“I heard a preacher on television say he can ‘prophesy’ using his trumpet. Is that possible?”

A:

An example of this activity is seen on the charismatic website New Zealand Prophetic Network in an article that asserts the following:

Holy Spirit ministry functions through many and varied means. One of the not so common today is that of musicians prophesying on their instruments: that is, the ability to play prophetically on their instruments in such a way as to release the anointing to the people…. This is the realm where musicians can play prophetically, whereby the anointed tune—even a new tune—can actually enable the Holy Spirit to interpret the feeling and/or message of the tune to our hearts. As we listen intently while the musician plays (can be singular or plural), we “pick-up” the heartbeat of God, and the theme of that heart beat is interpreted to us in the realm of our understanding. When that happens we can experience deep peace, joy, inspiration, even tears, as the Holy Spirit speaks. Yet no words have been spoken; only the playing of an anointed tune on an instrument.¹

Those who make this claim seek justification for the practice in 1 Chronicles 25:1 which reads: “Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals.” However, this claim is a misconception based on a faulty exegesis of the text. Even on the face of it, a trumpet or other mechanical instrument cannot “prophesy” since the word “prophesy” in Hebrew refers to speaking, i.e., articulating meaningful concepts via oral or written words.² The only way a musical instrument can convey specific meanings is if it is used as a signaling device with a prearranged, mutually understood meaning attached to a specific tune or tones. Historically, armies have used trumpets and bugles to sound a particular movement by the troops—whether “charge,” “retreat,” “call to quarters,” etc. But the instrument itself has no intellectual content, meaning, or message inherent in the sound it is capable of making. Paul made this very point when he chided the Corinthian Christians for their failure to make certain that their tongue-speaking and prophesying was comprehended by the assembly. Noting that instruments are “without life,” even they must make sounds that are understood by those intended to be the recipients of the pre-decided message being conveyed (1 Corinthians 14:7).

When the Bible speaks of “prophesying with harps, etc.,” it is not suggesting that a harp can prophesy. Rather, the grammar of the passage makes clear that the prophesying is done by the human prophet who, in turn, is merely accompanied by the instrument. The word “with” in the NKJV flags this fact.³ It is made even clearer by a quick consideration of other English translations:

So why accompany a prophet’s message from God with musical instruments? History does not answer this question definitively. However, consider a couple of possibilities that do not contradict other plainly established biblical realities. First, perhaps the instruments were intended to capture the attention of the Israelites, who would have constituted a large assembled crowd, in an effort to announce the commencement of the proclamation of the prophet’s divine message. This circumstance would have been analogous to court musicians who herald the arrival of the king or queen—a “fanfare”—defined as “a short ceremonial tune or flourish played on brass instruments, typically to introduce something or someone important.”⁴ Second, since prophetic messages throughout the Old Testament are typically couched in standard Hebrew metrical verse, perhaps the instrumental accompaniment was intended to reinforce the rhythmic nature of Hebrew poetry. The Bible does not inform us as to the activities of scores of prophets that we know ministered to Israel by prophesying. Keep in mind that the predictive element of our English word “prophesy” is secondary and sometimes even nonexistent in Hebrew prophecy. The majority of Hebrew prophecy was simply inspired preaching in which the prophet instructed, rebuked, corrected, and challenged his hearers with regard to their misbehavior/misconduct. In such a case, the prophets were something like the roving minstrels of the Middle Ages who traveled around the countryside and from town-to-town conveying messages via poetry accompanied by their strumming on a lute.⁵ In this way, Hebrew prophets would have permeated Israelite society on a daily basis, reminding the people of their spiritual and moral responsibility to conform every day to God’s will. This very scenario seems to be what we find in 1 Samuel 10:5.⁶

In any case, when a televangelist in our day claims to “prophesy” simply by playing a tune on a trumpet or other instrument, he does so without biblical precedent for such claims. After all, instruments are “without life.”

Endnotes

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Since most first-century churches that the apostles had established or visited were likely recipients of the much-needed miraculous gifts of wisdom, knowledge, prophecy, discernment, etc. (cf. Acts 8:5-17), some question why such churches needed written instruction (i.e., the inspired letters and documents that make up the New Testament). Why would the early churches have lacked any important information if they had miraculous knowledge (cf. 1 Thessalonians 3:10)?

The simple answer is that God designed the miraculous spiritual gifts given to the first-century church to be partial and temporary. Paul informed the church at Corinth that their miraculous prophecies and knowledge, etc. would “fail” and “vanish away” (1 Corinthians 13:8). “For,” he said, “we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away” (13:9-10). Spiritual gifts were like “a child,” as compared to the coming, completed written revelation of God, which Paul compared to a “man” (13:11), a “perfect man” (Ephesians 4:13). Thus, while the Lord’s Church was in its infancy, God gave them miraculous gifts to help them along. But these gifts were neither permanent nor “in whole.” The spiritual gifts were a gracious, partial, temporary help. Thus, first-century Christians still needed Spirit-inspired instruction (e.g., Paul’s epistles to the Corinthians, the Thessalonians, etc.), which by the end of the first century was “perfect” (i.e., “complete”).

