Power and Wisdom

Dr. Couch, I have two questions on 1 Corinthians 2:1-4: Do we have the same power and wisdom Paul spoke of in these verses? Paul said that he did not go to the Corinthians with persuasive human wisdom but with the power of the Spirit and of God. Is the "we" in verse 6 all and any believer who went to Corinth with Paul, or is he referring to the other apostles as well? Do all believers have apostolic wisdom or is this only for the apostles?

ANSWER: All believers can have wisdom but apostolic authority and wisdom is something else.

Many argue that we today, have that same Spirit guided wisdom and can give revelation just as the apostles did, as well as Paul. But the inspiration of Scripture comes from the writings of the apostles, including Paul, and not the average believer, though the Spirit is certainly working with us in giving forth truth, but we have to be careful, we are not writing-inspired apostles. Spiritual revelation was only given to the apostles and not us today.

The Corinthian church knew that Paul was referring to the other apostles. We can show verses that substantiate this.

Paul asks the Corinthians were they the first to receive the word of God, or had it come to them only? (14:16). It went to many people before it arrived in the Corinthian church. Anyone who does not recognize that Paul was giving to them "the Lord's commandment" (v. 37) is not recognized by the Lord (v. 38). He has an apostolic mission as a writing disciple—something that others do not have.

Because Paul was a late-comer he says that he was "the least of an apostle" since he had persecuted the church of the Lord (15:9). But the Lord still appeared unto him as one with authority (v. 8). By God's grace "he is what he is" (v. 10a). In fact, he labored even more than the other apostles and disciples (v. 10). With God-given authority, "the grace of God was given to him" to be a writing apostle (v. 10b). He adds, "Whether then it was I (alone) or they (the other apostles), we preach[ed] and so you believed" (v. 11). They believed because Paul was using his authority and giving them what the Lord wished him to say!

By putting himself forward, and boasting, Paul had "become foolish" being compelled by the Corinthians to defend his position (2 Cor. 12:11a). He was not "inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though "he was a nobody" (v. 11b). The signs of a true apostle were performed before the Corinthians through Paul "with all patience, by signs and wonders and miracles" (v. 12). The "true apostles" were the big apostles; this is not referring to us!

Paul had made three trips to the Corinthian church (13:1a) and others confirmed his authority, "Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witness" (v. 1b). It was Christ who was speaking in Paul (13:3). Paul was weak in his ministry in the eyes of the Corinthians but "mighty" in helping them grow up (v. 3b). God's power, was directed toward the Corinthians, through Paul (v. 4b). Paul was writing to the Corinthians, though absent from them, "in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave him, for building up [the church] and not for tearing [it] down" (v. 10).

Thanks for asking,
Dr. Mal Couch (1/11)

Christ on the Throne

Dr. Couch, is Christ presently seated on His throne, and, what about "His authority" as mentioned in Matthew 28:18?

ANSWER: No. He is on His Father's throne as mentioned in Psalm 110:1-2. Christ said in Revelation 3:21: "I have sat down with My Father on His throne." Christ's throne is the earthly, Davidic throne, on which He will sit when His second coming takes place. He told His disciples: "When the Son of Man (the Messiah) comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will SIT ON HIS GLORIOUS THRONE. And the Nations will be gathered before Him, … Then the King will say to those on His right ... Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:31-34).

Notice also, that Christ will receive from His Father "the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever; and His kingdom will have no end" (Luke 1:32-33).

All of this is future and yet to take place.

In Matthew 28:18, "Authority" is a bad translation. The Greek word "exousia" is better translated as "power" with "authority" a lesser meaning. Verse 19 better reads: "Having gone then, you disciple all the nations ..." By Christ's power they will be going, and then, they will create disciples 'from' all the nations."

Christ is exercising His power as the sovereign Son of the Father but this is not about His reigning on the throne of His earthly father David. His present power will be activated to do a specific job, and that is, to create disciples.

Christ presently is not using His power to make all things perfect and right. He has not totally subdued sin, or the work of Satan. Satan is still "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4) and he is the ruler of this world (John 12:31) as well as, the "whole world lies with the evil one" (1 John 5:19).

For Jesus to have such power does not mean He is exercising it, though He will someday. The demons are still active, and so is Satan, and so are the forces of evil in the nations. Nicoll seems to have it right when he says about Matthew 28:18-19: "But so far as earth is concerned, the dominion is only a matter of right or theory, but it is to be worked out in time. The commission to the Apostles arises out of the power claimed, that is, all power has been given to "Me on earth, go you disciples therefore and make the power a reality, make disciples of all the nations."

In any form or fashion Christ is not on His throne in part or in whole! He is carrying history forward but He is not subduing everything, though the power has been given, it is not being exercised! That will happen later. The power that Christ has is about the creation of disciples throughout the world in this dispensation.

Thanks for asking,
Dr. Mal Couch (1/11)

Kingdom of God is Here Now

Dr. Couch, since Jesus was casting out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit, does this not prove that the kingdom of God is here now, according to Matthew 12:28? ANSWER:  The verse reads: "If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you [the Jews]."    First of all, this has to do with the Jews and not the church. We do not call the kingdom of God the church!    The kingdom of God, and/or the kingdom of heaven is about the earthly, historic, literal, messianic kingdom promised to Israel. That kingdom has to do with (1) the occupation of the Holy Land, (2) the personal reign of the Messiah in Jerusalem, and (3) the New covenant and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Jewish people, who are in that earthly kingdom. Is that going on right now? No.    While the New covenant has been (1) ratified by Christ's death, (2) launched at Pentecost, and (3) now is benefiting the Gentile and Jewish church believers, it is only one element of the kingdom. And, it also must be benefiting the Jews in the Holy Land, when that Land is restored and ruled over by Christ. None of those things is happening presently.    The kingdom was indeed presented when Christ the king was present. But that does not mean that the kingdom was put into place and is now here, as it is described above.    John the Baptist, and Christ, proclaimed "The kingdom of God is at hand" (Matt. 10:7) (Along with many other references). The verb "is at hand" is the key to understand what is happening. It is the Greek word agizo in the Perfect Tense. The Perfect tense means that the action starts in the past and comes up to the present but this does not imply that the action has been fulfilled. It could be translated "The kingdom of heaven has come up to the present moment but is not necessarily being fulfilled." The word is defined "to come near, to be close by, to be brought near." The kingdom was near because the king was there! But the kingdom did not materialize.    This is what Christ has in mind in Matthew 12:28. The missing ingredient is that the Jews did not repent, in terms of the majority of the nation, they did not accept and embrace their king. Thus, the kingdom was postponed, though it was nearby; therefore it is yet future.    The church is not the kingdom and the kingdom is not the church.    In Matthew 12:28 the "has come near" is the Greek verb "phthano" in the Aorist Tense. The word means, according to Toussaint in his Matthew commentary, "to come or to arrive." He further says "In view of the evident rejection of the King, the kingdom could not now be said to be in the condition of remaining at hand. In fact the kingdom is never again preached as having drawn near."    Matthew 12:28 does not indicate that the earthly kingdom had been established but simply that because the king was there so was the kingdom IN CHRIST! Hindson in his Matthew commentary notes "It must be noticed that the kingdom of God was already present in the person of the king—Christ Himself." But the millennial earthly reign was postponed because the Jews did not repent of their sins and in their accepting of Him.    The well-known grammarians Balz & Schneider say on Matthew 12:28: "This did not constitute the commencement of the kingdom of God announced by Jesus as being near at hand (agizo, Matt. 10:7)."     Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch (8/10)

Power and Matthew 26:64

Dr. Couch, what does the word "power" mean, and what is going on in Matthew 26:64? ANSWER: The verse reads: "Hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." Some foolish allegorists and amillennialists think this is about Christ's final coming to simply judge humanity, with eternity beginning right after that. Actually, the word here is speaking of God Himself! The passage is about the Lord's coming to reign on the Davidic throne for the 1,000 year millennial rule. The expression Son of Man is messianic and is never used in relationship to the church. The rule here is not His rule presently over the church. And the Kingdom of God is certainly not the church. It is the promised Kingdom period. Christ has two main offices: (1) to die for the sins of mankind, and (2) to be the King of Israel sitting on the literal throne in Jerusalem as promised in the OT. How dare the amillennial guys to remove His second major office from history! They say that the church has "replaced" His Kingdom reign! What audacity! The NAS translates dunameos as Power. The word has the thought of "might, strength, ability, capability." In this Matthew 26:64 passage the word is used of God Himself. He is the POWER. He is no less! There is no other Power in the universe! The word can also be used simply as a noun. Mark 13:25 speaks of the "stars of heaven falling and THE POWERS (pl.) of the heavens being shaken." Ephesians 1:21 says that Christ presently is "seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and powers (exousia) and DOMINION (dunameos)." Dominion implies that Christ's great power controls all aspects of the universe. He is fully in charge! Thanks for asking. Dr. Mal Couch