Tag: Apostolic Life Cathedral

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Bible Teaching

A Need for Seed

Apostolic Life Cathedral | 12/11/2022 | 10:00 AM

Genesis 1:11-12

(11)  And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

(12)  And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 3:15

(15)  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Galatians 3:16-29


(16)  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
(17)  And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
(18)  For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
(19)  Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
(20)  Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
(21)  Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
(22)  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
(23)  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
(24)  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
(25)  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
(26)  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
(27)  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
(28)  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
(29)  And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

1 Peter 1:22-23

(22)  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

(23)  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Romans 9:7, “Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.”

Luke 8:11-15

(11)  Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

(12)  Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

(13)  They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

(14)  And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

(15)  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

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Bible Teaching

Progressive Revelation

Progressive Revelation[1]

Revelation of Truth is progressive and is best explained by this passage:

“For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear” (Mark 4:28).

Notice Albert Barnes’ note on the progression of maturity in Mark 4:28[2]:

1.    For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself – That is, it is done without the power of man. It is done while man is engaged in other things. God gives it its power.

2.    First the blade – The green, tender shoot, that first starts out of the earth before the stalk is formed.

3.    Then the ear – The original means the stalk or spire of wheat or barley, as well as the ear.

4.    The full corn in the ear – The ripe wheat. The grain swollen to its proper size. By this is denoted, undoubtedly, that grace or religion in the heart is of gradual growth.

a.    It is at first tender, feeble, perhaps almost imperceptible, like the first shootings of the grain in the earth. Perhaps also,

b.    Like grain, it often lies long in the earth before there are signs of life.

c.    Like the tender grain, also, it needs care, kindness, and culture. A frost, a cold storm, or a burning sun alike injure it.

d.    So tender piety in the heart needs care, kindness, culture. It needs shelter from the frosts and storms of a cold, unfeeling world. It needs the genial dews and mild suns of heaven;

e.    In other words, it needs instruction, prayer, and friendly counsel from parents, teachers, ministers, and experienced Christians, that it may grow, and bring forth the full fruits of holiness.

f.      Like the grain, also, in due time it will grow strong; it will produce its appropriate fruit – a full and rich harvest – to the praise of God.

Hebrews 12:29, “For our God is a consuming fire.”

It would appear at first glance that these two verses oppose each other, but when we take into account the progressive nature of revelation we see a parallel between plant growth and the spread of fire.

2018 California Wildfires:[3]

The 2018 wildfire season was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire season on record in California, with a total of 8,527 fires burning an area of 1,893,913 acres (766,439 ha), the largest amount of burned acreage recorded in a fire season….as of December 21. The fires have caused more than $3.5 billion (2018 USD) in damages, including $1.792 billion in fire suppression costs. Through the end of August 2018, Cal Fire alone spent $432 million on operations. The Mendocino Complex Fire burned more than 459,000 acres (186,000 ha), becoming the largest complex fire in the state’s history, with the complex’s Ranch Fire surpassing the Thomas Fire and the Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889 to become California’s single-largest recorded wildfire.

…On August 4, 2018, a national disaster was declared in Northern California, due to the extensive wildfires burning there.

In November 2018, strong winds aggravated conditions in another round of large, destructive fires that occurred across the state. This new batch of wildfires includes the Woolsey Fire and the Camp Fire, the latter of which killed at least 86 people with 3 still unaccounted for as of 4 December 2018. It destroyed more than 18,000 structures, becoming both California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire on record.

…Humans have been recorded as the main cause of wildfires in California. Various causes, both intentional and accidental, such as arson, unattended campfires, fireworks, cigarettes, cars, and power lines have contributed to this increase in the number of fires.

A direct contributor to the 2018 California wildfires was an increase in dead tree fuel. By December 2017, there was a record 129 million dead trees in California.

Wildfire defined: “A wildfire or wildland fire is a fire in an area of combustible vegetation occurring in rural areas.”[4]

Wildfire types can be generally characterized by their fuels as follows:

1.    Ground fires are fed by subterranean roots, duff and other buried organic matter. This fuel type is especially susceptible to ignition due to spotting. Ground fires typically burn by smoldering, and can burn slowly for days to months.

2.    Crawling or surface fires are fueled by low-lying vegetation on the forest floor such as leaf and timber litter, debris, grass, and low-lying shrubbery. This kind of fire often burns at a relatively lower temperature than crown fires (less than 400 °C (752 °F)) and may spread at slow rate, though steep slopes and wind can accelerate the rate of spread.

3.    Ladder fires consume material between low-level vegetation and tree canopies, such as small trees, downed logs, and vines. Kudzu, Old World climbing fern, and other invasive plants that scale trees may also encourage ladder fires.

