What the Bible Says About Being Filled with the Spirit and Speaking in Tongues

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1 What the Bible Says About Being Filled with the Spirit and Speaking in Tongues To experience the power these articles promise for your life, you must actually be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). When you do, you will be able to speak in tongues. Here's how you can have this experience: 1) REALIZE THIS A GIFT FOR EVERY BELIEVER! Peter said of the promised gift of the Holy Spirit (See Acts 1:8), "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He (Jesus) has poured forth this which you both see and hear... For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself" (Acts 2:33, 39). The promised gift of the Holy Spirit is for anyone who has come to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. You can be absolutely confident God wants you to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and speak with tongues. 2) ASK GOD.FOR THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT! Jesus said, "And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you... For everyone who asks receives;... Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" (Luke 11:9-13). Paul asked the Galatian believers, "Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?" Just as you received Jesus as Lord and Savior, you receive the Holy Spirit by "hearing with faith." God's word says to receive the Holy Spirit we only have to ask God, the Father for it. When you hear that, and believe it, you will ask for the Holy Spirit. Have you asked God for the Holy Spirit? If not, pray this prayer right now: "Father, I thank you that you've told me that I can ask you for the Holy Spirit, and you will give Him to me. I ask you, Father God, please give me the Holy Spirit so I can have the power I need to live for you. I ask this in the name of Your Son and my Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen!" 3) BELIEVE YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT! 1 John 5:14-15 says, "And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."

2 There is only one contingency in this formula: Is what you are asking for God's will? God commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18), and God doesn't command anything that isn't His will! Therefore: it is His will for you to receive the Holy Spirit and speak with tongues! (See I Cor. 14:5 and Eph. 6: 18 - the expression 'in the Spirit' when it refers to speaking, praying, singing, etc. means 'with tongues.' See 1 Cor. 14:15.) If you sincerely asked God for the Holy Spirit, He has given Him to you. God is true and cannot lie. All His Promises are reliable. It is really simple! 4) THANK GOD FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT! What do you say to a parent or a friend that gives you a very precious gift? "Thank you," of course! That is the word which signals that you receive and appreciate the gift. This is equally true with the Lord. Paul exhorts us to ''give thanks in everything" (I Thess. 5: 18) because in Jesus, our whole life is an experience of God's magnificent, generous grace, especially when He gives you the Holy Spirit. The purest expression of faith and acceptance of God's gift is to say, "Thank you, Father!" 5) BEGIN THANKING GOD WITH YOUR HEAVENLY LANGUAGE! As you continue in praise and thanksgiving for God's gift of the Holy Spirit, you will begin to feel a new sense of release and rejoicing deep within your innermost being. This is" what Jesus spoke about during the feast: "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.' " The context goes on to explain, ''But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (John7 :37-39). Speaking in tongues is this overflow of the fountainhead of the Spirit in your life as you give voice to this spiritual torrent from within. Here are some things you need to know about speaking in your new tongue (often called your "prayer language" or "heavenly language"). You do the speaking while the Holy Spirit "gives you the words to say." Acts 2:4 says, "and they began to speak with other tongues (languages) as the Spirit was giving them utterance ('ability to speak out')." To speak with tongues takes cooperation between you and the Holy Spirit. You articulate the words while He supplies them. This is why Paul calls the phenomenon "speaking with (or in) the Spirit". You determine to speak in tongues. You cannot speak with tongues and your own language at the same time. You choose which one you will use. Nor do tongues "overtake" you or "just happen" to you. The common modern expressions "ecstatic language" and "speaking in ecstasy" are erroneous and misleading. As a Spirit-filled believer, you choose when you will speak in tongues. If an utterance "takes over" a believer so that he is out of control, it should be viewed

