Jesus prayed that all who would
believe in
Him would be one,
sanctified (set
apart) by the truth.
[1]
In this same night, Jesus gave His disciples three commandments: to
wash one another’s feet; to remember His death; and to love one
another. Then He said to them “if
you love Me, keep My commandments,
and I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper…the
Spirit of truth.” [2]
Unity
In the beginning, Jesus’ disciples loved one another following His
example in one baptism,[3] the
remembrance of His
death, and the washing of feet. And all drank of one Spirit, the Spirit
of truth.
Separation[4]
Jesus instructed His disciples to “make disciples of all
nations…
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded
you.”[5]
But within 150 years, new teachings, including the
observance of “Easter’” and “The
Lord’s Day,” were declared as
“doctrines” of the Church to Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180
AD).[6]
The Church was no longer united by the example of Jesus
and His teachings.
In 177 AD, the Bishop of Rome wrote letters of excommunication to the
churches of Asia because they disagreed on these new
“doctrines.”[6]
Church history records another event in the
reign of Marcus Aurelius: spiritual gifts ceased.
The
evidence of the Holy Spirit, the
Spirit of truth, was taken from the
Church.[6]
The unity of God and man is restored
Jesus said "In vain
they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."[7]
Did you know that today 2.5 million believers follow the teachings and
example of Christ as their only doctrine? And did you know these are
the only believers who receive the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the
Spirit of truth, as evidenced by the tongue emitting
sound, laleo
glossa?
Through the Spirit, God has revealed the way to complete unity, that
Jesus’ prayer might be fulfilled,
“that the
world may believe that You sent Me.”[1]
“According to the
Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of
my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in
the Prophets.”[8]
The Apostle Paul, 60 AD |
Every man when he considers the beauty and greatness of creation, even
his own body, mind and spirit, knows that life came into being, not by
chance, but that a creator is behind all that we see.
The Apostle Paul tells us that:
“since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly
seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal
power and divine nature, so that they are without excuse, because
although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were
thankful, but became futile in the their thoughts, and their foolish
hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise they became fools, and
changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like
corruptible man – and birds and four-footed animals and creeping
things.”[9]
The Bible is the history of man and God, and its account of that
history dates back as far as the existence of man is scientifically
proven. Through the Bible we find the origin of all religions that
believe in one God, who created the heavens and the earth.
The Bible tells us that through the first man, Adam, sin entered the
world, and man was separated from relationship with God. The Bible also
tells us the world was very different in those days, that a mist
covered the earth, and that it did not rain. And for nearly two
thousand years, the Spirit of God strived with men. However, in the
end, none sought after God, and the world became full of evil. And God
regretted He created the earth and destroyed the earth with a flood,
saving only one man, Noah, and his family, whom He found
righteous. Noah built an ark according to God’s instructions
and was saved.
And God made a covenant with Noah. And Noah’s sons were Shem, Ham and
Japeth, who became the fathers of the races of mankind we know today.
And from Shem’s descendant’s came Abraham. And God found Abraham
righteous, because of his faith.
So God made a covenant with Abraham, that through his seed all nations
would be blessed. And we know Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac.
Ishmael became the father of the Arab people, who later through the
sword returned to their belief in one god. Isaac’s descendants were
taken into captivity by the Egyptians for four hundred years, until
Moses led them out. And Moses gave us the commandments of God; and for
Isaac’s descendants, the Jewish people, Moses gave laws by which they
were to serve God.
From the Jewish people, God raised up prophets who told of a king
through the line of David, who’s “kingdom would have no end.” And from
the prophet Isaiah, God told of one who would be an offering for the
sin of many.
