Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Let the word of Christ Himself dwell in you richly, in all abundance, let it become the treasure of your heart. Men horde money, let the saints gather up, with every effort, the word of God and hide it away in the depths of you. And so the peace of God shall rule in our hearts as we put on the new man and the old man dies. The old mans treasure will ruin our ability to gather the new mans treasure. Only by moving in the riches of Christ can the riches of Christ rule and reign in our hearts. Christ Jesus Himself, the preeminent one. If He holds the highest place in your heart then you shall walk in an abundance of wisdom and knowledge and you shall be like a fruitful branch to Him, producing much fruit.
And those who so walk shall “teach and admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” You will sing with grace in your hearts and with love towards God. And in the singing of the psalms and the writing of the hymns and poems we shall convey truth to one another and admonish one another and in doing all that we do it within the confines of the Word of God. And the works of God and His fruit shall be manifested in the life of the genuine believer. A word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, a prophecy, a psalm a spiritual song. Paul wonders why, when they all gather, each has a teaching, a psalm, a tongue, a revelations and so forth. How far we have fallen. Now we rarely see, if ever, any of the aforementioned gifts in the gathering, rather it is stifled by the one man system that is in direct contradiction of the commands of God “Let two or three prophets speak,” Imagine, two or three exhortations whether to reveal or admonish. Two or three spiritual songs or psalms or hymns. Imagine what God could do if we banished the clergy/laity divide and the one man system that stifles and silences the saints in direct violation of Gods word. Imagine.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
In all things Jesus might have the preeminence. In all things brothers and sisters. And for this purpose we read in the earlier verses of this chapter that ” you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Increasing in the knowledge of God and the knowledge of His will is the work of the Holy Spirit in you. And as this occurs then Jesus is elevated, Jesus is lifted up, Jesus becomes first and last in all things, He indeed becomes your grand obsession and in this God is glorified. It was Christ who delivered us from the powers of darkness. It was God who transferred us, we were translated into the Kingdom of “The Son of His love.” How beautiful is that phrase ” The Son of His Love.” We, by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ become the sons and the daughters of His love!
Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Jesus is the Word made flesh. Jesus in Immanuel. He walks among us and is in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. By Jesus all things were created that are in heaven and in earth. Thrones, dominions and principalities and powers, all things were created by Jesus for the glory of God the Father. He is before all things and by Him all things exist. He is the head of the Body, the Church, and He is the firstborn from the dead and in all these things He has the preeminence. It is the devils task to tear Jesus down in the minds of men in a futile effort to dethrone Him. He detests the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of His love. He is insanely jealous of Jesus and wants to replace Him which is why he is anti-christ. By removing the preeminence of Jesus from our gatherings he has went a long way in an inevitably futile task. How tragic that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior has been sidelined and relegated in the hearts of millions of professing saints around the world in their hearts and in their gatherings.
Yet praise the Lord Jesus rules and reigns supreme in the hearts of His very own, no matter how much of the world has flooded into what we call churches. Jesus is and always will be higher than the highest heavens. One day the Lord will rend the heavens and His glory will flow down the mountains and fill every valley with His majesty. The seas will flee at His presence, the mountains will humbly bow and say ” Glory , glory to the risen King.” The sun will turn its face away in shame for it is outshone by the brilliance of His illumination. The moon and the stars will cry out ” Holy, Holy is He who was and is and forever shall be.” And every voice from every tongue will say “Jesus,” and acknowledge the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And the beasts of the earth will fall down and cover their faces and then the lion will rise up and approach the lamb and they will lay down together.
And every knee shall bow in every tribe and in every nation and even the hordes of hell will fall silent as He approaches. The earth itself will grow silent and shall be still and then a glorious noise will begin to rise and will fill the earth, it will fill the sea it will fill the night skies it will fill the whole universe and all that will be heard will be the choirs of angels, that heavenly choir and the glory of God will not only cover the earth but will fill up everything that there is or has ever been. God’s saints, the children of His love will rise on this glorious symphony, they will arise in the updrafts of His glory and majesty and it will carry them into the heart of God. And those who rejected this magnificent glory will fall and their cries will be heard as they fall into the depths of darkness, for what eyes can ever see light again that were not sanctified eyes. And He will reign forever.
