FIVE SMOOTH STONES - The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherds Bag

FIVE SMOOTH STONES — The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherd’s Bag

things as are set before you. 9 And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you .’”

Applying what Jesus said about the harvest in the context of dealing with the spirit of Diotrephes in the Church, I think a major point is to concentrate on raising up laborers for the harvest. You see this in the apostle John’s use of the word “ fellow workers ” in verse 8 of Third John:

“ We therefore are to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth. ”

The Greek word translated as fellow workers here is the word sunergos, which is also translated fellow helpers, fellow laborers or work fellows in other scriptures. I believe John is implicitly saying to us that raising up laborers for the harvest is a key to overcoming this spirit of Diotrephes in the Church. Diotrephes is not interested in raising up laborers, receiving the brethren sent to him, or discipling fellow workers for the harvest or even the truth. This spirit wants total control and preeminence. This is the opposite spirit of that working in the five ministries sent from the Lord Jesus listed in Ephesians 4 which are for the purpose of - 12 “ for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ” I think it is apparent that when dealing with this spirit in the Church that our defense is to stay in faith, stay, do not imitate his evil, continue to fellowship with like-minded brethren, and continue to raise up laborers for the harvest. Don’t allow this spirit to sidetrack you from doing the work of your Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 6 John encouraged Gaius to send the brethren that he was discipling forward in the manner in which Jesus also had sent the disciples out in Luke 10. It is an important point that Diotrephes would not receive those sent to him in the name of the Lord. This is one of the reasons we do not see more of the literal manifesting of Christ in the Church today.

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