What is the assurance of salvation means? Is your salvation assured? Are you sure you are saved forever from God’s wrath and eternal damnation?

This question about the assurance of salvation and eternal life in heaven with God is dazzled the minds and hearts of people over the centuries. Many people do not know if assurance of salvation and eternal life is possible. If you ask people, generally they say like this –“I hope so, I expect, do not know sure, I believe my good deeds exceed my bad deeds, I did many charities, I helped poor people”. These are the typical responses of many people.

However, the Bible and God assure with no shadow of a doubt your salvation and eternal life. God does not you want you to doubt his offer of salvation and eternal life. He made it clear the surety or assurance of it.

First of all, let us read three passages that say God can not lie.

God promised.

God who cannot lie promised your salvation and eternal life.

“God is not a man, that he should lie.” Numbers 23:19
“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began..” Titus 1:2
“That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us..” Hebrews 6:18

You see the assurance of your salvation and eternal life is based on the promise of God who cannot lie. Did you note when you read the above verse it says – the eternal life is promised by God, who cannot lie, even before the world began?

Where is salvation/eternal life available?

1st John 5:11:12 says, this, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
Let us read this again and analyze it. Who gave us eternal life and where is it? God gave us eternal life and eternal life is in his Son- Jesus Christ. Now the next question is this- who possess eternal life and who does not possess eternal life? Whoever has the Son (Jesus Christ) has eternal life, and whoever does not have the Son of God (Jesus Christ) does not have eternal life.

Did you notice the verb used is “has”? It is a present tense verb simply means if you have Jesus Christ, you have eternal life right now when you live on this earth. In other words, you possess eternal life right now and it will be a reality in the future when you die or Jesus comes back to take you to heaven.

What is having the Son means? Having Jesus Christ means believing in Jesus Christ as your savior. John recorded in John 3:16 what Jesus himself said. Because these are words of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, let us carefully read each word in this verse.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” NLT. Now compare this verse with 1st John 5:11. Basically, both mean the same thing. “Whoever has the Son has life.” John 3:16 says, “everyone who believes in him (Jesus) will not perish but have eternal life.” Therefore whoever has the Son means whoever believes in the Son (Jesus Christ).

Now we learned a few points- let us recap.
• God, who cannot lie, promised eternal life before the world began. It is a promise of God who can not lie. You can fully trust the promise of God because He never lies.
• Your salvation and eternal life are in God’s Son (Jesus Christ). Remember whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
• Whoever has the Son of God means whoever believes in Jesus Christ
• It is a present reality because of the use of the verb. John 3:16 shows a simple present tense which means it is true always. Whoever believes in him (Jesus) will not perish and ‘have’ eternal life. The moment you accepted the Gospel and believed in Jesus, you will be granted full salvation and eternal life.

God’s eternal plan fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

God eternal plan even before the foundation of the world was this –“ For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.” (Hebrews 10:10). Did you notice the words? First, God’s will is to make you holy (eligible to come to heaven and live with him at the time of your death). Second, How did God accomplish it? “by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ.” God put all your sins-past, present, and future- on the body of Jesus so he paid it all with his divine and sinless blood. Third, it was accomplished “once for all time.” In the olden times before the incarnation and death of Jesus on your behalf, each time when you do sin, you had to bring an animal sacrifice and shed its blood to pay for your sin. Not any more. Jesus, the Son of God, whose divine and sinless blood, paid for all your sins-once for the all time. No more sacrifice or no more self-works needed. Your good works would be the result of your salvation. In your gratitude toward God, because he saved you forever and granted you eternal life by one sacrifice of Jesus, you will do all good works. In other words, works are not the reason for your salvation or eternal life. The blood of Jesus poured out on your behalf is the reason for your salvation and eternal life. However, good works are the result or the outcome of your salvation and eternal life because you are filled with gratitude toward God. This is why Christian missionaries throughout the history built schools, hospitals, and orphanages not to get saved but as a sign of their gratitude toward God’s gift of salvation and eternal life in and through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Hinge only on one thing.

Bible says in John 3:17-18, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Stop and read it again. God did not send the Son (Jesus) into the world to judge the world. Why did God send him to this world? It says, “that the world (you and I) might be saved through Him. Then it gives the assurance or promise. He who believes in Him (Jesus) is not judged. However, he who does not or would not believe in Jesus have been judged already. Why they have judged already? Because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

People’s salvation and eternal life hinge on only one thing -what they did with the Son of God- Jesus Christ. God so loved you and want you to come to his heaven that He gave his only begotten Son for your sake. God put all your sins, its condemnation and judgment on him to make you holy to stand in front of him. Either you can come to him in repentance of your sins and accept him as your savior and get complete forgiveness/salvation and eternal life. Or you can simply reject him and end up in eternal judgment. Bible says in Romans 8:1, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Paid in full.

Bible record what Jesus said just prior to his death in John 19:30 and it says, “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” He said God’s eternal plan even before the foundation of the world was your salvation and reconciliation with Him. Jesus came for this purpose. He stated in a loud voice, “it is finished.” What is finished? The work of your forgiveness and salvation is finished. The work to get you to heaven when you die is finished. You would never be able to pay for your sins. You would never be able to pay for your salvation and eternal life. According to God’s perfect and eternal plan, Jesus, the Son of God did it.

Say, it is finished. It is done. It is completed. Your debt to God is paid in full.
I will give you a few more verses that assure your complete salvation and eternal life when you believe in Jesus Christ.

John 3:36 says, “the one who believes in the Son has eternal life.”
John 6:45-47, Jesus said, “Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. Jesus said about believing in him.
John 10:28 records what Jesus said, “I gave them eternal life, and they will never perish.”
John 20:31, “these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
John 3:16, “Everyone who believes on Him (Jesus) will not perish but have eternal life.”
If you want to get the assurance of the forgiveness of all your sins, salvation and eternal life, please pray now, accept and believe in Jesus Christ. This will be the most cardinal decision you make when you live now on this earth.
Your forgiveness, salvation and eternal life are promised by God and assured by Him when you put your belief and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Let us pray. “Father in heaven, I repent of my sins and believe in your Son, Jesus Christ. I believe he died and rose again for my sins and his blood paid it all for me. Please accept me now and I thank you for saving me and granting me salvation and eternal life. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.”

An account of Christianity

In fact, Christianity not a religion. Religion is manmade systems that have certain do’s and don’ts. In other words, religion is a set of rules about how to conduct a good life on this earth. Christianity is not a religion because it does not impose a certain set of rules on anyone.

(more…)

Be a faithful steward of the Faith that was once for all entrusted

“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.” Jude verse 3.

Determine the author of the Book.

The title of this letter identified the author of the letter. His name is Jude. But the question is this – is he the disciple/apostle called Jude or half-brother of Jesus called Jude? The author introduces himself in verse 1 as the “brother of James” is an indication that the author of this letter is the half-brother of Jesus. The disciple or the apostle called Jude was the ‘son of James’ (Luke 6:16) not the ‘brother of James’. Gospels also say in Matthew 13:55 Jesus had two brothers–James and Judas. Jude is the short name of Judas and also this short name is apparently preferred because the other Judas ended up in betraying Jesus Christ.
We know that both James and Jude, two half-brothers of Jesus did not believe in Christ until after the death and resurrection of Christ. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ caused them to place their faith and trust in Christ as their savior. Bible also says both these half-brothers became the servants of Jesus Christ (Jude verse 1) and proclaimed the message of Salvation in the name of Jesus and apparently they both visited different places as evangelists and missionaries according to 1 Corinthians 9:5.

‘Eager’ to write about one topic but ‘compelled’ to write about another.

Jude writes in verse 3 that although he was very eager to write about the salvation we share in Jesus Christ, he felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. Did you read he said ‘he felt compelled’. He was thinking about or getting ready to write about the topic of salvation, he felt the urgent need to write about something else. The Holy Spirit compelled him to write about the need to contend for ‘the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people’. Why? The reason for this urgency is because certain individuals who are ungodly people secretly slipped in among them even in the first century itself. He mentions the characteristics of such ungodly people who slipped among them. Read this carefully- these individuals who slipped in among the true believers – pervert the grace of our God (1) into a license for immoral life and (2) deny Jesus Christ our only savior and Lord.
It is highly important for a true Christian to contend for ‘the faith that was once for all entrusted’ to them. Two points I want to bring this passage cited above.
1. An urge to contend for the faith
2. The peculiarity of this faith is described as “the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s Holy people.”
3. The urgency to seriously consider the above two points are because of ungodly individual secretly slipped in among the believers
4. The characteristics of these intruders are – perverting the grace of our God into licentious immoral life and denial of Jesus Christ as the only savior and Lord.

Both faith in Christ and faith in the body of truth as revealed in the Bible goes hand in hand.

What is the faith in this context? Faith in Christ as the only savior and the Lord of our life. Along with this faith and trust in Christ as our savior, we have faith in all the truth that God had revealed to us in the pages of the Scripture. Therefore, first of all, our faith is placed in the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior – because upon believing in the name of Jesus we have the forgiveness of all our sins because Jesus died, buried and resurrected for people’s sin ‘according to the scripture’ (1 Corinthians 15:3-4-referring to the Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled in Christ). He is the savior who delivered us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of God.

Secondly, the Lord has given us His teachings – a body of truth or a list of truth- about God, creation account, Satan, man, how humanity fell in to sin and estranged from God, promise of Messiah or savior who will save people from their sins, how this promise fulfilled in Jesus Christ, virgin birth of Christ, salvation of man, Jesus-the only savior of the world,  church, warnings of false teachers and God’s perfect plan laid for the future that includes rapture, physical resurrection of believers, tribulation period, millennium and eternity.
These basic teachings or truths which are called the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people can not be divorced from our faith and trust in Christ Jesus. Both go hand in hand. In other words, if a person accepts Christ as his or her savior and denies the set of teachings or truths that are essential to our Christian living, then he or she makes a big error. Teachings of Christ or the set of teachings given to us once for all must be kept intact and we should contend for these truths. Remember the great commission Jesus gave us, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” A believer in Christ Jesus is commissioned to go and make disciples of all nations, not only to preach the good news in Christ and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but also commissioned to teach the new believers the body of teachings or the set of truths that is entrusted to us.

 

What was the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy People?

 

You see Jude is saying the faith that was once for all entrusted. Did you notice it said, “Once for all entrusted”? What is this means? You and I are coming across hundreds of cult movements and false teachers who try their best to distort and derail the set of truths or teachings that entrusted to us once for all in the Bible. They claim that they have new revelations. For example, Muslims, Mormons, New age movements, certain principles that grant enlightenment and the list goes on and on. Though Koran of Muslims and Mormon book of Joseph Smith came several hundreds of year after the birth of Christianity, there were false teachers who taught false doctrines even in the first century AD. Please make a clear understanding what Bible says about the true body of truths. Bible says in 2nd Peter 1:3 God had already given us everything we need for a godly life. It says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” Whose divine power? Verse 1 and 2 says “through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” It says we received this faith, as precious faith, through our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Wonderful! It says we received this faith (in past tense when he wrote this letter in the 1st century). Our passage in Jude says, “ the faith that was once for all entrusted”. In other words, God’s revelation of truth concerning Him, man, sin, salvation, eternity, all are already completed and granted to us prior to the end of the 1st century AD when the Bible was completed in writing. The person who will save us  from our sins ( Jesus as our savior) and all the truth, revelations and teachings we need for a godly life in Christ was once for all already given. God’s revelation of all his truth and teachings for our faith or all the doctrines that we need for our life is finished and already given to us. This is why the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, Revelation 22:18-19 gives this warning- “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.” God says no one is allowed or authorized to add anything to the Bible and no one is allowed or authorized to take words away from it. It is sealed and completed – once and for all entrusted to us. No more tampering is allowed and no more new revelation people need other than what was already in the Scripture called the Bible.
Ephesians 2:20 says “God’s household has been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.” You see our faith (all doctrines of our faith- all the truths we should know to live a godly life) was already built on the foundation of apostles and prophets and the cornerstone of our faith is Christ Jesus, our savior.

The faith that is once for all delivered to us means there is unity and agreement in this body of truth written by the writers of the Bible whom God inspired to write the Holy Scripture. Four Gospel writers- Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John – wrote the epistles. Luke wrote the book of Acts. There are epistles and letters wrote by different authors like Peter, Paul, John, Jude. All these New Testament writers used their own individual styles and inspirations to write these books. But keep in mind there are common threads of truth and doctrines all these authors agreed and proclaimed and those are the body of faith once for all delivered to us. All these writers agreed on certain vital truths that God revealed in and through them by the work of His Holy Spirit.
The same is true about the Old Testament Scripture. God used different authors and used their writing skills and inspirations but God was the superintend who worked behind their skills and inspiration to record exactly what He wanted to write for our knowledge. All these writers had certain common themes and teachings. Basically, the Old Testament writers by the inspiration of God looked forward what is going to happen in and through the savior of the world- the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The New Testament writers have seen the fulfillment of all these prophecies in the incarnation of Christ and in His death, burial, and resurrection and they faithfully recorded those truths by the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit who inspired the Old Testament writers. When the same Holy Spirit inspired both the writers of the Old Testament and the New Testament who lived thousands of years apart, it became one single book – the one marvelous and wonderful book from heaven- God is the final author of all pages, all words, and all punctuations. Bible says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” Bible also declares this about the Bible, “Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.”
There may be minor diversities among true Christian denominations. However, let us stand for the “faith that is once for all entrusted to God’s holy ones.” These are the basic doctrines that Bible teach us and we are commissioned by Jesus to teach others. All apostles agreed on this truth in their writings and we as believers should contend for these true doctrines of the Bible. This is especially applicable in these days when we see major falling away from the truth of the Bible. Every single believer should contend for this faith that was once for all given to us. This is what Jude is urging us to do.

Entrusted to God’s holy People?

The passage also says the faith is entrusted to God’s holy people. God’s holy people doesn’t mean certain so called elite group of people like clergymen. Holy people means God set apart people who believed in Christ as His holy people. Apostle Paul in his epistles addressed all believers in Christ as ‘holy’ and ‘set apart’. 1 Peter 2:9-10 says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” The believers in Christ are chosen people, all believers are royal priests. They are  ‘set apart’ from others and are ‘sealed with the Holy Spirit; (Ephesians 1:13) for the forgiveness of their sins and eternal life in heaven with Him. Not based on any deeds or works they have done on their behalf. But because of their trust and faith in the shed bled of Christ, the only savior of the world, whose blood was poured out on the cross as a sacrifice offered for all their sins. Bible addresses all believers who put their faith and trust in Christ as ‘holy’ (set apart) and ‘chosen’ by God. They are positionally holy now in the sight of the holy God because of the representation of Christ in their life. Because their sins are accounted to Christ when they put their faith in Him and his death, burial and resurrection. Practically they may not be viewed by others are holy in their behavior and acts but the Holy Spirit who is granted to them to permanently indwell in them at the time of their faith in Christ is progressively making them more and more like Christ by making them more and more holy while they live in this world. They have God’s good Holy Spirit in them to help in this process of becoming more and more like Christ. Finally, at the time of their death, they will be fully sanctified and glorified and live in heaven with God for eternity. This is the plan of God in each believer in Christ who accepted Him as their savior and Lord.

Content/struggle for the once for all entrusted faith in the midst of the perversion of God’s grace

The church of Christ throughout history contended for this faith. It was not easy for the apostles. All disciples had to become martyrs (except John) when they contended for the faith entrusted to them. In the middle ages, many faithful believers who stood for the truth of the Scripture were tortured and even burned. They all stood for this faith once for all delivered to us. Even though many were burned alive the truth remained the same. One day people will be judged according to this truth that was once for all entrusted to us. Even recently many Coptic Christian’s heads were cut off because they were willing to give their lives for this faith that was once for all entrusted to them. See believers in Christ cannot divorce their salvation in Jesus Christ from the teachings and doctrines of the Bible. Both go hand in hand.
Apostle Paul warned to the Ephesian elders what is going to happen after his departure. It says, ” I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. ”
Peter warned about these false teachers in 2nd Peter 2:1-2, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned.”

Perversion of the grace of our God into immoral life and denial of Jesus Christ as the Savior and Lord.

Remember Jude said in his letter he was compelled to write about the faith once for all delivered to God’s holy people because of certain individuals who were ungodly crept into the church. They pervert the grace of our God. The marvelous grace of our God saved us from all our sins and delivered us from the power of Satan and darkness and granted His mercy and rich love through which He saved us from our lost estate and gave us eternal life with Him in heaven. But these people crept in, the ungodly people, pervert the grace and mercy of our God into immoral lifestyles. We can see such people in our days. They are ungodly and they abuse the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ to lead an immoral life. Only a fearful expectation of judgment and raging fire is their portion in future. (Hebrews 10:27). All cults and pagan teachings out there are associated with one or another form of immoral lifestyles and worship systems. Secondly, they pervert the grace of our God by denying Jesus Christ our only Savior and Lord. You see they are not true believers in Christ. They deny Jesus and they don’t accept Christ as the only savior and Lord.

Bible and faithful servants of the Lord loudly declare there is salvation in no one else. Bible declares the truth in Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” There is only one savior and that is Christ Jesus who died for your sins, buried and resurrected for your salvation.
Bible says in 1 Timothy 2:3-6, God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. What is that truth? There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Why Jesus? Because Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all. This is to be testified in due time.
“This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.”

All the cults and false teachers out there in the world deny Jesus Christ as the savior and the Lord. In short, all the cults deny the truth about Christ Jesus. My friend, you will not enter heaven in this way. You may have heard people saying there are more than one way to go to heaven. That is not just true. There is only one way. God has dropped only one lifeline from heaven to get there. And that is Christ Jesus. God gave us His grace and mercy to us in the person and the work of Christ by offering forgiveness of our sins and eternal life in heaven with Him because Jesus died, buried and resurrected for your salvation. He paid all our debts that we owed to the Holy God. You can receive the forgiveness from all your sins and you can receive eternal life by repenting about your sins and asking Jesus to save you. Say to God, ” God, I come to you in prayer. I am sorry for all my sins. Please forgive me. I believe Christ died, buried and risen again for my sins. Please save me and grant me the eternal life.”

But they (the false teachers and their followers) pervert the grace and love of our God by leading an immoral life and denying Christ Jesus as the savior and the Lord. Immorality increased much during our life time now. Immoral life styles are seen even within the church. Even there are Christian churches today who approve certain immortal life styles even though they know the clear cut teachings of the Bible. They conveniently close their eyes to the truth of the Scripture and will  be judged for not being a faithful steward of the faith once for all entrusted to them. 

In this century we live in is no different from the 1st century. We have both of these above mentioned groups and hundreds of other cults in existence today.

Consider how much more we stand firm and content for the faith that was once for all entrusted to us? This is the compulsion of the Lord hanging on each one of us at this time of the history we live in, don’t you agree?

The Biblical pattern of the New Testament Church

The origin of the Church

The church is a new entity that came into existence after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost (about fifty days after the death of Christ in Acts chapter 2). Why did I say this? I said this because Christ foretold in Matthew 16:18 that “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” before  his death and resurrection. When He used future tense “I will build my church”, it means the church is not in existence at the time of his statement. The word ‘church’ is used for the first time in the above passage when Jesus foretold about it. These words of Christ clearly state that He is going to begin something brand new which was not in existence before.

Church was formed on the day of Pentecost

The foretelling of Jesus Christ regarding the formation or building of His Church happened on the day of Pentecost. Acts chapter 1 gives the below details. Jesus appeared to the disciples over a period of forty years and spoke about the kingdom of God. He convinced them with the proofs that He was resurrected and alive by presenting Himself to them. On one occasion when he was eating with them, he gave the disciples a commandment, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak”. He spoke about the coming of the Holy Spirit several times (refer John 14..). Now Jesus said this promise is going to fulfill. Therefore wait in Jerusalem. In other words, they are not expected to start their Gospel ministry before the coming of the Holy Spirit because Christ was going to send the Holy Spirit so that He can be with them in Christ’s physical absence. Jesus also said in verse 6 that “you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” In other words, when the Holy Spirit comes they are going to be baptized with the Him.
After this command, Jesus was taken up right before their eyes. He has gone up and up into heaven and a cloud hid Him from their sight. The disciples looked intently up into the sky as He was going up. Verse 10 says suddenly two men dressed in white stood near them and said to them, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”
After 10 days of the ascension of Christ, the promised Holy Spirit was sent and He came upon 120 followers of Christ who were waiting and praying. The church began on this day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured per Christ’s promise. On this day of Pentecost Peter stood up along with other 11 disciples raised his voice and preached about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ because they were the eyewitnesses of Christ for about 40 days after Christ’s resurrection. He preached and said, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” Three thousand people (huge number of people) believed in the message, got baptized and were added to the original 120 on that day. From that day onwards, verse 47 (b) says ‘the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved’. Now, this is the account of the formation of the Church.

Could not have been formed before the day of Pentecost

The church could not be in existence prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit because Jesus already said in John 15:26-27, “When the Helper (Holy Spirit) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.” Based on this verse, Jesus intended the Church to begin when the Holy Spirit and they (disciples) together will start testifying Christ. It is the empowering mighty power of the Holy Spirit that worked in Peter and disciples to stand up and preach like this in loud voice. Humanly speaking they won’t be able to preach about Christ’s resurrection just after 50 days of Christ’s resurrection because they were so scared and worried and they have shut themselves up in a room because of their fear of death. The courage to stand and preach was the imparting power of the Holy Spirit who was poured out to the disciples just on that day of Pentecost as Jesus promised. You see the Lord’s work is a joint work of the Holy Spirit and believers when they testify Jesus Christ. In addition, Jesus Himself apparently said they will start their testifying work only after the pouring of the Holy Spirit. Therefore Church could not function before the coming of the Holy Spirit to this world. And now the Holy Spirit came and Church was formed on the day of Pentecost. From that day onward those who accept Christ as their savior are added to the Church.
Secondly, Baptism of the Holy Spirit is needed to add believers to the church. This is why Jesus commanded prior to His ascension to wait in Jerusalem for the fulfillment of the promised Holy Spirit and the He said – they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13 gives us the definition of the ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’. This is what it says, “ For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” This passage informs us the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a work of the Holy Spirit by which the new believers in Christ are placed in the body of Christ. The body of Christ is the church (Ephesians 1:22-23). Therefore the Church was first formed on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came into the world and baptized them into the Church. The process of baptizing believer into church began on the day of Pentecost. It would not be possible prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. This process of Holy Spirit baptizing or uniting believers into the church continues even today until the day the Church will be raptured. All believers in Christ, those who accept Christ as their savior, are baptized or united into one body which is the Church regardless of their background – Jews, Greeks, slaves, free, black, white, Asian. This is what 1 Corinthians 12:13 teaches us.

Three important noteworthy points in the prediction of Jesus regarding the future building of Church.

1. I will build my church

Of course, Jesus is referring to a future event that was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). But note He said ‘He will build’. The Church was and is being built by Christ according to His claim. In other words, it is not built by people themselves. It is not the work of humans. Christ will build it. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.” The church is the enterprise of the Lord and He is the one who will build it and make it grow. In the above passage, we have seen how God uses His people to lay the foundation and water it. God causes it to grow.
2. Jesus said, “My Church”. The church is 100% of His and it belongs to Him. Sometimes we see certain churches are associated with people’s name. Even though people do this ignorantly or casually, I believe this is incorrect to know or publicize the church in the name of certain individuals whoever that may be. No human name should rightly be called for the the church because church is Christ’s. Christ is the one who builds, grows and keeps it in this world.
3. Jesus said, “the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” This is a big and bold statement that we all rely on. Especially those who are engaged in church planting ministry this is a big encouragement. Someone rightly said in the past if there is an enterprise we can build with 100% guaranty, that is planting a church on this earth with the help, counsel, and guidance of the Lord. Why? Jesus promised the gates or power of Hades will not overcome it. The gates of Hades here meant the power of evil and persecutions, the Satan’s attack on the establishment of the church. These will not overcome the church per Jesus Christ. How true this statement of Christ. Christian church experienced heartbreaking, untold persecutions and suffering from the first century. I don’t have the time to write all the atrocities experienced by Christian churches throughout the world. But none of these evil forces or satanic attacks stopped the advancement the church in the world. Each time through persecutions, church advanced and multiplies and spread through the whole world. People will continue to persecute you and church and of course, the Bible reminds us the persecution will increase as the end times get closer as we see today right in front of our eyes almost every day. But do you know what? They may persecute you and me because we stand for the eternal truths revealed by God in the pages of the Bible, but they will never be able to overcome the enterprise of the church. This is the promise of Christ.

