Why am I unworthy until I become worthy in Christ? Are we all born into this world without worth, being counted as nothing just because we exist? I remember the first day my child was born, she was worth something to me. Should I reconsider this view of her, should I?
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Your Word for Today
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iLOVE
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Before we could see Him, before we knew Him, before we realizes that it was He we could call on, He was reaching out for us; He was there all the time!
Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from Him. Psalm 127:3
iLOVE
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Your Word for Today
"But we Preach Christ Crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness: But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles), Christ the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God (I Cor. 1:23-24).
The story of the Bible is the story of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. Every Sacrifice in the Bible points toward that coming event. The entirety of the Tabernacle and Temple, with all of its furnishings, ceremonies, and rituals, all and without exception, point to Christ in either His Atoning, Mediatorial, or Intercessory Work. In fact, the entirety of the Law pointed to Christ in some manner.
That’s why Paul said, “We preach Christ Crucified.”
He didn’t merely say, “We preach Christ,” but rather “We preach Christ Crucified.”
Many presently are preaching Christ, but, within itself, that is not enough.
Why isn’t it enough?
The Virgin Birth of Christ was an absolute necessity; however, had it stopped there, not one single soul would have been redeemed. The Perfect Life of Christ was an absolute necessity, but had it stopped there, not one single soul would have been redeemed. The healings and miracles were an absolute necessity, but had it stopped there, not one soul would have been redeemed.
Jesus had to go to the Cross. The Cross was ever His goal. Some 750 years before the fact, Christ said, “I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them who plucked off the hair: I hid not My face from shame and spitting.
“For the Lord GOD will help Me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed” (Isa. 50:6-7). His Face was set like flint for the Cross, meaning that He would not be deterred. The preaching of Christ Crucified is the Doctrine of the Atonement. It is the very heart of the Gospel. Remove that and there is no Gospel, but merely the ramblings of demented minds.
Why is Christ Crucified a stumbling block to the Jews?
The Jews knew that anyone who was hung on a tree for committing a dastardly crime was cursed by God (Deut. 21:22-23). Jesus was hung on a Cross. So in the mind of the Jews, He was cursed by God. Consequently, He could not be the Messiah, or so they thought. For how could one who was cursed by God be the Messiah?
Christ was, however, not cursed by God, but rather was made a curse, which is altogether different (Gal. 3:13). He had to be “made a curse” because He had committed no crime or sin of any nature — ever! The reason His death had to be on the Cross is because He had to pay for the very worst sins that could ever be imagined; He therefore had to die even as the worst sinner would die, but not because of any sin that He Himself had committed, because, as stated, He never committed any.
In effect, He actually became a “Sin Offering.” But all of this was a stumbling block to the Jews.
Regarding the Greeks, i.e., “Gentiles,” the idea of a naked man hanging on a wooden gibbet, thereby redeeming the entirety of mankind, was, in their thinking, “foolishness.” Those problems remain even unto this hour! But in spite of all that, if “Christ Crucified” is faithfully preached, whether to Jew or Gentile, to those who accept Christ, He becomes “the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God.”
No other Message will bring about these twin attributes. We must “preach Christ Crucified,” i.e., “Christ Crucified” must be the underlying foundation of all that we believe and preach.”’
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
"But we Preach Christ Crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness: But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles), Christ the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God (I Cor. 1:23-24).
The story of the Bible is the story of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. Every Sacrifice in the Bible points toward that coming event. The entirety of the Tabernacle and Temple, with all of its furnishings, ceremonies, and rituals, all and without exception, point to Christ in either His Atoning, Mediatorial, or Intercessory Work. In fact, the entirety of the Law pointed to Christ in some manner.
That’s why Paul said, “We preach Christ Crucified.”
He didn’t merely say, “We preach Christ,” but rather “We preach Christ Crucified.”
Many presently are preaching Christ, but, within itself, that is not enough.
Why isn’t it enough?
The Virgin Birth of Christ was an absolute necessity; however, had it stopped there, not one single soul would have been redeemed. The Perfect Life of Christ was an absolute necessity, but had it stopped there, not one single soul would have been redeemed. The healings and miracles were an absolute necessity, but had it stopped there, not one soul would have been redeemed.
Jesus had to go to the Cross. The Cross was ever His goal. Some 750 years before the fact, Christ said, “I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them who plucked off the hair: I hid not My face from shame and spitting.
“For the Lord GOD will help Me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed” (Isa. 50:6-7). His Face was set like flint for the Cross, meaning that He would not be deterred. The preaching of Christ Crucified is the Doctrine of the Atonement. It is the very heart of the Gospel. Remove that and there is no Gospel, but merely the ramblings of demented minds.
Why is Christ Crucified a stumbling block to the Jews?
The Jews knew that anyone who was hung on a tree for committing a dastardly crime was cursed by God (Deut. 21:22-23). Jesus was hung on a Cross. So in the mind of the Jews, He was cursed by God. Consequently, He could not be the Messiah, or so they thought. For how could one who was cursed by God be the Messiah?
Christ was, however, not cursed by God, but rather was made a curse, which is altogether different (Gal. 3:13). He had to be “made a curse” because He had committed no crime or sin of any nature — ever! The reason His death had to be on the Cross is because He had to pay for the very worst sins that could ever be imagined; He therefore had to die even as the worst sinner would die, but not because of any sin that He Himself had committed, because, as stated, He never committed any.
In effect, He actually became a “Sin Offering.” But all of this was a stumbling block to the Jews.
Regarding the Greeks, i.e., “Gentiles,” the idea of a naked man hanging on a wooden gibbet, thereby redeeming the entirety of mankind, was, in their thinking, “foolishness.” Those problems remain even unto this hour! But in spite of all that, if “Christ Crucified” is faithfully preached, whether to Jew or Gentile, to those who accept Christ, He becomes “the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God.”
No other Message will bring about these twin attributes. We must “preach Christ Crucified,” i.e., “Christ Crucified” must be the underlying foundation of all that we believe and preach.”’
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
"And I, Brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the Testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified (I Cor. 2:1-2).
Concerning Paul’s statement, Williams says, “As today, so in Paul’s day, people demanded that the Gospel should be preached in ‘terms of modern thought’ embellished with scholastic learning, convincing logic, forensic reasoning and cultured eloquence. The Apostle refused, declared such culture to be the wisdom of this world, and said that preaching according to the Divine Wisdom was preaching in the Power of the Holy Spirit, and that that was the only power which effected the moral result of the new birth.”
So the theme of the preaching of the Apostle, which also should be our theme — which must be our theme — was the Divine Person and atoning Work of the great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I think Paul definitely could have been labeled an “intellectual.” He was one of the most educated men used by the Holy Spirit in the writing of the Scriptures. However, he purposely never used any of that particular learning, rather concentrating on one aspect, which from him we learn is the very heart of the Gospel — “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.”
Changed lives are to be the end result of the Gospel. That refers to the entire gamut of society, even to the worst cases of bondage. Every single person in history who has ever been changed for the good, that change has been effected by the Lord Jesus Christ, and only by the Lord Jesus Christ. Millions down through the ages can declare that testimony.
But Paul proclaims here that that which makes the work of Regeneration, the work of change brought about in the hearts and lives of individuals, is the Cross of Christ. As we keep saying, and even as Paul proclaims here, Christ and His Cross must never be separated. By that we speak of the benefits of what He did.
As we have stated many times:
Jesus Christ is the Source, and the Cross is the means, by which all these things are done.
The word “determined” lends credence to the idea that Paul was tempted to go in other directions; however, the Holy Spirit insisted that if the purpose of the Gospel is to be realized, then the theme must always be “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.” That, and that alone, is the answer for hurting, dying, sin-benighted humanity. There is no other solution for man’s dilemma, even as there needs be no other solution."
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
"And I, Brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the Testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified (I Cor. 2:1-2).
Concerning Paul’s statement, Williams says, “As today, so in Paul’s day, people demanded that the Gospel should be preached in ‘terms of modern thought’ embellished with scholastic learning, convincing logic, forensic reasoning and cultured eloquence. The Apostle refused, declared such culture to be the wisdom of this world, and said that preaching according to the Divine Wisdom was preaching in the Power of the Holy Spirit, and that that was the only power which effected the moral result of the new birth.”
So the theme of the preaching of the Apostle, which also should be our theme — which must be our theme — was the Divine Person and atoning Work of the great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
I think Paul definitely could have been labeled an “intellectual.” He was one of the most educated men used by the Holy Spirit in the writing of the Scriptures. However, he purposely never used any of that particular learning, rather concentrating on one aspect, which from him we learn is the very heart of the Gospel — “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.”
Changed lives are to be the end result of the Gospel. That refers to the entire gamut of society, even to the worst cases of bondage. Every single person in history who has ever been changed for the good, that change has been effected by the Lord Jesus Christ, and only by the Lord Jesus Christ. Millions down through the ages can declare that testimony.
But Paul proclaims here that that which makes the work of Regeneration, the work of change brought about in the hearts and lives of individuals, is the Cross of Christ. As we keep saying, and even as Paul proclaims here, Christ and His Cross must never be separated. By that we speak of the benefits of what He did.
As we have stated many times:
Jesus Christ is the Source, and the Cross is the means, by which all these things are done.
The word “determined” lends credence to the idea that Paul was tempted to go in other directions; however, the Holy Spirit insisted that if the purpose of the Gospel is to be realized, then the theme must always be “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.” That, and that alone, is the answer for hurting, dying, sin-benighted humanity. There is no other solution for man’s dilemma, even as there needs be no other solution."
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
"But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (I Cor. 2:14).
The true Christian life is unintelligible to human wisdom, just as God’s Mind and Ways are beyond natural wisdom.
The Scripture declares that all unsaved individuals are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). And “dead” is “dead”! This means that the unconverted individual is totally depraved, has no true knowledge of God, has no true understanding of God, has no true understanding of the things of God, etc. The unconverted man is dead to God in every respect.
That’s why it is foolishness to appeal to the lost by the means of intellectualism. No matter how much one tries to explain something to a dead person, such explanation obviously is lost. How can a dead person understand anything concerning that to which he or she is dead?
For a person to be saved, the Word of God must be ministered in some way to such a heart and life. It may be in the form of preaching, or the words which are Scriptural in a song brought to the heart of the person, or even a Scripture learned as a child brought to the heart of the individual. The point I am making is that, in some way, the Word of God must be tendered toward the lost soul, that is, if the individual is to be saved.
While the unredeemed person doesn’t understand the Word, and cannot understand the Word, still, the Word forms a basis on which the Holy Spirit works, without which He will not work. As the Word in some way goes forth, and as the Holy Spirit quickens it to the heart, the person is brought under conviction, and the one thing they do then know is that they are lost. In other words, they are convicted of their lost condition.
There is a pull generated then by the Holy Spirit to bring that person to an acceptance of Christ, Who Alone can meet and change the condition of the heart. If such a person then believes in their heart on Christ, that person is then Born-Again — instantly Born-Again, we might quickly add.
So, understanding the condition of the lost soul and how the Holy Spirit works, Preachers should realize that if they fail to preach Jesus Christ and Him Crucified, if they fail to make that the foundation of the presented Gospel, there will be no spiritual results.
The Word is clear. The Message is clear. There is no reason that Preachers of the Gospel should take any other tack than that laid down by the Apostle Paul. “Excellency of speech or of wisdom” will serve little purpose. The Message must be “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.”'
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
"But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (I Cor. 2:14).
The true Christian life is unintelligible to human wisdom, just as God’s Mind and Ways are beyond natural wisdom.
The Scripture declares that all unsaved individuals are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). And “dead” is “dead”! This means that the unconverted individual is totally depraved, has no true knowledge of God, has no true understanding of God, has no true understanding of the things of God, etc. The unconverted man is dead to God in every respect.
That’s why it is foolishness to appeal to the lost by the means of intellectualism. No matter how much one tries to explain something to a dead person, such explanation obviously is lost. How can a dead person understand anything concerning that to which he or she is dead?