Perhaps for reasons known only to God, His communication to man from Adam until the close of the first century A.D. was “in part” (cf. 1 Peter 1:10-12; see also Hebrews 1:1). We can trust, however, that just as the omniscient, omnipotent, omni-benevolent God of the Universe “sent forth His Son” into the world “when the fullness of time had come” (Galatians 4:4),⁴ the perfect law of liberty was completed at just the right time and in just the right way as God had planned all along (cf. Ephesians 3:1-11). Thankfully, for more than 1,900 years mankind has had the blessed benefit of the complete will of God. Unfortunately, to the detriment of mankind, most people continue to choose to reject the all-sufficient Word of God which leads to eternal life.

Endnotes

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Yes, He was. And He proved it by working miracles. While God had allowed other people to perform miracles, their miracles confirmed they were servants of God. Jesus’ miracles proved that He is God (read John 10:37-38; John 20:30-31). When Peter preached to the Jews who had put Jesus to death, he reminded them that Christ’s identity as the Son of God had been proved “by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through him in your midst, even as you yourselves also know” (Acts 2:22). Indeed, the Jews did know, because they had witnessed Christ’s miracles almost daily. Even Jesus’ enemies often had to admit that no one could do what Jesus did unless God was with Him (John 3:2; see also John 9).

Jesus performed miracles of physical healing, such as healing: a man who was paralyzed (Matthew 9:2-8); Peter’s mother-in-law, who had a terrible fever (Mark 1:29-31); a nobleman’s son who was very sick (John 4:46-53); ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19); deafness and dumbness (Mark 7:31-37); blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52); and Malchus’ severed ear, which had been cut off by Peter (Luke 22:47-51).

He performed miracles in the natural realm, such as: stilling a storm (Matthew 8: 23-27); multiplying food to feed crowds (5,000 fed—Matthew 14:15-21; 4,000 fed—Matthew 15:32-39); and walking on water (Matthew 14: 25-33).

And, Christ raised people from the dead, including: Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:35-43); a widow’s son (Luke 7:11-15); and Lazarus of Bethany (John 11:1-44).

Unlike some modern-day “miracles,” Christ’s miracles were not performed under controlled conditions. Nor were they faked for television cameras. When Jesus healed people, they really were healed! When He raised someone from the dead (something you don’t see anyone doing today!), they really did come back to life.

There are many ways to prove that Jesus was Who He claimed to be. But the miracles He performed are one of the most important proofs that He truly is the Son of God.

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Consider, for example, the occasion on which Jesus gave sight to a man born blind (John 9:7). After receiving his sight, neighbors and others examined him, inquiring how he was now able to see. Later he was brought to the Pharisees, and they scrutinized him. They questioned him about the One who caused him to see, and then argued among themselves about the character of Jesus. They called for the parents of the man who was blind, and questioned them about their son’s blindness. Then they called upon the man born blind again, and a second time questioned him about how Jesus opened his eyes. Finally, when they realized the man would not cave in to their intimidating interrogation and say some negative thing about Jesus, “they cast him out” (9:34). They rejected him, and the One Who made him well. Yet, they were unable to deny the miracle that Jesus performed. It was known by countless witnesses that this man was born blind, but, after coming in contact with Jesus, his eyes were opened.

The entire case of Jesus healing the blind man in John 9 was scrutinized thoroughly by Jesus’ enemies, yet even they had to admit that Jesus caused the man to see (John 9:16,17,24,26). It was a fact, accepted, not by credulous youths, but by hardened, veteran enemies of Christ. Considering that positive testimony from hostile witnesses is the weightiest kind of testimony in a court of law, such reactions from Jesus’ enemies are extremely noteworthy in any discussion on the miracles of Christ.

REFERENCES

Butt, Kyle and Eric Lyons (2015), “3 Good Reasons to Believe the Bible is from God,” Apologetics Press, http://apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=1180.

Lyons, Eric and Kyle Butt (2014), “7 Reasons to Believe in God,” Apologetics Press, http://apologeticspress.org/apPubPage.aspx?pub=1&issue=1175&article=2452.

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In the Bible we find a different baptism of fire. When John the Baptizer was preaching in the wilderness, he told his audience that he was immersing “with water unto repentance” (Matthew 3:11). But, he went on to say, One will come Who will “baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11; Acts 19:3-5). Of course, this coming One would be Jesus. But what was John talking about? How would Jesus baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire?

The New Testament gives us two clues. First, Jesus repeated the words of John to his disciples just before His ascension. “For John truly baptized with water,” Jesus told them, “but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5). Unlike the experience of Prince Louis, the point of this baptism was to help prepare the disciples for the hard times that would come(John 14:26; 16:7) Our second clue comes in chapter two of Acts. Here we read that the twelve apostles were gathered together on the Day of Pentecost. They heard a noise like a wind, and saw something that looked like fire coming down on them (Acts 2:1-4). It was at this moment, the Bible tells us, that the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit. So, John the Baptizer’s prophecy was fulfilled when these two things-the Holy Spirit and fire-appeared on the Day of Pentecost.

It was very common for fire to be associated with the presence of God. Back in the Old Testament, God spoke to Abraham from the burning bush; a pillar of fire led the children of Israel through the wilderness; and God Descended on Mount Sinai in fire when He gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. In the vision of the apostle John, the Son of God had eyes burning “like of flame of fire” (Revelation 1:14).

Fire has fascinated man through the ages. It is so important to our survival, and yet it is so dangerous to anyone who does not respect its power. No wonder God chose to appear in the form of fire many times.

