Truth Magazine

By Cecil Willis

In this article, we are concerned with when did or will miracles cease. I maintain that they have already ceased, and others contend that they have not ceased as yet, but that they will cease at some future time. It might aid in clarifying the point of difference if we point out just exactly what the controversy is about. It is not about whether miracles were performed in the New Testament time or not, for I verily believe they were. It certainly is not whether God has the power to perform miracles or not, or believing God did perform miracles through the apostles and early disciples; certainly I believe He has the power to do so. Furthermore, if God chose to work a miracle today, He would definitely have the power to do so, being an infinite God. It is not whether Jews only received miraculous power for both Jews and Gentiles received miraculous gifts. So that is not the point of difference. Well, what is the point of discussion? It is simply whether God is working miracles though men today or not. It is not a question of power, but a question of fact. We want to study some of the passages on the cessation of miraculous gifts in this article. Also we shall note some of the arguments advanced seeking to prove that miracles are yet being performed.

First let us turn to 1 Corinthians 13: “Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away. For we know in part, and we prophecy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, that which in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I be known fully even as also I was fully known. But know abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love” (vs. 8-13). In this passage Paul was definitely talking about the time when prophecies would be done away-spiritual gifts would cease. He mentions the time when prophecies would be done away, tongues would cease, and knowledge would be done away. It should be apparent to all that Paul was speaking of miraculous .powers, and the time when they would be no more. Prophecies, tongues and knowledge were miraculous gifts. It is absurd for a person to declare that if one teaches that miraculous gifts were done away there is no knowledge left in the earth. Note the specific knowledge that Paul had in mind: “For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:8). In this passage Paul was enumerating the spiritual gifts. One of them was the gift of knowledge. While I certainly believe that natural knowledge is yet in the world, I do not believe that any man today has supernatural power. The apostles were told to take no thought what they, should say, for it would be given to them of their Father who is in heaven (Matt. 10:19). If these men who claim to have miraculous gifts of divine knowledge have such power, I could ask them to quote any passage in the Bible and even though they may never have memorized it, by divine power they could recite it. Find such a person. We would like for him to be tested.

Furthermore, one says if you say that that “which is perfect” had not come in New Testament times, you are declaring that the church was then imperfect. Paul was speaking of the fact that the New Testament Scriptures had not all been given, and that when they were perfected, or completed, for that is the meaning of the word “perfect”, then that which was in part, namely spiritual gifts or divine knowledge, prophecies, and tongues, were to be done away. Notice also that it is not I who says that that which is perfect had not come, but the apostle Paul: “…but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.”

We are told by men that miracles are a part of the perfect state of the church, and that if one says that miracles are no longer performed, he has removed himself from the gospel of Christ, and has a form of godliness, but denies the power thereof. They tell us that miracles are a part of the perfect state of the church. So if the New Testament was given after miracles were given, it made the church imperfect, because anything added to a perfect state would make it imperfect. We know that the giving of the Bible did not make the Lord’s church imperfect. Paul teaches that the revelation itself is that which is perfect. But if spiritual gifts or miracles are a necessary part of the perfect state of the church, then if what some of our friends teach us to be true, namely that the miracles will be done away in heaven, then we would have an imperfect church in heaven. Logic which is so contradictory to plain Bible truth must be predicated upon a fallacy. And it is! Miracles were needed only until the perfect revelation was given and confirmed.

In Mark 16:17, 18, Jesus said, “And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” We are told by our friends who claim the power to work miracles, that not all of these powers were intended to be perpetuated. Jesus only meant that three of them would follow them that believed, and not all five. Notice that Jesus said that believers would be able to (1) cast out demons, (2) speak in new tongues, (3) take up serpents, (4) drink deadly things, (5) heal the sick. But our religious friends who use this passage as proof of their divine authority and power to work miracles say that Jesus only intended for us to cast out demons, speak in tongues, and heal the sick. He never really intended for us to take up serpents without harm or drink poison without bodily injury. But friend, Jesus said that these five signs shall follow those that believe. Either these signs are not continued until today, or if they are to be done today, those who cannot do the signs are unbelievers, for Jesus says that the believers will be able to do these signs. I would like for someone to give the rule of Bible interpretation which makes it possible for one to say three of these signs were to continue and the other two were not. Again I say that the reason why these fellow do not handle serpents and drink deadly things is because those things will get a preacher killed. They lack faith in their power to do these things. In fact, they know if they drank poison, they would die just as you and I would. All these signs were for a given period and are not done today.

