Yes. No believers today have that ability given them by the Spirit.But no Believers have ever had that ability. I of myself can do nothing, it is Christ in me. So what I did ask was are there no Believers today then?
No. That has already taken place. The word now needs to be distributed and studied.I do understand that the Apostles did these things to reveal the word and to confirm the word...but does the word still need revealed and confirmation of the word today?
Paul said it had back in his day..Has the Gospel been preached to the entire world yet? No, but we're getting close.
If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
Colossians 1:23
Im not willing to call Paul a Liar. Most people did not accept it and pass it down from generation to generation and so entire areas would then be void of the gospel that had once been preached to that area.
Satan has a strong hold on this world but I do not believe it is through demon possession. I believe the demon possession we read about in Jesus day was for a time. A time where God could prove that this Jesus of Nazareth had power even over the Spirits. We all know who he is now we dont need more miracles.When all is said and done, I believe you will be sorely amazed at just how much demonic oppression that the entire world was (is) under.
Just like Abraham said…They have moses and the prophets if they wont believe them then they wont believe even if one returns from the dead. Now it could be said that we have Jesus and the apostles and if we wont believe them then it wont matter if one can cast out demons. And it doesn’t matter. Christianity is still in decline and has been even though you say all these people have this miraculous ability.
Then he wasn’t speaking in Bible “tongues”. It was made up.I was not given the interpretation so how would I know?
I have never been witness to any of the “gifts of the Spirit”.God has this lovely way of doing things so that to many it is left up to their faith. It is all about faith. Your faith has healed you and so forth, all throughout scripture. So there's more to it than simply the Logos. It is also the Rhema which Testifys. The greater the faith shown, the greater things can be accomplished in the Lord.
Oh I doubt that, lol. There's not much I can say if you have never seen it demonstrated in your entire life. Perhaps you should get out more? You must "see it" before you can believe and I understand this because, I was raised that way too, lol. But consider a couple things.
Get out? I travel for a living.
I do believe in Jesus and I dont need him or anybody else to cast out demons or anything else to prove he exist. How about that for faith? You seem to need these gifts to believe? I dont!John 20:28-29
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.../KJV
The context here is about our eternal resurrected body, what awaits us after this life. In this little section we find this..2 Corinthians 4:17-18
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.../ KJV
We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
2 Corinthians 4:13
See that? Faith being matched by “what is written”. Thats all I need for my faith to increase; a greater knowledge and understanding of “what is written”! I dont need your tongue speaking devil casting abilities to have faith. So it seems that according to the Bible my faith is stronger than yours.
The problem with your understanding of “rhemas” is that we do not get new revelation today through “rhemas”. Ive already had this convo with a couple of Catholics. “Rhemas” today happen when you speak what has already been revealed and written down. 1 Pet 4:11 Is a command.Jesus and Paul both talk about the unseen realm. The Spiritual realm. It became true to Thomas when he seen Jesus. It was already true to those who look to the unseen. And then Paul makes it an instruction to us to look to the unseen, the spiritual realm.
Some wise old redneck once said that you can't separate the spiritual and the natural. And this is true and we should keep this in mind all the time. Noone can get to know God even the least little bit, without...wondering what He will do tomorrow.
You are convincingly adamant about your confidence in the written word and it's doctrine, the Logos. The Logos, or what we call the Bible, is everything (prolly more) that you have said it is.
The "word" of God as used in the Bible can be Logos (written Word) or Rhema (Spoken Word).
There is no new truth outside of scripture. If so how are you going to prove it? Paul could do miracles…You cant!You have almost suggested that there is no truth outside of scripture and that is not so.
The Bible disagrees with you. NOW. Its all about the book.But we see through a glass darkly. The Logos is the natural realm Word of God. You can pick it up and hold it.
The Rhema of God is the Spiritual realm Word of God. Spoken Words that you can not see or hold.
You can't separate the spiritual and the natural. God's Words will not come back to Him void. I think that to wholeheartedly accept the written word and to reject Rhemas at the same time is a mistake. Because after all, It's not about the book, it's about Him, as a person and our God. The book leads us to Him.
Please enlighten us to the information Jesus has given you but has kept from me. The problem is…you would never be able to prove that you have “extra biblical information”. Why? Paul could do miracles…You cant!And I can witness to the fact that Jesus has said more than what made it to print. (Although most of what He says, Can be found in print!). So I think you would do well to consider these things and perhaps do a study on Rhemas in the Concordance. (BlueLetterBible.com)