Frank Viola Author Pagan Christianity

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Frank Viola Author

From The Christian Post:

Frank Viola is the author of many books on the deeper Christian life, including the CBA Bestsellers “Jesus Now” and “From Eternity to Here.” His blog, frankviola.org, is ranked in the top 5 of all Christian blogs on the Web and it has over 80,000 monthly readers.

To the natural minds, Jesus’ ministry ended in failure on two counts: (1) a failure in Galilee when most of His followers turned away from Him, and (2) a failure in Jerusalem when His disciples deserted Him and He was put to death on a cross.

But the work of Christ went on.

Jesus was raised by His Father and ascended to God’s right hand. But He didn’t retire, nor was He detached from the world. Instead, He began His present-day ministry, where He became powerfully present with His followers.

His followers weren’t to carry on Jesus’ work in His absence. No, Jesus shared His ministry with them (Mark 16:19–20; Acts 1:1–2).

The work of God today is still the work of Christ. He carries it out in His enthroned state, withdrawn from visible sight but active in Spirit in and through His followers.

The book of Acts would be more accurately called “The Acts of the Risen Christ through His Apostles.”

While Christ is no longer visible to unaided human sight, He is still powerfully active through His disciples. Jesus doesn’t operate us by remote control. He’s present with us by His Spirit. He’s not a Clockmaker who sets the work going and then leaves it to go on by its own momentum. No, Jesus keeps it going Himself.

Jesus still is—present tense—the visible image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). When we see Jesus operating through His people, we see God. Jesus is still the human face of God.

True Freedom

As our mediator, Jesus carries our names on His shoulders and breast just as the high priest of the Old Testament carried the names of Israel on his shoulders and breast.

Christ’s position of sitting at the right hand of the Father signifies rest – it denotes a completed and finished work. There’s no more to be done. Jesus’ blood was completely and eternally accepted by God the Father.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was once and for all, but His ministry of intercession is eternal. He is the Son of God and Son of Man eternally.

As high priest, Jesus makes intercession on the basis of His own spotless perfection. It’s as if He says to the Father, “Receive Me for them. Forgive all of their imperfections on the basis of My sinless perfection.”

In the presence of God, the mighty perfection of Jesus is the answer for our sins. Hence, we don’t come before God the Father in ourselves. We come to God in Christ, by Christ, and through Christ. And God is satisfied with us in Christ (1 Cor. 1:30).

For this reason, Jesus is the author of our eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9).

So when we speak of Jesus interceding for us, Jesus isn’t reminding the Father about what He did. (How could the Father forget?) Nor is He pleading His sacrifice before a reluctant God.

Christ’s very presence in heaven as the Crucified One constitutes the greatest prayer and intercession. The wounds of Christ are the unceasing prayers of Jesus. By them, He has secured constant and free access to God’s throne (Heb. 4:16).

A guilty conscience, a conscience stained by sin, cannot be purified by anything else but the blood of Christ. No other sacrifice for the sins of humankind is necessary. Jesus’ death was a once-and-for all sacrifice (Heb. 9:26).

Jesus has passed into a realm wherein we have access. We don’t have to wait to die to enter it: eternal life begins now. The veil has been torn and the way into the holiest opened.

More remarkably, our great high priest, Jesus, leads our worship “in the midst of the ekklesia.” Through the Spirit, Christ comes into our midst and offers our praise and worship to a welcoming Father. Through the church, Jesus sings to His Father, leading our praises (Heb. 2:12; 8:2).

So Jesus is the perfecter not only of our faith, but also of our worship.

This relates to our prayer life as well. We enter into the fellowship that the Son has with His Father (1 John 1:1–3; 1 Cor. 1:9). Jesus is not only the object of our prayers, but He’s the means. As our high priest, Christ by the Spirit prays in and through us (Rom. 8:26–27).

According to the New Testament, prayer is in Christ, through Christ, and to Christ.

Written by Frank Viola author from his book Jesus Now

Learn more about Frank Viola author on his LinkedIn page

With that thought in mind, let me make a radical statement:

The Lord Jesus Christ mentioned and referred to the church more than He did the kingdom of God.

But He didn’t do it by using the word ekklesia.

Remember that small band of disciples Jesus called unto Himself and lived with for three and a half years?

They were “the Twelve,” added to what Luke called “the Women.” Probably around twenty individuals in all.

Those twenty people were a community that lived a shared life under the headship of Jesus Christ. Christ was the center of their lives and fellowship.

In other words: They were the embryonic expression of the ekklesia.

What is ekklesia (church) in the New Testament? It’s a community of believers who share a common life in Christ, assemble together regularly, and make Jesus central, supreme, and head over their lives together.

Those twenty were the community of the King. And that’s precisely what the ekklesia is.