The functions or the activities of the Church

The Bible says Church is the body of Christ and the head of the Church is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:27 says the Church in Corinth is the body of Christ. Paul says to them, “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.” Verse 12 of the same chapter says, “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.” Colossians 1:18 says Christ is the head of the church- “He is also head of the body, the church.”
As the body of Christ, the members of the church are the hands, foots, and mouths of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to reach out to the people of this world who are still in darkness and shows them the light and truths of the living God.
But how is church going to accomplish this purpose? The blueprint or the roadmap to achieve this purpose is given in Acts 2:42. It says there the first group of believers who formed the church on the day of Pentecost “were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

These are four main functions or activities of the church as seen in Acts 2:42-47

• Members of the church devoted themselves to the teaching of the Bible. Teaching and learning the Bible doctrines are so important to stand firm in our faith. The Lord appointed teachers in the church so that they can equip the believers with strong, foundational doctrines and Bible teachings, to build up the body of Christ so that believers can become mature men, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:11:13). By the teachings of the Bible by the God-appointed teachers and by devoting to listen to their teachings, we are no longer continue as children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:14). Such teachings will equip the saints for the work of service. (Vs. 12)
• Fellowship with one another. The church is God intended place for good and strong fellowship. Believers can learn from one another through varied life experiences, get encouraged and motivated, receive and give mercy and love to one another. Fellowship time can be a good time for counseling one another according to the truths of the Bible. There are wonderful and personally edifying and God glorifying results accomplish out of fellowships
• Breaking of bread and praising God – remembering Christ’s death, burial and resurrection by observing Lord’s supper which is the commandment of the Lord. (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:19-20 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Acts 2:46 9 (b) informs apparently they were breaking bread to remember the Lord (per His commandment) coming together every day in their homes. But later according to Acts 20:7 the first-century church started observing the Lord’s table on the first day of every week. It says there, “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.” I have little bit concern many churches have hesitancy in remembering this command of the Lord. Some churches observe this unique command of the Lord only once in few or several months. Paul also says in 1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” (NASB, AKJV, KJV). Apparently, this indicates we should observe the commandment of the observance of the Lord’s supper as often as we can. However, some of the churches like Bible chapels and other Christian churches observe the commandment every Sunday. I believe this is a true Biblical pattern worthy to follow. Breaking of the bread (Lords supper) and praising God went together as they gathered (vs.46).
• Coming together for prayer. Coming together for prayer as a corporate body or individual groups within the church is a very important pillar of any local church. Bible says in Acts 12:5, “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” We understand from this chapter because of the fervent prayers of the church, God miraculously delivered Peter from the prison though he was bound by chain and guarded by four squads of soldiers. Such is the miraculous deliverance attainable when a local church comes together for praying. Apostle Paul in his epistles to different churches constantly requested their prayers for the advancement of his ministry of reaching out to the people. (Romans 15:30; Romans 15:31-32; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 11:25-28; 2 Thessalonians 3:2; 2 Corinthians 1:10-11). Prayers of the believers in the local church can accomplish much and have the power to tear down the fortress of the enemies of Christ and devil. Believers coming together and praying can result in the healing of the sick, deliverance from evil attacks, protection of the families, individuals, communities, and nations and help in the growth of the church and furtherance of the Gospel.
All four pillars described above are Bible pattern and blueprints for the Christian churches.

Jesus’s worldwide enterprise called the Church is under the mandate of the great commission commandment.

The activities described in the book of Acts in the Bible clearly informs us  this is the main goal of the Church. All the ingredients we have seen in Acts 1: should contribute to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Jesus gave this commandment of great commission after his death, burial and resurrection, to the disciples and this is recorded in Matthew 28:19-20. It says, “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Later just before the ascension of Christ into heaven He again reiterated this commandment in Acts 1:6-8, “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” The disciples thought so far all looks good. Jesus rose again from the dead and the disciples were curious to find out is this the time the old testament fulfillment regarding the restoration of Israel’s kingdom happens. The old testament has hundreds of prophecies regarding the future rule of the Messiah in this world from the capital city of Jerusalem. They were anticipating this future rule of the Messiah could happen at that time after the resurrection of Christ from the dead. But Jesus said to them, it is not for you to know the exact time of the establishment of the future kingdom of Jesus Christ because God the father has fixed this time by His own authority. But meanwhile, before that happens, they have a job to do in this world. In few days Jesus is going to His Holy Spirit (which happened in Acts 2) and they are going to receive the power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them and as a result they shall going to witness or preach salvation through Christ in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotes part of the earth.

Luke the only Gentile author in the Bible says this to Theophilus, probably a high-rank official in Rome, why he wrote the book of Luke and Acts. He wants to Theophilus to know all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day He was ascended to heaven. Not only that, he also wants Theophilus to know what happened after the ascension of Christ to heaven. Jesus by the Holy Spirit gave orders to the apostles what they should do. This is what it says, “The first account I composed (referring to the book of Luke), Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. The second account (the book of Acts) gives details how Holy Spirit who was sent by ascended Jesus continues the work that Jesus began.

What Jesus began to do and teach on the earth did not end by his ascension to heaven. On the contrary, the first church formed on the day of Pentecost continues his work and teaching. This is why Jesus already predicted and promised: “I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18). The Holy Spirit who is sent by the ascended Lord as promised on the day of Pentecost, now indwelling in all the true believers of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19) and indwelling in the body of Christ which is the church (1 Corinthians 3:16, ‘you’ in plural form referring the Church in Corinth) need to continue what Jesus has begun to do and teach. This is what the great commission is all about. The Christ’s Church should continue what He began until the rapture of the church.

What was Christ began to do and teach? Luke 19:10 Jesus Himself says His mission was to see and to save that which was lost. John 1:29 says “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. In other words, Jesus was on a rescue mission in which He came to this earth to offer Himself as a sacrificial lamb who would die for the sins of the people. In pouring out Himself in death for the sins of humanity, Jesus Christ already accomplished the salvation of the people. No more sacrifice or any offerings of sin is needed period! This is why Jesus declared on the cross just before His death, “It is finished”. What is finished? Jesus Christ is the all-sufficient sacrifice and there is nothing else people need to do from their side for the forgiveness of their sins and for the entrance into heaven after their death. “It is finished”. The divine work for your salvation is already done or finished. Bible assures in Hebrews 9:14, “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” What is this means? The Hebrew writer says in Chapter 10 that the old testament sacrifices were a shadow of good things that were coming. These shadows were not realties in themselves. Those animal sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. Why? It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. But when Christ came into this world as a fulfillment of all these sacrifices He was the perfect lamb of God who will take away once and for all the sins of the world. By His one sacrifice on the cross, by his death, burial and resurrection, Jesus has made perfect those would come to Him for salvation.

You see, this is what Jesus did and began to teach. Now each believer in Christ and the church as a whole has a commandment to obey. What is it? To obey the Lord’s great commission. Take the Gospel which is the good news to the world. To announce to people God loves them and sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die for their sins. By believing in His death, burial and resurrection from the dead, they can be saved and enter into heaven. Church in whole and individual believers in the church are expected to witness Jesus Christ and His fulfilled work to this lost world with the power of the Holy Spirit in them. They need to baptize the new believers in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit and teach them to obey all the commandments of Jesus (Bible study). In addition, the church should remind and encourage the new believers with the comfort that Lo, Jesus is with them always even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20).
The apostles and the first-century believers faithfully carried out this commandment of the Lord. The book of Acts gives this testimony of their faithfulness to the Great Commission. They literally followed the outline given by Jesus before His ascension in Acts 1:6-8. We can trace the progress of their advancement in the book of Acts.

• First, mainly they witnessed Christ’s work and teaching to the Jews in Jerusalem (Acts 2-8:3)
• Then they advanced to the next outlined area of Judea and Samaria – witnessing to the Gentiles (8:4-11:18)
• Now as the next advancement they witnessed Christ’s work and teachings to remotest part of the earthy (11:19-28:31)

The Future of the Church

The rapture of the church is an imminent future event when the church (all the then living believers in Christ) will be instantly translated into glorified bodies suitable to live in heaven and removed from this earth and caught up to heaven, when Christ descends from heaven with the shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. This is the blessed hope of the church and is the next event in the calendar of God. Bible also says the physical body of those who already died in Christ will be resurrected from the earth with glorified bodies at this same time of rapture and will unite with their spirits already in the presence of the Lord. Bible says believer’s death now means to depart from the body and be present with the Lord which means at the time of a believer’s death, immediately his or her spirit (the immaterial part of a person) goes to the presence of the Lord and the physical bodies are buried in the grave on the earth. On the day of rapture, the already dead in Christ will be resurrected with glorified bodies and be united with their immaterial part (spirit) in the clouds. Both groups, first the believers already dead in Christ and along with them then the living believers in Christ will meet the Lord in the air in the clouds. The living believers will be instantly receiving the new resurrected and glorified bodies and caught up in the air. They are the only groups of people who won’t go through the experience of death. The already dead believer’s spirits are in the presence of the Lord immediately when they died. However, they don’t receive the resurrected and glorified bodies until the day of rapture. Now both groups will have the new glorified bodies suitable to live in heaven. We will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

After the rapture of the church, then this immoral and wicked world will experience a 7 year tribulation period. The horrible and unimaginable punishments and judgments of a God-rejecting world are illustrated in detail in the last of the Bible called Revelation (Revelation 6- 19). The church is not appointed for this God’s wrath time on the earth (1 Thessalonians 1:10 b; 1 Thessalonians 5:9 and Revelation 3:10. Jesus is going to keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world (referring the tribulation time that is going to come on the Christ-rejecting world). The pattern of the Lord is to keep people away from the world wide destructions. Lot  and his wife were kept away before the wrath of God was poured on Sodom and Gomorrah and the righteous Noah and his family were kept safe when God sent flood on this earth. In this age the Church is called  the body (1 Corinthians 12:27, Ephesian 5:23) and the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-27, 2 Corinthians 11:2 and Rev 19:7-9) and the head of the church and the bridegroom of the church will not allow her to suffer the sever wrath.

This tribulation period will be followed by the second coming of the Christ to this earth along with the raptured and glorified church that was kept safe in heaven during this horrible period of judgment on the face of the earth by the event of the rapture. The Lord will establish His promised restoration of the Kingdom on the face of the earth. He will rule from the city of Jerusalem and His body and bride the Church will rule with Him during this millennial kingdom. The kingdom of the worldwide rule of Christ establishing peace and righteousness will be for one thousand years per Revelation 20:3, 4d and 5). At the end of the thousand years of rule of Christ on this earth in fulfillment of hundreds of prophecies in the Old Testament, all who rejected Christ as their savior will stand in front of the great white throne. Those whose names are not written in the book of the lamb (Christ) or the book of Life will be thrown into the Lake of fire- eternal hell, eternally away from the presence of the Good and loving God. What a horrible and sad day that will be for many who rejected the truths of the claims of Jesus Christ. My friend, you can avoid this tragedy of being eternal hell and being away from the goodness and love of God, by placing your trust in Christ who want to save you today from future hell. Would you call upon Him today and pray to Jesus to save you. Please do and do not wait for another day. We don’t know what tomorrow holds. Do it today I lovingly urge you.
After these events, Revelation chapter 21 shows the eternal city and eternal life in heaven with God and Christ. A new heaven and earth and the old heaven and earth will pass away. Chapter 21 explains the marvel and wonder of this eternal city and many details about eternity. This is going to be most blessed and joyful experience of our life in the eternal city. This is a literal city built by God for His children. We will marvel at it. Much more than the beauty, luxury, and greatness of the eternal city, the most mind-boggling experience is this – we will dwell with God enjoying all his goodness and love. Bible says in Revelation 21:3-5, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
It says God God will make everything new. He will wipe all our tears from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or paid. All these old things have passed away. God guarantees this by saying “write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” God’s promise has God’s seal and signature behind it. Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “”No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
I gave you above a Biblical high-level plan of what future holds. Time and scope of this article won’t allow me to provide all the details embedded in each of these future periods. But you can learn more from the other parts of the Study Bible menu.

The Administration of the Church

Bible recognizes only two offices in the New Testament church and they are “elders” and “deacons”. There are two words used for ‘elders’ in the Bible and they are Presbyters and bishops. Both mean the same the same- role of an elder. In the Bible Presbyters are generally translated as “elders” and bishops are generally translation as “overseers”. In other words “elders” and “overseers” are used interchangeably. In Acts 20:17, Paul called the elders of the church in Ephesus and while he was addressing them he said, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” Acts 20:27.
Apostle Paul left Titus in Crete to appoint “elders” (Titus 1:5) and describes the qualification of “elders”. He says then in verse 7 “for the overseer (referring to the elders Titus would appoint) must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered…..” These verses again prove the fact that the word “elders” and “overseers” are used interchangeably for the elders. The reason for using these two terms in a parallel way is because the “elders’ are the “overseers” of the church.
In modern days, the term “Pastor” became a well-known term and people erroneously began to see their “Pastor” as the head of the church. As we established in the prior section, there is no other head for the church other than Jesus Christ. Christ is the head of the church and all members are different parts of the body of Christ. This is a point we already discussed above and there is no need to repeat this again.
Bible does not recognize “Pastor” as an office in the church but it recognizes “Pastor” as a gift given by the Holy Spirit. As I said above, Bible describes only two offices for the church and we don’t read about any other office for the church. But there are varieties of ministries and it is the gifts of the Holy Spirit and He empowers such ministries. In this essence, the word “Pastor” is a function or ministry that a person does in a local church (1 Corinthians 12:7-11 and Ephesians 4:11). They minister the Word of God accurately as Bible demands. 2nd Timothy 2:15 says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” This is apparently the function of a pastor – laboring to accurately handle and expose the Word of God. They equip the saints and help in building up the body of Christ which is the church. As a result, the members of the church will become mature and won’t be tossed here and there by the winds of the false doctrines (Ephesians 4:12-14)
An “elder’ should also be able to teach because Titus 1:9 and Timothy 3:2 emphasizes this qualification along with other moral qualifications. However, there is one distinction we need to keep in mind. A person can minister in the church as a Pastor and he does not need to be an elder. The same way an individual can be in the office of an elder without having the gifts of the pastor.
When it says “elders” should be able to teach does not mean that he has to be excellent orator in teaching and preaching the word of God. But he should be able to teach in the sense that teaching is an ability all believers should possess because Bible says as we grow spiritually all believers are expected to become teachers (Hebrews 5:12). 1 Timothy 5:17 reminds us all elders may not have the special gift of teachings but if they do have this excellent gift of teaching also, then that is a double honor. But it doesn’t require an elder to be excellent teachers. Some elders may have such teaching abilities to expose the Bible in an accurate way. Some elders may not have this ability to expose and teach the Bible. Therefore, it is not a skill that an elder should necessarily possess. But the expectation of ‘elders’ is that he should know and hold the truths of the Bible doctrines to administer and guide the church in all truths. As a result of the knowledge of the doctrines of the Bible, he can stand against the penetration of false doctrines and incorrect teachings and direct the church based on the right doctrines and teachings of the Bible. When Paul called the elders of the church in Ephesus, there were several elders in that church and we don’t even know all of them or even heard about them as good preachers or teachers. But one this is sure and Paul is emphasizing that requirement. They should know the true doctrines of the Bible because these elders are the overseers for guarding the pure doctrines of the Bible in their church. Paul says, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

Bible clearly teaches the concept of plurality of elders in a church.

