ENLIGHTENED AND WHOLE PEOPLE
26/04/24 08:34
It pays to live in the Spirit. Those who do are often more alive than those who don’t. I say ‘often’ because some charismatics live confused and broken lives. This is because the signs and the ‘words’ are not the foundation of the Gospel. This foundation is the completed atonement of Christ for us and the consequent incarnation of His Spirit in us. The basis of Christianity is that we are in God and God is in us.
CESSATIONIST ILLUSION
Nevertheless, cessationism is a furphy. I know people who hear from God by visions and dreams, who cast out demons without making a fuss and who heal deaf ears and blind eyes. I met a woman in India who was raised from the dead. Stick with cessationism, if all the Kingdom Jesus began to you is maintaining the institution known as the Church. We can plant churches – but do they make a difference?
MIRACLE OF INCARNATION
Signs and wonders may accompany the Gospel but they are not its foundation. The foundation is the atonement – Christ in Himself has made us one with God. The other part of the foundation is the incarnation – Christ come in our flesh. This is a constant. Christ is present in us and with us when we feel nothing and when we witness manifestations.
CONVERSION AS A RESULT OF CONVERSATIONS AND BIBLE STUDIES
Timothy Keller wrote, “Before we look at Paul’s case, a word of warning is in order. Paul's conversion story is dramatic. There's a visible light and an audible voice from heaven. He was literally knocked to the ground. And some people say, "Now that's what I'm talking about! If God wants to come into my life, that's what it's going to have to look like."
NO BELLS AND WHISTLES
Fortunately, however, we have the rest of the book of Acts. In Acts 8 we read of the conversion of an African finance minister, who came to faith through a simple Bible study with Philip, reading the book of Isaiah (Acts 8:30-36).
In Acts 16 we read about the prominent businesswoman, Lydia, who heard Paul talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ in a women's prayer group. All we hear is that "the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message" (Acts 16:13-14). That's all. No miracles, no lights, no vision just conversation.” (1)
SHARING LIFE
We share the life/truth of Christ in everyday life, often by conversation, Bible studies and enlightened sermons. When we have eyes to see we will find ourselves being tutored by Christ in everyday life. I need to tell you that I know people who see in the Spirit things that I never see. But these same people can be attached to appallingly distorted theology of the kind that blunts lives and makes dead trees out of live ones.
We need to know that theologians who dig out the truth of our inheritance in Christ so that errors are off-loaded and truth is given its chance to multiply life, are just as much the product of spiritual gifts as those who heal deaf ears and bent limbs.
(1) Timothy Keller. Hope in Times of Fear The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter. P 113.
CESSATIONIST ILLUSION
Nevertheless, cessationism is a furphy. I know people who hear from God by visions and dreams, who cast out demons without making a fuss and who heal deaf ears and blind eyes. I met a woman in India who was raised from the dead. Stick with cessationism, if all the Kingdom Jesus began to you is maintaining the institution known as the Church. We can plant churches – but do they make a difference?
MIRACLE OF INCARNATION
Signs and wonders may accompany the Gospel but they are not its foundation. The foundation is the atonement – Christ in Himself has made us one with God. The other part of the foundation is the incarnation – Christ come in our flesh. This is a constant. Christ is present in us and with us when we feel nothing and when we witness manifestations.
CONVERSION AS A RESULT OF CONVERSATIONS AND BIBLE STUDIES
Timothy Keller wrote, “Before we look at Paul’s case, a word of warning is in order. Paul's conversion story is dramatic. There's a visible light and an audible voice from heaven. He was literally knocked to the ground. And some people say, "Now that's what I'm talking about! If God wants to come into my life, that's what it's going to have to look like."
NO BELLS AND WHISTLES
Fortunately, however, we have the rest of the book of Acts. In Acts 8 we read of the conversion of an African finance minister, who came to faith through a simple Bible study with Philip, reading the book of Isaiah (Acts 8:30-36).
In Acts 16 we read about the prominent businesswoman, Lydia, who heard Paul talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ in a women's prayer group. All we hear is that "the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message" (Acts 16:13-14). That's all. No miracles, no lights, no vision just conversation.” (1)
SHARING LIFE
We share the life/truth of Christ in everyday life, often by conversation, Bible studies and enlightened sermons. When we have eyes to see we will find ourselves being tutored by Christ in everyday life. I need to tell you that I know people who see in the Spirit things that I never see. But these same people can be attached to appallingly distorted theology of the kind that blunts lives and makes dead trees out of live ones.
We need to know that theologians who dig out the truth of our inheritance in Christ so that errors are off-loaded and truth is given its chance to multiply life, are just as much the product of spiritual gifts as those who heal deaf ears and bent limbs.
(1) Timothy Keller. Hope in Times of Fear The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter. P 113.
