Your Questions Answered III

Question 1

Please explain who the sons of God are relative to the daughters of men in Genesis 6:2.
Answer

Here, the sons of God refer to the fallen angels who were banished from heaven and sent down to the earth along with the devil at the time of his rebellion against God. If you read from verse 1, it is apparent that the Bible clearly makes a distinction between the sons of God and the men who were on the earth at that time. Isaiah 14:12-15 tells the account of how God banished Lucifer, as he was then known, from heaven to the earth.
Question 2

What do people mean when they say Holy Ghost fire? Is it scriptural?
Answer

The major issue here is that the church has simply refused to move beyond types and shadows to substance. All through the Scriptures, we have several symbols used to depict the person, work, and ministry of the Holy Spirit and they are fire, water, wind, oil, and dove (See John 7:38-39, Acts 2:1-3, 1 Samuel 16:13, Matthew 3:16). Nowhere in the Scriptures does it say that the Holy Spirit is any of these things as the references only draw comparisons, so it is scripturally inaccurate for people to equate Him with any of these things. Now that we have the substance, the Holy Ghost in us, we must be able to put types and shadows in their proper perspective. Scripturally, there is nothing like Holy Ghost fire! If we accept Holy Ghost fire then it means we have Holy Ghost oil, Holy Ghost water, Holy Ghost wind, Holy Ghost dove etc. That is not to say that God cannot send down fire from heaven anyway but you can be sure it will not be Holy Ghost fire (See 1 Kings 18:38, Genesis 19:24).
Question 3

Please throw more light on Malachi 3:1, 4:5 and Matthew 11:14. What is the relationship between Elijah and John the Baptist?
Answer

The messenger in Malachi 3:1 is an obvious reference to John the Baptist and this prophecy was fulfilled before Jesus was revealed as the son of the Most High God.

The prophecy in Malachi 4:5 clearly refers to Elijah and will most likely be fulfilled in Revelation 11:3-14. The reference in Matthew 11:14, alludes to the similarity in the work and ministry of both Elijah and John the Baptist. Elijah was the first major prophet who helped kings to maintain a good relationship with the Lord and John the Baptist was the first person to speak about the new order of worship to be revealed in Jesus the Messiah. It is also instructive to read the account of the transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17:1-13 with special emphasis on verse 4 and verse 11. Peter identifies the two people as Moses and Elijah (who were not his contemporaries). If Elijah had come back as John the Baptist, Peter would simply have identified him as John and not as Elijah. In verse 11, Jesus gives us insight into the similarity in the work of Elijah and John the Baptist.
Question 4

Why did Jesus choose only 12 apostles?

Answer

The simple answer to this question is that it was all part of Gods grand plan and design for the salvation of men (John 5:30). The statement of truth here is that everything that Jesus did while on the earth was as commanded and instructed by God. Undoubtedly, Jesus could have chosen fewer or more apostles to do the work so choosing to restrict the number to twelve could only have been in line with Gods divine agenda. See Revelation 21:10-14 for more insight into the matter.
Question 5

Using 1 Corinthians 14:26-33 as a reference, is it right for believers to speak in tongues in church?
Answer

1 Corinthians 14:26-28 says, What then shall we say, brothers? When you come

together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two - or at the most three - should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God. From the above, it is clear that the Bible does not
prohibit speaking in tongues in church but that when it is spoken aloud there must be someone to give an interpretation. If there is no interpretation, so that it might make sense to everyone present, then the speaker should speak quietly to God for personal edification (1 Cor. 14:4). What it means is that speaking in tongues in

church is good but providing an interpretation so that everyone else may benefit is even much better (1 Cor. 14:5-10, 39-40).
Question 6

Will God punish all kinds of (planned and unplanned) sins equally?
Answer

It is important to state categorically here that with God, no kind of sin will go unpunished. In other words as far as God is concerned, sin is sin no matter the seeming size or perceived gravity. If you read Romans 6:1-4, 14, you will clearly understand the biblical perspective on sin and see that there is no adjective used to qualify the sin. Thus, sin no matter the description or seeming weight is sin and will be treated with the same punishment (Revelation 21:8).
Question 7

What is the position of the Scriptures on baptism in the light of the practice of infant baptism?
Answer

It is practically impossible for any infant to understand the significance of baptism and in fact, there is no scriptural precedent for it. Colossians 2:12 says, having been

buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. In the light of the above Scripture, it becomes clear
that the rite of baptism is one that requires a consciousness and acceptance of the finished work of Christ on the cross on the part of the one being baptised (Romans 6:3-4). Anything short of this is purely an artificial practice.
Question 8

Please explain Hebrews 4:3-4 with emphasis on entering Gods rest.

Answer

It is instructive to read the verses that appear in the chapter before this reference as this will aid a complete understanding of the subject. Hebrews 3:19 says, So we see that they were unable to enter, because of their unbelief. The verse refers to the Israelites in the wilderness who were unable to enter into the Promised Land where they would have rest from all their enemies. In other words, the rest here symbolises an appropriation of the promises of God as the Bible still declares that the promise of entering that rest still stands. Therefore, we see that the primary requirement for anyone in todays world who wants to enter into Gods rest is to

have belief in his words and promises. If we hear the gospel, receive it and believe it then we enter into his rest (John 1:12, Hebrews 4:1-11).
Question 9

Why do we not just use the Lords prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 every time we pray?
Answer

What we call the Lords Prayer is actually the Lords example/teaching on prayer as there is no indication in the Scriptures that Jesus prayed this prayer every time he prayed. It is simply a model prayer and nothing more as it contains several elements that make prayer what it is for example it starts by calling God our father who is in heaven thus symbolising the existence of a relationship between God and us. The Bible records another account in Luke 11:1-4 and a closer look at verse 1, tells us that the request was for Jesus to teach them (the disciples) to pray and not what to pray. We are not expected to say this prayer every time we want to pray rather it is to be used as a model after which our prayers can be patterned as there are core elements of relationship, worship, adoration, requests, forgiveness etc. therein.
Question 10

Reading from John 16:7 as a reference, please explain why the Holy Spirit only came upon the kings in the time of old?
Answer

The major difference is that at that time, what was in effect was the Old Covenant and there was no provision for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in man under that covenant. Refer to the examples of Saul (1 Samuel 10:1, 6), David (1 Samuel 16:13) and Samson (Judges 14:19). It was still the same Spirit at work but the covenant was a different one from what we have today. In the New Covenant however, it is not just a coming upon but also a dwelling within (Acts 1:8, John 14:16-17). It has pleased God to dwell in man under the New Covenant of which Jesus is the eternal high priest (Hebrews 8:7, 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 2 Corinthians 1:21-22). The major difference between the old covenant and the new covenant is the blood that is used for purification, as under the old, it is that of goats and bulls while under the new it is the blood of Jesus Christ.

Question 11

Reading from Genesis 16:1, did God tell Sarai to give her maidservant, Hagar to Abram?
Answer

It is apparent that Sarai was acting of her own volition in this matter and not on the instruction of God (verse 2). Sometimes, when God gives us a word of promise, he in his sovereignty does not tell us exactly when that word will come to pass. We are to believe that what he says will happen in his time (Isaiah 55:10-11) and wait for the manifestation of that which he has promised. God had already told Abraham that he would have a son (Genesis 15:4) but it was not until many years later that God specifically put a time frame to the fulfilment of that promise (Genesis 18:10). The lesson here is that it is better to wait for God as he is never late and is always right on time (Isaiah 55:8, 2 Peter 3:8-9).
Question 12

We know that murder is not acceptable in the Scriptures (Matthew 5:21) but what happens when it is done in self-defence?
Answer

Simply put, God does not expect you to wake up in the morning and go to your neighbours house to kill him or her rather he expects you to live at peace with everyone as you have the opportunity (Hebrews 12:14). It is important to note that God weighs our actions and inactions on the balance of our motives and unspoken desires and the same applies here on the subject of murder in self-defence. It is only natural that if someone comes to attack you the first instinct will be selfpreservation and that can come in any form. If you inadvertently kill someone who was trying to attack you violently then that is very different from premeditated and cold-blooded murder. In this case, God will look at your motives and judge accordingly.

Authors note: This is a transcript of a discussion forum at the Parish Youth Chapel, Church of the Pentecost (Anglican Communion), 21 Road, Festac Town, Lagos at both 7am and 10am services on Sunday, 15th April 2012, over which I presided in my capacity as Coordinator. All scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV).