Secret possessions of the New Testament church
Up until a few years ago, if you had been invited to the home of the Carlisle family, you might have unwittingly held in your hands a fortune in the form of a small porcelain bowl. The Carlisles—descendents of the founders of the Pony Express—regularly used the bowl to serve crab to their guests but were not in the habit of revealing its worth. Why the secrecy? Because not even the Carlisles had any clue of the bowl’s worth. It wasn’t until an appraiser from Bonhams and Butterfields saw the bowl that it was revealed to be a 14th century Ming dynasty treasure. And when it fetched $5.7 million, it became the most expensive Ming dish ever purchased at auction.
Imagine! Possessing a treasure without even knowing it. Now rewind 3000 years.
The elders of Israel have gathered together to Samuel at Ramah. Samuel has grown old and his sons aren’t the replacements anyone would have hoped for. Israel makes a bold request of Samuel: “Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations” (1 Sam. 8:5). The demand was evil in Samuel’s eyes. But why? Did the Lord disapprove of the concept of kingship? Far from it! The Bible is full of positive references to God’s king (e.g. Psalm 24). No, the problem wasn’t one of wanting a king. It was one of wanting another king. You see, Israel already had a king; and it wasn’t Samuel. The Lord Himself was Israel’s king, and, in making her demand, Israel showed disdain for Him and His rule: “they have rejected Me from being king over them” (v. 7b). Israel already had the perfect king but didn’t realize it. As a result, she shunned Him and asked for a monarch of infinitely lower value to be given to her in His place. Saul wasn’t a step up.
We may defend them and point out that most of them didn’t see it that way. They weren’t consciously rejecting the Lord; they simply didn’t understand their place of blessing. Yet, the fact remains that God’s assessment of their state was, “they have rejected Me from being king over them.”
Israel possessed a treasure; but, because she was didn’t realize it, she was willing to trade that treasure away. Fast forward 3000 years to today.
God’s focus in this age is the church. Like Israel, He has given us work to do. But what resources do we have? Any discussion of the work of the church eventually leads to a number of common topics: our name, our headquarters, pastors, priests, women ministers, worship leaders, statements of faith. Some of these are increasingly controversial, but all of these are practical. They need to be carefully considered in the light of Scripture if we want to please our Master and maximize our effectiveness for Him. Israel asked for an inferior king. Wouldn’t it be a shame for us to—even inadvertently—miss out on the Lord’s provision for us and attempt to make do with earthly substitutes instead?
Before going forth in service, then, we ought to take careful stock of our resources and consider how the Lord has met the church’s needs. Or else we, like Israel (and the Carlisles), might overlook our treasures and be immeasurably poorer for it.
“But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Php. 4:19).