Expert: Mike Muya - 5/16/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi
just wanna know in details all the stages that a believer requires to meet all Jesus commanded his disciples to preach.
what the true doctrine that is required to be taught and how can one discern this because nowadays a lot of teachers have risen and everyone claims they are right.

thanks
kenie

ANSWER: hi kenie
 Thank you for contacting me with your question asking to know the stages in getting to  know the truths that Jesus commanded  His disciples to preach.   You are searching for truth, and God’s Holy Spirit will lead you to the truths that Jesus taught.  (Proverbs 3:6).
   You are correct, today there are many teachers claiming to be teaching truth, but what they are teaching is false.  Many today are teaching tradition and the laws of man instead of the teachings of Jesus.  (See Matthew 15:3,9 and Mark 7:7,9,13)  This is the reason that there are so many churches out there claiming to have the truth but are teaching the traditions of man.  There needs to be a standard to measure what is truth and what is false.  The only true standard is the Bible and the Bible only.  The Bible gives the truths that Jesus taught.  The first step in knowing the truths that Jesus taught is to develop a personal relation- ship with Jesus.  This comes with daily Bible study.
    Jesus taught from the entire Bible, including the Old Testament.  Jesus regarded the books of the Old Testament as accurate historical records and the personalities described therein as real
people. He was so familiar with the words and messages of the Old Testament  that His teachings breathed with quotes and references to the writings of Moses, Psalms, the prophets, and other books. Not only is His strong acceptance of Old Testament history an example for us but we also can radiate the atmosphere of heaven even as He did by filling our minds with God's inspired Words.
   He referred to the Old Testament Scriptures more than 200 times in His teachings.
So to know the truth we need to study  the entire Bible, but especially what Jesus taught when He was here on earth.  Study a modern translation such as the New King James Version.  Find a red letter edition in which Jesus words are printed in red, and in this way you can more easily identify Jesus words.  The entire Bible, however, is also truth, but you can begin by studying Jesus teachings in the 4 gospels  (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).
   The Bible is God's guide book to us, and He expects us to study it
diligently. By reading the Bible we learn about the character of God, his
wonderful and enduring love for each of us, and his plan for our salvation.
By reading God's Word, we fortify our minds with its truths, and prepare
ourselves to meet the temptations of the day.  We face temptations every
day, therefore it is important to spend time reading our Bibles and praying
EVERY day.  John 5:39 we are told to diligently search the scriptures.
This gives us strength to resist temptation. In Psalm 119:11
it says, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against
you." Every day Satan is looking for ways to tempt us, so it is very
important that we start the day praying and studying His Word. Jesus spent
much time in prayer to His Father in heaven. Mark 1:35, "Now in the
morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed
to a solitary place, and there He prayed." (See Matt. 14:23; 15:29; Mark
6:31; 7:24; Luke 6:12; 4:42; 5:16).
   The morning before starting the work of the day is the best time to
spend time reading the Bible, and develop a relationship with your Lord. Give God the best hours of the day. In 2 Timothy 2:15 it says, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (interpreting) the Word of truth."
   In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.  John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy Word is truth.”  See also John 8:31,32.

   Following are some questions answered on how to find the Truth:

HOW CAN I KNOW THE TRUTH?  When you think about it, only those who love and practice truthfulness and honesty ever become disciples of Jesus. No matter how powerful, rich, talented or good-looking a dishonest person might be, no one really respects or admires him. And certainly no one trusts him. Nobody can honestly say that it feels good to be distrusted.
In our hearts we all know that life is empty, shameful and lonely unless we are truthful people. But how can we be truthful unless we know what truth is and find the strength to live by that truth? Let's find out how from God's word, the Bible.

What question did Pilate ask Jesus? "What is truth?" (John 18:39). He did not stay to hear the answer, but turned instead to the voice of the crowd.

What is truth? Jesus prayed to His Father, "Sanctify them through Your truth, Your word is truth" (John 17:17). The Scriptures are the truth, see Daniel 10:21. "Your law is the truth." "All Your commandments are truth" (Psalm 119:142,151).

