Dead Churches – Living Churches. 1
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied. Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Acts 19:1-6NIV
It will be difficult for us to get all the message in our main text if we don’t take the background to the account.
Apollos and Paul were both church planters and apostles of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul planted the church in Corinth.
One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God Acts 18:9-11NIV
Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 1 Cor 4:15NIV
You only need to read First Corinthians Chapter one and chapters 12-14 to see what a marvellous work Apostle Paul had done to raise and establish a spirit-filled church that was overflowing with all the gifts of the Spirit. In fact, he devoted three chapters of the letter to Corinthians in order to guide them on how to operate in and manage the abundant presence and grace of the Holy Spirit in their midst.
This was the church that Apollos now visited and began to teach them his version of the gospel. What we see here is like a change of pulpit.
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. Act 19:1.
We will get back this matter later.
So Paul found himself in a gathering of believers that was planted by Apollos and he could not believe his eyes. These people were known as disciples of Jesus Christ but there was no physical manifestation of the presence of the Holy Spirit. They had all the outward show of religion but they lacked the power. Paul knew that there was only one reason this could be.
There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
It is not only that they had no power of the Holy Spirit in their midst but they have not even heard that there was a Holy Spirit. They have been taught about the Law of Moses, they were taught about good morals and they heard teachings about the coming messiah. They were taught discipleship and I believe they knew so much about God and his word. In spite of all these, there was no life in them. The Holy Spirit is the life in the Body of Christ.
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Eph 4:3-6NIV
If they did not know the Holy Spirit and His power, that means that was a dead church. Some people get offended when they hear that their church is a dead church. Here we find in the bible a perfect example of a dead church.
I am sorry to offend you, but if there is no material manifestation of the Holy Spirit in your local church assembly, that church is dead. In one of PNUR conferences, we used a Pentecostal church auditorium and the members made much noise in prayers. That denomination is very popular and spread out all over the world. But we noticed that many of their members are not filled with the Holy Spirit. I took time to teach on the Holy Spirit. Many of their members came to thank me because that was the first time they heard some of the things I taught them.
They were taught spiritual warfare, loyalty to the church leadership, faithfulness in tithing and offering, but no one had taught them about the Holy Spirit. If ever someone mentioned the Holy Spirit and His power, it was mentioned in the passing. It is not possible to have church without the presence of the Holy Spirit. I am not saying that people cannot gather; of course there are so many gatherings today that the Holy Spirit is not in their midst. These are social gatherings and I need to warn you that you are missing a vital factor in your midst.
When he observed the activities of that assembly, Paul immediately knew that the foundation of that church was faulty. So, he asked further,
So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied. Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance.
Paul had to relay the foundation of that congregation by rebaptising them into the name of the Lord Jesus. We can see that we can relay the spiritual foundation of a local church if we find that the people who planted the church did not do a good job. We also see that there is a place for baptising people a second time, if the first baptism was not done properly.
Then Paul proceeded to lay hands on them to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
There are some who claim that once we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and are baptised, we do not need anything else because we are filled with the Spirit. This is not correct. We can take another example from the bible.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:14-17NIV
Philip was a powerful man of God with evidences of miracles and deliverance in his ministry,
Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city Acts 8:5-8NIV
Yet the people were not Spirit filled while He ministered. He had to invite some other brethren who had the Apostolic grace. We can learn from here that ministers may need the support of outside servants of God to fill in some ministry duties in their congregation.
We can see that the people were sincere and willing to accept everything God has for them, but the preacher that took care of them lacked the spiritual resources. Many congregations are in this situation today. The pastors are deficient of the Holy Spirit and His power. Unfortunately, they lacked the sincerity and courage to seek God for the genuine experience. They now see the congregation as their source of livelihood, so they are more concerned that the people do not hear other ministers than about the spiritual wellbeing of the congregation. The people are malnourished and suffering. Some denominations have even built a theology around their poverty of the Spirit and His power. They claim that God does not intend that all congregations should manifest the power of the Holy Spirit. They claim that God has called them only to teach the people empty theology and in some cases, they spread lies about the believers who manifest genuine anointing power.
Hear me again; no Holy Spirit, no church.
If the church congregation does not have the evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit, that church is a dead church. Like I said before, the Holy Spirit is the life of the church. The reason He is not at work in the church is because He has not been invited. It is not true that once people gather somewhere and call the place church, the Holy Spirit will start working there. We must learn to invite Him. We must also make room for Him to express Himself among God’s people.
When Paul invited Him and prayed for the people to be filled with the Holy Spirit, things changed for them. We read later about the marvellous things that God did through the power of the Holy Spirit in the same church.
God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. Acts 19:11-12NIV
So in the same place where they were called a dead church, we read of this great manifestation of divine power, and that is because someone invited the Holy Spirit.
Unfortunately, instead of humbly inviting the Holy Spirit, some people will begin to fake the evidences of the presence of the Holy Spirit. They shout like they are under the anointing, sing like they were in the Spirit and do all manner of things to create an impression for outsiders to believe that they too had the power of the Holy Spirit. Most times they succeed and in this way they only fool themselves.
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Rev 3:1-2
This could be a congregation that had known the power of the Holy Spirit but now they are more concerned about materialism and politics. They now grieve and quench the Holy Spirit (Eph4:30, 1 Thes. 5:19). They have lost it. Instead of bowing down in repentance, they decided to fake it.
Is your church dead or alive?
I will love to hear from you.
Emma your brother pnurnigeria@gmail.com
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