1Co 12:11-14 "But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many." (KJV)
1Co 12:24-27 "but we don't have to be modest about other parts. God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem the least important are valuable. He did this to make all parts of the body work together smoothly, with each part caring about the others. If one part of our body hurts, we hurt all over. If one part of our body is honored, the whole body will be happy. Together you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is part of his body." (CEV)
If in reading the above scriptures, your mind was thinking about your particular church being a part of the body, then this article is for you. In the rise of radical denominational-ism, we find the propagation of such ideologies as "the anointing on a particular church", which is to say that this particular denomination manifests a certain "grace" which is unique from other denominations. This grace will be emphasized, taught and the attendees indoctrinated in it.The buttress of such beliefs will more often than not lie in the fact that those graces on a particular man, must needs be transmitted to those under him.
For some, it's the "prophetic Anointing, the leadership anointing, the wealth anointing, the music anointing" etc. In the most extreme forms, the congregants become super zealous and proud about "their" denomination's anointing and they tell it to all and sundry. The preachers and Elders push it by telling their congregants that "we are not like 'them', we have our own part in the body of Christ". Which then fuels the superiority complex in the congregants who now believe so strongly that they are unique from other believers and hence they can't interact on par with others.
In going through the account of the messages to the different churches in Revelations 2, I can't help seeing the obvious lack of such ideas in God's mindset. What we do see being true, is that churches/denominations can have the same attitudinal or ethical issues. This makes sense given that it is through human socialization that most ills are and likewise good is propagated. So the likelihood of being a lazy denomination is high should such behavior be accommodated by a majority of people. Such is true for zeal, excellence and all other behavioral traits. They can be taught.
Not so true when it comes to personal giftings and graces for operation in the body of Christ. Many people have ceased to be effective because they believed that their mission was to attain to what the "denominational grace was/is". A large part of the problem is the leaders and overseers who do not want "strange fire"(an allegory based on the OT account of Lev 10:1) in their churches. The general gist of the warning is usually that if you learn things or get things imparted to you from another denomination, you cannot use them or manifest them in another denomination lest you grieve the grace that is supposed to work in that particular church. The worst I have heard in my short time as a Christian (a little over a decade) is someone saying "I heard the tongues that so an so was speaking in and they are not from our church". I won't go into the utter folly of that statement, but it is a strong indictment upon the dangers of that doctrine of "denominational/house" anointing.
Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: (KJV)
The Holy Spirit administers His graces to his people, not denominations. Members in a denomination may have graces imparted to them as a matter of ministerial necessity, but not as a blanket norm (Rom 1:11). In fact, in 1 Cor 12:25, we find that the prime reason why we should understand our differing graces is so that there will be no schism in the body i.e. to say, we would be united by our ability to help each other where we are in need. In summary I have penned(typed out) 5 points to summarize this article (all points based on scriptures given herein except otherwise noted):
1. We were all INDIVIDUALLY baptized into one body. Not the denomination. That denomination has members who are uniquely gifted in the body of Christ. That is what scripture says, and that is how it is
2. No denomination has a franchise on a particular gracing of the Spirit because it's 'Papa" is graced that way. What said "Papa" has is a gift to the body, not the denomination.
3. Because "Papa" has it, does not mean that thou shalt have it or indeed that thou must have it. Find your part in the body and your part in the denomination is found. It is the Holy Spirit who distributes severally as He wills.
4. When you pray for other members in the body of Christ, you are not necessarily praying for other denominations, it is that man in the pew with you who is a unique member in this body.
5. The day you start exalting yourself because of the grace (unmerited gifting) of God in your life, that is the day when you set yourself up for a fall.(James 4:6)
In closing, your denomination is not correct on everything, and such goes for the other denominations around you. In the same vein, that other denomination is not wrong on everything, so in dealing with them, afford them the respect they deserve as members in the body, who just happen to be meeting somewhere else under a different name.
Yours in His Royal Service
George Mwamlowe