For a person to be saved, the Word of God must be ministered in some way to such a heart and life. It may be in the form of preaching, or the words which are Scriptural in a song brought to the heart of the person, or even a Scripture learned as a child brought to the heart of the individual. The point I am making is that, in some way, the Word of God must be tendered toward the lost soul, that is, if the individual is to be saved.
While the unredeemed person doesn’t understand the Word, and cannot understand the Word, still, the Word forms a basis on which the Holy Spirit works, without which He will not work. As the Word in some way goes forth, and as the Holy Spirit quickens it to the heart, the person is brought under conviction, and the one thing they do then know is that they are lost. In other words, they are convicted of their lost condition.
There is a pull generated then by the Holy Spirit to bring that person to an acceptance of Christ, Who Alone can meet and change the condition of the heart. If such a person then believes in their heart on Christ, that person is then Born-Again — instantly Born-Again, we might quickly add.
So, understanding the condition of the lost soul and how the Holy Spirit works, Preachers should realize that if they fail to preach Jesus Christ and Him Crucified, if they fail to make that the foundation of the presented Gospel, there will be no spiritual results.
The Word is clear. The Message is clear. There is no reason that Preachers of the Gospel should take any other tack than that laid down by the Apostle Paul. “Excellency of speech or of wisdom” will serve little purpose. The Message must be “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.”'
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
"Know ye not that you are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (I Cor. 3:16).
It is the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, Who has always carried out the Work of God on Earth. In fact, the Word of God begins by telling us that “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2). As someone has well said, “The Moving of the Spirit is the beginning of life, and without a Moving of the Spirit, there is no life.”
Regarding the Godhead, the only thing the Spirit of God didn’t do on this Earth was the great Redemption process of Christ in coming to this world and dying on a Cross. But yet, the Holy Spirit most definitely superintended that great Work, the greatest Work of the ages, from beginning to end. The Holy Spirit even told Jesus when He could die.
Paul wrote, “How much more shall the Blood of Christ, Who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God?” (Heb. 9:14).
It is the Holy Spirit Who makes Christianity different than any religion in the world. Nothing can compare with Bible Christianity.
Once I asked a Muslim why my Telecast was not allowed to air in Muslim countries, adding that Muslims could be on Radio or Television all over the United States if they wanted to be. He passed it off as just being their law, etc. But the real reason is that Islam cannot compete with Bible Christianity, and neither can any other religion.
Tragically, however, much of modern Christianity is corrupt, which means there is no Moving or Operation of the Holy Spirit. As such, the Church becomes ineffective. For the Church to be effective, for our lives to be effective, there must be a Moving and Operation of the Holy Spirit in the Church. This is absolutely indispensable!
When the Tabernacle was constructed, almost immediately after the Law was given by God, the Lord took up residence in the Tabernacle, actually residing between the Mercy Seat and the Cherubim (Num. 7:8-9; I Sam. 4:4). When Christ came, the Holy Spirit dwelt in Christ to a degree unknown by others (Lk. 3:22; 4:18-19; Ps. 45:7).
But the advent of the Cross, which atoned for all sin, satisfied the sin debt owed by all people. So now, upon confession of Faith in Christ, i.e., trusting in what He did for us at the Cross, the Holy Spirit comes into the heart and life of the Believer to abide permanently, as Paul records here.
Jesus actually had said, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (‘parakletos,’ which means ‘one called to the side of another to help’), that He may abide with you forever (before the Cross, the Holy Spirit could only help a few individuals, and then only for a period of time; since the Cross, He lives in the hearts and lives of all Believers, and does so forever);
“Even the Spirit of Truth (the Greek says, ‘The Spirit of The Truth,’ which refers to the Word of God; actually He does far more than merely superintend the attribute of Truth, as Christ ‘is Truth’ [I Jn. 5:6]); Whom the world cannot receive (the Holy Spirit cannot come into the heart of the unbeliever until that person makes Christ his or her Saviour; then He comes in), because it sees Him not, neither knows Him (refers to the fact that only Born-Again Believers can understand the Holy Spirit and know Him): but you know Him (would have been better translated, ‘but you shall get to know Him’); for He dwells with you (before the Cross), and shall be in you” (which would take place on the Day of Pentecost and thereafter, because the sin debt has been forever paid by Christ on the Cross, changing the disposition of everything) (Jn. 14:16-17).
However, it’s not finished yet!
The ultimate desire, that, in fact, which will be the ultimate conclusion, is when God changes His Headquarters from planet Heaven to planet Earth, which the last two Chapters of Revelation proclaim. Then everything will be as it ought to be.
John said, “And I heard a great Voice out of Heaven saying (according to the best manuscripts, the Voice now heard was heard “out of the Throne”), Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God (finally proclaims that which God intended from the beginning).
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes (actually says “every teardrop” in the Greek, referring to tears of sorrow); and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain (addresses sin and all its results): for the former things are passed away” (refers to the entire effect of the Fall) (Rev. 21:3-4)."
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
"Know ye not that you are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (I Cor. 3:16).
It is the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, Who has always carried out the Work of God on Earth. In fact, the Word of God begins by telling us that “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2). As someone has well said, “The Moving of the Spirit is the beginning of life, and without a Moving of the Spirit, there is no life.”
Regarding the Godhead, the only thing the Spirit of God didn’t do on this Earth was the great Redemption process of Christ in coming to this world and dying on a Cross. But yet, the Holy Spirit most definitely superintended that great Work, the greatest Work of the ages, from beginning to end. The Holy Spirit even told Jesus when He could die.
Paul wrote, “How much more shall the Blood of Christ, Who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God?” (Heb. 9:14).
It is the Holy Spirit Who makes Christianity different than any religion in the world. Nothing can compare with Bible Christianity.
Once I asked a Muslim why my Telecast was not allowed to air in Muslim countries, adding that Muslims could be on Radio or Television all over the United States if they wanted to be. He passed it off as just being their law, etc. But the real reason is that Islam cannot compete with Bible Christianity, and neither can any other religion.
Tragically, however, much of modern Christianity is corrupt, which means there is no Moving or Operation of the Holy Spirit. As such, the Church becomes ineffective. For the Church to be effective, for our lives to be effective, there must be a Moving and Operation of the Holy Spirit in the Church. This is absolutely indispensable!
When the Tabernacle was constructed, almost immediately after the Law was given by God, the Lord took up residence in the Tabernacle, actually residing between the Mercy Seat and the Cherubim (Num. 7:8-9; I Sam. 4:4). When Christ came, the Holy Spirit dwelt in Christ to a degree unknown by others (Lk. 3:22; 4:18-19; Ps. 45:7).
But the advent of the Cross, which atoned for all sin, satisfied the sin debt owed by all people. So now, upon confession of Faith in Christ, i.e., trusting in what He did for us at the Cross, the Holy Spirit comes into the heart and life of the Believer to abide permanently, as Paul records here.
Jesus actually had said, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (‘parakletos,’ which means ‘one called to the side of another to help’), that He may abide with you forever (before the Cross, the Holy Spirit could only help a few individuals, and then only for a period of time; since the Cross, He lives in the hearts and lives of all Believers, and does so forever);
“Even the Spirit of Truth (the Greek says, ‘The Spirit of The Truth,’ which refers to the Word of God; actually He does far more than merely superintend the attribute of Truth, as Christ ‘is Truth’ [I Jn. 5:6]); Whom the world cannot receive (the Holy Spirit cannot come into the heart of the unbeliever until that person makes Christ his or her Saviour; then He comes in), because it sees Him not, neither knows Him (refers to the fact that only Born-Again Believers can understand the Holy Spirit and know Him): but you know Him (would have been better translated, ‘but you shall get to know Him’); for He dwells with you (before the Cross), and shall be in you” (which would take place on the Day of Pentecost and thereafter, because the sin debt has been forever paid by Christ on the Cross, changing the disposition of everything) (Jn. 14:16-17).
However, it’s not finished yet!
The ultimate desire, that, in fact, which will be the ultimate conclusion, is when God changes His Headquarters from planet Heaven to planet Earth, which the last two Chapters of Revelation proclaim. Then everything will be as it ought to be.
John said, “And I heard a great Voice out of Heaven saying (according to the best manuscripts, the Voice now heard was heard “out of the Throne”), Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God (finally proclaims that which God intended from the beginning).
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes (actually says “every teardrop” in the Greek, referring to tears of sorrow); and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain (addresses sin and all its results): for the former things are passed away” (refers to the entire effect of the Fall) (Rev. 21:3-4)."
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
"For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread: And when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is My Body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in My Blood: this do ye, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of Me (I Cor. 11:23-25).
In brief, this which Paul here gives us is a description of the New Covenant. It is what we refer to as “The Lord’s Supper.”
Within itself, it has no Salvation, as should be obvious; however, that which it represents, the Atoning Work of Christ carried out on the Cross, when coupled with Faith properly registered in Christ, definitely does bring Salvation (Rom. 10:8-9, 13).
There are many who claim that Salvation is in the Resurrection, etc. That is decidedly incorrect. Of course, the Resurrection is of immense significance, but the emphasis must always be placed on the Cross. Every part of the Lord’s Supper directs one to the Cross, and the Cross alone!
The “Body” of Christ, which was prepared especially for Him, was done so for one purpose. The Scripture says, “Wherefore when He (the Lord Jesus Christ) comes into the world (presents Christ coming as the Saviour, Who undertakes in Grace to meet every claim the Throne of God has against penitent sinners), He said (Ps. 40:6), Sacrifice and Offering You would not (refers to the fact that He would pay for sin, but not with animal sacrifices), but a Body have You prepared Me” (God became Man with the full intention that His Perfect Physical Body was to be offered up in Sacrifice on the Cross, which it was; the Cross was ever His destination) (Heb. 10:5).
The “cup” represented His shed Blood, testifying to the fact that the “New Testament” (New Covenant) is in the giving of His Life, which spoke of His shed Blood. His Blood was pure, untainted, unsullied, unspoiled by sin in any way, for He never sinned. Satan had no claim on Him whatsoever; therefore, when He went to the Cross, He did so with a Perfect Body, and He gave that Perfect Body in Sacrifice, and did so by the pouring out of His Blood, which poured out His Life.
Both cases, the broken bread, which symbolized His broken Body, and the shed Blood, which symbolized His poured out Life, are ever to be held in remembrance. That’s the reason that Paul said, “We preach Christ Crucified” (I Cor. 1:23). The Lord’s Supper is a symbolism of the New Covenant, meant to represent that Finished Work, which means that every time we partake of the “Supper,” it is once again to make afresh the great price paid by the Lord Jesus for our Salvation.
The Lord’s Supper, in other words, proclaims the fact that the Cross is the centerpiece, the very foundation, of Salvation."
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
"For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread: And when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is My Body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in My Blood: this do ye, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of Me (I Cor. 11:23-25).
In brief, this which Paul here gives us is a description of the New Covenant. It is what we refer to as “The Lord’s Supper.”
Within itself, it has no Salvation, as should be obvious; however, that which it represents, the Atoning Work of Christ carried out on the Cross, when coupled with Faith properly registered in Christ, definitely does bring Salvation (Rom. 10:8-9, 13).
There are many who claim that Salvation is in the Resurrection, etc. That is decidedly incorrect. Of course, the Resurrection is of immense significance, but the emphasis must always be placed on the Cross. Every part of the Lord’s Supper directs one to the Cross, and the Cross alone!
The “Body” of Christ, which was prepared especially for Him, was done so for one purpose. The Scripture says, “Wherefore when He (the Lord Jesus Christ) comes into the world (presents Christ coming as the Saviour, Who undertakes in Grace to meet every claim the Throne of God has against penitent sinners), He said (Ps. 40:6), Sacrifice and Offering You would not (refers to the fact that He would pay for sin, but not with animal sacrifices), but a Body have You prepared Me” (God became Man with the full intention that His Perfect Physical Body was to be offered up in Sacrifice on the Cross, which it was; the Cross was ever His destination) (Heb. 10:5).