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
It is always surprising to me just how many within the confines of Christendom deny that the Holy Spirit can be grieved. And yet here in the scriptures, very plainly, we are told not to grieve the blessed Holy Spirit. The Greek word here for grieve means to make sorrowful or to distress. Can we make God sorrowful? Can we cause Him distress? Yes indeed we can and it is the knowing of this and the proper understanding of this that creates the lines within which we walk the narrow path. Stray across the lines and we cause our Father grief. He is grieved when we do not act according to the nature He has given us but rather we act as the old man would have acted. ” Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.” This is the pleas of David in his great penitent psalm 51. Now, had God abandoned David? No. Yet David had fallen from His good graces and it was required of him to come to His Lord and make confession. And there is no doubt that the joy of His salvation was restored to David.
And so we find in this chapter 4 of Ephesians two sets of instructions. We are to “put of,” all manner of conduct of the old man. And we are to “put on,” all the characteristics of the new man. It is entirely clear that the putting on and putting off is our part. This is how we cooperate with the Lord. We have been delivered from the power of the old man and we have be transformed by the renewing of our minds as the new man. Examples given for the the conduct of the old man are lying, anger, stealing corrupt words, bitterness, wrath, outcry’s and speaking evil of men with malice. Conduct of the new man are truth, forgiveness and peace, honesty, hard work, imparting grace to those who hear us, kindness and being tenderhearted. This shall be our walk until the day of our redemption when this corrupt body is raised in in-corruption. In all tender relationships there is the fear of offending the one that we love and so it is, more completely, with our relationship with the Lord. In fact, it is this tenderheartedness and love that “keeps us.” The power of law was replaced with relationship. In this the law is fulfilled. Our motivation to walk in the Spirit of God is love. Religious men know nothing of this. They are kept by the rule of the law which they fail, without redemption. We the saints are kept by our love relationship with Jesus, which we never want to grieve, but when we inevitably do, He has made provision for us before the throne of grace.
Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
There is a King and His name is Jesus, and His name is above all names. He holds my heart and in the depths of who I am, He reigns. He holds the fabric of my life together, He’s the smile you’ll see upon my face. And even now in the depths of winter He is my everlasting warm embrace. The truth is high and lifted up and when it is spoken in love the whole world shakes. It puts to flight all lies and cuts through the darkness. Shall we not be filled with this love and speak the Truth? In doing so we grow in all things related to our Lord. And when everyone of us begin to move, when the whole Body moves together then the earth begins to tremble for the army of the Lord is on the march. If we shall grow, individually and corporately we must speak the truth in love. If we shall rise up and go deeper into the Father’s heart, we must speak the truth in love and walk there in. If we shall be one even as He and the Father are one it can only happen in truth and in love. They go together, no one can separate Christ into individual parts.
“The whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does it share, causes growth of the body, for the edifying of itself in love.” (Eph 4:16) This is an explosive scripture. The Body is knit together by what every joint supplies. It is only effective when every part does its share. This is the only way for growth. Despite what charlatans and hirelings and wolves might tell you, adding numbers to a gathering is not growth. Speaking the truth in love is growth. Edification and discipleship is growth. Fruits of the Spirit is growth. Sanctification is growth. When we have put off our former conduct, that is growth. Growth is about the inner man, not how many services you have. Growth is about endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Only in Christ who is truth can there be unity, can there be one body and one Spirit. One hope, one faith, one baptism one God and Father who is above all and who is preeminent in our hearts and in our minds and our gatherings. We can grow in the desert. We can grow in the depths of a dungeon. We can grow on the mountaintops. We can grow in poverty and we can grow in sickness. Growth is not determined by our circumstances, it is determined by our desire to follow the Lord and His word, wherever that narrow road will take us.