Now then, this question; Is it inconsistent for one to pray who does not believe that God works miracles today? It certainly is not. I pray for the sick, but I do not pray that God will heal them by a miracle. I pray that if it be according to His will, that such a one be restored to his normal health. And let me say this humbly: I declare that my prayer which is uttered in faith is as powerful as the prayers of these fellows who claim they can perform miracles. Every time God heals a person today, he does so by the established laws. I want to witness one single person healed instantlv of some organic disease. I have not lived too long, but as yet I have not seen such. I would like to see some of these miracle-workers raise someone from the dead-leave them in a tomb for four days, and then raise them from the dead. If you know of any willing to try it, I will gladly drive the person to the cemetery. I believe in prayer as much as any. I pray that God might grant me my daily food. But I have never expected God miraculously to rain down roast beef and cream pie to supply my need for food. But the fact that I do not expect it to be done by a miracle is not a reason why I should not pray to God for my daily food. If I cannot pray for the sick unless I expect God to answer by miracle, I cannot pray for my food unless I expect God to answer by a miracle. I believe in prayer. I also believe the prayers of righteous people are stronger that the prayers of fake-healers, so we do not call them in when one of the members where I attend becomes ill.

We are told that doctors all over the country will testify to the fact that miracles of healing are being performed. We are not asking for the testimony of doctors all over the country. We are only asking for the testimony of two of them. This request was made where I preached one time with a thousand dollar reward given to the miracle-worker who actually did heal a person, as verified by two doctors. No one collected the reward. Get any instance where a man is completely healed of a blind eye, a withered leg, or a severed leg made whole. We would like to see this.

We hear a great deal of talk about people who limit the power of God by saying He cannot work miracles. I personally have never met a single member of the body of Christ who taught that God cannot work a miracle, We teach He is not, not that He cannot. But some of our religious friends would really limit the power of God. They say that God cannot do anything unless He does it through a miracle. God cannot heal unless He does it miraculously, they tell us. Now who is limiting God’s power? They are. There are many denominations who claim that they are working miracles. All of them claim their power to inspired preaching and miraculous power comes from Almighty God. Yet they declare that the other groups definitely could not be of God. At the same time, they all present the same kind of human testimony to prove their miracles. God does not grant all of them divine power, and then by inspiration guide them to teach conflicting and contradictory doctrines. The truth is that any doctrine that is taught which cannot be found in the Scriptures is not of divine origin. And if all these people teach is of Biblical origin, of what value is their claim to inspiration in their teaching and preaching? Does that make it doubly inspired?

We are asked to believe some of the most astounding events as miraculous. Once I was asked if I believed that all of the so-called miracles which have been claimed were frauds. I reply’ by stating that I deny that there has been a single miracle performed since the death of the last disciple on whom the apostles bestowed the power to work miracles. Find me an exception if you can. I was asked if I believed that the so-called miraculous experiences of John Wesley were just fraud. Sometimes people call things miracles which are not at all. We often say that it was a miracle that a man could do such-and-such a thing. but it was not or he could not have done it, without divine power. Such were some of the things spoken by John Wesley. Some time ago I ran across this account of a miracle, or at least a preacher called it that. A preacher who believed that God performed a miracle on John Wesley said this: “John Wesley was riding along on his horse, and said, `I see no reason why the great God of high heaven can’t rest me while I am riding along’. And his horse was lame and he prayed God, and God rested him in his body, and healed his horse so he trotted and didn’t limp’ ” (Nichols- Weaver Debate, p. 77). Maybe some of the healers should try healing horses. They might be more successful. Friends, don’t be deceived by these men who claim miraculous power. If they are so powerful it should be a simple matter for them to refute the arguments of one who is uninspired, but who humbly tried to reason from God’s word.

Truth Magazine XXI: 14, pp. 214-216
April 7, 1977

By Mike Willis

Jehovah Passages Applied To Jesus

Another line of evidence which shows that Jesus is God is to notice the number of passages from the Old Testament which speak of Jehovah and which are applied in the New Testament to Jesus. These passages force one to the conclusion that Jesus is the God called Jehovah in the Old Testament. Carefully notice that I am not saying that the Son is the Father but that the name Jehovah is applied to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Here are some of the passages which in the Old Testament speak of Jehovah but in the New Testament are applied to Christ.

1. Psa. 68:18-“Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captive thy captives; thou hast received gifts among men, even among the rebellious also, that the Lord God may dwell there.” In Eph. 4:8, this passage is quoted and applied to Jesus Christ.

2. Psa. 102:25-27. This psalm opens, “Hear my prayer, O Lord” (Jehovah). Then, in the verses which interest us, the psalmist said, “Of old Thou didst found the earth; and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. Even they will perish, but Thou dost endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing Thou wilt change them, and they will be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years will not come to an end.” The “Thou” of these verses is Jehovah as verse 1 indicates. This passage is quoted in Heb. 1:10-12 as applicable to the Son. The only way that this could be, in any sense, applied to the Son is if the writer of Hebrews thought that he was Jehovah incarnated.

3. In John 12:37-41, the apostle wrote, “But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him; that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed ? For this cause they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, He has blinded their eyes, and He hardened their heart; lest they see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and be converted, and I heal them.’ These things Isaiah said, because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.” When he said that Isaiah saw His glory and spoke of Him, John intended this to be understood to refer to Jesus, Yet, the passages which he quoted was Isaiah 6:10 which tells of Isaiah being in the presence of Jehovah when Jehovah called him to be His prophet. The only possible explanation of this is that John identified Jesus with Jehovah.

4. Isaiah 40:3. In Isaiah’s prophecy of the ministry of John. the Baptist, he said, “A voice is calling, `Clear the way for the Lord (Jehovah) in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.” Matt. 3:3 quotes this passage as foretelling the ministry of John the Baptist. Notice, however, for whom the path was made ready. Isaiah called it the way of the Lord (Jehovah) but Matthew applies it to John’s preparation for the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, the evidence is that Jesus is identified as Jehovah.

5. Joel 2:28-32. “And it shall come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. And even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.” Our readers, no doubt, recognize this as the passage quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost. In Acts 2, the Jews were told to call on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Hence, Peter identified the Lord Jehovah with the Lord Jesus. The same application of this passage occurs in Rom. 10:13 where Paul quotes Joel 2:32 and applies it to Jesus.

6. 1 Pet. 3:14-15 quotes Isa. 8:12ff in part. Peter said. “But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts . . . .” The passage in Isa. 8:12-13 says, “And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it. It is the Lord (Jehovah) of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread.” The quotation of this passage with the identification of Christ as the Lord makes the conclusion irresistible that Jesus is Jehovah.

7. Deut. 30:11-14. “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it that we may observe it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, `Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe.” This passage is obviously referring to Jehovah (v. 10). Yet, in Rom. 10:6-11, Paul specifically applied this to Christ. Here is what he said: “But the righteousness based on faith speaks thus, Do not say in your heart, `Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or `Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? `The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’–that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, `Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”‘ The only conclusion is that Jesus is Jehovah.

8. Zech. 12:10. The reader must recognize that the personal pronouns of this passage apply to Jehovah God. The verse reads, “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first born.” Notice that the passage says that they will look on Me Jehovah whom they have pierced. Jn. 19:37 applies this messianic prophecy to Jesus. Obviously, Jesus is Jehovah.

Unexplainable Passages

There are a number of passages which teach that certain things belong exclusively to Jehovah which things are later said to also belong to Jesus. These passages are contradictory of each other unless Jesus is Jehovah. Here are a number of those passages:

1. Lord of Lords. In Deut. 10:17, Moses said, “For the Lord (Jehovah) your God is God of gods and Lord of lords . . . .” In Rev. 17:14, Jesus is identified as “Lord of lords.” Who is Lord of lords? The passages are not in conflict once Jesus is identified as Jehovah.

2. Knows the hearts of men. In 1 Kgs. 8:39, the writer said that Jehovah alone “dost know the hearts of all the sons of men.” Yet, Lk. 5:22 and Jn. 2:25 explicitly say that Jesus knew the hearts of men. Again, this is best harmonized by admitting that Jesus is Jehovah.

3. The Glory of God. In Isa. 42:8, Isaiah said, “I am the Lord (Jehovah), that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images.” Yet, in Jn. 17:5 and 1:14, Jesus is said to have the glory of God.

4. Creator of the World. In Isa. 44:24, Jehovah is identified as Creator of this World; He said, “I, the Lord (Jehovah), am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself and spreading out the earth all alone.” The New Testament teaches that Jesus is the Creator (Jn. 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2). The only way that Jehovah could have done these things “all alone” was if Jesus is Jehovah.

5. Lord of Sabbath. In Ex. 20:8-11, the Sabbath is consecrated and set apart to Jehovah; it belonged to Jehovah because on that day He rested. Yet. Jesus boldly taught that He was Lord of the Sabbath (Mk. 2:28). He was guilty of blasphemy if He were not Jehovah.

6. The Rock. In 1 Cor. 10:4, Paul related some of the history of Israel. He said, “. . .and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.” The only person referred to as the rock for Israel in the Old Testament was Jehovah (Isa. 44:8). Yet, Jesus is here identified as the Rock from which Israel drank in the wilderness. Paul obviously is identifying Jesus as Jehovah (cf. Deut. 32:15).

7. Stills the Sea. In Psa. 89:8-9, the psalmist said, “O Lord God of hosts, who is like Thee, O mighty Lord (Jehovah)? Thy faithfulness also surrounds Thee. Thou dost rule the swelling of the sea; when the waves rise, Thou dost still them.” Yet, Jesus also stilled the sea (Mt. 8:23ff); Jesus exercised the power of Jehovah because He is Jehovah.

8. Savior. In Isa. 43:11 and 45:21, Jehovah is identified as the only Savior. Yet, the New Testament teaches that Jesus is our Savior (cf. Mk. 2:7; Tit. 2:13). Jesus is able to be our Savior and forgive our sins because He is Jehovah.

Other evidences similar to these could be added to show that things which were exclusively the characteristic of Jehovah in the Old Testament were said to be true of Jesus in the New Testament. These evidences confirm what I have been seeking to establish, namely, that Jesus is Jehovah.

Colossians 2:9

The book of Colossians was addressed to a church which was bothered by a Gnostic heresy very similar in doctrine to that of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Instead of saying that Jesus was God, Gnosticism said that Jesus was an emanation from God. William Barclay described the Gnostic heresy as follows:

“Gnosticism began with two basic assumptions about matter. First, it believed that spirit alone is good, and that matter is essentially flawed and evil. Matter is basically an evil thing. Second, it believed that matter is eternal; and that the universe was not created out of nothing-which is orthodox belief-but that this flawed matter is the stuff and material out of which this world was made. Now this basic belief has certain inevitable and logical consequences . . . .It has its effect on the doctrine of the person of Jesus Christ. If matter is altogether evil, and if Jesus Is the Son of God, then Jesus cannot have had a flesh and blood body-so the Gnostic argued. Jesus must have been a kind of spiritual phantom. He must have looked as if He had a body, and yet not have had one. So the Gnostic romances say that when Jesus walked, He left no footprints on the ground, because He had no body to leave them. This, of course, completely removes Jesus from humanity, and makes it completely impossible for Him of be the Savior of men. It is to meet this Gnostic doctrine that Paul insists on the flesh and bloody body of Jesus, and insists that Jesus saved men in the body of His flesh” (The Daily Study Bible, “The Letter to the Colossians,” pp. 118-119).

