Where is the God of the Bible?
Is the Bible just a book of fables and tales written to give our children some form of moral beliefs? Or is it really a book written for believers of all ages to follow and live? Did God really perform the miracles we read about? Did He feed the five thousand? Did He part the Red Sea? Did God really create the heavens and the Earth? John 21:25 Says; There are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.
So what happened today to the Jesus Christ that is the same yesterday, today, and forever that we read about in Hebrews 13:8? And when Jesus said in Mark 16:15 that these signs would follow those who believe does that mean we who believe should be able to cast out demons and heal the sick, or forgive sins and speak with new tongues? If so then what role do I play as an individual believer to see the church I belong to enter into and remain in that type of spiritual dimension?
I know that some have interpreted Paul’s directions for the gifts of the spirit as saying they will end when the Bible is come. But that interpretation of 1 Cor. 13:10 does not agree with Acts 2:38-39 where Peter says the promise of salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit is for as afar off and as many as the Lord shall call. Meaning as long as the Lord is saving people He wants them to have the promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If we are to have the Holy Spirit in us then it only makes sense that we should be seeing the gifts of the spirit functioning in the church.
When we talk about spiritual gifts it is important not to confuse them with spiritual fruit. The discussion in 1Cor. 12 is about gifts and ministries in the body of Christ. We see that Paul felt led to write three chapters on these subjects because the church at Corinth was obviously struggling with how to allow the gifts to function without inviting chaos into the church and creating a spectacle. Many today have thrown out the baby with the bathwater because they don’t want to deal with the same super spiritual attitude of what I call “Charismania” or gifts out of control.
Those that want to act like dogs and crawl around barking in the spirit, or partaking in holy laughter movements are not doing themselves or God any favors. What they are doing is showing us all that it is possible for people to get so carried away that they act like maniacs. This is likely similar to what was happening at Corinth. Showing off their ability to speak in tongues and allowing it to go so far that their church services were nothing more than a circus. When those of lesser faith or understanding of spiritual gifts see this type of insanity take place in the name of God’s Holy Spirit they strengthen their belief that the gifts are not for today.
What will it take for believers today to start contending for the supernatural element that was promised to us in the Bible? Prophecy, healing, miracles and supernatural faith was present in the old and new testaments alike so what about today? Sure there is a small and growing percentage of churches today that believe in and accept the gifts for this generation. But how often do we see someone healed, or hear a prophecy? How often is there the gift of tongues with interpretation in our services where God actually speaks to His church? And most importantly as we read in the book of Acts chapter 2 is the Lord adding to His church daily such as should be saved?
Perhaps we as the Christian church can hear the beckoning call to follow the church in Acts example and pray in one accord for God to pour out His spirit and empower us for His plan that souls are saved and set free to worship HIM.
Is the Bible just a book of fables and tales written to give our children some form of moral beliefs? Or is it really a book written for believers of all ages to follow and live? Did God really perform the miracles we read about? Did He feed the five thousand? Did He part the Red Sea? Did God really create the heavens and the Earth? John 21:25 Says; There are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.
So what happened today to the Jesus Christ that is the same yesterday, today, and forever that we read about in Hebrews 13:8? And when Jesus said in Mark 16:15 that these signs would follow those who believe does that mean we who believe should be able to cast out demons and heal the sick, or forgive sins and speak with new tongues? If so then what role do I play as an individual believer to see the church I belong to enter into and remain in that type of spiritual dimension?
I know that some have interpreted Paul’s directions for the gifts of the spirit as saying they will end when the Bible is come. But that interpretation of 1 Cor. 13:10 does not agree with Acts 2:38-39 where Peter says the promise of salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit is for as afar off and as many as the Lord shall call. Meaning as long as the Lord is saving people He wants them to have the promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If we are to have the Holy Spirit in us then it only makes sense that we should be seeing the gifts of the spirit functioning in the church.
When we talk about spiritual gifts it is important not to confuse them with spiritual fruit. The discussion in 1Cor. 12 is about gifts and ministries in the body of Christ. We see that Paul felt led to write three chapters on these subjects because the church at Corinth was obviously struggling with how to allow the gifts to function without inviting chaos into the church and creating a spectacle. Many today have thrown out the baby with the bathwater because they don’t want to deal with the same super spiritual attitude of what I call “Charismania” or gifts out of control.
Those that want to act like dogs and crawl around barking in the spirit, or partaking in holy laughter movements are not doing themselves or God any favors. What they are doing is showing us all that it is possible for people to get so carried away that they act like maniacs. This is likely similar to what was happening at Corinth. Showing off their ability to speak in tongues and allowing it to go so far that their church services were nothing more than a circus. When those of lesser faith or understanding of spiritual gifts see this type of insanity take place in the name of God’s Holy Spirit they strengthen their belief that the gifts are not for today.
What will it take for believers today to start contending for the supernatural element that was promised to us in the Bible? Prophecy, healing, miracles and supernatural faith was present in the old and new testaments alike so what about today? Sure there is a small and growing percentage of churches today that believe in and accept the gifts for this generation. But how often do we see someone healed, or hear a prophecy? How often is there the gift of tongues with interpretation in our services where God actually speaks to His church? And most importantly as we read in the book of Acts chapter 2 is the Lord adding to His church daily such as should be saved?
Perhaps we as the Christian church can hear the beckoning call to follow the church in Acts example and pray in one accord for God to pour out His spirit and empower us for His plan that souls are saved and set free to worship HIM.
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