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.(Eph 4:4-6)
There is one Body and one Spirit and that’s the plain truth of it. Whoever attempts to divide the Body is on a fools errand. The catastrophic failure of denominationalism flows from the root failure to understand our calling. To walk as one in Christ, this is the hope of our calling. We endeavor to keep the unity of Christ which means we diligently work to tear down walls of separation just as the walls that separated the Jews from the Gentiles were torn down on the bloody battle-field of Calvary. The Body of Christ spans the world and churches and denominations. Christendom, all that calls itself after Christ is not the Body, but for the most part the Body dwells within the confines of Christendom. Christendom needs them but they do not need Christendom. For by our new birth we were born into Christ, into the Body and it is one. One faith, one baptism and one God the Father who is in us. If the Father is not in you then you are not in the Body of Christ, no matter what “church,” you belong to. If the Father is in you then you belong to the Body of Christ no matter what “church,” you belong to.
Being a member or an attendee of a “church,” is of no consequence to those in whom the Father does not dwell. Circumcised or uncircumcised has no spiritual value. Church goer or non church goer has no spiritual value outside of the Spirit of God that dwells with us. Among the true Body of Christ there are some apostles and some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers. Their purpose is to bring the saints to maturity and to edify the true Body of Christ until Christ comes again. They are not for the amusement or the hiring of the unsaved or the religious. No one outside of the Body can be edified by those whom the Lord calls, for the calling is to the one true Church. In Christendom we see “the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.” (Eph 4:14) The plotting is always in association with self-serving. Every wind of doctrine is employed by the trickery of men to build themselves up, and build for themselves a kingdom. Yet God will always have those of the Body who shall speak the truth in love, seeking only to edify and protect the Body. It is incumbent upon you, O saint, to discern these things by the Word of God and His Spirit.
2Co 1:8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life:
It is quite astonishing to see the transparency of Paul here. How many leaders would acknowledge such a depth of despair, even of life itself? How many saints would acknowledge this to each other? Especially men. Most of us are raised to be strong and to keep our innermost thoughts to ourselves, but here is Paul laying out his heart, his fears, his insecurities for everyone to read. And yet even in this he is teaching, he is becoming all things to all men so that he may comfort them. We cannot truly comfort others unless we can be honest and transparent. Once someone realizes that you have walked through the same fire as they have , they sit up and take notice. Paul assures us that his hope for you is steadfast because he knows that as you enter into the sufferings for Christ sake, you shall also enter into the consolation of Christ.
And how glorious is that consolation! Just to be known by Him, just to know that He knows what you are going through. To know that He stands with you in the midst of it all, then we trust Him. And that trust is our strength. It is that trust in Him that sees us through the fires. It is that trust in Him that elevates us above the storm. It is that trust in Him that causes despair to flee and be replaced with a blessed hope. To see Him in the midst of it all is to live. We know that the One who delivered us from the world will deliver us still from all of our calamities. And when He does, we then comfort others, who are going through the dark valleys of life and who are suffering for the cause of Christ, with the same comfort we ourselves were comforted with.
1Co 14:24 But if all prophesy, and if an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
Note the word “all”. Over and over we see the word all. And again in verse 31 we are told “for you can all prophesy that all may learn and all may be encouraged. Six times in two verses the Scriptures hammer home the truth “all.” Genuine saints are all priests in a royal priesthood. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light! (1 Pet 2:9) All the saints have been called forth to cry out the praises of the One who called us out of darkness to show the world His marvelous light. We are His excellent ones. Specifically anointed to move under the manifestation of the Spirit and speak as He leads us to speak. And when we do as we are instructed to do , then, according to the Scriptures the unlearned or the unbeliever will fall down on his face and worship God because the secrets of his heart was revealed and he shall then reports to all that “God is truly among you.”
This is the plain reading of the scripture saints. To do it any other way is to be in direct conflict with God. To sit under the clergy/laity system is to directly violate the principles and the instructions here laid down by God Himself. What audacity to think we know better. The greatest injury perpetrated against the Church was robbing the Body of its fellowship, of its actual breaking of bread, its communion together. How it fellowshiped together, how it gathered together, how it worshiped together under the auspices of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, who oversaw, who hovered over all things, all of this was rejected by the professional clergy. To wait upon the Lord so that only He speaks, is the simple gathering of the brethren. Let us wait upon the Lord. Who shall He speak through? What shall He say? How will He encourage us? How will He discipline us? What song shall He have us to sing? The Holy Spirit knows all this and empowers all of this by being manifested among us through “all.” Not one man.
