[boilerplate weekly-review]
1 Corinthians – Chapters 3 to 7
The Power of the Kingdom
1 Corinthians 4:20
This verse gives us a truth that we often forget. If we are part of the Kingdom of God we should manifest God’s power in our life as it was in Jesus’ life. We forget this truth because we try to do things in our strength instead of relying on the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit Factor
Jesus told us to wait for the Promise of the Father and we shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5) and we shall receive power and will be His witnesses (Acts 1:8).
Many do not understand this, try to do the work of God in their strength and they become witnesses of themselves, and their abilities, instead of being witnesses of Jesus and His victory. Then they develop a theology to justify their lack of power.
The Deception of Circumstantial Theology
I just finished reading an article by a well-known minister. May the Lord bless him with some revelation. He confesses that God is faithful, but at the same time he also says that God does not always answer our prayers requesting to fulfill His promises. I heard this lie so many times… This is not taking the responsibility for our results. It simply is “circumstantial theology” justifying our failure in believing.
We attribute those results to a “sovereign decision” of God instead of our inability to accept and believe the unbelievable (Rom 4:16-22).
To follow this logic, we actually become illogical, asserting that God is faithful but He does not fulfill His promises (Num 23:19). If this is true you have no reason to believe any promise. Then, when you trust God you are gambling or playing Russian roulette.
The Sure Promises
Contrary to this very diffuse, false teaching, the Bible categorically affirms that what God promises He will deliver (2Cor 1:20) but the promises must be appropriated by faith, just as Abraham did.
This is confirmed by a great number of passages (e.g. Mark 11:23-24). In fact, any promise for material and spiritual blessings is received by the same process, by faith (believing). This includes the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Promise of the Father. This is the process described saying that we are saved by grace, through faith and not of works (Eph 2:8).
By neglecting Jesus’ instructions, because of unbelief, Christianity has become a philosophy of man and it has lost its essential ingredient, the power of the Kingdom of God. But the true gospel is still the power of God for salvation (Rom 1:16). Nothing has changed in Jesus’ ministry (Heb 13:8).
Prayer of Faith
Lord, help me to receive the Word of God in my heart that I may believe it more than what my physical senses tell me, what my logic figures out and what others say and that I may have the power of the Kingdom of God working in my life. You have the truth and when that truth is in my heart I will be free.
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