The “cup” represented His shed Blood, testifying to the fact that the “New Testament” (New Covenant) is in the giving of His Life, which spoke of His shed Blood. His Blood was pure, untainted, unsullied, unspoiled by sin in any way, for He never sinned. Satan had no claim on Him whatsoever; therefore, when He went to the Cross, He did so with a Perfect Body, and He gave that Perfect Body in Sacrifice, and did so by the pouring out of His Blood, which poured out His Life.
Both cases, the broken bread, which symbolized His broken Body, and the shed Blood, which symbolized His poured out Life, are ever to be held in remembrance. That’s the reason that Paul said, “We preach Christ Crucified” (I Cor. 1:23). The Lord’s Supper is a symbolism of the New Covenant, meant to represent that Finished Work, which means that every time we partake of the “Supper,” it is once again to make afresh the great price paid by the Lord Jesus for our Salvation.
The Lord’s Supper, in other words, proclaims the fact that the Cross is the centerpiece, the very foundation, of Salvation."
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
"For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do show the Lord’s death till He come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s Body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (I Cor. 11:26-30).
The above Scriptures are of immense significance to every Believer, and should be minutely understood. In fact, not properly understanding them causes many Christians to be sick, even “many” to die prematurely. They don’t lose their soul, but their lives are cut short, which is extremely detrimental, not only to families, but also to the Work of God.
So what is the Holy Spirit through Paul saying here?
1. First of all, even though we aren’t told how often we should partake of the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Spirit does say, “As often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup,” specifying something significant. What is so significant is that we understand that the Lord’s Supper is meant to portray “the Lord’s death till He come.” This refers not only to the fact of His Death, but also to the manner in which He died. We are ever to keep the Cross before us.
2. It is possible, and said so by the Holy Spirit, to eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord, “unworthily.” When that happens, we become “guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord.”
What does that mean?
The Lord does not demand sinless perfection for one to partake of the “Supper.” However, He does demand that our Faith be exclusively in Christ and the Cross, as evidenced in Verse 26. If we make anything else the object of our faith, we are eating and drinking unworthily, and the results will not be good. This is, in fact, the reason that so many Christians are sick, even the reason why many Christians die prematurely.
Understanding that, I’m sure we see how important all of this actually is.
3. Before taking the “Supper,” every Believer should “examine himself” as to whether his faith is properly placed in Christ and the Cross.
The idea is this:
If anyone has it in their mind that belonging to a certain Church or Denomination denotes some type of spirituality, then their faith is not properly placed in Christ and the Cross. If one believes that Salvation comes in any manner except by simple Faith in Christ and the Cross, then that person is “guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord.” That person had best not partake of the “Supper.”
4. If a Believer eats and drinks unworthily, which means their faith is placed in something other than Christ and the Cross, such a Believer is actually “eating and drinking damnation to himself,” because he is “not discerning the Lord’s Body.”
We “discern the Lord’s Body” by understanding what the broken bread means and what the cup means. They refer, respectively, to His broken Body and His shed Blood, which both refer to the Cross.
There will be millions of Christians this Sunday morning who will take the Lord’s Supper, whose faith is not properly placed in Christ and the Cross, but something else altogether. If they are true Believers, such action will cause many to be sick, and even to die prematurely. These misfortunes may be ascribed to something else, but if the truth be known, they occurred because of “not discerning the Lord’s Body.”
Simple Faith in Christ and what He did at the Cross addresses this perfectly and stops the sickness and the premature death.
It’s obvious we should realize how important all of this actually is."
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
"For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do show the Lord’s death till He come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s Body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (I Cor. 11:26-30).
The above Scriptures are of immense significance to every Believer, and should be minutely understood. In fact, not properly understanding them causes many Christians to be sick, even “many” to die prematurely. They don’t lose their soul, but their lives are cut short, which is extremely detrimental, not only to families, but also to the Work of God.
So what is the Holy Spirit through Paul saying here?
1. First of all, even though we aren’t told how often we should partake of the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Spirit does say, “As often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup,” specifying something significant. What is so significant is that we understand that the Lord’s Supper is meant to portray “the Lord’s death till He come.” This refers not only to the fact of His Death, but also to the manner in which He died. We are ever to keep the Cross before us.
2. It is possible, and said so by the Holy Spirit, to eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord, “unworthily.” When that happens, we become “guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord.”
What does that mean?
The Lord does not demand sinless perfection for one to partake of the “Supper.” However, He does demand that our Faith be exclusively in Christ and the Cross, as evidenced in Verse 26. If we make anything else the object of our faith, we are eating and drinking unworthily, and the results will not be good. This is, in fact, the reason that so many Christians are sick, even the reason why many Christians die prematurely.
Understanding that, I’m sure we see how important all of this actually is.
3. Before taking the “Supper,” every Believer should “examine himself” as to whether his faith is properly placed in Christ and the Cross.
The idea is this:
If anyone has it in their mind that belonging to a certain Church or Denomination denotes some type of spirituality, then their faith is not properly placed in Christ and the Cross. If one believes that Salvation comes in any manner except by simple Faith in Christ and the Cross, then that person is “guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord.” That person had best not partake of the “Supper.”
4. If a Believer eats and drinks unworthily, which means their faith is placed in something other than Christ and the Cross, such a Believer is actually “eating and drinking damnation to himself,” because he is “not discerning the Lord’s Body.”
We “discern the Lord’s Body” by understanding what the broken bread means and what the cup means. They refer, respectively, to His broken Body and His shed Blood, which both refer to the Cross.
There will be millions of Christians this Sunday morning who will take the Lord’s Supper, whose faith is not properly placed in Christ and the Cross, but something else altogether. If they are true Believers, such action will cause many to be sick, and even to die prematurely. These misfortunes may be ascribed to something else, but if the truth be known, they occurred because of “not discerning the Lord’s Body.”
Simple Faith in Christ and what He did at the Cross addresses this perfectly and stops the sickness and the premature death.
It’s obvious we should realize how important all of this actually is."
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
"Now concerning Spiritual Gifts, Brethren, I would not have you ignorant (I Cor. 12:1).
There are nine Gifts of the Spirit listed here by the Apostle Paul. For one or more of these Gifts to be resident in the heart and life of the Believer, one must be baptized with the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking with other Tongues (Acts 2:4). All Believers who are Spirit-filled should “covet earnestly the best Gifts” (I Cor. 12:31). This speaks of that which the Holy Spirit wants a particular Believer to have.
Every Spirit-filled Believer probably has one or more Gifts of the Spirit, but needs instructions to know how those Gifts are developed.
In brief, the following, hopefully, will present some understanding of the Gifts.
1. “The Word of Wisdom”: This pertains to people, places, and things, as they relate to the future. The Holy Spirit will not give total information concerning the subject, but rather only a “word.”
2. “The Word of Knowledge”: This concerns people, places, and things, as they regard the present or the past. Once again, total knowledge will not be given, but rather just a “word.”
3. “Faith”: This could be translated “Faithfulness.” This Gift probably works in tandem with any of the other Gifts, because faith is required regarding anything done for the Lord.
Several of the Gifts work in tandem, meaning if a person has one, he probably also has the other.
4. “Gifts of Healings”: While any Believer can, and should, pray for the sick in the Name of Jesus, there are those who have this special Gift, and who obviously will see more people healed.
5. “The Working of Miracles”: This Gift constitutes a suspension of natural laws in some manner or way.
6. “Prophecy”: This Gift is not so much in the realm of foretelling as it is in forthtelling. It is mostly for “edification, exhortation, and comfort” (I Cor. 14:3).
7. “Discerning of spirits”: This is not the gift of discernment, as some think, but rather the discerning of spirits, which pertain to evils spirits, even Angels, and, at times, even human spirits. The person with such a Gift understands more readily the type of spirit in operation and its purpose. Oftentimes, this Gift works in tandem with the “Word of Knowledge” and even “Gifts of Healings.”
8. “Kinds of Tongues”: This does not pertain to one’s prayer language of worship, but rather to utterances given in a public assembly, which are meant for interpretation. (Tongues, which every Spirit-baptized person has, and which are used for prayer and worship, do not fall into this category. In other words, no interpretation is required.)
9. “Interpretation of Tongues”: At times, the person with the Gift of Tongues, referring to this Gift of the Spirit, will also have the Gift of “Interpretation of Tongues.” But at other times, one person will exercise the Gift of Tongues and another person will exercise the Gift of “Interpretation of Tongues.”
In every Church, there should be some Believers who have these Gifts, and their operation (done in order, of course) should be encouraged."
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
"Now concerning Spiritual Gifts, Brethren, I would not have you ignorant (I Cor. 12:1).
There are nine Gifts of the Spirit listed here by the Apostle Paul. For one or more of these Gifts to be resident in the heart and life of the Believer, one must be baptized with the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking with other Tongues (Acts 2:4). All Believers who are Spirit-filled should “covet earnestly the best Gifts” (I Cor. 12:31). This speaks of that which the Holy Spirit wants a particular Believer to have.
Every Spirit-filled Believer probably has one or more Gifts of the Spirit, but needs instructions to know how those Gifts are developed.
In brief, the following, hopefully, will present some understanding of the Gifts.
1. “The Word of Wisdom”: This pertains to people, places, and things, as they relate to the future. The Holy Spirit will not give total information concerning the subject, but rather only a “word.”
2. “The Word of Knowledge”: This concerns people, places, and things, as they regard the present or the past. Once again, total knowledge will not be given, but rather just a “word.”
3. “Faith”: This could be translated “Faithfulness.” This Gift probably works in tandem with any of the other Gifts, because faith is required regarding anything done for the Lord.
Several of the Gifts work in tandem, meaning if a person has one, he probably also has the other.
4. “Gifts of Healings”: While any Believer can, and should, pray for the sick in the Name of Jesus, there are those who have this special Gift, and who obviously will see more people healed.
5. “The Working of Miracles”: This Gift constitutes a suspension of natural laws in some manner or way.
6. “Prophecy”: This Gift is not so much in the realm of foretelling as it is in forthtelling. It is mostly for “edification, exhortation, and comfort” (I Cor. 14:3).
7. “Discerning of spirits”: This is not the gift of discernment, as some think, but rather the discerning of spirits, which pertain to evils spirits, even Angels, and, at times, even human spirits. The person with such a Gift understands more readily the type of spirit in operation and its purpose. Oftentimes, this Gift works in tandem with the “Word of Knowledge” and even “Gifts of Healings.”
8. “Kinds of Tongues”: This does not pertain to one’s prayer language of worship, but rather to utterances given in a public assembly, which are meant for interpretation. (Tongues, which every Spirit-baptized person has, and which are used for prayer and worship, do not fall into this category. In other words, no interpretation is required.)
9. “Interpretation of Tongues”: At times, the person with the Gift of Tongues, referring to this Gift of the Spirit, will also have the Gift of “Interpretation of Tongues.” But at other times, one person will exercise the Gift of Tongues and another person will exercise the Gift of “Interpretation of Tongues.”
In every Church, there should be some Believers who have these Gifts, and their operation (done in order, of course) should be encouraged."
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of Angels, and have not charity (love), I am become as a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbol (I Cor. 13:1).
In the Twelfth Chapter of I Corinthians, the Gifts of the Spirit are listed, while in the Fourteenth Chapter of I Corinthians, the three vocal Gifts of Prophecy, Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues are regulated, so to speak. Between these two Chapters is the Chapter on love, exactly where Holy Spirit wanted it to be placed.
Paul is not demeaning tongues here, as some claim, but is merely stating the fact that irrespective of how many Gifts one might have, or however one is used by the Lord in other ways, still, love must be present, or else the other things will ultimately be invalidated.
Incidentally, the word “charity,” as used here, should have been translated “love,” because the Greek word “agape” used here means “love,” i.e., “the God-kind of love.”
One cannot develop love in one’s heart by the means of the flesh. It has to be developed by the Holy Spirit. Love is actually one of the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).
Due to the fact that the Holy Spirit works exclusively in the heart and life of the Believer by and through the parameters of the Finished Work of Christ (Rom. 8:2), such demands that the Believer also have his Faith exclusively in Christ and the Cross. The very epitome of the Cross is “love.”