There are several Bible passages that emphasizes this requirement for a local church. As you refer the passages cited below, please see the concept of the plurality of elders in a local church is clearly established. As we established before these passages say ‘elders’ or ‘overseers’ in plural forms both terms being used interchangeably.

Acts 20:17 says Paul called the elders of the church in Ephesus. “From Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them..”

Acts 20:28 says, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

In Acts 14:23 Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel and had made many disciples in the city and then it says, “When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” It was their practice to appoint not one elder but “elders” in every church they had planted.

In Acts 15 we see the plural form “elders” is used several times to refer the “elders at the church in Jerusalem. (refer verse 23,22,6,4 and 2). Jerusalem church had several “elders” who could help Paul and Barnabas regarding the debate and issues they faced in their missionary journey.

Acts 21:18 says, “And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.” This is referring to all the elders in the church in Jerusalem.

1 Peter 5:1 Peter, one of the elders calling himself as a fellow ‘elder’, gives his exhortation to other elders. “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed.

James 5:14 says if a member of the church fall sick they can call the elders of the church to pray for him/her. “Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him….”

In I Timothy 5:17 Paul is talking about the elders in the Ephesus Church. “Elders who provide effective leadership must be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching.”

In Titus 1:5 Paul asks Titus to appoint elders in every town as he instructed him. “The reason I left you in Crete was to set in order the remaining matters and to appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.”

There are many other passages supporting the plurality of elders in the church. However, I am not going to list all in this article. But the point is very clear. It is God’s mandate that each church must have more than one elder. A larger congregation should have several elders like the Church in Ephesus. A smaller church may have fewer elders but definitely, Bible supports the plurality of elders.

It is safe to say after reading the Book of Acts and Epistles a Biblical pattern for the New Testament Church is to keep the plurality of elders in a local church.

Deacons- the second office of the church.

The book of Acts informs us one truth. When the church began in the first century, it did not have deacons. But as the church grew and more people were adding to the church, there became a need for deacons. It says in Acts 6:1-2, “Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said….”.

Therefore deacons may not be a necessity for a small congregation but definitely becomes a need when more and more people are added to the church. The qualification stated in Acts 6 are “men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom”. The Apostles said, to function as a deacon, a believer should have the ongoing filling of the Holy Spirit, along with good reputation and wisdom. In other words, deacons must be spiritually matured believers.

The purpose of selecting deacons was this – Apostles like to devote themselves to the payer and to the ministry of the Word. They said, “it is not desirable for us to neglect the Word of God in order to serve tables.” A person who is called to minister the Word of God should spend time on that calling and function by diligently preparing the Word because it demands a lot more detailed attention, time, energy and study to prepare to accurately divide the Bible for the congregation. Secondly, they are called to prayer. They have to spend more time in prayer for their Word ministries and for interceding for the church members and their varied needs. These were the calling of the Apostles in the first century. Other ministries like dealing with the complaints between groups (in this case complaints between Hellenistic Jews and native Hebrews) and other on-going business side ministries are expected to be handled by the deacons.
As we read the New Testament we understand there were twelve apostles selected by the Lord Jesus Christ. As we watch and understand the progress and growth of the church, we see Apostles are not selected from the congregation anymore (except the twelve selected by Lord Himself). As we carefully read the New Testament we see gradually the offices of the church became elders and deacons while the ministries and functions of the original Apostles and prophets were being replaced by pastors, teachers, and evangelists. Bible says, in Ephesians 2:20 God’s Household (the church) “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord…”.
In other words, the church was originally built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets and Christ being the corner stone. Both Apostles and prophets were now being replaced by pastors, teachers, and evangelists. Bible doesn’t state the need to appoint any more Apostles but clearly states the need to appoint elders and deacons (Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Timothy 3:1-3). Similarly, no more prophets are needed in the church because of the completion of the Bible with all 66 chapters and the provision of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in all believers. The pastors, teachers, and evangelists are the new prophets because they explain the prophecies of the Bible directly from the Bible to the congregation and to other people. Both Apostles and Prophets functioned as foundations before the completion of the whole counsel of the Bible. Now the whole counsel of God that we should know for our life and faith are in the completed Scripture and God appointed pastors and teachers to teach us these prophecies. Today if anyone claims to be a prophet of God, he should be able to explain and expose the truths of the Bible and not self-made prophecies and imaginations.

The leadership of the church in a general form.

Bible also uses the leadership in a church in a more general form. We will examine few passages in this regard.

The leaders who spoke God’s message to you.

Remember your leaders, who spoke God’s message to you; reflect on the outcome of their lives and imitate their faith ( Hebrews 13:7).
Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. Let them do this with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you.”

The leaders who labor among you and preside over you in the Lord and admonish you.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 Paul says to the church in Thessalonica, “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who labor among you and preside over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them most highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

These passages talk leadership in general and wide terms. I believe this includes both church offices like elders and deacons and who preside over and ministers in the church like pastors, teachers, and evangelists who labor hard on the Word of God and spread the Gospel. The whole church should esteem them most highly in love because of their good work. These leaders bring discipline in a local church (elders), serves the business needs of the church (deacons), minsters the Word of God and feed the congregation (Pastors and teachers) and reach out people with Gospel (evangelists). Some of these ministries and functions could be overlapping. For example, Stephen was a deacon and he was a good preacher as well (Acts 7). Philip was a deacon and he was a preacher and an evangelist also (Acts 8:4-5 and 26-40).

The Bible.

The Bible is the only one book that is available on the earth that did not originate from earth. Bible is the book that originated in heaven from God. There is no other book like Bible in the whole world.

The uniqueness of the Bible.

Bible has 66 books -39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. The whole Bible was written over a span of over 1500 years by 40 authors at different times. The authors included kings, priests, fishermen, tax collectors etc. Though Bible has 66 books, it is one book with the unity of thoughts, messages, and doctrines. The Bible that was written over 1500 years by 40 different authors from different educational and professional background of different times, but still is one book with common messages and doctrines is a miracle for sure.

The second uniqueness of the Bible is the thousands of fulfilled prophecies. The Bible you hold in your hand has 1/4th of prophecies. Listen,  one by fourth of the Bible has prophecies.  By the way, Bible is the only books that have genuine and certainly fulfilled prophecies with pinpoint accuracies. You know that there are many religions out there in the world. But their books have zero genuine prophecies. Please refer the study Bible articles ‘prophecies fulfilled in Christ’ and ‘present time fulfilled prophecies’ for more information. We will talk more about it later. Now I want you to understand Bible is unique and this is the book which came from heaven – from the living God. How do you and I explain thousands and thousands of fulfilled prophecies and prophecies currently being fulfilled right in front of our own eyes, if Bible is not originated from God? The Bible must be from God and there is no other rational explanation possible.

[bctt tweet=”The Bible- the only book on earth that is originated Heaven” username=”sam2017insights”]

There is often a question comes up and that is this “who wrote the Bible?” Bible answers this question by saying Scripture is “inspired by God” or “breathed out” by God (2 Timothy 3:16). In other words, Bible is originated by God Himself. Now, who wrote the Bible? Bible answers this question as well. It says the writers, though they were human spoke from God. 2 Peter 1:21 says “no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Another translation is the writers “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” In short, God did not use ink and write on paper. However, God is the author of the Bible because people of God (the writers of the Bible) were moved and inspired by Him through the process called ‘inspiration’. When the human writers,  because of the moving of God in them and because they were carried along by His Spirit, wrote exactly what God wanted to communicate.
We can see this way. God was the ‘superintend’ and “overseer” who supernaturally inspired and oversaw the writers writings and when they wrote it by ‘the carrying away of the Holy Spirit’ it became the exact words of God from God’s own mouth. There are several people with different personalities and lifestyles are used by God in accomplishing His purpose of writing the Bible. Even though their personalities and lifestyles and times they lived were drastically different, the result was one single book with a common theme of man’s need for salvation and how God Himself met that need for human beings. The scarlet thread of redemption for mankind is seen all over the pages of the Bible. From the first book Genesis to the last book of the Book of the Bible called Revelation this scarlet thread of blood is a common theme. Bible said, For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” (Leviticus 17:11).  Blood is the only way to atone for man’s sins. Bible affirms again, without the shedding of the blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22). Though animal sacrifices and its blood was given as temporary arrangement for the forgiveness of sins in the Old Testament times, Bible clearly says “it is impossible for the blood of the bulls and goats to take away sins.” Hebrews 10:4. Animal sacrifices and shedding of animal blood for the forgiveness of sins were temporary arrangements. These were only shadows. But these shadows are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This is why John the apostle said this about Jesus Christ in John 1:29, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” The lamb, goats or bulls could never take away the sins of the people forever. The lamb of God – Jesus Christ- is the only one who can accomplish. He can take away the sins of you and me and of the humanity because He shed his precious and holy blood for our sins on the cross. Your sins are paid in full by God Himself. This is the Gospel – the good news that Bible declares. Now you can get the gift of salvation. The only thing you should do is to accept the free gift of God by calling upon the Lord Jesus Christ who is the ransom for all your sins. Bible says to repent of your sins and turn to God and call upon Him and accept salvation and eternal life because of what the Lord Jesus had already done for you on the cross of Calvary. No more sacrifices, no more of your efforts required for the forgiveness of your sins. The lamb of God has paid all for you. Come to God and accept the salvation and eternal life. This is the sum and substance of the Bible message. When you come and accept Christ as your savior who paid for your sins, you become a child of God. You are born into God’s family as his precious child and you are granted forgiveness and everlasting life in heaven with God. Your place in heaven is reserved forever. You can go to heaven only based on a reservation and you get the reservation in heaven at the foot of the cross where Christ died for you, by inviting Christ to become your savior. You will be enrolled in the Book of Life that is kept in heaven. This is the reservation log for all who will go to heaven. If your name is not in this Book of Life and reserved in heaven, you will not enter the heaven. You can enter heaven only by one way that is given to you and that is the way of the blood Jesus Christ. The blood of Christ, the Son of God, cleanse us from all our sins and makes us justified in the holy presence of God as if you never sinned, Bible declares. What a glorious salvation God prepared for you!
Thus though 40 authors wrote these 66 books of the Bible over 1500 years, the basic theme is the same- God is sovereign ruler of all, He created all, He created mankind, mankind lost his fellowship and friendship with God due to sin entered into their life. But God implemented the solution for people’s sin problem in and through the only savior of the world – Jesus Christ – and now you can be fully and completely forgiven and you can come Home with a loving relationship and friendship with God while you live in this world and in heaven with God after your death.
Bible is unique because hundreds of times in the Bible you will come across the phrase “thus says the Lord” (Exodus 4:22, Exodus 5:1, Exodus 7:17, Exodus 8:1, Exodus 8:20, Exodurs 9:1, Exodus 9:13, Exodus 10:3, Exodus 32:27, Joshua 7:13, Joshua 24:2, Judges 6:8, 1 Samuel 2:27, 1 Samuel 10:18, 2 Samule 7:8 and the list  goes on over and over again in the Bible). Numerous times Bible claim itself as the Word of God (Psalm 119, Hebrews 4>12, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Isaiah 40:8, Luke 11:28, Matthew 24:35, Psalm 33:4, Jeremiah 23:29, Romans 10:17 and the list goes on and on.

Another uniqueness of the Bible is the ‘inerrancy’ of the Bible. This means there is no error in the original manuscripts of the Bible. People say there are errors in the Bible, but they just heard from someone and repeating after the comments of another. In other words, they don’t take time to read and discover if there are errors in the Bible. When I ask people to show me one error in the Bible, they cannot show any errors. But they just say because they heard someone else saying there are errors in the Bible. My friend, test by yourself. You will find if there is one book in the world that is error-free, that is the Bible only. Bible has zero errors, period! Now there are things that are hard to understand and may seem contradictory because people don’t take time to read the Bible in its entirety. Bible faithfully recorded lies, sins of the people. Bible recorded the words of  the devil as well. That doesn’t mean Bible approves those wrong and sinful acts but it proves Bible accurately reports what took place. Such reports are made not because Bible condones those speeches or actions but to  make us  very cautious  in our life and actions, so that we won’t fall into pitfalls like they did. If you read the Bible from the beginning to the end you will discover there are no errors in the Bible. If you got a letter from someone and if you read only here and there without spending the time to read the whole letter, it will seem hard to understand or contradictory. But sit down and read the whole letter and then it will become clear to your mind. This is the same with the Bible.
You see, Bible itself claims it is flawless. Psalm 12:6, “And the words of the Lord are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like gold refined seven times.” It says there is no flaw or error in the Bible. The Bible is silver purified in a crucible like God refined seven times. Such flawless and errorless nature is the Word of God in the Bible. Bible claims it is perfect. That means there is no imperfection in the Bible. Listen what it says in Psalm 19:7, “The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple”. Even a simple person can become wise by reading the Bible. Why? Because it originated from God who is perfect and trustworthy.
Proverbs 30:5 says, “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” You see, every single word in the Bible is true. Jesus said in John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is the truth.” Bible has truth only in it and there is no error or flaw or imperfection in it. The truth of the Bible shines in the darkness and darkness cannot overcome the truth. Bible has the truth in it and the truth in the Bible is the only power and force that can set you free from your bondages. (John 8:32).

