Dr Paul Allen

Now, if the power of the kingdom is the Holy Spirit, then kingdom power was given to the church on the Day of Pentecost. It is more than power and authority. In a saying of key importance, Christ announced to His followers, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). Believers inherit the kingdom “lock, stock, and barrel.” The kingdom power, which rested on Christ Jesus, was there to work signs and wonders. The same Spirit is given to those within the kingdom of God for the same kingdom purposes.  As John the Baptist revealed, “Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptises with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33). The Spirit, who endowed Jesus, now endows His people with the same power. There is a difference between Christ and His followers, and it is rather noticeable! The difference is first Himself—who He is. Those who say, “The words of Christ on our lips are the same as those on Christ’s lips,” must remember this:...

You will be confronted with a difficult decision.   The Gospels —and especially the three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke—have many of the same stories, some in nearly identical language. I had to decide whether I would teach each Gospel individually or whether I would teach the four together, combining them into a single “life of Christ” or “harmony of the Gospels.". I looked to see what other professors were doing and found that both approaches are quite common. Both also have a long history in the church. The most important early attempt to bring the four together into one story was the  Diatessaron  (meaning “through the four”), a harmony of the Gospels produced by the early Church Father Tatian around AD 170. Tatian’s work was very popular in its day and became the primary text of the Gospels in the Syrian church until around 400. In the end, however, the church chose to retain the four individual Gospels. This was the right decision both theologically and ...