The Institution vs.
The Apostolic
Today’s Focus: Features
of Institutional Christianity: Ascribes Greatness to Fathers, Not Sons.
Scripture: 1 Samuel
17:55
Greetings Sons of
God:
1 Samuel 17:55: And
when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the
captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy
soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.
One of the features
of institutional Christianity is the fact that the institutional church
ascribes greatness to fathers, not sons.
David was employed by Saul and Abner and after the victory over Goliath,
Saul asked the question “Whose son is this youth?” So what is Saul’s
question? Who is your father? The institutional church looks for the
father, not the son. In other words, the
institution looks for the institution of the student and not the student of the
institution. You are good because of the institution you come from. You are validated by the institution. This acceptance of validation from the
institution is mostly due to low self-esteem.
What happens to most people, not all, the institution caters to some
desire of the people. When the institution offers that thing that appeases the
people then they ascribe to making the person and the person feels some debt of
gratitude or service to the institution and as the institution continues to
make the person like them eventually he institution can then say: “This is my
beloved son in whom I am well pleased”.
We are called to be
sons of God and not the slaves to an institution. You are called to serve your Father as a
child of His Household and bring the rule (Kingdom) of God to the earth. The
spirit of Saul, institutional Christianity seeks to know who you come from and
not who you are.
In the next message
we will look at another feature of institutional Christianity.
Peace, Love and
Grace from the Father,
Calvin Calhoun, Jr.
