fold) using the Tabernacle of Moses as a type.
Everybody starts in the Outer Court: even the perfect leadership; then those who grow over many years into cleansing and manifesting perfection and so have fully developed apostolic and prophetic anointings are set apart by God to be the foundation (of course with the Lord Jesus as the chief corner stone) of a perfect church:
Ephesians 2:20 MKJV: and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
Overtime, God will add more and more saints to this perfect leadership: they will come firstly into the Outer Court: having a mental understanding and assent to perfection; then will grow into the Holy Place: having revelation knowledge of perfection; and finally into the Holiest of all: having the experience firstly of cleansing perfection with the borrowed anointing of the perfect leadership and later manifesting perfection in which they would inherit the Spirit without measure by growth.
In our article next week, we will see how God uses the Outer Court and Holy Place as filters to maintain the purity of the perfect church.
