Dr Paul Allen

English: A painting created by Leonardo Da Vinci depicting St John the baptist (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah . We might expect to see this important advance work unfolding in the capital city of Jerusalem. Instead, just as was prophesied, John preached, taught, and made disciples in the remote landscape of the Judean Wilderness (Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1; Matt.3:1–3). And he did so for a reason. John’s father, Zechariah, was serving as a priest in the Temple when an angel of the Lord told him what to name his son, that his son would be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth, and what his son’s assignment would be ( Luke 1:8–22). Though unable to speak because of his disbelief, Zechariah later rejoiced when his tongue was loosed after the birth of John. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and said, “And you, my child, … will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,” which confirmed specifically what

1 Corinthians 14:26–40 a) Contribution To Worship By All 14:26 26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. “What then shall we say” shows that Paul expected the Corinthian believers to draw the right conclusions from the principles of love and edification of the local assembly. The first rule for the expression of spiritual gifts is that no gift is unimportant and no gift should be set aside. People baptized in the Spirit will have the fullness of the gifts available for the health of the church. “Everyone has” means that everyone should have a part and contribute something to the building up of the whole assembly. Over too much of church history, the body of Christ has been paralyzed, with clergy dominating the laity and smothering their gifts.80 We are not to be like a theater audience, where one or several pai

1 Corinthians 14:1–40 The whole of chapter 12 leads to the recommendation to “eagerly desire the greater gifts” (12:31). In chapter 13 these gifts are placed under the direction of a high, holy outflowing love. Now, with this love in mind, chapter 14 begins to give practical directions for the exercise, or operation, of these spiritual gifts . Again and again in this chapter we see how love is the guiding principle of these practical directions. Though chapter 12 shows that all the manifestations of the Spirit are necessary and beneficial, the Corinthian believers needed special direction and guidance concerning the operation of two: tongues and prophecy. Chapter 14 gives most of its attention to them, though many of the basic principles could be applied to other gifts as well. 1. PROPHECY EDIFIES THE CHURCH 14:1–5 1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. Here Paul echoes 12:31 about spiritual gifts. All believers are to pur

1 Corinthians 12:12–20 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ . 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. By comparing the local assembly to the human body Paul stresses that unity does not mean uniformity but interrelatedness and interdependence. “The unity that the Spirit brings is the unity of a living organism. It retains its variety. It is able to adjust to new situations and meet new opportunities and challenges.” The statement “So it is with Christ” then draws attention to the fact that our union is with Christ, so that we belong to Him—and only then to His Church. The unity of the Body is emphasized further by the fact that there is only one Spirit and only one Body. All believers (cf. Eph. 4:16), whatever their background, race, or social status, have a part in it because the Spirit ba

English: Gian Lorenzo Bernini - Dove of the Holy Spirit (ca. 1660, stained glass, Throne of St. Peter, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 1 Corinthians 12:1–3 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.  You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “ Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “ Jesus is Lord ,” except by the Holy Spirit . “Now” indicates Paul is taking up another new topic, that of pneumatikōn, “spiritual things,” by which he means spiritual gifts. Yet it is not entirely new. He is still concerned about the fruit of the Spirit , and he has already said that the Corinthian believers did not lack any spiritual gift, so he does not mean they are totally ignorant of them. But there are certain aspects of the gifts and their use the Corinthians need a better understanding of. What he pro

English: Nathan advises King David (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) One of the penitential psalms, Psalm 51 was written by David after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan . Nathan declared that David had grievously sinned against God in the taking of Bathsheba to be his wife and in the murder of her husband, Uriah. It's important to see the anguish and heartfelt remorse expressed by David, but we must also understand that repentance of the heart is the work of God the Holy Spirit . David is repentant because of the influence of the Holy Spirit upon him. Not only that, but as he writes this prayer, he is writing it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit demonstrates in Psalm 51 how He produces repentance in our hearts. Keep this in mind as we look at the psalm. Psalm 51 begins, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions" (v. 1). Here we see an element that is fundamental

English: John the Baptist baptizing Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The chief and primary means by which the Holy Spirit communicates the grace of God to us is the preaching of the gospel. It is by preaching, first of all, that He creates faith within us. As Paul says, " Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ " (Rom. 10:17). The "word of Christ," which is the preached word of the gospel, is the means through which the Holy Spirit gives faith to faithless sinners. But do not think preaching is only for unbelievers. It is also the means whereby the Lord gives His people faith that they might continually trust Him and His promises. This is why we call preaching the primary means of grace. The Belgic Confession says the Holy Spirit "kindleth" faith in us (Art. 22), and that it is "wrought in man by the hearing of the Word of God and the operation of the Holy Ghost" (Art. 24). When the powerful Holy Spirit accompani

( ) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Many of the world's favorite fads are toxic, and they are becoming increasingly so as our society descends further in its spiritual death-spiral. It's like a radioactive toxicity, so while those who immerse themselves in it might not notice its effects instantly, they nevertheless cannot escape the inevitable, soul-destroying contamination. And woe to those who become comfortable with the sinful fads of secular society. The final verse of Romans 1 expressly condemns those "who, knowing the righteous judgment of God , that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them." Even when you marry such worldliness with good systematic theology and a vigorous defense of substitutionary atonement , the soundness of the theoretical doctrine doesn't sanctify the wickedness of the practical lifestyle. The opposite happens. Solid biblical doctrine is trivialized and moc

Lamentations1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’” Lamentations 3:24 It is not “The Lord is partly my portion,” nor “The Lord is in my portion.” But he himself makes up the sum total of my soul’s inheritance. Within the circumference of that circle lies all that we possess or desire. The Lord is my portion. Not his grace merely, nor his love, nor his covenant, but Jehovah himself. He has chosen us for his portion, and we have chosen him for ours. It is true that the Lord must first choose our inheritance for us, or else we shall never choose it for ourselves; but if we are really called according to the purpose of electing love, we can sing: “Loved of my God for him again With love intense I burn; Chosen of him ere time began, I choose him in return.” The Lord is our all-sufficient portion. God fills himself; and if God is all-sufficient in himself, he must be all-sufficient for us. It is not easy to satisfy man’s