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Lazarus became very sick and his sisters sent for Jesus. But Jesus did not go to Bethany right away. He loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus very much, but He waited two more days before going to Bethany. He told His disciples that Lazarus was “asleep,” but they did not understand. So He told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” By the time Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead four days. There were still many people at Mary and Martha’s home trying to comfort them because their brother had died, When Jesus arrived, the sisters told Jesus that if He had been there, their brother would not have died. They believed so much in Jesus. Martha said, “Whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Their friends wept; only Jesus could help.

Jesus was very sad when He saw how upset the sisters and all their friends were. When He was taken to the grave, He cried because He shared the sorrow and understood the pain of those whom he loved? Lazarus had been buried in a tomb with a great stone rolled in front of the opening. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” But Martha didn’t think that was a good idea. When the stone was rolled away, Jesus prayed to His Heavenly Father. He wanted this miracle to prove to the crowd, and to Mary and Martha, who He was (the Son of God). And just as important, Jesus wanted this miracle, the seventh recorded in the book of John, to glorify God. Jesus called to Lazarus and told him to come out of the tomb. Lazarus immediately walked out of the tomb, still wrapped in his burial cloths. Jesus said to take the strips of cloth off and “set him free.” Because of this miracle, many more people believed that Jesus was God’s Son, and many people glorified God by praising him.

We know that God does not raise people from the dead today, but we can read about this and other great miracles in His Word. As John said, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:30-31). By reading about miracles in the Bible, we can continue to learn about Jesus and glorify God.

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As Christ approached the funeral procession, no one said anything. All they could hear were the cries of the poor widow. And she was poor indeed, because without a husband or a son she would be left to fend for herself. But Jesus looked on her with compassion. He commanded her to stop crying. “Do not weep,” He said. No ordinary man could have said this. We might have told her not to cry, but we couldn’t do anything to help. It was different for Jesus. He could do something about this. He touched the stretcher and gave another command: “Young man, I say to you arise.” And straightaway the dead man came back to life.

Jesus truly did a wonderful thing. He gave the man his life. He gave Hope to the widow. And he demonstrated the power of God. There were many there that day and all of them could see what Jesus had done. The citizens of Nain knew that the man was dead. They were not followers of Jesus, so they had no reason to think He was special. But when they saw this miracle, they recognized the power of God in what Jesus had done.

From what happened that day we can learn three important features of miracles:

·    First, Miracles had a definite purpose. They were God’s signpost. “The very works that I do,”            Jesus said, “bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me” (John 5:36). The raising of the            widow’s son showed that Jesus was special.

·    Second, Miracles were something we would expect form God. He told us that these miracles            would happen, and He told us why they would happen (Isaiah 35:5; 42:7). The writer C.S. Lewis          said something neat about this: “God does not shake miracles into Nature at random as if from a        pepper caster.” We would expect God to show that Jesus of Nazareth was the Chosen One. We        would expect Him to show compassion on the poor widow.

·    Third, miracles fit God’s grand plan. It wasn’t just that something strange happened outside Nain        that day. It was something that confirmed the Good News that Jesus had come to preach (Luke        7:22)

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First, magic can be used just for fun. Miracles were not just “for fun.” They were visible signs that a person was acting or speaking on God’s behalf (read Exodus 3:12-4:14). Second, magic can be used to deceive. Miracles, on the other hand, were never used for deception. Rather, they were used to teach important spiritual lessons (like when Elijah asked God to perform a miracle on Mount Carmel to show that Baal was a false god—1 Kings 18:20-40). Miracles also were used to help people (like when Jesus healed a blind man—John 9:1-41). Third, magic isn’t “real.” When a magician makes a woman “disappear,” she doesn’t really disappear into thin air. But miracles were real—very real! When Moses stretched his rod across the Red Sea and caused the waters to part so the Israelites could walk across on dry land, it was no trick. Moses (through God’s power) really did what the Bible says he did (read Exodus 13:14-22). When Pharaoh’s army followed the Israelites, and Moses caused the waters to come back together to destroy the Egyptians, the soldiers and horses really died (read Exodus 13:26-28). Fourth, magic is intended to entertain us and show us the magician’s talent. That is not true of miracles. Their purpose never was to entertain an audience or to demonstrate how talented a person was. They were performed in order to show people the way to heaven. Thanks for your great question. Remember, Bible miracles were not “magic.”

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When an inspired speaker stepped forward to declare God’s Word, God confirmed His Word by having the speaker perform a miracle to show that he was from God. The miracle showed the hearers that God was behind the speaker’s remarks. Miracles authenticated the spoken word as God’s Word. Miracles verified the teaching of God’s messengers, as over against the many false teachers (read John 3:2).

Paul stated that miracles would cease and be done away when the “perfect” (or completed Word of God) had been revealed (1 Corinthians 13:8-10; James 1:25). Those things that were incomplete and partial (miraculous gifts) would be replaced by the total and complete (the fully revealed Word of God). Once God revealed all of the information that He wished to make available to people, the need for miracles to confirm the oral Word came to an end. Now, people can sit down with a New Testament, the written Word of God, and, with honest and diligent study, conclude that it is God’s Word. We have absolutely no need for miracles. Since there are no apostles living today, and since Holy Spirit baptism was unique to the apostles (Acts 2) and the first Gentile converts (Acts 10), there is no Holy Spirit baptism today. Likewise, there is no miraculous healing today. All those on whom the apostles had laid their hands are also dead (Acts 8:18). Once the last apostle died, the ability to perform miracles could not be passed on to others.