Truth is even more than a system of correct teachings, it is a Person. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" John 14:6; "And the Word [Jesus] dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

How can we know the truth? Jesus said, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31,32). "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine" (John 7:16,17).

Do you have to be very intelligent in order to understand truth? No, you just have to be willing to let God teach you. Jesus said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in your sight. . . Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:25, 28,29, NKJV). The chief qualifications for learning truth are humility and a willingness to learn. See 1 Corinthians 1:26-31.

Is truth changeable from generation to generation? No. "For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations." "The truth of the Lord endures forever" (Psalm 100:5; 117:2, NJKV). Remember that Jesus is the word made flesh, therefore His truth is as unchangeable as Himself. See Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 19:13.

It takes courage to openly believe and practice truth, because truth will be unpopular in the last days. "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Timothy 4:3,4). Compare with 2 Timothy 3:1-7; Dan. 8:12-14,25-27; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-13.

Where does God want to place His truth? In our hearts. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom" (Psalm 51:6). See also Psalm 119:11-16.

What benefits can we get from the truth? Salvation, victory and protection. "Of His [God's] own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." James 1:18, NKJV. "By mercy and truth iniquity [sin] is purged." Proverbs 16:6, KJV. "His truth shall be your shield and armor" (Psalm 91:4).

When we discover truth what should we do about it? Obey it without hesitation. "You have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit. . ." 1 Peter 1:22. See also Romans 6:16,17; Deuteronomy 16:16-19; 27:10, and contrast this with Romans 2:8; Galatians 3:1; 5:7,8.

How can we keep on growing in the truth? Referring to the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, "When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and he will tell you things to come" (John 16:13). "And we are witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him" (Acts 5:32). Answer: As long as we keep responding favorably to the truth and apply it to our lives, God will keep revealing more truth to us.

Kenie,  I hope the above will be a help to you in finding the Truths that Jesus taught.
May God continue to bless you as you study His Word. Please contact me again if I can be of help to you.
Sincerely your friend,


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks for your respond but still i really wanna know more beyond just studying his word,coz in the scripture Jesus commanded hid disciples to wait upon the helper(Holy spirit) and after they did it clears states they was an  evidence(tongues of fire) which to my understanding that even today they got to be an evidence of those who have received the holy spirit.
please explain in detail  this verses Isaiah 28:11, 1 Corinthians 12 and  Joel 2:28-29

cheers

Answer
Hi keine

 Sorry, Keine, if I missed the  point of your first question. In studying your question again, I conclude that perhaps you are searching for evidence of the out pouring of the Holy Spirit today, as It is sent to those asking for the Comforter that Jesus promised.

      Unfortunately, Satan is in this sinful world, and he has a falsehood for every truth, So we must be cautious.  There are some churches that believe people cannot have received the Holy Spirit unless they demonstrate divine, supernatural abilities that they think God gives them.  They believe that only certain ones are given supernatural abilities when they receive the Holy Spirit.  They believe there must be a supernatural demonstration of their having received the Holy Spirit.  The Bible does not support these ideas.
        Let us take “speaking in unknown tongues” as an example, and see what the Bible says about it.
God is a God of love, and He will supply us with what He knows is best for
us.( John 3:16; Phil. 4:19,20). If we study His Word faithfully He will reveal
truth to us. (2 Tim. 3:16,17; John 17:17). Our faith must be based on
God's written word (Matt.7:24). Our Bibles were written under the
direction of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), and our only safeguard is
knowing god's Word and living by His truth (Isa 8:20). To be filled
with the Holy Spirit means to accept the words of Jesus (John 6:63). We
must not trust our emotions. Satan can manipulate our emotions so we
must not use our emotions as a guide to truth or error. Satan can do
counterfeit miracles or signs and wonders in an attempt to deceive
(Matt. 24:24: Rev. 16:13,14). We must not look for spectacular
miracles while rejecting truth (Luke 16:27-31). Receiving God's truth as
revealed in scripture is our safeguard against delusion (2 Thess.
2:9-12).
      In Acts 2, and 1 Cor. 14, Luke and Paul tell about the apostle's
experiences with speaking in tongues. "Tongues" means languages. The
genuine Biblical gift of tongues as pointed out by Paul, is the
speaking of a real language, given by God so the language barrier can be
broken in the communication of the gospel (Acts. 2:4-11). Paul points
out that speaking in tongues is intelligent speech, not unintelligible
gibberish (1 Cor. 14:7-19). In Acts 2:5-12 those being spoken to heard
it in their own language. What would be the purpose of speaking unintelligably?
It cannot benefit anyone if they do not understand what is being said.
God chooses who receives the gift of
tongues. This gift is individually distributed by God as He deems best
(1 Cor. 12:11). Everyone does not receive the gift of tongues. Tongues
is only one of a long list of gifts, and is not at the top of the list
(1 Cor 12:27-31). Tongues are not specifically given for believers to
edify themselves, but as a method of communicating the gospel to
unbelievers (1 Cor. 14:22). Paul gives the following controls if
tongues are used in the church:
      Only one person may speak at a time. There should be no spontaneous
outbursts with many people speaking at once (1 Cor. 14:26,27).
      No more than two or at the most three people should speak at any
given service. (1 Cor. 14:26,27).
      There must be an interpreter of the foreign language so the entire
congregation will receive the benefit of what is spoken and participate
in the worship service together (1 Cor.14:28).
      For every truth, Satan has a counterfeit. The gift of tongues was
abused, and Paul in 1 Cor. 14, attempted to correct the abuses, and to
restore the gift of tongues to its proper place and function.
      God chooses to bestow various gifts at various times.
However, God has not chosen
to bestow the gift in as obvious a manner as is recorded in Bible times.  However, there have been recent reports of people hearing the gospel each in his
own language during evangelistic meetings going on in our day.
God loves us all, and we must not conclude that our brother has not the
the gift of the Spirit, if he does not demonstrate the gift of tongues.
God may have chosen to quietly give him one of His other gifts.

Following are two important principles in regard to receiving the Holy Spirit:  :

1)  It is NOT necessary for there to be a miraculous demonstration following  a person’s  being baptized by the Holy Spirit.  Different people are given different gifts of the Spirit which God gives them to be used in their proclamation of the Good News to the world.  These can be quietly and reverently received without demonstrations or speaking in tongues,

2)  You do NOT  have to speak in tongues or demonstrate miraculous  evidence of  having received the Holy Spirit, to be a follower of Christ  (Christian).  In fact, most Christians today do not demonstrate supernatural evidence of having received the Holy spirit.  They have been quietly and reverently given other gifts of the Spirit.

      In your question you ask specifically regarding several texts.

ISAIAH  28:11,12  ”For with stammering lips and another tongue he will speak to this people,  (12) to whom He said, ‘This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing.’  Yet they would not hear.”
         This text in Isaiah is a  prophecy regarding Ephriam and Jerusalem.  The “stammering lips” spoken of in this verse refers to the inebriated condition of even the priests and prophets.  In their drunken condition they brought their messages to the people with “stammering lips.”  See 28: 1,3, 7).  This verse does not refer to the gift of the Holy Spirit.