4.    Crown, canopy, or aerial fires burn suspended material at the canopy level, such as tall trees, vines, and mosses. The ignition of a crown fire, termed crowning, is dependent on the density of the suspended material, canopy height, canopy continuity, sufficient surface and ladder fires, vegetation moisture content, and weather conditions during the blaze. Stand-replacing fires lit by humans can spread into the Amazon rain forest, damaging ecosystems not particularly suited for heat or arid conditions.[5]

A true revelation is an unveiling of existing truth of which the individual was previously unaware.  Others may already know that truth, but the revelation is a personal opening of biblical truth.

Romans 16:25-26, “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.”

This concerns the revelation of the Church, which was spoken of in the Old Testament but not revealed in its entirety until the birth of the Church in Acts 2. Now, today, we read the Old Testament and see parallels, types and shadows which reveal the Church. These truths were always present in the Word of God, but not understood, unveiled, and revealed until the Church’s nativity.

According to David P. Johnson and Jared S. Runck, “progressive revelation indicates that divine revelation unfolds across the story of Scripture with ever-increasing detail and dimension; later revelation always and only adds to prior revelation and never detracts or overturns it.”[6]

Galatians 1:10-24 speaks of Paul’s travel through the Word of God and how Christ revealed the message of the Gospel to Him.  Then he met certain Apostles and found that the same revelation he had received from the Lord was the same Gospel they received and preached:

“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother. Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not. Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ: But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me” (Galatians 1:10-24).

A true unveiling of revelatory truth will be “line upon line” and “precept upon precept” (see Isaiah 28:10). In other words, progressive revelation builds upon what you already know.

Sometimes God gives clear, sudden and supernatural insight, which Paul identified as either the gift of the Word of Knowledge, or the gift of the Word of Wisdom (1 Corinthians 12:8).

Things to remember:

Scripture interprets Scripture.

1.    Out of the mouth of two or three witnesses let every word be established:

a.    Deuteronomy 17:6, “At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.”

b.    Deuteronomy 19:15, “One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.”

c.    Matthew 18:16, “But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.”

d.    2 Corinthians 13:1, “This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.”

e.    1 Timothy 5:19, “Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.”

2.    Your revelation will never contradict biblical truth – the old illustration of a man who said God told him to divorce one woman to marry another – this contradicts all biblical precedent.  Only one reason in the New Testament for divorce (adultery, fornication).

3.    If it’s “too good to be true” it probably is.

Deut. 29:29, “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

1 Sam. 3:7-21, “(7) Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him….(21) And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.” 

This implies that the revelation of God’s Word is a matter of maturity.  As we grow in the wisdom and stature of God’s Word we will receive (be entrusted with) more truth.

Truth is multilayered like an onion.

When we realize that God is revealing truth to us we are humbled and need to realize that while others may not know the truth – yet – we are responsible for the manner in which we share it.

With regard to Spiritual gifts, some people think that they are more Spiritual than others because of their gifting, but this is not true. Truly spiritual people are into the ministry of:

·       Reconciliation – 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, “(18) And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;  (19) To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.  (20) Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

·       Restoration – Galatians 6:1, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”

The more of the Word of God you read and hide in your heart (by memorization and meditation) the greater opportunity you give God to reveal deeper truth to you.  As God reveals more truth you will hunger more and more for His continual revelation: “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me” (Ps. 42:7).

“…The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:10).  A balance of God’s Word and living in the power of the Holy Ghost will reveal Spiritual truth as well.  Simply put, there are some things people never see in the Bible because they are not Spirit led (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Amos 3:7-8, “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?”

When God speaks or reveals truth to His servant they can’t help but be filled with a desire to speak it, regardless of the positive or negative consequences.

Jeremiah 20:9, “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”

Fire spreads and as long as there is fuel it will grow. Our hungry heart searching for more of Jesus Christ is the fuel that ignites the fire of progressive revelation, and when our hearts can no longer contain the fire the compulsion, a drive, to share the flame of the progressive revelation of truth that our Lord has revealed to us.

[1] Notes from an email to Dave Martin regarding progressive revelation dated 9/11/2006.

[2] Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, Mark 4:28.

[3] 2018 California Wildfires. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_California_wildfires. Accessed: 2/26/19.

[4]  Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (Third ed.). Cambridge University Press. 2008. ISBN 978-0-521-85804-5. Archived from the original on 13 August 2009.

[5] Wildfire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfire#Spread. Accessed: 2/26/19.

[6] David P. Johnson & Jared S. Runck. (2017). Handbook of the Prophets, p. 8-9.

Categories
Bible Teaching

The Turning Point

Wellington depot before the avalanche: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington,_Washington#/media/File:Wellington_before_the_Avalanche.jpg

“The Turning Point”

Stephen. Kuntzman

(7/16/19)

Text: 2 Timothy 2:15-21

(15)  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

(16)  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

(17)  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

(18)  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

(19)  Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

(20)  But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

(21)  If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

Ancillary: 1 Timothy 1:18-20, “This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme [defame, rail on, revile, speak evil].”

It is known as “The Wellington Avalanche,” and it occurred on March 1, 1910, in Wellington, WA.