The Bible teaches that miracles are no longer necessary since we have everything we need to function in this life, to be pleasing to God, and to survive spiritually (Read 2 Peter 1:3).

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There is a story of a similar man in Acts 8:9-24, who wandered the streets of Samaria, amazing people by his “magic.” After the church in Jerusalem was scattered, Philip, an evangelist, went north to the city of Samaria. He preached Jesus to the Samaritans, and used miracles to prove that he was preaching the truth. In that city, there was a man named Simon, whom the Bible calls a sorcerer or magician. The “magic” that Simon used was illusions and tricks, so there was nothing special about it. The people of Samaria considered Simon to be a great man, and said of his magic, “This man is the great power of God” (Acts 8:10). However, when Philip came to Samaria, that all changed. Simon had been a man who could pull cheap tricks, enough to fool and amuse the people, but not enough to do them real good. Simon could not perform miracles. However, Philip had the miraculous power to heal the sick. He had real power from God.

People could tell the difference between what was real and what was fake, and soon even Simon the “sorcerer” became a Christian. The power of God to do miracles was not the same as the tricks of a magician. The power of God is real, and the power of a magician is fake (though perhaps entertaining and innocent if everyone understands that it is meant for innocent purposes). The next time you see a magician, remember that we serve a God Who is able to do far more than the tricks of men. Isn’t He awesome?

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At the time Paul preached, the Gospel was new, and people were not so sure if they should believe Paul. They did not have the New Testament to check and make sure the things he said were true, so they needed a way to prove that he was not just making it up. The Holy Spirit gave Paul the ability to perform miracles so that those honest people could be sure Paul was telling the truth. When Paul was in the city of Ephesus, God “worked unusual miracles” (Acts 19:11-12). By touching the handkerchiefs and aprons of sick people, Paul healed them or cast evil spirits out of their bodies. The miracles of Paul, together with his preaching, resulted in the conversion of many Ephesians. The Bible says that “the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed” because of God’s work through Paul (Acts 19:20).

Not everyone was as willing to accept the Gospel, even after Paul performed miracles. In the Greek city of Philippi, Paul and Silas cast an evil spirit out of a young girl. Some men were using the girl to make money, and they were angry when they could make no more money. Instead of obeying the Gospel like the Ephesians, these greedy men stirred up the crowd and had Paul and Silas arrested (Acts 16:16-24).

Another purpose of Paul’s miracles was to defend the truth against its enemies. Many false teachers challenged Paul’s preaching, and miracles helped people to distinguish false teachers from true apostles. Paul’s first miracle served this purpose. While Paul was preaching on the island of Cyprus, a sorcerer named Elymas tried to convince the proconsul of the island to ignore him and Barnabas. By the Holy Spirit, Paul struck him with blindness. When the proconsul saw this miracle, he knew Paul was from God (Acts 13:8-12). Paul also used his miracles to prove to the Corinthians that he was a true apostle of God, because only by the power of God could someone perform such amazing signs (1 Corinthians 12:12). Even today, the miracles Paul performed 2,000 years ago show us that God told him what to preach, so we, too, can trust the letters he wrote. They are the words of God.

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The only other time the New Testament says anyone was baptized in the Holy Spirit was the Gentiles in Acts 10. Peter said: “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them [the Gentiles], as upon us [apostles] at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If therefore God gave them [the Gentiles] the same gift as He gave us [apostles]…” (Acts 11:15-17). To understand Holy Spirit baptism, just remember these three verses: Matthew 3:11, Acts 1:5, and Acts 11:16.

The first to receive Holy Spirit baptism were the Jewish apostles on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. The second to receive Holy Spirit baptism were the Gentile members of the household of Cornelius in Acts 10. So “all flesh” in Joel 2:28 refers to the outpouring on Jews in Acts 2 and on Gentiles in Acts 10. Holy Spirit baptism, then, filled two special purposes: (1) to prepare the apostles for their apostolic (not Christian) roles; and (2) to show that the Gentiles were to be allowed to become Christians. Holy Spirit baptism does not happen today.

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Peter and John did not have any money, but they had something much more valuable to give to the crippled beggar—the healing power of Jesus. Peter said, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). The lame man’s legs instantly became strong enough to support him! He leaped up and walked into the temple with Peter and John. He jumped for joy and praised God.   

Just as we marvel at the amazing miraculous power given to Peter by Jesus, the people in the temple area on that day were shocked to see the familiar crippled man bounding across the temple court. They all wanted to hear what the apostles had to say. Peter saw that he had the attention of a large group of listeners, so he spoke seriously to the crowd.

First, he gave God credit for the miracle (verses 12-13). It is not always easy for us to give God thanks and glory for His blessings. Often, we are tempted to take all the credit for the good things we do, and act as if we did it all by ourselves. Many people live as if God does not exist or bless us. Paul called such people fools (Romans 1:21-22).

Second, Peter taught the crowd about Jesus (verses 14-26). How many times has God given us opportunities to tell people about Christ and the church, only to see us ignore or refuse the offer? We can make ourselves aware of chances to share the Gospel by remembering that each person we meet has an immortal soul. Like Peter and John, we should use every chance we get to help others go to heaven.