The devil himself has worked feverishly over the centuries through religious hands to tear down what is real and erect empty meaningless rituals that are then idolized. The modern day church is like a ship at sea that has lost its power and is now driven by the winds and the tides and the currents of the world. Lost and drifting, waiting to be swamped by the next big wave, the next modern thing, the next hellish doctrine of the world. And yet the true Body of believers are still operating under power, the power of the Holy Spirit manifesting Himself in our lives. The day is coming soon saints, when the pressures from a very hostile world will draw us back together. The weak will fall away, the feeble will fall away. Lovers of the world more than lovers of the Lord will fall away. Little by little the saints are being purged from the world and this is good, the hand of the Lord Himself is doing this. We shall come back together, and we shall worship as we have read in 1 Cor 14. The great persecution will soon be upon us but the gathering of the saints takes place at the same time. We shall truly be united in our sufferings and in the persecution. And there we shall find the same power that stopped the mouths of lions, that overcome the fiery furnace, that shook the prison and turned the whole world upside down.
1Co 14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
I will probably have a couple of devotionals on this chapter. I believe it to be one of the most important “chapters,” in the NT. Nowhere else do we have such a description of an early gathering service. Paul clearly states that what he is saying in regard to these matters is ” commandments of the Lord.” He further states that if you believe that you are a ” prophet or spiritual,”or leaders among the brethren then you must acknowledge the things of which he has just written about. And what has he just written about? He has just relayed to us “commandments of the Lord,” as to how a service should be conducted. To ignore Paul in this is to actually ignore God. He ends the chapter just as he begins it by saying “therefore brethren , desire earnestly to prophecy and do not forbid to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order.”
Before I begin to talk about the manifestation of the Spirit among us in the service, in all its many demonstrations, we must speak to the purpose of it all. The purpose of the manifestation of the Spirit among us in the service is primarily for edification. The word edification or to edify is mentioned five times in this one chapter. Those who come to Christ must be fed. We know that God Himself fed the children of Israel in the desert. Manna fell from heaven and water poured forth from the Rock. If it were not for the supernatural hand of God, all of the children of Israel would have starved in very short order or returned to Egypt. Now, in the NT God also feeds His children, and just as the children of Israel in the desert, we too shall die if He does not feed us or we shall turn to the world. We must be edified. He who prophecies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.( 1 Cor 14:3) For he who prophecies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets that the gathering may receive edification. (1 Cor 14:5) Even so, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the gathering. (1 Cor 14:12) Let all things be done for edification. (1 Cor 14:26)
So brothers and sisters, you see the clear purpose of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit among us as we gather. It is to edify us. To feed us, to build us up. To strengthen us. If we are not edified then we are not fed. If we reject the clear commandments of God then we are not fed. A intellect will not nourish your body, it needs to be fed spiritual food. God has, in His great wisdom, laid out how we shall be fed and from what source we shall be fed from. He is the source. He alone. We are not building up the intellect, we are strengthening the inner man. The spiritual man. And He can only be fed in the prescribed manner. Jesus says to the devil in the garden that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God. And so our singular source of spiritual food comes from the Word of God and the mouth of God. And how then does this happen? By the manifestation of the Spirit in our midst when we gather. He edifies through the prophet. He edifies through the word of knowledge. He edifies through the word of wisdom. He edifies through the interpreted tongue. He edifies through the Word. He edifies through a teaching. He edifies us in worship as we sing praises unto Him. In all these things, and more, He speaks to us and His words are life. They feed the deepest parts of who we are that we may rise up and be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. It is by His Spirit alone we are fed. To reject this is to starve.
1Co 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love , I am become as sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.
