Three Aspects of the Bible

When searching for (bottom-line) truth in the Bible and teachers of such truth in our churches, we must understand that there are three aspects of the Bible. The first is the “historical aspect”. This needs little explanation as it is self-evident. Many (Bible) teachers (pastor/teachers) today have a solid command of the historical aspect of the Bible. They are well versed in the Greek and Hebrew languages so that are able to accurately relate what has happened in ancient times. They can teach about Paul’s “missionary journeys” and how many kings ruled in Israel and how many of them were bad. They do an excellent job of it.

The next aspect is that of the “practical”. This aspect teaches such things as how to relate to others; that we should be good citizens; that we attend church regularly; be a responsible and caring spouse, that we remain faithful with employment/business, pay our bills, and such. Most “pastors”/”teachers” are quite able to teach this aspect in all confidence and competence. Likewise, there are many excellent books on living a practical Christian life which have been written by capable men.

The third aspect is the “spiritual aspect”. This covers the entirety of spiritual matters concerned in the Bible. Since “God is that Spirit”, then it even involves who He is and how and why He operates and speaks. It involves, therefore, such things as the moving of the Holy Spirit and the operational laws and principles of the Kingdom of God. It covers the manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit (as outlined in 1 Corinthians 12) as well as the ministry gift manifestations (as outlined in Romans 12). It also encompasses prayer (in the spirit/Spirit), intercessory prayer, and “Christ birthing and formational prayer” as we see in Galatians 4:19[1]. This aspect also includes a revelation of proper church structure and order as lead by the Holy Spirit (and not choreographed by man and religion as we see in virtually all churches today).

This is the aspect about which few people seem to know (though many declare otherwise). This is because this aspect has been excised from the Bible (by the non-Pentecostals) and largely misunderstood by the Pentecostals. By “excising”, I mean that the most important book in the entire Bible that teaches about “spiritual matters” (the book of the “Acts of the Apostles”) has been relegated to merely an historical significance and is not allowed to be part of the contemporary church. The effect is nothing less than eliminating an entire book from the Bible.

Such a practice is entirely unacceptable and is, at once, ludicrous and dangerous. Though many other chapters and verses are excised from the Bible by the doctrines of men, this is an entire book being cut completely out of the Bible. Can you think of a more effective way to defeat Christians than removing God’s word (i.e. God’s light, truth, and wisdom) from them and do so “in the name of the Lord”? How effective is it when you can convince the “enemy” to twist and distort the word of God so as to use it against himself? This is exactly what Satan has done. He has made the powerful gospel of the resurrection virtually ineffectual by making Christians think that taking an entire book from the Bible is God’s will. He has used the Bible to “prove” a new doctrine that has no resemblance to what the word says in plain black and white.

It’s this lack of understanding (being perpetuated by well-meaning preachers) which creates a serious handicap in the body of Christ. To illustrate the problem, let’s use the example of a “flight instructor” (in this instance, non-Pentecostals) teaching others how to “fly” (how to understand “spiritual matters”). The “instructor” will say things like: ‘This is an airplane and it has wings”. This is an entirely accurate statement. He will say: “If you put fuel in this plane, execute a pre-flight inspection, start the engine, taxi to the active runway, and then, when cleared for take-off, give it full throttle, this airplane will fly”. This statement is absolutely an accurate statement. However, in this case, the “instructor” has never been off the ground. He has no experience actually flying the aircraft. Yet, he is trying to teach others about “flying”. This analogy is meant to show how non-Pentecostals are trying to teach matters about which they have no knowledge and in which they have absolutely no experience. They’ve “never flown the plane”.

Obviously, someone who tries to fly an airplane with such “instruction” will utterly fail. So it is in our Christian world. There are men who are trying to teach others how to “fly” (how to be “spiritual”) who have little or no understanding themselves. The ensuing “crash” (failure as a Christian) will then be blamed on God as His will (in some mysterious way) to make us a better person. It becomes a new doctrine of “how to fail” despite the fact that there is no provision for failure in the covenant we have with God in Christ.