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First, it must be stated emphatically that there was no sexual seduction of any kind involved in the conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb. In fact, that is just the point of the miraculous, virgin birth of Christ. Hundreds of years before Christ was conceived in the flesh, the prophet Isaiah had stated: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear and Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The New Testament writers stressed the fact that Mary was a virgin when Christ was conceived (Matthew 1:23). When the angel announced to Mary that she would conceive a child, she said: “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” Mary’s response makes it clear that there was no seduction involved. Instead, it was a miraculous conception that had nothing to do with sexual intercourse. Mary remained a virgin until after giving birth to Jesus, at which time Mary and her husband Joseph came together in marital relations and conceived several other children (Pinedo, 2009).

Notice the skeptic attempts to lump Jehovah God in with the grotesquely immoral pagan gods whose seductions and sexual perversions fill the pages of ancient mythology. Zeus, the “father of the gods” was a mythological deity whose sexual appetite and rapine seductions were all too well known. During some of his more infamous escapades he seduced Europa by turning himself into a white bull, running off with her on his back, and ravishing her on the isle of Crete. He had an affair with Io and then turned her into a heifer. He seduced Semele and eventually killed her by showing her his full, godly glory. These are but a few of Zeus’ “conquests” (Hunt, n.d).

Only the most prejudiced reader would attempt to relate the conception of Jesus to the seductions perpetrated by the pagans gods. In the historical account of Jesus’ conception there is no contact by God in any type of physical form with Mary. Mary was completely aware of how babies are normally conceived, yet she stressed the fact that she had been involved in no physical, sexual activity that would bring about pregnancy. The biblical text emphatically states that Mary was a virgin when she conceived and gave birth to Jesus. Mary was not seduced, violated, ravished, or involved in any sexual way with Jehovah. In a miraculous event that had nothing to do with sexual seduction, the Holy Spirit “came upon her” (Luke 1:35), and brought about the conception of the Messiah. The skeptic has no legitimate grounds to accuse Jehovah God of immorality in His interaction with Mary. Such an accusation truly reveals more about what is in the sinful heart of the skeptic than it does about God’s character.

REFERENCES

Hunt, J.M, (No date), “Zeus Lovers,” http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/bdodge/scaffold/gg/zeuslover.html.

Pinedo, Moisés (2009), “Was Mary a Virgin Her Whole Life?,” Apologetics Press, http://apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=105&article=2665.

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Have you ever had to hide your eyes when playing Hide and Seek? Did it seem like a very long time before you could uncover your eyes and look for your playmates? What if you never again could uncover your eyes, and suddenly you were transformed into a constant land of Pin the Tail on the Donkey? You would then start to understand the land of the blind, but not the land of those who are born blind. This land is so very hard to understand, because in this land you never see anything before your eyes are covered.

If you never had seen the color blue, how would you describe blue to anyone else? When you leave your friends and your parents to go to summer camp or to visit your grandparents, your visit might be long enough to cause you to want to see a picture of those you left back at home to remind you how they look. If you live in the land of congenital blindness (blind from birth), you would never have seen the faces of your parents and friends and you couldn’t see the picture to remind you how they look. 

Congenital blindness is very rare. Some towns do not have even one child who is blind and even if they do, it might not be congenital.  Jesus met a man who was blind from birth, and to show the greatness of God, He cured him. This miracle remains as great today as it was two thousand years ago, because modern medicine cannot cure congenital blindness. Eighty percent of all blindness can be avoided or corrected, but not congenital blindness. Jesus said that this man was not blind because of the sin of his parents or himself. Jesus placed mud on the man’s eyes and told him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The man obeyed and was cured. How amazing to obey a stranger that you never saw. Rather than rejoicing with this man and his parents, the leaders of the Jews unfairly criticized Jesus for performing this miracle on the Sabbath. Take a moment to rejoice over your sight the next time you play Hide and Seek!

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Luke 8:26-39 tells us about one particular day when Jesus taught crowds of people and performed miracles until He was completely exhausted. That evening He and the apostles sailed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to get some rest. But when they arrived at the eastern shore of the Sea, they were immediately met by “a man with an unclean spirit” (or “demon”). In fact, the man had so many unclean spirits that he was called “Legion” (legion was a division of the Roman army of 6,000 men). He was violent and very strong, so strong that even chains could not hold him. He was a danger to others and to himself. He could not even live near anyone else; he had to live away from people in what we would call a graveyard.

In spite of the evil spirits, Legion saw Jesus a long way off and ran to worship Him. The poor man knew Jesus was God’s Son, and the demons knew too! (see James 2:19). The unclean spirits even called Jesus the “Son of the Most High God.” The demons also knew that Jesus would heal the poor man by sending them out of him. The spirits begged Jesus to send them into a nearby herd of pigs—about 2,000 of them—instead of sending them to the “abyss.” [“Abyss” means “bottomless pit.”] The demons went into the heard of pigs who immediately went wild, just like poor Legion had been. The pigs rushed down a steep hill into the sea and drowned.

The man who had been saved from the constant torment of evil spirits became calm and “in his right mind.” He was eager to learn more about Jesus and to tell others what Jesus had done for him. But the people of the nearby town were afraid. Instead of being happy that this poor man was in good health again, they asked Jesus to go away. They let their fear keep them from listening to the Son of God.

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We do not know for certain where evil spirits came from. But we do know that some wicked angels rebelled against God and were thrown out of Heaven (read 2 Peter 2:4).

Today, there is no need to worry about being “possessed by an evil spirit.” The Bible says that there would come a time when God would cause the “unclean spirit to depart from the land” (Zechariah 13:2). We know, like those who saw Jesus cast out demons in the first century, that He is in control. And, as Christians, you can be sure that “the One who is in you [Jesus] is greater than the one who is in the world [Satan]” (1 John 4:4).

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Have you been to a wedding lately? If you have, you probably saw a formal ceremony and then ate some cake and drank a glass or two of punch. The whole thing might have lasted about an hour. In New Testament times marriage customs were much different. After the bride and groom received a blessing from the bride’s parents, they would proceed to the groom’s house where they were considered married. At the same time, there was a great feast at the groom’s house that generally lasted about a week. Usually, friends, family, musicians, and singers would come. And obviously, it would take a lot of food and drink for a party that big. And it was very important to the groom’s family that everyone had enough to eat and drink during the feast.

Once when Jesus and His disciples were invited to a wedding feast, they ran out of wine. [In the New Testament, the word “wine” often meant “grape juice.”] Mary, Jesus’ mother, wanted to help. No one had ever seen Jesus perform a miracle, but she believed He could do something to assist the groom’s family. She told the servants to do whatever Jesus said.

In Jewish homes, there were stone pots used to hold water for washing. Jesus directed the servants to fill six of these pots with water. Miraculously, the water changed to wine. The Bible never says that Jesus touched the water or shook the pots. He simply desired it to happen, and it did. Jesus changed the water to wine.

The servants then took a sample of the wine to the man in charge of the feast. The master of the feast did not know where the wine had come from, and was very surprised that what he was drinking was such good quality wine. The best wine was generally served first at wedding feasts, and then the cheaper wine later. But this time was different.

This was Jesus’ first miracle (John 2:11). Not everyone knew exactly what happened, but those who did were even more convinced of the power that Jesus possessed. This was always the purpose of miracles: to prove that the words Jesus spoke were true and that Jesus was who He claimed to be—the Son of the all-powerful God.

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So Jesus pressed the point again very forthrightly by stating emphatically, “I and My Father are one.” Observe that Jesus was never evasive. He never showed fear or hesitation in the face of threats or danger. Instead, He gave them yet another explicit declaration of His divine identity, thereby rekindling their desire to execute Him for blasphemy (as per Leviticus 24:14-16; cf. 1 Kings 21:10). But Jesus short-circuited their intention to stone Him by posing a penetrating question: “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” Since the Son and the Father are one, and the miraculous actions that Jesus performed were every bit as much from the Father as the Son who performed them, which sign evoked this violent intention to execute Him? Of course, Jesus knew that they did not desire to execute Him for His miraculous signs. But by calling attention to His ability to perform miracles, He was again “gigging” them with their failure to accept the evidence of His divine identity. Dismissing the obvious conclusion that would be drawn by any unbiased, honest person, they insisted that He was deserving of execution for the very fact that He claimed to be God: “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God” (John 10:33, emp. added).

Such occasions illustrate vividly that Jesus unhesitatingly claimed to be God in the flesh. If not, here was the perfect time for Him to correct the Jews’ misconception by declaring to them that they had misunderstood Him. He could have explained that He was not, in any way, claiming to be God. On the contrary, consistent with His entire time on Earth, He proceeded to prove the point to them.

As was so often the case with His handling of His contemporaries, He drew their attention back to the Bible, back to the Word of God (which He, Himself, authored, cf. John 12:48; Miller, 2007; Miller, 2009). The Word of God is the only authority for deciding what to believe and how to act (Colossians 3:17). Jesus reminded them of Psalm 82:6—

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” (John 10:34-37).

Why did Jesus allude to Psalm 82? Some suggest that His point was that since God could refer to mere humans as “gods,” Jesus’ accusers had no grounds to condemn Him for applying such language to Himself. But this line of reasoning would make it appear as if Jesus was being evasive to avoid being stoned, and that He likened His claim to godhood with other mere humans. A more convincing, alternative interpretation is apparent.

The context of Psalm 82 is a scathing indictment of the unjust judges who had been assigned the responsibility of executing God’s justice among the people (cf. Deuteronomy 1:16; 19:17-18; 2 Chronicles 19:6). Such a magistrate was “God’s minister” (diakonos—Romans 13:4) who acted in the place of God, wielding His authority, and who was responsible for mediating God’s help and justice (cf. Exodus 7:1). God had “given them a position that was analogous to His in that He had made them administrators of justice, His justice” (Leupold, 1969, p. 595). In this sense, they were “gods” (elohim)—acting as God to men (Barclay, 1956, 2:89). Hebrew parallelism clarifies this sense: “I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High’” (Psalm 82:6, emp. added). They did not share divinity with God—but merely delegated jurisdiction. They still were mere humans—although invested with divine authority, and permitted to act in God’s behalf.

This point is apparent throughout the Pentateuch, where the term translated “judges” or “ruler” is sometimes elohim (e.g., Exodus 21:6; 22:9,28). Moses is one example. Moses was not a “god.” Yet God told Moses that when he went to Egypt to orchestrate the release of the Israelites, he would be “God” to his brother Aaron and to Pharaoh (Exodus 4:16; 7:1). He meant that Moses would supply both his brother and Pharaoh with the words that came from God. Though admittedly a rather rare use of elohim, nevertheless “it shows that the word translated ‘god’ in that place might be applied to man” (Barnes, 1949, p. 294, italics in orig.). Clarke summarized this point: “Ye are my representatives, and are clothed with my power and authority to dispense judgment and justice, therefore all of them are said to be children of the Most High” (n.d., 3:479, italics in orig.). But because they had shirked their awesome responsibility to represent God’s will fairly and accurately, and because they had betrayed the sacred trust bestowed upon them by God Himself, He decreed that they would die (vs. 7). Obviously, they were not “gods,” since God could and would execute them!

A somewhat analogous mode of expression is seen in Nathan’s denunciation of David: “You have killed Uriah the Hittite” (2 Samuel 12:9)—though it was an enemy archer who had done so (2 Samuel 11:24; 12:9). No one would accuse the archer of being David, or David of being the archer. Paul said Jesus preached to the Gentiles (Ephesians 2:17)—though Jesus did so through human agency (Acts 10). Peter said Jesus preached to spirits in prison (1 Peter 3:19), when, in fact, He did so through Noah (Genesis 6; 2 Peter 2:5). Noah was not Jesus and Jesus was not Noah. If Paul and Noah could be described as functioning in the capacity of Jesus, judges in Israel could be described as functioning as God.

JESUS’ POINT

Jesus marshaled this Old Testament psalm (referring to it as “law” to accentuate its legal authority) to thwart His opponents’ attack, while simultaneously reaffirming His deity (which is the central feature of the book of John—20:30-31). He made shrewd use of syllogistic argumentation by reasoning a minori ad majus (see Lenski, 1943, pp. 765-770; cf. Fishbane, 1985, p. 420). “Jesus is here arguing like a rabbi from a lesser position to a greater position, a ‘how much more’ argument very popular among the rabbis” (Pack, 1975, 1:178). In fact, “it is an argument which to a Jewish Rabbi would have been entirely convincing. It was just the kind of argument, an argument founded on a word of scripture, which the Rabbis loved to use and found most unanswerable” (Barclay, 1956, 2:90).

Using argumentum ad hominem (Robertson, 1916, p. 89), Jesus identified the unjust judges of Israel as persons “to whom the word of God came” (John 10:35). That is, they had been “appointed judges by Divine commission” (Butler, 1961, p. 127)—by “the command of God; his commission to them to do justice” (Barnes, 1949, p. 294, italics in orig.; cf. Jeremiah 1:2; Ezekiel 1:3; Luke 3:2). McGarvey summarized the ensuing argument of Jesus: “If it was not blasphemy to call those gods who so remotely represented the Deity, how much less did Christ blaspheme in taking unto himself a title to which he had a better right than they, even in the subordinate sense of being a mere messenger” (n.d., p. 487). Charles Erdman observed:

By his defense Jesus does not renounce his claim to deity; but he argues that if the judges, who represented Jehovah in their appointed office, could be called “gods,” in the Hebrew scriptures, it could not be blasphemy for him, who was the final and complete revelation of God, to call himself “the Son of God” (1922, pp. 95-96, emp. added).

Morris agrees: “If in any sense the Psalm may apply this term to men, then much more may it be applied to Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world” (1971, pp. 527-528, emp. added). Indeed, “if the divine name had been applied by God to mere men, there could be neither blasphemy nor folly in its application to the incarnate Son of God himself” (Alexander, 1873, p. 351, emp. added).

This verse brings into stark contrast the deity—the Godhood—of Christ (and His Father Who “sanctified and sent” Him—vs. 36) with the absence of deity for all others. Jesus verified this very conclusion by directing the attention of His accusers to the “works” that He performed (vss. 37-38). These “works” (i.e., miraculous signs) proved the divine identity of Jesus to the exclusion of all other alleged deities. Archer concluded: “By no means, then, does our Lord imply here that we are sons of God just as He is—except for a lower level of holiness and virtue. No misunderstanding could be more wrongheaded than that” (1982, p. 374).

So Jesus was not attempting to dodge His critics or deny their charge. The entire context has Jesus asserting His deity, and He immediately reaffirms it by referring to Himself as the One “whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world” (vs. 36). Jesus spotlighted yet another manifestation of the Jews’ hypocrisy, bias, and ulterior agenda—their failure to recognize and accept the Messiah. Even if they were sincere, they were wrong in their thinking; but in truth they were doubly wrong in that they were not even sincere—a fact that Jesus repeatedly spotlighted (cf. Matthew 12:7; 15:3-6).

CONCLUSION

The central doctrine of the New Testament is the deity of Christ. Indeed, with very little exaggeration, one could say that the doctrine appears on nearly every page. This foundational, life-saving doctrine is denied by the majority of the world’s population (e.g., one billion Hindus, one billion skeptics, one billion Muslims, etc.). Since sufficient evidence exists to know that the Bible is of divine origin (e.g., Butt, 2007; “The Inspiration…,” 2001; et al.), one can also know with certainty that Jesus Christ

being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:6-11, emp. added).