Bible is inerrant or error-free because of the authorship of God. God is error free because Bible says He is one hundred percent holy, all-powerful, all-knowledgeable and all present all the time. Based on His superior attributes, the book authored by God is error-free and flaw free. God is the one who created all from nothing. He is the one who spread out the sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing. Bible said these truths centuries ago before science even discovered it. (Job 26:7). He was all powerful to create this wonderful earth, the universe and everything in it just by His word. There is no doubt that such an all powerful and all knowledgeable God authored an inerrant Bible for us to know Him and get saved.

Bible is infallible because God is infallible. Infallible means incapable of making mistakes. In other words, Bible is unfailing or it never fails. Bible says in 1 Peter 1:23-25, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.”

Things around us change and fall down to the ground. For example grass, flowers, plants are all come and falls down. Even people are like grass and the glory of the people falls like the flower of the world. You see, your glory and my glory won’t last forever. But in contrast the Bible, the Word of God never fails. The Word of God, the Bible, endures forever. And because you are born again, not of any perishable seed, but you are born again into God’s household by listening and understanding the eternal and everlasting Bible (the Word of God), you will also endure forever, provided you came to the living Word of God who is the Christ Jesus in faith and trust. The statement in 2 Timothy 3:16 that says Bible is God-breathed and inspired and the statements of 2 Peter 1:20-21 that says Bible is not originated by human will but by God and His Spirit alone confirms the infallibility of the Bible. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” Christ attested the infallibility of the Scripture many times (Mathew 19:4-5, Luke 11:51, Matthew 24:37-39, Luke 17:28-32, John 8:56-58, Matthew 12:39-41, John 3:14) and the list goes on and on.

Bible is God-breathed and it tells all the truth you need to know.

Bible records all Scripture (Bible) is God-breathed. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16). Bible is the only unique book that did not originate from the earth. All other books are originated from this earth. Why? Bible says, “For prophecy (the Bible) never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
Bible did not originate from any human will, but though God’s prophets were human, they spoke of God as they were carried along by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, you can fully trust what the Bible says and it contains only the truth. In fact, all the truths that we value today originally came from the pages of the Bible. People criticise Bible saying Bible says the earth is flat not circle. But do you know this is absolutely a false argument? Bible doesn’t say the earth is flat nowhere in the Bible. In fact, Bible says the earth is a circle in nature thousands of years ago before even science discovered it. Listen what Isaiah 40:22 says, “He (God)  sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy and spreads them out like a tent to live in. If you want to know the origins of human life, no other religious books will inform the truth of where it all began, the original roots of mankind and all of the universe. Only Bible has the answer to these questions.
Why don’t you start reading Bible and be informed the truth from heaven and God about the origins of life and all the creations?

Bible states the truth that God is the creator of all. We are not a product of evolution.

Bible says God is the creator of everything. We are not a product of evolution. No man or no living thing is the product of evolution. When we look at a beautiful car, as awesome custom built house or building, Oh man what a great work! We want to know who (what car or construction company) made that car, house or building. You see so many parts, materials or designs should be included and placed in its proper place. Much planning and designing should go into these beautiful cars, houses, and buildings. Then people start looking into their own complex and well-designed bodies with all its interior parts wonderfully working together to function as a single body and come to a foolish conclusion that human body is a product of evolution. Then why all things around us have nothing to do with evolution? Everything else needs some intelligent work behind it but when it comes to humans and animals some people conclude that no intelligence or skills behind it. I read somewhere and it is said, “it takes more ‘faith’ to believe in evolution than to believe in a Creator.”

See, evolution is merely a hypothesis or assumption. It still remains as an assumption in our days now. But evolution was never tested or testable based on scientific methods. The evolutionist may not agree on this and they may say it is an intellectual finding. However, the truth is that evolution is something scientifically not provable nor the available evidence support the claims the evolutionists were made. If you read Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’ there are hundreds and hundreds of assumption phrases like ‘possible’, ‘could’, ‘maybe’ or ‘perhaps’ throughout the book. He was not even sure what he was writing about.
Evolution claims it can change the concept of creation by its unprovable claims. It says life forms came from non-life forms. It also says small creatures became more complex creatures through the ages. A small cell became a larger one and the came small creatures lizard. Lizard developed into monkeys and finally, humans came out of all these transitions.
But nowhere history you and I find any historical records of small creatures became more complex larger and more intelligent creatures. Do you have any evidence anywhere throughout the history of any animals becoming another type of animals? Lizards were always lizards, monkeys always remained as monkeys. No record of squirrel, cats, dogs, fish, bear turned into another type of pets or animals. Evolutionists just assume that transitional forms must have existed. But no prove for transitional forms at all throughout the history. The man was always man, the lion was always lions and monkeys remained like monkeys.
Do you know the life origination and how life is reproduced at the very beginning is always a question that evolution cannot answer?
Bible clearly, truthfully and emphatically states the truth that God made the male and female and they produced the first baby in this world. God made the animals –males and females- and initial reproduction started at that point of initial creation. God made the first male and female chickens and they produced the first egg which contained the genetic strains from both its Dad and Mom.
Listen what Bible says in the first book Genesis. “And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.” (Genesis 1:24-25)
It says God initially said and by His Word produced all living creatures according to their kinds- the livestock, the creatures move along the ground and the wild animals each according to its kind. And It was so.

Bible states the truth that mankind is made in the image of God.

Then the very next verse in the Bible describes the creation of first mankind by the almighty God.
“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:24-28).
Bible says God created mankind in His own image, in His likeness. It says again in verse 27 God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. You see this is why mankind is different from all other creatures and animals. God created mankind in His own image. This is the reason for the superiority of mankind over all other creatures. Mankind was made in the image of God to rule over everything on this earth.
The evolution of transitional forms is not the reason why man is superior and intellectual but God made mankind in His image is the secret of the greatness and uniqueness of man from all other life forms. In fact, transitional forms from the first cell to lizard to monkeys to mankind is not based on truths and this assumption is not even a provable theory in any fashion or form.
Truly, “it takes more ‘faith’ to believe in evolution than to believe in a Creator.” The Darwin’s theory of evolution was first proposed only in 1859. This was only a human attempt to deny God’s claim and authority.
No human assumptions or hypothesis can succeed and overthrow the truth and authority of God as revealed in the Bible. Actually, there is no need for a human assumption regarding the origin of life and all things exists in the universe. God, the creator of life and universe, gave the truth about the origin of life and creation of all the universe in the Scripture called Bible. Bible clearly explains how all came into being, why man is in its present lost condition and what is the solution for mankind’s all problems. Bible gives the truth to all of us because Bible is the only book that originated in heaven by God Himself.

Bible states the truth that humans consist of body, soul, and spirit.

We are all created in the fashion of three in one. Bible also says God is one but three in persons- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The minute you die your spirit goes to the presence of the Lord in heaven if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior. Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Bible says in Ecclesiastes 12:7 what happens at the time of people’s death. It says, “and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it”.

The body is the outer layer by which you can have all the senses – touch, smell and see. The soul is the sphere of mind, emotions, and will. The spirit is the core of a man where he can connect with God and have relationship and friendship with God. At the time of death, the body returns to the dust as we bury the body, but the soul/spirit immediately goes to the presence of the Lord. At the time of the rapture, the bodies of those who accepted as Savior will be resurrected and united with the spirit and will be given brand new resurrected, eternal, and glorified bodies. If you are worried about ghosts, let me know tell you there is no ghost rooming around in this world. There are demons but no ghosts in this world. There are only two places soul/spirit goes at the time of death. A believer in Christ who called upon the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins goes to heaven with God. In contrast, a person who won’t come to Christ for salvation and forgiveness of sins end up in hell. The incident of the Rich man and Lazarus that is explained by Jesus proves this fact. The rich man who lived only for himself in luxury and pleasure ended up in the place of torment (hell) while Lazarus went to the place of comfort (heaven). Though rich man requested someone from heaven should go to earth as a witness so that his own brothers won’t end up on hell the answer he got was no one can go back from heaven or hell back to earth.  The people who live here on the earth has still the Bible and the preachers who preach the Gospel – good news. (Luke 16:19-31). God has provided only one lifeline from heaven to get saved and spend eternity in heaven with God- the only savior Jesus Christ. There is no purgatory or no in-between places -only two destinations for people. Jesus said this  to the thief who accepted Him as the savior and pleaded to remember him -“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43). There is no in between as some people think. Bible doesn’t support purgatory or any other destination upon death other than heaven or hell.

Bible states the truth that the universe and your consciousness has God’s signature and stamps all over it.

When you think about it, everything around us testified there is a God and he created all. Bible says in Psalms 19 says the heaven above us – the stars, moon, and sun – and the vast expanse there in the sky declares continuously and silently declares the glory and the marvelous work of God. Lisen what it says,

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands.

Day after day pours forth speech,
And night after night reveals knowledge. 

There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars];
Their voice is not heard.” (Psalm 19:1-3).

The heavens above us don’t speak in a loud voice. There are no spoken words heard. But they silently testify the existence, glory and the work of God’s wonderful handy works. It says in verse 6, “The sun’s rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.” You see, how consistent and organized the path and work of Sun and moon. In the night time, the moon comes on to give dim light when the man goes to sleep. Bible says in Psalm 14 that only a fool would say there is no God. It says, “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” But Bible says God looks down from heaven to see if anyone seeks after Him. “The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,
    to see if there are any who understand
    who seek after God.” (Psalm 14:2). 

Secondly, God gave people a consciousness that constantly tells us there is a God and it says don’t violate His moral laws. God gave all of us an inner feeling of right and wrong. Why God gave us consciousness? So that people won’t destroy themselves and others by breaking God’s moral laws by doing evil deeds. Bible says in 1 king 2:44 people know in their heart all the wrong thing they do. But by violating God’s moral laws again and again without repentance can really harden our hearts and consciousness.By suppressing the truth about God that is all around us- externally and internally – we can harden our hearts like Pharaoh did.

Bible talks about the bad and dire consequences of suppressing the truth about God in the book of Romans. Read Romand 1:18-32. Wicked people suppress the truth about God by their wickedness. They knew the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” They have seen the earth and sky. They have clearly seen God’s invisible qualities and His power. So no man has an excuse regarding this matter. In addition, God also gave a light or lamp internally called consciousness. But they decided to suppress these truths about God.

Bible provides answers to man’s deepest and profound questions.

People throughout the centuries searched Bible to get answers to life’s basic and profound questions. Bible faithfully gives answers to all of our questions. Whatever your question is, you will find an answer in the Bible. People looked at the marvelous creations- earth, sky, stars, moon, sun, animals, people- and asked the basic question how did it all begin? Is there a beginning of all? They also asked the question where did I come from? Why am I here living now? Is there a purpose in my life? Do I have a future? What is my future looks like? What is the future of this world? Will it continue like this? Or something going to happen to this world?Why moral and natural evil are present in the world? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why people get sick? Why people die? Why doesn’t life continue without death? What is in store after death? Is there a heaven? Where is heaven? What is heaven looks like? Who is going to be there in heaven? How big is heaven? What are the materials used to build heaven? Is there a hell? Where is that place? Who will end up going there? How bad hell is? Why people end up going there? Do I have a choice? Can I choose heaven? How can I do it? Is there a God? If there is a God, what is His expectation about me? What is His character? Is there a consequence for my wrongdoings and evil behaviors? Why wicked people flourish and good people suffer?
My friend, all these are very basic and important questions in all people’s mind. I believe you have already struggled with these questions several times and may be very curious to find reliable and truthful answers. Your intellectual curiosity searches answers to these questions right? I learned as we advance in our age, some of the above questions become very dear to our hearts and minds. Bible is a one-stop place for answers to all these questions. There is no other book in the world that gives true and reliable answers to these deep questions of inquiring minds. That is the reason people turned to Bible for truthful and reliable answers all through the centuries in the past. Still today and for all future days, Bible will continue providing answers to people. Because Bible itself claims (as we have already seen above in this article) it did not originate from the earth, each and every word of the Bible is originated from heaven -Bible is God inspired and God-breathed. No other book so far made or can make such strong claims and in no other places, you will get answers to these and many other profound questions of people.

Bible tells us the truth that all of us have a humanly incurable problem called Sin that hinders our fellowship and friendship with God. But God Himself has solved that problem for us any way!

What is the sin? The human problem of Sin is described in different words in the Bible. I will bring to your attention two important words that are used for sin in the Scripture. There are other words for sin in the Bible. But we will discuss these two words for the sake of brevity of this article.

