Theologians as solo artists . . .

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” 

― Mother Teresa 

For the true Christian, it is never just Jesus and me and fido makes three. There is no place in the Kingdom for solo artists. The everlasting covenants between God and man are always communal. Can you think of any exception? I can't. The covenantal promises were to Noah and his kindred. Abraham and his seed. Jacob and his descendants. David and his lineage. Christ and the Church. Believe me, search as you might, there are no Lone Rangers anywhere in Scripture with the exclusive right boast that it is just God and them alone. Some were and are anointed to spread Good News, but none is allowed to claim the promises of that message exclusively.  

How broad is God's inclusivity? As broad as the expanse of His reach, of course, is the answer. And, that, my friend, is infinite. There are no limits. 

But I digress. Let me get back to the topic, and that is we are all part of the Body, His Body, with particular purposes, as with the charismatic gifts. Yet, each gift and person is subject to the overall purposes of the Body (Ephesians 4:11-16). There is nothing more frustrating than to deal with someone who claims that God told them something and are yet unwilling to let the Body decide whether or not this was actually God or just their vivid imagination gone berserk. The primary test is, of course, the Scriptures; however, even Scriptures require a consensus of opinion—that is, what those gifted with the art of teaching the unadulterated truth. The same goes for prophecy—all prophecy, predictive or simply preaching a good old Gospel message are to judged by others (1 Corinthians 14: 26-40). Look it up, it’s in the Bible.

Show me a heresy, any heresy, and I will show you a one-man show—that is in the beginning. In God’s Kingdom—of which you and I are a part of—we are all subject to authority. Our opinions are just that: opinions, until confirmed by the Body of Christ. Yet there are mavericks in every church. Church hoppers, if you are lucky the eventually move on, that stir up a feud with personal opinions and then like a grasshopper flitter on over to the next gullible audience to spread their pseudo-spiritual nonsense. 

John speaks of these self-appointed purveyors of religious nonsense. He writes,

They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us (1 John 2:19)

Furthermore, Paul reminds us that there must be a sending body. Read it, it's there. Speaking of missionaries, evangelists, and others he asks rhetorically, 

"And how can anyone preach unless they are sent (Romans 10:15)?" 

Friend, twist that verse anyway you wish and it all points back to a sending authority. There are no Lone Rangers as I have said. We all need the covering body of a Church that has been empowered from on high, that commissions us, and from which we draw on for moral and spiritual prayer support, and in many cases financial help. But, the primary authority is Christ working in and through His body, the Church.  

Take care of your part and God will take care of the rest,

JimR_/