A God of Order and Purpose Pt 1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said,” Let there be light”; and there was light. (Genesis 1:1–3)
In the beginning . . . If you would take a good look at the world today, it would seem that we are living in chaos all over again. Everything is upside down and sideways from everywhere you look to everything you hear. We see both order and chaos in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. In the beginning, God started with a world that was formless and empty and had no shape. In other words, the earth was in a chaotic state. But God brought order to all these things through His spoken word. God created all things, and through Him all things were made. He brought order to the chaos. That is why apple seeds grow into apple trees and produce apples. Zebras produce baby zebras, which grow up and create more zebras. The earth rotates around the sun, and the moon rotates around the earth. This happens at very predictable and set ways. We set our watches and calendars to the moon’s rotational cycle.
Unfortunately, sin entered our world through our first parents in the garden. As a result of this disobedience, the order inherent in God’s creation was damaged, and the distortion of this order was infused into everything: confusion took the place of surety, deception instead of truth, hiding instead of openness, thorns and thistles instead of plentiful crops, and pain instead of ease. All the perfection of the garden was lost. Our relationship with God became twisted and distorted, which brought chaos into our lives.
A God of Order
“God’s very character involves being a God of order and harmony. Existing eternally as the Trinity, the Lord God is complete, unified, and peaceful. He always acts in a harmonious and orderly manner. He is not chaotic or unstable.”1 The same is true of Jesus and His church. The church is to be the very representation of Jesus on earth, carrying out His perfect will in and through us. The church, God’s people, gather in a variety of places and settings—and yet they gather for the same grand purpose, which is to glorify God and to lead lost souls to the Savior. The church is God’s idea and God’s plan, and no matter what the building looks like or how the programs are organized, the church must be absolutely committed to what God wants His church to be. The church helps to restrain the enemy from taking complete control of everything on earth.
Jesus designed the church from the very beginning for significance and purpose. God created us to make a difference in people’s lives. The function of the church is to help to bring people to the kingdom, ones who do not know Jesus, to help them become followers and learners of Christ, to be caretakers of their brothers and sisters in Christ, supplying their needs and strengthening their faith.
What happens when a church needs revitalization? The functions that were intended for the church to operate in fall short of their intended purpose. They now become dysfunctional and ineffective. Dysfunction by definition is “not performing normally, as an organ or structure of the body; malfunctioning. Having a malfunctioning part or element: behaving or acting outside specific norms.” Churches needing revitalization have stepped away from the prescribed norms described in the Scriptures as Jesus had instructed them to follow. In one sense of the word, we lose our identity; then we lose our purpose. We must understand who we are before we can follow our intended purpose.
God has always intended for the church to function in such a way that we accomplish His perfect will and care for each other as well. When dysfunction comes, all these aspects fall apart. God has always had an intended rhythm for our lives personally and corporately. That rhythm is to walk with Him intimately.
We hope this article has helped you realize the importance of order in God's plan for His Church and how dysfunction can disrupt that purpose. As we move forward with a series of upcoming articles, we will explore more deeply how to bring back order into our churches so that they may truly become vessels for Christ’s work on earth. We invite you to join us as together we seek out ways to restore balance, peace, and harmony within our faith communities - both corporately and individually- through Jesus Christ. May He be glorified by all that is done in His name!
