One of the great needs in the church today is the discernment to divide between soul and spirit. According to the Bible, it is the Word of God itself that will enable us to make this distinction: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12, emphasis...

One of the keys to restoring the ministry of Jesus is restoring the message of Jesus. What was the message that Jesus preached? Matthew 4:23 says that Jesus went throughout Galilee “preaching the gospel of the kingdom.” Let’s also look at Mark 1:14-15: Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent,...

What is the church supposed to look like? We have many different traditions and styles of worship, but it is important that we pattern the church after the New Testament. When Moses was commissioned to build the tabernacle, God gave these instructions: “According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it” (Exodus 25:9). Moses was to...

I was struck by this thought recently: are we building the house of God or the tower of Babel? The story of the tower of Babel is found in Genesis: Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and...

Jesus taught that the kingdom of God would have a permeating influence in the world, like leaven does in bread (see Matthew 13:33). But He also warned about other “leavens” and said that we must be aware of their destructive influence: Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” -Matthew 16:6 Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the...

In my previous article, I mentioned that the Bible is full of stories that include the supernatural. We see angels intervening in human affairs. We see the devil and his demons working to tempt, torment, and oppress mankind. There are miraculous stories of healing and raising the dead. There are stories of God overriding natural laws and performing powerful acts. These stories and concepts of the supernatural are not myths or fairytales. We...

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah,...

The term “fivefold ministry” comes from Ephesians 4:11-12: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Jesus has given various ministry gifts to the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.  If the church is to be healthy it needs the...

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. -Ephesians...

So far in our study of the apostolic church, we have looked at the concept of the church being the family of God and the body of Christ.  Now I want to consider the church as the Bride of Christ. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,  that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,  that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or...