3 with concern: Moving in the Spirit requires cooperation between you and the Spirit. Usually it is spirits that possess and control people against their will. You will not understand what you are saying! Paul says, "For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful" (I Cor. 14:14). The use of tongues defies human understanding. Normally, it is only in the public function of the gift that God will give interpretation so others present can be edified. An important function of "praying in the Spirit" is to give us ability to pray about things we don't understand or concerning which we are too weak to pray with our understanding (Rom. 8:26). Also prayer in the spirit helps us to express praise and worship beyond our own mind's ability to comprehend or express. There is nothing quite so freeing as to praise God in a way that goes beyond our own ability to speak it out. God has designed tongues so we can't understand it. This is His will. Therefore, express the gift in faith knowing His Spirit is helping you do spiritu.al business you could otherwise not do. Be on the alert for Satan! He is going to try and steal your gift! Satan is a thief (John 10:10) and he continually accuses you (Rev. 12:10). One of his major ploys is to try to take things away from believers no sooner than they have received them (Matt. 13: 19). This is no less true with tongues. When you speak with tongues, you will likely have this thought: "This prayer language isn't from the Spirit. I'm making it up." Know for certain it is the expression of the same doubt and unbelief most of us wrestle with. If you question tongues and stop using them, then you will be robbed of one of the main sources of power with which you can build yourself up spiritually. Continue to use the gift of tongues regularly. Paul says, "pray always in the Spirit I" (I Thess. 5: 18). Once you receive the gift, use it frequently... extensively... daily! The more you use it, the more you'll be built up (I Cor. 14:4). Using tongues often strengthens the inner, spiritual man. It will be when you get into the fierce spiritual battles that await you that you will know the fullest value of having been faithful in your use of the gift. Be faithful and make full use of this very important spiritual tool! CONCLUSION How can you receive the Holy Spirit? Let's summarize what we've been studying: 1) Know the gift is for you! 2) Ask the Father to give you the Holy Spirit! 3) Believe you have received it when you ask!

4 4) Seal it by thanking God that He's given it to you! 5) Let your thanksgiving overflow in your new tongues! 6) Practice speaking in tongues every day! As you do these things, then you will be able with joy to affirm Jude's wise counsel: "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life" (Jude 20, 21).

5 What the Bible Says About Being in Christ What does it mean to be in Christ? Why is this term, in Christ, used so frequently in the New Testament? How can knowing what it means help you be a more effective leader and a better Christian? In the article "Spiritual Schizophrenia," Ralph Mahoney explained how God has already helped you win the battle with your own sinful flesh nature by causing your 'old man' to die in Christ. By continuing to walk in Christ by the Spirit, you will experience continual victory over this, your most ferocious enemy. This truth will set you free! Introduction But the truth of what you are and have in Christ is also an important Christian truth. There are four kinds of Christian truth: Personal, propositional, practical, and positional. a) Personal truth: Jesus said, 'I am the truth "(John 14:6). Jesus is the "radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His nature" (Heb. 1:3). Jesus is "the image of the invisible God" and "in Him all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form (Col. 1:15, 2:9). Jesus, the Word of the Father, is the highest form of God's self-expression. Jesus is ultimate truth. This is what we mean when we speak of personal truth. b) Propositional truth: Jesus said, "Thy (God's) word is truth" (John 17:17). Propositional truth takes the form of statements of declarations. The Bible as God's word is the purest example of propositional truth. c) Practical truth. John the apostle said, "For I was very glad when brethren came and bore witness to your truth that is how you are walking in truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth" (3 John 3, 4). To "walk in" means to live out, or practice. "Practical" means engaged or experienced in actual practice. "Practice" and "practical" are both derived from the Greek word which means to do, or act. Practical truth is propositional truth demonstrated through actual practice. For Christians, to do truth is to live out God's word in our lives. d) Positional truth. Paul wrote, "But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus" (Eph. 4:20, 21). Jesus taught we can only succeed if we abide in Him (John 15). Paul affirmed this when he taught we can experience our inheritance from the Lord only if we are in Christ. The Bible teaches we have been repositioned through the cross: We were in Adam, but now we are in Christ. This is positional truth. Since positional truth tells us all the things we are and have in Jesus Christ, it is some of the most important teaching in the Bible. By knowing positional truths, we open doors to tremendous spiritual conquest. God has said, "my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Isa. 4:6). What you don't know will hurt you. A great many believers suffer daily defeat at the hand of their enemy because they don't know he is already defeated. As we learn all that is involved in being in Christ, we will become equipped with undefeatable spiritual weapons. By knowing what we possess in Christ Jesus we need never again suffer the ravages of the Thief (John 10:10a).