“He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty
that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces
from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has
borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken,
smitten by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our
transgressions…Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to
grief, when You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His
seed, and He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in His hand. He shall see the labour of His soul, and be
satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
for He shall bear their iniquities.”[10]
The Prophet Isaiah
700 BC
The servant of whom Isaiah speaks we know to be Jesus Christ, who came
as the King whose kingdom would know no end, to lay on Himself the sins
of all mankind. Isaiah writes:
"For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is
given;
And the government
will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be
called
Wonderful,
Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace."[11]
Not born of any man, this servant, was, as the Apostle John tells us,
God Himself, in flesh. He came to show “The Way” to the Father, the way
of salvation for all mankind, even as He promised to Abraham, that
through his seed all people would be blessed. Fulfilling, not only this
promise but more than three hundred other prophecies, as written in the
Law and the Prophets.
“I am the Way, the
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me.”[12]
Jesus Christ
29 AD
“The Son can do nothing of
Himself, unless it
is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does,
these things the Son also does in like manner...as the Father raises the dead
and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.”
John 5:19-20 NASB
As sons
of God, we must imitate Christ. We begin with His baptism. |
Many of us have
heard the expression “What would Jesus do?”
When we talk about the true Christian faith, we talk about the
imitation of Christ. In fact, the original meaning of the word
Christian is “little Christ.” The true path of following Christ is
simply to imitate Him, to become like Him, to be transformed into His
image, as we were created to be.
Our desire to imitate Christ is the completion of God’s desire
expressed in the beginning of creation, “let Us make man in Our
image.”[13]
God predestined us “to be conformed to the image of
His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”[14]
Jesus Himself became the Way, the example of the faith for His
disciples, as the Apostle Paul writes “Imitate me, just as I also
imitate Christ.”[15]
As disciples of Jesus, we follow only the example of Christ, and not
the teaching of any church, or person. We have only one
teacher,[16] who
is Jesus Christ.
The elementary teachings of the Way are the teachings of salvation; the
Way to the Father; and these we find listed for us in Hebrews 6:1 and 2.
“Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on
to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts
that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms
(washings[17]),
the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and
eternal judgment.”
(New International
Version)
Of course, for our purposes, we are going to begin with these
elementary teachings so we can understand the Way, and in the final
section we will discuss maturity in Christ.
“No one can come to Me
unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”
John 6:44,65
We must
respond to God, who gave His only Son. |
Jesus became our example in righteousness. Though Jesus was sinless for
His whole life, we see His first act after baptism was to reject all
the ways of sin. Immediately after being baptized, He was led by the
Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, and using the
word of God He refuted the devil’s temptations.
Likewise, the first thing we must do is to reject all the ways of sin,
in particular those that lead to the death of our souls.
The Apostle Paul writes: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not
inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners
will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you
were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God.”[18]
|
“Unless you see signs
and wonders, you will by
no means believe.”
John 4:48 (NKJV adds people)
We must
recognize Jesus’ resurrection |
Jesus, above all, became our example of faith, and spent most of His
ministry demonstrating the power of faith in God; that we can trust
God, that He is good, that His thoughts towards us are love. Jesus says
“ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”[19]
And so “he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”[20]
We enter the teachings of Jesus, because this is the Way and the power
of the Holy Spirit to salvation. But it is our faith towards God that
saves us.
If we put our trust in God, we will be saved from the sins that
separate us from abundant life, the life that God desires for us.
“I have come that
they may have life; and that they may have it more
abundantly.”[21]
Just as Abraham, the father of faith, followed God’s instructions and
left his country to go to a place he did not know, we must follow God
to the place He has prepared for us.
The path to salvation and abundant life begins with baptism.
“You will
indeed
drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am
baptized with you will be baptized.”[22]
|
We begin
our path, as we would end it, in the imitation of Christ. The
example of baptism Jesus gave his followers is the only method of
baptism to which the Holy Spirit testifies. The experience and joy of a
new believer in the imitation of Jesus’ baptism is indescribable.
Through His baptism, we become like Him, we become a child of God.
