*From a Cautious Pentecostal perspective
**We believe our church should teach these things to our growing children as upcoming generation will have more these issues. Mainly, healthy Charismatic and Pentecostal churches should equip them in understanding these things against the unusual teachings growing these days.
***We understand the opinions from the opposite side and respect them too. We consider them as our brother and sisters in Christ and embrace their contributions in maintaining a cautious environment against hyper teachings. This part tries best to keep the balanced approach.
1) What is an apostle? Do we have apostles today?
Glad you asked it ❤️. Apostle specifically means "sent ones" and during early Christian history, only those peoples were qualified as apostles who were witnesses of Jesus' resurrection and even lived with him, or qualified to be an apostle by Lord himself 😃. This wasn't an easy office but specific and authorized one! Jesus' early disciples were apostles while other like Paul was designated by Jesus himself. The next question is a bit tricky 😅. We don't have any apostles today in a sense we just talked but we call some peoples as apostles in some broader sense who has calling of missionary contributions and church planting gifts. However, taking the position of apostles alike early Christian history and claiming a high view of oneself as apostle isn't biblically good.
Biblical References:
Definition and Role of Apostles:
Acts 1:21–22 – “So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us… must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
Galatians 1:1 – “Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father.”
1 Corinthians 9:1 – “Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?”
Foundational Role of Apostles:
Ephesians 2:20 – “Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.”
Hebrews 2:3–4 – The gospel “was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard [apostles].”
Modern Missionary Sense:
Romans 16:7 – “Greet Andronicus and Junia… who are well known among the apostles,” suggesting a broader use of the term in some contexts.
Warning Against False Apostles:
2 Corinthians 11:13 – “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.”
Revelation 2:2 – “You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.”
2) What is a prophet? Do we need them today?
Great one! In Old testament times, prophets were specific peoples who were ordained to have two-fold communication i.e. receiving message from God and delivering it to his peoples. They weren't some sort of fortune-tellers like in our time who just talk anything about our future by reading our palm! They were ministers of God who helped to maintain the covenant between God and peoples and they worked to guide peoples in his ways and even warn them when they go beyond limits. The prophecy were associated with God's purpose for them, or sometimes his judgement and blessings and other times coming of Jesus and future events. There were few prophets even in New Testament. However, its not certain whether we need them today. The genuine work of prophets have finished and the church is indeed built upon their contributions. Today we have Holy Spirit and God's word. So, we don't necessarily need them. Meanwhile, even if there are any, we must check them using scripture. They may prophecy about future or our personal lives that is associated with our walk with God. But be wise to not blindly follow them because as the Bible warns we indeed would have many false prophets who would rather bring destruction upon us! (Be cautious with Modern Charismatic churches, Word of Faith movement and Prosperity Gospel!)
Biblical References:
Role of Prophets:
Deuteronomy 18:18 – “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth.”
2 Kings 17:13 – “The Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet… saying, ‘Turn from your evil ways.’”
Isaiah 7:14 – Prophetic foretelling of the Messiah: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son.”
New Testament Prophets:
Acts 11:27–28 – “Agabus… predicted by the Spirit that there would be a great famine.”
Ephesians 4:11 – “He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers.”
Sufficiency of Scripture and Spirit:
Hebrews 1:1–2 – “Long ago… God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”
2 Timothy 3:16–17 – “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable… that the man of God may be complete.”
John 16:13 – “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”
Warning Against False Prophets:
Matthew 24:24 – “False christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders.”
1 John 4:1 – “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out.”
2 Peter 2:1 – “There will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies.”
3) Do we have healing even today?
A big yes! We do have! 😃😃😃 Even the public survey has shown the result of maximum conversion cases due to healing (A report from Pokhara published at Nepjol site)! However, we must also understand that God doesn't always heal us. (E.g. Justin Peters, Nick Vujicic, Nabeel Qureshi, Michael Heiser, Robert Karthak, Samuel Karthak, etc.) It depends upon his will and plan for us. Healing isn't the thing that makes us come to Jesus. It is our sincere acceptance of sin and realization that we need him to be saved! Sometimes, God can use sickness to make our life be in a proper track or sometimes to teach us life lessons or sometimes our own weaknesses can act as barrier! whatever be the reasons, God can heal even today but he isn't compelled to! We just need to trust him whatever he does in our life! He will never want our destruction otherwise why would he send his son to die in our place? 😃😃😃 that's biggest healing we received today! its from sin!
