How does the Holy Spirit work differently in the New Testament compared to the Old Testament?

What is the difference in the Spirit's relationship to believers today as compared with Old Testament believers?

There is a distinction between relations of the Spirit to men before and after Pentecost. This is evident from the Lord's teaching in John 14:16, 17," TARGET="_blank">John 14:16, 17, "He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever... He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." So in the old dispensation the Spirit was with believers, in the present dispensation He is in them.

Before Pentecost the Spirit was at work fitting men for special service or testimony to accomplish the purpose of God. The Spirit came only on certain individuals (Numbers 11:29)." TARGET="_blank">Numbers 11:29). Bezaleel was filled with the Spirit of God for the work of the Tabernacle (Exodus 35:30,31)." TARGET="_blank">Exodus 35:30,31). "The Spirit of the Lord came upon David" (1 Samuel 16:13)." TARGET="_blank">1 Samuel 16:13). Verse 14 of that passage states, "But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul." David prayed that the Holy Spirit would not be taken from him (Psalm 51:11)." TARGET="_blank">Psalm 51:11). This indicates the transient nature of His presence prior to Pentecost. In this age, He dwells permanently in all believers (John 14:17)." TARGET="_blank">John 14:17).

J. Abernathy

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What is a good way to talk to a friend about spiritual matters?

In what ways can I witness more effectively?

PERSONAL TESTIMONY: A good testimony is essential, before even opening your mouth: "Having your conversation (manner of life) honest ... that ... they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God..." (1 Peter 2:12)." TARGET="_blank">1 Peter 2:12). Your words will only have the weight your life has built into them. Honesty, integrity, consistency, and compassion are important characteristics to build into relationships with others. While "just living" as a silent witness is not enough, it is the background to effective witnessing.

KNOWLEDGE: Know what you are talking about, and talk about what you know. A young convert can be effective by staying simple, telling what the Lord has done for him. To be more effective, learn more of God's word (2 Timothy 2:15)." TARGET="_blank">2 Timothy 2:15). The Scriptures make a person .wise unto salvation."

WISDOM: It takes God to open the ear to receive the gospel. Don't turn someone off before you even have the opportunity to tell them the work of Christ. Since salvation is God's work, leave room for the Spirit to do His work. "He that winneth souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30)." TARGET="_blank">Proverbs 11:30). Witnessing is not saving; in your zeal, don't go beyond what God has called us to do. "Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9)." TARGET="_blank">Jonah 2:9).

Jon Procopio

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When will Jesus drink of the wine in his father's kingdom?

What did our Lord mean in Matthew 26:29," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 26:29, "when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom?"

The context is clear. The Lord is partaking of the last Passover supper and will soon be separated from them. He leaves them with the assurance that in the millennial day He will have the new joy (symbolized in the fruit of the vine) of celebration with them in that Messianic kingdom. The emphasis is on spiritual joy. "My Father's kingdom" expresses the intimacy of that kingdom suggested by the singular "My." These related terms are suggestive: "kingdom of God," the source of the kingdom; "kingdom of heaven," the sphere of the kingdom; "My Father's kingdom," the secrets of the kingdom; "the kingdom of their Father," the sharers of the kingdom. That last Passover anticipated the day when He would share His fullness of joy with His own in His Father's kingdom. What took place in embryo before His death will have universal fulfillment.

A. Hull

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Are there varying degrees of punishment in the Lake of Fire?

Do Scriptures such as Luke 12:47-48" TARGET="_blank">Luke 12:47-48 and Revelaion 20:12 teach that there are degrees in punishment for the wicked dead?

Revelation 20:12" TARGET="_blank">Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Luke 12:47-48" TARGET="_blank">Luke 12:47-48 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

These scriptures certainly do teach degrees of punishment. The former passage especially lays down what is doubtless a general principle of God’s dealings in judgment, namely, that the punishment varies, not so much according to the amount of evil inherent in the act itself, as according to the amount of knowledge of right and wrong possessed by the sinner. It is worthy of note that “the servant which knew” is beaten with many stripes, merely for not doing things he should have done, i.e. for sins of omission; while “he that knew not” gets his few stripes for wrong things done by him, i.e. for sins of commission. Another passage in which the same principle is strongly emphasised is Matthew 11:20-24," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 11:20-24, where Christ pronounces woes on the cities in which He had preached most, and in doing so says that it shall be more tolerable for Tyre, Sidon, and even Sodom in the day of judgment than for them.