It “was the worst avalanche in the history of the United States, marked by the total death count, which numbered to 96.[2]

For nine days at the end of February 1910, Wellington was assailed by a terrible blizzard. Up to a foot (30 cm) of snow fell every hour, and, on the worst day, eleven feet (340 cm) of snow fell. Two trains, a passenger train and a mail train, both bound from Spokane to Seattle, were trapped in the depot.”[1]

“Late on February 28, the snow stopped and was replaced by rain and a warm wind. Just after 1 a.m. on March 1, as a result of a lightning strike, a slab of snow broke loose from the side of Windy Mountain during a violent thunderstorm. A ten-foot high mass of snow, half a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide, fell toward the town. A forest fire had recently ravaged the slopes above the town, leaving very little to impede the avalanche.”[2]

“The avalanche missed the Bailets Hotel (which also housed the town’s general store and post office), but hit the railroad depot. Most of the passengers and crew were asleep aboard their trains. The impact threw the trains 150 feet (45 m) downhill and into the Tye River valley. Ninety six people were killed, including 35 passengers, 58 Great Northern employees on the trains, and three railroad employees in the depot.”[3]

 One witness, Charles Andrews, a Great Northern engineer, said it looked like:

“White Death moving down the mountainside above the trains.  Relentlessly it advanced, exploding, roaring, rumbling, grinding, snapping – a crescendo of sound that might have been the crashing of ten thousand freight trains.

It descended to the ledge where the side tracks lay, picked up cars and equipment as though they were so many snow-draped toys, and swallowing them up, disappeared like a white, broad monster into the ravine below.”[4]

 

Train wreckage from Wellington WA avalanche: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington,_Washington#/media/File:Train_wreckage_from_Wellington_WA_avalanche_cph.3b13980.jpg

I remember reading the writer and commentator George Will years ago, and in his essay he quoted these words from the Polish poet, Stanislaw J. Lec, “Each snowflake in an avalanche pleads not guilty.”

There is power in accumulation.

Things don’t just happen overnight, but there is a buildup of either positive or negative amounts that produce a point of no return.

Paul was warning his son in the gospel of the dangers of “the little foxes, that spoil the vines.”[5]

Just as in the days of Jude, there are “…certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”[6]

These false teachers come into the church from time to time and little by little they feed on the tender grapes who have not fully grown to maturity, and destroy them.

It is time to do as the Apostle directed Timothy, “(1) This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  (2)  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  (3)  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,  (4)  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;  (5)  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”[7]

“FROM SUCH TURN AWAY”

Isaiah was clear about the issues of his time and fallen human nature is still the same today (Isaiah 28:9-13):

(9)  Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

(10)  For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

(11)  For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.

(12)  To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

(13)  But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

They scoffed at the prophet and the Word of God.

They mocked the words spoken by prophets who had been “moved on by the Holy Ghost” to write and speak what they divinely uttered. 

Doing so, these mockers and blasphemers continued on into a total backslidden state, were broken by the breaking of that Word, and were bound and placed in captivity.

Too many are bound today, by these false teachers, scoffers, mockers, and spoilers.

It is the devil’s plan to do so and he’ll use false teachers, as he did in Paul’s day, to deny truth and overthrow the faith of some.

2 Timothy 2:15-17

(15)  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

(16)  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

(17)  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

They were profane and vain words because they were not based on the Word of God. Their words, their teachings, were blasphemous, and every one that heard them unwittingly were eaten up spiritually like a cancer, like gangrene setting in.

It is almost impossible to expunge false doctrine because it accumulates like snowflakes on a mountain until one day – WHITE DEATH pushes everyone in its patch into the cold abyss.

“FROM SUCH TURN AWAY”

2 Timothy 2:19-21

(19)  Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

(20)  But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

(21)  If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

 v. 21 – “purge himself from these” = the corrupting influence of false teachers and blasphemers

 It didn’t happen overnight, but it was years (and sometimes centuries).

 “FROM SUCH TURN AWAY”

 The foundation of God standeth sure:

Ephesians 2:19-22, “(19)  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; (20)  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; (21)  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: (22)  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
The Word of God is sure:

·        Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.  (Proverbs 30:5)

·        And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.  (Luke 4:4)

·        “…The seed of the word of God.” (Luke 8:11) – [It’s incorruptible and full of life]

·        So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  (Romans 10:17)

·        Heb. 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

·        1 Peter 1:22-25, “(22)  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: (23)  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (24)  For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: (25)  But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”

In conclusion, Wellington, WA, changed its name soon after that horrible avalanche to Tye, WA.

Changed their name and redirected their future.

