What Does A Spirit Filled Church Look Like?

Dicipleship Part 4
Andrew K. Fox
Year of alignment

Previous weeks: 'Who is the Holy Spirit?' followed by 'How can I receive the Holy Spirit?' This week: 'What does a Spirit filled church look like?'

'Here's the church and here's the steeple. Open the doors and see all the people.' Paul gave us this insight in Romans chapter sixteen. You will see a group of people gathered together just like you. The background to this chapter is illustrious that starts when Pompey invaded Jerusalem taking the Jews to Rome. But they found favor with Julius Caesar establishing an embassy in Rome. Tiberius sends 4000 of them to war in Sardinia. Claudius banishes the Christian Jews from Rome. But they gravitate back over eight years. Now Paul writes to them as an established church. We will see the church and their steeple open the doors on chapter sixteen and see all the people. It is filled with Jews, Greeks, Italians, men and women, young and old from every class of society. This is what a church looks like where people are filled with the Holy Spirit. Some of these names carry personal examples I can remember.

Phoebe

(v1-2) "I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church is Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of all the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me." She used to attend church at the peninsula of Corinth at the eastern port of Cenchrea against the Aegean Sea. It was a metropolitan city with every culture and vice. She was not just attending but served the Lord as a mature widow. She is moving to Rome and looking for a good church to continue serving the Lord. Paul sends her with commendation and carrier of this letter to the Roman church.

" There are three women I remember as a youth pastor in England. Maureen used to do all my laundry and invite me to Sunday lunch every week when I was single. Vi was a West Indian lady who used to cook for me banana fritters. Eleanor used to give me a ride to church because Renee took the single car we had to work. These are mature widows with few domestic tasks that chose to devote themselves to serving those who serve the Lord.

Priscilla and Aquila

(v3-5) "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets in their house." This is a married couple that built up wealth and business while in Rome. They were banished by Claudius and lost everything. Instead blaming God politics they started again making Cilician tents in Corinth. They employed Paul and their wealth soon returned. They were accustomed to taking risks and felt it only proper to risk their lives with Paul not through foolishness but through the occupation of Rome. A brilliant young Greek called Apollos came under their influence that became mighty in the scriptures and a great theologian of the early church.

" I have seen many married couples walk through terrible and tragic times. Some have divorced and some do not attend church anymore. But then there are the Priscilla and Aquila's who endure and remain married as a testament to the grace of God. Art and Irene Gjerde were married for 70 years. They used to be babysitters for my children. He was 101 when he died and she was 91. Longevity in marriage has a strong influence in church life.

Epenetus

(v5) "Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia." Christ is called the firstfruits from the dead as we are called the firstfruits of the Spirit. This man was the first to be born again in Asia. When John had the revelation of Christ there were seven established churches in Asia but Paul could not forget when it all began. At some point for some reason this man moved to Rome and became part of the church.

" My father is not a Pastor but has been an elder in the church. In his 30's he launched a Sunday school in a neighboring high school. Today some of those children are pastors and missionaries. They still refer to my father as their Sunday school teacher even in their adult years. You must never underestimate faithfulness in the small things when things are small. Epenetus is the kid right now in our community waiting for a Sunday school teacher to lead him to Christ.

Mary

(v6) "Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you." Who is this Mary? She is not the mother of Christ, Mary Magdalene, Mary the sister of Lazarus, Mary the wife of Clopas who stood at the cross with Mary the mother of Christ, or Mary the mother of John. The distinction she has is not by name but by service to the Lord. What she did and how diligently she did it was noticed as 'working very hard' not for herself but for the church in Rome.

" If you are serving the Lord in our church in some way you are commended not by name but distinguished by your servant heart. It is a service that is not like your home or employment but something done and said directly for the Lord in his house.

Andronicus and Junias

(v7) "Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was." This is another married couple who have been saved since Moses. They are not apostles but recognized by the apostles. Like Priscilla and Aquila they had suffered hardship not in the marriage but the circumstances of their environment. They had been imprisoned with Paul and were probably a great source of strength for him. They had lived longer and experienced more than Paul.

" Every pastor has married couples in the church that were born again long before he was and have been married longer than he has. Do not think that your very existence as a married couple means nothing. It is a great source of encouragement to those who are younger. You have walked through life in marriage wearing the grace of God in your countenance. Never underestimate your presence when other couples are in prison.

Ampliatus

(v8) "Greet Ampliatus, whom I love in the Lord." As John the beloved was to Christ so this man is to Paul. He loved him. This man was from the Imperial House of Caesar and an active member of their government. When he died his grave was elaborate in recognition of his social contribution. But it would be out of character for Paul to love him for his position, wealth and influence. It could not have been easy for Ampliatus to be part of the church as Christ said it is hard for a rich man to enter the eye of the needle. Paul loved him for his faith in God and what it cost him to be part of the church.