“For God so loved the world, that He gave . . .” (Jn. 3:16).
There is no greater expression of love than the Cross of Christ.
So, when the Believer has his Faith anchored solely in Christ and the Cross, then the Holy Spirit can begin to work within such a heart and life, developing this Fruit, which is the only way it can be done. Unfortunately, many Believers read this Thirteenth Chapter of I Corinthians and conclude that they “need more love.” While that is certainly true of all of us, for one to set about to try to bring it to pass within one’s own machinations, such cannot be.
The Believer doesn’t have to fret himself about this wonderful ingredient of love, or any of the Fruit of the Spirit, for that matter, providing the Believer has his faith properly placed. Properly placed, such faith will guarantee the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart and life of such a person, and these things will automatically be developed.
Believers must learn that anything pertaining to the Lord can never be developed by the flesh, i.e., “our own ability, strength, and power.” Anything and everything which pertains to the Lord can only be developed by the Holy Spirit, including “love.”'
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of Angels, and have not charity (love), I am become as a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbol (I Cor. 13:1).
In the Twelfth Chapter of I Corinthians, the Gifts of the Spirit are listed, while in the Fourteenth Chapter of I Corinthians, the three vocal Gifts of Prophecy, Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues are regulated, so to speak. Between these two Chapters is the Chapter on love, exactly where Holy Spirit wanted it to be placed.
Paul is not demeaning tongues here, as some claim, but is merely stating the fact that irrespective of how many Gifts one might have, or however one is used by the Lord in other ways, still, love must be present, or else the other things will ultimately be invalidated.
Incidentally, the word “charity,” as used here, should have been translated “love,” because the Greek word “agape” used here means “love,” i.e., “the God-kind of love.”
One cannot develop love in one’s heart by the means of the flesh. It has to be developed by the Holy Spirit. Love is actually one of the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).
Due to the fact that the Holy Spirit works exclusively in the heart and life of the Believer by and through the parameters of the Finished Work of Christ (Rom. 8:2), such demands that the Believer also have his Faith exclusively in Christ and the Cross. The very epitome of the Cross is “love.”
“For God so loved the world, that He gave . . .” (Jn. 3:16).
There is no greater expression of love than the Cross of Christ.
So, when the Believer has his Faith anchored solely in Christ and the Cross, then the Holy Spirit can begin to work within such a heart and life, developing this Fruit, which is the only way it can be done. Unfortunately, many Believers read this Thirteenth Chapter of I Corinthians and conclude that they “need more love.” While that is certainly true of all of us, for one to set about to try to bring it to pass within one’s own machinations, such cannot be.
The Believer doesn’t have to fret himself about this wonderful ingredient of love, or any of the Fruit of the Spirit, for that matter, providing the Believer has his faith properly placed. Properly placed, such faith will guarantee the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart and life of such a person, and these things will automatically be developed.
Believers must learn that anything pertaining to the Lord can never be developed by the flesh, i.e., “our own ability, strength, and power.” Anything and everything which pertains to the Lord can only be developed by the Holy Spirit, including “love.”'
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
"I thank my God, I speak with Tongues more than you all (I Cor. 14:18).
In this Chapter, the Holy Spirit through Paul regulates, of a sort, the vocal Gifts of Prophecy, Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues; the greatest degree of instruction is given regarding the Gift of Tongues.
Let us say first that it is the Gift of Tongues, i.e., one of the nine Gifts of the Spirit, and which is meant to be interpreted, which is mostly addressed. Tongues as a prayer language and as an instrument of worship, which every Spirit-filled Believer has and should use constantly, are not the topic of discussion here, except only in passing.
So what is the Apostle saying regarding the Gift of Tongues?
1. When it is time to give truth to the public, it would do no good to get up and speak in tongues, for no one would know what you were talking about. When it’s time for the Word to be preached, Paul says, “Five words with my understanding” is of more value than “ten thousand words in an unknown Tongue,” which no one can understand (I Cor. 14:6-11, 19).
2. Those to whom the Lord has blessed with “Spiritual Gifts” should “seek that you may excel to the edifying of the Church” (I Cor. 14:12). These Gifts are not for personal edification, but rather for the edifying of the entirety of the Body of Christ; consequently, this should ever be kept in view, meaning an individual should never stand out or show out, but seek to be used to bless the entirety of the congregation.
When an utterance in tongues is properly given in the Church, and it is interpreted, the Holy Spirit will always use such to “edify, exhort, and comfort” the entirety of the congregation.
Many times I have personally been strengthened and blessed by an utterance in Tongues, as the interpretation came forth! And so have millions!
3. If Lord has given a person the “Gift of Tongues,” that person should pray that the Lord will also give him the Gift of “Interpretation of Tongues.” And if the Lord spelled it out as He did in this fashion, it should be obvious that this is a prayer that He definitely will answer, that is, if the person is sincere before the Lord, and seeks to edify the entirety of the Body of Christ instead of edifying only himself.
4. Paul tells us that it is proper to pray in Tongues along with praying in our regular language. The same can be said for singing (I Cor. 14:15). Some have claimed that their praying in the Spirit should also be interpreted. I see nothing in the Scriptures which validates such a conclusion. Paul certainly does not give credence to such here. Furthermore, if one attempts to interpret one’s own tongue while praying in private, there is no place for such to be judged; therefore, checks and balances provided by the Holy Spirit cannot be put into play (I Cor. 14:29).
5. In the company of unbelievers, if one is asked to pray, it would not be wise, for all the obvious reasons, to pray in Tongues (I Cor. 14:16-17).
6. Paul said, “I thank my God I speak with Tongues more than you all,” which proves that he was not ridiculing tongues, but, by the Holy Spirit, was regulating them. The Apostle also was not speaking of his linguistic abilities, but rather of the subject at hand (I Cor. 14:18).
7. The Apostle quotes the Prophet Isaiah, demonstrating that Tongues did not break upon the Church unannounced. Tongues had been predicted approximately 750 years earlier (I Cor. 14:21; Isa. 28:11).
8. We are told that “Tongues are for a sign, not to them who believe, but to them who believe not” (I Cor. 14:22).
What did Paul mean by that?
He is saying that these Gifts breaking forth upon the world, especially in the latter days, serve as a sign to an unbelieving world that time has about run out. In other words, the Church Age is about to end, and the great Prophecies of Daniel and John are about to be fulfilled.
9. Paul regulates the number of Messages or utterances which are to be given and meant to be interpreted. There should be no more than two or three, “and that by course,” meaning at the proper time.
If the person doing the speaking doesn’t have the Gift of Interpretation of Tongues, and there is no other Interpreter in the service, then the individual should “keep silent” (I Cor. 14:27-28).
10. The Holy Spirit through the Apostle says that no Believer should claim that he had to speak out in Church, and that he had no choice, thereby interrupting what the Lord was doing, as many have done.
The reason?
“The spirits of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets,” which means that the Holy Spirit will never override a person’s spirit to force him to do something.
So, if someone claims they had to do such, it means they were operating in the flesh, and not according to the Holy Spirit. Plainly and clearly, the Apostle says, “God is not the Author of confusion” (I Cor. 14:32-33).
The Holy Spirit will never interrupt Himself. If He is anointing the Preacher to preach, He will not, at the same time, anoint someone to blurt out a message in Tongues, thereby interrupting what He is anointing someone else to do. As Stated, the Lord doesn't cause confusion.
Many people sense the Presence of God as the Spirit of God is moving; because of that, they think they have to give an utterance in tongues.
But let us say it again:
The Holy Spirit also will never interrupt Himself. The Holy Spirit also will never override the spirit of the individual, forcing that person to do anything. The holy Spirit doesn't work that way.
If a person makes a mistake, honestly believing they should have given a messagein tongues and didn't, they should not be discouraged, for the holy Spirit will provide another opportunity.
11. in 1 Corinthians 14:34, the Holy Spirit through Paul is not saying that it's wrong for a woman to say something in Church,or to give an utterance in tongues, as some have claimed, etc. The following is actually what Paul is addressing.
In those days, when people gathered together for Church, wherever it was, the men sat on one side, and the women sat on the other. At times, women were calling out to their husbands across the way, asking what certain things meant. As one can easily imagine, this was causing confusion and disorder. The Apostle is merely saying, "If they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home."
The Holy Spirit through the Prophet Joel, and quoted by Simon Peter, plainly stated, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall Prophesy in those days of My Spirit; and they shall Prophesy" (Acts 2:17-19). This includes women.
12. The Holy Spirit through Paul is here regulating the vocal Gifts. He is quick to say, when closing this section, "Forbid not to speak with Tongues" (1Cor. 14:39). His final word then is, "Let all things be done decently and in order," which is what this Chapter is all about (1 Cor. 14:40).
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
"I thank my God, I speak with Tongues more than you all (I Cor. 14:18).
In this Chapter, the Holy Spirit through Paul regulates, of a sort, the vocal Gifts of Prophecy, Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues; the greatest degree of instruction is given regarding the Gift of Tongues.
Let us say first that it is the Gift of Tongues, i.e., one of the nine Gifts of the Spirit, and which is meant to be interpreted, which is mostly addressed. Tongues as a prayer language and as an instrument of worship, which every Spirit-filled Believer has and should use constantly, are not the topic of discussion here, except only in passing.
So what is the Apostle saying regarding the Gift of Tongues?
1. When it is time to give truth to the public, it would do no good to get up and speak in tongues, for no one would know what you were talking about. When it’s time for the Word to be preached, Paul says, “Five words with my understanding” is of more value than “ten thousand words in an unknown Tongue,” which no one can understand (I Cor. 14:6-11, 19).
2. Those to whom the Lord has blessed with “Spiritual Gifts” should “seek that you may excel to the edifying of the Church” (I Cor. 14:12). These Gifts are not for personal edification, but rather for the edifying of the entirety of the Body of Christ; consequently, this should ever be kept in view, meaning an individual should never stand out or show out, but seek to be used to bless the entirety of the congregation.
When an utterance in tongues is properly given in the Church, and it is interpreted, the Holy Spirit will always use such to “edify, exhort, and comfort” the entirety of the congregation.
Many times I have personally been strengthened and blessed by an utterance in Tongues, as the interpretation came forth! And so have millions!
3. If Lord has given a person the “Gift of Tongues,” that person should pray that the Lord will also give him the Gift of “Interpretation of Tongues.” And if the Lord spelled it out as He did in this fashion, it should be obvious that this is a prayer that He definitely will answer, that is, if the person is sincere before the Lord, and seeks to edify the entirety of the Body of Christ instead of edifying only himself.
4. Paul tells us that it is proper to pray in Tongues along with praying in our regular language. The same can be said for singing (I Cor. 14:15). Some have claimed that their praying in the Spirit should also be interpreted. I see nothing in the Scriptures which validates such a conclusion. Paul certainly does not give credence to such here. Furthermore, if one attempts to interpret one’s own tongue while praying in private, there is no place for such to be judged; therefore, checks and balances provided by the Holy Spirit cannot be put into play (I Cor. 14:29).
5. In the company of unbelievers, if one is asked to pray, it would not be wise, for all the obvious reasons, to pray in Tongues (I Cor. 14:16-17).
6. Paul said, “I thank my God I speak with Tongues more than you all,” which proves that he was not ridiculing tongues, but, by the Holy Spirit, was regulating them. The Apostle also was not speaking of his linguistic abilities, but rather of the subject at hand (I Cor. 14:18).
7. The Apostle quotes the Prophet Isaiah, demonstrating that Tongues did not break upon the Church unannounced. Tongues had been predicted approximately 750 years earlier (I Cor. 14:21; Isa. 28:11).
8. We are told that “Tongues are for a sign, not to them who believe, but to them who believe not” (I Cor. 14:22).
What did Paul mean by that?
He is saying that these Gifts breaking forth upon the world, especially in the latter days, serve as a sign to an unbelieving world that time has about run out. In other words, the Church Age is about to end, and the great Prophecies of Daniel and John are about to be fulfilled.