Someone needs to redirect their future and turn away from false teachers and blasphemers: “…Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Timothy 2:19b)

This Is Your Turning Point

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington,_Washington

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Wellington-Disaster-America-s-Worst-Avalanche

[5] Song of Solomon 2:15

[6] Jude 1:4

[7] 2 Timothy 3:1-5 

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Agenda for the Ages

Apostolic Life Cathedral | The Agenda for the Ages | 3/16/2021

John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

There are competing agendas at work today, which have been at war before your birth, and your response to these plans determine not only your eternal destiny, but also your present and future.

Thieves come in to steal, seize, invade, and rob you away from Jesus Christ. How? By appealing to your heart of flesh, your desires, your lusts (longing for what is forbidden).

Your desire for power, position, material wealth, food, illicit relationships, are all part of a grand scheme, an agenda, formulated by the satan to deceive you and steal you away from God.

This devilish plan was put into action long before you were born:

There are some who have called this generation “The LAST, LOST, LUST Generation,” but I don’t believe that. I see this generation as:

·       The First Generation because God always saves the best for last and He planned for you to be alive in this time.

·       The Found Generation because you won’t stop searching until you have become exactly what Jesus designed the Church to be.

·       The Favored Generation because you to want and desire what is real and true and will pursue it without with all you have in you.

1 Corinthians 4:14-15, “(14)  I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. (15)  For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.”

Listen to your pastor, read your Bible, pray every day, and carve out some time every day to praise Jesus.

1 Corinthians 14:10, “There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.”

This is speaking specifically about the gift of tongues, and the fact that there are many languages in the world with each conveying definite meaning of thought, but unless verbally expressed it remains silent.

1 John 4:1-6

(1)  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Be careful of those who would pull you away from Jesus. False teachers, false christs, false men and women who influence you without you even knowing the seed of sin they sow into you.

You have no business watching or listening to anyone who displays actions in direct violation to the Word of God.

So, Disney has some good shows, but many are full of dialogue and scenes that disrespect the mother and father. Youtube and Instagram are full of “influencers” (hear that??) who in some way shape or form are working a plan to get you to buy what they are selling, or to desire (lust after) that which cannot satisfy.

And music, there are some good songs out there today, but many are full of words that either celebrate the accumulation of things, encourage violence, openly mock Jesus and His name, or they objectify the opposite and secretly plant in your mind the idea that premarital sex is ok with anyone of any sexual orientation.

2 Peter 2:1-2

(1)  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

(2)  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

Anyone who tells you that repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, or receiving the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues is not necessary is a false prophet secretly working an agenda placing seeds of doubt and destruction.

If the enemy can get you to doubt the very foundation of salvation he can invade territory that is not his and steal you away from Jesus.

(2)  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

(3)  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

(4)  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

(5)  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

(6)  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

We have an image in our mind of how things ought to be; the devil has a scheme of how he wants things to be (steal, kill, destroy); but, Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, has an agenda for your life that will last throughout all age and time and eternity.

Jesus has planned for you “life and that more abundantly” – the fullness of all that life has to offer.

He has added – superadded – blessings available for you, that the thief wants to snatch from you.

It would have been enough to have been born again – that is life; but He also gives us much more: Love, Joy, Peace, Grace, Adoption, Salvation, Eternal Life…

We need to lay our image of how we think things ought to be and tell Jesus, “I want the abundant life you have for me.”

Someone recently said to me, “I never want to control God, until I do.”

Most of your fear and anxiety (those butterflies or the stomachache you sometimes get) result from trying to forcefully control and shape your life into the way you think it should be, but if you’d allow Jesus to work His Agenda in your life you could have all the abundance this life has for you.

With Jesus, even when my day is rough, I have abundant life.

With Jesus, even if I’m picked on at school, I have abundant life.

With Jesus, even when my future seems uncertain – abundant life.

With Jesus, family troubles won’t stop His abundant life.

The Agenda for the Ages is Jesus’ plan for you that He outlined from the very foundation of the world to give you a more abundant life.

“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

–John the Baptist

Do you feel as if you’re the last one on God’s list tonight? He chose you of all the people who have ever lived to be alive at this crucial moment in time and is entrusting you with His message of Abundant Life – The Gospel

Do you feel lost tonight? Seek and call out to Jesus tonight and there’s no doubt you’ll find Him because He’s never far from you.

Do you have trouble with lust tonight? Give it to Jesus. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

Categories
Bible Teaching

So, You Want To Be Like Jesus?

Sermon: So, You Want To Be Like Jesus? (VIDEO:25:00-1:15:48) | Stephen Kuntzman | 7/8/2018 | Apostolic Life Cathedral – Facebook Page (Huntington, WV)

Categories
Bible Preaching

Freedom’s Hope

Apostolic Life Cathedral | 7/3/2022, 10:00 AM

Text: John 8:31-38

(31)  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

(32)  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

(33)  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

(34)  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

(35)  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

(36)  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

(37)  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

(38)  I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

Freedom’s Hope

She is the Statue of Freedom and she is bolted to the top of our nation’s Capitol Dome.