My Bible Commentary gives the following regarding JOEL 2:28,29:
      “It was God’s plan to bestow upon the restored state of Israel the spiritual blessings here described (See Eze. 39:29). Because of the failure of the people and he consequent rejection of the Jewish nation, the promises were not fulfilled to literal Israel. These promises were transferred to spiritual Israel.  Peter identifies the events of Pentecost as a partial fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. (See Acts 2:16-21).  Instead of “afterward” Peter used the phrase, “In the last days.”  (v. 17).
        The though it is further emphasized by the enumeration of the various age groups that would share the spiritual blessing; further by the fact that bond and free alike would receive the Spirit.  The context makes clear that more than the reception of the Spirit such as accompanies conversion and works transformations of life, is here spoken of.  This special pouring out of the Spirit results in the display of supernatural gifts, such as prophesying.  On the day of Pentecost, when the disciples were filled with Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages  (Acts 2:4), Peter asserted that “this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel  (Acts 2:16-21).
      In the early church “the manifestation of the Spirit” was given “to every man to profit withal” (1 Cr. 12:7). Various gifts were in evidence, such as “the word of wisdom, “the word of knowledge,” “faith,” “healing,” “working of miracles,” ”prophecy,” “discerning of spirits,” “divers kinds of tongues,” and “the interpretation of tongues  (v. 8-10).
      The events of Pentecost were but a partial fulfillment of Joel’s prediction. The prophecy is to “reach its full accomplishment in the manifestation of divine grace which will attend the closing work of the gospel."

1 CORINTHIANS 12:   My paraphrase Bible explains Spiritual Gifts as given by the Holy Spirit, in a manner which I believe will be more clear to you:

“1 Concerning spiritual gifts, I don't want you to be ignorant about why they've been given to us.
2 Before you accepted Christ, remember how easily you were led to worship one idol after another, becoming involved in all kinds of vulgar practices?
3 No one can speak negatively about Christ and claim to have the Holy Spirit. Neither can anyone confess that Jesus is the Lord without the Holy 5pirit.
4 It's true that there are different gifts, but it's the same Holy Spirit who gaves them to us.
5 There are different ways of serving the Lord, but all the gifts are given to honor Him.
6 So you'll find that people in your church have different abilities, but they all come from the same God.
7 The presence of the Holy Spirit is shown in different ways, but always for the good of the whole church.
8 To one person the Holy Spirit gives special wisdom about spiritual things. To another He gives the ability to make hard questions easily understood.
9 Someone else is given a special mea sure of faith; another is given the gift of healing; and so on--all are given by the same Holy Spirit.
10 One person may be used of God to work miracles, another may be called to the office of a prophet, someone else can detect the slightest evidence of demonic forces, others can speak different languages as a special sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit and still others can translate those languages so people can understand what was said.
11 All these- gifts are given: to us by the same Holy Spirit who gives these gifts to each one, however and whenever He sees fit.
12 The best illustration of this is the hu man body. Our bodies have many parts, but they make up only one body. We, the church, are Christ's body on earth. We also have many parts but we function as one body.
13 That's the purpose of these spiritual gifts which the Holy Spirit gives us. After we're baptized, He uses each of us as a part of the body of Christ. It doesn't make any difference whether we're Jews or Gentiles, free men or slaves, because we all get our strength from the same Holy Spirit.

(VERSES 14-26 USE THE PARTS OF THE HUMAN BODY TO ILLUSTRATE THE DIFFERENT SPIRITUAL GIFTS THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES HIS CHURCH MEMBERS).

27 That's how the body of Christ, the church, functions. Each of you is a different part of it.
28 In His church some function as apostles, having a clear picture of the church's mission. Some might be given the gift of prophecy to help guide the church. Others have the ability to evangelize and teach others. In addition to these three major functions, God has put other parts in the church such as those who can work miracles, those who can heal, those who can administer and manage and those who can preach in different languages.
29 Can all men lead? Has everyone been given the prophetic office? Do all the mem bers know how to teach? Can everyone per form miracles?
30 Is everyone able to heal? Can all speak in different languages or can all translate?
31 No, we don't all have the same gifts. It's not wrong to want additional gifts as long as you don't want them in order to function outside the body. But let me tell you about the very best fruit of the Spirit.”  (Clear Word Paraphrase--1 Cor. 12:1-13,  27-31).

The following is a list of Bible passages that are the primary sources for understanding spiritual gifts in the life of the church:

Romans 12:3-8
1 Corinthians 12:1-31
1 Corinthians 14:1-40
Ephesians 4:7-16
1 Peter 4:7-11

Keine,  I hope I have been a help in answering your question.  May God continue to bless you.