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Tidbits of Truth - 2

Posted by Gary Cendroski on July 17, 2008 at 4:47pm
Hey all you wonderful people. It's 7/17/08.Did you know that speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, discerning of spirits, faith, the working of miracles and gifts of healings are never referred to in the Bible as the manifestations of the spirit? I Corinthians 12 refers to this collection as "the manifestation [singular] of the spirit."Nobody walks with "all nine all the time," but we shouldn't think of this power assortment as being comprised of particular gifts given to individual believers either, to the extent that some miss out on some and others are favored with many!Using the plural "manifestations," in addition to being unbiblical, tends to support the idea that these are many things dished out to some believers, rather than the truth that they are ONE thing distributed to ALL believers.The word in the Greek text for "manifestation" means a shining forth. The shining forth of the spirit is given to every believer.The nine aspects of the manifestation of the spirit are listed in I Corinthians 12 not haphazardly, but in the several categories according to how they profit. "For to one [profit] is given..." etc. Check out the usage of the Greek words allos "another" and heteros "another" in that section in this light and see if you don't see what I saw!The three categories of profit primarily are to yourself, to others, and to God.This truth becomes very enlightening as to the nature of these aspects of "the shining." For instance, discerning of spirits, (not discerning of demons), is primarily intended for the profit ultimately of others, not so I can be inordinately absorbed with noticing evil spirits and identifying them for my own personal satisfaction that I am so spiritually sharp! I John 4:1 tells us to "...not believe every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God." You use spiritual discernment to do that. Discerning of spirits, therefore, has something to do with ending up believing or not believing something (being influenced or not). John was talking about the same thing as Paul. When you become "excersized to discern both good and evil" and are made aware of a spiritual deception of the Devil, you become a watchman responsible to warn others of the ploy that could be potentially harmful to them and you. So, the end result is a blessing to others. Now this discerning may involve becoming aware of the presence of a demon, or it may not. Either way, the deception originated with the Devil, may have come through demons, may end up being transmitted by people, and is disguised so you and others swallow (believe) it. The Devil wants your mind. The mind is what believes things. He's not interested only in sending demons around like kids showing up on your doorstep on Halloween to give you a transient fright. There's always more to it. The "more to it" behind the scenes is what discerning of spirits is all about. Therefore, the discerning is not an end in itself, but if you know that the Bible says it's primarily to profit others, there is with the discerning the sounding of the alarm also. Paul Revere didn't see the two lamps shining in the Old North Church and then go home and go to bed, so satisfied with himself that he got the message. He got on his horse, and the rest is history.Incidentally, the manifestation of the spirit is referred to in Scripture as in the category of "gifts" (I Corinthians 12:31), not particularly as gifts to individuals, but as a part of a larger grouping of gifts to the Body of Christ. So I would suggest you don't go around telling people that these nine are not "gifts" if you want to be taken seriously as someone who knows the Bible. What, did you pay for this ability or earn it?!I have only partially developed one aspect of the manifestation in light of what I Corinthians 12 is telling us, and I haven't gone into research format to expound the particulars, but this is supposed to be a "tidbit of truth."
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Tidbits of Truth

Posted by Gary Cendroski on July 2, 2008 at 1:30pm
Hey all you wonderful people.Today, 7/2/08, is the anniversary of the vote of the Second Continental Congress to pass Virginia's resolution "...that these united colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states, that they are absolved of all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved...." It was the day in history that we Americans made history. The day the decision was made to be our own country. It was the first time any colony of a nation broke from the parent stem and declared its independence and freedom.This statement was incorporated into the Declaration of Independence, which was passed on July 4, 1776, and signed by John Hancock, the president of Congress, and Charles Thomson, the secretary, on behalf of the Congress. The prepared embossed copy was signed by most of the fifty six signers in August of that year and the last signer put his name on it probably in 1781.Their declaration of freedom was a done deal. Their claiming of that freedom took a fight.Our Lord Jesus Christ told us "...the truth shall make you free" and "...thy [God's] word is truth." Worldly bondage is nothing compared to spiritual bondage.God did not send and give the life of His only begotten Son for an organization. He did it for you and me. The Body of Christ is not an organization, it's an organism - a living body with Christ as the head and us as the members. One of the Devil's slickest methods to turn people away from God is to use religion as a diversion. If you have a bad taste in your mouth about spiritual things because of what men have done, consider instead what God has done.God declared our spiritual freedom for us in Christ. It's a done deal. But if you want to claim that freedom in life it will take a fight. Our Lord said "If you continue in my word, then you are my disciples indeed, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." If you've ever tried to continue in the Word, you know the Devil doesn't make it easy. Don't let him, the world, or the flesh get you down. The Body of Christ needs you and the world needs you to be salt and light.William Penn stated "Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants." Similarly, Benjamin Franklin stated "We'll be ruled by God or by God we'll be ruled."Those who have gone before us have won for us our freedom. It's up to us now to keep it. The best way we can do that is to shine as the lights God made us to be and continue to be the salt that preserves. We owe it to our family, our spiritual household and our country.
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