6 Following is a brief overview of what the Bible tells us we are and have in Christ Jesus. Study these verses, meditation them (that is, turn them over and over in your mind'), and practice them. These truths will set you free to triumph in Christ Jesus as God has always intended. 1. Your Past in Adam, and Your Present in Christ "Therefore, just as through one man (Adam ) sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned... death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam" (Rom. 5: 12-14). "For since by man came death... in Adam all die" (I Cor. 15:20-21) "But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (I Car. 1:30). "But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Jesus "(Eph. 2:13). According to God's way of reckoning, everyone is born in Adam. As the father of the whole human race, he was created with the potential of every human being in his body. When he sinned, he 'broke the mold ' - the possibility for anyone to be born who could please God was forever lost. As a result, our future was rather dismal in Adam. We were destined to death and Hell. But God made a way of escape. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was unstained by sin. Born of a virgin, He was the One Man not in Adam. Through His sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection, He triumphed over death, and Hell, and the grave and became the second, spiritual Adam. This victory made it possible for all men to escape eternal damnation. God took the whole human race and put them into Christ on the cross. When you believe in Jesus, repent from your sins, and follow Jesus in obedience, you become joined to Jesus and share His victory. You are thus no longer in Adam, but in Christ. Jesus Christ's atoning death was sufficient for all mankind: it propitiated (that is, satisfied) the legal demands of God's righteousness. Bu t until you believe it and accept it for yourself as God's gift to you individually, it does not apply to you. 2. Your Placement in Christ "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4). "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death?" (Rom. 6:4) "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Gal. 3:27). "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God" (2 Cor. 1:21). "Therefore if any man is in Christ he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Cor. 5: 17).

7 When you repent from your sins and obey Jesus in water baptism, you appropriate God's provisions for yourself. You are joined to Christ and God has placed you into Christ. This spiritual reality becomes real to you through your obedience. The Bible says God established us in Him. It means He has grafted us in to become an integrated part of Jesus Christ. As a part of the new creation in Jesus Christ, every aspect of your experience takes on a "newness of life." 3. Your Position in Christ "So we, who are many, are one body i1t Christ, and individually members of it" (Rom. 12:5). "Do you not know that y our bodies are members of Christ " (1 Cor. 6: 15)? ''And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right and in the heavenly places... and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus " (Eph. l:19-20 ; 2:6). "And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, i11 order that we might know Him who is true and we are in Him who is true, in His Son-Jesus Christ" (1 John 5 :20). In Christ, we are a part of His body. This is literally true. The church is the physical expression by which Jesus makes Himself known in time and space. Bu t this doesn't only relate to our present age. It is also eternal. If you are in Christ, you are seated a t God's right hand both now and forever. It is from this position we reign with Christ and have authority over every work of the enemy. Let this truth sink into your heart and it will release tremendous power in to your life. 4. Our Protection in Christ. "For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3). "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from, the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:38, 39). "In Him, you. also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation - having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise " (Eph. 1 :13). You died in Christ, and God raised you up with Him and you are now seated with Jesus in a heavenly place, safely hidden in God. Nothing could, be more secure than such a position, so unreachable by your foes. 5. Your Practice in Christ "For this reason I have sent to you Timothy. who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and lie will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church" (I Cor. 4: 17).

