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A Vision of Truth Really Matters |
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By Dr. Arlo Newell, former Editor-in-Chief, Warner Press |
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Vision is vital for the survival of the church as the people of God. It is a spiritual statement of our relationship to God, expressed in relationship to other people. That which has sustained the church across the centuries has not been her financial, numerical, material, or political power, but the vision placed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit—a vision carried out by men and women surrendered to God, obedient to His Word, and sanctified by His grace.
Vision is more than a popular program or a personal plan for progress. Proverbs 29:18 has too often been used to place divine approval upon human programs. The vision referred to in the text is the revealed will of God as expressed in His Word. When this divine will is not kept in view, held up before the people, they will break loose from their loyal allegiance and perish. It is this same use of the term vision that we find in Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17. The gift of the Holy Spirit, poured out on all persons at Pentecost, is to enable us to understand God’s plan for His people. Such a vision has sustained the Movement across the past 118 [now 133] years. Not all visions are divine!
Both Pastor and People need to ask for discernment before buying into or adopting the latest visionary program marketed to the church. Jeremiah left no question regarding the visionaries of his day: “Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake I unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart” (Jer. 14:14, KJV).
Popular TV personalities, religious writers, and concert artists are caught up in this celebrity success syndrome, believing that all their ideas are visions from God. How does one distinguish between the human and divine vision? Here are five truths about God’s vision for His people:
1. God always takes the long look, and is never in a hurry. Be cautious of those who say, “If we don’t vote it in today, we are out of God’s will.” God is not in a hurry.
2. Divine vision glorifies God rather than deifies the person.
3. Divine vision edifies the Body rather than magnifies the person.
4. Divine vision multiplies ministry rather than manipulates people for money.
5. Divine vision succeeds by God’s power rather than human personality or fear tactics. If the vision originates as an ego trip of the visionary, and if it can be bought with money and controlled by people, you have every right to question seriously its validity.
GOD’S VISION IS STEADFAST. Dreamers may die but the dream lives on. Visionaries may vanish but if it is God’s vision, it will remain. That which sustained Paul during the struggles, stonings, and shipwreck, was a vision burned into his soul. Before King Agrippa he testified, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19). When rejected by the apostles, when the churches had problems, when Demas turned back, when his prayers for healing were not answered, and he had unfulfilled plans, it was the vision that sustained him. Such a vision was not kept in secret. Paul’s vision was highly visible and clearly articulated, wanting others to catch the vision and to fully understand its content. That vision remains valid today and will sustain the Reformation Movement as we move [further] into the 21st century.
A CLEAR VISION OF GOD. Being captured by a clear vision of God moves our eyes from the human to the divine. That which sustained Isaiah in a time of human despair was a vision of the Lord, high and lifted up (Isa. 6:1-9). Only after clearly seeing what God had done and could do was he able to say, “Here am I . . . send me.” People are not faithful to the church because of programs, personalities, or promises, but because they have caught a vision of God, a vision that never fades.
A COMPELLING VISION OF A LOST WORLD. Having seen the Lord, Paul began to see the world as God saw it, a world needing a Savior. Driven by a personal desire to carry the gospel into the world, the Holy Spirit controlled Paul’s future. Having been restrained twice, Paul was then confronted by God’s plan. “A vision appeared . . . there stood a man . . . saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us” (Acts 16:10). So compelling was the vision that Paul “immediately” responded to the vision. No one had to sell him on it, nor did they have to develop a campaign to promote it. God gave the vision and Paul obeyed.
That which motivates the local church to grow is a compelling vision of a community that is spiritually lost without Christ. The motivation of the preacher is the salvation of the sinner. This is what inspired Ross Minkler to write, “Lord, give me a vision and help me to see The needs all around me, souls dying for Thee.” God’s vision has not changed. The world is still lost and our task is to catch the vision, and respond immediately.
A CONTAGIOUS VISION OF THE CHURCH UNITED! “The church is the place where . . . the Word of God is preached, the Power of God is felt, the Spirit of God is manifest, the Love of God revealed, and the UNITY of God perceived.” Paul’s vision of a glorious church was divinely given. The glory was not in the numerical size, nor prominent location, program, or preacher. The glory was in the Body of Believers—sanctified, cleansed by the Word, a holy church without spot or wrinkle (Eph. 5:25)! When captured by such a vision, one cannot be satisfied with the humanly-organized, politically manipulated, and independently operated groups today. “Have you seen the church?” is still a valid question. Paul had a vision of the church united.
He envisioned a church united in a common faith. The Ephesian passage challenges us to “maintain” that unity which alone is possible through Christ Jesus (4:3). In sharing his vision, Paul uses the singular term “one” seven times. What a message for this age of religious pluralism, “A vision of a united church in a divided world.”
Unity is not only of faith but also of family. Truth transcends tradition, even that which existed between Jew and Gentile. Paul saw in Christ, [Who is] our peace, [the One] “who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us” (Eph. 2:14). The New Testament vision of the church leaves no room for racism, sexism, or elitism between large or small, rich or poor, young or old, educated or uneducated. Reconciliation carries with it the full unity of all persons in Christ. Let us reaffirm the vision [expressed in the words],
We reach our hands in fellowship to every blood-washed one, While live entwines about each heart in which God’s will is done.
Clara H. Scott
Open my eyes, that I may see
1. This article originally appeared Reformation Witness Fall 1998 under the title “The Vision That Sustains!” 2. Byers, A.L. “The Church’s Jubilee.” Hymns and Spiritual Songs. ( Anderson, IN: Gospel Trumpet Co. n.d.) 155
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