Accordingly, an extreme example of this principle is how one graceless doctrine (that is tendered by teachers of “grace”!) is how some judge “backsliders” (judging those who fail, if you please). The person will “faint in their mind” and “give up” the fight against the darkness which is pressing against them (tribulation or trail). Rather than have mercy and grace on that individual and attempt to restore them (exactly like the Bible says to do), that person is then considered to not have been saved in the first place! This is not only utter foolishness but also a denial of scripture and a violent and loveless refutation of the grace of God.

Clearly then, being an expert in the “historical aspect” and the “practical aspect” of the Bible in no way qualifies a person to be an expert in the “spiritual aspect”. Unfortunately, we find this exact scenario in force today in almost all churches where pastors have been “trained” in a seminary/Bible college and not, as we see in the Bible, by the Holy Spirit and qualified spiritual leaders. One simply cannot learn about spiritual matters in a seminary. Since nothing spiritual at all is (correctly) taught there, then there has to be a revision of doctrine to account for a complete lack of the spiritual aspect of Christianity and the power of God it represents. That revision results in the removal of the Holy Spirit from the church and the removal of the (anointed and truly spiritual) servants/teachers of the Lord; they are no longer allowed to serve.

These servants are often called the “five-fold ministry”. They operate in the power of the Spirit of God (proclaiming the powerful gospel of the resurrection) and are in place to be able to teach “spiritual” matters. This means, then, that what is left is an appearance of “Godliness” but a denial of the power thereof (because of doctrinally excluding the “power gifts” like the apostle, prophet, and [true] evangelists). This is because, where God is, power is and where God is not; power is not. This is invariably in the Bible yet it is a point that is utterly dismissed by far too many “preachers”.

It should be evident, then, that preaching/teaching a 2/3’s “gospel” simply isn’t what the Lord intended at any point in time for His people. But, this is the status of all of what we call “mainline denominational” and “evangelical” churches (and, sadly, even a few Pentecostals churches). What is intended is a “complete” or “full” gospel that evidences the resurrection power of Christ by His Spirit. The Lord has always used His power to reconcile His creation to His peace. Yet the doctrines of men and demons have cheated His heritage of this marvelous grace by disallowing the power of God.

This is a good place to make a note that believing that God is powerful is not the same as believing that God will use that power and/or expecting Him to do what the Bible clearly says He will do and has done regarding it.

A word of caution needs to be added here. While it’s extremely important to appropriate the “full gospel”, we must note that simply calling a denomination or church “full gospel” in no wise makes it so. The “Pentecostals” (all of them) have followed the same path as all of the other denominations and doctrines. They have taken a genuine revelation of the Spirit[2] and the workings of the Spirit and stopped receiving revelation of the established word of God (i.e. they stopped learning and maturing). They too have become guardians of their respective doctrines[3].That also means that they gainsay anyone who has a (true) subsequent revelation of God’s word (beyond their belief structure) since it won’t fit their doctrines any more than the Pentecostal’s doctrines will fit the doctrines of the non-Pentecostals. Note that the references to those whom have such a revelation are, by and large, intended to be those of the so-called “Faith Movement” (thought there certainly are others who have matured beyond established church doctrines).

Likewise, the “Word of Faith” teachers have stopped their growth as well and have become their own denomination with the attendant pride and other such ensuing error. Many have suffered because of their doctrines being incomplete and because they lack wisdom and understanding (the very first priority of Christianity is to get wisdom and understanding[4]). Surely they have a measure of revelation which the others do not have and surely they have advanced beyond the others. However, having yet another doctrine that is measured against other doctrines and not against “all of the truth all of the time” is not what the Lord has ordained. What began as a beautiful virgin has now become a rather unsightly hag. Understandably, Evangelicals and others (all non-Pentecostals) and many Pentecostals gainsay the “Faith Movement” in no uncertain terms and judge them very harshly because of their overall lack of maturity[5].