8 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2: 10). "For we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh" (Phil. 3:3). ''And keep a good conscience so that in the things in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame" (1 Pet. 3:16). (Read also lf Cor. 2: 17; 1 1 :3; P il. 2 :5; l Thess.5: I 8; 2 Tim. 1 :13; 2: 1 ; 3: 15). The practice of a believer who abides in Jesus Christ can be described in two words: good works! Just as luscious grapes grow on branches which are connected to the vine, so good works naturally result in the lives of believers who abide in Jesus. But the good works that glorify God can only result in the lives of those abiding in Christ. You cannot produce them yourself. Many believers make the mistake of thinking like this: "Now that I'm a Christian, I have to do the best I can a t living for God." The good works are in Jesus. As part of the new creation we can express these good works only by maintaining a vital, abiding relationship with the source of good works, Jesus Christ. This is where legalism can spring its deadly trap. Legalism happens when you try to earn God's favor through outward conformity with the acceptable code of behavior. True Christian behavior - our practice in Christ - comes from the heart, although it is outward and visible. 6. Your Possessions in Christ ''Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). "... to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus" (ICor. 1 :2). ''Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. l :3). (Read also Rom. 8:2; 11 Cor. 3: 14; Gal. 2:4; Eph.1:6, 11, 7; Col. 1:27; II Tim. 2: 10). You don't possess your possessions in Christ merely because you once believed. You do so only when you abide in Him and walk in His Spirit. If you fail to abide, then your hold on these spiritual blessings will eventually begin to weaken. If you persist in this disobedience (failing to abide is disobedience) you will lose the sense of the peace and joy in the Holy Spirit which is yours when you stay close to Him. 7. Your Purpose in Christ ''But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifest through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in eve1y place" (II Cor. 2:14).

9 " I press on toward the goal for tile prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Eph. 3: 1 1). (Read also Eph. l:9; 3: 11; II Tim. 3: 12) God originally created man to express Him and glorify Him forever. Whatever God's ultimate purpose is in creation, He intends mankind to be central in it. Satan intended to thwart God's purpose by tempting man in the Garden and causing him to fall. And he did temporarily. But through Christ, God has caused His purpose to triumph and now through His wonderful plan, we have been incorporated into this purpose. Our purpose in Christ is to be a willing instrument through whom God can accomplish His eternal purpose. 8. Your Promise in Christ. ''If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied" (I Cor. 15: 19). "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive" (I Cor. 15:22). "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first" (I Thess. 4: 16). (Read also Eph. 3:6; II Tim. 1:1) Our promise in Christ isn't only victory in this life, but life in eternity. When we were baptized into Christ and were thus united with His death, we were also united with His resurrection. As we continue to abide in Him, we will surely partake of this Victory of victories. Can there be a greater promise than that? No! There is no other promise so great as that which says we shall share in Jesus' resurrection!

10 What the Bible Says About the Unity of the Church The Holy Spirit has been saying much about unity to the Church in recent years. The Bible tell us that the heavenly Father wants His Church to be one. Differences don't have to mean division; on the contrary, true unity is made up of diversity: Unity is not uniformity. Let's open our Bible and see what it has to say about the unity of the Church. 1. What is "the unity of the Church?" The Random House College Dictionary defines unity as "the state of being one single entity; one ness," "the state of being combined with others to form a greater whole," and "having complete accord among persons regarding attitudes, opinions, intentions, etc." In light of this definition, the unity of believers (the Church) is the state of being combined ("knit together") with other believers into one Body (the greater whole), yet each remaining an individual part. Further, it describes the state of being in complete accord with other believers regarding attitudes, opinions, intentions (goals, purposes), etc. For the purpose of this definition, a believer is one who has received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and continues in faith and obedience to Him. When we speak of the unity of believers, we are concerned with the relationship God intends each of us to have with any and every believer in Jesus. 2. The Problem: The Bible teaches us God's intention for His Church is that it have perfect unity (or oneness); but God's people have rarely experienced this. History is full of strife, warfare, hatred, and division within the Church. Disunity has become such a way of life that most Christians, though they speak and pray for unity, believe that a certain amount of disunity is to be expected. This is not biblical. Disunity proceeds from our sin nature and Satan promotes it. Satan has divided the Church for centuries because he knows, "a house divided against itself cannot stand." A Church which cannot stand won't be able to enforce Jesus Christ s victory over death and Hell and the grave. In order for the Church to effectively apply Jesus' power to break Satan's stranglehold on this world, it must experience the unity God has declared. 3. The Prophecy: "Thus says the Lord God, 'Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand... and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations, and they will no longer be divided into two kingdoms' " (Ezekiel 37:19-22). "Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd " (Ezek. 34:23). Israel is the Old Testament picture of the Church. Paul and the writer of Hebrews both teach that the Church is spiritual Israel. A divided Israel pictures a divided Church. Since Israel never experienced the unity promised her by this prophecy, we know that it must be fulfilled in the Church. God also reveals how this unity will come about. He will place one king, and one shepherd over the restored nation. He

