A question has been raised about authority in the Bible, and more specifically, about the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. I don't know if I can hit this question on the head, since I am not sure what the question is; but I'll state a few truisms that might ring a bell.
First, it can be noted that Jesus made it very clear that He has all authority...period. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." (Matthew 28:18). He then follows that with His charge to the apostles: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them..." And in Acts 1:8, as Jesus is about to leave the apostles for the last time here on earth, He says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses..." Jesus for sure had/has all authority; but He gave what I might call reflective authority to the apostles, since they were eyewitnesses of Him and were able to go forth with the power of the Spirit.
But we don't have any of that now....except that we have the written Word, given to us by the Spirit who directed the writing of the Bible. There is no man on earth today who has any authority. The only direction we get is through the Word, the Bible, which is plenty powerful enough to provide all that we need. We can read about God's authority through Jesus, and we can know exactly what He is wanting of us today.
And speaking of the Word, we can see a powerful statement at the end of the book of Revelation: "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." This statement refers specifically to the book of Revelation; don't add or detract. But it applies to the whole Bible itself.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to send any questions.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Sunday, May 12, 2013
God is an Exacting God.
We, the people of this earth, tend to make God out to be what we want Him to be. We worship Him in ways that we want; we form our own opinions as to what He is, what He expects of us, what He will do with us when we pass from this life. But the truth is contained in the Bible, His Word, given to us as a pattern to follow.
We can learn a lot about God and what He wants of us by reading the Old Testament and the New. What we find after doing that is that He is an exacting God. He is God, and He has a right to make the rules, if you will. Let's take a look at a couple of examples from the OT; and keep in mind that there are endless examples, but we will let a couple suffice.
In Leviticus 10, there are a couple of priests who took it upon themselves to worship God in a little different way that they had been told. They burned incense before Him in an act of worship. The Lord was displeased and had them killed immediately by fire. The point was clear that one doesn't worship the Lord in a false way, an unauthorized way.
In 2 Kings 5, we read of a noble man from Syria who was told by a prophet in Israel that God would heal him if he did exactly as God instructed. He was told to go dip in the river Jordan 7 times and his leprosy would be healed. The man, Naaman, was very angry. He said, "We have better rivers in Syria than this dirty river Jordan." But his advisers convinced him that he should try it. (If you don't know this story, read the details in 2 Kings 5--it is quite interesting.) So he dipped once, twice, three times, and so on and nothing happened. But on the seventh dip he was completely healed. The point here is that we must realize that when God gives instruction, we must follow it exactly. The Lord means business.
And God doesn't change. He tells us in the NT, sometimes by example, what it is He wants from us. We should take that seriously.....and do it His way.....not ours. That is true in our worship, our lives, the church, and in every way that we read in the NT. The NT is God's Word, His plan for man; and He tells us a lot there. Yes, there are some things that require judgment; but there is a lot given for us to follow. Let's do it His way.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week....and feel the love.
We can learn a lot about God and what He wants of us by reading the Old Testament and the New. What we find after doing that is that He is an exacting God. He is God, and He has a right to make the rules, if you will. Let's take a look at a couple of examples from the OT; and keep in mind that there are endless examples, but we will let a couple suffice.
In Leviticus 10, there are a couple of priests who took it upon themselves to worship God in a little different way that they had been told. They burned incense before Him in an act of worship. The Lord was displeased and had them killed immediately by fire. The point was clear that one doesn't worship the Lord in a false way, an unauthorized way.
In 2 Kings 5, we read of a noble man from Syria who was told by a prophet in Israel that God would heal him if he did exactly as God instructed. He was told to go dip in the river Jordan 7 times and his leprosy would be healed. The man, Naaman, was very angry. He said, "We have better rivers in Syria than this dirty river Jordan." But his advisers convinced him that he should try it. (If you don't know this story, read the details in 2 Kings 5--it is quite interesting.) So he dipped once, twice, three times, and so on and nothing happened. But on the seventh dip he was completely healed. The point here is that we must realize that when God gives instruction, we must follow it exactly. The Lord means business.
And God doesn't change. He tells us in the NT, sometimes by example, what it is He wants from us. We should take that seriously.....and do it His way.....not ours. That is true in our worship, our lives, the church, and in every way that we read in the NT. The NT is God's Word, His plan for man; and He tells us a lot there. Yes, there are some things that require judgment; but there is a lot given for us to follow. Let's do it His way.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week....and feel the love.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
The End of the World
The New Testament talks a good bit about the end of the world. Note these passages:
1Corinthians 15: "Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death."
1Thessalonians 5: For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, 'peace and safety!' then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ..."
2Peter 3: "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. There fore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness..."
These verses point out that just as God created the earth, He will destroy it. It will not be destroyed by man, not by excessive emissions, not by global warming or wars. It will be destroyed by fire, brought on by the Lord. His summary point is: "Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness..." We don't know when He will do this.....but we know that He will.
Thanks for reading again. Have a great week.
1Corinthians 15: "Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death."
1Thessalonians 5: For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, 'peace and safety!' then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ..."
2Peter 3: "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. There fore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness..."
These verses point out that just as God created the earth, He will destroy it. It will not be destroyed by man, not by excessive emissions, not by global warming or wars. It will be destroyed by fire, brought on by the Lord. His summary point is: "Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness..." We don't know when He will do this.....but we know that He will.
Thanks for reading again. Have a great week.
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