Faulting The NIV

“8 And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. 9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.” Acts 21:8,9, KJV

I haven’t researched this thoroughly but I think the New International Version (NIV) is the most widely read Bible among believers. But in verse 9 of the above portion of scripture, whereas the King James version says “virgins”, the NIV says “unmarried”. In other words, the NIV refuses to ACCEPT the possibility of all these four girls, who were sisters, being virgins, and instead chooses to label them as unmarried.

Such a possibility (virginity) is unthinkable, even UNACCEPTABLE, in the world. And sadly this worldly viewpoint is being forced into the church. But to think that the Bible could be used…

But there is no doubt about it here: the NIV has been used. Through a subtle shift in wordage, the NIV effectively sets out to ERASE the possibility of these girls being virgins. Sadly, the NIV essentially denies the power of God.

This is the problem that the true gospel of Jesus Christ has had to contend with in every generation; and it is no less so in ours also. In our age, actually, the gear mode is in overdrive. There is just too much human wisdom being injected into the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But human wisdom is a resource of the devil. It is one of his biggest tools/weapons against the gospel.

And the devil is no fool. He knows the vital points of the gospel as well as of the Bible. And it is these that he goes after.

This scripture (Acts 21:9) is certainly one of the most powerful verses in the Bible for in it we see the power that was there in the Early Church through the holy lives that its people lived. It shows the central role that the Holy Spirit played in the lives of believers. Imagine four sisters, and all virgins. Moreover, they all prophesied. That is simply incredible. It is too difficult to conceive of in our modern era. No wonder the crafters of the NIV thought some modification of this very difficult scripture was in order. The enemy used these noble souls to hit a death blow to one of the most powerful scriptures. No one reading the NIV translation can truly understand the power that was in the Early Church through the spirit of holiness.

“Unmarried” is certainly not “virgins”.

But that is not all concerning the Early Church. One other factor was that the Early Church went through much suffering and persecution. Just here, in Philip’s house, a prophet by the name of Agabus would come by and foretell in the Spirit about Paul’s persecutions by the Jews in Jerusalem.

So what is the connection?

It is that the Spirit of Christ is the spirit of suffering. This was the spirit that the Early Church carried and lived, and it was through this very suffering and persecution that the church was able to live a holy and powerfully superior life in the Spirit.

It is in the crucible of suffering that true holiness is formed. Not anywhere else.

This was the fact that the engineers of the NIV never saw. And through being devoid of the revelation of the spirit of suffering that is in the gospel, they used their intelligence and totally robbed the Word of God of its power.

In the final analysis, of course, it is the enemy at work here. I have always wondered why the church would need all the versions of the Bible that are on the market today. But now it’s clear: the enemy is using these ‘Bibles’ to strip scripture of its power. That is the simplest explanation; but it is also the truth.

It is spiritually dangerous to go the way of the many, or to seek out the easy road. Many Christians probably believe that the NIV is an easy read. And that is where the danger lies.

[Through this one singular scripture (Acts 21:9) – and probably in others also – the NIV translation denies the power of God]

A Fool For God

19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

What incredible words! God has declared that He will not reveal His secret to the wise of this world. I know this will not go down well with the educated people of this world; but much learning actually puts one at risk of missing out on the things of God. The sharper the human mind, the more of an enemy it becomes with God. The smarter we get in this world, the further we move away from understanding the things of the Spirit.

We could say that the human mind is the earthly engine; while the heart is the spiritual engine. When we give too much power to the human mind, we give that much more room for worldly things and wisdom to come into our lives. On the other hand, when we crucify that mind and give more place to the heart, we grasp more of the things of the Spirit.

So what is the conclusion?

Become a fool in this world. Strive to become nothing. Unfortunately (for the flesh), that is the singular solution to arriving at the things of the Spirit. You cannot grasp the things of the Spirit with your mind; and the smarter you become, the further you go away from them. That’s a fact.

The Bible says,

“For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God…” (v.21)

Actually, God had no option. The world by its wisdom would not acknowledge God. So God chose a different path to get to man…

“… it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

Yap. God chose the foolish way of believing, not of wisdom. When the spirit of man hears the gospel, and a man makes the decision to believe in Jesus, all the while the human mind is fruitless! If it were up to the mind to help you believe, only those with Ph.Ds would get saved!