9. Paul regulates the number of Messages or utterances which are to be given and meant to be interpreted. There should be no more than two or three, “and that by course,” meaning at the proper time.
If the person doing the speaking doesn’t have the Gift of Interpretation of Tongues, and there is no other Interpreter in the service, then the individual should “keep silent” (I Cor. 14:27-28).
10. The Holy Spirit through the Apostle says that no Believer should claim that he had to speak out in Church, and that he had no choice, thereby interrupting what the Lord was doing, as many have done.
The reason?
“The spirits of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets,” which means that the Holy Spirit will never override a person’s spirit to force him to do something.
So, if someone claims they had to do such, it means they were operating in the flesh, and not according to the Holy Spirit. Plainly and clearly, the Apostle says, “God is not the Author of confusion” (I Cor. 14:32-33).
The Holy Spirit will never interrupt Himself. If He is anointing the Preacher to preach, He will not, at the same time, anoint someone to blurt out a message in Tongues, thereby interrupting what He is anointing someone else to do. As Stated, the Lord doesn't cause confusion.
Many people sense the Presence of God as the Spirit of God is moving; because of that, they think they have to give an utterance in tongues.
But let us say it again:
The Holy Spirit also will never interrupt Himself. The Holy Spirit also will never override the spirit of the individual, forcing that person to do anything. The holy Spirit doesn't work that way.
If a person makes a mistake, honestly believing they should have given a messagein tongues and didn't, they should not be discouraged, for the holy Spirit will provide another opportunity.
11. in 1 Corinthians 14:34, the Holy Spirit through Paul is not saying that it's wrong for a woman to say something in Church,or to give an utterance in tongues, as some have claimed, etc. The following is actually what Paul is addressing.
In those days, when people gathered together for Church, wherever it was, the men sat on one side, and the women sat on the other. At times, women were calling out to their husbands across the way, asking what certain things meant. As one can easily imagine, this was causing confusion and disorder. The Apostle is merely saying, "If they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home."
The Holy Spirit through the Prophet Joel, and quoted by Simon Peter, plainly stated, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall Prophesy in those days of My Spirit; and they shall Prophesy" (Acts 2:17-19). This includes women.
12. The Holy Spirit through Paul is here regulating the vocal Gifts. He is quick to say, when closing this section, "Forbid not to speak with Tongues" (1Cor. 14:39). His final word then is, "Let all things be done decently and in order," which is what this Chapter is all about (1 Cor. 14:40).
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
"Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on in corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality (I Cor. 15:51-53).
In this Fifteenth Chapter of I Corinthians, the Apostle proclaims in detail the certitude of the Resurrection.
The question may be asked, “What is the Gospel?” The answer is found in Verses 3 and 4 of this Fifteenth Chapter of I Corinthians. It is the Atonement and the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. These Doctrines are the two great foundation stones of the Gospel. If either of them be denied, then the Gospel ceases to exist. For if Christ did not die as an atoning Sacrifice for sins, then sin has never been put away, nor God’s eternal claims satisfied, and there is consequently no deliverance from its power and doom. And if the Resurrection be denied, then Christ failed to accomplish what He purposed to perform, for He came to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself as a Sin Offering (Heb. 9:26).
These two great foundation Doctrines are based upon the Scriptures of the Old Testament; those writings being from God, their Testimony silenced all discussion and controversy. The Apostle proclaims the fact that the Scriptures and more than 500 human witnesses established the Resurrection. But he subordinates human testimony to the witness of the Bible. The latter was conclusive because it was Divinely inspired.
Much modern religious teaching reverses this order. It puts human testimony first and Bible testimony second, if at all, and for two reasons — to gratify man’s high opinion of himself and to belittle God’s Word.
For the benefit of the Bible student, the “Rapture” and the “Resurrection” are one and the same. They are just two names for the same glorious act. In I Thessalonians 4:1318, the Holy Spirit through Paul states the fact or certitude of the Rapture or Resurrection. In I Corinthians, Chapter 15, he gives details as it regards this coming momentous event. The former states that it will happen; the latter states how it will happen.
Incidentally, I Thessalonians is probably the first Epistle written by Paul. It was probably written in A.D. 54. I Corinthians was written approximately five years later, in A.D. 59.
First of all, the Apostle proclaims the fact that if Christ did not actually rise from the dead, then “preaching and faith” are vain, i.e., “useless.” And if Christ did not actually rise from the dead, then there is no such thing as sins being washed and cleansed. In other words, all are still in their sins. Further, if Christ did not rise from the dead, then every Believer who trusted Him and has died has “perished.”
However, the great Apostle then dogmatically says, “But now is Christ risen from the dead.” Christ having risen from the dead guarantees the Resurrection of all Saints (I Cor. 15:20). Some were belittling this great Doctrine, asking “How are the dead raised up? With what body do they come?”
The human body, after death, quickly goes back to dust. So the detractors, with sarcasm, were ridiculing the Doctrine of the Resurrection. Paul quickly answered by saying, “You fool . . . God gives it a body as it has pleased Him, and to every seed his own body” (I Cor. 15:35-36, 38).
This latter phrase tells us that the colors will remain the same in the Resurrection: black, white, red, yellow, and brown. The Glorified Body will also come in the male and female varieties. However, babies, although retaining their gender, will not remain babies, but, at some point in time, whether instantly or gradually, will develop into full maturity — “God gives it a body” (I Cor. 15:38).
At the Resurrection, the glory of some Saints will be greater than others because of their consecration and work for the Lord (I Cor. 15:41-42). And the Glorified Body will have no sin nature; considering other things, it will be impossible to sin (I Cor. 15: 53-54).
The coming Resurrection, or Rapture, will be one of the most cataclysmic events the world has ever known. It most certainly will take place, and it’s going to happen very soon."
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
"Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on in corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality (I Cor. 15:51-53).
In this Fifteenth Chapter of I Corinthians, the Apostle proclaims in detail the certitude of the Resurrection.
The question may be asked, “What is the Gospel?” The answer is found in Verses 3 and 4 of this Fifteenth Chapter of I Corinthians. It is the Atonement and the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. These Doctrines are the two great foundation stones of the Gospel. If either of them be denied, then the Gospel ceases to exist. For if Christ did not die as an atoning Sacrifice for sins, then sin has never been put away, nor God’s eternal claims satisfied, and there is consequently no deliverance from its power and doom. And if the Resurrection be denied, then Christ failed to accomplish what He purposed to perform, for He came to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself as a Sin Offering (Heb. 9:26).
These two great foundation Doctrines are based upon the Scriptures of the Old Testament; those writings being from God, their Testimony silenced all discussion and controversy. The Apostle proclaims the fact that the Scriptures and more than 500 human witnesses established the Resurrection. But he subordinates human testimony to the witness of the Bible. The latter was conclusive because it was Divinely inspired.
Much modern religious teaching reverses this order. It puts human testimony first and Bible testimony second, if at all, and for two reasons — to gratify man’s high opinion of himself and to belittle God’s Word.
For the benefit of the Bible student, the “Rapture” and the “Resurrection” are one and the same. They are just two names for the same glorious act. In I Thessalonians 4:1318, the Holy Spirit through Paul states the fact or certitude of the Rapture or Resurrection. In I Corinthians, Chapter 15, he gives details as it regards this coming momentous event. The former states that it will happen; the latter states how it will happen.
Incidentally, I Thessalonians is probably the first Epistle written by Paul. It was probably written in A.D. 54. I Corinthians was written approximately five years later, in A.D. 59.
First of all, the Apostle proclaims the fact that if Christ did not actually rise from the dead, then “preaching and faith” are vain, i.e., “useless.” And if Christ did not actually rise from the dead, then there is no such thing as sins being washed and cleansed. In other words, all are still in their sins. Further, if Christ did not rise from the dead, then every Believer who trusted Him and has died has “perished.”
However, the great Apostle then dogmatically says, “But now is Christ risen from the dead.” Christ having risen from the dead guarantees the Resurrection of all Saints (I Cor. 15:20). Some were belittling this great Doctrine, asking “How are the dead raised up? With what body do they come?”
The human body, after death, quickly goes back to dust. So the detractors, with sarcasm, were ridiculing the Doctrine of the Resurrection. Paul quickly answered by saying, “You fool . . . God gives it a body as it has pleased Him, and to every seed his own body” (I Cor. 15:35-36, 38).
This latter phrase tells us that the colors will remain the same in the Resurrection: black, white, red, yellow, and brown. The Glorified Body will also come in the male and female varieties. However, babies, although retaining their gender, will not remain babies, but, at some point in time, whether instantly or gradually, will develop into full maturity — “God gives it a body” (I Cor. 15:38).
At the Resurrection, the glory of some Saints will be greater than others because of their consecration and work for the Lord (I Cor. 15:41-42). And the Glorified Body will have no sin nature; considering other things, it will be impossible to sin (I Cor. 15: 53-54).
The coming Resurrection, or Rapture, will be one of the most cataclysmic events the world has ever known. It most certainly will take place, and it’s going to happen very soon."
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
"For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad (II Cor. 5:10).
The Apostle is speaking here to Believers. All Believers must appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, where our work — but not our sins, for they were eternally abolished at Calvary — will be tested; if found incorruptible, with “gold, silver, and precious stones” serving as examples (I Cor. 3:12), it will be declared “good,” but, if found to be corruptible, with “wood, hay, and stubble” serving as examples, it will be declared “worthless.”
The “work” or “works” of every single Believer who has ever lived will be judged first of all by the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose Judgment is Perfect, as would be understood. He will judge not only the action of our works, but also our motives, which are, in fact, the most important. For every individual, rewards will be given or withheld according to the perfect judgment of Christ.
More than anything else, however, Judgment by the Saviour is going to be based on the foundation of the Gospel, of which Paul was the Master builder, appointed such by the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 3:10-15). That “foundation” is the Cross of Christ, which was actually formulated in the Mind of God before the foundation of the world (I Pet. 1:18-20).
So if anything is built on that foundation of the Cross, it must be compatible with the Cross or else it’s unacceptable. On this basis, the greatest degree of judgment will be rendered — the standard of Faith regarding the Cross of Christ."
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
"For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad (II Cor. 5:10).
The Apostle is speaking here to Believers. All Believers must appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, where our work — but not our sins, for they were eternally abolished at Calvary — will be tested; if found incorruptible, with “gold, silver, and precious stones” serving as examples (I Cor. 3:12), it will be declared “good,” but, if found to be corruptible, with “wood, hay, and stubble” serving as examples, it will be declared “worthless.”
The “work” or “works” of every single Believer who has ever lived will be judged first of all by the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose Judgment is Perfect, as would be understood. He will judge not only the action of our works, but also our motives, which are, in fact, the most important. For every individual, rewards will be given or withheld according to the perfect judgment of Christ.
More than anything else, however, Judgment by the Saviour is going to be based on the foundation of the Gospel, of which Paul was the Master builder, appointed such by the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 3:10-15). That “foundation” is the Cross of Christ, which was actually formulated in the Mind of God before the foundation of the world (I Pet. 1:18-20).
So if anything is built on that foundation of the Cross, it must be compatible with the Cross or else it’s unacceptable. On this basis, the greatest degree of judgment will be rendered — the standard of Faith regarding the Cross of Christ."
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
“Moreover, Brethren, we do you to witness of the Grace of God bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy in their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the Saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the Will of God (II Cor. 8:1-5).
In Chapters Eight and Nine of II Corinthians, the Apostle Paul gives the greatest dissertation on giving found anywhere in the Word of God. Ironically, the Holy Spirit chose the poorest Churches to serve as examples — the Churches in Macedonia.
Some years before, because of some type of insurrection, the Roman army had gone through this area and denuded it, which greatly impoverished the area and the people. Of course, God’s People also were greatly affected in an adverse way. The Apostle Paul likened their situation to “deep poverty,” which means they were doing the best they could to keep the proverbial body and soul together.
