Finding the undisguised image of God

Our hope must be that those seeking Jesus will find the true Jesus, not the one hijacked by Christian Nationalists writes Michelle Nunn

One of the blessings of ministering at Regents Theological College is meeting lots of young and mature people who are desiring to know and serve God.

Often encouraged by teachers and parents to progress their education by getting a degree, they are choosing to take a study path where they will gain a qualification whilst getting to know God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in a deeper way by studying theology.

During three years of study our undergraduate students are spiritually formed as they practise their faith through prayer, worship, study and service.

Historically, Pentecostals have been often fearful of formal education and known for being anti-intellectual and discouraging academic study.

This has its roots in the origin of the movement, which was birthed amongst the poor, uneducated classes at a time when eschatological urgency prevailed across society.

This belief in Jesus’ imminent return and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit gave believers a fervour for evangelism that is rare today.

There was no time for formal education, the Gospel had to be proclaimed, with urgency, to the ends of the earth. A further fear compounded the situation as Pentecostals believed that it was the institutionalisation and intellectualisation of early Christianity that had driven the Holy Spirit out of the church.

Creeds, theological theories and criticism had failed to empower and had instead paralysed believers.

Consequently, Pentecostal believers relied on their own reading of the Bible and encounters with the Spirit, and Pentecostal theological scholarship was late to develop.

Of course, care is needed with theological study. It is important that believers and students of the Bible do not just read the Bible like any other book. Time spent reading Scripture should transform us as the Word and Spirit work together to minister to the reader.

This is why one of the primary roles of our teaching team at Regents is to help our students enjoy and understand their Bibles in the presence of the Holy Spirit. They teach them to ask questions of the text and listen to the Holy Spirit; believing that critical thinking and reflection will strengthen our students’ spiritual formation.

Today, there is much talk of a Quiet Revival, noticeable as people and an increasing number of young men join not only Pentecostal congregations but other more traditional churches, particularly the orthodox traditions. They come with a new curiosity, as those who know very little about Jesus in a country that has largely abandoned its Christian traditions.

These young people come with great, challenging questions that need a response rooted in the Word of God, affirmed by their own personal encounters with the Spirit.

I am encouraged when I think of the new generations being raised for ministry at Regents who are ready to share Jesus and serve Him.

My continued hope is that our students will be able to reveal the true Jesus, not the Jesus hijacked by the Christian Nationalists, or Jesus the moral teacher, attractive to those who would like to appropriate His teaching to bring society back to order.

Our hope must be that those seeking Jesus will find the true Jesus, the undisguised image of God. It is only this Jesus, who can save, heal, baptise and in God’s time will come again!

So, I encourage you to pray that we will see more people, young and mature, called into theological education in this season of the Quiet Revival.

And that these people will know Jesus’ call and provision to set themselves apart for a special season of study. And that through time in the Word they will discover God in ever deeper ways through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. That through study and revelation they will have a robust understanding of Scripture and revelation through Jesus of who God truly is.

Then, confident in their own testimony of the Spirit’s work in their lives, they can powerfully share the love of God and see new generations come to faith and develop as disciples of Jesus the undisguised image of God.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.