Denominations came about because people are wrong about what the Bible says. There were two doctrines in the apostolic age: True Christianity (Orthodoxy) and Gnosticism (Secret Knowledge that only a few knew.) Even as Jesus ascended, deception descended. However, as deception availed, Christianity prevailed; Gnosticism seemed to have died out but more so it just went underground for awhile.
Denominationalism is basically a “child”
of Gnosticism.
Denominationalism is like money;
it has many different values for different people. Christianity was the whole,
but it was changed and became short-changed.
Gnosticism was based on knowledge
and that only some had a secret that was their truth. “Diverse groups
emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) above the
proto-orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions”
(Wikipedia).
Proto-orthodox is significant. “Proto”
is the first orthodoxy right from The Word of God. What Jesus said, and what He
inspired the writers to write, was proto-orthodoxy. The Church was founded on the
orthodoxy (truth) of Jesus.
The first hint of denominationalism came with Simon the Sorcerer. Have you been taught much about that Simon? I have not after all these years. Here is the story of Simon in full:
But there was a certain man, called Simon,
which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of
Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: to whom they all gave
heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of
God.”
And to him they had regard, because that
of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries., but when they believed
Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of
Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Then Simon himself believed also: and when
he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles
and signs which were done.
Now when the apostles which were at
Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them
Peter and John who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might
receive the Holy Ghost.
(For as yet He was fallen upon none of
them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Then laid they their hands on them, and
they received the Holy Ghost, and when Simon saw that through laying on of the
apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give
me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy
Ghost,” but Peter said unto him, “Your money perish with you, because you have
thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. You have neither part
nor lot in this matter: for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent
therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of your
heart may be forgiven you for I perceive that you are in the gall of
bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.”
Then answered Simon, and said, “Pray you to the Lord for me, that none of these things which you have spoken come upon me.” (Acts 8:9-24)
First off, the M.O. of
Simon was to bewitch people into following him. He would somehow astonish them,
and of course, Jesus refuted astonishment when He said, “Marvel not; you must
be born again” (John 3:7). Astonishment by actions is not the Way to salvation,
however rebirth is. Catholics and others seem to misunderstand the concept of
rebirth, but Nicodemus did as well. Simon also misunderstood rebirth; thinking
that he could pay for it with money,
Because of Simon’s actions, the
people highly regarded him. However, he could not outmaneuver the Godhead with the
baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Simon was the “magician” but the
Holy Ghost did a better performance, and like any magician, Simon wanted to
learn from the master; he wanted the secret to this act performed, he thought,
by Peter and John. He failed to understand that Peter and John did not own the
Power for it belonged only to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
That the Name, Jesus, was not
efficacious had merit. Jesus was just a man, but the Power of Jesus resided in
the Holy Ghost. Jesus was just the vessel in whom the Power of God was filled.
That Power was the Holy Ghost.
The Body of Jesus was only for
two reasons: (1) to manifest the Holy Ghost, and (2) to sacrifice. That had
already been done and with Jesus gone, the Holy Ghost was God with us. The Holy
Ghost is the Spirit of God in the bodily shape of a man (Luke 3:22) and the
Power was not in the flesh, but in the Ghost. Simon thought that Jesus and his
apostles had the Power since he saw them lay on hands. What He failed to see
was the Holy Ghost was the Power that filled the others.
Simon, with all his knowledge,
failed to understand the secret to his failure and their success. It was that
the Power resided not in the Person, Jesus, but in God who is still with us in
Spirit. That is not to say that Jesus and God are separate but that Jesus is
how we see God. Whether we can see Him or not, God is still God.
Apparently, Simon thought that the
giving of the Holy Ghost was a good trick, or perhaps he thought it was not
even a trick but a power that John and Peter had that he didn’t have. They seemed
to outperform Simon, and he wanted the glory of God for himself and would pay
for it.
Within that passage hides two
baptisms: Simon was baptized with water, but he saw others baptized with the
Holy Ghost. Perhaps he wanted what they had. Water had not regenerated him but “Living
Waters” from the Holy Ghost had regenerated the others. Water was no big deal
for him; anybody could get immersed, but he was seeing others who were filled
with “Living Water.” He wanted that secret
knowledge, and at that moment, a denomination came into existence.