Our baptism is not only the expression of our desire to become like
Christ, it is the washing away of our sins,[23]
just as we read
earlier “but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
[24]
The authority to wash away our sins comes from the sacrifice of Jesus
Himself on the cross, and from the Holy Spirit. The Apostle John writes
“There are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and
the blood.”[25]
Because baptism is the washing away of our sins, it is important that
the one who baptizes us has spiritual authority. Just as John the
Baptist was given spiritual authority through the Holy Spirit, Jesus
breathed authority into his disciples, “receive the Holy Spirit, if
you
forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.”[26]
The one who
baptizes us must be filled with the Holy Spirit; God’s kingdom is
established by spiritual authority.
But if baptism is only the washing of sins, why did the followers of
the Way travel perhaps more than a day’s journey to a river to imitate
the baptism of Jesus? In Jesus’ day, Jerusalem had many pools, and
baths in which to wash.
(The imitation of the baptism of Jesus by the early Christians, in
rivers, is well documented in the famous history of baptism by Jules
Corbert, Histoire Dogmatique, Liturgique et Archeologique du Sacrament
de Bapteme, vol 2. Early Church fathers such as Justin, Clement, Victor
I, and Tertullian remark that seas, lakes, ponds and springs are
equally proper sites.)
Only living water produces life, our baptism is a rebirth, our baptism
brings life. Jesus came to bring life and life abundantly, and promised
that if anyone would follow Him, “out of his heart will flow rivers of
living water.”[27]
We do not enter a religion made by man, but by
God, so we go to a river, lake, sea, or spring because we seek “a pure
river of water of life.”[28]
Though we follow the example of Christ in the method and elements of
baptism, and remembrance of His death,[29]
it makes no difference
where[30] or
when[31]
we do this. The Apostle Paul tells us
“you died with Christ (through baptism) from the basic principles of
the world…and your life is hidden with Christ in
God.”[32]
Through baptism we die with Christ to sin, and mortal life in this
world, and so we enter the water, as Paul writes, “in the likeness of
His death.”[33]
As Christ bowed His head[34] when
He breathed His last, we bow our heads when we enter the water in the
imitation of His baptism, and are “raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father… in newness of life.”[35]
“Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.”
John 13:8 NIV
We must
allow Christ, the body of Christ, to wash our feet. |
Finally, if we remember the commandments of Christ in His last hours,
we will remember the example Jesus gave His disciples, that they should
wash one another’s feet. And coming from the river, after baptism, is
probably the first time a new believer would have his feet washed by
his new brothers and sisters; as his feet would be dirty coming out of
the river. As Jesus says, “he who is bathed needs only to wash his
feet.”[36]
The washing of feet gives us many teachings including humility, and
service, and the attitude of Christ that we must learn as we continue
in our imitation of Christ.
But the most significant teaching is the spiritual teaching Jesus’
disciples could not understand until after the Church was established.
“Unless I wash you,
you have no part with Me.”[37]
We must allow Christ, “the body of Christ,” to wash our feet.
Our salvation is not an individual effort: to have a part with Christ,
we must allow the body of Christ to serve us so that we can be saved
from the ways of this world.
When we become Jesus’ disciples, we are united with Jesus through the
same baptism, the same cup, and the same washing of our feet.
“Unless one is (born
again) born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3,5
We must receive Jesus' baptism
of water and Spirit. |
Jesus becomes the first of many brothers, as He comes out of the water
of baptism, and the Holy Spirit descends on Him. In doing so,
He sets the example of “The Way.”
