Simon Magus told to Repent of His Attempt to Buy the Power of God: Acts 8:9-22
Simon Magus was told to repent of his attempt to buy the Holy Spirit. We should also repent of our modern forms of claiming we can possess God for our own use or profit.
Tag Archive: Holy Spirit
THE VOICE OF GOD (GOD SPEAKING TO US) OUTLINE
This is the index to a series of posts on the voice, words and Word of God, the centrality of God’s voice to everything, and the argument that God both still speaks and still speaks to us, Links will be filled into the outline as future posts are written.
Truths of the Earliest Christianity that Mutated Leading to Formation of Later Divisions
This is an outline of the first part of my attempt to link early errors of organized Christianity to the state of the modern world–specifically, in this part, by explaining some of the foundations of the earliest Christianity from which later errors diverged. Links will be added as future posts are written.
A God who Speaks, Adoption, Background Information, Church History, Islamic History and Secular History Interaction, Complex unity, Eternity Present, Free will, God Speaks to Us, God was never our enemy, God's Existence and Nature, God's purpose for us, God's sovereignty, His Children, His Friends, Historical Background, In the Church, Index, Meaning of Unity, Other Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Peril of Seeking Numbers, Peril of Seeking Power, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Prophecy, Purpose of the Church, Reconciliation, Regeneration, Restoration of God's Image, Salvation, Show us the Way of Truth, Sin, Sins versus sin, The Invisible God's Self-Existence, The universal Church and local churches, Through others, Through the church, To be his ambassadors, To be in his image, Topic Index, Trinity, What is God's Word, What is sin?
“Heresies” as a “work” of the flesh in Galatians 5
In Galatians 5:17-23, “heresies” are one of the works of the flesh–something we do, not something we believe. These works are opposed by the fruit of the Spirit.
God Provides for Our Needs through Our Unity
God’s pattern shown in the Early Church was to provide for the needs of its members through its unity. In unity, we regard ourselves and everything we own as God’s, and give unselfishly to the needs of others, as he directs us. This gives the world a picture of God himself.
Unity and Answers to Prayer
Jesus’ promises of answered prayer are directly tied to our unity. Answered prayer does not depend on our goodness or qualifications. The prayers God has promised to answer are those made under his authority, in love, for the good of the whole Church.
“Greater Works than These” was a Promise to the Apostles Together and Victory is Promised to the Church Together
The promises of victory, of spiritual gifts, and of works greater than those Jesus did, were not made to us individually, but as members of a functioning Body. They are given for the express purpose of building us up together, in unity, and so revealing Christ to the world. They only function properly in that context.
A God who Speaks, Church purpose versus church growth, God Acts by Speaking, God Speaks to Us, In the Church, Meaning of Unity, Other Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Our Oneness in Christ book revision, Prophecy, Purpose of the Church, Restoration of God's Image, The universal Church and local churches, Through the church, To be his ambassadors, To live in unity, Victory
About Racism
The ultimate solution to our national racisms lies in the Church, in who we are in Christ. We are not called to uncritically support the current social order, no matter how unjust. We are called to show how social divisions are overcome by the Holy Spirit among us.
An abuse of God's image, Christianity and Social Evils, Church purpose versus church growth, Complex unity, Compulsory Christianity, Divisions in the Church, Emotions, God's sovereignty, Human Rationality, Injustice and Lawsuits, Peril of Seeking Power, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Racism, Rejecting God, Replacing Relationship with Morality, Restoration of God's Image, Show us the Way of Truth, Social control and statecraft, The Bible, Through the church, To be his ambassadors, To be in his image, To live in unity, Uncategorized, What is sin?
We Are Called to Live Out the Truth of Our Oneness
We are called to live out the unity of the Body of Christ. The Body is already one, but we have a role in making that oneness effective in the world.
Humans “Male and Female” and Marriage as Pictures of God’s Unity in Diversity
The creation of humans as male and female, marriage and reproduction are all a part of the image of God in human beings, and are all an intelligible picture of God’s unity in diversity. They also point to our unity iwith each other and God n the Church.