The Apostle was taking up an offering among all the Churches, including the Churches of Macedonia, in order to help the Christian Jews in Jerusalem, who were being greatly persecuted for their stand for Christ. Thousands had lost their jobs, because they were excommunicated from the Synagogue immediately upon their acceptance of Christ, which meant they lost everything. The Apostle, therefore, receives an offering to hopefully alleviate somewhat the situation.
He had thought that possibly the people of the Churches of Macedonia could give a small amount, but, due to their “deep poverty,” they would not be able to do very much. But they gave far more than he could ever think of expecting, so much so that he didn’t even want to receive it. But they insisted that he do so.
That which prompted them to conduct themselves as they did was that they “first gave their own selves to the Lord”; then they gave themselves to “Paul by the Will of God.” In other words, they believed what the Apostle said about the need in Jerusalem, and they determined to do what they could, even beyond what it was believed they could do.
So the Holy Spirit uses these Churches, the poorest possibly in the Roman Empire of that day, to serve as an example. If they could do what they did, well then others could do even much more.
“But this I say, he who sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (II Cor. 9:6).
I believe Paul had in mind the Churches of Macedonia when he wrote this Verse. Every evidence is that the Lord saw to it that the people in the Churches in Macedonia who had sowed bountifully now would reap bountifully. How the Lord did it, the Apostle didn’t say.
Paul said we should give to “prove the sincerity of our love” (II Cor. 8:8). If we say we love the Lord, we will give to support His Work. It’s just that simple! The opportunity and privilege of giving to the Work of the Lord is a privilege indeed! Truly, one cannot out-give God. Every true Christian will give liberally to the Work of the Lord.
In the entire two Chapters of this dissertation, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle did not mention tithing one single time.
Why not?
These two Chapters present the idea that the Believer not be hidebound by ten percent. The Bible definitely teaches that ten percent should serve as a base or foundation of our giving; still, the Holy Spirit wants us to know that everything we Believers have, which, incidentally, has been given to us by the Lord, belongs, in turn, to the Lord. We are to be at His beck and call! The Lord may want some to give ten percent, and He may want far more than that from others. And He no doubt does!
So if tithing had been addressed, many Christians would have missed the whole point of the dissertation. We are to be led by the Holy Spirit in our giving, and the Holy Spirit will never lead us wrong.
I like what one of my Evangelist friends said. Some Christians had remarked to him that the Lord had never spoken to them about anything. He replied, “Just ask the Lord what He wants you to give to His Work. You’ll find out that He’ll speak to you instantly.” My friend is right!
If we truly love the Lord, we are going to be very generous with our giving to Him, always realizing that the Lord is the One Who has sent every Blessing that has come our way. We are not our own, we have been bought with a price.
In closing, it is imperative that we know where our money goes and what it does. It’s not enough to just give. Believers are to be good stewards, understanding that what we give will turn into souls. Sadly, most giving to what purports to be the Work of the Lord is anything but. Too much of it goes to line the Preacher’s pockets, or else is wasted on frivolous projects that have nothing to do with the true Work of God.
The Believer should not only ask the Lord how much to give, but also to whom it should be given! Both are equally important!
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
“Moreover, Brethren, we do you to witness of the Grace of God bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy in their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the Saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the Will of God (II Cor. 8:1-5).
In Chapters Eight and Nine of II Corinthians, the Apostle Paul gives the greatest dissertation on giving found anywhere in the Word of God. Ironically, the Holy Spirit chose the poorest Churches to serve as examples — the Churches in Macedonia.
Some years before, because of some type of insurrection, the Roman army had gone through this area and denuded it, which greatly impoverished the area and the people. Of course, God’s People also were greatly affected in an adverse way. The Apostle Paul likened their situation to “deep poverty,” which means they were doing the best they could to keep the proverbial body and soul together.
The Apostle was taking up an offering among all the Churches, including the Churches of Macedonia, in order to help the Christian Jews in Jerusalem, who were being greatly persecuted for their stand for Christ. Thousands had lost their jobs, because they were excommunicated from the Synagogue immediately upon their acceptance of Christ, which meant they lost everything. The Apostle, therefore, receives an offering to hopefully alleviate somewhat the situation.
He had thought that possibly the people of the Churches of Macedonia could give a small amount, but, due to their “deep poverty,” they would not be able to do very much. But they gave far more than he could ever think of expecting, so much so that he didn’t even want to receive it. But they insisted that he do so.
That which prompted them to conduct themselves as they did was that they “first gave their own selves to the Lord”; then they gave themselves to “Paul by the Will of God.” In other words, they believed what the Apostle said about the need in Jerusalem, and they determined to do what they could, even beyond what it was believed they could do.
So the Holy Spirit uses these Churches, the poorest possibly in the Roman Empire of that day, to serve as an example. If they could do what they did, well then others could do even much more.
“But this I say, he who sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (II Cor. 9:6).
I believe Paul had in mind the Churches of Macedonia when he wrote this Verse. Every evidence is that the Lord saw to it that the people in the Churches in Macedonia who had sowed bountifully now would reap bountifully. How the Lord did it, the Apostle didn’t say.
Paul said we should give to “prove the sincerity of our love” (II Cor. 8:8). If we say we love the Lord, we will give to support His Work. It’s just that simple! The opportunity and privilege of giving to the Work of the Lord is a privilege indeed! Truly, one cannot out-give God. Every true Christian will give liberally to the Work of the Lord.
In the entire two Chapters of this dissertation, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle did not mention tithing one single time.
Why not?
These two Chapters present the idea that the Believer not be hidebound by ten percent. The Bible definitely teaches that ten percent should serve as a base or foundation of our giving; still, the Holy Spirit wants us to know that everything we Believers have, which, incidentally, has been given to us by the Lord, belongs, in turn, to the Lord. We are to be at His beck and call! The Lord may want some to give ten percent, and He may want far more than that from others. And He no doubt does!
So if tithing had been addressed, many Christians would have missed the whole point of the dissertation. We are to be led by the Holy Spirit in our giving, and the Holy Spirit will never lead us wrong.
I like what one of my Evangelist friends said. Some Christians had remarked to him that the Lord had never spoken to them about anything. He replied, “Just ask the Lord what He wants you to give to His Work. You’ll find out that He’ll speak to you instantly.” My friend is right!
If we truly love the Lord, we are going to be very generous with our giving to Him, always realizing that the Lord is the One Who has sent every Blessing that has come our way. We are not our own, we have been bought with a price.
In closing, it is imperative that we know where our money goes and what it does. It’s not enough to just give. Believers are to be good stewards, understanding that what we give will turn into souls. Sadly, most giving to what purports to be the Work of the Lord is anything but. Too much of it goes to line the Preacher’s pockets, or else is wasted on frivolous projects that have nothing to do with the true Work of God.
The Believer should not only ask the Lord how much to give, but also to whom it should be given! Both are equally important!
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the Knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience to Christ (II Cor. 10:3-5).
Paul deals here with spiritual warfare, which every Believer must engage more or less.
In the last few years, I have observed all type of ridiculous proposals regarding “spiritual warfare.” Without enumerating them, every last one was of the flesh and, therefore, useless as it regards the situation.
I remember, some years ago, watching a particular Preacher over Television, whom the Lord definitely was using; however, he knew absolutely nothing about the Cross and precious little about the Holy Spirit, at least as it regards spiritual warfare.
Without going into any detail, his claim to victory was being militant against the Devil, which meant screaming at him and conjuring up all type of physical contortions.
Observing that situation, I remember telling one of my associates that our dear brother was in for some hard days. Tragically and regrettably, that’s exactly what happened. He lost his family, his Ministry, perhaps for many reasons, but the major reason was that he was trying to live this life, even as the majority of the modern Church, in all the wrong ways.
What are the “weapons of our warfare”?
First of all, Paul says they aren’t “carnal,” which means they aren’t anything we think up; irrespective as to how religious it might be, the Lord judges such as being “carnal,” which means unacceptable. This takes in the “family curse” theme, “generational curses,” “Purpose Driven Life” doctrine, “Government of Twelve” teaching, “the confession principle,” “Denominationalism,” etc. All of these things are “carnal,” meaning that they were conjured up out of people’s minds, or were generated by “angels of light” (II Cor. 11:13-15).
The weapons of our warfare are Faith in Christ and what He did for us at the Cross, and that exclusively. Of course, that includes the Word of God, which proclaims the Cross as the means by which the Holy Spirit carries out His Work (Rom. 6:1-14; 8:1-2, 11). Once our faith is properly placed in the Finished Work of Christ, the Holy Spirit, Who Alone can carry forth this conflict to total victory, will then work mightily on our behalf. All that is required of us is Faith, but Faith in the proper Object, which must be ever the Cross of Christ (I Cor. 1:17-18; 2:2).
This which I have just stipulated is “mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds,” which is God’s Way. To be sure, the Evil One will try to erect spiritual strongholds of evil in our lives, designed to destroy us, and he succeeds with many Christians. But if we function according to the Word of God, total victory will be ours.“
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the Knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience to Christ (II Cor. 10:3-5).
Paul deals here with spiritual warfare, which every Believer must engage more or less.
In the last few years, I have observed all type of ridiculous proposals regarding “spiritual warfare.” Without enumerating them, every last one was of the flesh and, therefore, useless as it regards the situation.
I remember, some years ago, watching a particular Preacher over Television, whom the Lord definitely was using; however, he knew absolutely nothing about the Cross and precious little about the Holy Spirit, at least as it regards spiritual warfare.
Without going into any detail, his claim to victory was being militant against the Devil, which meant screaming at him and conjuring up all type of physical contortions.
Observing that situation, I remember telling one of my associates that our dear brother was in for some hard days. Tragically and regrettably, that’s exactly what happened. He lost his family, his Ministry, perhaps for many reasons, but the major reason was that he was trying to live this life, even as the majority of the modern Church, in all the wrong ways.
What are the “weapons of our warfare”?
First of all, Paul says they aren’t “carnal,” which means they aren’t anything we think up; irrespective as to how religious it might be, the Lord judges such as being “carnal,” which means unacceptable. This takes in the “family curse” theme, “generational curses,” “Purpose Driven Life” doctrine, “Government of Twelve” teaching, “the confession principle,” “Denominationalism,” etc. All of these things are “carnal,” meaning that they were conjured up out of people’s minds, or were generated by “angels of light” (II Cor. 11:13-15).
The weapons of our warfare are Faith in Christ and what He did for us at the Cross, and that exclusively. Of course, that includes the Word of God, which proclaims the Cross as the means by which the Holy Spirit carries out His Work (Rom. 6:1-14; 8:1-2, 11). Once our faith is properly placed in the Finished Work of Christ, the Holy Spirit, Who Alone can carry forth this conflict to total victory, will then work mightily on our behalf. All that is required of us is Faith, but Faith in the proper Object, which must be ever the Cross of Christ (I Cor. 1:17-18; 2:2).
This which I have just stipulated is “mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds,” which is God’s Way. To be sure, the Evil One will try to erect spiritual strongholds of evil in our lives, designed to destroy us, and he succeeds with many Christians. But if we function according to the Word of God, total victory will be ours.“
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him (II Cor. 11:3-4).
The Gospel of Christ, i.e., “the Message of the Cross,” is very simple and easy to understand. In fact, a little child can understand it. It is “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,” and our Faith in that Finished Work. But Satan seeks to pervert the Gospel by introducing his wares, which he always does through the Church. In other words, religious men come up with all types of attractive schemes, which seem right to the carnal mind, but which, in fact, are very wrong. They are wrong because they do not make Christ and the Cross the central theme of their belief system.
The problem in Paul’s day, i.e., the method Satan was using, concerned Jewish Preachers from Jerusalem or Judaea who claimed Christ as the Messiah, but who also claimed that the Gentiles had to also keep the Law of Moses, that is, if they were to be saved (Acts 15:1).
Their gospel would not win souls, as no false gospel will win souls, so they had to parasite off the Churches which Paul had planted. They tried to turn these converts, whether in the Church at Corinth, Ephesus, or Galatia, etc. They wanted to turn them from Grace to Law.
