Bro. Bakht Singh's Heavenly Vision of the Church
(I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision)
Acts 26:19
Introduction:
Bro. Bakht Singh’s concept of Church was the result of his personal experience with Christ. He believed that Christ should be magnified and glorified through the church and that the church was to show Christ’s love, life, liberty and light to the world. He searched the scriptures, asking the Lord to show him the truth for the church, and after waiting on God in prayer and fasting, he received a fresh vision of the church. Some of the salient features of the New Testament Church that Bro. Bakht Singh preached and practiced in this article.
The Concept of the Church:
The Concept of the Church:
The goal of evangelism is the church and the task of the church is evangelism. A major purpose of the church is to show forth Christ’s fullness, unity, wisdom and glory.
In 1969 Bro. Bakht Singh said to International students at ‘Syracuse University’ in ‘New York’, “Our responsibility is not only to see that men and women come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, but also to disciple them and to teach them about the body of Christ – the church.”
God’s wisdom will be revealed through the church – not through angelic beings but through the redeemed people of God. (Ephesians 3-9-11)
The Church is not an organization or an institution but a living organism where the redeemed people of God are spiritually united with Christ as the head.
Bro. Bakht Singh taught and practiced that the church as a corporate body must be actively involved in evangelism, discipleship, planting of new assemblies and ministering to the needs of both believers and non-believers.
In 1969 Bro. Bakht Singh said to International students at ‘Syracuse University’ in ‘New York’, “Our responsibility is not only to see that men and women come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, but also to disciple them and to teach them about the body of Christ – the church.”
God’s wisdom will be revealed through the church – not through angelic beings but through the redeemed people of God. (Ephesians 3-9-11)
The Church is not an organization or an institution but a living organism where the redeemed people of God are spiritually united with Christ as the head.
Bro. Bakht Singh taught and practiced that the church as a corporate body must be actively involved in evangelism, discipleship, planting of new assemblies and ministering to the needs of both believers and non-believers.
1. Baptism:
Baptism must follow repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; it cannot precede them in any form. Water baptism is not to be made a means of salvation or a method of joining the church. Baptism is an outward expression of internal transformation.
2. Laying on of hands:
Laying on of hands is practiced following baptism just to express and to declare that all such are related them in the “one body” and are children of one God and one Father our Lord Jesus Christ saved by one blood of Lord Jesus Christ. Many have a thought that the laying on of hands might be considered as the way to receive Holy Spirit. Nothing of the kind! All believers belong to us and we to them; there is only one body. All that we do must express this and be true to that fact.
3. The Lord’s Table:
Bro. Bakht Singh believed in and practiced to weekly observance of the Lord’s Table. (Do this in remembrance of Me. 1 Corinthians 11:25). All believers were encouraged to take part in the Lord’s Table in a worthy manner after examining themselves. (But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 1 Corinthians 11:28). It was another expression of the church as one body.
4. Praying for the sick:
(Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. James 5:14-15)
Bro. Bakht Singh did not wanted Healings to be publicized or misunderstood as a way in to the kingdom of God or God’s working. He believed that the strongest and clearest evidence of a movement of God was transformed lives.
5. Choosing Speakers:
No ministry was pre-arranged or pre-planned. Bro. Bakht Singh always wanted the Lord to direct someone with a message for the people through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, those responsible for the meeting met together beforehand for prayer and to enquire of each other as to who had a word from the Lord.
6. The Body life:
(Christ’s body) Bro. Bakht Singh believed that the Christ is the head of the church and in charge of all the affairs of the local church. Everything should be done for the edification of individual and collective members of the body and the extension of the Kingdom of God. Thus, all believers, especially those in leadership, should seek to be led by the Holy Spirit in all things.
7. Provision of Shepherds:
Every local church need a shepherd to live among them and be one of them to help them to maturity. These were called of God to serve the Lord full-time both men and women. These shepherds come trusting the Lord with no promise of salaries or human security and have to live together, suffer together and experience the Lord together.
2. Laying on of hands:
Laying on of hands is practiced following baptism just to express and to declare that all such are related them in the “one body” and are children of one God and one Father our Lord Jesus Christ saved by one blood of Lord Jesus Christ. Many have a thought that the laying on of hands might be considered as the way to receive Holy Spirit. Nothing of the kind! All believers belong to us and we to them; there is only one body. All that we do must express this and be true to that fact.
3. The Lord’s Table:
Bro. Bakht Singh believed in and practiced to weekly observance of the Lord’s Table. (Do this in remembrance of Me. 1 Corinthians 11:25). All believers were encouraged to take part in the Lord’s Table in a worthy manner after examining themselves. (But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 1 Corinthians 11:28). It was another expression of the church as one body.
4. Praying for the sick:
(Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. James 5:14-15)
Bro. Bakht Singh did not wanted Healings to be publicized or misunderstood as a way in to the kingdom of God or God’s working. He believed that the strongest and clearest evidence of a movement of God was transformed lives.
5. Choosing Speakers:
No ministry was pre-arranged or pre-planned. Bro. Bakht Singh always wanted the Lord to direct someone with a message for the people through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, those responsible for the meeting met together beforehand for prayer and to enquire of each other as to who had a word from the Lord.
