Jesus and his apostles performed great miracles, but we do not see these miracles today. There are many sideshows of charlatans, but where are the great works? Has the Spirit of God left the world, or are no righteous people left?
Where does religion fit in, or does it?
I discount the many religions when asking these questions. Ask yourself whether you see true miracles in Christianity or any religion. Don’t those in religion rely on the world when things do not work the way they want?
The religions of the world do not equate to God since no man can lead you to the Father except the Son.
This post will delve into what it takes to exercise the power of God and why we rarely, if ever, see this power in the world today.
Son of man
Understanding the term, son of man, is crucial to understanding the mysteries surrounding God’s power. Son of man refers to people born of women or humans. The passage below, where God speaks to Ezekiel, shows this understanding.
And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
Ezekiel 2:1 KJV
Here we see a capitalised S, often used in reference to Jesus, the Son of God. Contrary to the meaning defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the term does not exclusively refer to Jesus.
Merriam Webster meaning: Son of Man
- a human being
- often capitalized S : God's messiah destined to preside over the final judgment of humankind
This point will be further clarified as we go along and is a core misdirection through redefinition or teachings to suppress an extraordinary power on earth. This capital S doctrine denies a significant truth of the scriptures.
Jesus is both a Son of man and a Son of God
Lord of the Sabbath
When Jesus refers to the Son of man being lord over the Sabbath, does he only refer to himself, or is that merely the assumption of the translator or teachers?
For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
Matthew 12:8 KJV
Since the Sabbath was created for man and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27), isn’t Jesus also including us as having Lordship over the Sabbath? I am by no means saying that we should make a habit of breaking the Sabbath; however, the Sabbath is not meant to be a burden.
Didn’t we see in the Maccabees the people taking it into their hands on the Sabbath to fight to save their lives (1 Maccabees 2:28-41)? The enemy knew their laws and attacked only on the Sabbath to destroy them easily. The enemy used the laws of the Sabbath against the Israelites, but Israel chose to save themselves by fighting on the Sabbath.
Were they wrong to do that, or was the Sabbath created for their lives and not their lives for the Sabbath? Jesus gave the same understanding when the Pharisees challenged him because his disciples picked corn to eat on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8).
The Son of man confusion
In the following passage, Jesus makes an astonishing claim when the Pharisees accused him of speaking blasphemies. He claims forgiveness of sins was equivalent to healing the sick, and the Son of man has the power to forgive sins on earth.
20. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
21. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
22. But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
23. Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
24. But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
Luke 5:20-24 KJV
The translator capitalises the first letter of the word Son. However, is Jesus referring to himself alone, or is this a linguistic misunderstanding, an inference by the translator or misdirection through false teachers?
Is this a lexical misunderstanding, an inference by the translator or even a misinterpretation/misdirection of today’s religious teachers?
I will continue to break this further down as we go along.
The Son
The words "the son" mapping to the STRONGS G5207 and the Greek υἱός, transliterated huiós and pronounced hwee-os' means:
huios (hwee-os') n.
1. a "son" (sometimes of animals)
{used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship}
[apparently a primary word]
KJV: child, foal, son
The definition in Wiktionary includes child (male or female) as a meaning.
This Greek word υἱός is translated using various preceding (article, pronoun, preposition, etc.) words based on the subject and context of the sentence.
In Matthew 1:20, it is translated as “thou son”; in Matthew 1:21, “a son”, while in Matthew 1:25, “son”, yet still in Matthew 5:9, it is translated as “the children”. Therefore, this point to the capitalisation of the word Son has other significance than is widely believed.
The S capitalisation is found in many passages, including Ezekiel 2:1, Ezekiel 2:3, and Ezekiel 11:15, and refer to someone other than Jesus. This usage poses a dilemma of whether it always refers to Jesus. In the following passage, the son of man phrase refers to an unspecified (anyone) person and uses lowercase s.
As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.
Jeremiah 49:18 KJV
The translator’s choice to use a capital S in some instances and a lowercase s in others creates confusion and masks the intention of Jesus’s words.
Mystery unveiled
In the following passage, Jesus made the association between healing and forgiveness of sins.
Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
Luke 5:23 KJV
This precept shows that infirmities in the majority are associated with sin.
While sin is often considered outside physical actions, we understand that sin is breaking the law. Since God gave the law to Moses, sin can be expanded to breaking any command of God. Jesus commanded that we break neither his nor his Father’s commands (John 15:10) to receive the Son’s and Father’s love (John 14:13-14).
Sin kept in context and without confusion has examples such as eating unclean foods, consuming blood such as rare cooked meats, having sexual relations during a woman’s menstrual cycle, improperly washing after touching the dead or unclean things, etc., are causes and ways to transmit diseases and infections. God’s law has a comprehensive but straightforward plan to handle these situations. Many infirmities of the body are caused by breaking these instructions.
The link between infirmities and sin is the departure from God. The Spirit of God works within Jesus and overshadows him (Luke 1:35). The Spirit performs the healing to glorify God, and the person is healed so long as they turn away from their sin.
The apostles healed
The disciples received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost before embarking on their work, being commanded by Jesus to wait (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4). Paul received the Holy Spirit when Ananias of Damascus laid hands on him and subsequently baptised with water (Acts 9:17-19). After receiving the Holy Spirit, the apostles performed healing miracles and other great works.
Jesus said the forgiveness of sin is as good as saying rise up and walk. Also, he states that the [S]son of man can forgive sins on earth. Thus, for the apostles to heal or perform the works they did, they must have forgiven sins on earth. This demonstrates that the Son of man reference refers not solely to Jesus but to anyone with the Spirit of God.
The events with Simon the sorcerer shows the distinction of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:9-24). The power to heal and perform miracles is through the Holy Spirit and cannot be bought.
God gives the Holy Spirit freely to those who ask and abide in him (Luke 11:13). The Holy Spirit is the one who does the work, not the man, and glorifies the Father in the process. Those blessed with the Holy Spirit are not here to perform sideshows but to testify of and glorify God.
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
John 14:10 KJV
Conclusion
Jesus came to testify of God and glorify the Father so that we all can enter the kingdom of Heaven. The Spirit of God abounds in the world in full glory and is the comforter which God sent to lead us into all truths. Only in this state of being, where our lives are in the service of God and led by the Spirit of God, can we do more incredible things than Jesus.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
John 14:12 KJV
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He heals, he performs miracles and he forgives.
Indeed, the Pharisees were correct when they stated, “who can forgive sin but God alone”. Since God dwells in his servants and forgives sins. The Holy Spirit is God and lives in the temple of his servants—their bodies.
