Tag: signsandwonders

Testing the Spirits

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In these contentious times, many people are claiming to have heard from God. However, one thing that is generally missing from such pronouncements is how the person knows that they have heard from God.

This is especially interesting since the Bible is clear, in both the Old and New Testaments, that we need to be discerning about such claims, and that while we should not despise prophecy, we should carefully test the spirits. Jesus, Paul, and John all warned us about the deceptions that would occur. In most cases, the context is when people are claiming to speak for God. In those cases, Scripture is clear that they need to be tested because the danger of false prophets is real and significant.

Thus, while we should probably be open when others claim to have heard from the Spirit, we should be discerning and careful to test. This is particularly important when what is said affects other people. This is certainly true when the guidance affects many people, but probably applies even when it affects one other person. In generally, whenever someone claims to speak for God into someone else’s life, that claim should be tested.

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God and the Power of Healing

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Throughout history, healing has been inextricably linked with divine purpose. From the ministry of Jesus to modern medical breakthroughs, God’s compassionate design for human health has manifested in increasingly sophisticated ways. This evolution represents not just scientific progress, but the continuing expression of divine love through human hands.

Jesus established the foundation of this legacy through His ministry of miraculous healing. These acts weren’t merely demonstrations of supernatural power; they were profound expressions of love, confirmations of His Messianic identity, and the beginning of a tradition that would transform society. The pattern He established—placing value on healing the sick regardless of their status—became a hallmark of the Christian faith that continues to this day.

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Refining the Discipleship Model

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In my previous post, I discussed a ministry model based on statements about Jesus’ activities in Scripture. There are a handful of repeated statements that summarize Jesus’ activities and these are reflected in the rest of the narratives. The thought was that those summary statements give a grouping of actions that a follower of Christ would want to emulate if we are to be growing in likeness to Him. However, in thinking about those statements more, I noticed one other detail that I think can result in a more effective model.

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Asking God to Reveal Himself to Unbelievers

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We need boldness to go and proclaim the gospel in a dark world, but we also need to remember that God will work to bring people to Himself as we obey Him. We need Him to reveal Himself to people through our words and deeds, through His actions in the world, in their spirits, and so on.

When the believers gathered in Acts 4 to ask for boldness to speak the word in the midst of ongoing threats, they also asked God to continue revealing Himself.

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Prayer to Walk in Wisdom

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There are many reasons to want to walk in wisdom, and Scripture leads us to seek it in many ways.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Colossians 4:5-6 (ESV)

In Colossians, Paul asked for prayer that God would open a door for him to declare Christ and that He would give Paul the ability to speak it clearly.

Right after that, Paul instructed the Colossians to walk wisely toward outsiders, to make the best use of time. As a follow on, he instructed them to speak graciously.

It’s interesting to note that the reason for behaving this way is so that the Colossians would know how to answer. Given the context, it’s most likely that the reference is to sharing spiritual truths. Of course, this echoes Peter’s statement in 1 Peter 3:15 about always being prepared to give a reason for our hope, but Paul brings in the importance of behavior before outsiders as part of our witness.

Considering the importance of evangelism, this should remind us that we need to take care not to quench the Spirit’s work in reaching others for Christ by being poor representatives of God’s love.

Father, open my eyes to any area where my walk before outsiders may harm the cause of the gospel. May Your Spirit live out through me such that my actions and words point to Jesus.

Miracles as Pointers Today

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In a previous post on miracles, I considered how differently we think about them today as compared to the way they were thought of two thousand years ago, certainly before the Enlightenment. I suggested that miracles served at least two different purposes – one was to bless people because of the Savior’s compassion, and the other was to be signs that point to spiritual truths.

Thinking about these differences, it seems that the first use is primarily expressed within the church today as God continues to bring comfort to His people. This follows on from Scripture passages such as Matthew 14:14, when Jesus healed the sick because He felt compassion for them, or Matthew 15:32 when He fed the crowd because He had compassion for them. He still does this today.

Their use as pointers outside of the church seems to have changed, however.

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Telling of God’s Mighty Works

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The arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost changed the nature of the church profoundly. In one fell swoop, it went from a small ragtag group of people cowering in a secluded room to a thriving assembly of thousands of disciples.

And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? … We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” Acts 2:7, 8, 11b (ESV)

During Pentecost, Jews from all over would come to celebrate in Jerusalem. As a result, the town was filled with people who spoke many different languages when the Holy Spirit descended.

Since God’s will, and Jesus’ instructions, was to proclaim the good news of the kingdom in order to grow it, the very first work of the Spirit was to enable this ragtag group to speak in ways that the diverse crowd would understand. They did so, and proclaimed God’s mighty works in a variety of languages.

The crowd was surprised, not just by the diversity of languages, but because apparently the people speaking weren’t the type they expected to capable of such diversity.

We’re not told what works were proclaimed, but one “mighty work” that we know is the resurrection – the whole story of Jesus and the establishment of the kingdom. Peter certainly built on that in his subsequent speech.

Given the changes in today’s world and the growing diversity of our culture, we need this same empowerment. It may not look the same, but however the Spirit wants to work through us to proclaim Christ, we need to open our hearts to Him.

Heavenly Father, no matter who we are or how unlikely we are to speak, let us be filled with the Spirit to speak of Your mighty works, especially the good news of establishing your kingdom at the cross.

A Reason for Unity in Christ

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There are many approaches used to evangelize, to let the world know about the kingdom of God and that Jesus is the Savior. Jesus Himself taught several approaches, and one of these is a way to convince the world that He is from God.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:20-21

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Speaking in Power

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In a previous post, I described how the Spirit enabled the early church to speak in ways needed to proclaim the Gospel. Jesus had foretold that the Father would give words to be spoken and the miracle at Pentecost was a sign of that starting. Paul recognized this and asked for prayer, and Scripture gives many other examples of how the Spirit enabled the early church to adapt the word to different contexts.

However, I think that using words that communicate effectively was just one manifestation of the “power from on high” that Jesus promised and when He told them that they would receive Holy Spirit power to be His witness all over the world (Acts 1:8).

When that happened at Pentecost, Peter boldly stood before the crowd and proclaimed Jesus, even though he previously shrank from even being associated with Him. Such boldness would continue as he confronted the very Jewish leaders who had earlier intimidated him, and it would also empower other believers (Acts 4:31).

Peter’s bold speech not only communicated well, it touched the hearts of his listeners (Acts 2:37). In a similar manner, Stephen would later speak such that his opponents “could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking” (Acts 6:10).

Clear communication, boldness, speaking to the heart, and standing against opponents were just the beginning of ways the Spirit would empower believers to spread the word. Scripture shows that they would be spiritually sent, spiritually guided, speak beyond their stations, speak in Godly wisdom, speak in love, speak words of knowledge, and so on. All of these were empowered by the Holy Spirit, continuing the process that began at Pentecost.

Speaking in power would now compliment the “power and authority” to perform miracles that Jesus had previously given the disciples (Luke 9:1). Since they are both expressions of God’s power, it seems easy to confuse them. In particular, our modern mindset separates the spiritual and the material in a way that was not common in the first century. Because of this, we may interpret ambiguous passages in a way that assigns physical manifestations where it was not meant, and vice versa. Therefore, we need to be careful to distinguish the type of power at work when reading Scripture.

While this brief essay describes speaking in power, there is still an opportunity to seek God further about its representation in Scripture and the various ways it is manifested. In doing so, we can open the door for Him to work through us today.