Dr Paul Allen

  In the opening chapters of Acts, Luke offers what is likely the most comprehensive description of a healthy church in the New Testament.  Here we learn that as “awe came upon every soul” (Acts 2:43), the Jerusalem Church listened to the apostles’ teachings, broke bread in each other’s homes, and shared their resources generously while the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:42–47; 4:32–37). By any measure, the Church of Jerusalem was healthy and thriving. And yet, while it’s easy to think that the Jerusalem Church was nearly perfect, Luke disabuses us of any such notion when he describes a shocking episode of moral failure and instant judgment—God strikes two people dead three hours apart! Their names were Ananias and Sapphira. After selling some property, they laid the proceeds from the sale at the apostles’ feet. But what looked like a generous donation was a work of calculated deception. What they claimed was a total donation of the proceed...

Question:   “Do all speak with tongues?” (1 Corinthians 12:30) and “If any speak in tongues, let there be only two or at most three” (1 Corinthians 14:27) indicate that not all Christians are meant to speak in tongues? THERE IS A DIFFERENCE - ARE YOU LISTENING? Certainly, this has been used as an extensive argument by those who oppose speaking in tongues. In fact, many use Paul’s statement, “let there be only two or at most three,” not to limit tongues but to prohibit them entirely.  Both these Scriptures must be considered in any discussion of tongues, but only in connection with Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 14:5: “Now I want you all to speak in tongues.” How do we reconcile “let there be only two or at most three” and “I want you all to speak”? Is Paul contradicting himself? No. The confusion is cleared away when we consider the two sets of circumstances in which speaking in tongues appears in the New Testament.  They appear both as a sign and as a gift.  They...

Instinctively, we think of confession as a gloomy, dour, introspective activity that, by focusing on all the things we have done wrong, makes us (quite literally) miserable sinners. And there is a grain of truth in this: Our sin is terrible, and we should never trivialise it or excuse it. But David takes a much more positive view of confession in Psalm 32. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (Ps. 32:1–2) When I stayed silent and did not confess my sin, David elaborates, life was truly miserable. My bones wasted away, I groaned all day, and my strength was like dry ground in a summer drought (Ps. 32:3–4). But then I acknowledged my sin. I confessed it all to God. And he forgave it all (Ps. 32:5), fully releasing me from my debt and causing me to “be glad in the Lord and rejoice” (Ps. 32:11) rather than experiencing “the sorro...

With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26), therefore, the answer to this question is yes. However, it is a highly qualified yes! I personally know of two people who received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and spoke in English rather than in unknown tongues. Both were exceptionally sensitive, prophetic men, true spiritual giants of our time. One is Dr Frank Laubach, through whom the Holy Spirit manifested Himself supernaturally in English.  The other was Rufus Moseley, who, some months after his baptism in the Holy Spirit, began to speak in tongues and continued to witness faithfully to their value until his death. In a booklet entitled “How to Enter, Abide, and Increase in Union with Jesus Christ,” he makes this excellent statement: My feeling is that we must not be dogmatic and say that no one can have the baptism of the Holy Spirit unless he speaks in tongues. God, of course, can speak in English and in every tongue of men and angels. But He now seems a little more real ...

The only clear scriptural evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. The first Christians to be baptised in the Holy Spirit were the 120 gathered in the upper room at Pentecost. The unique evidence that the 120 received the Holy Spirit was that “they began to speak in other tongues” (Acts 2:4).  All the other spiritual gifts, such as healing and prophecy, appear in the Old Testament and in the gospels. But with the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which signified God’s presence in the disciples’ lives in a new dimension, God gave a new gift: the gift of tongues. The book of Acts records five separate occasions when the Holy Spirit was received. On three of these occasions, speaking in tongues is specifically mentioned as the visible sign accompanying the experience: at Pentecost (see Acts 2:4), at the house of Cornelius (see Acts 10:44–46), and at Ephesus (see Acts 19:6).  Paul received the Holy Spirit when Ananias laid hands on him and prayed (...

Who authored Titus, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy? Dick Harfield goes to great lengths to say it was not the Apostle Paul, based on Marcion's gathered letters.  Paul authored all three letters—1 Timothy and Titus after his release from his first Roman imprisonment (around A.D. 62–64), and 2 Timothy during his second Roman imprisonment (around A.D. 66–67), shortly before his death.1 These letters were directed to his apostolic representatives Timothy and Titus, who were overseeing churches in Ephesus and Crete respectively, and Paul provided them with guidance on managing those congregations.1 The authorship question has generated significant scholarly debate. While external evidence supports Pauline authorship, some modern commentators have questioned whether Paul wrote these letters.2 Critical scholars have challenged Pauline authorship, proposing instead that a second-century follower of Paul composed all three epistles.1  However, early Church Fathers—including Ignatius, Polycarp...