Simon, or so he thought, had
found secret knowledge, and voila, Gnosticism raised its ugly head as
God was short-changed into his denomination. As it turned out, Simon thought
that the Power must have been in the water because he had been immersed. The
truth was that he only got wet. The denomination of Simon lives on to this day
among some who even deny that they are a denomination. They alone think that
they have the secret knowledge of Simon, so Simonism lives even now in restored
“Christianity.”
Simon seemed to have changed: “Simon
himself believed also: and when he was baptized…” indicating that he believed
in what he had seen and thought it was the water that regenerated. As such,
Simon probably thought that he had been regenerated, so much so, that soon,
according to other sources, Simon came to think his version was the truth to
the point that he believed that Christ was in himself.
(Simon Magus soon claimed to be Christ
and was said to perform miracles and even levitate.)
In other words, the water did change Simon,
but he was not filled with the Holy Ghost. If anything, Simon was filled with
Satan by claiming wrongly that he was the missing Jesus. Because of his claim,
Simon was one of the successive Antichrists that appeared after Jesus ascended.
Simon was the “father” of
Gnosticism. He must have misunderstood the Power of God, thinking that he had
been regenerated by the water. Or since he was humiliated, he assumed the power
was from him. He created a new type of Christianity without the baptism of the
Holy Ghost.
Jesus said that we could deny Him
but not the Holy Ghost: “Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man,
it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemes against the Holy Ghost
it shall not be forgiven” (Luke 12:10).
Simon was baptized in water in the
Name “Jesus” and considered that enough. However, the others were baptized in
the Holy Ghost. Simon, by accepting the former, denied the latter. Simon blasphemed
the Holy Ghost by denying Him the Power.
One “denomination” of Gnosticism
is Docetism; “rejection of the belief that Jesus, as a divine being, could
actually suffer or die” (AI Overview). With that said, Jesus, to them, was not
crucified but only appeared to be. In other words, Jesus did not reveal
the Holy Ghost in Himself.
Some Gnostics believe that it was
Simon that was crucified and of course arose, and it seemed that Simon must
have thought his abandonment was the crucifixion.
Islam is a denomination of Judeo-Christianity.
Their “Jesus” was not a man, but only a “Ghost” that was crucified. Baptism in
the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost validates that the Godhead in all
three substances suffered death.
Yes, Jesus was on the Cross because
he appeared as a man. What most do not see is that the Holy Ghost was nailed
with the Body of Jesus and was made free. The Power to overcome the world by
dividing the Godhead belonged to the Father. It was not just a man nor an apparition
that was crucified but God Himself who appeared on Calvary as Power, a Man, and
His Ghost.
Simon believed in Jesus but not
the Holy Ghost He also thought that the Power of God was in the magical hands
of Peter and John, thus diminishing God. With that apostasy, the first
denomination was created, and although it seemed dead by the church fathers, it
is still alive today.
Some people are “saved” without
ever enduring to the end like Jesus had to do. Others skip the rebirth, but
account the water for that feat.
Just who got it right? Jesus… it
is His Way or no way. Speaking of Jesus, it is written, “Neither is there
salvation in any other for there is none other Name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Simon first thought that rebirth
was by the hands of Peter and John, but when they rejected him, he assumed that
power himself. He was the epitome of the Antichrist, and so is water. Water did
not save Noah and his family; God did, but too often the water gets the credit.
So, although Simon seemed to us
to have went his way, his denomination still lives on in the modern church.
Gnosticism is alive and well and for many seems the way.
After Simon disappeared from scripture his evil-spirit lived on. I believe plaguing Paul and the others in Christ. Paul may have written about Simon:
Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. (2 Cor 12:7)
Simon exalted himself and Paul
saw that as more of a curse than an asset. His thorn was not poor vison, bad
health, or even sin; his “thorn” was surely Magus who journeyed like Paul,
spreading the wrong news. It was Simon that was the messenger of Satan, and it
was him that created a denomination as large as early Christianity.
Mega-churches often cherish the
money more so than the rescue of souls from eternal death. Simon still lives in
mega-churches, and now that is filtering down to small churches that desire to
be mega churches.
What was the “Great Commission” that
Jesus authorized? Jesus said, “Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel
to every creature” (Mark 16:15). He was speaking to the apostles but now as
members of the “royal priesthood” (1 Pet 2:9), we are all apostles.
He said for us to go to them,
not them to come to us in a church building! How hard is it to get
people to come to church? Nearly impossible. How easy is it to go to them?
Given our good health, it is easier to go to them. Paul was sickly but he still
went to them until the day he was “crucified.”
No comments:
Post a Comment