So Paul’s statement is according to the following:
Unless the Message is “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,” then whatever is being preached is, pure and simple, “another Jesus.” It is produced by “another spirit”; the end result is “another gospel,” which will help no one. In fact, it will greatly hurt and hinder, as should be obvious.
Tragically and sadly, most of that which is presently being preached in the Churches in America, in fact, all over the world, is “another Jesus.” I say that simply because I also know that the Cross is little preached. It is alluded to at times regarding Salvation, and there are certainly some who strongly uphold the great Salvation Message that “Jesus died for us.” But most know absolutely nothing about the Cross of Christ as it regards Sanctification. In other words, to tell someone how to live for God, they will propose things which aren’t Scriptural, and which fall out to “another Jesus.”
That’s the reason the Apostle said that we must “examine ourselves, whether we be in the Faith” (II Cor. 13:5).“
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him (II Cor. 11:3-4).
The Gospel of Christ, i.e., “the Message of the Cross,” is very simple and easy to understand. In fact, a little child can understand it. It is “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,” and our Faith in that Finished Work. But Satan seeks to pervert the Gospel by introducing his wares, which he always does through the Church. In other words, religious men come up with all types of attractive schemes, which seem right to the carnal mind, but which, in fact, are very wrong. They are wrong because they do not make Christ and the Cross the central theme of their belief system.
The problem in Paul’s day, i.e., the method Satan was using, concerned Jewish Preachers from Jerusalem or Judaea who claimed Christ as the Messiah, but who also claimed that the Gentiles had to also keep the Law of Moses, that is, if they were to be saved (Acts 15:1).
Their gospel would not win souls, as no false gospel will win souls, so they had to parasite off the Churches which Paul had planted. They tried to turn these converts, whether in the Church at Corinth, Ephesus, or Galatia, etc. They wanted to turn them from Grace to Law.
So Paul’s statement is according to the following:
Unless the Message is “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,” then whatever is being preached is, pure and simple, “another Jesus.” It is produced by “another spirit”; the end result is “another gospel,” which will help no one. In fact, it will greatly hurt and hinder, as should be obvious.
Tragically and sadly, most of that which is presently being preached in the Churches in America, in fact, all over the world, is “another Jesus.” I say that simply because I also know that the Cross is little preached. It is alluded to at times regarding Salvation, and there are certainly some who strongly uphold the great Salvation Message that “Jesus died for us.” But most know absolutely nothing about the Cross of Christ as it regards Sanctification. In other words, to tell someone how to live for God, they will propose things which aren’t Scriptural, and which fall out to “another Jesus.”
That’s the reason the Apostle said that we must “examine ourselves, whether we be in the Faith” (II Cor. 13:5).“
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the Apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works (II Cor. 11:13-15).
In these Passages, Paul warns of false leaders. It may be gathered from the statements given by the Apostle that these false apostles were Hebrews (11:22); that they were of commanding presence and gifted with eloquence (10:10); that they were highly cultivated (10:5); that they had attractive personalities, for they had a large following, it seems, in the Church (11:18); and that they announced an “ethical gospel” (11:15).
As stated, these men preached Christ as the Messiah, but the Cross had no meaning to them. So the gospel they preached was not a true Gospel, and would not affect any type of true Biblical results.
I might hurriedly ask the question, “If that yardstick is applied presently, the yardstick of the Cross, where does that leave the modern Church?”
If Christian Television serves as any type of barometer, most Preachers presently fall into the category of these “false apostles,” as described by Paul.
Satan doesn’t try to deny the Gospel, for, in fact, he can’t! Therefore, he seeks to corrupt it and does so by presenting something else, and it doesn’t really matter too much what the “something else” is. In the corrupting of the Gospel, what he presents sounds so right that the Holy Spirit through Paul referred to Satan as an “angel of light.” That means that what he presents looks genuine, sounds genuine, and, of course, is claimed to be genuine.
But always remember the following:
The yardstick always is “The Cross of Christ.” That, and that alone is the measuring line. If Preachers aren’t preaching the Cross regarding Salvation and Sanctification, which refers to the Scriptural fact that the Cross is to be the foundation of all things, then whatever it is they are preaching is not the Gospel. According to II Corinthians 11:15, this means that such Preachers are “Satan’s ministers.”
Paul is actually saying that every single Believer must investigate thoroughly what is being preached by the Preacher they are following!“
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the Apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works (II Cor. 11:13-15).
In these Passages, Paul warns of false leaders. It may be gathered from the statements given by the Apostle that these false apostles were Hebrews (11:22); that they were of commanding presence and gifted with eloquence (10:10); that they were highly cultivated (10:5); that they had attractive personalities, for they had a large following, it seems, in the Church (11:18); and that they announced an “ethical gospel” (11:15).
As stated, these men preached Christ as the Messiah, but the Cross had no meaning to them. So the gospel they preached was not a true Gospel, and would not affect any type of true Biblical results.
I might hurriedly ask the question, “If that yardstick is applied presently, the yardstick of the Cross, where does that leave the modern Church?”
If Christian Television serves as any type of barometer, most Preachers presently fall into the category of these “false apostles,” as described by Paul.
Satan doesn’t try to deny the Gospel, for, in fact, he can’t! Therefore, he seeks to corrupt it and does so by presenting something else, and it doesn’t really matter too much what the “something else” is. In the corrupting of the Gospel, what he presents sounds so right that the Holy Spirit through Paul referred to Satan as an “angel of light.” That means that what he presents looks genuine, sounds genuine, and, of course, is claimed to be genuine.
But always remember the following:
The yardstick always is “The Cross of Christ.” That, and that alone is the measuring line. If Preachers aren’t preaching the Cross regarding Salvation and Sanctification, which refers to the Scriptural fact that the Cross is to be the foundation of all things, then whatever it is they are preaching is not the Gospel. According to II Corinthians 11:15, this means that such Preachers are “Satan’s ministers.”
Paul is actually saying that every single Believer must investigate thoroughly what is being preached by the Preacher they are following!“
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the Revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And He said unto me, My Grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me (II Cor. 12:7-9).
Most Preachers boast of their strength, but Paul boasted of his weakness.
Paul recognized himself as an earthen vessel; as such, he also realized that nothing could amend the carnal nature, not even the great revelations and visions which had been given to him by the Lord. So, to save him from failure and even falling, he was impaled upon a stake, so to speak.
Whatever that thorn in the flesh was, the Holy Spirit did not see fit to reveal that to us, but what is necessary to learn from this experience is the moral purpose of that thorn in saving the Apostle from destruction. To have all the revelations and visions which Paul had, being given, in effect, the meaning of the New Covenant, actually being appointed by the Lord as the Masterbuilder of the Church, all can minister unto pride, if one is not very careful. Such can easily be a subject of carnal boasting.
We must come, therefore, to the conclusion that whatever the thorn in the flesh was, the Lord knew that Paul needed such, and if Paul needed such, what about us? It must be remembered that this “thorn in the flesh” was given by God, but yet was a “messenger of Satan” sent to buffet Paul, and to do so continually.
“Prevention” and “humiliation” are both Divine instruments. Paul was saved from failing, and possibly even from falling, by prevention; Peter was permitted to fail, thereby, greatly humiliated. There was, however, no difference between Paul and Peter; they were both indwelt, as all Believers are, by a corrupt nature incapable of amendment, at least by human instrumentation.
This is one of the most bitter and humbling lessons for the human heart. It is painful but necessary for the Believer to have an experiential sense of the principle of evil which indwells him, and we speak of the Sin Nature. But a greater power also inhabits the temple of the Believer’s heart and body, and its victorious warfare is a profitable exercise for the heart.
If the Apostle Paul needed so humbling and painful an experience of what the carnal nature is, it is evident that all Christians need it; and it is plain that whatever weakens, belittles, and humiliates that proud and willful nature should be regarded by the Believer as most worthful.
The distinction between the “sinless nature” of Christ and the “sinful nature” of Paul, in fact, of all Believers, is seen in that Christ needed no stake in His Flesh on descending from the Mount of Transfiguration. Facing Satan at the foot of the Mount, He was the same Person Who shone in the Glory of God on the top of the Mount. The scenes were different, but He was alike Perfect in both. All was Perfection and Evenness in Him — symbolized in the Old Testament by the fine flour of the Meal Offering.
What is the moral of all of this?
The Grace of God was “sufficient,” irrespective of the “thorn.” Every time that Paul received a buffet, there was a sufficiency of Grace immediately given to meet the blow — not a moment too soon, not a moment too late, not too little, and not too much.
The lesson of all of this is that the higher the Christian experience, the sharper must be the “thorn,” and for all the obvious reasons.“
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the Revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And He said unto me, My Grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me (II Cor. 12:7-9).
Most Preachers boast of their strength, but Paul boasted of his weakness.
Paul recognized himself as an earthen vessel; as such, he also realized that nothing could amend the carnal nature, not even the great revelations and visions which had been given to him by the Lord. So, to save him from failure and even falling, he was impaled upon a stake, so to speak.
Whatever that thorn in the flesh was, the Holy Spirit did not see fit to reveal that to us, but what is necessary to learn from this experience is the moral purpose of that thorn in saving the Apostle from destruction. To have all the revelations and visions which Paul had, being given, in effect, the meaning of the New Covenant, actually being appointed by the Lord as the Masterbuilder of the Church, all can minister unto pride, if one is not very careful. Such can easily be a subject of carnal boasting.
We must come, therefore, to the conclusion that whatever the thorn in the flesh was, the Lord knew that Paul needed such, and if Paul needed such, what about us? It must be remembered that this “thorn in the flesh” was given by God, but yet was a “messenger of Satan” sent to buffet Paul, and to do so continually.
“Prevention” and “humiliation” are both Divine instruments. Paul was saved from failing, and possibly even from falling, by prevention; Peter was permitted to fail, thereby, greatly humiliated. There was, however, no difference between Paul and Peter; they were both indwelt, as all Believers are, by a corrupt nature incapable of amendment, at least by human instrumentation.
This is one of the most bitter and humbling lessons for the human heart. It is painful but necessary for the Believer to have an experiential sense of the principle of evil which indwells him, and we speak of the Sin Nature. But a greater power also inhabits the temple of the Believer’s heart and body, and its victorious warfare is a profitable exercise for the heart.
If the Apostle Paul needed so humbling and painful an experience of what the carnal nature is, it is evident that all Christians need it; and it is plain that whatever weakens, belittles, and humiliates that proud and willful nature should be regarded by the Believer as most worthful.
The distinction between the “sinless nature” of Christ and the “sinful nature” of Paul, in fact, of all Believers, is seen in that Christ needed no stake in His Flesh on descending from the Mount of Transfiguration. Facing Satan at the foot of the Mount, He was the same Person Who shone in the Glory of God on the top of the Mount. The scenes were different, but He was alike Perfect in both. All was Perfection and Evenness in Him — symbolized in the Old Testament by the fine flour of the Meal Offering.
What is the moral of all of this?
The Grace of God was “sufficient,” irrespective of the “thorn.” Every time that Paul received a buffet, there was a sufficiency of Grace immediately given to meet the blow — not a moment too soon, not a moment too late, not too little, and not too much.
The lesson of all of this is that the higher the Christian experience, the sharper must be the “thorn,” and for all the obvious reasons.“
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
“Examine yourselves, whether you be in the Faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobates? (II Cor. 13:5).
Self-examination, according to the measuring rod of the Cross, is here demanded. “The Faith” is the Cross, i.e., “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.”
If the Holy Spirit had the Apostle Paul to place this in the Word of God, that we should examine ourselves, then we should realize just how important all of this is.
What is actually at stake?
The single most important thing in the world is at stake, your eternal soul. There is nothing more important than that! That’s why the Holy Spirit also had Peter to say, “Wherefore the rather, Brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall” (II Pet. 1:10).
“Deception” is one of Satan’s greatest weapons. It was the weapon with which he caused Eve to fall, and, thereby, Adam also, which doomed the entire human race. Inasmuch as deception was the primary weapon of Satan’s effort, this means that the human race is plagued with deception, meaning that it is so easy for human beings to be deceived — even Believers!