6. The Body life:
(Christ’s body) Bro. Bakht Singh believed that the Christ is the head of the church and in charge of all the affairs of the local church. Everything should be done for the edification of individual and collective members of the body and the extension of the Kingdom of God. Thus, all believers, especially those in leadership, should seek to be led by the Holy Spirit in all things.
7. Provision of Shepherds:
Every local church need a shepherd to live among them and be one of them to help them to maturity. These were called of God to serve the Lord full-time both men and women. These shepherds come trusting the Lord with no promise of salaries or human security and have to live together, suffer together and experience the Lord together.
The Training of workers:
Bro. Bakht Singh did not believe in any formal Bible school or seminary training as a prerequisite for work or ministry of the Lord. He decided to follow the example of Christ who gathered his disciples together before he sent them out. They learned by being with Him for a period of time before he sent them out to preach what they had been taught. This was also the way apostles of the early church did.
Worship:
One of the unique aspects of Bro. Bakht Singh’s ministry was to teach and to practice Biblical worship. The believers both male and female, were encouraged to worship the Lord audibly one by one because Bro. Bakht Singh believed, on the basis of the Scripture that worship is the spiritual birthright of every believer.
Sunday morning service would begin with opening prayer by one of the leading brethren, followed by worship or devotional songs that were most often composed by those in the congregation in the local languages accompanied by Indian musical instruments. Then an elder or a leading brother would give a brief exhortation focusing on Christ. Kneeling down one by one, the believers would pour out their praise and thanksgiving. Bro. Bakht Singh had discovered that one of the secrets of developing the life of Christ in the soul and spirit of a believer was through Spirit-led, individual worship in a corporate setting.
Place of Worship:
Bro. Bakht Singh believed that they should not spend too much money on physical buildings for the service of the Lord. The Lord does not live in temples made with hands; instead redeemed people are the temple of the Lord. Whenever the rented houses become small for the gathering, they built tent-like halls or pandals for the gatherings. He made people to sit on floor mats, native style; and not on western style benches. Bro. Bakht Singh believed that every church was autonomous and self-supporting. He did not believe in centralized control of federation of churches. He believed in spiritual unity and fellowship of all scattered assemblies in India and throughout the world.
Seeking the Lord’s will:
Before making any important decision whether in relation to the speaker, place or whatever it may be, Bro. Bakht Singh would meet with his co-workers to pray and seek the mind of Christ. Without unanimity they would not act.
Love Feasts:
One of the salient features of the assemblies was love feast following the Sunday worship service. The main purpose of Love feasts was to provide an opportunity for believers to get together and have fellowship with one another over a meal.
Holy Convocations:
The Holy Convocations have been one of the Hallmarks of Bro. Bakht Singh’s work and ministry. One of the main purposes of the Holy Convocations was to provide fellowship for the scattered believers who did not have a local church or believers to have fellowship with regularly.
Evangelism, Gospel Raids and Gospel Processions:
At heart, Bro. Bakht Singh was an evangelist. In order to evangelize people more effectively, Bro. Bakht Singh organized:
1. Gospel Campaigns
2. Gospel Processions
3. Gospel Raids
4. Door to door Visitation
5. Open-air and street evangelism
Relationship with other Mission Organizations:
From the beginning of his work, he linked with men and women who shared in the vision and mission. He had open and broad heart towards God servants whether they were nationals or foreigners. He also linked with likeminded Western Missions and missionaries. His close working relationship with WEC (World Evangelization Crusade) and OM (Operation Mobilization) is noteworthy.
In mid-1960’s, the Lord brought George Verwer and OM team and trucks to India to link up with Bro. Bakht Singh’s ministry. The youngsters of OM team worked together with Bro. Bakht Singh in Andhra Pradesh and other parts of India.
He participated and spoke at numerous conferences, groups and churches both in India and abroad. However, when he received an invitation from India or abroad, he sought the will of God whether he should attend and then waited to be led by the Lord. He was extremely busy taking care of the needs of the ever multiplying and growing local churches. Therefore, very often he had to say no to the invitations that came from the other groups or organizations.
Conclusion:
The Lord enabled Bro. Bakht Singh and his co-workers to implement various aspects of the New Testament Church within the cultural backgrounds of the people of God in India.
Bro. Bakht Singh wrote in his writings about the church and ministry he had established, “That which would now develop should not be another exclusive body or sect of Christian people, another denomination. It was to be an expression of the heavenly and universal church in its unity and calling. The first thing to be avoided, then was a distinguishing name.
We had seen that the church of Jesus Christ is already ‘one new man’ (Ephesians 2:14-15)… All believers are already united in the ‘one body’. Any other name other than or additional to ‘Christian’ would distinguish us from other Christians and lead to our becoming another sect. Therefore we name the building only, and would be known as believers or Christians. All believers throughout the world and throughout the ages belong to us and we belong to them.”
From the above writing written by Bro. Bakht Singh we see that Bro. Bakht Singh never wanted to start a new denomination or new sect but wanted to remind the church the God given mandate “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (Matthew 16:15)”
Bro. Bakht Singh tried his best to do all things in obedience to His will in the light of the Word of God. He also demonstrated that when we do God’s work in God’s way, we will have the abundance of God’s resources to carry out His purposes.