God nails this down even further. He says in 1 Cor. 1:26-31:

“26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of this world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And the base things of the world, and the things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

I recall an interesting story my fellow pastor told me. Probably most people who read this blog think I am the sharpest tool in the barn. Well, you would be shocked…

This pastor told me what occurred at his church when I first preached there. It was the first church that I preached in when I came to Singida. Immediately after the service ended, the assistant pastor pulled his senior pastor aside, an elderly man, and trying unsuccessfully to control himself, he told the pastor, “Of all the people you have brought here to preach, this is the dumbest of them all. Where did you pick him up from? No one here understood a word he said; certainly not I.”

Later that night at home, when the pastor was in bed with his wife, she said sarcastically, “At least bring to church someone who can speak!”

Luckily for me, I was not made aware of all this hullabaloo until much, much later, after God had put all my enemies in that church under my footstool. Today, all three are my most trusted right-hand men (and woman) here in Singida.

That is how the gospel works. That is how God’s power moves. It moves in weakness, and in foolishness.

[A fool. Perfect.]

The Gospel – A Responsibility (Part 2)

And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD. 1 Chr. 15:15

In his epistles in New Testament, the Apostle Paul brings the light of the gospel to bear upon this saga between God and David. In 1 Corinthians 1 verses 17-18, Paul writes:
“17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
And, in chapter 2 verses 1-5 he writes:
“1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

Both these scriptures indicate that the gospel of Jesus Christ is to be carried in the lives of men. It is to be demonstrated in the lives of men, not in fabulous teachings and programs of men. In other words, we bear a tangible responsibility in carrying the life of God in us. God does not dwell in men’s teachings, ability, plans, or even traditions, however wonderful. Nor does God dwell in our beautiful songs and dance. These are today’s “new carts”. These are the things that Paul talks of when he talks of
“excellency of speech or of wisdom” and “enticing words of man’s wisdom”.
But, on the contrary, God dwells in the hearts of men when their lives have been crucified. The Bible tells us that. You cannot come up with a new program for God. God always depended, and He still depends on His original program: crucify the flesh!
Hence, the significance of the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross it is that comes to build an abode in our lives for God to dwell in. It crucifies the old man of the flesh and allows the character of Christ to be built in us. Actually, the gospel is all about character – the character of Christ in us. This is the significance of this account of David and God.
Today, we have men who are serving God. The manner that they are going about serving God is what concerns God most. God wants men to serve Him with their lives, not with their wonderful teachings and theologies. If you are not willing to give your life, you will only bring death to those you minister to.
It is for this reason that the Apostle John writes in 1 Jn. 3:18:
“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
He is talking about serving God with our lives, not with our teachings or our programs.
And when the Apostle Paul says:
“And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power”;
he is giving an account of how he served God with his life. Paul’s life among the Corinthians is laid out here: it was
“in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.”
You don’t find that in many men of God today. Today, many men of God will demand this and that. I recently heard of one who would not sleep in a hotel room that does not have air conditioning. I don’t see much weakness, fear or trembling there. Just someone who wants to be treated super-special.
But you can read a lot about how Paul demonstrated the character of Christ in his life in 1 Thessalonians chapters 1 through 3.
Where is the responsibility of the cross in God’s people’s lives today? When David put God’s ark on a new cart, where were the priests and Levites? Where was Israel’s responsibility? God punished David and the entire nation of Israel when they thought to carry His ark on a “new cart”.
In the same manner, God will punish the church for thinking to carry the gospel through teachings alone. Teachings and programs, however “anointed”, will only bring death to God’s people if their carriers have not crucified their flesh with Christ. Today, there are all kinds of wonderful teachings going on in church. But God is looking for the crucified life.
I hear there are even so-called new age teachings… “God will take you into a new dimension”, etc.
Look, there are no “new dimensions”! The gospel has only one dimension: Jesus said if any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me. It is only when we carry the gospel of Jesus Christ in the right manner by denying ourselves that we can please God and bring Him into people’s lives.