Peter declares, “repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit.”[38]
Through water and the Spirit we are “born again,”
see also Romans
6:3-4, and Colossians 2:12. We enter the new life Jesus explains to
Nicodemus in John 3:5-8,
“unless one is born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God…the wind blows where it wishes, and
you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where
it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
The descent of the Spirit is God’s affirmation that we have been
accepted as a son, just as the Spirit descended on Christ, a voice was
heard from heaven, “this is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.”[39] The
Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of
adoption,”[40] and
“the guarantee of our inheritance.”[41]
Of course, as humans we are rarely in the perfect situation where we
believe, are baptized immediately, God sees our faith and we receive
the Spirit as we come up from the water. The Holy Spirit is not
received automatically after baptism, and is often imparted through
“the laying on of hands,” see Acts 8:14-17. The Spirit may also descend
before baptism, see Acts 10:44-47. Still today, we see the Spirit
descending before and after baptism. And a believer may require prayer
to receive the Spirit, see Luke 11:5-13.
Jesus’ resurrection from the dead
is one of the most significant events
of the Christian faith.
Today, many are of Christian heritage and it is normal to believe in
the resurrection of the dead, but before Christ’s resurrection, this
belief in the resurrection of the dead was not even held by many Jews.
And so, in fact, the first Christians simply preached a message of
“eternal life,” that death had been overcome by Christ.
To those who believe, the resurrection of the dead is a reason to hope,
but also a reason to fear, because, without resurrection none of us
face judgment.
The Apostle Paul defends the resurrection with these words:
“Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the
dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead? And
why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?”[42]
We know the dead will rise and
every man will face judgment, but those
who remain in Christ until the end shall not come into judgment.
Jesus says:
“Most assuredly, I
say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him
who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but
has passed from death into life…
Do not marvel at
this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in
the graves will hear His voice, and come forth – those who have done
good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the
resurrection of condemnation.”[43]
Of course, we must be careful about our confidence in eternal life. We
show we believe in Jesus if we keep His commandments, and walk in His
path of salvation.
And if we return to our ways of sin, once we have become partakers of
the Holy Spirit, there remains no more sacrifice for our
sins.[44] So
we must learn about maturity in Christ, and the
power that keeps us from falling, which we will study in the final
section “I am the Life.”
“Unless you are
converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the
kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:3
We must
renew our minds and humble our hearts. |
All of the significant religions in the world have an opinion on Jesus
Christ. Some call Him a prophet, and some a good man. But Jesus Himself
said He is more than a good man, or a prophet. Jesus told us “no one
comes to the Father except through Me.”[45]
So we must all answer the question: is Jesus Christ really who He
claimed to be?
Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is one of His greatest proofs.
The Bible records nine occasions of Jesus’ appearance after His
resurrection. Paul writes:
“He was seen by Cephas (Peter), then by the twelve. After that He was
seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part
remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was
seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen
by me also, as one born out of due time.”
[46]
As Paul states, he writes among the current witnesses of Christ’s
resurrection. And we know from history, the Apostles’ testimony to the
resurrection of Jesus was tested under torture, and for all but John,
with their lives.
The truth we know in our hearts, first, by the truth. The words and
example of love and truth left by Jesus Christ and His followers are
their greatest evidence. So we can be confident, that Jesus Christ is
everything He claimed to be, and when we put our trust in Him, our sins
will be forgiven.
Just before His crucifixion, Jesus
lifts His eyes toward heaven and
prays:
“Father,
the hour has
come. Glorify your Son,
that Your Son also
may glorify You.”
Then
He prays for His
disciples and His followers:
“Sanctify
them by
Your truth.”
“I do not pray for
these alone,
but also for those
who will believe in Me through their word;
that
they all may be one,
as You, Father, in Me, and I in You;
that they also may be
one in Us,
that
the world may
believe that You sent Me.”[47]
In the beginning, Jesus’ Church was united in one Spirit, and followed
His commandments of baptism, the washing of feet and the breaking of
bread, according to the example He set for them.
But churches began developing their own traditions. And eventually
these traditions became doctrines, and churches were separated by the
teachings of men.
In recent years, believers all over the world have been praying for
unity. Believers everywhere are experiencing the movement of the
Spirit, and this movement of the Spirit is breaking down denominational
barriers.
But the complete unity Jesus prayed for is still to come.