W.R.

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Is the Weymouth Translation reliable?

Is it safe to use Weymouth’s Translation, since it contains such error as is found in the note upon Hebrews10:27" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews10:27 (page 560)?

It has been pointed out that the notes in this version are not by Dr. R. F. Weymouth, but by E. Hampden-Cook, M.A., who is said to have “Edited and partly revised” the work. In my edition of 1910 the very unsound note on Heb. 10." TARGET="_blank">Heb. 10. 27 referred to above is on page 6i6; and it is by no means the only one of the kind; the notes on this subject always being in the interests of what is known as, “Annihilationism” a very serious and growing heresy to-day. This teaching, however, is not confined to the notes, but occurs in the text. Wherever, apparently, the translator (or do we owe these touches to the “part revision” of Mr. Cook?) comes upon the question of the future of the wicked, the same influence can be noted: e.g., Matthew 25:46" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 25:46 which is translated, “And these shall go away into the punishment of the ages, but the righteous into the life of the ages,” which is the ordinary meaningless and erroneous language affected by the Annihilationist teachers. How this book found its way into my small library, I have no idea; but I neither use it myself, nor would I advise anyone to do so. The Lord’s words apply here, “Take heed what ye hear,” and I am convinced that all this talk about “onian” and “the ages” is everywhere a danger-signal for those who desire to hold fast the whole revelation of God and the
doctrine of Christ.

W.H.

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How should a woman respond to a husband's immoral beharvior?

For an assembly couple, what is a wife's responsibility when she knows her husband's behavior has adversely affected the assembly's testimony?

Such behavior requires correction. If mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 5: fornication, covetousness, idolatry, railing, drunkenness or extortion, the sin requires her husband to be put away from the fellowship. Loyalty or love for her husband must not interfere. If the wife has clear proof of his wrong behavior and fails to make it known to the elders, she becomes an accessory. Consider Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5" TARGET="_blank">Acts 5: By urging her husband to confess the matter, she promotes an easier solution than going to the brethren herself. If he will not do so, her higher duty is to her Lord. "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29)." TARGET="_blank">Acts 5:29).

If it is a lesser matter, such as unbecoming speech or business practices, she need not act condescendingly when she encourages him to repent and make things right with those affected.

J. Slabaugh

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sunday school coloring pages

We have over 320 pictures in the collection of coloring pages for Sunday school. Click here .

Sunday School coloring pages are a good way to retell a story. However, there are other Sunday school activities with these pages.

1. Lessons outlines and Activities.

Lesson plans - A kick-start to help you prepare for next class.
Printable activities - Crafts, foldable paper models, worksheets, more sunday school coloring books, PowerPoint and other items to make your lesson more interesting and active.

2. Sunday School Bible Verse Puzzle Maker.

You can turn a Bible vese or chapter into a Sunday School class activity in a 3 mouse clicks.

3. Online Study Bible

Bible search, commentary, dictionary and other tools to help you prepare a lesson for your next class.

4. Newsletter for Sunday School Teachers - The Encourager

Get a weekly class activity in your mailbox. There are two options for the Encourager:

4. Sunday School Teaching Help

The Sunday School Helper is an online book with ideas for organizing a lesson, maintaining discipline in the classroom, selecting an appropriate Bible verse, learning styles and much more.

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Is the breaking of bread the same as the communion service?

Why do we avoid calling the Sunday meeting when we break bread the Communion Service?

We express our communion (or fellowship) when we remember the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:16)." TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 10:16). Taking the cup demonstrates our fellowship with God (v 21). Taking the bread expresses our fellowship with one another in the assembly (v 17). It is therefore a communion service. As we gather to take these emblems, we obey the Lord’s words, "This do in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19)." TARGET="_blank">Luke 22:19). It is therefore a remembrance meeting. We meet to do this each Lord’s Day morning, therefore it is a morning meeting, although believers in Acts likely met in the evening (Acts 20:7)." TARGET="_blank">Acts 20:7). However, none of these designations is used in the New Testament as a name for this gathering of the assembly. The Spirit uses "the breaking of the bread" (literally) in referring to this gathering (2:42). Likewise, the Spirit inspired Paul to use the expression "the Lord’s supper" (1Co 11:20)" TARGET="_blank">1Co 11:20) when he wrote about the Corinthians meeting to remember the Lord. Calling it "The Breaking of Bread" or "The Lord’s Supper" is more consistent with the Biblical designations of this gathering.

