Dr Paul Allen

Certainly the Holy Spirit was at work in the Old Testament , bringing people to faith and working in remarkable ways in a few individuals such as Moses or Samuel, David or Elijah. But in general there was less powerful activity of the Holy Spirit in the lives of most believers. Effective evangelism of the nations had been diminished, casting out of demons was unknown, miraculous healing was uncommon (though it did happen, especially in the ministries of Elijah and Elisha), prophecy was restricted to a few prophets or small bands of prophets, and “resurrection power” over sin in the sense of Romans 6:1–14 and Philippians 3:10 was rarely experienced. But at several points the Old Testament looks forward to a time when there would be a greater empowering of the Holy Spirit that would reach to all of God’s people. Moses said, “Would that all the LORD ’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!” (Num. 11:29). And the LORD prophesied through Joel: And it

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

Plate 16 of 22 for the Macklin Bible after Loutherbourg. Bowyer Bible. Christ Stills the Storm (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “But seek ye first the kingdom of God , and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” ( Matthew 6:33 ) There are innumerable things to do and things to buy and things to read. How does one choose between them? An important guideline is the use of the word “first” in the New Testament . For example, consider the following priority items. Priority in awareness: “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers . . . saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for . . . all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” ( 2 Peter 3:3-4 ). The primary intellectual heresy of these latter times is the anti-God philosophy of naturalistic evolutionism, as succinctly outlined in this passage. Priority in behavior: “Cleanse first that which is within the cup and the platter, that the outside of them may be c

St. Peter Denying Christ, by Gustave Doré (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church . And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.” ( Acts 12:1-2 ) Verse 2 of our text rather casually records what may have been one of the lowest points of apostolic time. James was killed with the sword—James, one of the only three disciples in Christ ’s inner circle. He was one of only three to witness the resurrection of the synagogue ruler’s daughter ( Luke 8:51-55 ); one of three to catch a glimpse of Christ’s glory at the transfiguration ( Matthew 17:1-2 ); and one of only four to sit with Christ on the Mount of Olives and learn of the future ( Mark 13:3-4 ). In Gethsemane , after their last supper together, Christ allowed him, along with Peter and John, to witness His agony in a special way ( Mark 14:32-34 ). He was highly trained by Christ Himself, and the fledgling church could ill afford to lose his l

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs." (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Someone I know recently expressed an opinion that surprised and in some ways disappointed me. I said to myself, "I thought he would have more discernment than that." The experience caused me to reflect on the importance of discernment and the lack of it in our world. We know that people often do not see issues clearly and are easily misled because they do not think biblically. But, sadly, one cannot help reflecting on how true this is of the church community, too. Most of us doubtless want to dis

As the apostle Paul described gospel ministry to be “ God making his appeal through us” ( 2 Corinthians   5:20 ), the truth of Romans 8 to us is as if God himself were speaking directly to us.  They  are  God’s words to us, and we should just listen. Bring our minds and hearts into a “hungry readiness to hear the Lord himself speak kindly and deeply and powerfully to our souls.  In Christ , you are free from eternal condemnation. (Romans 8:1) My Spirit in you will one day give life to your mortal bodies in the resurrection. (Romans  8:10 –11) I executed the penalty for your sin in the crucified flesh of my Son. (Romans 8:3) My Holy Spirit is fulfilling in you the demands of my law summed up in love. (Romans 8:4) My Spirit’s power is the only means by which you can kill your sin. (Romans  8:13 ) My indwelling Spirit is the spirit of adoption, wakening the cry from your heart, “ Abba Father.” (Romans  8:15 ) As my children, you are my heirs and will sha

This war is cosmic in its proportions. It involves God , humans, angels, demons, principalities, powers, nations, and antichrists. Where is the main battle happening?  And do you know where the front of the battle is? Is it the tattoo artist down the road, the Karate business behind your work, the secular university up the road, or is it in your head? Answer: he attacks your thinking! We Destroy Arguments Here is how Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 10:3–5 (emphasis added): For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments  and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ . What are the satanic strongholds that spiritually imprison people, the strongholds that we seek to destroy? Arguments and opinions. Where is the battle raging? Where our thoughts are. And

Agape feast 04 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “… Showing forbearance to one another in love.” EPHESIANS 4:2 In order to walk worthy, we must forgive our enemies and love them. The term forbearance is not often used today and is therefore unfamiliar to many of us. The Greek word translated “showing forbearance” means “suppressing with silence.” It carries the idea of throwing a blanket over sin. First Peter 4:8 says, “Love covers a multitude of sins,” and Proverbs 10:12 declares, “ Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions.” A forbearing person doesn’t trumpet other people’s sins but rather forgives them. Forbearance has room for the failures of others. A forbearing person also loves people in spite of the wrongs they might have done to him. Agape , the word used for “love” in this verse, is the love that gives but never takes. It’s the kind of love that seeks the highest good for another, no matter what the cost. God showed His agape by giving us His only Son ( J

English: Readin the Bible. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) We assume every Christian has a Bible that looks like this one — worn down, marked up, and paired with a journal stuffed with multicolored spiritual reflections. But that’s often not true. Many Christians find it difficult to get into a daily habit of Bible reading . There are four common causes of Bible neglect in the Christian life , like: “I don’t read my Bible because . . . · . . . it seems so irrelevant to my life .” · . . . I don’t have time.” · . . . I go to church every Sunday.” · . . . I find it confusing.” What follows is a slightly edited (and abridged) transcript of his answers. Reason 1: “I don’t read my Bible because it seems irrelevant to my life.” This is a very common hang-up. Many Christians neglect the Bible because it doesn’t seem relevant in an average day of life and work. So why do I need to read my Bible every day? Pastor John’s response. One thing I know in response to this question, another thing I do

“But thanks be to God , which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ .” ( 1 Corinthians 15:57 ) There are innumerable things for which we could—and should—give thanks to God. But there are three notable gifts mentioned by Paul in his letters to the Corinthians in which he was led to use this particular exclamation: “Thanks be to God.” We shall do well to look at these great blessings, and then—like Paul—pour out our own thanks to God for them! The first is in our text above, giving thanks for God’s gift of victory. And what victory is that? “Death is swallowed up in victory” (v. 54), and death has lost its terrible sting for the believer, for Christ conquered death forever when He died for our sins and rose again. The second is similar yet goes beyond even the first gift: “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place” ( 2 Corinthians2:14 ). Not only victory over death but v