11 identifies this as David, the shepherd boy become king - a type of the Lord Jesus Christ who is "the Good Shepherd, " and "King of kings." 4. The Provision: ''Now the deeds of the flesh are... enmities, strife, jealousy, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying..."(gal. 5:20) ''Jesus answered and said... 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God... That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said... "You must be born again" ' "(John 3:3-7). "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (II Cor. 5:17). The attitudes which cause divisions and disunity in the Church are sins which come from our flesh nature. This is true with all of us. For men to experience the perfect unity the Bible teaches, our nature must be changed. This is what happens when we believe in Jesus and make Him Lord of our lives: we are born again of the spirit and receive a brand new nature. The "old things" of our flesh nature pass away and "new things" of G0d's nature come into our Jives because we become part of God's new creation. This is the only way unity is possible. God's provision for unity is our new nature filled with the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5: 16 says if we "walk by the Spirit" we will not carry out the desires of the flesh. One of the flesh's greatest desires is disunity. 5. The Prayer: '(I pray) that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me... I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me" (John 17:21, 23). After Jesus had completed His earthly ministry and was about to endure the cross and death and Hell, He committed the work He had done to the Father in prayer. The things he asked in that prayer are the things most important to Him. One of these was that the Church be ONE. The unity of the Church is the key to the Church's effective witness to the world. Because the Church would be one, perfected in unity, the world would know and believe. It follows that if the Church is divided and in disunity, the world cannot know the Truth. 6. The Promise: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father who is over all in through all and in all" (Eph.4:4-6). "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many... there are many members, but one body... But God has so composed the body... that there should be no division in the body... Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it" (I Cor. 12: 12-27).

12 God has promised that though we may not be experiencing it because of disobedience and unbelief, yet we are one body. Although we differ and have diversity in how we function, we are all part of the same body. 7. The Prescription: I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4: 1-3). If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others" (Phil. 2: 1-4). Paul spoke for God when he exhorted the Church to unity. To "walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called," means "to act like a Christian!" If we act like God wants us to - like we are supposed to - we will strive for unity (for oneness) with every other believer regardless of their denomination or other affiliations. We will be selfless in our attitude. We will see our relationship with other believers as one of our highest priorities, being ruthless with any divisive attitude. This is the way of life God prescribes for all believers. Not to walk like this is sin! Not to walk like this gives Satan opportunity to divide the Church and hinder God's purposes. 8. The Practice: "And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. "And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people" (Acts 2:42-47a). ''And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:32, 33). The Church began to experience the unity God had promised right from the start. The Scriptures show that oneness of heart and mind characterized the life among the earliest believers. It wasn't until much later that the divisions with which we are now so familiar began to take place. 9. The Power: God's power always accompanies a Church living together in true spiritual unity. In both Acts 2 and 4, the miracle working power of God is mentioned along with the unity of the Church. God promises to confirm the proclamation of His Word with signs and wonders. But God's Word isn't only what the

13 Bible says. God's true word is always flesh: it must be lived out in believer's lives. '1f we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth" (I John 1:6). Just knowing the Bible, and saying we believe it isn't truth. Truth is knowing and obeying the Word. When the Bible says God confirms His Word with power, it does not mean He confirms the "doctrine" we preach, but He confirms what we preach and live out in obedience. This helps explain the powerlessness which much of the Church is experiencing today: We say we believe the Bible teaches unity, but we are divided from one another because of doctrines, different worship forms, etc. When we repent of our divisions and come into full conformity with God's Word we will again see the full release of God's power in our midst. Then God can confirm His Word with His power because it will have "become flesh"(see John l: 14)