Abraham – A Man of Faith

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. Heb. 11:8

I find it so appropriate that on this day, the 25^th of December, Christmas day, I should feel in my heart to write about our father of faith, Abraham. Abraham is a man we should love with all our hearts. Not the emotional kind of love, of course, but the Godly love.

Why? The reason is because Abraham was a man who agreed to lose. But even more important than that is that in losing, Abraham obeyed God. There are some people who believe than it is when we are gaining, when we are prospering materially or holding onto the things of this world, that we please God. They claim that such people have faith. But no. The prosperity gospel people are the people who if they lose a needle in a haystack will suffocate there rummaging for it. They are the kind of people who will never allow themselves to lose anything, and they can never please God. They are the “rights” people. But Jesus talked about losing. He said it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

Actually, the most lovable person in the Spirit is the person who is losing his or her rights.

Did you notice what the scriptures say about Abraham: “… he went out, not knowing whither he went.”

“Not knowing whither he went”. That talks of losing. I can assure you that this scripture is not for the rationally- minded. This is not a scripture for the rationalizing Christian. That can only be for the person who has seen in the Spirit. Actually, the Kingdom of God is all about faith. It is about seeing into the things of the Spirit. That is why the human mind – whether acutely intelligent, average, or near-blank – has no place absolutely in God’s Kingdom. God deals with us through our hearts – and our brains are certainly not in our hearts, are they?

The Kingdom of God is not about rationalizing. It is about obedience. God says, “Go”, and you move out. That was what Abraham did. He did not stand there wringing his hands and looking at all the familiar life he was being asked to leave behind. No – the man just upped and went away. You just have to give a big “Hurrah!” to Abraham for that.

But notice that Abraham did not just walk away into the mist. The Bible says: “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed”.

Abraham agreed to lose in the natural because he saw in the Spirit.

When we are seeing in the Spirit we can see our inheritance. We therefore do things confidently. We are sure of what we are doing, even if no one else sees it the same way that we do.

In these scriptures the Bible is simply talking about losing in the natural to gain in the Spirit. Abraham saw in the Spirit and saw the glory to come. But he also saw the price tag. If you think losing in the natural is easy, the answer is no. It is never easy to lose in the natural. That is why Abraham is a great man. He agreed to lose and in losing he obeyed God, that’s why.

Let’s come down to us. Probably where you are right now God is telling you to do something. You can feel it down in your heart, for God speaks to us through our hearts. God can also speak to us through people, but there will always be a confirmation in our hearts.

Unfortunately, this line is what prosperity preachers use to rob people of their money. They will tell you God wants you to give all your money right now – and you do it without a confirmation in your heart, and (like poor Prince John in Disney’s “Robin Hood”), brother, you’ve just been robbed!

But if it is God speaking to you, whether people tell you or not, there will be a confirmation in your heart.

And God does speak to us, and He most likely is speaking to you right now. If you hear God’s voice in your heart, this is not a time to rationalize. It is a time to obey. Get up right away and do what God is telling you to do. His voice is right there in your heart. You can hear it clearly, if you are born again. And all God wants is for you to obey.

Notice that Abraham “obeyed”.

Probably God is telling you to forgive, to let go, or even to humble yourself and ask for forgiveness from someone.

Probably God is telling you even to give money somewhere or to someone. Giving money is not a bad thing, only make sure you are not being robbed.

I am sure that God is asking many things of us right now. If God is telling you to do something, the confirmation will be right there in your heart. Do not waste time rationalizing. Do as Abraham did. Up and go! Up and go! Do according to your heart, as God instructs your heart.

That is where the real blessing is. The heart that Abraham had was the same heart that our Lord Jesus had. It was the heart that true men and women of God have had throughout the generations. Not a rationalizing heart, but an obedient heart.

Lord, I pray, please give me an obedient heart. Amen!

[Below: Abraham just upped and went]

Paul’s Speech and Preaching

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 1 Cor. 2:1-5

Here the Apostle Paul is simply saying that he would rather not speak a single word if what he spoke did not bring about a revelation of the crucified Christ (or a revelation of the cross of Christ). That is not anywhere near what many of us do.

