Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away:
for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you;
but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
John 16:7
What changed? I ponder this
question often as I think about the new concepts that man has brought into the
body of Christ while at the same time removing the very precepts ordained by
God and demonstrated in the very beginning in the garden of Eden. It is those very precepts that Jesus ushered
in through the demonstration of His life and teachings.
God put His plan of
salvation into visible form through the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
He had specific directives for Jesus (Isaiah 53). Jesus was obedient to those directives and
gathered 12 men; 11 of whom were willing, to continue His work after His
assignment was completed. He promised
them the comforter, which we know to be the Holy Spirit, to enable them in the
work that they were to do:
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. John 16:7
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8
Having
the comforter – God’s Holy Spirit – within us is crucial in order to operate in
God’s will. So much so that Jesus told
the disciples not to do anything until after they had received it:
And, behold , I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:49)
The
promise of the Holy Spirit was to enable the disciples with power to do the
work of God.
What changed? What makes one think that they can do the will of God without the Holy Spirit?
During Jesus ministry in the earth, He told the disciples:
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (Mark 16:17-18)
Upon
the completion of His ministry, He returned in His glorified state to give
final instructions to the disciples:
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:26-27)
Throughout
the book of Acts, we learn how the disciples were obedient and stayed in Jerusalem -
And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. (Luke
24:52:53)
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. (Acts 1:4)
- until
they were endued with power from on high:
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4)
There are three places in
the New Testament where we are told what happened when people were baptized in
the Holy Spirit:
Ö DAY OF PENTECOST: Acts 2:2-4
(The disciples in the upper room)
Ö HOUSE OF CORNELIUS: Acts 10:44-46
(the record
of what happened when Peter preached the Gospel to a man named Cornelius and
his family)
Ö CONVERTS AT EPHESUS: Acts 19:6
(describes what
happened to the first group of converts at Ephesus)
Those who received the baptism of the Holy Spirit spoke with other
tongues. From these Biblical records we see that the physical sign of speaking in
tongues through the power of the Holy Spirit confirms that a person has been
baptized in the Holy Spirit.
There’s
that question again! What changed? How is it that some feel
that the initial speaking in tongues as evidence of the receipt of the Holy
Spirit it is no longer applicable to the body of Christ? Who said that that experience is no longer
necessary for today’s time? Nothing has
changed according to God.
The church
[body of Christ] was established in preparation for the return of Jesus [the
rapture] and since the rapture has not yet occurred . . .
God's word does not
change, the church (body of Christ) was formed as written in Acts. What makes
it different today - what was relevant then is still relevant today. How
can we pick and choose which parts we will use, or accept or live by?
Knowing that deception, is
rampant today does not negate the truth of God's word. Nor does it mean that because there are mimickers
and false prophets and teachers that those that are in accordance to the word of God, live, practice,
preach and teach God’s word are to sit down and shut up! We still go forth in the name of Jesus;
knowing full well that there will always be disbelievers and scoffers among us.
Don’t be silent, pray for them that God enlighten them. Specifically in 2 Peter 2 and Jude we are warned of those that
creep in unaware, the false teachers, the enemy disguised as an angel of light.
Jude gives us hope: Now Unto Him Who Is Able . . .
'Him' is God! We can't back down because
of what 'man' says – it doesn’t matter how learned they are; if they negate the
word of God, we can't believe or receive them.
Let's go back to the first
example, the day of Pentecost point by point.
Ö The bible states explicitly that they were all
filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance
Ö They were secluded in an upper room and when this
[speaking in other tongues] was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and
were confounded , because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
Ö The disciples were ordinary men, i.e., fishermen, a tax
collector. There was not a learned or a scholarly man among
them.
The spirit gave them
utterance, they were not speaking other languages of their own volition or for
the benefit of those outside of the upper room. The disciples were among
their own [About 120 people] in an upper room. They were already speaking
in tongues when the others came to see what was going on so they were not doing
it for the benefit of those outside of the room. Since the disciples were 'common'
men, where would they have learned to fluently speak the other languages they were
speaking?
It helps to have a good understanding of 'Tongues':
Tongues can also be a
language not known to man. This is called an unknown tongue or language:
For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue
speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no
man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. (1 Corinthians 14:2)
How
is it then that man is trying to decipher a tongue that God said in His word
that no man understands?
The Holy Spirit was sent to us to enable us, to give us power against those
things that we, on our own and left to our own mind and devices, cannot handle
or accomplish:
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, (Jude
1:20)
Once again, what has changed? If Apostles Peter and Paul and all the other believers of biblical times needed the Holy
Spirit interceding on their behalf through groanings that could not be uttered
[understood], how is it that we don’t continue in today’s time to still need
the Holy Spirit interceding on our behalf?
It takes faith to believe the word of God; that faith is strengthened
when we allow ourselves to experience the fullness of the word of God.
However, human wisdom is so tiny, so impotent, next to the seemingly
absurdity of God’s word. Human strength
can't even begin to compete with God's "weakness." Our intellect and our strength is like a lighted match held up against the mighty sun. There is absolutely no comparison! In issues
like this, we should be like the father who wanted his son healed (Mark 9:17-27). He
believed but He asked Jesus to help his unbelief.
Lastly,
the second reference to speaking in tongues is spoken of by Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 and is known as the gift of tongues
followed by the interpretation of tongues. Unlike tongues as the evidence
of the Holy Spirit, everyone does not have this gift. It is one of the 9
spiritual gifts. Please know that the gift of tongues and tongues as
evidence of the Holy Spirit are two totally different things.
What Changed? The gift of
tongues are still relevant to today's body of believers. Unlike the
fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) of which all are required, we can seek
God for the spiritual gift or gifts that we desire.
But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. 1 Corinthians 12:31
It is surprising to see or hear about the confusion with tongues. 1 Corinthians 12 is speaking directly to the 9 spiritual gifts and not to the evidence of the gift of the Holy Spirit; 2 totally different things. However, in 1 Corinthians 14:14-40, Apostle Paul gives a very good explanation of the gift of tongues and your tongues received as evidence of the Holy Spirit. He makes it clear that everyone does not have the gift of tongues (although it appears that there were those in Corinth who were boasting on their tongues). Apostle Paul was not yet converted on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended and yet he attests to his tongues; another testament that tongues were not just limited to the day of Pentecost. What was relevant and prevalent in the body of Christ in the beginning of the 'church' age should still be relevant in the body of Christ today.
What Changed? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ! ! ! Everything
God says and does has a reason and a purpose.
His word does not lie and it will not return to him void; it is forever
settled in heaven and it will accomplish that for which it was sent. Since we are part of the body of Christ which
began in the book of Acts, then we are to do, have and act just as those that
turned the world upside down with and through the enabling of the Holy Spirit.
From another perspective when asked the question: What Changed? Man changed! Man has taken the word of God and molded it to fit his purpose, took those things that they liked and discarded what they didn't, added their own interpretation to fit their need and BOOM, you have a new hybrid body! The only question now is, though it is a body, is it the body of Christ?
(Biblical Studies)
01/19/15
04/22/16
05/10/17
02/01/20
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