His daughter was dying, and Jesus had been diverted. Jesus looked directly at him and said to Jairus, "Only believe"   This means shifting our focus from the size of your problem to the size of your faith in God. It is a practical choice to trust Jesus when you feel overwhelmed. 1. Identify and Name the Fear: Acknowledge the anxiety . Do not ignore your panic, stress, or doubt. Surrender it: Visually or mentally hand that specific problem over to God, admitting that you cannot fix it on your own.  2. Guard Your Atmosphere. Filter the noise: In the Bible story, Jesus removed the mocking, weeping crowd from the room before performing the miracle. Limit negative inputs: Step away from voices, media, or advice that breed panic and hopelessness. Seek encouragement: Surround yourself with people who speak life, hope, and faith into your situation.  3. Replace "What-Ifs" with God's Word. Stop the spiral: When your mind starts inventing worst-case scenarios, intentio...

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Rom. 8:23, 26–27) Christians have the best gift as we await the return of Jesus and the resurrection of our bodies: the firstfruits of the Spirit. “Firstfruits” literally refers to the initial portion of a harvest, which points to a greater harvest ahead.  Christians enjoy the firstfruits of the Spirit now (for example, the fruit of the Spirit listed in Gal. 5:22–23), as we await a greater harvest, or greater benefit of the Spirit: our adoption and redemption of our bodies.  While Paul says in verse 15...

God never anointed anybody twice. David was anointed of the Lord through Samuel; later Israel’s elders did anoint him a second time, but that was confirming their acceptance of his kingly authority. The anointing through Samuel was a divine anointing. Jesus was anointed by God. Afterwards, a woman poured ointment on Him, which He said was for His burial. Normally priests and kings had only one anointing, and that was at the beginning of their career. Some sing “Oh, for a new anointing” and pray for “another Pentecost,” but the whole concept of another and new anointing, as if the original anointing had faded away, is strange to New Testament thought of the eternal Spirit. The anointing is self-renewing—it renews us, not we it. He is the Spirit of newness.  First John 2:27 says, “The anointing which you have received from Him abides in you.” Exodus 40:15 says, “You shall anoint them … that they may minister to Me.” Second Samuel 1:21 speaks of the “shield of the mighty” being anoint...

  It is absolutely necessary to understand that the Holy Spirit is He, not “it.” The Spirit is not an impersonal force, a sort of spiritual electricity. The anointing of God is not just power or gifts but the Holy Spirit Himself. When people first stepped into modern history, speaking with tongues, they were called “the tongues people.” 2 In fact, the memory of those people is still among us, and they carried an impressive godliness whose motive was service, not sensation; the Giver, not the gifts.  They longed to know Jesus better and to be more Christlike, not simply to have power for its own sake. Their daily desire was to “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who … made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant … and became obedient” (Phil. 2:5–8). Many laid down their lives for God. When Jesus healed the sick, it was not just sheer voltage power He wielded, but it was also the power of His conquering love. He healed the sick by His str...

We should particularly remember that anointing is likened to perfume. Psalm 45:8 is often quoted to refer to Christ: “All your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia.” Cassia came from the distant Far East. Israel probably obtained it in the wilderness from passing traders. It provided a distinctive fragrance associated only with the dwelling place of God and its priests—it evoked thoughts of God. Scripture calls Jesus “the anointed One”: “Peter answered and said ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Matt. 16:16). Jesus is the Christ, the anointed One. He is as exclusively anointed as He was exclusively the Son of God. Christ is from the Greek word christos , which has the same meaning as the Hebrew word for Messiah . Everything denoted by the anointing of the tabernacle, priests, and kings is fulfilled in Jesus. Christ is our Priest-King. “Your robes are fragrant …” (Ps. 45:8, NIV ). He carried the purity and odour of heaven, that evocative and subtle beauty...

Essentially, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a doorway leading from a natural realm into a supernatural realm of life and experience. The average Christian, although truly professing Christ, operates largely on his own power, making his own decisions, living by his own strength, and controlling his own life.  But through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the Christian steps out of this natural realm into a realm where he can begin to experience the supernatural gifts and powers of God’s Holy Spirit. The initial evidence of entering this supernatural realm is the ability to speak in other tongues. (See Part II for a discussion of tongues.) But that is just the beginning. If all that happened to the 120 people at Pentecost had been that they began to speak in tongues, their experience would soon have been forgotten.  The same is true today. If all that happens to one receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that he speaks in tongues, then he is not forging ahead in faith into...