Many Christians underestimate the power of the flesh in many areas of their lives, and this is very dangerous. As a matter of fact, today many believers, and especially pastors, are very much under the influence of sin in one or more areas of their lives. To be even clearer, I will say in all confidence that today sin is having a field day in the church. I know of many church leaders who are completely defeated by the flesh in their lives. Some are living in adultery, others are slaves to power and influence (pride), and others have been enslaved by the love of money and a material lifestyle.

But today, instead of preaching the singular gospel that would set men free from the power of these things, men are bringing to church gospels which have no power. They are speaking and preaching “power”, but it is not the power that Paul talked and preached.

The “power” that Paul is talking about is not the ‘power’ that many charismatics glorify today, the ‘falling under the power’ phenomenon. Whether one falls under the power or not is completely immaterial, for it is not talked of in the Bible. Indeed, whether “falling under the power” is there or not in the Bible, it is certainly not the power that Paul is talking about here. Paul is talking of a completely different power, the power to change a man on the inside. And he is saying that that power can only be found in one place – at the cross, where we learn to crucify the flesh and its lusts.

“Man’s wisdom” talks of playing with people’s psychology and preying on their emotions. In my country, for example, there is this gospel artist who sings songs about people’s travails in this worldly life. He sings things like, “God look upon your child who has no job; O, Lord, do something! Lord, look at this girl who has been praying for a partner for a long time; we say enough is enough, and right now I prophesy a partner in her life in Jesus Name!”, and many such sentiments. He has a soulful voice and his tapes fill every house in the country.

Of course, there are countless people who have the problems that this man is soulfully enumerating and they will readily identify with such soul-wringing words, words which are expertly applied.

In the Western world, I see tons of worldly wisdom dished out in church. Such wisdom appeals to the Western-schooled intelligence of pragmatism and rationalism.  You will hear, for example, teachings about positive thinking, capacity-building, the power of the human mind, and such-like things. Man is taught to become something. The human mind, which is the flesh, loves – actually craves – after these things.

But the Bible teaches that we are nothing, and we should not seek to be anything in this world.

It is a challenge to bring the true gospel to God’s people. Many people compromise and bring a worldly gospel to church. But we need to be strong like the Apostle Paul was and lose our pride and self-preservation and preach no other gospel apart from Jesus Christ, and Him crucified!

If we are not bringing this gospel to church, then we need to keep silent, for then we can bring no other gospel apart from that which comes from human wisdom. And this gospel has no power to deal with sin.

[Below: Anna the model. Whenever Anna comes into my room she simply sits on the stool like the perfect model and then she begins to talk!]

Only One Gospel!

Today I would like us to consider Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified”

The Apostle Paul says here that he would not preach any other gospel to the Corinthians “save Jesus Christ, and him crucified”! But he also says something else. He says that his preaching of the gospel was not done through “excellency of speech or of wisdom”.

Let us look at a few other scriptures in relation to this.

In 1 Samuel 16:7 God tells the Prophet Samuel that “…the LORD looketh on the heart”.

And in 1 Corinthians 1:20 we read that God has made foolish the wisdom of this world.

When you put all these statements together you arrive at two conclusions:

1. God has only one gospel for us;
2. God is not going to use our brains or our human wisdom to reveal His plan and purpose for our lives. God uses the heart. The heart is God’s workplace. In other words, God wants to change our hearts. We are what our hearts are. If our hearts are touched and changed by God, then we are changed. We become truly new creatures in Christ.

If we are not changed on the inside, we remain the same, old selves. We might have many things on the outside and appear to be rich spiritually, but the cold fact remains that we are unchanged. We could even have big ministries but God is not interested in that. In fact, we should be careful not to measure our status with God according to any external thing that we might have or that we could be doing.

There are things that have to do with our hearts and this is all that God is interested in. Purity of heart, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Gal 5:22-23) – these are the truly major issues with God.

The catch with mainstream Christianity is that it is the easiest thing to agree with this sentiment mentally, but it is an entirely different thing to live that life. Christians are struggling with these things every day of their lives! Keeping our hearts pure is not so easy after all! We need to experience Christ’s death in our lives daily so that His grace may be found in us.

Apparently, there were other gospels the Apostle Paul could have preached in his day. But he chose to preach only one – the gospel he knew had the power to change people on the inside.

