"But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." Matthew 15:13
The beauty of God's words is that they are creative. They happen. They come to pass. They create a way to come into existence.
The Lord Jesus said that anything the Father (YHWH) has not planted in his Kingdom will be uprooted. That statement was not just for the Pharisees who were his immediate audience at the time of his speaking, it was a statement of his active participation and authority over his people and his worship. And this is his message for this age of the Church.
The Gardener (vinedresser John 15: 1-5) is pruning and preparing his garden. Some plants require just a little trim while others have to be cut really back. The purpose of pruning is never to destroy but to provide the ability for much higher yields of fruit.
Jesus is asking us to get back to the scriptures for a reason. He is causing us to re-evaluate our systems and doctrines not so as to destroy the Church, but instead to make it much stronger and raise it into the edifice it is designed to be.
Periodically throughout time, He draws the attention of his people to neglected areas or areas of deficiency. The remedial insight is given to a person who is receptive to him. That insight ushers in a move of enlightenment and change in those areas... so we have what we call Reformations and movements. However, each revelation given in a reformation or movement must be seen as the awakening of a part... a vital part, but still just a part - a part of a whole.
For example, the areas emphasized in the Holiness movement in recent history, was a part of a whole body of Truth. Its revelations are still very much needed today but as part of the whole body of truth in the Bible. Truth does not expire.
The entirety of Truth is embodied in Jesus Christ and the full knowledge of him is an eternal process but we must hold on to whatever he shows us. All is the work of his Holy Spirit.
With this in mind, we must be patient and open to the different ways he is shaping and pruning us by his teachings. The Faith movement (also in recent history) was a movement that originated from the Lord. Its Truth is for the whole body of Christ and is needed as part of other biblically sound doctrines.
At this time, the different teachings and revelations given by the Lord are being amalgamated to produce a strengthened and Whole Church. Be open. The yardstick of Truth is readily available to us i.e. the scriptures that we have been left with.
Why am I saying this? Because if we resist the work of the Holy Spirit and hold on in pride to our own ways and teachings when they are wrong, then the Lord Jesus says "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up".
- Someone who is already wise will hear and learn still more; someone who already understands will gain the ability to counsel well; - (Proverbs 1:5 CJB)
Now is the time to listen. Evaluate, discuss balance, Learn, and incorporate truth. This is a time of humility, friendship, and oneness in the body of Christ.... "until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
Christ is coming for a mature and unified Church where members are of one mind and the head is Jesus Christ. A Church that loves, honors, and judges the other as vital to its existence and the achievement of the goal of the Head - Jesus Christ.
The different skills are for the whole. The holy Scribes are to humbly bring understanding and amalgamation of our different teachings and insights so Christ's body can see as one. So we can see the whole picture as YHWH intended it. Let us be teachable. Be loving. Be open to the spirit of YHWH so that we may be beautified and see the rapid growth resulting from his pruning by his word. Because at this time, "Every plant that My heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted" and "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit," - Jesus.
Pruning is to be embraced not rejected. It is our preparation for beauty and abundance. Not just our teachings, rituals and ideology is subject to evaluation but every part including our music, arts, administrations,well-known and processes will be pruned: every area of Church and life.
By extension, this will apply to present world systems: "Every plant that My heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted." - the Lord Jesus. Amen.
Be open to listen and learn. [To help with forbearance and humility as we learn, I find that the well known (Indian?) parable of the blind men and the elephant sometimes helps: The whole is seen as we put our individual insights together!]
In all, the Apostles Paul says it best:
"For we know in part, and we prophesy in part [for our knowledge is fragmentary and incomplete]. But when that which is complete and perfect comes, that which is incomplete and partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
For now [in this time of imperfection] we see in a mirror dimly [a blurred reflection, a riddle, an enigma], but then [when the time of perfection comes we will see reality] face to face. Now I know in part [just in fragments], but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known [by God].
And now there remain: faith [abiding trust in God and His promises], hope [confident expectation of eternal salvation], love [unselfish love for others growing out of God’s love for me], these three [the choicest graces]; but the greatest of these is love.."
1 Corinthians 13:9-13 AMP
"As one piece of iron sharpens another, so friends keep each other sharp." Proverbs 27:17
"For the law shall go forward from Zion, And the word of the Lord [the revelation about Him and His truth] from Jerusalem." Micah 4:2b AMP
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