FREEDOM: Achieved[1]

[A]ll persons held to service or labor within the District of Columbia

by reason of African descent are hereby discharged and freed.”

— D.C. Emancipation Act, April 16, 1862

T he Statue of Freedom was cast from Crawford’s plaster model at Clark Mills’ foundry in the District of Columbia. In 1859 an Italian craftsman demanded more money for the job. Mills then turned to one of his enslaved men, Philip Reid, to separate the five sections of the plaster model. Reid then worked on casting the sections in bronze. Once the casting was completed in 1862, workmen erected the statue section by section atop the Capitol Dome. The final section was bolted in place on December 2, 1863 with thirty-five guns firing a salute to Freedom. If Philip Reid was present on that day, he was there as a free man. The D.C. Compensation Emancipation Act had ended slavery in the District of Columbia on April 16, 1862.

FREEDOM: Phillip Reid and the Statue of Freedom[2]

“I have endeavored to represent Freedom triumphant.”

— Thomas Crawford, 1855

The nineteen-foot six-inch bronze statue of Freedom crowns the cast-iron Dome of the Capitol. Sculptor Thomas Crawford’s second design represented Freedom as a female figure clad in classical robes, bearing a sheathed sword and shield, and wearing a liberty cap.

Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, a slaveowner from Mississippi who would later become president of the Confederacy, objected to the liberty cap “as the badge of a freed slave” and suggested that Crawford change the statue’s headgear to a helmet. The sculptor followed Davis’s instructions, and Freedom wears a helmet composed of an eagle’s head and feathers. Neither Davis nor Crawford could know that an enslaved African American would play a critical role in casting the statue.

The statue of Freedom was cast from Crawford’s plaster model at Clark Mills’s foundry in the District of Columbia.  After an Italian craftsman in 1859 demanded more money for the job, Mills turned to one of his slaves, Philip Reid, to separate the five sections of the plaster model.  Reid then worked on casting the sections in bronze.

Once the casting was completed in 1862, workmen erected the statue section by section atop the Capitol Dome. The final section was bolted in place on December 2 with thirty-five guns firing a salute to Freedom. If Philip Reid was present on that day, he was there as a free man. The D.C. Emancipation Act had ended slavery in the District of Columbia on April 16, 1862.

What a juxtaposition, a contrast, an irony…

The sculptor, Thomas Crawford, designed her, and Jefferson Davis had him make changes to her because of the symbolism of freedom her first design represented to the slaves.

The Italian who cast her mold was greedy and demanded more money. So, Clark Mills, the owner of Mill’s Foundry, turned to his slave, and in between 1859 and 1862 this slave worked on Freedom.

Philip Reed, a slave, was responsible for separating the molds and then casting the five sections in bronze.

Those sections were then bolted, one section at a time, to the top of the capitol dome.

On December 2, 1863, the last section was bolted and Freedom stood “triumphant in war and peace.”

By the time the last bolt was tightened Philip Reed, and all the slaves in the District of Columbia were freemen and freewomen.

The U.S. Congress freed them on April 16, 1862.

Could the Hope of Freedom been the force behind Philip Reed’s careful and expert work of the Statue of Freedom.

Perhaps, Freedom as an ideal moved him along his given path.

He was enslaved bodily, but his mind and heart and soul were free.

I’m not free, yet, but one day…

Then that one day came and was free.

What does it mean “to be free?”

Thayer’s Greek Definitions:

  1. freeborn
    1. in a civil sense, one who is not a slave
    1. of one who ceases to be a slave, freed, manumitted
  2. free, exempt, unrestrained, not bound by an obligation
  3. in an ethical sense: free from the yoke of the Mosaic Law

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries: “unrestrained (to go at pleasure), that is, (as a citizen) not a slave (whether freeborn or manumitted), or (generally) exempt (from obligation or liability): – free (man, woman), at liberty.”

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/free:

  1. enjoying personal rights or liberty, as a person who is not in slavery: a land of free people.
  2. pertaining to or reserved for those who enjoy personal liberty: they were thankful to be living on free soil.

Freedom is Liberty

There is a freedom beyond chains and physical bondage.

It comes only from Jesus Christ.

The Lord has planned our release, and it is foreshadowed in the Old Testament in the way:

“At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’S release….And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day” (Deuteronomy 15:1-2, 15).

But, Israel didn’t keep the Law of Release, the Law of Freedom, and they were judged for it:

Jermiah 34:17, “Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.”

Isaiah 58:6, “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?”

True Freedom has happened when:

  1. We are released from all the chains of wickedness, wrong, iniquity
  2. The heavy weights of sin and the burdens of the past are removed
  3. We free the broken, bruised, crushed, discouraged, oppressed, and the struggling.
  4. We break every oppressive bond of enslavement.

Freedom is here for you today: Luke 4:16-21

(16)  And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

(17)  And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

(18)  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

(19)  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

(20)  And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

(21)  And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Today is your Day of Hope, your Day of Freedom – Freedom’s Hope

After his freedom, Philip Reid signified his new found freedom by changing the spelling of his last name to “Reed.”