‘Hamartia’ or Missing the Mark

The first word is used for sin in the Bible is ‘hamartia’ (Greek) which means ‘missing the mark’. The famous passage in the Bible in Romans 3:23 which says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” uses this word ‘hamartia’ which means ‘missing the mark’. God says all human beings ever lived or will live in this world (except Lord Jesus because Jesus was one hundred percent God and one hundred percent Man- two nature in one-when He lived on this world. This is called hypostatic union in Theology) are fallen short of the glory and holiness of God. This means none of us can live in God’s high standard in our fallen state. God is fully Holy, morally pure and there is no impurity or unholiness in Him.
God gave only one command to our first parents in the garden of Eden- Adam and Eve. They couldn’t even obey the one command that the Lord God gave at the point of their temptation by the serpent who is the Satan. They missed the mark because they were required to obey that one command of not eating from one tree in the midst of the garden. They had all other and many trees and fruits. You may imagine how you would have definitely obeyed and are better than them. But the truth is that at the time of the temptation, we all are vulnerable apart from the help of God through His Holy Spirit. God gave 10 commandments through Moses. These ten commandments and other laws God gave to Israel in the pages of the Bible are truly the basis of all the laws implemented by different nations. Why God gave ten commandments? To convince you that you cannot obey God all the commandments of God and to show you and me that we will miss the mark of obeying God. There are people who claim they obey the ten commandments. Really? How many times did you covet in your life? One of the commands says ‘you shall not covet’. Did you ever covet things that belonged to other people like your friend’s house, car, wife etc? Did you ever look at women with lustful desires? You did covet. It says ‘You shall not commit adultery’. Did you commit adultery? How many times did you commit adultery in your heart and mind? It says, “honor your father and mother”? Were there times you did not honor your parents? Did you ever disrespect or talk about them in a bad way? The list goes on and on.
Good question! Then why did God give ten commandments along with other laws and regulation in the Old Testament? Bible gives the answer in Galatians 3:24, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster (or tutor or guardian) to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” The ten commandments and Law always reminds us the fact that ‘we miss the mark’ and we are unable to meet God’s righteous and glorified standards in our fallen estate. The conviction that ‘we miss the mark’ leads us to the cross of Christ Jesus where He completely and fully paid for all your ‘hamartia’ (missed marks of your life). This is why Bible says in Romans 5:6, “when we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right item and died for us sinners.” Romans 5:8 says, “But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” The next three verses say, “And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His son while we were still His enemies. Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends with God.”
So hamartia means ‘missing the mark’. We as human beings ‘miss the mark’ of the pure and holy God. This is the divine verdict about all humanity and it is a true statement about our current condition. You and I miss the mark of God’s pure and holy standards. You can try to be better than me in purity and holiness. And you may be better than I to humanly comparative standards and measuring rode. But you will never be perfect in purity and holiness per God’s standards. This is God’s estimation of people in this world. I know I cannot attain God’s standard. Why? I know I missed His mark and expectation as laid out in the Bible. Those times I agree with Him and confess my sins and shortcomings to Him. Yes, that is what you and I need to do. But we will never be perfect like God is. We will always miss the mark when we live in this world. This is not an excuse to say sin is ok. Not at all. Sin is not ok. Sin has serious consequences and we will end up paying for the drastic consequences of our sins. Bible says we need to grow in the image of Christ day by day if we accepted Christ as our savior, confess our shortcomings and sins to Him and study the Bible and grow in it. Every day, every month, every year you and I have the potential to grow more pure and holy because God gives His Holy Spirit to those who accept Christ as his or her savior and His Spirit living inside of us helps us to grow more pure and holy. Christ’s shed blood and its power to cleanse us from all our sins and His Holy Spirit in a believer in Christ are the secret and power to avoid sins in our lives. There is no other way to avoid sins.
Suppose you live in New York near the Atlantic Ocean. Suppose you and your friend say that you both are going to swim to London in the Atlantic Ocean. You may go farther than your friend or your friend may swim farther you. But the truth is you both of you will not going to make it to London. This is what is meant by ‘missing the mark’ of the God’s glorious and holy standards.
Jesus said in John 16:9, “concerning sin because people do not in believe in Me. The Greek word “hamartia” is used here for sin. This is the ‘missing the mark’. God sent His only begotten Son into this world with the expectation that you would believe in Him and get saved and come to eternity to live with Him. But if a person after hearing this good news of salvation in the name of Jesus Christ who died, buried and risen again for his or her sins don’t come to Him for rescue, salvation, and eternal life, that will be the utmost ‘missing mark’. All other ‘missing marks’ in your lives are forgivable but Bible clearly states the truth this is an unpardonable missing mark that makes people’s final destination in hell. Pharisees even after hearing directly from Jesus Christ and witnessing many of His miraculous and wonderful acts because of the work of God’s Holy Spirit in Him, still was not willing to put their trust on Him. Instead of placing their faith on the savior, they came to the conclusion that Christ is doing all the works in the power of Satan. By saying this, they have rejected the wonderful works of the Holy Spirit of God in Christ and in them. They rejected Christ as their Messiah and savior. You can read about this account of ‘unpardonable sin’ in Matthew 12:22-32. This is the only missing mark that is not forgivable. You need to settle the matter regarding God’s love toward you in the person of Christ Jesus before your death. If you don’t do that, may I tell you the truth? Bible says a person who won’t come to Him for the forgiveness of their sins, salvation and eternal life will have to end up in eternal hell all through their eternity. This is simply because of the fact that although the life and light were presented to them, they still chose darkness and eternal death away from God in hell.

Apostle Paul, the greatest missionary the world has ever seen said this about himself in Romans 7:15-25. Listen what he says there.
“ For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
By understanding the hopeless condition, Apostle Paul answers the most cardinal question. Who will deliver me from this body of sin and death? Then He gives us the answer. He says I thank God- through Jesus Christ. Because Christ paid all our sins on the cross of Calvery fully and completely, He can deliver us from the body of sin and consequent death. The next chapter 8:1 says this additional and marvelous truth, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” You won’t experience any condemnation from a pure and holy God if you come to Christ and accept Him as your savior because He already solved the problem of your sins. No more condemnation of your sins.

There is not a single man who obeyed the ten commandments except Christ Jesus. He did because He was one hundred percent God and one hundred percent man during the time of His incarnation when He lived on this world. He wept at the tomb of Lazarus upon his death (His humanity). The very next moment he said, “Lazarus come forth”. Lazarus was resurrected though he was dead for four days. (shows His divinity)
Jesus was sleeping inside the boat of disciples when deadly waves were about to sink their ship and they were all facing death in the river (shows his humanity). Upon His disciple’s cry and request, He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. (shows His divinity). I don’t have enough time to give more examples. If you read the four Gospels in the Bible, you will be convinced of the fact that Jesus Chris was God and Man- both in Him one hundred percent. Only a one percent God and one hundred percent man could pay for all your sins. No another man can pay for it because he also has the same issue of sin. No man is there without sin to pay for our sins. It has to be outside of man who never sinned and that was the reason of the incarnation of Christ to this world – to save us from our sins and make a way to enter us into God’s holy presence in heaven for all eternity. Jesus being one hundred percent God and man did this solemn duty by dying for our sins on the cross, buried and then victoriously coming out the grave by defeating death and Satan.
Is this good news for you? I would say this is the good news this sin bound and dying world heard from the creator God. You can live with God in heaven and you do not need to spend your eternity in hell if you would come to God who loves you and gave His Son for your sin problem. Bible says if you call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ who is your only savior, you will be saved. Why don’t you call upon Him now in prayer and ask Him to save you now?

‘Anomia’ or Iniquities or lawlessness

Another word for sin used in the Bible is ‘anomia’ (Greek) . This word is translated as ‘iniquity’ or ‘lawlessness’ in some of the English Bible translations. Peter used this word in 2 Peter 2:8 for ‘unlawful deeds’ when he talked about men of Sodom and Gomorrha. The word, of course, means lawlessness but even more than it the word also means immoral or grossly unfair behavior, wickedness etc. The word signifies clear and gross disobedience to the revealed law of God. John uses this world in 1 John 3:4 and says “Sin (Anomia) is lawlessness. It is a state of living not honoring the law of God. This act of arrogant disobedience to the law of God which is a state of lawlessness is going to increase as we move to the end times per Bible. Refer Matthew 24:12 where Jesus said about the coming future age, “Because of the increase of the ‘Anomia’ (Iniquity, wickedness or lawlessness) the love of most will grow cold.”
Bible also talks about a soon appearing man of sin or lawlessness (anomia) in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Bible says this man of lawlessness is the ultimate figure of all wickedness who is going to control the whole world for a small period of time (7 years) before the second coming of Christ. Bible says the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering to Him will not happen unless the apostasy (falling away from faith in the Christ) and the man of lawlessness is revealed. This is the antichrist who is going to deceive many just before the second coming of Christ. He will be the person who has the embodiment of Satan in Him and the ‘anomia’ (lawlessness, gross immorality, and wickedness) will be the mark of those days. The book of Revelation gives more facts about this man and a period called ‘great tribulation’ from chapter 6 to the end of the book. This is the time of righteous God’s wrath pouring out on this earth for all the wickedness, unfair injustices, lawlessness and gross immoralities. Bible also says in this period people will love to die because of the wicked, satanic actions of the antichrist and His rule on this earth. Revelation 6:15-17 describes about this day like this, “Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the [n]presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
This is the great day of the wrath of the one who sits on the throne (God) and of the Lamb (Christ Jesus) on this wicked and immoral world. How many injustices, wickedness, bloodshed, immoralities, and disregard for God’s Law occurred in this world? Countless from the very beginning of His creation of this world. Who is able to stand God’s wrath when it is poured out on this wicked world? The answer is no one will be able to stand on that day of severe judgments on all wickedness and lawlessness.
But the comforting truth is this – if you are living on this earth at that time and you already trusted in Christ as your savior, you will be taken away (raptured) before God pours His wrath on this world. God will not allow Christ’s Church who is the ‘bride of Christ’ to go through or live here on earth during this terrible period of the wrath of God. Bible affirms Church and all the believers will be taken into heaven before this darkest day on this earth. The Revelation chapter 5 gives us the picture of all believers in Christ (Church), those who are bought by the blood of Christ from all the nations and languages by the blood of Christ are safe and secure in heaven before the ‘tribulation period.’ Chapter 5 of the book of Revelation tells us these believers who are bought by the blood of Christ are believers who are bought bowing down and worshipping God and the Lamb in heaven before the tribulation events of chapter 6 happen. After the removal of all believers in Christ from this earth, the great tribulation will happen on this earth. Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 that Christ saves us (all who turned to living God in and through Christ) from the coming Wrath. Listen what it says, “They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says, “For God hath not appointed us (believers in Him) to wrath.” They, the wicked one are appointed for this wrath of God. But not the one who trusted and cleansed by the shed blood of Christ.

We witness gross immorality, unfair injustices, iniquities, wicked acts of people and lawlessness almost every day these days, don’t we? The TV channels, newspapers, and new magazines are full of them. You and I can not say there is no sin in this world. This world is filled with sin. But Bible also tells us the truth that more really bad and scary days and more wickedness is in store for future and finally worse of all, the antichrist (the man of lawlessness), will appear and that will be the great tribulation period on this earth. My friend, things are not going to get better per Bible until God sends His wrath and judgment on this God-rejecting and God’s law rejecting earth.
You don’t really want to be left for that horrible time period of darkness and wickedness. Bible says, “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” You can call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in prayer and get saved from these horrible days in future.

Prayer time:

You can pray like this, “God, Thank you for talking to me today. I accept Christ Jesus as my savior. I believe Jesus Christ died, buried and resurrected for my sins. Please save me and give me eternal life with you in heaven.”

If you prayed this prayer, Bible assures you are saved from the coming great tribulation period on this earth. In addition, you will be in heaven with God the moment you die. Or if you live during the end of this age, you will be raptured (caught up) to heaven before God pours His wrath on this wicked and lawless world.

Bible faithfully gives answers your questions – why ‘anomia’ (sin) is present in this world, where it originated from and how this transmitted to us from the beginning of creation. You can read about it in the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. You can also read the article in this ‘study Bible’ section titled “ Human death- What is death? Why everyone die? What is the solution? What is in store after death?” in order to get more information regarding these above questions.

Who do you think Jesus is?

Again we are right in the season of Christmas 2017. Every year the season of Christmas challenge each one of us to consider who Jesus was. Some people think Jesus was a good philosopher, others think He was an excellent teacher or a prophet. People in the world think about Jesus in different ways.

The most profound question that one will ever answer.

In fact, do you know this is the most important question that you will ever answer on this side of the eternity while you live on this short life here on this planet called earth? Your answer to the question ‘who Jesus is?’ is definitely going to determine your destiny and final destination. The most profound question you will ever answer.

 

[bctt tweet=”Who is Jesus?” username=”sam2017insights”]

Peter got the right answer.

