Hello God-fam,

And when James,Peter,and John,who seemed to be pillars........ Galatians 2:9.

The apostle Paul recognized that James,peter and john were "pillars" in the church.The dictionary defines a pillar as a column of support in a building or a person of authority.while these men were authorities in the early church they also represent the three pillars of foundational doctrine that are vital to the spiritual health of a believer.

Throughout history we have observed a sad biblical fact.when the original anointed leadership of the church dies out the people begin to fall away.for example we see this happening after Joshua's death(judges 2) and the same was true of the early Christians.After the first century,the church slowly began the long descent into the prophesied apostasy.(2 Tim 4 vs 3)while there have been revivals and reformation along the way,they are always needed and God is always calling his remnant back to her foundation.

When the church falls away from the word of God,it falls into apostasy.The word of God is very simple and the apostles were the expositors that were ordained by God to explain his message.John,peter and James were the ones handpicked by God to be foundational pillars of the church.when we begin to place others above these foundational leaders apostasy is not very far behind.

Even apostle Paul went to these pillars(peter,James and john) when he had an encounter with the lord.Paul's doctrine is based on the original three pillars of doctrine.

We fall into apostasy when we fail to cleave to the foundational pillars of the first century church and in order to hold on to them we need to understand exactly what they are

The pillars themselves are grounded firmly upon the foundation of the lord Jesus,the messiah.(Remember we said James,peter and john represent authority figures and foundational doctrines of the church)

The first pillar represented by john is the first to emerge.John's doctrine emphasizes the gospel of love.John 3 vs 16.

The gospel is the purpose of the church,without it we have no church and no reason to exist.when we allow the gospel take second place in our lives we have taken the first step towards apostasy(which literally means a falling away)The gospel of the first century emphasized repentance and faith in the blood atonement through a thorough understanding of the messiah's role.
When the gospel is presented according to the pattern contained in the scriptures it produces in people a conversion of heart.
In the next post, we continue with the remaining two pillars, Peter and James.
Thanks O.E for this teaching(A FRIEND WITH A HEART FOR JESUS)
Celebrate you ALL.