Today, you can also have a name change as you receive your freedom.

John 8:36, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

[1] SOURCE: https://uschs.org/explore/from-freedoms-shadow-freedom/. Accessed: 7/3/2022.

[2] Ibid.

Categories
Bible Teaching

Living the Prophet’s Creed

Apostolic Life Cathedral | 6/22/2021, 7:00 PM

Text: Micah 6:1-8

(1)  Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.

(2)  Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD’S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.

(3)  O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.

(4)  For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

(5)  O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.

(6)  Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?

(7)  Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

(8)  He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Creed[1]

  • A brief authoritative formula of religious belief
    • the Nicene Creed
  • A set of fundamental beliefs
    • also : a guiding principle
    • “Never settle for mediocrity” is his creed. -Jill Lieber
    • “God won’t bless what He can’t sanction.” –James Rowe

There are principles in God’s Word that when lived out, or violated, lead to a life blessing or cursing.

In this study, we will take a look at what the late Rev. James Lumpkin, Sr. called, “The Prophet’s Creed,” taking as a title this thought:

Living the Prophet’s Creed

A creed, a set of fundamental beliefs, a collection of guiding principles, are only as effective as your desire and determination to live them out.

It is a good practice for children to have memorized all the books of the Bible by the time they leave Sunday School and graduate to the Adult Bible Class.

In fact, many children are taught to memorize the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17):

  1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
  2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
  3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain
  4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy
  5. Honour thy father and thy mother
  6. Thou shalt not kill
  7. Thou shalt not commit adultery
  8. Thou shalt not steal
  9. Thou shalt not bear false witness
  10. Thou shalt not covet

And, there are two passage in the Bible that every saint in an Apostolic Oneness Pentecostal should have total recall on:

  • Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “(4) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:  (5) And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
  • Acts 2:38, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

These Scriptures are creeds that serve to pass on to the next generation a set of Basic Bible Principles, that when lived out produce a godly and sanctified life.

Living the Prophet’s Creed consists of three principles that we all need to apply to our lives:

  1. To do justly
  2. To love mercy
  3. To walk humbly with thy God

In verse 2, of our text, the LORD has a controversy (dispute, quarrel), with Israel, and He is pleading with them:

“O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants [slaves]; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam” (verses 3-4).

In an attempt to call them back to a right relationship with Him, He reminded them of Egypt – the place from which God delivered them, and redeemed them.

He sent servants, you might even identify them as prophets:

  • Moses = Lawgiver, to deliver and instruct.
  • Aaron = The High Priest, to atone.
  • Miriam = Prophetess & Praiser, and to teach the women.

The Lord is pleading with His people to remember all that He did for them.

Reminding them the He turned Baalam’s curse into a blessing proving His faithfulness to Israel.

They were perhaps sincere in their desire to keep the commandments of the Law, but misguided seekers

The laws were there not to be followed in some type of burdensone manner, but to establish principles, which had been forgotten.

Sometimes a law can be made that is still kept but nobody remembers the purpose. <ham, Vevay>

When you live The Prophet’s Creed you will automatically live by the principles that the Law was formed to teach you.

The Prophet’s Creed:

To Do Justly

  1. Do right by God: “And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment” Mark 12:29-30).
    • Love God
    • Heart = Are your affections solely on Jesus?
    • Soul = Would you give up your life for Jesus?
    • Mind = Will you lay aside what you think for what God’s Word tells you?
    • Strength = Will you give all the strength and effort of your life to His will?
  2. Do right by your neighbor: “And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor…” (Mark 12:31).
    • Prefer your fellow
    • Never work to harm another
    • Treat people right
    • Love people
  3. Do right by yourself: “…as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31).
    • Do you like yourself?
    • Don’t deprive yourself of all that God has richly provided.
    • We live by the justness and truth of the Word of God and we are judged by it.

To Love Mercy

It is necessary that we not only live by the justice and judgment of the Law, but to also give to mercy what it requires – LOVE MERCY.

  • The Law came by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
  • 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, “…our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”
  • Psalms 85:10, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”
  • Psalms 25:10, “All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.”
  • The mercy you show is the mercy you’ll know.
  • God is not in the business of stopping people from receiving mercy: “The God of my mercy shall prevent me…” (Ps. 59:10).
    • Prevent = “project oneself, precede, go before.”
    • God’s mercy goes before us

To Walk Humbly with Thy God

1 Peter 5:6-7, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

  • Acknowledge God’s Sovereignty
    • There is One God and you are not Him!
  • Beware, Humility Required:
    • Confess and forsake your sin
    • Submit to the ordinance of water baptism
    • Yield to the Holy Ghost.
  • Accept God’s Mercy
  • Walk in God’s Grace
  • Is the Lord Jesus Christ truly your God?
  • Walk humbly before others as well
    • God isn’t the only one who hates a proud, haughty or arrogant attitude.
  • Submission is the hallmark of humility.
    • James 4:5-12, “(5) Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?  (6)  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.  (7)  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  (8)  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.  (9)  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.  (10)  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.  (11)  Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.  (12)  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?”
    • Galatians 6:1-3, “(1) Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.  (2) Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.  (3) For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.”

