The Pillar and Ground of Truth: 06/10

20 June 2010

Bishop James A. Johnson Concerning our Pentecostal Fathers

Recorded on 3-28-2010
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbVXsi0vRcw
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEpzypbwzXg&NR=1
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAJA5Sygreo&NR=1
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5P8El9ULGk&NR=1

Here's an interesting quote from Part 2: “If you do not have confidence in the fathers then most likely you are going to be out on your own limb, plotting your own course, traveling your own road, devising your own lifestyle. You must be able to find some of your fathers whose faith you’re willing to follow in order to understand how you are supposed to walk. I have, among my collection of things, a particular book that contains quotations from some of our Pentecostal fathers, and I’m willing to tell anybody, ‘I am not a self made man, and my doctrine is not my own.’ There are men of God who were before me that I had respect for, and I respected things they taught and things they said to me personally. If you don’t have confidence in the fathers then you’re liable to get messed up in your mind at anytime. Find some of the fathers in whom you have confidence and try to adhere to their teaching.” –Bishop James A. Johnson (3-28-2008)

05 June 2010

Jesus Christ: Sonship

The Purpose of Sonship

God has always desired to fellowship with man, but sin came into the human family and separated God from man. The purpose of Sonship was so that God could provide the best means by which He and man could regain their fellowship, and to give dominion over the earth to man again. This fellowship is the result of the sacrifice of the Savior on Calvary. He could only do this by providing complete redemption for mankind. He is the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world, Rev. 13:8. In short, the Sonship is about God and man engaging in a loving and healthy relationship that is void of any hindrances (sin), which would separate each from the other. For that to take place a Mediator (the Son) had to provide reconciliation between God and man. This Mediator was realized in the person of Jesus Christ.

Who Fulfilled the Sonship

Jesus Christ fulfills the Sonship. In Colossians 2:9 we are told that in Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead (all the characteristics of God) bodily, and we (the Church) are complete in Him (Jesus). Paul did say that the Gospel message was a mystery, but then he went on to explain what the mystery was: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (I Timothy 3:16). Only Jesus Christ fulfills these six points. Thus proving the adage, “Jesus Christ of the New Testament is Jehovah of the Old Testament.”

02 June 2010

T.W. Barnes - Saying the Name of Jesus

According to T.W. Barnes, many people pronounce the name of Jesus without really knowing how to say it. He specified four ways to say the name of Jesus:

Say His name with love; the early church had great success, because they loved not their lives, they loved that Name. Love is powerful. Their love gave them reverence for the Name.
Say His name with vision. Say it seeing the invisible. A woman said, "I resist the devil and he doesn't leave." Bro. Barnes asked her, "What do you look for? The Bible doesn't say resist him and see him sitting on your shoulder; when you resist him you should see him running. The devil no doubt left you when you said in Jesus Name, but since you did not expect him to go, your thinking made you as miserable as if he stayed with you."
Say His name with faith. Religious leaders in Israel asked the disciples, "How did you heal the man crippled from his mother's womb?" Peter answered, "...by the name of Jesus Christ..."
Say His name while living a life of sacrifice. The disciples sacrificed everything for that name. We need to love it enough that no sacrifice is too great to make for Jesus.