Why should we believe Jesus’ prayer for complete unity is possible?
Because we know that just before Jesus prays, He tells His disciples
“Most assuredly, I
say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name
He will give you.”[48]
Through the Spirit, Jesus is leading His followers into complete unity.
The
unity of Jews and Gentiles – “One New Man”
Jesus’ prayer for the complete unity of believers includes both Jews
and Gentiles.
But the unity of Jewish and Gentile believers is difficult to see, when
we read the short history of the New Testament.
After Jesus’ resurrection, Jewish believers continued to observe the
Laws of Moses. The Gentiles kept only the teachings of Jesus.
Many Jewish believers thought the Gentiles should also keep the Laws of
Moses.
The issue came to the Apostles in Jerusalem for a resolution. And we
can read this in Acts 15. The council in Jerusalem, moved by the Holy
Spirit, reached the following conclusion: “For it seemed good to the
Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these
necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from
blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep
yourselves from these, you will do well.”[49]
When we read the letters of Paul to churches in the Gentile cities, we
see that he is repeatedly telling the Gentile believers they need not
keep the Law of Moses. But we must realize Paul’s philosophical
arguments are for the ears of all believers.
The highlight of Paul’s effort to bring about the unity of Jews and
Gentiles is found in His letter to the Ephesians:
“Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called
Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by
hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants
of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in
Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the
blood of Christ.
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down
the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the
enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as
to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and
that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross,
thereby putting to death the enmity.“[50]
Paul is telling us the Law of Moses is no longer required for the
Gentiles, or the Jews, that God might make “one new man from the two.”
So most definitely, Jesus’ prayer is for all believers!
“The wind
blows
where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but
cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who
is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:8 |
In these last days, God is leading His people by the Spirit, back into
the truth that can unite all believers, in preparation for the return
of the Lord.
Jesus promised: “when
He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide
you into all truth.”[51]
If
you love Me
The Spirit of truth is the promise of Jesus to those who keep His
commandments.
After Jesus instructed His disciples in the washing of feet, and the
remembrance of His death, He said to them:
“If you love me, keep
My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and
He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever –
the Spirit of truth…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My
Father will love
him, and We will come and make our home with him.”[52]
One
baptism
One baptism is the central truth of unity in doctrine. As the Apostle
Paul, by the inspiration of the Spirit, wrote:“There is… one Lord, one
faith, one baptism.”[53]
This one baptism, we know, is according to the example of
Jesus, in the name of Jesus.
In the name of Jesus
In his letter to the Philippians, the
Apostle Paul explains why the disciples baptized in the name of
Jesus (see Acts 2:38; 8:12; 8:16;
10:48;
19:15;
22:16; 1 Corinthians 1:13; 6:9-10).
Paul tells us
that after
Jesus endured the cross, He was given "the name
which is
above every
name:"
"And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of
death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly
exalted Him and given Him the
name which is above
every name, that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of
those on earth."[54]
Of course, we know the name of Jesus did not change,
but rather God gave "the name" of Jesus a new meaning.
After His
resurrection, Jesus revealed the new meaning of
His name when He said:
“All
authority has been
given to Me
in
heaven and on earth. Go therefore and
make
disciples of
all
of the nations, baptizing them.in the name of
the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit."[55]
That very day, Jesus' words fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah:
"And the
LORD shall be King over
all the earth.
In that day it shall be - The
LORD is one, and His
name one."[56]
And this is why the disciples baptized "in the name of Jesus."
Like Paul, they understood "the name of
the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit" is Jesus - the only
name used for God in the New Testament.
But as time went on, maybe believers forgot Jesus'
introductory words “All
authority has been
given to Me," and began using the phrase "in the name of
the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit," in their baptisms, believing this
would give their
baptisms the "authority" of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit?
Jesus asked us to baptize "in the name of
the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit," because He wants us
to know with all certainty that “all
authority" has been given to Him "in
heaven and on earth," "that at the
name of Jesus every knee
should bow...to the glory of God the Father."
The Spirit testifies to one
baptism
In Acts 19, we find the Spirit's testimony to one baptism.
Coming to Ephesus, Paul encounters some believers and questions them:
“did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? So they said to
him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And
he said to them, “into what then were you baptized?” So they said,
“Into John’s baptism.” Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a
baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on
Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” When they
heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when
Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they
spoke with tongues (laleo te glossa) and prophesied.”[57]
Though these Ephesian disciples believed and were following Jesus’
teachings, they could not receive the Spirit of truth, because they had
not been baptized into Jesus’ baptism, but only into John’s baptism.
And so it is to the Ephesian believers that Paul wrote: “There is… one
Lord, one faith, one baptism.”
So we must ask: why is this one baptism so significant to God?
One baptism is not only the symbol of unity; God desires to make us in
His own image. This is the desire He expressed in the beginning of
creation. And so we begin our faith as we would end it, in the
imitation of Christ.
Jesus showed us the way to the kingdom of heaven through His baptism.
Coming up from the water, the Spirit descended on Him, just as John the
Baptist remarked, “I indeed baptized you with water, but He will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”[58]
Jesus’ baptism was restored by the Holy Spirit in 1917, in a message to
a simple believer, “You must be baptized with the baptism of Jesus.”
And the Spirit poured out through this obedience was in great comfort.
This Spirit, the Spirit of truth, causes the tongue to emit sound as it
enters, just as it did in the book of Acts. And today, this same Spirit
is shared by nearly two million believers, the vast majority of whom
are in China, but also in 48 countries throughout the world. (Ezekiel
47:1-8)
With more than 90 years of history, the testimony of the Spirit is now
remarkable, consistent and proven. Consistently, over this 90 year
period, we find, for example, believers that began neglecting this true
baptism have lost the comfort of the Holy Spirit. And this has been
well documented in the United States, India and China. In China alone,
more than 50,000 believers, who were forced into state controlled
churches, lost the Holy Spirit’s comfort, and are now regaining the
comforting power of the Spirit through rebaptism.
The Apostle John wrote: “As for you, the anointing you
received from Him remains in you, and
you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you
about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit – just
as it has taught you, remain in Him.”[59]
The
Holy Spirit and the Spirit of truth
With the outpouring of the Spirit, in the past century, there has been
no shortage of mystery or debate about whether a person can be “led
by,” or even “receive” the Holy Spirit, before they receive the “gift
of the Holy Spirit,” the promised comforter, “the Spirit of truth.”
The Apostle John himself seems to distinguish the receipt of the Holy
Spirit from the “gift of the Holy Spirit…the Spirit of truth.”
John records that just before Jesus ascended to heaven, He breathed on
His disciples, saying
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins
of any, they are forgiven them: if you retain the sins of any, they are
retained.”[60]
But later, in the book of Acts, Jesus told His disciples to wait for
“the gift of the Holy Spirit,” “wait
for the Promise of the Father,
which…you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but
you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from
now.’”[61]
To add to the mystery: receiving the Spirit of truth, the promised
comforter, requires a condition from Jesus; but the promise of the Holy
Spirit mentions no condition:
“If you then, being
evil, know how to give good things to your
children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask Him?”[62]
And we know from experience that any Christian can receive a gift of
“different kinds of tongues,” or the interpretation of tongues, or
prophecy, or healing or any of the spiritual gifts described for us in
I Corinthians 12: 7-10.
But we also know that on the judgment day, many will say “Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and
done many wonders in Your name?” And (Jesus) will declare to them, “I
never knew you.” [63] And we know that these
people could not have
received the “Spirit of truth,” or the Holy Spirit. Because, Jesus
Himself comes in the Spirit of truth, as He tells us, “if anyone loves
Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him and We will come
and make our home with him.”[64]
So with whom does Jesus make His
home, and later say “I never knew you?”