Each local ekklesia is an outpost of the kingdom of God. Put another way, each community of believers that enthrones Jesus as Lord is a colony of God’s kingdom in a sinful world.

Consequently, every time you see the Twelve (and “the Women”) with Jesus in the Gospels, you’re seeing a microcosm of the ekklesia.

And virtually every time Jesus spoke to His disciples and used the word you …

“You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14).

“You are the salt of the earth” (Matt 5:13).

“But the Helper … will teach you all things” (John 14:26 ESV).

“I am the Vine, you are the branches …” (John 15:5).

He was referring to the church.

In addition, when John used the word we, he was most often speaking of the church: “And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16 ESV).

Do you remember when Jesus said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces a lot of grain” (John 12:24 ISV)? The phrase “a lot of grain” refers to the church.

How about when Jesus referred to His brethren? “But go to my brethren, and say unto them, ‘I ascend unto My Father’” (John 20:17 KJV).

Or how about when He prayed for His disciples in John 17 and said, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who will believe on me through their word” (v. 20).

Who are the “those who will believe on me”?

The church.

Who are the Lord’s “brethren”?

The church.

There are eighty-five unique references to the kingdom in the Synoptic Gospels. And five in the gospel of John. So the Gospels total ninety unique references to the kingdom.

Put that against the many references to the church given above, and the count is less for the kingdom.

When we come to the New Testament writings (Acts to Revelation), the kingdom is mentioned thirty-one times and the church is found seventy-seven times.

The word brethren—which refers to the brothers and sisters in the churches—is used 249 times in Acts through Revelation.

The word saints (holy ones), which is a reference to the individual believers in the churches, is used sixty times.

Now, in light of all of the above, can we please stop pitting the church against the kingdom?

To do such is to violate the gospel and the whole drift of New Testament revelation.

Accordingly, you cannot separate the Lord Jesus Christ from the kingdom of God, and you cannot separate the church of Jesus Christ from the kingdom. What God has joined together, let no one put asunder.

In short, Jesus is this earth’s true Lord, and the church is His instrument for making this fact a visible reality.

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For more see Reimagining Church and Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola Author and George Barna.

Jesus is the Commander-in-Chief of His church and His work. The following are some examples of how Jesus directs both His church and His work by His Spirit as the head of each:

• The Spirit of Jesus led Philip to join a chariot where a man was reading Scripture (Acts 8:29).
• Jesus appeared to Paul and called him into apostolic ministry (Acts 9:1–10).
• Jesus appeared to Ananias in a vision and instructed him to help Paul (Acts 9:11–16).
• The Spirit of Jesus spoke to Peter about three men who were looking for him (Acts 10:19).
• The Spirit of Jesus told Peter to go see Cornelius in Caesarea (Acts 11:12).
• The Spirit of Jesus showed Agabus the prophet that there would be a great drought coming to the world (Acts 11:28).
• The Spirit of Jesus instructed some men who were praying in Antioch to set apart Barnabas and Paul for the work (Acts 13:2).
• The Spirit of Jesus forbade Paul to preach the gospel in Asia (Acts 16:6).
• Jesus gave Paul a dream, directing him and his team to go into Macedonia (Acts 16:9–10).
• Jesus appeared to Paul in a vision and told him to speak boldly in the city of Corinth (Acts 18:9–10).
• The Spirit of Jesus witnessed to Paul in every city that he would be in chains and afflictions (Acts 20:23).
• The Spirit of Jesus spoke through Agabus the prophet about Paul’s future in Jerusalem (Acts 21:11).
• Jesus appeared to Paul while he was praying in the temple in Jerusalem and told him to leave the city (Acts 22:18–21).
• Jesus stood by Paul when he was on trial, encouraged him, and told him what was to come (Acts 23:11).
• Jesus said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9)
• Paul received direction, reassurance, and encouragement from Jesus (2 Tim. 4:16–17).
• The Spirit of Jesus called and sent out workers (Acts 13:1–3; Gal. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:17; 12:7–11; Eph. 4:7–16; 1 Tim. 1:12).
• Jesus worked with the members of His church, confirming their message with signs (Mark 16:20).

In the book of Acts, we find the phrase “get up and go” repeated several times. Jesus said it to Ananias in Acts 9:11. He said it to Peter again (Acts 10:20). Ananias went, and so did Peter. As head of the church, Jesus still says, “Get up and go” to His disciples today.

by Frank Viola, author

As I put it in Revise Us Again, spiritual growth is a matter of becoming what you already are. As a Christian, you are already “light in the Lord.” Because this is true, Paul exhorted us to “walk as children of Light” (Eph. 5:8).