In evangelical usage, "The Communion Service" is a common designation of a gathering where believers share in taking the bread and the cup. Attempts to accommodate our terminology to that of evangelical congregations obscure the Scriptural difference between a church of God and other gatherings whose doctrine may be sound but whose pattern does not come from the New Testament. Rather than shrinking from being different, why not highlight the beauty of the Biblical pattern by using Biblical terms?

D. Oliver
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How do we unify the Church?

Are we responsible to unify the Body of Christ?

No. The Body has an indissoluble unity. The New Testament deals with unity in only two ways: the unity of the Body, which is positional and perfect; the unity of believers seen in the assembly, which is practical and imperfect. The ecumenical movement pleads for a "unity" that ignores truth. Taking John 17:21" TARGET="_blank">John 17:21 as Christs present desire that His own should be one (John 17:21)," TARGET="_blank">John 17:21), the ecumenical voices call for all "Christians" to come together. In this way, we are to ignore error, accept the legitimacy and existence of the names that divide "Christians," and validate that being a "Christian" in name is the same as being born again. For evangelicals to call for the same result, based on the same scripture, is equally unsound, although they recognize the need for being born again. Obedience to Christ unites believers scripturally. Interdenominationalism may seem broad-minded, but it is actually self-defeating by giving legitimacy to (and thus perpetuating) denominational names that publicly divide Christians.

D. Oliver

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If there is only "one baptism", why do we practice water baptism for believers?

In light of Ephesians 4:5," TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 4:5, why do we practice water baptism?

The reasoning behind this question seems to be that "one baptism" is the baptism of the Spirit (Acts 1:5;" TARGET="_blank">Acts 1:5; 1 Corinthians 12:13)" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 12:13) and therefore Christians have no other baptism - no water baptism.

Two possible responses to this depend on how we interpret "one baptism." Some base their interpretation on the grouping they see in the seven "one things" in Ephesians 4:4-6." TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 4:4-6. The first three form a group: one Body, one Spirit (Who formed the Body), one hope (belonging to the Body, see 1:18). The next three form a group: one Lord (Whom all obey), one faith (by which all have trusted Christ or one body of revealed truth which all keep by obedience), one baptism (by which all have expressed their union with Him). The last is one God and Father of all. The first may be positional (what God has done), the second practical (what we are to do), the third theological and sums up the previous groups. If we accept this interpretation, the one baptism is water baptism which God has ordained for every believer in this age.

There may be reason, however, to view the one baptism as the baptism of the Spirit. The words, "There is" at the beginning of verse 4 are supplied by the translators. The words may obscure the connection of verses 4 through 6 with verse 3. Paul is expanding his statement, "the unity of the Spirit." At Pentecost, the Spirit formed a unique entity that had never existed before. That unity, the subject of the mystery (ch 3), is composed of both Jews and Gentiles (ch 1, 2). In these verses, Paul sums up the positional teaching of the previous chapters. He uses it as the pivot on which he bases his practical exhortation ("endeavoring to keep . . .").

The one Lord is the One in Whom all are united and, anticipating the rest of the epistle, Whom all are to obey. The one faith is the revealed body of truth, now including the mystery regarding the Church. The one baptism is the one event that formed the Body. Apart from this interpretation, Paul would be speaking about the unity of the Spirit without mentioning when the Spirit formed it. If that is the interpretation of "one baptism," in these three verses (vv 4-6), Paul is dealing with our position (what God has done for us). That baptism will never be repeated and does not take place when a believer is saved. The Lord said it would take place not many days after He was with His disciples (Acts 1:5)." TARGET="_blank">Acts 1:5). Paul teaches that water baptism expresses our union with Christ (Romans 6:4, 5)" TARGET="_blank">Romans 6:4, 5) and it is our practical responsibility to be baptized. Further, the Lord associates baptism with discipleship and the message of the gospel in this age (Matthew 28:19, 20;" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15, 16)." TARGET="_blank">Mark 16:15, 16). He also indicates that the believer is responsible to be baptized and that is done not by the Spirit but by those who "go," "make disciples," "baptizing them," "teaching them" (Matthew 28:19, 20)." TARGET="_blank">Matthew 28:19, 20).

D. Oliver
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We have over 320 pictures in the collection of coloring pages for Sunday school. Click here .