In the previous sentence Paul tells us that we have to earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet, even above and beyond the best gifts, which we have indeed to earnestly desire, we must pursue love. It is not one or the other, God forbid. That’s a lie. Not only must the man or woman display the manifestation of the Spirit, above and beyond even that, He must walk in the greatest gift of all, love. Not human love, supernatural love. The kind of love that can only belong to the born again man or woman. The kind of love that shatters the gates of hell. The kind of love that inspired God to create us in the first place. The love that sent His only Son to die for the whole world. The kind of love that pursues us even when we are yet in our sin. The love that confounds hell itself. Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do. What kind of love motivated Jesus to cry this out in the midst of the greatest agony ever suffered? What kind of love would motivate Stephen to cry out the same thing even as those cruel merciless stones rained down upon his mortal body? Supernatural love. If one is truly endued with power from on high, that power will be first and foremost manifested in love in his or her life, the greatest manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
Paul begins with what love does not do or what it isn’t. It does not envy. It is not boastful. It is not full of pride. It does not behave in a deliberately offensive manner. It is not selfish. It is not easily provoked. It does not think the worse of people. It does not rejoice when others fall. Love, instead, revels in the truth, it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. Love, indeed, never fails. It never fails. For this love is the manifestation of God Himself, in His own and through His own. It can never fail because God never fails. It is eternal for God is eternal. When the end comes, when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back and the Kingdom of God rules and reigns for all eternity then of course we wont have to hope any more, for all hope is fulfilled. We will no longer have to trust in the God that we cannot see, for now we shall see Him face to face.
Knowledge will vanish because we shall know as we are known. When all things are fulfilled in this manner, then love still stands forever. We are yet in this world, but the world to come is coming soon. Now we are like children, then we shall be complete in Him. Now we see in a mirror dimly, then face to face. Imagine it saints!!! There is now and there is then, we still exist in the now. And now we have the manifestation of the Spirit, then, all things are complete, perfect. And when that perfect has come, then all these other things, besides love, shall fall away. Do not let anyone fool you, do not be ignorant about these things brothers and sisters. For certain men have a form of Godliness, nevertheless they deny the power of God and say that it has ceased. From such men turn away.
1Co 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.
The Scriptures plainly teach that the “manifestation of the Spirit,” is given to each one for the profit of all. It is given in such a way that in order that we may learn, in order that we might grow and becomes sons and daughters of the King. Without this edification, how could we grow? If a child is not being nourished properly then it is often referred to as “failure to thrive.” Failure to thrive is defined as “infants or children that fail to thrive seem to be dramatically smaller or shorter than other children of the same age.” I would argue that we live in a Christian generation that has failed to thrive, Failed to grow. A generation that is more Biblically illiterate than their counterparts from 300 years ago. Despite our instant access to the Word and commentaries and Greek and Hebrew translations, we are the most Biblically illiterate generation for several hundred years. Can I suggest that when we rid ourselves of the “manifestation of the Spirit,” through the gifts that are given to us by God Himself, we could do nothing else but fail to thrive.
In the verse above we see that these gifts are “given,” by God. And then we read in verse 18 that God has “set,” each member of the Body just as it pleased Him. And finally we see in verse 28 that God has “appointed,” those who apostles and prophets, evangelists and teachers and pastors and so on. So we can clearly see that God is intimately involved in ever aspect of His Body. He gives the gifts, He sets the members, He appoints those who are to lead. He does all of that. This is what makes it the Body. This is how we thrive. This is how we are edified, this is how we grow. He takes the foolish things of this world, He transforms them through the new birth, He feeds them milk as babe, He then introduces meat when it can be handled and that one begins to grow. He or she grows up into a son or a daughter of the King. This is all done in the confines of the Body, each part set by Him and moving in the gift given to them. They are led by servant leaders whose entire goal is to see the flock strong and healthy and following Jesus. This is God’s way and it is beautiful. Men so often have entirely different agendas. They may fill a building, but it is a building full of pygmies.