Listen the conversation between Jesus and His disciples in Matthew 16:13-17 from Amplified version. Almost all of the verses in this article are quoted from Amplified version.
“Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  And they answered, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or [just] one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of the living God.”
Then Jesus answered him, “Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, favored by God] are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood (mortal man) did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
Peter answered the question and said, “you are the Christ (the long-awaited Messiah that was prophesied in the old testament section of the Bible hundreds of years ago). Then he added one more sentence, “the Son of the living God.” When Jesus heard Peter, He said it is not a man or man’s intelligence that revealed this truth to Peter. But it is the Father God in heaven who revealed this truth to Peter. The answer to the question ‘who Jesus is?’ is a spiritual question and only God in heaven can reveal this truth to you. In fact, you may be thinking Jesus is another prophet or a great person world had ever seen. But the truth is Jesus is much, much bigger than your imagination.

Let me explain what I meant- The idea of Christmas didn’t begin on the first day of Christmas.

You see the idea of Christmas didn’t begin on the first Christmas day. You may wonder why I said this, right?
Bible says in Philippians 2: 6-11, Jesus existed in the exact essence and form of God way back in the eternity past. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit existed in perfect harmony in the triune Godhead even before the creation of all things. Even before the creation of the earth, the sky, the stars and the mankind, in a counsel in the eternity past God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit entered into an eternal covenant. This covenant is called the eternal covenant of blood (Hebrews 13:20) in which the eternal Son of God agreed that He will come down to this blue planet called earth by incarnation through the womb of a young girl called Mary, live in this world without sin, as fully God and man, and finally die by giving His precious, sinless and holy blood for the redemption and forgiveness of our sin. This agreement was even before the fall of the Adam and Eden in the garden of Eden. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58). God in his foreknowledge knew what is going to happen in the garden of Eden and to the posterity of Adam and Eve. He already had a plan in place for the salvation and redemption of Adam’s race. God the Father agreed in return that He would raise Jesus Christ from the dead and exalt Him and give Him a name above all names and all those are in heaven, on earth and under the earth will bow down to Him and confess His name to the glory of God the Father. Bible says God gave all authority of future judgment is given to Christ. John 5:22-23 says, “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

1. The pre-existence of Christ as the Son of God in heaven.

You see what happened on the first Christmas day in Bethlehem was the implementation of the eternal plan of God.
Bible says in 1 Peter 1:20, “For He (Christ) was foreordained (foreknown) before the foundation of the world, but has appeared [publicly] in these last times for your sake.” Christ was in existence way before the first day of Christmas or even before the day of Abraham and the Garden of Eden. He was with God in perfect unity of triune Godhead along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
According to the eternal covenant of blood agreed and ratified in the eternity past, Christ, the very God Himself, came into the world in a for-ordained and foreplanned rescue mission for the lost sinners, to reestablish their fellowship back with God.
You see the answers to the questions who Jesus is and why the first Christmas in Bethlehem will determine your final and eternal destiny and destination. You see, Jesus Christ is God and before anything existed there was Christ. Bible confirms the eternal co-existence of Christ with God the Father in John 1:1-4. It says, “In the beginning [before all time] was the Word Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him, and without Him, not even one thing was made that has come into being. In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men.”
Did you see what has said above, before all the time, in the eternity past was the Word (that is Christ) and the Word (Christ) was with God? Not only Christ was with God, but it says Christ (the Word) was God Himself.

John in his epistle chapter 1:1-2 says about Christ like this- “[I am writing about] what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life [the One who existed even before the beginning of the world, Christ]— and the Life [an aspect of His being] was manifested, and we have seen [it as eyewitnesses] and testify and declare to you [the Life], the eternal Life who was [already existing] with the Father and was [actually] made visible to us [His followers]. John says he is wrting about Christ who was from the beginning (eternity past) existed as God. He testifies they have heard, they have seen with their eyes and they have touched Him with their hands. In short, Jesus Christ was God wrapped in flesh.

2. Christ is the exact reflection and image of God.

Bible affirms, God is Spirit and invisible. But how do you and I know about God if He is Spirit and invisible- what He is like, what is His character, His attributes? Look at Jesus Christ and you will know about God because He is the exact image or reflection of God. Bible affirms Christ is the perfect reflection and image of God. Bible says in Colossians 1:15, “He is the exact living image [the essential manifestation] of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible], the firstborn [the preeminent one, the sovereign, and the originator] of all creation.” Christ Himself claimed this when He was on this earth in John 14:8-9. Philip said to Him (Jesus Christ), “Lord, show us the Father and then we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and you do not know Me yet, Philip, nor recognize clearly who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ The way Jesus loved, taught people, performed miracles -healed the sick, delivered the demons possessed people from devil and demons, fed more than 5000 people with five loaves and two fishes, stopped the wind and storms in the sea, walked on the water- testifies and proves He was God. The compassion and deep love of Jesus toward the people, His power over the nature, raised people who were dead, His knowledge and understanding of the hearts of the people and finally His victorious accomplishment the purpose of His incarnation by giving Himself as a ransom or price for our sins and on the third day raised according to the eternal covenant of blood which was decreed even before the foundaiton of the world- look at all these things and many more than I described here in the pages of the Bible and you will see the living God in Christ.
Bible says in Colossians 2:9, “For in Him (Christ) all the fullness of Deity (the Godhead) dwells in bodily form [completely expressing the divine essence of God.), This states all the fullness of God dwells in bodily form in Christ. In short, to see God, look at Christ.
When Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father God in heaven, Jesus replied don’t you recognize me? Anyone who has seen Me (Christ) has seen the Father. In another occasion in John 10:30 Jesus said, “The Father and I are one.”
Bible says in Hebrews 1:3 this truth about Jesus as the exact expression and representation of God the Father. Read what it says, “ The Son (Jesus Christ) is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence.” You see, it says Jesus Chris is the radiance and only expression of the glory of God and the exact representation and perfect imprint of God the Father.
That is why we can safely say with assurance that those who have seen Jesus Christ physically or through the pages of the Bible have seen and known God intimately.

3. Christ is the creator of all that is in existence.

Bible says about Christ in John 1:3, “All things were made and came into existence through Him (Christ), and without Him (Christ) not even one thing was made that has come into being.” Amazing! right? ‘Without Him, not even one thing was made that has come into being.’ Think about it!
Another passage says in Colossians 1:16, “For by Him (Christ) all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him.” All visible and invisible things in heaven and on earth, thrones, dominions, rulers or authorities- all things were created and even exist through Lord Jesus Christ.
Bible says in Genesis 1:1 “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Jews and Christians agree that there is only one God. However, by the use of the Hebrew word “Elohim” even as early as in the first verse of the Bible, Bible suggests though God is one, He is plural. This is something very hard to understand by human intellect or wisdom. El is the singular form and Elohim is the plural form. For some reason from the very beginning of the Scripture, this truth that God as one but the plurality in Godhead is revealed in the scripture. The plurality revealed is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. All three are same in essence and presented three different persons. The son of God is expressed as the ‘Word’ in John 1:1 as we discussed above in this article. It is by the Word of God that God created all in the beginning (read Genesis 1). Bible reveals the ‘Word’ is the Son of God – Christ.
1 Corinthians 8:6 says, “yet for us, there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.” Read the above passage slowly. One God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him. There is one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things and we exist for Him.
The Son is the exact image, radiance, and representation of God the Father and it is by and through Christ all things were made that were made. In other words, Christ is the creator of all things in heaven and earth. All that is visible and invisible are the hand works of Christ Jesus.

4. Now Bible also affirms another truth- Christ holds together and sustains all created things.

Bible says in Colossians 1:16-17 reveals not only by Christ all things were created in heaven and on earth- visible and invisible things- but also all things exist through Him and for Him. It says here, Christ existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Means He controls and He is the force that controls and sustains all things in the universe.
Read what it says, “all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him. And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.” I am not a scientist. But I know it is mind-boggling to think about galaxies and stars all over our head every day. Read about the milky way and the number of stars. Billions and Billions of stars right? Billions of galaxies! How come they are all kept safe from massive breakups and universal dangers? Who does this work? Bible says not only Christ created all things but he holds all together. The secret of the reason why the whole universe working in a cohesive, organized and co-operative way is because of the power of the Son of God – Christ – who keep all together in an orderly fashion by the might of His supernatural power.
Now, do you know there is a day coming in near future it will all end by the same word who created the whole universe and holds it together? Bible says this in 2 Peter 3:7, “By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”
See if Christ doesn’t hold the universe together by His word, all would explode and collapse. Thank Christ, the Son of God, who sustains and holds it all together. Bible says in Hebrews 1:3, “the Son is ……upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal].” Did you notice the Amplified version said “He is sustaining and upholding all together in the universe to its pre-determined goal.” This is the pre-determined agenda from the eternity past – the eternal plan and counsel of God- the everlasting covenant of blood by the sacrificial death of Christ on the Calvary and the safe future of those who accept Christ as their savior and the unimaginable horrible future of those who reject Christ as their savior.

Do you know why He is holding it together in an organized way?

Do you know why Christ is sustaining and upholding all with all caution until He would destroy the current sky and earth by the power of His Word? Bible gives the reason in the same section in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
You see, God’s love for you so deep and wide that He doesn’t really want you to go to that place called ‘hell’, because it is so bad and horrible a place, my friend. He is showing His longsuffering toward you, not willing any should perish. But it is His desire that all should come to repentance and turn to God in and through Lord Jesus Christ.
My friend, may I ask you this question with a heavy concern regarding your eternal destination? Have you called upon Jesus Christ for your salvation as of yet?
You see, Christmas did not really begin on the first day of Christmas on this earth. The ideas of Christmas began way before in the eternity past, in the counsel of the God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This is agreed and ratified in the eternity past before the creation of all. God had a plan for you. A good plan to give you a future and safety in heaven with Him. In the eternity past, God knew He would create the earth and the heavens. Then He knew He would create man (Adam) in His own image, He knew He would create a suitable helper for the man (Eve). He knew even though He is going to place them in a perfect environment of innocence, the devil will approach them and upon devil’s temptation, the first man and women would fall into sin. By foreknowing all these things in His omniscience foreknowledge, God had an eternal plan to save Adam’s race provided they would turn to the Savior, Christ Jesus. According to this everlasting covenant of the blood of Christ for the remission of sins, the very God Himself incarnated into this world. Christ, the Son of God, came to this world to accomplish and finish the rescue mission of your salvation. To take you back to God in a loving relationship as a child of God for all eternity future. He regained that which was lost – the fellowship and friendship with God.
This is Christmas is all about! Have you come to this awareness as you celebrate Christmas this year? Bible declares in Romans 10:13, “WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD (IN PRAYER) WILL BE SAVED.”
May this Christmas be a meaningful Christmas for you. What a joy waiting for you if you find this truth? What a joy in heaven in the presence of God’s angels have if you call upon the Lord Jesus today for your salvation. Bible says in John 1:12, “to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”.
I sincerely wish and pray you would find the truth in this Christmas season and it will be a matter of true and permanent joy for you. God loves you. Please come to a loving relationship with the almighty God of the universe in and through the name of Jesus Christ today. Bible says your name will be written in the Book of life in heaven, all your sins will be forgiven and you will live in heaven with God eternally at the moment of your death. This is because you believed the truth and trusted in Christ who is the savior of the world –who faithfully fulfilled and finished the covenant of blood (the everlasting covenant) for your salvation.

Prayer time: You can invite Christ as your savior in a small prayer with me now. Pray after me.
“God, I know you love me and has a great plan for my safe future and well being. I admit I am a sinner and I believe Christ came into this world and died for my sins, buried and risen from the dead. I know He paid for my sins fully and completely on the cross. I accept Christ as my savior now. Please save me. Amen.”
If you prayed this prayer, with the authority of the Bible, I invite you to the family of God. You became a child of God now and you are born into God’s family. Bible promises God has erased all your sins and you have everlasting life with God in heaven. Please go to contact/prayer tab and send me a note. I will be thrilled to hear from you. Thank you for doing this.

No father, mother, genealogy, no beginning of days nor end of life- Who is this mysterious person suddenly appeared and disappeared to Abraham?

Melchizedek is definitely a very interesting person in the Bible. People are naturally curious to discover who this person is!

Chronological Development

Let us look into the chronological development regarding the description of this apparently mysterious person called Melchizedek. Bible provides progressive revelation and it progressively reveals the truth as we move from the Old Testament books to the New Testament Books. The whole counsel of God can be gained only by studying Bible as a whole. In other words, we don’t come to a final understanding about a topic of interest by looking at one testament, one book, and one verse. Bible has to be studied holistically and progressively. In addition, Bible must also be studied literally with an understanding of the then culture. We will allow for figurative interpretation only if the passages suggests figurative interpretation. If Bible doesn’t provide figurative interpretation for a passage, we will use only the literal explanation. For example, If a verse is figurative, the Bible says it is figurative usually before or after the verse. For example, the Book of Revelation says the mystery of seven stars and seven golden lampstands immediately after Revelation 1:20. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. Now we know seven stars and seven golden lampstands are used figuratively.
1 Corinthians 5:7 says in the New Testament, “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed”. Now we know Passover lamb was a shadow of Christ. Bible interprets and it doesn’t we will allow literal explanation. This is the right way to interpret all literature and the same is applicable to Bible literature as well.
The problem with Melchizedek is Bible doesn’t say he is Christ nor it says he is a type of Christ. But the descriptions about this apparently mysterious person gives us an idea that he is not a mere king or man.

Genesis 14.