Having completed His task to atone for humanity, He has returned to heaven and is seated at the Father’s “right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come” (Ephesians 1:20-21; cf. Hebrews 8:1). No other avenue exists by which human beings can be acceptable to deity (Acts 4:12). Indeed, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). May all people humbly bow before Him.

REFERENCES

Alexander, Joseph A. (1873), The Psalms Translated and Explained (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1975 reprint).

Archer, Gleason L. (1982), An Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Grand Rapids: Zondervan).

Barclay, William (1956), The Gospel of John (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press), second edition.

Barnes, Albert (1949), Notes on the New Testament: Luke and John (Grand Rapids: Baker).

Butler, Paul (1961), The Gospel of John (Joplin, MO: College Press).

Butt, Kyle (2007), Behold! The Word of God (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press).

Clarke, Adam (no date), Clarke’s Commentary: Genesis-Deuteronomy (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury).

Erdman, Charles (1922), The Gospel of John (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster).

Fishbane, Michael (1985), Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel (Oxford: Clarendon Press).

“The Inspiration of the Bible” (2001), Apologetics Press Introductory Christian Evidences Correspondence Course Lesson 8, http://www.apologeticspress.org/pdfs/courses_pdf/hsc0108.pdf.

Lenski, R.C.H. (1943), The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg).

Leupold, H.C. (1969), Exposition of the Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker).

McGarvey, J.W. (no date), The Fourfold Gospel (Cincinnati, OH: Standard).

Miller, Dave (2007), “Jesus’ Hermeneutical Principles,” Apologetics Press, http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=2307&topic=75.

Miller, Dave (2009), “Christianity is Rational,” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=684.

Morris, Leon (1971), The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).

Pack, Frank (1975), The Gospel According to John (Austin, TX: Sweet).

Robertson, A.T. (1916), The Divinity of Christ (New York: Fleming H. Revell).

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Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:14-19, emp. added).

Since the New Testament expounds no other means by which any person may receive ability to perform miracles, it inevitably follows that no person living on Earth today has miraculous capability. Holy Spirit baptism was unique, exclusive, and limited at the beginning of the church, and no apostles are alive today to impart miraculous ability to anyone.

Some have challenged the exclusivity of the role of the apostles in their unique ability to impart miraculous capability by calling attention to the admonition given by Paul to Timothy: “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership” (1 Timothy 4:14, emp. added). Based on this verse, some insist that the apostles were not the only conduit through which God would/will impart miraculous ability. Does the New Testament clarify this situation?

In 2 Timothy 1:6, Paul plainly declared that the “gift of God” which Timothy possessed was conferred “through the laying on of my hands.” How does one harmonize 1 Timothy 4:14 with 2 Timothy 1:6? Was Timothy’s miraculous ability conferred upon him by Paul, by the eldership, or by both? The grammar of the text provides the answer. In 2 Timothy 1:6, where Paul claimed sole credit for imparting the gift to Timothy, the Holy Spirit employed the Greek preposition dia with the genitive, which means “through” or “by means of ” (Machen, 1923, p. 41; Dana and Mantey, 1927, p. 101). However, in 1 Timothy 4:14, where Paul included the eldership in the action of impartation, he employed a completely different Greek preposition—meta. The root meaning of meta is “in the midst of ” (Dana and Mantey, p. 107). It denotes “the attendant circumstances of something that takes place”—the “accompanying phenomena” (Arndt and Gingrich, 1957, pp. 510-511, emp. added). It means “in association with” or “accompanied by” (Moule, 1959, p. 61; Thayer, 1901, p. 404; cf. Robertson, 1934, p. 611). In other words, Paul—as an apostle—imparted the miraculous gift to Timothy. It came from God through Paul. However, on that occasion, the local eldership of the church was present and participated with Paul in the event, lending their simultaneous support and accompanying commendation. After examining the grammatical data on the matter, Nicoll concluded: “[I]t was the imposition of hands by St. Paul that was the instrument used by God in the communication of the charisma to Timothy” (1900, 4:127; cf. Jamieson, et al., n.d., 2:414; Williams, 1960, p. 956). Consequently, 1 Timothy 4:14 provides no proof that miraculous capability could be received through other means in addition to apostolic imposition of hands and the two clear instances of Holy Spirit baptism.

[NOTE: For a more thorough study of miracles, see “Modern-Day Miracles, Tongue-Speaking, and Holy Spirit Baptism: A Refutation—EXTENDED VERSION”]

REFERENCES

Arndt, William and F.W. Gingrich (1957), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press).

Dana, H.E. and Julius Mantey (1927), A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament (Toronto, Canada: Macmillan).

Jamieson, Robert, A.R. Fausset, and David Brown (no date), A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).

Machen, J. Gresham (1923), New Testament Greek for Beginners (Toronto, Canada: Macmillan).

Miller, Dave (2003), “Modern-Day Miracles, Tongue-Speaking, and Holy Spirit Baptism: A Refutation—EXTENDED VERSION,” /apcontent.aspx?category=11&article=1399.

Moule, C.F.D. (1959), An Idiom-Book of New Testament Greek (Cambridge: University Press, 1977 reprint).

Nicoll, W. Robertson, ed. (1900), The Expositor’s Greek Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

Robertson, A.T. (1934), A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press).

Thayer, J.H. (1901), Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1977 reprint).

Williams, George (1960), The Student’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel), sixth edition.

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