Referring back to the “flight instructor” who has never flown the airplane: though they judge with all authority as “defenders of the faith”, they actually know nothing about faith and don’t even recognize the use of faith outside of salvation (i.e. they know nothing about the “law of faith”[6]).

Please understand that I am simply pointing out error and that I have all due respect for the pastors/teachers and for their good works that all the various denominations and ministries do. In fact, I am very aware that most of those in error are completely unaware that they are falling short to whatever degree. They are sincere in their beliefs. I don’t question their motives or integrity [7] at all. However, “the truth” is available to all and is hidden from no one. It merely needs be sought after. That also means that it isn’t a “problem” to be wrong since we all start in darkness. But, it surely is a problem to stay wrong since the truth is available to all who diligently seek it. Staying in one place spiritually (no maturity because of a lack of ongoing revelation of the word) is dangerous since there is no passivity in the Kingdom of God[8]. That means that, if you are not “pushing in” to the Kingdom of God, you are being “pushed out” by the default darkness (pressure) of this world[9].

Likewise, being wrong is the same as being “ignorant”. That ignorance is a lack of “truth” and a lack of truth is a lack of light (i.e. it is darkness). That’s because the entrance of the word brings light and the word is God’s truth (i.e. to walk in light is to walk in truth). The Bible addresses what the problem is with being in darkness/ignorance: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6) and “Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because [they have] no knowledge…” (Isaiah 5:13). We can clearly see that the consequence for (inexcusable) ignorance is severe. But, again, this ignorance is excused doctrinally as a rationale for why Christians don’t actually have to act like Christians or to use their faith.

Another example of “good works” is that many churches have outreach ministries and will support missionaries. Because of His great mercy, the Lord will use each person or ministry in whatever measure He is allowed to. If people preach Jesus and salvation; then people will get saved. In fact, if all of a church’s doctrines are wrong with the exception of the message of salvation, people will still get saved. That’s because faith (for salvation in this case) comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (in this case the word of salvation). The same applies with healing. A church can be doctrinally deficient but preach healing and people will be healed because they hear the “word of healing”.

It is incumbent upon us, as we receive the revelation of the word of God, to act upon the knowledge we have. We must judge all matters according to the word and not just take for granted the “religion” we have been taught. This includes not taking for granted that highly educated “preachers” actually know anything about the spiritual matters of the Bible and Kingdom of God (again, without minimizing the importance of their knowledge of the historical and practical aspects).

All things must adhere to the standard of all of God’s word all of the time. However, we won’t know these things unless we are diligent to study the word and to seek first the Kingdom of God. We should always be “thinking outside of the (denominational) box”. This isn’t to say that we should dismiss any doctrine out of hand but rather that every single doctrine should be scrutinized to see if it is in alignment with all of the word of God. The point is that we not take what knowledge we have for granted simply because we have learned from a highly credentialed individual. The odds are great that he will be teaching a 2/3’s gospel.

My exhortation then, is to “get in the word”.


[1] This is the enemy’s primary reason for attempting to eliminate the ministry of the (true) Apostle. An apostle will pray without ceasing sometimes all day long for days at a time for God’s people. Which one of the denominational pastors lays their life down like this?
[2] e.g. The infilling of the Holy Spirit being subsequent to salvation as is clearly taught in the Bible then the operation of the gifts of the Spirit in, by, and for the body unto edification
[3] “Our doctrine is the right one!”
[4] Proverbs 4:7
[5] Having a developed and successful “faith’, is not an excuse to not mature in all other areas; specifically, the resolution of the soul to peace which is the primary objective of the Christian. All other teachings are adjuncts to this aim
[6] Romans 3:27
[7] Sincerity is not an excuse for not consistently seeking the truth of God’s word.
[8] Light is always active. Faith is always active. If either are not active they are changed. Light becomes dark and faith is dead
[9] This is the “ Law of Reciprocals” which includes the “Law of the Default Pressure of Darkness”

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