The Apostle John writes: “Beloved do not believe every spirit, but test
the spirits, whether they are of God: because many false prophets have
gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every
spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of
God.” … “We are of God. He who knows God knows God hears us; he who is
not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and
the spirit of error.”[65]
We can only know for sure that the spirit we have received is the
promised “Spirit of truth” by the teachings we follow, and by the
evidence given to us in the Bible, the evidence of the tongue emitting
sound.
Speaking
in tongues: the evidence of the promised Comforter, the Spirit
of truth
“Speaking in tongues” in the greek language is the
composition of two words “glossa” – tongue, and “laleo” – emit sound,
as in thunder, echo or to utter sound.[66]
The gift of the Holy Spirit, we know from the book of Acts, causes the
tongue to emit sound. Let us read Acts 10:45-46:
“And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as
came to Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out
on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues (laleo
glossa[67])
and magnify God.”
We still find this same testimony today, among those who follow the
Way. In churches that follow only the commandments and example of
Christ, the experience of “speaking in tongues” begins when the Spirit
enters. As the Spirit brings comfort, it causes the tongue to emit
sound.
Jesus promised “”Whoever
believes in Me, as the Scripture has said,
streams of living water will flow from within Him.” By
this He meant
the Spirit.”[68]
When the Spirit enters, believers are inwardly
stirred, from “the belly,” or “heart,”[69]
and the back of the
tongue is stirred, causing it to emit sound. The most salient part of
the experience is the Spirit entering, and not the sound being made.
What
does the comforting movement of the Spirit look like, and the sound of
the "tongue emitting sound" sound like. It is too difficult to decribe
with words, so you can listen to my prayer. Watch Praying
in the
Spirit. The exact sound varies, but the tongue emitting sound
is the
common characteristic, as is the comforting movement. If you want to
see more examples, you will have to go to church. This same Spirit is
received by all who follow Jesus' teachings.
A
different spirit
Many believers, in almost every denomination, pray “in tongues” by
moving their mouths in the development of a prayer language. And this
is much different than “the tongue emitting sound.”
Moving one’s mouth in a type of prayer language is an experience that
is not unique to the Christian religion.
Beginning in the 1830’s, believers began praying like this. And these
believers followed the doctrine of an “angel from heaven,”[70]
as
Satan took advantage of the confusion among churches in the search for
the truth. Many, like the believers of this church, after praying “in
tongues,” by moving the mouth, simply stop because they don’t see the
point in it.
But there are some who “pray in tongues” only by moving the mouth, who
believe they have received a spiritual language, and also testify to
living water when they pray. And this distinction is a
spiritual mystery.
However, we know when these same believers receive the Spirit of truth,
as evidenced by the tongue emitting sound, they always testify the
comfort of God is now greater. Most, who previously prayed “in
tongues,” by moving the mouth, simply have the testimony “this is the
real thing.” The power and comfort of the Spirit they receive becomes
God’s testimony that they are now following the true gospel.
The Apostle Paul tells us: “if he who comes preaches another
Jesus whom we have not
preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not
received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted – you may
well put up with it!”[71]
And so God still separates the true gospel for us by the Holy Spirit.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”[72]
Praying
“in the Spirit,” and praying “with the Spirit”
Another way we can understand “speaking in tongues” is to understand
the distinction between “praying in the Spirit,” and “praying with the
Spirit.” We find this distinction in the original Greek text, and in
English translations.
Every believer experiences the “tongue emitting sound” when the Spirit
of truth enters. And when a believer prays “in the Spirit,” his tongue
emits sound, and his mind is fruitful. He can pray to God with his
mind, and with his understanding, while the Spirit brings comfort.
The experience of the tongue emitting sound is not that of a language.
