Dr Paul Allen

How did Jesus walk on water? How did he feed five thousand with five loaves and two fish? How did he raise Lazarus from the dead? Unless we have been carefully taught, many Christians would be quick to say simply, Because he is God! And he truly is. But is that how the New Testament answers these questions? If we follow the emphasis of the Gospels, we might say that what Jesus’s miracles show is that he is God, but how he, as man, performs these wonders, is not quite as simple as we may assume. In particular, what are we to say about the many texts that testify to the Holy Spirit’s presence in the human life of Christ? Did Christ, in His humanity, actually need the Holy Spirit if he performed such signs simply by virtue of his divinity? When we recognize the surprisingly recurrent theme of the divine Spirit’s relationship to the divine Son in his humanity, we might understand Jesus (and the Gospels) better, and freshly marvel at what grace Christ offers us in the gift of his Spirit. Je...

“But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.” ( 1 John 2:20 )  NLT. " But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." KJV The word “unction” in the KJV text is translated “anointing” the other two times it is used ( 1 John 2:27 ). That term and a companion word are used only seven times in the New Testament, but all refer to the same essential concept often spoken of in the Old Testament. Both things (tabernacle, temple, vessels, offerings) and people (priests, Levites, kings, ambassadors) were “anointed”—often ceremoniously—to identify them as consecrated or honored for a special service or position. Once anointed, the person or object was to be held in great respect by everyone. Thus, we who are the “children of God” ( Romans 8:16 ) have been anointed by God Himself ( 2 Corinthians 1:21 ) in such a way that the anointing abides, teaches, and is the truth itself ( 1 John 2:27 ). This anointing is, obviously, no ceremoni...

“So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran .” ( Genesis 12:4 ) It is not clear from the text just how God made Himself known to Abram when He called him to go to Canaan . The language would imply that there was an audible conversation of some sort—far different from what you and I might expect today. At the time of this calling, Abram was a not then a follower of Yahweh , yet the circumstances of God’s intervention were enough to persuade Abram to uproot his family and start the journey. Abram’s calling and initial response ( Genesis 12:1-5 ) are analogous to an “awakening,” the initial faith to “see” God ( Ephesians 2:8 ). There were no specifics in God’s promise, only broad terms of blessing. Abram’s response was all that he knew to do at that time, to respond in obedience (non-resistance) just as the Scripture implies we are to do ( 1 Thessalonians 2:13 ; Titus 3:5 ; 1 Peter ...

There's only one absolute way I know of to keep your Christian growth from becoming stagnant , and that is to die. The only time Christian growth stops altogether is at death. That's because we don't need to grow any further; we're ushered into the state of glorification. If a person is in Christ and Christ is in that person, it is impossible for the Christian not to move, to grow. It may seem at times as if our Christian growth has been totally arrested and is in a stagnant state, but I think that's merely an outward appearance. Obviously, our Christian growth can move at various speeds, and we tend to have a kind of ebb and flow. Sometimes we're moving ahead in leaps and bounds and other times at a snail's pace. When it's moving in such a laboriously slow fashion, we may think that it has become utterly stagnant. Again, if there is no evidence of growth whatsoever then I would say it's time to examine our souls and our hearts to see if we...

Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator), a 6th-century encaustic icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai. NB - slightly cut down - for full size see here (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ .”- Romans 15:28-29 In Romans 15:25-27 , we learn that Paul saw the collection of monies from Gentile Christians to provide for the Jerusalem church in its material poverty as an act of theological significance demonstrating the unity of the church universal. By giving to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, the Gentiles would be acknowledging their reliance on the Jewish nation for the spiritual blessing of salvation in Christ.  After all, Jesus was Jewish and Jewish Apostles were the first to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. We should not miss, however, that in receiving the ...

The Brazen Serpent, by Benjamin West: Wikipedia ) We read in Numbers 11–14 that it is a period of turbulence in the life of Moses . As you read Numbers, you will notice the references to God ’s Spirit are rare.  The narratives of Moses’ life do not often refer to the Spirit of God. However, later Israelites were in no doubt at all that God had been very powerfully active through his Spirit in the life and work of Moses. Here, for example, is how a later prophet referred back to that era: Then his people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and his people— where is he who brought them through the sea, with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them , who sent his glorious arm of power to be at Moses’ right hand , who divided the waters before them,  to gain for himself everlasting renown, who led them through the depths? Like a horse in open country, they did not stumble; like catt...

E.M. Bounds was not overly enamored with church growth methods or management techniques. He believed real power comes from a different source: the Holy Spirit anointing a person. Those who want to reject the celebrity preacher culture do need to beware that they don’t also reject the way God works by raising up men and women to do his work: We are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the Church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel . This trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization. God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. “There was a man sent from God whose name was John.” The dispensation that heralded and prepared the way for Christ was bound up in that man John. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son...

Dove representation in the Baptism of Christ by Pietro Perugino, circa 1498 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Timothy’s fervor and devotion had cooled to some degree. Paul’s first admonition, therefore, was for this young pastor to renew his divinely inspired commitment to proclaim and defend the gospel and to faithfully shepherd the believers God had entrusted to his care. YOU ALREADY HAVE A SPIRITUAL GIFT ? Under the Spirit’s guidance, and in His power, we must regularly exercise the gift we have received from God , lest it atrophy from neglect and disuse. Gift refers to the general categories of spiritual gifts that Paul explains in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. God sovereignly bestows these enablements on believers according to His own divine will, totally apart from any personal merit, qualification, or seeking. Therefore, “since we have gifts [charismata, plural of charisma] that differ according to the grace [charis] given to us,” Paul admonished believers in Rome ...