Each of the three people Micah records as being sent to His people were at one point violators of The Prophet’s Creed, but once they learned the necessity of Living the Prophet’s Creed they became examples for us to follow:

Moses – The great lawgiver, did justly as he operated in his role as both deliverer and the giver of the Law

  • A murderer, disobeyed God in a moment of rage

Aaron – The High Priest, loved mercy and as a priest stood as a bridge between God and Man making atonement for sin.

  • An idolater, intimidated by those he was suppose to lead, excused his sin

Miriam – The prophetess of praise and instructor of women, learned humility.

  • Jealousy, envy, rebellion

It’s a question: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8).

I want everyone to come forward, and I’m going to give you some basic instructions:

  • Close your eyes
  • Lift your head up. Look up.
  • Raise both hands. Pray. Surrender. Worship.
  • Speak with your outside voice.
  • Commit to Living The Prophet’s Creed: to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with your God.

[1] “Creed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/creed. Accessed 22 Jun. 2021.

Categories
Bible Teaching

Shifting Sands: Stability in Changing Times

Apostolic Life Cathedral, 8/24/2021, 7:00 PM
Categories
Bible Preaching

More Than A Song

Apostolic Life Cathedral | 5/11/2021 | 7:00 PM
Categories
Bible Teaching

Water Baptism in the Name of Jesus -James Anderson

“Water Baptism in the Name of Jesus”
Guest Author: James Anderson

This topic is often discussed, but I have been conversing with someone with an opposing view and here are some of my notes.

I would not say that there was a codified baptismal formula in the primitive church. Myself and most Oneness teachers should indicate it was developed, in some sense. However, I do believe that scripture and history indicate to us that the name of Jesus was invoked or implied, in literary devices, by or over the baptized. I think most scholars realize this but disallow it by marginalizing it to, now, include the Matthean titles (28:19; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and thus giving a sense of credibility to the Trinitarian method. If we study history accurately we should understand that no biblical or primitive NT believer was baptized using the titles. Biblical and historical evidence explicitly indicates that the name “Jesus” was actually used in baptism and not a recitation of the actual instruction of Christ in the Matthean passage, instead actual obedience to His instruction, e.g. “baptizing them…in the name…” (c.f. Matthew 28:19, NKJV).

In connection with this it is interesting to note the Lukan Great Commission as well. Luke records: “and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:47, KJV) Both the Lukan and Matthean passages indicate that a single, known name was used in Christian baptism. As the below sources will show, this is the only form used by the Disciples and early believers.

The Anchor Bible Dictionary is a landmark work of scholarly thought. It clearly states:

“It is relatively certain that in the early Church one commonly referred to baptism as being done “into the name of the Lord Jesus”or “something similar.” (1)

The Bible knows of no Christian in the New Testament who had not been baptized, either by John or in the name of Jesus. Consequently, as modern New Testament believers we should feel compelled to follow that same Biblical method. Christian baptism was from the first administered “in the name of Jesus”. The trinitarian formula of merely repeating, not obeying or properly interpreting, Matthew 28:19 is not found in the scriptures. Anyone baptizing in titles or any other method that does not include the name of Jesus is without scriptural support, there is simply no text that demonstrates or gives license for such aberrations. Baptism identifies us with Jesus Christ and brings us into the Body of Christ, therefore it is logical to conclude that we should have the name of Jesus invoked over us in baptism.

The reason that we are baptized in Jesus’ name is that we are being baptized into Jesus. We are taking on his name, similar to the way a woman takes on her husband’s name at marriage. We are saying that we belong to Jesus and we are identifying with Him in His death and burial. Paul said, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:13) Paul’s thinking here is to exalt the name of Jesus Christ. If we follow his logic it becomes obvious that he is telling the Corinthians that Christ was the one crucified for them and so they, too, were baptized in the name of Christ. The believers at Corinth as well as those in Rome were baptized in Jesus’ name.

We may contest that there was no EXACT formula for baptism in the New Testament, but such a statement is only partially true. As mentioned prior, in all occasions of baptism the name Jesus is used, in the name of the Lord or in the name of the Lord Jesus, etc. Whether “Christ” or “Lord” is used all the references refer directly to the only saving name—Jesus (Acts 4:12). How can we expect baptism to be efficacious for one if the name of Jesus is not invoked then? It seems then that anything else would be…unbiblical.