“Bakht Singh of India: The Incredible Account of a Modern-Day Apostle - T. E. Koshy (Chapter 13, Bakht Singh’s vision of Church)
Bro. Bakht Singh did not believe in any formal Bible school or seminary training as a prerequisite for work or ministry of the Lord. He decided to follow the example of Christ who gathered his disciples together before he sent them out. They learned by being with Him for a period of time before he sent them out to preach what they had been taught. This was also the way apostles of the early church did.
Worship:
One of the unique aspects of Bro. Bakht Singh’s ministry was to teach and to practice Biblical worship. The believers both male and female, were encouraged to worship the Lord audibly one by one because Bro. Bakht Singh believed, on the basis of the Scripture that worship is the spiritual birthright of every believer.
Sunday morning service would begin with opening prayer by one of the leading brethren, followed by worship or devotional songs that were most often composed by those in the congregation in the local languages accompanied by Indian musical instruments. Then an elder or a leading brother would give a brief exhortation focusing on Christ. Kneeling down one by one, the believers would pour out their praise and thanksgiving. Bro. Bakht Singh had discovered that one of the secrets of developing the life of Christ in the soul and spirit of a believer was through Spirit-led, individual worship in a corporate setting.
Place of Worship:
Bro. Bakht Singh believed that they should not spend too much money on physical buildings for the service of the Lord. The Lord does not live in temples made with hands; instead redeemed people are the temple of the Lord. Whenever the rented houses become small for the gathering, they built tent-like halls or pandals for the gatherings. He made people to sit on floor mats, native style; and not on western style benches. Bro. Bakht Singh believed that every church was autonomous and self-supporting. He did not believe in centralized control of federation of churches. He believed in spiritual unity and fellowship of all scattered assemblies in India and throughout the world.
Seeking the Lord’s will:
Before making any important decision whether in relation to the speaker, place or whatever it may be, Bro. Bakht Singh would meet with his co-workers to pray and seek the mind of Christ. Without unanimity they would not act.
Love Feasts:
One of the salient features of the assemblies was love feast following the Sunday worship service. The main purpose of Love feasts was to provide an opportunity for believers to get together and have fellowship with one another over a meal.
Holy Convocations:
The Holy Convocations have been one of the Hallmarks of Bro. Bakht Singh’s work and ministry. One of the main purposes of the Holy Convocations was to provide fellowship for the scattered believers who did not have a local church or believers to have fellowship with regularly.
Evangelism, Gospel Raids and Gospel Processions:
At heart, Bro. Bakht Singh was an evangelist. In order to evangelize people more effectively, Bro. Bakht Singh organized:
1. Gospel Campaigns
2. Gospel Processions
3. Gospel Raids
4. Door to door Visitation
5. Open-air and street evangelism
Relationship with other Mission Organizations:
From the beginning of his work, he linked with men and women who shared in the vision and mission. He had open and broad heart towards God servants whether they were nationals or foreigners. He also linked with likeminded Western Missions and missionaries. His close working relationship with WEC (World Evangelization Crusade) and OM (Operation Mobilization) is noteworthy.
In mid-1960’s, the Lord brought George Verwer and OM team and trucks to India to link up with Bro. Bakht Singh’s ministry. The youngsters of OM team worked together with Bro. Bakht Singh in Andhra Pradesh and other parts of India.
He participated and spoke at numerous conferences, groups and churches both in India and abroad. However, when he received an invitation from India or abroad, he sought the will of God whether he should attend and then waited to be led by the Lord. He was extremely busy taking care of the needs of the ever multiplying and growing local churches. Therefore, very often he had to say no to the invitations that came from the other groups or organizations.
Conclusion:
The Lord enabled Bro. Bakht Singh and his co-workers to implement various aspects of the New Testament Church within the cultural backgrounds of the people of God in India.
Bro. Bakht Singh wrote in his writings about the church and ministry he had established, “That which would now develop should not be another exclusive body or sect of Christian people, another denomination. It was to be an expression of the heavenly and universal church in its unity and calling. The first thing to be avoided, then was a distinguishing name.
We had seen that the church of Jesus Christ is already ‘one new man’ (Ephesians 2:14-15)… All believers are already united in the ‘one body’. Any other name other than or additional to ‘Christian’ would distinguish us from other Christians and lead to our becoming another sect. Therefore we name the building only, and would be known as believers or Christians. All believers throughout the world and throughout the ages belong to us and we belong to them.”
From the above writing written by Bro. Bakht Singh we see that Bro. Bakht Singh never wanted to start a new denomination or new sect but wanted to remind the church the God given mandate “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (Matthew 16:15)”
Bro. Bakht Singh tried his best to do all things in obedience to His will in the light of the Word of God. He also demonstrated that when we do God’s work in God’s way, we will have the abundance of God’s resources to carry out His purposes.
“Bakht Singh of India: The Incredible Account of a Modern-Day Apostle - T. E. Koshy (Chapter 13, Bakht Singh’s vision of Church)
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