In Ephesians, Paul said two times to “speak the truth in love” to one another. In context, Paul was exhorting God’s people to remind one another of who they were in Christ … to remind one another about the new self into which they have been made … to remind one another of their true identity. Because it’s all too easy to forget.

If you have received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, here’s a list of who you really are. Read this list carefully and marvel at the epic greatness of your Lord and what He has done for you.

• You are complete in Christ, who is the head of all principality and power (Col. 2:10).
• You have been crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20).
• You are dead to sin (Rom. 6:2).
• You have been made alive with Christ (Eph. 2:5).
• You are free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
• You are born of God, and the evil one does not touch you (1 John 5:18).
• You are holy and without blame before Him in love (Eph. 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:16).
• You have been given the peace of God that passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7).
• You have the Greater One living in you; greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
• You have received the gift of righteousness and reign in life by Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:17).
• You have received the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus (Eph. 1:17–18).
• You can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens you (Phil. 4:13).
• You show forth the praises of God, who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9).
• You are God’s child, born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God (1 Pet. 1:23; John 1:12).
• You are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus unto good works (Eph. 2:10).
• You are a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).
• You are alive to God (Rom. 6:11).
• You are an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ (Rom. 8:17).
• You are more than a conqueror through Him who loves you (Rom. 8:37).
• You have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:13).
• You are beloved of God (1 John 4:10).
• You are loved by the Father the same way Jesus is loved by the Father (John 17:23).
• You have been redeemed from the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13).
• You have been freed from all things (Acts 13:39).
• You are now God’s offspring (1 John 3:2).
• You are the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13).
• You have been reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18).
• You have been accepted by God in the Beloved Son (Eph. 1:6).
• You are kept by the power of God (1 Cor. 1:8).
• You are free in Christ (John 8:36; Gal. 5:1).
• You are in Christ’s hands, out of which no one can pluck you (John 10:28).
• You are in the Father’s hands, out of which no one can pluck you (John 10:29).
• You are an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony (Rev. 12:11).
• You are a partaker of God’s divine nature (2 Pet. 1:3–4).
• You are part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people (1 Pet. 2:9).
• You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21).
• You are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19).
• You are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14).
• You are God’s elect, full of mercy, kindness, humility, and longsuffering (Rom. 8:33; Col. 3:12).
• You are forgiven of all sins and washed in the blood (Eph. 1:7).
• You have been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into God’s kingdom (Col. 1:13).
• You have put off the old man and have put on the new man (Col. 3:9–10).
• You are healed by the stripes of Jesus (1 Pet. 2:24).
• You are raised up with Christ and seated in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6; Col. 2:12).
• You have overcome the world (1 John 5:4).
• You are greatly loved by God (Rom. 1:7; Eph. 2:4; Col. 3:12; 1 Thess. 1:4).
• You are strengthened with all might according to His glorious power (Col. 1:11).
• You have not been given a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7).
• You have Christ living inside of you (Gal. 2:20).
• You are a saint—a holy one (Col. 1:2).
• You are one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17).
• You are holy, without reproof, and blameless in His sight (Col. 1:22).
• You are a member of Christ’s holy body (1 Cor. 12:27).
• You have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness (1 Pet. 2:3).
• You are light in the Lord (Eph. 5:8).
• You have been given all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3).
• You were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4).
• You have been justified—just as if you had never sinned (Rom. 5:1).
• You are a branch on the true Vine (John 15:1, 5).
• You are born of God (1 John 5:18).
• You have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ (Heb. 4:14–16).
• You are free from condemnation, and you cannot be charged or indicted (Rom. 8:1, 32–34).
• You have been established, anointed, and sealed by God (2 Cor. 1:21–22).
• You are hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:1–4).
• You are a citizen of heaven (Phil. 3:20).
• You are at peace with God (Rom. 5:1).
• You have everlasting life (John 5:24).
• You are kept by God’s power (1 Pet. 1:5).
• You are in Christ Jesus by God’s act (1 Cor. 1:30).
• You cannot be separated from God’s love in Christ (Rom. 8:35–39).
• You are fit to partake of His inheritance (Col. 1:12; Eph. 1:14).
• You are part of Christ’s bride, who He cherishes, bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh (Eph. 5:29–32).
• You are a king and priest unto God (Rev. 1:6).
• You have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit until the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13; 4:30).
• God will complete the good work that He started in you (Phil. 1:6).
• God is for you even when others are against you (Rom. 8:31).

Jesus is our Savior. On the grounds of His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, He saves us from the penalty of sin; He saves us from the power of sin; and He will ultimately save us from the presence of sin.

As our Savior, He “saves us to the uttermost” and will complete in us what He began. Indeed, He is the Originator and Perfecter of our faith.

by Frank Viola, author, in his CBA bestseller, Jesus Now.