"The Divine Aristocracy"
An examination of Ecclesiastes 9 & 10 and how it applies to the contemporary church..
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We have an example of this in what Jesus said to the church of Laodicea:
"You say you are rich, that you have need of nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked." - Rev. 3:17.
The general superintendent of the Assemblies of God in Australia wrote a book called You Need More Money, in which he claims that the fact that God has blessed his ministry financially proves him to be in good favor and standing with Him, while those who disapprove of his ministry are not blessed with material wealth and are therefore out of God's will. That is a classic example of someone using the world's standard to judge the things and the people of God. Jesus, however, tells the church of Laodicea that they, who think they are rich, are the ones who are truly impoverished. Remember: Laodicea's first problem is that it doesn't know it is Laodicea. Jesus tells them to “buy salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see” (Rev. 3:18). Suburban middle-class Protestantism does not know that it's not ready for Jesus to come back. It is the faithful remnant in Laodicea who know and who buy eye salve.
Why do faithful Christians so often struggle more than worldly believers? Why do good Christians so often have more trials than do worldly Christians? Why do good, biblical churches so often struggle more than worldly churches? Because it is those whom He loves that God corrects. The others become, as it were, illegitimate children.
So we see from Scripture that Laodicea measures wealth in the same way the world does; but how does Jesus measure wealth? He tells Laodicea "You have the wealth, but you're impoverished," yet He tells the church in Smyrna this in Rev. 2:9: "I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are rich". The name “Smyrna” is derived from the Greek word for myrrh, which was used to anoint dead bodies for burial in the ancient world. Remember that Jesus was buried with a mixture of aloes and myrrh; myrrh has to do with death. The Magi brought very significant gifts to Jesus: gold because He would be King, frankincense because He would be Priest, but then myrrh because He would die, would be a Sacrifice anointed for burial.
Why do faithful Christians so often struggle more than worldly believers? Why do good Christians so often have more trials than do worldly Christians? Why do good, biblical churches so often struggle more than worldly churches? Because it is those whom He loves that God corrects. The others become, as it were, illegitimate children.
Which are the truly rich churches today? The rich churches are those that do not hope in this world: Christians in persecuted churches belong to the true divine aristocracy. I am not saying you must be persecuted in order to be in the aristocracy, but you must be willing to be persecuted, and if necessary, to give up material, financial position and security for the cause of the Gospel of Christ. God has His aristocracy: those who have wisdom, knowledge and understanding. These are the riches of His nobility. (The Hebrew word for “aristocracy” and “nobility” is the same.)
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Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.