What We Are Missing in the Church Today

Am I to be looked at strangely because I point out that, for the most part, the church is all talk with no demonstration of power? There is talk everywhere, but no supernatural manifestations. The style and personality of the preacher become the highlight of the service. The Apostle Paul explained this point by stating,

And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. First Corinthians 2:1-5 (NIV)

Am I out of order for wanting the power of God manifested in our lives and ministries? We, as God’s people, ought to be the most powerful people walking on the face of this earth. In Matthew 10:1, we read,

And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.^[1]

These are the basic tools of ministry that Jesus gave the disciples. Let’s look at the definitions of these words in their original language:

Authority Over Uncleaned Spirits

This is the Greek word exousía; meaning “It is permissible, allowed. Permission, authority, right, liberty, power to do something (Acts 26:12). As éxesti denies the presence of a hindrance, it may be used either of the capability or the right to do a certain action.”^[2] So, when it comes down to exercising our authority over unclean spirits, we must understand that:

• It is allowed.
• We have permission to do so.
• We have the right to do so.
• We have the authority without any hindrance to do so.

Uncleaned Spirits

This refers to any satanic force, from Satan to demons. This is the Greek word akáthartos:

• Unclean by legal or ceremonial standards (Acts 10:14, 28; 11:8; Rev. 18:2 [cf. Lev. 5:2; 11:4, 25; 13:45; Deut. 14:7]) whereas in the Sept. it compares with 2 Cor. 6:17 where akáthartos seems ultimately to refer to all idolatrous worship and heathen impurity.
• Unclean, unfit to be admitted to the peculiar rights and privileges of the church and particularly to baptism (1 Cor. 7:14; Sept.: Is. 52:1; Amos 7:17).
• Unclean by unnatural pollution (Eph. 5:5).
• Unclean as applied to the devils who are frequently called unclean spirits in the NT because, having lost their original purity, they are become unclean themselves and through their solicitations have polluted mankind with all uncleanness and every abomination which the Lord hates (Mark 5:2, 8, 13. See also Matt. 10:1; 12:43; Mark 1:23, 26, 27; 3:11, 30; 6:7; 7:25; 9:25; Luke 4:33, 36; 6:18; 8:29; 9:42; 11:24; Acts 5:16; 8:7; Rev. 16:13).^[3]
• As ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it should be a typical day at work to be dealing with unclean spirits. 

Authority to Cast These Uncleaned Spirits Out

This is self-explanatory. We are allowed, we have permission, we have the right and authority without hindrance to cast these things out; however, we would rather stop at the intellectual expression of messages Sunday after Sunday. As stated before, the Apostle Paul, who wrote more than half of the New Testament, did not go to the people with fancy words, but with the demonstration of the power of God. He understood that signs must follow the message, not just stop at the message. Jesus explained this point by stating,

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

¹⁸ They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Mark 16:17-18 (KJV)

You have churches where pastors no longer pray for people. After the message, people are dismissed; not even a chance to respond to what was just said. What we are witnessing is people with a form of Godliness who are denying the power of God. Second Timothy 3:5 tells us,

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (KJV)

They don’t want the Holy Ghost to be in control; they want to be in control. We cannot continue to divorce the Spirit and the Word; they go together. We need to go deeper in the Word, but also allow the Spirit to manifest his power to transform people’s lives and to truly enable our ministries to be effective and not just talk. 

Imagine you’re taking your car to the mechanic because it’s not running correctly.  Imagine the mechanic giving you many mechanical lessons about how the vehicle should function and what could be wrong. He gives you great information, very eloquent and very accurate. However, after he finished demonstrating his knowledge of mechanics, he just walked away, as if the job was already done. You received all that wonderful information, but there is a problem: your car is still not functioning correctly, or, worse still, not even functioning at all. This is precisely what we do in many churches, Sunday after Sunday. 

Authority to Heal

This is the Greek word therapeúō; meaning “Attendant, servant. To wait upon, minister to, render voluntary service, heal, but primarily signifies to serve as therápōn.”^[4] To heal is to minister; it is where we get the word Therapist. In today’s society, a therapist is more than a counselor because, for you to call yourself a therapist, you have to be licensed by the state you are in. However, only we as God’s people have the authority that comes from God to render that healing. We are unlicensed therapists. That healing manifests in two ways: 1) Physically (decrease) and 2) Emotionally (Affliction). We must understand that the emotional affliction will affect the body; often, if the emotional affliction is taken care of, the body will heal. 

In conclusion, this is the basic simplicity and extraordinary power available for us as ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have the right to access this power; why don’t we? 

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^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 10:1.

^[2] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

^[3] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

^[4] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).