Melchizedek is introduced for the first time in Bible in Genesis 14:18-20 and it says,
“And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all.”
This was a sudden and unexpected visit of Melchizedek after Abraham and his people defeated Chedorlaomer and the three allies with the help of the Most high God, Yahweh. An amazing victory over the enemies because Abraham delivered and brought home Lot from their hands. Melchizedek, king of Salem brought out bread and wine to a tired Abraham and his people to refresh and rejuvenate them. Bringing bread and wine also shows friendship and care. It is interesting to note the two descriptions about Melchizedek – King of Salem and then it says he was a priest of God Most High. Not only that, Melchizedek blessed Abraham and it says Abraham gave him a tenth of all that he accumulated. In other words, Abraham recognized and acknowledged Melchizedek as the priest of the Most High God and Abraham shared his apparent gratefulness of the victory with this superior and highly ranked person visited Him. To bless Abraham means Melchizedek had apparently a position of higher rank spiritually.

Psalm 110.

Then the name Melchizedek appears in Psalm 110 which is written by King David. This is a psalm regarding Christ Jesus. Several Psalms are written by David by the inspiration of God, that goes beyond his life experiences. Psalm 22 is another example of a messianic Psalm that describes how God the father allowed Christ the son to go through the experience of the cross for our sins.
It is interesting David says “The LORD says to my Lord”. In other words, Yahew (The LORD) says to David’s Lord- Christ Jesus. This is explained by Jesus in Matthew 22:42-46. It says Jesus, the Messiah, is not only the son of David but He is also the Lord of David because David called Him the Lord in Holy Spirit (by the inspiring work of the Holy Spirit in David). Jesus said in Matthew 22:43 that David called Him the Lord in Psalm 110 by the Holy Spirit. By the way, Psalm 110 proves another important doctrine of the Bible – The trinity or triune God. ‘The LORD’ – God the father, David says ‘my Lord’- Jesus Christ and the whole incident of David’s inspiration to write these words was because of the work and inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Him.
Psalm 110:1 let all of us understand the conversation between God the father and God the Son. The Lord says to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” This is fulfilled at the time of the ascension of Christ into heaven after His sacrificial death for us. Listen to what Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore having been exalted [ag]to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into [ah]heaven, but he himself says:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’
Now the next verse, Psalm 110:2 says, “The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,
“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” Psalm 110:1 is already fulfilled as Christ was exalted to the right hand of God after accomplishing our salvation by His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. Now Christ is at the right hand of God. Verse 2 says The LORD will stretch forth Your (Christ’s) strong scepter from Zion. This will be accomplished when Christ will rule by his strong scepter from Zion or Jerusalem. This will be the time of the Davidic covenant and even it goes back to Genesis 46:10 where the Bible says, “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. The scepter of rulership from the headquarters in Jerusalem belongs to Christ.
Now verse 4 of Psalm 110 says, “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind,
“You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” This is an eternal declaration of the LORD and He will not change His mind on this matter. What is the declaration? Christ is the priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”. Christ is the King and the priest.
In other words by saying Christ’s priesthood last forever by the order of Melchizedek and not by the Levitical order. Levi and Levitical order was familiar to Jews. The passage teaches us few important points. One, Christ’s priesthood did not originate with Levi or Levitical systems which came in to being only later at the time of Moses. Christ’s priesthood is much older in its order and it goes back to the time of Abraham, even before the time of David who wrote Psalm 110. Secondly, Christ’s priesthood is more superior when compared with the Levitical priesthood.

The Book of Hebrews.

This superiority of Christ’s priesthood apparently explained in the book of Hebrews. This is the third place Melchizedek is mentioned and explained. Let us dive into this section now.
Hebrews 6:20 says about Jesus Christ. “having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Christ’s highly priestly role is according to the order of Melchizedek. When it says “order of” we expect high priests before Christ or we expect a line of high priests so that we can comfortably say Christ is in the order of this High priestly line. But the fact of the matter is there was no one name mentioned in the Bible after the name of Melchizedek. No one in between Melchizedek and Christ mentioned in the Bible.
Adding to our curiosity, Bible says in Hebrews 7:3 describes Melchizedek as, “Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.”
Hebrews 7:2 gives us the translation of the name Melchizedek as “king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, Which is king of peace.”
Now let us analyze all these points. We understand from New Testament that Melchizedek:
• doesn’t have father
• doesn’t have a mother
• doesn’t have a genealogy.
• doesn’t have a beginning of days nor end of life.
• He was made like the son of God. He remains a priest perpetually.
• He is the king of righteousness and
• the king of Salem which means king of peace.
All the above descriptions except one that says “He was made like the son of God” point toward Christ because King of righteousness, king of Salem which is king of peace, no father, no mother, no beginning of days and no end of life fits the description of Christ. No other human being can be attributed with these traits. However, the usage ‘like the son of God’ seems to be a strong argument for viewing Melchizedek as a type of Jesus Christ.  However, we also should keep in mind that the phrase ‘like the son of God’ was used about pre-incarnate Christ in the book of Daniel in Daniel 3:25.

Who is He?

When we read all these progressive revelations about this mysterious person who appeared and disappeared to Abraham at a very critical time in Abraham’s life, are we learning Melchizedek and Jesus Christ are the same? Is it true that the eternal Son of God visited a tired Abraham and blessed him after his war with Chedorlaomer and his three allies and received a grateful tithe from him as a supernatural divine second person of the Trinity, who deserved to be honored? Is the Genesis account of Melchizedek a Christophany like other similar instances in the Old Testament? Refer other instances of Christophany in Genesis 17:18 when Abraham talked to the LORD like a man talking to another man.Alternatively, Is Melchizedek was a historical figure who was a type of Christ?

Theophany and Christophany in the Bible

We know for sure there are Theophany and Christophany in the old testament Scripture. Theophany is a manifestation of God but not necessarily in human forms or terms. There are several examples and one of such is Exodus 3:2-4:17 when God appeared to Moses in burning bush and advised what to do. Christophany is the appearance of pre-incarnate Christ in the Old Testament. There are several examples. But one example for the limited time of this article is Genesis 32:22-30. Jacob wrestled with what appeared to be a man.

Qumran

The international standard of Bible Encyclopedia gives Qumran identification of Melchizedek under the name of Melchizedek (page 313, Volume Three K-P) In 1956 thirteen fragments of a first-century manuscript were found in Qumran Cave 11 (11QMelch). “A.S. Van der Woude, the original publisher of 11qMelch, saw Melchizekek as playing a significant role, standing in the assembly of God among the angelic beings. There he is depicted as executing divine judgment, which is somehow related to the Jubilee Year. He also seems to be involved either as the one who atones for the sins of the people or as the priest who mediates atonement to them. A few students of Qumran literature identify the Melchizedek of 11QMelch as an earthly person who met Abraham (Gen 14) and whose likeness will be reproduced in the coming Messiah. Most Qumran scholars, however, view the Qumran Melchizedek as a high angelic being who was thought to have appeared to Abraham. This tradition, preserved in Qumran, may provide the background for the use of the Melchizedek figure in Hebrews 7.”

Heightened Interest

It is very interesting to note that this simple incident that happened in Abraham’s life – the sudden appearance and disappearance of Melchizedek- later became a huge area of curiosity and interest among Jewish and Christian scholars and to the minds of ordinary people. We understand a lot of curious generating people appeared and disappeared from the historical account of the old testament literature and they didn’t get this much attention. I have in mind other theophanies and Christophanies as well. Melchizedek still remains as a mysterious person in scholars and ordinary people’s mind.

At the final outset Who is Melchizedek?

At the final outset -there are three major kinds of thoughts regarding Melchizedek. The first one says he is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. The second thought is Melchizedek is a man, king and a type of Christ and he portrays or pre-figures Christ’s High Priestly ministry. However, it appears one important conclusion emerges from the above study of his progressive descriptions that Melchizedek was more than a mere human king or king, doesn’t it? There is also a third thinking that Melchizedek is an angel appeared to Abraham (Angelophany). However, Bible says the angels are created by God (Colossians 1:16) and they have a beginning. The description of ‘no beginning’ regarding Melchizedek suggests this appearance was not an angelic appearance because of the fact that the angles are created beings. But the thought that pre-incarnate Christ appeared to Abraham after his weary and rigorous battle and Abraham gave his honor to Him seems a good possibility.

Prayer time: Bible says Jesus Christ is the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Bible says it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. “Every human priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins, But Jesus Christ, having offered one sacrifice for sins of all time, sat down at the right hand of God…. For by one offering (of his sinless body and blood) He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” Hebrews 10:11-14

If you call upon the name of Lord Jesus Christ, who is the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, your sins will be forgiven and you will be granted eternal life with Him in heaven. He declares you perfect based on His sacrifice on the cross and your faith and trust in Him. Just by looking the cross and believing in Christ as your savior and Lord. Your perfection doesn’t come from your works or deeds. Your perfection doesn’t come by visiting few holy places. You achieve perfection only by the blood of Christ.

Pray with me like this. Jesus, I believe you died, buried and risen for my sins. I believe you are the only High Preist who can save me from my sins and make me perfect in the presence of God. Please come to my life and save me. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer, please go to contact/prayer tab and send me a note. Thank you.

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Learn about the Holy Spirit.

Pneumatology:

is the branch of Christian theology concerned with the Holy Spirit. Pneumatic (πνεῦμα) in Greek means “breath”. Pneumatology is a combination of two words – Pneuma and logos. In other words, Word of God or theology about the Holy Spirit

Pneumatology includes:

the study of the person of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Holy Spirit.

The Person of the Holy Spirit

We will study the person of the Holy Spirit first and then we will learn the work of the Holy Spirit.

This study is essential because due to the absence the true understanding of this topic, there is a lot of confusion in this area of the Christian Theology.

Know this, the Holy Spirit is not just a force  or power (energy), but Holy Spirit is a person. He has spirit body – but not the physical body.

 

Personality possesses three things and they are Intellect, Emotion, and Will.

 

And based on all these personality traits present in the person of the Holy Spirit, we can not mention Holy Spirit ‘it’. ‘It’ doesn’t have personality traits.

He (Holy Spirit) is not an ‘it’ – Holy Spirit is always referred by ‘He’, ‘His’, ‘Him’ in the Bible. For a personhood, all these three elements should be present:

Intellect means – thinking, knowing and reasoning ability

Emotion – sad, glad or in other words -feelings

Will – the ability to choose, determine, able to decide yes or no.

These elements make a human personality.

Bible proves Holy Spirit is a person by His personality trait- Intellect.

Intellect – Romans 8:27 “And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God”

He searches the hearts, knows what is there and intercedes for saints- this needs intellect.

1 Corinthians 2:10-13 says, ” these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except for their own spirit within them? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.]”

The point of the passage is this:

Holy Spirit knows the things of God- by searching all things even the depths of God. Now because we have the Holy Spirit in us, we know the things of God not by words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit.

Did you notice the words- Holy Spirit knows all things of God? And we know things of God because the Holy Spirit teaches us. Holy Spirit has intellect because He knows all things of God and He is a teacher to believers in Christ. The law of teaching is that the teachers must search, know and understand what he is teaching. In other words, we cannot teach what we do not know. The Holy Spirit is our perfect teacher, right? For Him to do this ministry of teaching, He should possess the intellect to understand all things of God.

Bible proves Holy Spirit is a person by His personality trait of – Emotion.

Ephesians 4:30-32, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

The passage admonishes us to get rid of certain sinful practices in our life mentioned above because when we practice these things, it grieves the Holy Spirit of God indwelling in you. In other words, these things hurt or grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

Why? When you trusted in Christ as your savior, in love, He (Holy Spirit) sealed you for the future day of redemption. (Ephesians 1:4 and 13). Verses 4-5 says God loved you that much that He chosen and predestined you even before the foundation of the world and sealed you with the Holy Spirit of promise for future redemption and eternity. Holy Spirit hates the sin but loves you and He is grieved when you sin- bitterness, rage, anger, slander, not forgiving etc.

Hebrews 10:29 “How much severe punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace.”

Now can you insult someone who doesn’t have feelings or emotion?

Holy Spirit has feelings and emotions and He can be insulted by despising the covenant of blood by which you are sanctified.

Bible proves Holy Spirit is a person by His personality trait- Will.

1 Cor 12:11 “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He will” What is this means? Regardless of what spiritual gift each person has, It is the Holy Spirit who sovereignly distributes them individually as He wills for the common good of the Church. So each gift is very important for the proper function of the Church. We Should never despise another person’s gift. The Holy Spirit distributes the gifts of the Holy Spirit just as He will.

Therefore, Bible instructs us Holy Spirit is a person, not just a force or power. He possesses all three attributes of personality – Intellect, emotion, and will. Holy Spirit is not an “it”. Holy Spirit is ‘He’ – A person (Third person of the Triune God)

Holy Spirit is a person because Bible always uses personal pronouns to describe Him.

John 14-16 and other places where Holy Spirit is introduced, you will see ‘He, Him, whom’ etc. – always used personal pronouns when Holy Spirit is mentioned.

Holy Spirit is a person because He does things only a person can do.

He teaches (John 14:26) He reminds )John 14:26), guides (John 16:13), disclose or tell you (John 16:13), commands (Acts 8:29, 13:2, 16:7).