Dr Paul Allen

 

 

 

  In traditional Christian understanding, demons are typically identified as fallen angels 1 , though ancient Judaism and the early church held varying perspectives—some viewing demons as the spirits of the Nephilim, the hybrid offspring of angels and human women mentioned in Genesis 6 1 . From this perspective, Satan and other fallen angels were originally created by God as good beings but chose rebellion and self-assertion 1 . Demons function as personal spiritual beings actively working to advance evil throughout creation 1 . While fundamentally morally ambivalent in broader religious traditions, demons in Christian theology belong primarily to the sphere of evil and exert harmful influence on humans, animals, and nature 2 . The biblical record portrays demons as intelligent agents capable of recognizing Jesus and resisting his authority. In one account, a demon-possessed man lived among tombs, could not be restrained by chains, and would cry out and harm himself ( Mark 5:1–20 )...

The Spirit supports believers against the world (John 16:8, 11) The term ‘world’ ( kosmos ) is used by John more than any other NT writer (105 times, mainly in his Gospel) and with a variety of meanings, including the created planet (John 1:10), humanity (John 8:12) and, most often, humanity in its opposition to Jesus (John 7:7; 15:18; 16:20). In 16:8, 11, he uses the term to describe those who have rejected Jesus.  Despite their unbelief, Jesus reciprocates not by rejecting them but by dying for them (John 1:29; 3:16–17; 4:42). In 16:7–11, Jesus reveals that, when he leaves his followers, the Spirit will undertake the same function of helping people who reject the truth of the gospel to realise the remarkable fact that it is not only true, but that it is good news for them. In particular, the Spirit will convict and convince them of their sin and the fact that Jesus is their saviour. Consider the consternation of the disciples leading up to these statements by Jesus.  In the ...

The Spirit is on our side (John 16:7–8) More significant for believers, who are beginning to experience the malevolent opposition prophesied by Jesus, is John informing them that the Spirit is on their side.  He will transform those who were once convinced that they were right to reject Jesus and the message offered by his followers. The Spirit, who is promised by Jesus as his replacement, will convince those who fought against the gospel that they were wrong to do so.  Where believers have only human intellect, with all its shortcomings, to combat voices of derision, the Spirit has the wisdom of heaven available to him (John 14:26). Where Jesus’ followers only have limited courage to speak confidently to those who dismiss them, the Spirit has divine authority available to him (John 15:26; 16:13).  Whereas Christians have limited knowledge, the Spirit has the ability to always see the truth (John 16:13). While they may be unaware of the innermost feelings and thoughts of ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Christians, we grieve. Oh, do we grieve. Being a Christian does not mean that our sorrows go away or are minimised, or that we pretend that the many sorrows of this life are no big deal. In fact, we Christians actually grieve more. God has taken out our old, dead hearts and put new hearts in us. In Christ, the insensitivities and imbalances of our old selves are being renewed day by day into the likeness of Jesus (Col. 3:10). With the help and healing of the Holy Spirit, we feel more, not less. More than joy alone, we feel, at new depths, the seemingly negative emotions of anger, fear, shame, guilt, and sorrow. With sin still indwelling us, we often err in the timing, focus, and intensity of our feelings. But in Christ, we really can, and really do, grow to feel holy anger, holy fear, holy shame, holy sorrow—a holy grief that is wholly different from worldly despair. All joy, no grief? In 1 Thessalonians 4:13, the Apostle Paul writes with the longing that Christians “not grieve as o...