I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.

 

I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.

 

Acts 22:6-8 "Now as I was on my way and neared Damascus about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' And I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.'"

On the way to Damascus, Paul was surrounded by a great light from heaven and fell down. Then he heard a voice calling his name and asked who it was. The voice was Jesus. At that moment, Paul became a completely different person. That moment of encountering Jesus was the reason Paul lived a completely different life.

The experience of meeting Jesus in the Word is more important than knowing Jesus in doctrine. Experiences are mystical things like receiving the Holy Spirit, and are important in the Christian faith, but some of them are considered heretical today.

Meeting Jesus in the Word means meeting ho Logos, because the Word is Jesus Christ. John 1:1-3 “In the beginning (en arke) was the Word, and the Word (ho Logos) was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning (en arke) with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that has been made.”

En arkeh has the same meaning as the Hebrew Bereshit, meaning that it is the most prior in order. That is, it is the Word that is the head. In the phrase “the Word is God,” En is grammatically past (was), so it should be said that the Word was God. Christ, the Word, was God, but became the Son.

Why was the Word God, and why is Jesus Christ the Word after predestining Christ? Ho Logos, translated as the Word, should be translated as “Christ the Word.” The Word that is generally spoken of in the Bible is Logos, but when referring to Christ, it is Ho Logos. When there is the definite article Ho, it means Christ. Logos is the Word of the Bible that we see with our physical eyes when we read the Bible, and Ho Logos is when we read the text with our spiritual eyes, the Holy Spirit works and His voice is heard. That is why the saints converse with their spirits.

For those who were chosen before the foundation of the world, like Paul, Christ suddenly comes to them, but for those who understand and believe through the Word, Christ comes to them through the Word. So, through the Word, the saints meet God, hear the Word, understand His will, and convey the Word to others.

Acts 22:9 "And the people who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of Him who was speaking to me." Paul heard the voice, but why didn't others? Sheep hear the voice of their master. God opened Paul's ears to hear spiritually. If God does not open his ears, he cannot hear. Therefore, the saints can hear the subtle voice of God. This is a gift.

Like a newborn baby, the saints who have become God’s people have difficulty discerning God’s voice at first. However, if the saints pray earnestly, they will be able to recognize the voice. When the Apostle Paul established the church and appointed ministers, he had Timothy pray this prayer a lot, but Timothy had difficulty hearing God’s voice.

2 Timothy 2:15 "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." Paul tells Timothy that discerning the word is important. It is so important to discern the word of God. There are people who claim that it is the word of God when it is not.

There are too many people who interpret the words of the Bible arbitrarily. Therefore, we must listen to and discern the voice of God according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the words. Since believers cannot accurately discern the words of truth, even if they say that they are the words of God, they become vain and empty words to God, and spread like a malignant tumor.

People who fall into the trap of charisma are said to have spiritual gifts, such as prophesying about others and healing illnesses, and people flock to them. Those who do not follow God's will are said to be cancerous.

God's will is to spread the gospel of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you boast of your gifts for any other purpose, you should think again. Paul says that among them were Hymenaeus and Philetus. They turned away from the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and, rather than testifying to the death and resurrection of the cross, they emphasized mystical experiences to deceive people's minds.

Since the saints are already those who have reached the resurrection, it is important to now practice what Jesus says through the voice of God. The believers are not interested in the death and resurrection of the cross. They are not interested in being born again. They are preoccupied with how to become famous, gain a name and reputation, expand the church, and increase the number of believers.

Paul warns against the many religious leaders who have gone in a heretical direction by emphasizing mystical experiences. In the end, because of these people, some people end up losing their faith in the cross and resurrection, and some end up leaving God. These religious leaders want to show that they are the only ones chosen by God, and they want their followers to admire them as great leaders. This is not only the case in pseudo-religions, but also in many cases in church communities today.

2 Timothy 1:6 "Therefore I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands." It means to fan into flame the gift of God in your sincere faith. When Timothy received the laying on of hands from the apostle Paul, he received the powerful gift of the Holy Spirit. It was as if a fire was burning in his heart and he was being given the power of the Holy Spirit that he needed as a worker. At that time, Timothy was able to serve the church in Ephesus with power.

If we read the words of the Bible and interpret and act arbitrarily without the work of Ho Logos in the power of the Holy Spirit, it will be the work of evil spirits, not the work of the Holy Spirit, that will destroy the church community.