When this revelation is lacking in our hearts, we console ourselves that we are okay even as we chase after other gospels which do not benefit our souls.

Paul, as Saul, was one of the most learned men of his day in the things of God. And yet, in the first chapter of Galatians he reveals that during the time that he thought he knew everything about God, it was at that very moment that he was persecuting the Church of Jesus Christ! He had all the head knowledge concerning God, but his heart remained unchanged. He was still an ordinary man, full of pride, anger, malice and hatred.

What was lacking? Paul answers this by declaring that the change in his life came after he received a revelation of the crucified Jesus Christ. Mark you, it was not a vision, but a revelation. In his spirit, he understood that Jesus died so that he, too, could identify with Him in that death in order to be found with Him in His life! And since this revelation was a work of the Spirit of God, there was a power that came with it to effect that change in Paul. It was a work so powerful that it conquered the sin nature in Paul’s life.

There are many different gospels being preached today; but it is difficult to find a gospel that deals with the issues of the heart of man. Many deal with the emotions of men. The heart is left untouched. People hear a gospel, but they are left still carrying loads of bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred, fear and many other un-Godly things. They jump and scream on hearing ‘powerful’, charismatic sermons, but they go home and live defeated lives. Pride – the true self in man – is destroying many Christians’ lives. Because the gospel they are hearing is not a revelation, these people’s hearts remain untouched – and their lives remain unchanged.

If victory over self and sin is lacking in our lives, then no matter what other ‘victories’ we may have we still are far short of the mark.

God is not going to change our hearts – and our lives – through head knowledge, or any other gospel apart from the gospel that the Apostle Paul received, which is the gospel of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

True Spiritual Victory

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Php 3:7-14) 

In every race, each athlete’s eyes are fixed on the finishing line. Once he or she touches that line they consider they have finished the race. But over and above that they make every effort to finish in a winning position so that they can receive the prize. After all, the really important person is the one who wins because he or she is the one who receives the prize.

The Apostle Paul desired to not only finish the heavenly race but to be that winning person. Paul got the revelation that the way to this was to conform to Christ by partaking in His sufferings and death. That meant forgoing, or denying all his earthly and fleshly rights. Only through this means could he attain to the prize of God’s high calling, which was the resurrection of the dead. And what is this resurrection of the dead? True, it includes the hope of eternal life that we have. But it also involves carrying the life of Christ in the here and now – victory over the flesh, the world and the devil.

The gospel that the Apostle Paul carried needed to be a revelation so that it would not get mixed with the craftiness of human wisdom. The latter appears like it has Godliness in it, but it never changes someone. It simply has not the power to do so. A revelation was what Paul got and he testifies that it changed him completely. He became, not a religious person, but a changed man.

How we need that revelation in our hearts today! That revelation will break us, and make us vessels worthy to carry the life of Christ. Through the manifold riches of God, the winning spot is one that is available to all of us.

We who are saved need to ask ourselves many questions today: whether that change is taking place in our lives daily; whether we are continually carrying a heart of true humility? Whether we are guarding and maintaining a pure heart at every cost? Whether we are paying the price of walking in true love and a tender, forgiving heart. These are things that require a high price indeed. And these are the things that the spiritual athlete is made of.

Christians today are busy boasting of their victories over the devil; but how often do we see the Apostles talking of the devil? They talked more about another more subtle and infinitely deadlier enemy: an enemy who does not and who cannot submit to the will of God. That enemy is the flesh. Unfortunately, today there is ‘another’ gospel being preached, which gratifies the flesh. It caters to and pampers the flesh. God’s people are not taught to crucify the flesh. On the contrary, in this ‘new’ gospel the flesh is very important . Live well, eat well, drive well, dress well, etc. Success is measured in financial and material terms. The ‘good life’ is emphasized. God’s people become, in effect, enemies of the Cross of Christ!

Well, I am sure God has no problem us living that good life. But He expressly instructs us to crucify the flesh. How we can reconcile the two is a gymnastic tightrope that much of the time we are unable to walk carefully enough. We easily play into the hands of the spirit of the world. Note the freedom of the man who, in Apostle James’ words, can live contented with the simple life: “Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.” James 1:9-10