As
we move along in developing a systematic theology from my paradigm shift, we
must continue to look at revelation, scripture and mysticism for a while. The
question to ask in this post is whether or not God speaks to humanity outside
of the bible? There is division in evangelical Christianity in this area. There
are the cessationists and the continuationists. The cessationists believe that
the gifts including prophecy have ceased since the first century. Many of them
believe that the closing of the canon in 457AD was the time that all the gifts
ceased, and that God only speaks through scripture today.
One
of the proof texts for the cessationists is 1 Corinthians 13:10; they claim
that the *perfect* that was to come was the scripture. The continuationist on
the other hand, believe that all of the gifts including prophecy are still
available to believers. Pentecostal groups are among the continuationists. They
essentially believe that all the gifts are still in operation and some of them
believe in the offices listed in Ephesians 4:11; they call it the fivefold
ministry however when one looks at the Greek, I think one could argue that it’s
the four-fold ministry because pastor
and teacher is likely one office.
I
personally think that the two opposing views both miss the point in a way. This
is why I have included mysticism in the mix here. I think the mystical union with
Christ via his Holy Spirit is a very important consideration. Jesus told his
followers that he would send an advocate, a comforter that would teach them
everything and help them remember what he said to them (John 14:26.) He also
said that he would send the advocate comforter to be with them forever (John 14:16.)
As
I have shown in many posts on this blog, Jesus interpreted the scripture so
that they could understand what it really meant… he opened their understanding…
opened the scroll as it were (Luke 24:27 – 43-45.) He gave the proper
understanding to what the scripture meant. Besides that, he gave it a solely
redemptive purpose (John 5:39-40.) When he returned to be with his Father he
continued to do that by his Holy Spirit. I believe that the Spirit of God will
illuminate the scripture for those who are resting in Jesus. I believe that my
paradigm shift is the result of illumination. Sometimes however, you have to be
willing to step outside of the traditional dogma and doctrine to receive the
illumination.
I
am not certain what came first, the paradigm shift in my theology, or the
paradigm shift in my understanding of the scripture. No doubt it was a little
of both. I remember as I read portions of the scripture that would get me up
tight and get me condemning myself. The Spirit would gently whisper in my mind,
“read it all Joe.” I was always left with a sense that I did not quite
understand it yet when this happened… and it was often followed by the warm
gentle thought, “my grace is sufficient for you.”
I
see no evidence that the Spirit is not speaking to people today. On the
contrary… I see abundant evidence that God’s Spirit is very active in speaking
to the saints. I wonder how many times we rebuke His Spirit like the Pharisees
of old when we think that it could not possibly be God speaking. We will
continue on with this in the next post and may I suggest that you click on this
link and read this
post on Jesus teaching about scripture from the archive.
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