Tag Archives: Apostles

The Impossible Dream?

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Fergusonhug-v2     Unity.  Too often today we look for unity, only to find division and strife.  Whether in regards to race relations, politics, sports, or our outlook on life, we as a people seem to have gravitated towards focusing on what divides us rather than what unites us.  But how do we achieve unity?  Is it achievable?  How do we begin?

     First we need to realize that unity is only achievable if we are all using the same standard to measure our beliefs and behaviors.  That standard is the Word of God.  If we would all go to the Bible for the foundation of our beliefs, our behavior, our religious practices, and what we say and do, then we would have unity.  Not possible, you say?  Well, just look at Jesus’ own Apostles.  One of them was Simon, a zealot (Luke 6:15).  The zealots were known for political assassinations of Romans and for stirring the people up in revolt.  Another of the Apostles was Matthew, who was a tax collector for the Romans (Matthew 10:3).  Yet, the two of them worked together in unity as Apostles, because they were united in Christ, the Word of God (John 1:1-2, 14).

     If we were to use the Bible as our guide, not our own understanding or our own thoughts and ideas, then we could fulfill Jesus’ prayer in the garden.  Jesus said, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20-21 NKJV).  Jesus wanted His followers to be one, to all be on the same page, to be united, so that the world would believe.  Many point to divisions between religious groups as proof that there is no God.  They are right about the divisions, but not about atheism.

     The Scriptures often speak of unity.  We are to be of the same mind (Rom. 12:16; 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 2:2; 3:16; 4:2; 1 Peter 4:1).  We are to speak the same things (1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor. 4:13).  We are to have the same foundation (1 Cor. 3:10-11; Eph. 2:19-20).  Paul wrote, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3 emphasis added).

     We are to have unity, but not a unity where we water down God’s word to the point that it is no longer recognizable.  We can preach tolerance for others and diversity to the point where we accept two mutually opposite points as both being true.  How can that be?  No, if we are to have unity, then that unity must be based upon the same standard.  It must be based upon the truth of God’s Word.  We do not achieve unity by capitulating on the truth or by trying to make truth relative.

     You may not believe that we can have unity.  However, in looking at how much the Bible speaks of unity ask yourself one question.  Would God ask us to do something that is not possible?  God as told us to be unified.  He has given us His standard to guide us in that unity.  His Son prayed for that unity.  Why do that if it is not achievable?  If we would just go to His Word, study what it really says, and then do that, we could have unity.  We could be one in Christ like as the Apostles.  That would be a better way!

Speaking in Tongues – Part 1

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thUHU0FK12     There is much confusion in the religious world over the issue of tongue speaking, and there are many questions one could ask about this subject.  Just what is tongue speaking?  How is it a miracle?  What was the purpose for speaking in tongues?  Do people still speak in tongues today?  Did God specify any rules for the use of tongue speaking?  Since this topic is broad and large, let us examine the issue of speaking in tongues in three lessons.  The first lesson will deal with the purpose of tongue speaking.

     We are introduced to tongue speaking in Acts 2.  On the day of Pentecost, when Peter opened the door to the kingdom of the church, we see that the apostles spoke in tongues.  Here the purpose of tongue speaking is two fold.  First, the purpose of this miracle was to confirm that the words spoken by Peter and the other apostles were the words of God.  The purpose of all miracles was to confirm the word (Mark 16:20).  The miracle performed by the apostles was that they spoke in foreign languages, which they had never studied.  The apostles were not learned men; they were simple folk from Galilee.  Indeed their speaking in tongues amazed and astonished the crowd (Acts 2:7, 12).  We might also note here that there were approximately 17 different nationalities present in Jerusalem (Acts 2:9-11), who would have had 11 different native languages.  Therefore, there were just enough apostles to speak these 11 languages.  In this example we can see the wisdom and foresight of God.

