The Beliefs of John Robert Stevens

Stevens used the term divine order to describe the organization of the Body of Christ, formed according to God’s will. The opposite of this occurred in the time of the Judges, when every man did what was right in his own sight (Judges 17:6). The true leading of Jesus Christ for each church and each individual is a necessity, for Christ must be the Head of His Body (Ephesians 4:15). Jesus has the only authority over His church, and He, Himself, chooses those who will lead it. “In the New Testament times Jesus Christ was Lord; and under His Lordship, foundational ministries were sent forth upon which the Church was to be built.”¹ This means that the five-fold gift ministries are involved in God’s divine order.

Stevens contrasted divine order with denominationalism. While divine order is based solely on God’s direction, denominationalism is organized by human choices. Instead of being bound in an organization, Christian churches should be tied together by God’s Word and God’s will. Stevens described how divine order is established in this way:

It will not happen the Protestant way, with everyone figuring it out in his own mind. It will not happen the Roman Catholic way of bowing down to what the pope says. It will happen because divine revelation illuminates apostles and prophets, and the Scripture is revealed again as the Kingdom comes forth.²

The term divine order appears 568 times in Stevens’ written materials.