The power and comfort of the Spirit’s movement causes the tongue to
emit sound. This prayer is described in Jude 20, “praying in the Holy
Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God,” and in Ephesians 6:18
“praying always…in the Spirit.” In Acts 2:8, Jesus describes the power
imparted by the Spirit: “you
shall receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes upon you.” So Paul writes in Colossians 1:29 (YLT):
“I labor,
striving according to His working that is working in me in power.”
But in 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul talks about “praying with the Spirit”
with a gift of “different kinds of tongues,” (12:10), (heteros glossa),
“languages” of “men or angels” (13:2). Paul says that if we have such a
gift, and use it in the Church to minister to others, we should pray
for the gift to interpret so that others may be edified (14:26-28).
In the book of Acts, spiritual gifts, gifts of “different kinds of
tongues,” (heteros glossa) and gifts of prophecy were sometimes
received by believers when they received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
We find the experience of “heteros glossa” on the first descent of the
Promised Comforter in Acts 2:4. The disciples waited in an upper room
for Jesus’ promise, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak with other tongues (heteros glossa), as the Spirit gave
them utterance.”
When a believer prays “with the Spirit,” with a language, his mind is
unfruitful, since he is praying in a language that he cannot
understand. Paul describes this in 1 Corinthians 14:13-16:
“Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.
For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is
unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit,
and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the
spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.”
The
use of spiritual gifts of languages in the Church
Before finishing our discussion of “speaking in tongues,” we must
clarify some matter of confusion regarding Paul’s instruction in the
use of spiritual languages in the church.
As we mentioned, in 1 Corinthians 12-14 Paul is talking about spiritual
gifts, and a spiritual gift of “different kinds of tongues;” different
languages (heteros glossa) (12:9) (“though I speak with the tongues of
men and angels” (13:1)).
Paul tells us that the church at Corinth was trying to use these gifts
of different languages (heteros glossa) to minister to each other. Paul
encouraged them to speak with other languages if they could interpret.
But some were getting carried away and tried to minister to each other,
even when no one could interpret what they were speaking. So Paul
instructs them to “keep silent,” unless they are able to interpret. He
tells them that they should pray only to themselves and to God. (1
Corinthians 14:28, 34). The meaning of “keep silent” is not that they
cannot speak at all, but that they should not teach with these
languages in the meeting; see also verse 34.
"God is Spirit, and those who
worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
John 4:24
|
The message of Christ is much more than His payment for our sins; He
also establishes the relationship God desires with us. And this
relationship, as we have described, is a relationship in the Holy
Spirit.
Before Jesus came, the Old Covenant relationship between God and His
people was one of the observance of days and regulations. The priests
prayed to God on behalf of the people. Even the relationship of the
priests to God was very distant. Once a year, the high priest, would go
into a special chamber to meet with God. This meeting was very fearful,
because if the priest entered this meeting with God, and had not atoned
for his own sin, he could die.
But Jesus paid the penalty for our sin so that we are able to enter
into “the most Holy place,” a relationship with Him in the Spirit, by
His blood.
This “New Covenant” is one of direct fellowship with God in the Spirit.
Jesus’ gospel did away with the observance of days, and regulations.
Jesus taught us to worship God in spirit and truth, through the baptism
of His Spirit, and through the remembrance of His sacrifice for our
sins.
Through the prophet Hosea, the Spirit speaks of this new relationship:
“I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new
moons, her Sabbaths - all her appointed feasts…Therefore, behold I will
allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to
her…And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, that you will call Me
“My Husband,” and no longer call Me “My Master.””
The observance of days which kept man at a distance from God will be
replaced by a New Covenant of true intimacy, true worship, by the body
and blood of Christ, and by the Spirit - symbolically the bread, the
wine and the oil. “The earth shall answer with grain, with new wine,
and with oil; they shall answer Jezreel.”[73]
Jesus talks about this New Covenant to the Samaritan woman by the well:
“Believe Me, the hour
is coming when you will neither on this mountain,
nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father…the hour is coming, and now is,
when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those
who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.