     Secondly, the purpose of speaking in tongues was that each was able to hear the word in their own native tongue.  In this way each person present was able to understand what the apostles were saying.  They were all speaking languages that were known to man, and not just speaking gibberish that no one could understand.  We will dive into this issue a bit more in lesson three of this series regarding God’s rules for tongue speaking.  It was important for men to hear and understand the word of God during this time period, because the New Testament had yet to be written.  Paul describes 9 various spiritual gifts in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 12:8-10).  These gifts were given so that the early disciples would know the will of the Lord.  One of the problems in Corinth was that they had elevated the gift of tongue speaking above the other more important spiritual gifts, such as prophecy, and they were using their gift to show off in front of others.  This caused a lack of edification of the group, which is also part of the purpose of spiritual gifts so that all can hear and understand.

     We can see that the purpose of tongues was to confirm the words of the apostles and to aid men in their hearing and understanding of God’s will for man.  In the next lesson, we will examine the duration of tongue speaking and spiritual gifts to answer the question of whether men still speak in tongues today.

Baptized in the Spirit. . . A Closer Look

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     In Acts 2 we see the account of the birth of the church when the Holy Spirit fell on the apostles and they were filled with power (Acts 2:1-4).  Many have looked at this passage and are not sure, however, of whether the Spirit fell only on the apostles, or if He fell on the 120 mentioned previously (Acts 1:15).  So then, who did receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2?  Was it the 120 who were in the upper room when the replacement for Judas was chosen, or was it just the apostles?

     First let’s examine who was given the promise of the Holy Spirit by Jesus.  When Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5, 8) and to baptize them in it, to whom was He speaking?  In order to find the antecedent of them, we need to look back at Acts 1:2.  Here Luke tells us that the them in this context are the apostles that Jesus had chosen.  Therefore the promise of Jesus to send the baptism of the Holy Spirit was given to the apostles.  They were the ones to receive the promise and watch Jesus ascend into heaven (Acts 1:11).

     Second let’s examine the time frame with regards to the promise and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them.  After witnessing the ascension of Jesus into heaven, the apostles traveled a ‘Sabbath day’s journey’ (fixed at 2,000 cubits or roughly 1,000 yards) back to Jerusalem.  Thus they would have arrived back in Jerusalem on the same day in which Jesus ascended and met with the others mentioned in the upper room there (Acts 1:12-17).  Since we see that Jesus was with His apostles for 40 days after His resurrection (Acts 1:3), and since we know that Jesus was in the tomb for 3 days, we can accurately calculate that it had been 43 days since the death of our Lord on the cross when this event with the 120 in the upper room takes place.  Since we also know that there are 50 days between the Passover (time of the crucifixion) and the day of Pentecost, we can see that this meeting took place one full week prior to the day of Pentecost.  The importance of the calculation of the days is that it shows that the narrative of the 120 in the upper room was not on the same day as Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell upon the apostles.

     Third let’s examine the event of the Holy Spirit falling upon them on the day of Pentecost.  In looking at Acts 2:1-4 the Bible tells us that they were all together in one place (it does not specify where that place is – upper room, temple, marketplace, etc.).  The Holy Spirit fell upon them and they began to speak in tongues.  Again we need to find the antecedent of them and they in this passage.  This is found by looking at the last verse of Acts 1.  Here we read that the lot fell upon Matthias and he was numbered with the other eleven apostles.  This is to whom the they at the beginning of Acts 2 is in reference.   They were the 12 apostles and it was upon them that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was given, fulfilling the promise made by Jesus in Acts 1:5, 8.

     Through the rest of the book of Acts we can see that the apostles had the ability to heal sickness, cast out demons, and transfer spiritual gifts by the laying on of their hands.  Once the apostles passed from this life, however, those spiritual gifts and that miraculous ability also passed away.  The working of miracles to confirm the word of God had accomplished the task given to them, mainly to confirm that the words spoken by the apostles and prophets were true and were from God (Mark 16:20).  We today have the written word, which we can read and examine to see that these things are so.