“Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.”
- 2 Timothy 4:10
“Come out from them, My people, and be separate.”
- 2 Corinthians 6:17
“If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
- 1 John 2:15
“Do not love the world… the pride of life.”
- 1 John 2:16
“He looked for a city not built by human hands.”
- Hebrews 11:10 (referring to Abraham)
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?’”
- Matthew 16:24–26
“In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”
- Luke 14:33
“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”
- Matthew 19:29
From the earliest days, the Spirit called the church away from worldly prestige and human systems, toward obedience to Christ. The first Christians lived under the shadow of Rome, the epitome of political power, cultural dominance, and social prestige. Yet the early church refused emperor worship, shared wealth, and practiced radical love for enemies, the poor, and the marginalized. In those small, persecuted communities, worldly honor had little value, and this marginalization preserved the fire of the Spirit. As the church grew, however, philosophical thinking and the desire for social respectability began to creep in. Leaders, drawn to the prestige of Greek education and the status of civic elites, slowly adopted frameworks that emphasized intellect and order over obedience and the Spirit. Paul had warned against precisely this: human wisdom cannot replace Christ-centered leadership, and knowledge without love puffs up while quenching the Spirit.
The temptation to prestige became stark when Constantine legalized Christianity. Suddenly, bishops and church leaders gained political influence, social status, and access to wealth. Ritual, liturgy, and intellectual theology flourished, but the spontaneous power of the Spirit—gifts of healing, prophecy, and charismatic witness—faded from the institutionalized church. Over the centuries, the Spirit repeatedly called communities to leave this “Rome-like” security. Monastic movements emerged as a corrective, as hermits and monks fled institutional structures to seek radical obedience, humility, and prayer in the desert. These small, Spirit-dependent communities preserved the fire that the broader, prestige-oriented church had dimmed. Yet even these movements were at risk of institutional absorption, and much of the renewal energy could be lost when human systems co-opted it.
During the Reformation, the Spirit again called churches away from worldly power. Leaders like Luther and Calvin reclaimed Scripture and Christ-centered obedience in the face of the Catholic Church’s institutional corruption and political influence. But fear of social, political, and institutional loss constrained some reformers, and renewal stalled in places where prestige and safety were prioritized over radical obedience. Later, in the Wesleyan revival, leaders navigated a delicate balance between Spirit-led holiness and social respectability. They sparked widespread renewal, yet seminaries and institutions gradually absorbed the energy, emphasizing doctrine and propriety over ongoing, Spirit-driven gifts and obedience.
The Pentecostal and Charismatic movements of the twentieth century show this pattern vividly. Spirit-led gifts and obedience ignited explosive revival, particularly among marginalized and ordinary people. But when churches began prioritizing institutional acceptance, media attention, or intellectual respectability, the fire slowed. Leaders feared the loss of control, comfort, and prestige, and in many cases, Spirit-led freedom was replaced by programming, careful planning, or intellectualized theology. Today, the pattern repeats: large Western churches often emulate Rome, professionalizing leadership, marketing ministries, and measuring success by human standards rather than obedience to Christ. Renewal stalls wherever leaders cling to status, influence, or comfort.
The historical pattern is unmistakable: revival begins in humility, obedience, and risk. Wherever the church embraces worldly prestige—the symbolic “Rome”—the Spirit’s fire slows or stalls. Renewal resumes only when leaders and communities surrender control, comfort, and status, turning fully back to Christ. The Spirit’s way is always anti-Platonic: it dethrones human wisdom and worldly power and enthrones obedience, humility, sacrifice, and dependence on God. Where the Spirit leads, the church must leave Rome behind; only then can revival truly ignite and the fire of the Spirit burn bright.
Stephen D Green, worded by AI