In Acts 22:16 we read, “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16, KJV) There is other debates concerning this passage, but none as relevant as the one we are discussing now. The Greek word for “calling” here is epikaleomai. This word is defined “idiomatically, denoting that one person belongs to another whose name is attached to him…literally have someone’s name called on someone, i.e. belong to,”(2) Therefore, the name of Christ is important in every sense of salvation and not just in professing Him as Lord. This name should be “called on” as we are baptized into Christ; we arise with His name attached to us and are His people.

Epikaleomai is used to mean a literal invoking in several New Testament passages. In Acts 9 we see the story of Paul after being blinded on the road to Damascus, “And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name. (15) But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. (16) For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Acts 9:14-16 NKJV

The early Christians were preaching and baptizing in the name of Jesus. They literally uttered the words, there was no non-verbal reflection upon the name—it was a literal calling on the name of Jesus. Paul (formerly Saul) was commissioned by the Priests to persecute those who were calling on the name of Jesus. After being blinded Paul is taken to Ananias. Ananias is told by the Lord that Paul is a “chosen vessel” to “bear” the name of Jesus to the Gentiles. Paul also was to suffer for this name. The name of Jesus is so intrinsically involved in the process of salvation and our subsequent lives, how can we, then, abandon this name at our baptism?

Some assume that the trinitarian formula for baptism, which invokes the titles—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–are indeed the biblical method. This may cause one to ask, “Was the trinitarian formula used in New Testament times?” The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia answers this for us:

“No record of such use can be discovered in the Acts or the epistles of the apostles. The baptisms recorded in the New Testament after the Day of Pentecost are administered “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38), “into the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 8:16), “into Christ” (Rom 6:3; Gal 3:27).” (3)

James Hastings indicates:

“The original form of words was ‘into the name of Jesus Christ’ or ‘the Lord Jesus.’ Baptism into the name of the Trinity was a later development.”(4)

Self-admittedly then trinitarians confess that the form of words used in an oral invocation in the rite of baptism was done by, the very least, using the name of Jesus, in some sense. Signifying that the Apostles as well as those following their death used the saving Name—Jesus.

Often the words, “in” or “into” are used with being baptized in or into the name of Jesus. Both terms are prepositions which are used to connect nouns or pronouns in an adjectival or adverbial sense. Example: the babe lying in a manger, the sun sets in the west. They denote being in or into something, such as baptized into or in the name of Jesus. When used in an adjectival or descriptive sense it is describing the method or the how of what is being said. How were the early Christians baptized? Answer: in the name of Jesus. Therefore, we enter into or in the power or person of Jesus by using His name.

In the New Testament, specifically in the historical book of Acts we see baptisms that involve an actual verbal invocation using wholly, partly, or by implications (Lord) the name of Jesus. Otto Heick a church historian wrote in his book, “A History of Christian Thought” (1,53), that “At first baptism was administered in the name of Jesus, but gradually in the name of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Today, as modern New Testament believers, it is imperative that we hold the teachings of scripture paramount, rather than relying too heavily upon extra-biblical sources or church councils, creeds, dogmas and catechisms. When we stand before God in the Day of Judgment, we will be accountable to His Word.

In Acts 4:12 Peter uses the word “must” which is the Greek preposition dei. In this passage it literally means “it is necessary.”(5) “Must” here is an emphatic word indicating compelling necessity and it is joined with “name” which is part of the “must.” Not only is there only one way to get salvation, e.g. through Jesus Christ, but there is only one saving name in baptism—Jesus Christ.

Many New Testament passages speak of healing done in Jesus’ name (Acts 3:6, 16; 4:9–10), signs and wonders through His name (4:30). Some preached in His name (8:12) or spoke boldly in His name (9:27–28). This being so, it seems that historical and theological bias exist in order to assert that baptism is not to be done by invoking the name of Jesus. Baptism in the name of Jesus was and still is the correct name to administer over one who is to be baptized or by the baptized. Historically and biblically, all competent accounts point us directly to Jesus name.

Here is a syllogism to conclude:

  1. Biblical and historical sources indicate that baptism was done by orally invoking, in some sense, the name “Jesus”. Further, the historical evidence confirms that extra-biblical change was made to include titles.
  2. The Bible also places soteriological emphasis on the name of Jesus that it “must” be a part of a believers experience.
  3. Therefore, it is logical to conclude, from evidence, that baptism in the name of “Jesus” is both valid and necessary.

NOTES:

1. Freedman, David Noel. The Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday, 1996, c1992.2. Friberg, T., Friberg, B., & Miller, N. F. (2000). Vol. 4: Analytical lexicon of the Greek New Testament. Baker’s Greek New Testament library (Page 164). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.
3. “Baptism” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft
4. “Baptism” IV (a.) A Dictionary of the Bible, Edited by James Hastings, M.A., D.D., Vol. 1, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.
5. Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament © 1990 by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. All rights reserved

[Originally posted on 9 May 2007 at http://thepillarandgroundoftruth.blogspot.com/2007/05/water-baptism-in-name-of-jesus.html]