" I was in a church while living in England hosted by the treasurer. The pastor asked a man to join him on the platform to thank him for giving $50 000 to the church. The treasurer was troubled by this because this man did not tithe because he was very wealthy. The amount he gave was not even a tithe for that year's income. The treasurer should not have spoken this way and the man should not have been paraded as a great giver. It was hard for Ampliatus and Paul loved him for it.

Urbanus and Stachys

"Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys." The two men are named together because they were always seen together. They were best friends in the church. But their service to the Lord was very different. Urbanus is called 'our' fellow worker implying that he enjoyed helping Paul and many others. Stachys is referred to as 'my friend' implying a completely different dialogue.

" The golden rule for pastors is not to get too close to those you minister to or you will not be taken seriously. Some make you their best friend and in most cases this is not possible. But at the same time a pastor needs friends to dialogue with Stachys in a way you would never talk with Urbanus. I am grateful to those who are wise and mature enough allowing me at times to be simply a friend.

Apelles

(v10) "Greet Apelles, tested and approved." The approving was not like a criminal tried and acquitted but tried and approved in faith. It is something that Paul insists on with Timothy. He had walked through the valley of the shadow of death. History shows he was an actor but Paul recognizes the genuine man who does not put on an act every Sunday.

" Hollywood should send their scouts to the church because there are some great actors and actresses who put on a great performance that would will an Oscar or Golden Globe. Your genuiness is a gem to other people.

House of Aristobulus and Narcissus

(v10-11) "Greet those who belong to the house of Aristobulus…greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord." The two men are not directly mentioned because they are dead or not part of the church. But their men servants and maid servants have time off to gather with the church. Both houses are of the Imperial House of Caesar. Imagine attending church as servants bought and paid for listening to the Gospel that sets men free.

" How does the single mom feel on Fathers Day? How does a divorcee feel when marriage is praised? How does a woman feel on Mothers Day who has no children? How does the sick person feel when they hear someone has been healed? It was not easy for the house of Aristobulus and Narcissus but they still came to church. The problem with comparing yourself to others is that you compare to someone better or worse but never the same.

Tryphena, Tryphosa and Persis

(v12) "Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord." Three Greek women. Two were sisters and one was a young single woman. As it was in the days of creation where God saw that it was good and very good, so these women worked hard and very hard carrying out tasks that no one else would do. The two sisters are from an aristocrat family which puts a greater emphasis on the diligent work they carried out. Persis is a Persian woman working with Greek aristocrats in the church. The Persians were conquered by Alexander the Great who was Greek.

" One of the parables that Christ taught was the Good Samaritan where two opposite and opposing cultures and lifestyles helped each other. Christ was making a point these three women lived. There is something distinctly wonderful about opposites working together.

Rufus and his mother

(v13) "Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too." In Mark chapter fifteen we read that Rufus is the son of Simon who carried the cross of Christ. As Timothy carried the same spirit as his mother and grandmother so Rufus carried the same spirit as his father 'chosen in the Lord' as his father was chosen and prophesied about in the Old Testament. When the preacher spoke about the cross there would be pride in his heart that his father had literally helped carry it.

" There is a certain pride that comes with personal connection in what is being said. You may have been part of building our church facility. You may have financially contributed to something specific.

Eight men and two women

(v14-15) "Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers with them. Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them." This group of people does not have any specific commendation or distinction about them but it does not make them inferior to the rest. Their Gentile names probably make them servants or people from the market place. There is literally nothing known about them but they were part of the church in Rome. They are the middle child, not the firstborn or the last born but somewhere in the middle.

Five conclusions

My concern in general is not that we are becoming less personally responsible but that we are convinced our presence in church has little or no influence as a corporate responsibility. It is Costco Church where we show our membership at the door to gain entrance, what we need, and return home without any understand that there were other people there too.

1. If you come to church with your spouse or as a family, never underestimate the influence you have on widows and single mothers.

2. Mature men and women that come to church, never underestimate the influence you have on young men and women setting an example in speech, life, love, faith and purity.

3. Young people that come to church, never underestimate the influence you have over those who are mature bringing hope for the future.

4. Parents that come to church, never underestimate your own children and the relationships they build. When you get angry and run away you tear their little hearts out.

5. Never underestimate the handshake, hug, smile, conversation, trust and friendships that are created in the house of God.

Final

What does a church look like that is filled with the Spirit? A family. (1 Peter 4:17) "For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God…" The Bible tells us that before God looks at the state of the Union he looks at the state of his church.

If you would like to see previous transcripts you can find them here.: