Christian Author and Pastor Ron Craig
Yes, still on church equipment. As has already been established, both the Gospel and the Holy Sprit are the supernatural equipment God has invested in the church for the purpose of getting supernatural solutions to supernatural problems—which all problems actually are! “We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but against evil powers in the spirit realm [which are behind all people-problems] (Ephesians 6:12).” That means that until the church starts believing in and using its supernatural equipment to provide real solutions to people with real problems, the world will have to keep on trying to solve its spiritual problems with natural means—which does not have a very impressive track record. Just look at the mess the modern world is in. Mankind’s problems began when he rebelled against Deity in the Garden of Eden, so how can he solve problems resulting from rebellion by continuing in rebellion? The Creator became a man in the form of our Lord Jesus Christ; Who took upon Himself every curse that rebellious man had brought upon himself through sin (and all have sinned—Romans 3:23), in order to get lost people back in good standing with their Creator. Sounds like a super deal to me! All the curses resulting from sin were enmeshed with sin, so when Jesus Christ was made to be sin (2 Corinthians 5:32) he was made a curse as well (Galatians 3:13). Jesus bore it all in the same sacrifice. Therefore, He saved us from the curses of sin, as well as from sin itself!
But, what does all that have to do with the church being equipped? At least part of the answer is in Ephesians 4:11-12 and following. While all Christians have a ministry of some kind, God has given to the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry. What is called the five-fold ministry has been invested in the church, and is to remain in the church until Jesus Christ returns, for the purpose of equipping and enabling the church to administer supernatural solutions to natural problems caused by supernatural powers running loose in the world. That is the Gospel Truth! Certain men through the centuries have questioned that Bible truth, and have endeavored to do away with it. However, the Word of God has not, and cannot, be changed, or become obsolete. People need to do all of the changing. First, sinners need to be changed from the inside out by being born again. Then, those who have been born again (we Christians) need to believe what God has said in His Word, not what those Bible-alterers have said. Our next discussion will deal with what the bible declares is the fate of those who tamper with God’s Word.
(If you are not a committed member of some other Christian fellowship, you are invited to visit Living Way Fellowship at 2041 County Road 73, in Killen area. From Killen, going north on US 43, turn right on County Road 73 and go 2 and 1/2 miles. We are on the right. You can’t miss the sign out front—Living Way Fellowship. Sunday 10:00 A.M., Wednesday 7:00 P.M. Ron Craig is the pastor, teacher and Christian book author. Contact us at ronwritercraig@gmail.com, or log onto our church website at www.livingwayfellowshiponline.org. While logged on our website, check out my books and audio podcasts. Wouldn’t hurt!)