When Paul uses the term “the Faith,” he is not speaking of faith in general, but rather the very embodiment of Christianity, which is referred to as “The Faith.” It answers to the statement of “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.” As stated, this means that the Cross of Christ is the yardstick, the measuring rod, the plumb line. Everything is to be measured by that yardstick, and by that alone, which, in effect, is the Word of God (Jn. 1:1, 14, 29; I Cor. 1:1718, 23; Gal. 6:14).
This is the alarming thing about the modern gospel, which is not the Gospel of the Cross of Christ, but something else altogether, and is accepted by millions. As an example, look at the Purpose Driven Life scheme. At the time of this writing, the book, “The Purpose Driven Life,” has sold over 30 million copies. It is being adopted by virtually every Church Denomination, and even by the business world. This widespread acceptance should be a warning sign. To be sure, and as is obvious, the Cross of Christ doesn’t have that type of appeal. In fact, the Cross of Christ has little appeal at all!
There is no “Cross” in the Purpose Driven Life doctrine, and, for that reason alone, it is basely wrong! To be sure, the Cross of Christ, which is “The Faith,” is not attractive at all to the world, and, regrettably, not attractive at all to the Church. But it happens to be “The Way,” in fact, the only way!
So, whenever Satan’s wares are looked at closely, even though he may put a different face on his efforts from time to time, still, when the face is pulled off, it is the same old spirit of deception — a “Cross-less” Christ, a “Cross-less” gospel!
Every Believer had better do exactly what the Apostle said, “Examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith.” Apply the measuring rod of the Cross to your belief system. If it doesn’t measure up, abandon that which you have previously accepted. Then deny all of these false ways (deny yourselves) and take up the Cross daily, and follow Christ (Lk. 9:23).“
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
“Examine yourselves, whether you be in the Faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobates? (II Cor. 13:5).
Self-examination, according to the measuring rod of the Cross, is here demanded. “The Faith” is the Cross, i.e., “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.”
If the Holy Spirit had the Apostle Paul to place this in the Word of God, that we should examine ourselves, then we should realize just how important all of this is.
What is actually at stake?
The single most important thing in the world is at stake, your eternal soul. There is nothing more important than that! That’s why the Holy Spirit also had Peter to say, “Wherefore the rather, Brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall” (II Pet. 1:10).
“Deception” is one of Satan’s greatest weapons. It was the weapon with which he caused Eve to fall, and, thereby, Adam also, which doomed the entire human race. Inasmuch as deception was the primary weapon of Satan’s effort, this means that the human race is plagued with deception, meaning that it is so easy for human beings to be deceived — even Believers!
When Paul uses the term “the Faith,” he is not speaking of faith in general, but rather the very embodiment of Christianity, which is referred to as “The Faith.” It answers to the statement of “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.” As stated, this means that the Cross of Christ is the yardstick, the measuring rod, the plumb line. Everything is to be measured by that yardstick, and by that alone, which, in effect, is the Word of God (Jn. 1:1, 14, 29; I Cor. 1:1718, 23; Gal. 6:14).
This is the alarming thing about the modern gospel, which is not the Gospel of the Cross of Christ, but something else altogether, and is accepted by millions. As an example, look at the Purpose Driven Life scheme. At the time of this writing, the book, “The Purpose Driven Life,” has sold over 30 million copies. It is being adopted by virtually every Church Denomination, and even by the business world. This widespread acceptance should be a warning sign. To be sure, and as is obvious, the Cross of Christ doesn’t have that type of appeal. In fact, the Cross of Christ has little appeal at all!
There is no “Cross” in the Purpose Driven Life doctrine, and, for that reason alone, it is basely wrong! To be sure, the Cross of Christ, which is “The Faith,” is not attractive at all to the world, and, regrettably, not attractive at all to the Church. But it happens to be “The Way,” in fact, the only way!
So, whenever Satan’s wares are looked at closely, even though he may put a different face on his efforts from time to time, still, when the face is pulled off, it is the same old spirit of deception — a “Cross-less” Christ, a “Cross-less” gospel!
Every Believer had better do exactly what the Apostle said, “Examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith.” Apply the measuring rod of the Cross to your belief system. If it doesn’t measure up, abandon that which you have previously accepted. Then deny all of these false ways (deny yourselves) and take up the Cross daily, and follow Christ (Lk. 9:23).“
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
iLOVE
Member
Your Word for Today
“I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him Who called you into the Grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some who trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ (Gal. 1:6-7).
God, in His Love, has given man the Gospel and suited it to his needs. Satan, in opposition, degrades it to the level of man’s corrupt nature and proud will, and fashions it into a religion that suits man, as man, in the flesh.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ condemns man, as man, to death, and so puts an end to him and all his religion, and it reveals a “new man” born of the spirit and not of nature. The impotency of man to serve, please, and obey God was made manifest under the Law. Satan’s aim during the present day of Grace is to unite the religion of the flesh with that of the Spirit; and the impossibility and wickedness of that union are plainly set out in the Epistle to the Galatians.
Christ gave Himself up as a Sin Offering in order to take His People out of the world (Gal. 1:4). In His Cross, man, his religion, and the world are judged. Every effort of man, therefore, as a man and by natural birth, to make himself religiously acceptable to God is rebellion, which is the greatest sin of man. In fact, that effort is no more than the energy of the “evil world,” out of which Christ redeems.
Paul was the founder of the Churches in Galatia; however, after he left, called by the Lord to other fields of endeavor, certain false teachers had interjected themselves into these Churches to attack both the Doctrine and the person of the Apostle, and did so by introducing a gospel of “works.”
In the writing of this Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul offered no commendation at the opening of this Epistle, as he did others, but at once an abrupt exclamation of amazement. How could these converts to the Lord, in fact, Paul’s converts, so quickly turn to a perverted gospel? As we have stated, it is not Satan’s aim to deny the Gospel, for that he cannot do, so he tries to corrupt it.
Anything other than the Message of the Cross, pure and simple, is “another gospel,” which, in fact, is “not another,” at least that will help anyone. Anything other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified is a “perversion of the Gospel of Christ.” And, to be certain, a “perverted gospel” will not save, will not heal, will not deliver, and will not bring about any positive results whatsoever. In truth, it will push the person deeper into bondage and deception. There is no deliverance in a perverted gospel; there is no power in a perverted gospel; there is no Salvation in a perverted gospel! The only thing there is in a perverted gospel is “trouble,” hence, the Apostle saying, “there be some who trouble you.” To be sure, it’s “trouble” with a capital “T.”
It is my belief that the Church presently is in worse spiritual condition than at any time since the Reformation. To be sure, it is richer than ever, and with greater numbers of people; however, Jesus said, “And knowest not, that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17).
Any gospel, so-called, which doesn’t have the Cross of Christ as its foundation, and its only foundation, is, pure and simple, a “perverted gospel.” And the world is rife with such presently!
At approximately the turn of the Twentieth Century, the great “latter rain” outpouring of the Holy Spirit began. The “former rain” took place during the time of the Early Church, as recorded in the Book of Acts. Both were prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:23). Most, if not all, of the mainline Denominations rejected this latter rain outpouring. As a result, some of them attempted to preach the Cross without the Holy Spirit, which presented a “perverted gospel,” which the Lord could never accept. As a result, they are no longer preaching the Cross or the Holy Spirit.
The Full Gospel Churches, which were born out of this great latter rain outpouring, tried to preach the Holy Spirit without the Cross. As the former would not suffice, neither would the latter. Now, most Full Gospel Churches, so-called, are not preaching either. The Message of the Cross of Christ and the Holy Spirit are so intertwined that it is impossible to separate the two (Rev. 5:6; Jn. 7:37-39).
Tragically, all of this means that what is being presently presented, with some few exceptions, is little more than a “perverted gospel.” Jesus predicted this by saying, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, shall He find faith on the Earth?” (Lk. 18:8). In the original Greek Text, this reads, “Shall He find The Faith upon the Earth?” He is speaking of the same Faith which the Apostle Paul addressed in II Corinthians 13:5. It pertains solely to the Message of the Cross.
The question must be asked:
Are you in “The Faith,” or have you accepted “another gospel”?“
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart
“I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him Who called you into the Grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some who trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ (Gal. 1:6-7).
God, in His Love, has given man the Gospel and suited it to his needs. Satan, in opposition, degrades it to the level of man’s corrupt nature and proud will, and fashions it into a religion that suits man, as man, in the flesh.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ condemns man, as man, to death, and so puts an end to him and all his religion, and it reveals a “new man” born of the spirit and not of nature. The impotency of man to serve, please, and obey God was made manifest under the Law. Satan’s aim during the present day of Grace is to unite the religion of the flesh with that of the Spirit; and the impossibility and wickedness of that union are plainly set out in the Epistle to the Galatians.
Christ gave Himself up as a Sin Offering in order to take His People out of the world (Gal. 1:4). In His Cross, man, his religion, and the world are judged. Every effort of man, therefore, as a man and by natural birth, to make himself religiously acceptable to God is rebellion, which is the greatest sin of man. In fact, that effort is no more than the energy of the “evil world,” out of which Christ redeems.
Paul was the founder of the Churches in Galatia; however, after he left, called by the Lord to other fields of endeavor, certain false teachers had interjected themselves into these Churches to attack both the Doctrine and the person of the Apostle, and did so by introducing a gospel of “works.”
In the writing of this Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul offered no commendation at the opening of this Epistle, as he did others, but at once an abrupt exclamation of amazement. How could these converts to the Lord, in fact, Paul’s converts, so quickly turn to a perverted gospel? As we have stated, it is not Satan’s aim to deny the Gospel, for that he cannot do, so he tries to corrupt it.
Anything other than the Message of the Cross, pure and simple, is “another gospel,” which, in fact, is “not another,” at least that will help anyone. Anything other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified is a “perversion of the Gospel of Christ.” And, to be certain, a “perverted gospel” will not save, will not heal, will not deliver, and will not bring about any positive results whatsoever. In truth, it will push the person deeper into bondage and deception. There is no deliverance in a perverted gospel; there is no power in a perverted gospel; there is no Salvation in a perverted gospel! The only thing there is in a perverted gospel is “trouble,” hence, the Apostle saying, “there be some who trouble you.” To be sure, it’s “trouble” with a capital “T.”
It is my belief that the Church presently is in worse spiritual condition than at any time since the Reformation. To be sure, it is richer than ever, and with greater numbers of people; however, Jesus said, “And knowest not, that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17).
Any gospel, so-called, which doesn’t have the Cross of Christ as its foundation, and its only foundation, is, pure and simple, a “perverted gospel.” And the world is rife with such presently!
At approximately the turn of the Twentieth Century, the great “latter rain” outpouring of the Holy Spirit began. The “former rain” took place during the time of the Early Church, as recorded in the Book of Acts. Both were prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:23). Most, if not all, of the mainline Denominations rejected this latter rain outpouring. As a result, some of them attempted to preach the Cross without the Holy Spirit, which presented a “perverted gospel,” which the Lord could never accept. As a result, they are no longer preaching the Cross or the Holy Spirit.
The Full Gospel Churches, which were born out of this great latter rain outpouring, tried to preach the Holy Spirit without the Cross. As the former would not suffice, neither would the latter. Now, most Full Gospel Churches, so-called, are not preaching either. The Message of the Cross of Christ and the Holy Spirit are so intertwined that it is impossible to separate the two (Rev. 5:6; Jn. 7:37-39).
Tragically, all of this means that what is being presently presented, with some few exceptions, is little more than a “perverted gospel.” Jesus predicted this by saying, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, shall He find faith on the Earth?” (Lk. 18:8). In the original Greek Text, this reads, “Shall He find The Faith upon the Earth?” He is speaking of the same Faith which the Apostle Paul addressed in II Corinthians 13:5. It pertains solely to the Message of the Cross.
The question must be asked:
Are you in “The Faith,” or have you accepted “another gospel”?“
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart