Bible Study series: John 16:4b-15. “But if I go, I will send him to you.”
The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Reply
Category Archives: Spirit, Fruit, Gifts
Born Again, New Birth, New Beginning, Starting Over
That’s a full title. But it’s all true. You must be born again. Redemption. Hope. Forgiveness. What does all this mean? Here are the verses that teach new birth.
The Paraclete Will Testify about Jesus
Bible Study series: John 15:26-27. “The advocate,” “the helper,” “the go-between,” “he who comes alongside” will glorify Jesus, and no one else.
The Promise and Ministry of the Spirit and Christ’s Peace
Bible Study series: John 14:15-31. This chapter is great. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” “The one loving me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.” “I leave my peace to you. I give you my peace. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled nor afraid.” You get the idea.
Barnabas and Saul Are Sent Out from Antioch
Bible Study series: Acts 13:1-3 So begins Paul’s / Saul’s first missionary journey. Barnabas went with him. God sent them out through prophecy.
Cornelius and Other Gentiles Experience Their Own Pentecost
Bible Study series: Acts 10:44-48. This scene continues on the fourth one. Everyone needs their own Pentecost.
The Spirit Speaks to Peter to Visit Cornelius
Bible Study series: Acts 10:17-29. This is the third scene in the kingdom change on who is acceptable to God. Peter is summoned to a divine appointment. You too can hear the voice of the Spirit.
Summary Verse: The Church Grows
Bible Study series: Acts 9:31. This one of six summary verses. The church prospers.
1. Bible Basics about the Spirit in the Old Testament
Here is a Bible study on the Spirit in the Old Testament. I added up the totals, and I was surprised by what I learned.
2. Bible Basics about the Spirit in the Life of Christ
He is the Anointed One, the Christ, the Messiah. Let’s find out how the Spirit worked in his life and ministry. Continue reading
Review of “7 Simple Ways to Test Prophecy” by Joshua Lewis of Remnant Radio
He is the founder of the channel The Remnant Radio. He produced a thirty-eight minute video about testing prophecy. In this post an outline and commentary are provided for your convenience. Then I offer my brief critique.
3. Bible Basics about the Spirit in the Life of Christians, Part 1
The Spirit is mentioned most often in Acts and the Epistles. Let’s discover together how the Spirit works in your life and in the church as a whole, biblically speaking.
4. Bible Basics about the Spirit in the Life of Christians, Part 2
This post continues the Spirit’s activity in the life of Christians, as revealed in the epistles.
Philip Meets an Ethiopian Eunuch
Bible Study series. Acts 8:26-40. This was a divine appointment, set up by the Spirit and an angel.
Peter and John Visit Samaria
Bible Study series. Acts 8:14-25. Peter and John need to validate Philip’s ministry in Samaria.
Philip Goes to Samaria, Preaches Jesus, Works Miracles, and Sees Salvations
Bible Study series: Acts 8:5-13. Philip was not an apostle, yet he worked miracles. The gospel of Christ plus signs and wonders are a powerful means of salvation.
Learn to Live in the Rivers
Bible Study series. John 7:37-39. The rivers flow out of your innermost being and refers to the Spirit. Learn to live in the Spirit.
Jesus Proclaims the Spirit Is upon Him and Anoints Him for Service
Bible Study series: Luke 4:16-21. I love these verses because they show that Jesus was called and anointed of the Spirit to help people. We are too.
Jesus Enjoys Success in Galilee, in the Power of the Spirit
Bible Study series: Luke 4:14-15. The Spirit’s power came right after he defeated Satan (and right after Jesus’s baptism). Now he can help people through teaching and healing.
John Baptizes Jesus
Bible Study series: Luke 3:21-22. Why did John, the decreasing prophet, baptize Jesus, the increasing Messiah and Son of God?
Peter and John Report Back to Community and They Pray
Bible Study series: Acts 4:23-31. They prayed for boldness to witness in the face of persecution.
Peter, John, and Healed Man Stand Before Sanhedrin
Bible Study Series: Acts 4:1-12 Peter is once again filled with the Spirit, and he proclaims to the Sanhedrin that salvation is found only in Jesus’s name.
Analyzing the New Apostolic Reformation
The New Apostolic Reformation is sometimes called the Second Apostolic Age. What is this new movement? Is it valid, Scripturally? Let’s look into this. Continue reading
Do New Testament Apostles Exist Today?
Many Renewalists believe apostles do exist. But should there be restrictions? An old-fashioned Bible study to answer the question. I also discuss elders and overseers and pastors and other leaders in relation to the push for installing apostles today. This post has been thoroughly revised, due to further study.
Review of Joseph Mattera’s Book ‘The Global Apostolic Movement and the Progress of the Gospel’
It was published by BILD International, 2022. I also glance at his 2014 self-published booklet An Anthology of Essays on Apostolic Leadership, published by createspace.com, and at the website US Coalition of Apostolic Leaders (USCAL), which he modified from C. Pater Wagner’s International Coalition of Apostles. Continue reading
Review of C. Peter Wagner’s Book ‘Apostles Today’
The subtitle reads: Biblical Government for Biblical Power (Regal, 2006). When we bring back apostles to lead the church today, we will see mighty moves of God. Let’s look into this thesis. Continue reading
The Prophecy of Zechariah
Bible Study Series: Luke 1:67-80. The main themes of Luke’s Gospel and even the entire Bible is announced by Zechariah in his wonderful prophecy.
Review of C. Peter Wagner’s Book ‘Apostles and Prophets’
The subtitle reads: The Foundation of the Church: Biblical Leadership for the 21st Century (Regal, 2000). Let’s find out what he says, and then define apostle and prophet biblically. Continue reading
The Promised Spirit Empowers 120 Disciples at Pentecost
Bible Study Series: Acts 2:1-13. We need to be filled with the Spirit. God offers him to people over the centuries, even to us today. Have you received him?
Review of C. Peter Wagner’s Book ‘Churchquake’
The subtitle reads: How the New Apostolic Reformation Is Shaking Up the Church As We Know It (Regal, 1999). Let’s look into it even at this late date because it is still a primary source and influence on the NAR. And let’s see if we can define the terms apostle and apostolic biblically.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
Bible Study Series: Acts 1:4-8. The Spirit is given to us in order to empower us to maintain our intimacy with the Father and the Son and to live a holy life and to distribute gifts to us (1 Cor. 12:7-11). He is the Holy Spirit and lives in us.
Don’t Make Excuses for Unsound Christian Leaders
The devoted followers of various leaders will post comments excusing the excesses and bad theology and defective Bible interpretation. Here are the most common excuses and my replies to them. I also cover where the unsoundness may come from.
Calling Leaders by Name to Repent
Bad public leadership requires public correction and rebuke. I hope this post is redemptive, not condemning. It’s a call to repentance. After you read it, check back regularly. I update it, as issues come up.
Three Sources of Prophecy
Only one is the right source.
Check Out What Two Genuine Apostles Did and How They Lived: Close Look at Acts 13-14
Apostles are appearing everywhere in modern American churches and around the globe, particularly in Africa and Latin America. What are apostles? What are they supposed to do? Do churches today misapply the title, or are they correct?
Sixteen Characteristics of an Unhealthy Church
Not every corner of the American church, but large sections are unhealthy, particularly in the Renewal Movements.
God’s Signs and Wonders versus Satan’s Signs and Wonders
What are they? What are their motives and purposes? How do we discern the differences, when they seem so similar?
New Testament Restricts Authority of Modern Prophets
This post covers questions like, who were the OT prophets, contrasted with the prophets of today? Does America have a special covenant with God, as ancient Israel did? How did the NT writers handle prophets and their prophecies? What about inaccurate prophecies? Is decreeing the same as prophesying? Can we decree Scriptures at will? (I updated this post.)
Do New Testament Prophets and Prophecy Exist Today?
Many Renewalists say yes for prophecy. The biblical evidence favors them. Now what about prophets? (I have recently updated this post yet again, on December 11 29, 2024.)
Gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 and 12:28
Renewalists believe these gifts are for today. This is an old-fashioned Bible study, word by word. line upon line. I thoroughly revised this post.
1. Gifts of the Spirit in Early Church Fathers
These are the written testimony of the church fathers before or a little after the council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. They teach that the gifts were for their days, after the apostles died.
2. Healing and Deliverance in Early Church Fathers
These are the written testimony of the church fathers before or a little after the council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. They teach that the healings and deliverances (exorcisms) were for their days, after the apostles died.
3. Prophecies, Visions, and Hearing from God in Early Church Fathers
These church fathers flourished before or a little after the Nicaean Council in AD 325. They believed in prophecies, dreams and vision. Some even got them, after the apostles died.
What Is the ‘Anointing’?
Renewalists use the term all the time, but do we know what it means? What does the Bible say?
Did Jesus Forbid the Title of ‘Teacher’?
The Scripture is Matthew 23:8-12. Some translations make it seem as if Jesus forbids calling men ‘teachers’ in his kingdom community. But what did he really say?
Why Doesn’t Divine Healing Happen One Hundred Percent of the Time in This Age?
This post is a biblical theology discussion. If you are fighting for your or someone else’s healing, I advise you to skip this post. Read it later when the outcome of your fight is final, and you need to understand what the Bible really teaches about healing. (I updated this post yet again. In this post, I also answer whether healing is in the atonement.)
Does God Want to Heal Everyone Every Time They Ask?
This is a biblical theology discussion. If you are fighting for your or someone else’s healing, I advise you to skip this post. Read it only when the outcome is final, and you have unanswered questions about what the Bible really teaches.
Does the Spirit Convict Believers?
An odd teaching has been circulating around the church for a long time.
What Does ‘Greater Things’ Mean in John 14:12?
The context says that “things” means “works.” Here are commentaries and my take on this issue.
False Prophets in Sinai Covenant and Imperfect Prophets in New Covenant: Life and Death Differences
Youtube critics daily, it seems, call for the blood of Christian prophets who are mistaken about some of their prophecies. The critics read Deuteronomy 13 and 18 and sarcastically demand the death penalty for their ministries. But what did Paul say about their mistakes? Let’s do a side-by-side comparison of the OT and the NT.
The ‘Seven Spirits of God’ and American Prophets and Pastors
There is a teaching circulating through the American church, particularly in the prophetic community, that prophets (and others) can “exercise” the “seven spirits of God.” What about this?
Did 12 or 120 Speak in ‘Spirit-Inspired Languages’ (‘Tongues’) at Pentecost?
A teaching on Acts 2 has been circulating among certain (restrictive) Bible interpreters, which says that only the twelve apostles received the fullness or the baptism with the Spirit at Pentecost with the gift of speaking in Spirit-inspired languages (commonly called ‘tongues’). True?
What Are Signs and Wonders and Miracles?
What are the Scriptures that reveal them? How are they relevant to my life today? Or have they ceased?
Questions and Answers about Spirit-Inspired Languages
These are more commonly known as ‘tongues.’ Here some of the biblical basics.
What 1 Corinthians 14 Really Teaches
An old-fashioned Bible study here. There is a lot of confusion in certain quarters of the global Renewal Movement about what revivals involve. How can we clear up the confusion? What did Paul really teach in 1 Corinthians 14? Are we willing to obey his teaching or just run roughshod over it?
What Is a Miracle?
What is it? Do they happen today? Can you experience one?
The Spirit in the Church and Believers
Renewalists have a robust and biblical pneumatology (doctrine of the Spirit). The church is a living organism, and the Spirit is guiding it. But the church is made up of individual believers. The Spirit works in them too.
Is ‘Decreeing’ Biblical for Christians?
The title could also be “Is God Bound to Obey Our Decrees?” That’s what certain teachers seem to say. Let’s look into this subject.
Are ‘Tongues’ the Sign of Baptism with Spirit in Acts?
What do five key passages in Acts say about prayer languages, commonly called ‘tongues,’ being the sign of the empowerment of the Spirit?
1. Gifts of Spirit: Word of Wisdom
This gift is given in order to proclaim the wisdom about Christ and for any particular or special need through the empowerment of the Spirit.
2. Gifts of the Spirit: Word of Knowledge
This manifestation of the Spirit can reveal who Christ is more fully and give you information that you could not have without the Spirit revealing it. It does not come by study and research. It is a gift of the Spirit, not of your own mental faculties.
3. Gifts of the Spirit: Faith
This is a surge of trust that God will give anyone who needs it and in accordance with his will.
4. Gifts of the Spirit: Gifts of Healings
Healings come in all shapes and sizes, so expect God to work in a variety of ways.
5. Gifts of the Spirit: Workings of Miracles
This gift is available to all, today, not just a special few. God will give it to you when you need it most.
6. Gifts of the Spirit: Prophecy
This gift can be very edifying for you and the church. It is not a preacher’s inspired sermon. And don’t despise it, either, says the Scripture.
7. Gifts of the Spirit: Discernings of Spirits
It is a broad enough to help you distinguish between the false and the true, the Holy Spirit and evil spirits, deceived and true humans.
8. Gifts of the Spirit: Spirit-Inspired Languages (‘Tongues’)
It is important to study this gift.
9. Gifts of the Spirit: Interpretation of Spirit-Inspired Languages
This gift depends on Spirit-inspired languages (‘tongues’). Without them, interpretation would not be needed. This post gives a basic teaching of this gift.
The Fruit of Righteousness
Paul prays for the Philippians that they would be filled with the fruit of righteousness (Phil. 1:11). Therefore righteousness is a fruit, every bit as much as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are. What does this aspect of the term mean?
Gifts of the Spirit in Romans 12:6-8
Renewalists believe that all the gifts of God mentioned in the New Testament are for today. They flow from God and are exercised through the Spirit and grace and a yielded, eager heart when the need arises. Let’s study the ones in Romans 12:6-8.
1 Fruit of the Spirit: Love
This word begins the list in Gal. 5:22-23. From it flows all the other virtues. Here is a basic word study of the noun, with application to your life.
2 Fruit of the Spirit: Joy
Gal. 5:22-23 lists nine fruit of the Spirit. The second one is joy. What is it? Giddiness, or does it go deeper? Also discussed here is the differences between happiness and joy.
3 Fruit of the Spirit: Peace
It is clear from the news headlines that we need peace in the world. But that can happen only when we have the peace that flows from the Spirit. Everyone on the planet needs to be born again, be filled with the Spirit, and let the peace flow outwardly.
4 Fruit of the Spirit: Forbearance or Patience
It is also translated as “patience.” Do we have enough of it? Do you dare pray for it?
5 Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness
This attribute should grow in us by the Spirit of God. Will we let him produce it in us?
6 Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness
Have you heard this meme circulating around the American church? “The gospel does not make bad people good, but dead people alive”? Yes, it makes dead people alive, but it also makes now-living persons better.
7 Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness
“Faith” and “faithfulness” come from related Greek words. They need to be sorted out by context.
8 Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness
It’s the opposite of being harsh and overbearing.
9 Fruit of the Spirit: Self-Control
Without this fruit, our lives would be chaotic.
Baptized, Filled, and Full of the Spirit: What Does It All Mean?
All the key words are here, spelled out in simple English.
Dreams and Visions: How to Interpret Them
Have you ever received a dream, possibly from God, while you were sleeping or a vision before your eyes or mind’s eyes? How would you know if it came from God? How do we evaluate them?
Should We Call It ‘Tongues’?
The Greek texts actually call it ‘languages.’ What should we call it today?
The Purpose and Importance of Spiritual Languages
The Bible is clear that this wonderful gift has divine purposes. What are they?
The Spirit in the Old Testament
The New Covenant Scriptures take over these Scriptures in the Old Covenant. But we have a better covenant and we have more anointing and power and abiding presence than the Old Covenant believers did.
The Spirit’s Deity and Divine Attributes
Renewalists believe that the Spirit has the divine nature and attributes of God. This post summarizes Scripture references and has a summary table of the attributes that the Father, Son, and Spirit share.
The Person of the Spirit
He is a person, and not a “force” or an “influence.” The Spirit is a “he,” not an “it.” But what is a person, anyway? Update: This post now has a long list of facets of his person and his ministry.
Titles of the Holy Spirit
They can also be considered the names of the Spirit. It is great for Renewalists and everyone else to experience him. But do they really know him?
Images of the Holy Spirit
These images appear in Scripture, and they reveal the Spirit’s personhood. Images help us understand him better.
The Spirit in the Life of Christ
The Spirit was given to Jesus without limit. We too can share in this anointing, but we have to follow Jesus, or else we might run out ahead of him and minister on our own.
What a Divine Attribute Is
An attribute is also called a perfection. in some contexts. It is amazing. God can never improve or get worse. He is who he is, period.
Works Cited
Here is a list of the principal works referenced or used at this site. More will be added as time goes on, so please check back.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 