1Co 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
When the Scriptures warn us about not being ignorant or not being deceived, the first thing we should do is sit up and take notice. There is always the danger of being deceived in all manner of teachings but especially in the areas we are being specifically warned about. This of course is the case with what Paul is going to say about the spiritual gifts. I trust you will agree with me when I say that one of the greatest “schisms,” that exists in Christendom is found in the subject of spiritual gifts. It actually creates a division that cannot be bridged. If one denies that there are spiritual gifts or that they no longer operate, then that one finds himself in direct conflict with the Word of God. I would argue that those who are baptized in the Holy Spirit and who operate in their giftings, given by the Holy Spirit Himself,cannot possibly have true and genuine fellowship with those who deny there very existence. For to deny that is to deny the Holy Spirit or to say, as many have, that the gifts are no the work of the Holy Spirit but indeed the devil himself.
God Himself has apportioned these gifts to men and women and has personally appointed apostles and prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. And every genuine saint has been given a gift so that he or she is a vital part of the ministry of the fellowship. And is therefore used in the edification of the Body in whatever degree the Lord sees fit. The Body of Christ cannot work or be edified outside the plan of God. This is His plan, these are His appointments and these gifts are given by Him. It is the Lord and the Lord alone who is building His Church so than no man can boast. Now this directly confronts and contradicts the man made clergy/laity system. They cannot operate side by side, its not possible. There is one Lord and His name is not “senior pastor.” Jesus alone has the preeminence. He alone guides and directs and feeds His flock through His own appointments and His own gifts. He is entirely in charge. This has been co-opted by men, hijacked if you like. And wherever that happens, men and women begin to spiritually starve. And so we see in our day that the broad swath of of what calls itself Christian is entirely emaciated.
Jesus has created the genuine saints to be united in Him. To be of one mind and one body, held together by the greatest gift of all, love. The world will know us by our love for one another. It whispers in the wind but is heard loudly wherever it is found. We are held together by its bonds. We are bond-servants to love and must stay within its confines. When the gifts are operating in the fellowship, it is an intimate thing. It draws us close to each other. We “know,” each other in ways that cannot be known outside of God’s plan for us. This system that God has created to water His own garden is the only way for genuine growth. Only by His hand can we grow. Only by His hand can we love as we ought to love. Only by His hand could a disparate group of people from a thousand different backgrounds stand together as one. This is His magnificent creation and it only works if we follow His directions. What audacious mind could ever believe that he knows better than God? We must follow God’s directions to the letter and He has clearly laid this out in regard to spiritual gifts. Do not be ignorant in this brothers and sisters. Stay close to the Lord and if men refuse to follow the Lord in this then they must be allowed to wander of. As the old song goes, “if none goes with me, still I will follow.”
Signs and wonders and miracles follow those who believe. It follows the dramatic transformation of souls, which is of course the greatest miracle of all. A large majority of Christendom seem only transfixed on miracles. We see in Acts 8-9 a man called Simon magician or sorcerer. Upon seeing the power of the Apostles, he wanted the same power and desired to “purchase,” it. Of course he is sternly rebuked. He is never mentioned in Scripture again. In extra biblical writings it seems he continued in his sorcery while still being around the Christian community. He gave rise to the word “Simony,” which means “using religion for profit.” Men like Simon would never move in the power of God. May I suggest we live in an age of Simony. There is so little evidence of the miraculous power of God in Christendom because Christendom in large part is run by men who “use religion for profit.” God is still a miracle working God, therefore if there is a fundamental lack of the true supernatural power among that which names itself the church, then that is a reflection on them and not upon our Lord who never changes.
If God has not changed, and of course He has not, then why it is that there is next to no supernatural power on display in what we call the church today? Can I suggest that one of the major causes is “Simony” those who “use religion for profit.” And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? (Judges 6:13) Where are all the miracles Gideon asks? The very first thing Gideon had to do was tear down the idols of his fathers. What Gideon did, we will not do. The traditions of our fathers still stand and they are more important to us than the commandments of God. The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same things over and over again and expect different results. If there is a crisis and a lack of genuine power within the ranks of Christendom, then the answer is not to dim the lights, bring on the smoke machines and turn Sunday services into secular looking concerts. The answer, as always, lies within the Word of God and His commandments. 1 Cor 14. This is the model, and if we refuse to return to the Word of God in order to maintain our own traditions and the salaries of “senior pastors and so called worship leaders” then, of course, not only will nothing change, it will only get worse.
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
This glorious Scripture was fulfilled when Christ stood in the temple and expounded this verse and told the world, that this Scripture was fulfilled in their hearing. The Spirit of the Lord God was upon Jesus. It is He who is anointed to preach the good news to the poor. He may speak through us, but by the power of the Holy Spirit it is Christ Himself that speaks to the poor. Only Jesus can heal the brokenhearted. Only Jesus can proclaim liberty to the captives, and only Jesus can free those captives from their chains and He would do it all through us, the priests of the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. The dove descended upon the Lord Jesus and we must be immersed in the same Holy Spirit. We rise up in that power. We are a royal priesthood, a Holy Generation. We are the chosen ones of the Lord, royal priests in a royal priesthood.
When they see us brothers and sisters, they must see Jesus. We are a manifestation of Jesus to the world by and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Everything is done in the name of Jesus because there is no other name under heaven whereby a man can be saved. There is no other name under heaven whereby a man can be freed from His bonds. There is no other name under heaven whereby a man can be healed. There is no other name under heaven whereby the blind eyes are opened and the crushed heart is restored. We saints are clothed in the garments of salvation. We are covered by the robes of righteousness just as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Just as a garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so to the Lord our God causes righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. We are a living demonstration of His righteousness and we can do nothing more than praise Him from the depths of the inexhaustible wells of our salvation. Never forget who you are in HIm brothers and sisters.
Act 15:39 And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;
This is a well known incident. Paul and Barnabas fall out with each other, so much so that they change their plans and Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus leaving Paul behind. The plan had been to go back and revisit the brothers and sisters in every city and encourage them. It was a good plan, but the personalities of these very Godly men got in the way of the plan that very well was their own. Has this ever happened to you? Has you temper or some other personality trait caused you to fall out with someone and it seems that you have completely blown it? I have lost count over the last thirty years how many times it seems that I have “stepped on,’ the plan of the Lord. It never left me unaffected, quite the opposite. I would aid and abet the enemy in beating me up.
I am sure that as Paul watched Barnabas and Mark sail away, he must have regretted his “sharp contention,’ with his dear brother in the Lord. They had been through so much together. Barnabas must have looked back as the ship sailed away and had similar thoughts, the Holy Spirit, no doubt, convicting both for their parts in the contention. Yet I want you to see something. Despite us, despite our many failings, God has a plan and He is working it out. Paul decides to take Silas in the place of Barnabas. Little did not Paul know that he and Silas were about to live out one of the most famous incidents in the New Testament. Very shortly after leaving, they find themselves in the bowels of a dungeon, whipped to within an inch of their lives and in stocks.
And despite the previous failings of Paul, we see God had a plan. I believe that plan was for the jailer and his whole family to be saved. Silas was probably the perfect guy for this job. We find them both praising the Lord at the midnight hour and all the prisoners listening to them and then, a great earthquake. God came down. The doors flew open and the men, taken by the presence of God no doubt, stayed right there in their cells. The jailer, supposing the very opposite is about to kill himself but instead he gets saved and all of his family and goes on to have a house church in that city. Gods plan. Remember, God had forbidden them to preach the word in Asia, they also being refused permission to go to Bithynia. Then they had a vision of a man pleading for them to come to Macedonia. You see how every step of the way, God had a plan and He was bringing it to pass? Paul and Silas were on a need to know basis. Brothers and sisters, more often than nought we are on a need to know basis. I would imagine that knowing they were going to be scourged and put in stocks would not have helped them along.