“It is best if we go through the whole perversion of Christianity by Gnosticism before we look at Paul’s resounding answer to ft. The next mistake in which Gnosticism issued was a denial of the uniqueness and the full divinity of Jeuss Christ. The Gnositcs had drawn their picture of the long series and ladder of emanations between man and God. They then went on to say that Jesus was no more than a link in that chain; he might even be the highest link; but he was no more than of these many beings who were intermediaries between God and man. To them he was no longer unique; he was simply one of many, even if he was the highest of many. The direct and unique unity of Jesus with God was gone, and at the best Jesus ranked only with the highest of the prophets” (The All-Sufficient Christ, pp. 52-53).

Like the Gnostics, the Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the full deity of Jesus Christ; they teach that Jesus was just an emanation from Jehovah and not Jehovah Himself. Hence, Col. 2:9 must be understood as a full denial of the Gnostic (and Jehovah’s Witnesses) doctrine of Christ.

The passage says, “For in Him (Jesus-mw) all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” This passage states that Christ is very God Himself. Here are some comments about this passage from reputable Greek scholars:

“Here Paul declares that `all the fulness of the Godhead’ dwells in Christ `bodily.’ The phrase `fulness of the Godhead is an esp. emphatic one. It means everything without exception which goes to make up the Godhead, the totality of all that enters into the conception of Godhood . . . .The distinction is that theotes emphasizes that it is the highest stretch of Divinity which is in question, while theiotes might possible be taken as referring to Deity at a lower level. It is not merely such .divinity as is shared by all the gods many and lords many of the heathen world, to which `heroes’ might aspire, and `demons’ attain, all the plenitude of which dwells in Christ as incarnate; but that Deity which is peculiar to the high gods, or, since Paul is writing out of a monotheistic consciousness, that Deity which is the Supreme God alone. All the fulness of supreme Deity dwells in Christ bodily. There is nothing in the God who is over all which is not in Christ . . . .Paul wishes here to assert-that all that enters into the conception of God, and makes God what we mean by the term `God,’ dwells in Christ, and is manifested in Him in connection with a bodily organism” (“Godhead,” Benjamin Warfield, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. II, pp. 1269-70).

“When the apostle thus describes Christ he has in mind the latter’s deity, not just his divinity. He is referring to the Son’s complete equality of essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit, his consubstantiality, not his similarity. He is saying that this plenitude of deity has its abiding residence in Christ, and this bodily” (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Colossians, p. 111).

. . .St. Paul is declaring that in the Son there dwells all the fulness of absolute Godhead; they were no mere rays of divine glory which gilded Him, lighting up his person for a season and with a splendour not his own; but He was, and is, absolute and perfect God . . . .” (R. C. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, p: 8).

That Jesus is God cannot be denied.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses deny that Jesus is fully God; they will state that Jesus is “a god” or “divine” but will deny that He is Jehovah God. In essence, they are saying that not all the fulness of God dwelt in Jesus. Yet, Col. 2:9 teaches otherwise; it asserts that Jesus is God. (Continued Next Week)

Truth Magazine XXI: 14, pp. 211-214
April 7, 1977

By Larry Ray Hafley

Between the ages of 19 and 22, Freddie Prinze attained and achieved what most men never realize-fame, money, popularity, success. He had it all. Now he is dead. By his own hand he left the goods, gold and glitter of this world. Freddie found this life’s wealth was ashes in his mouth. So, he determined to put himself out of his misery. But did he?

One may shoot a horse with a broken leg or give an old, sick dog an injection and “put him out of his misery.” However, it does not work that way with man.

The spirit of an animal goes downward to the earth while man’s spirit goes unto God who gave it (Eccl. 3:19-21; 12:7). The ultimate tragedy is not that a sensationally talented comedian has been snuffed. The real disaster is that Prinze left this world for another from which there is no escape. What is more awful is the fact that he was ignorant of the fact. He thought he could terminate his sorrows with a bullet in the brain. He did not.

This world is full of Freddie Prinze stories. You never hear of them because the poor people involved are not as well known as he was. As I write, someone somewhere has done what he did. In so doing he has put himself into real misery rather than taking himself out. The most common age for suicide is 15 to 25. Unbelievable, is it not? That cold, chilling statistic contains a message. Who will hear it?

Poor Freddie Prinze and all his type! Their answers and solutions are located in Ecclesiastes, but must they enter the hadean realm before they find it out?

Truth Magazine XXI: 13, p. 206
March 31, 1977

By Franklin Burns

No subject has greater prominence in the Bible than prayer, and yet many Bible students are growing more indifferent to its blessings and privileges. God speaks to us through the Bible. We speak to Him through the medium of prayer. It is a tragic thing for us to refuse to be on speaking terms with our Creator. Any failure that comes into our lives as Christians is due to our shortcomings and not to God’s neglect. But prayer is the golden link that puts us in communication with God.

Pray for Wisdom

“But if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). God does not promise in this text to give you knowledge. Knowledge is information stored up in the mind, and is acquired by study, experience, and observation. Wisdom is skill, or tactful application, in the use of knowledge. It involves skillful use of any means to accomplish an end. Christians need Bible knowledge, and they need wisdom, or tact, that they may be able to properly use that knowledge. It is our duty as well as privilege to pray for wisdom.

Pray That the Lost be Saved

Paul prayed that his Jewish brethren might be saved (Rom. 10:1-3). Certainly he did not pray for them to be saved in disobedience; and it would not have been unnecessary for him to pray for God to save them when they obeyed God, for God would have done that without Paul’s praying for their salvation. In his great desire that his brethren be saved he prayed that conditions and circumstances might be such as to lead them to accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Paul not only prayed for the salvation of others, he worked and prayed. In fact the very things that seem to hinder some today did not seem to enter into the thinking of the early Christians. Their prayers pretty well covered the ground of all Christian activities and material needs. Study closely the things Paul prayed for as indicated in Col. 1:9-12. “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will and all wisdom and spiritual understanding. That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness,. giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints of light”.

Paul went to the ends of the earth under severe persecution, under many trying circumstances, laboring day and night, to try to save the lost. Those of us who live in this day and time with all the comforts, conveniences, and luxuries, cannot find as much as an hour a week to go out and try to teach the lost. Why? There is not the love for them that there ought to be. It is too easy to sit back and ease our consciences by saying, “this is a hard field. They just will not listen”. How do you know? Have you missed a meal or a few hours sleep to try? Friend, develop this love for mankind. Kneel down in prayer to God for your failure to teach the lost. Pray that He will help you to go forth with His saving message.

Pray for Laborers

We should pray that God will send forth laborers and that we may be laborers. Working in the kingdom of Christ is an essential activity of Christians. What is the purpose of our creation in Jesus Christ? It is good works (Eph. -2:10). How is the church built up? It is built up by the working of the members (Eph. 4:16). How did Paul have such success in his life? He had success by hard `labor (Acts 20:18-21, 31). Is it possible that the church has more members than it does workers? Luke 10:2 suggests the possibility. “The harvest indeed is plenteous, but the laborers are few”. Jesus said, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest” (Matt. 9:38).

We as Christians are “co-laborers with God” (1 Cor. 3:9). The kingdom of God is likened to a vineyard. In that vineyard we are to labor, to work, and further the cause of God. When we engage in saving souls, we engage in the greatest business in the world. The whole world lies in darkness. Its only hope is in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Unto us has been committed the task of enlightening the world (Rom. 10:13-17).

When Jesus gave the great commission, He gave the marching orders for His army as they march against the hosts of evil and ignorance. Our command is to carry to people in sin the story of salvation provided by God’s grace in Christ Jesus. Paul in writing letters to various churches often expressed his desire for them. To the Colossians he wrote “we do not cease to pray and make request for you” (Col. 1:9-12). Upon the church at Thessalonica he said, “Now may our God and father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another and toward all men, even as we also do toward you; to the end he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” (1Thess. 3:11-13). Every gospel preacher should have such feelings concerning those with whom he labors.

Pray for Boldness

We should pray that preachers may speak with boldness. Acts 4 records how the apostles Peter and John were threatened; when they were allowed to go to their own company, they prayed unto God. Their prayer was that God would give them boldness to speak the word of God (v. 29). If these apostles needed to pray for such, then, surely there is a need to pray that preachers have that same boldness today! Paul, in giving the charge to the young preacher Timothy, said, “Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry” (2 Tim. 4:2-5).

Every gospel preacher worthy of the name should pray that he might always be willing to speak out on any question regarding the teaching of the Bible and the welfare of the church. This does not imply that he should forever be talking about conditions about which he knows little or nothing, but it does mean that he should always be willing for his position on vital questions to be known. And, he should be willing to make use of all opportunities for using his influence for the advancement of the cause of Christ here in this world. Paul told the Ephesian brethren to “pray always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perservence and supplication for all saints, and for me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds; that therein I may speak boldly, As I ought to speak”.

Paul Prayed for the Philippians

When Paul prayed unto God on behalf of the Philippians (Phil. 1:9), there were several elements involved which made it an effectual prayer (James 5:16). There are motives, conditions, and circumstances which should be considered as examples to the child of God today. Many times Christians do not pray because they doubt the effectiveness of prayer. This may have come about because they are expecting something which God has not promised (1 John 4:14), or they are expecting a miracle at a time when God is not causing miracles to be performed (1 Cor. 13:8-10), or they may have lost sight of the proper motive and circumstances of prayer (Phil. 1:3-8; James 4:3).

Many times we become greedy in our prayer to the point that we do not want to include others in our prayers, and do not even include the personal blessings for which we ought to be thankful. Then we want to blame God for not hearing our prayers and accuse Him of not fulfilling His word.

Paul was thankful to God at his every remembrance of the Philippians. This is the place where they had whipped him and bound him and put him in prison. Should he have not remembered that place with vengeance? Could you and I have remembered that place without vengeance in our hearts? This is the difference between thinking according to the natural, fleshly impulse and living by the spirit. Those whom he remembered were children of God, people who had permitted their lives to be molded by the gospel which Paul had preached. Since they were fulfilling the very purpose of his life, he would let these things far outweigh the bitter things which had happened in their city. There should be thanksgiving in our prayers for the blessings which we receive and for God’s faithful children everywhere.

Prayer should not be bound by our personal needs. If one’s prayer is directed to God as worship to him, he should consider God and His will above the will and personal desires of himself. (Matt. 6:10; 26:39). God’s will includes others besides one’s own self. Then we should be concerned with, and pray on behalf of others. Paul made supplication for the Philippians always in his prayers. Take stock of your prayers. Is it overweighed with self? Does it consider the faithful in Christ?

Paul Prayed with Joy

Our prayers for many people would not be expected to be with joy. They might be overtaken in tresspass and sin. They might be burdened with grief and sadness. But when children of God are working, growing, and in happy fellowship with God and one another, it is time for joy. We should pray for them that they may abound in these blessings and duties, but we can and should make such supplications with joy. This is the apostolic example which Paul has given us.

Pray with Confidence

The effectiveness of prayer is destroyed if the person prays with little or no confidence that God will fulfill his petition. James says we are to pray for wisdom and that God will give liberally. He gives a limitation however. We are to pray without doubt. A man who doubts is double-minded and that kind of man is not to think that he will receive anything of the Lord (James 1:5-7). The Lord taught his disciples, “and all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matt. 21:22). We need not to think that this one condition for acceptable effectual prayer will override and exclude all other conditions which the Lord has given; but, this is one that we are to have in our prayers. Paul had confidence that God who had begun a good work in the Philippians would continue to do so, hence, he could pray that they would continue and be edified. The confidence which motivated his prayer for them was in God, who could grant his petition which was according to God’s will.

Let us pray and work, however, for “the man of God” described by Paul in his letters to Timothy and Titus. Let us pray that God will raise up many such men! Pray for laborers who have wisdom and boldness. Pray that saints be strong, like those at Philippi. Pray that “the man of God” will reprove and rebuke, encourage and correct. Pray that God’s purpose for the salvation of the lost be fulfilled. In all of this, let us pray with joy.

Truth Magazine XXI: 13, pp. 204-205
March 31, 1977