Beyond Lip Service
There are many people in this world who say one thing, but do or mean another. It passes my mind that the bulk of these occur in ignorance. Two phrases frequently used to illustrate this problem are: “in Jesus name” and “through the Word only”. Beyond lip service of pronouncing these phrases, what action or teaching should follow to demonstrate proper understanding?
Many individuals and churches declare their worship behavior or individual actions are approved of by God because their motivation is to do them “in Jesus name”. Colossians 3:17 states: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus...” The motivation by an individual or church to do and speak in this manner are both expected and appropriate. However, what does the phrase “in the name” mean? It means “by the authority of”. The Christian learns what Christ wants from reading the Bible. Christ wants the Will of the Father done. He shared it while He was on earth. He also sent his Holy Spirit to provide that revelation to His Apostles and those they laid hands on. They wrote the scriptures so we could now access them to have authority for our actions.
Actually doing something “in the name of Jesus” means going beyond lip service. Here is an example of correctly applying “in the name of Jesus”. Christians gather together to worship and sing to God. The authority for this action comes from Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. That is doing something “in the name of Jesus”. Now, feeling as if you get a better sound by playing a hymn with musical instruments when you worship is a different animal. Nowhere by the authority of Christ are instruments instructed to be used or encouraged as an option. Singing alone is instructed. If you want to do something “in the name of Christ” you must have scripture backing it up. This excludes praise teams, choirs, clapping, drama, puppet shows, and a whole host of other unauthorized activities.
A second phrase often used is “through the Word only”. This is most always used when discussing the work of the Holy Spirit. The reason this is done relies on I Corinthians 13:8-12, Ephesians 4:8-14, Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Peter 2:1, Zechariah 13:1-6, and other passages. These passages make clear that the prophetic work of the Holy Spirit ended near to the end of the first century. Thus, it is said that today, the Holy Spirit works “through the Word only”. There are many discussions about that statement that could be had, however, for this writing we will focus only on our purpose which is going beyond lip service to this phrase.
To say the Holy Spirit works “through the Word only”, means that the Holy Spirit Gave the Word and it is the Word working now. You study it, you learn it, you apply it. It is the content applied that creates the change not a direct operation. Unfortunately, preachers will say things like “The Holy Spirit provides a spark to your learning once you are baptized.” or “The Holy Spirit brings you to baptism and then you make the decision.”. Both of these are lip service to “through the Word only”. If something is operating other than the Word of God, the preacher/Christian does not believe or understand in “through the Word only”. Stating the phrase sounds good, but proper teaching will agree with the statement not contradict it.
Both phrases mentioned in this article are commonly used phrases from a pulpit. If properly taught and followed they can help the individual and a congregation grow. If not, they can breed confusion and false teaching for years to come.