If you have messed up and missed the mark, take heart brothers and sisters. You have no idea what God has in store for you. He uses imperfect individuals to carry out His perfect will. It is always about His plan and never about ours. We may go crashing ahead sometimes with what seems to be right, and yet it is completely wrong, its is simply our own plan. God will interrupt our plans. He will use what is useful to Him and bring you to where He wants you to be. My only advice is to listen for the direction or as in this case, the redirection of the Holy Spirit. Stay humble and broken and contrite and no matter what, move in forgiveness. Be quick to forgive those that have wronged you. After all, we are but vessels in the hands of the Lord, and if we are quick to forgive then He is faithful and just and merciful to forgive us. In the end, it is all His work and it is all His glory and it is His story. Keep walking brothers and sisters, God will use you.
Act 4:2 Being greatly disturbed that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the priests and the captain of the temple were greatly disturbed that disciples taught the people. This was their first crime. When was the last time you greatly disturbed someone? Who were these unlearned peasants who dared to teach the people? The religious folks of the day were grieved in their spirits that they were being usurped. If the ordinary folks were listening and being taught by other ordinary folks, where would that all end? They were, of course, particularly grieved that they taught that Jesus was the Christ and that He was alive! Now, the rulers and the elders and even the high priest had the disciples set before them. Outside of the Romans, these were the most powerful men in all of Judah. They demanded to know by what authority they spoke. It is always about authority.
Peter stood up, and, filled with the Holy Spirit told them boldly and plainly that it was in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ they spoke “whom you crucified.” And then, to hammer home the point about Jesus being the Christ says “there is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved.” Unlearned men, untrained blue collar workers. Their only qualification, which was recognized, was that they had “been with Jesus.” Praise the Lord. When they were commanded by the rulers to never speak of Jesus again, the disciples rebuffed them by asking, who should we listen to, you or God? Oh for a tiny portion of that boldness in our own days. Never in the history of the Church has this kind of boldness been more needed.
The same religious men in our days have attempted to silence “the unlearned and the untrained.” And for the same reasons. Authority. They desire the authority and the preeminence. If every ordinary man or woman could preach or teach or give a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge or a tongue or a prophecy then where would that leave the religious leaders? Probably out of a job. If Christians this day had the same boldness to stand and be counted for the cause of Christ as the disciples did, not afraid of what might become of them, then we would have a Church like the early Church. And when the disciples went back and recounted what had just happened to them, their brothers and sisters prayed over them for even more boldness “and when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spake the word of God with boldness.” Would to God that we would pray that same prayer and experience that same shaking and filling.
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Power brothers and sisters. Power, primarily, to be a witness! So much has been written about the Holy Spirit. So much has been spoken of about the sign gifts. So much has been counterfeited by sheer emotion and even the enemy himself. What are the signs that a man or a woman are Baptized in the Holy Spirit? Is it tongues? Is it being an apostle, a prophet, a worker of miracles? …Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.(1Co 12:29-31)
All of these gifts are from the Holy Spirit indeed, yet the primary identification of one baptized in the Holy Spirit is your witness. It is the life that you lead. A life that clearly identifies with Jesus. It is the words that you speak, the Word of God that does not return void. It is your un-ashamedness. Are you ashamed of God before men? Are we too afraid to share the gospel with others? This is a sure sign that we are either not baptized in the Holy Spirit or that we thought, somehow, that is was a onetime thing and that there was no requirements to be “full,” of the Holy Spirit. We must abide in Christ and in His word. We must walk closely with the Lord, seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness that we may be partakers of His righteousness and His holiness. And we also are called to be disciples.
On the road to Emmaus Jesus walked with two disciples. And when that walk was over, they later marveled “did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” The fellowship of the burning heart. Brothers and sisters, those who are baptized in the Holy Spirit will have such a fellowship. Their hearts will burn within them as the Holy Spirit opens up to them the Scriptures just as Jesus did with these two men. The Greek word for heart is Kardia, it means “the effective center of our being.” If Jesus is the effective center of our being then there shall be a fire at the very heart of who we are. Does the fire burn brothers and sisters? Without the wind of the Spirit there is but a smoldering ember. With the Spirit there is a raging fire that burns. It is this passion of all things Christ, that creates in us the light of the Gospel of the Kingdom and this light shines into the darkness.
A Call To The Remnant 