Biblical References:
Healing in the Church:
James 5:14–15 – “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church… And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick.”
Acts 3:6–8 – Peter heals a lame man, demonstrating ongoing miracles post-Pentecost.
Healing Subject to God’s Will:
2 Corinthians 12:8–9 – “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this [thorn], that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’”
John 5:14 – Jesus warns a healed man to “sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you,” suggesting a link between sin and suffering in some cases.
Sickness for Spiritual Purposes:
Job 2:7–10 – Job’s suffering tests his faith, yet he trusts God.
Hebrews 12:11 – “For the moment all discipline seems painful… but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
Salvation as Ultimate Healing:
Mark 2:17 – “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
1 Peter 2:24 – “By his wounds you have been healed” (referring to spiritual healing from sin).
4) What is the language that we often hear Christians praying but we don't understand?
Great question! The language we often hear during prayer is gift of tongues. Again, we must be clear that Christians differ in this. Not every churches believe this and not every Christians speak this and that's okay! 🙂 As Paul says, tongues are directed towards God and not to men, nobody can understand it but its helpful to build ourselves spiritually 🙂. Again, tongues can either be known languages as in Acts 2 or something unknown utterances as Paul hints in 1 Cor. 13-14. Some learned Christians think it could be angelic form of language while others think it is earthly languages directed to preach Gospel to peoples whose languages we don't know. Try reading books on this topic and certain documented testimonies from missionaries in devotional books! So, whatever be the case, its a language inspired by Holy Spirit either known or purely new one. Its uses can be in preaching or in prayer or in worship. Also, its not the case that every Christian must have this gift 😄 and having this gift isn't any indication of our spirituality. We must keep all this in our mind 🙂.
Further study: Click!
Biblical References:
Gift of Tongues:
Acts 2:4–11 – “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues… each one was hearing them speak in his own language.”
1 Corinthians 14:2 – “For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 14:4 – “The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself.”
Tongues as Known or Unknown:
Acts 2:6–8 – Tongues as recognizable languages for preaching the gospel.
1 Corinthians 13:1 – “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,” suggesting a possible heavenly language.
Not Required for All:
1 Corinthians 12:30 – “Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?” (implying not all have this gift).
1 Corinthians 14:5 – “Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy” (showing tongues are not the highest gift).
Order in Use of Tongues:
1 Corinthians 14:27–28 – “If any speak in a tongue… let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church.”
5) Are miracles occurring even today?
Yes they obviously do! Our God is still active and dynamic ! He hears our prayers and do wonders in his own timing according to his will! Miracles still happen today! There are testimonies of healing, visions, and many more! Try checking out testimonies of some ex-Muslims! Or, try reading the exciting story of Sadhu Sundar Singh! The only caution we have to make is not to put our faith on Jesus just because of miracles. Miracles aren't necessarily all genuine, some could be fake. Indeed, there are many such false groups who do tons of miracles in Jesus' name but whatever they teach are purely outside the Bible! (E.g. Sachai Kendra, Benny Hinn (suspicious), Kenneth Copeland, etc.) 😣😖😬 So we must examine everything! You know what? The greatest miracle is your transformation and relationship with God! 😃😃😃
Biblical References:
Miracles Today:
John 14:12 – “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”
Acts 14:3 – “They remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness… by granting signs and wonders.”
God’s Sovereignty in Miracles:
Habakkuk 2:3 – “For still the vision awaits its appointed time… If it seems slow, wait for it.”
Psalm 77:14 – “You are the God who works wonders.”
Salvation as the Greatest Miracle:
2 Corinthians 5:17 – “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Ephesians 2:8–9 – “By grace you have been saved through faith… it is the gift of God.”
Warning Against False Miracles:
Matthew 24:24 – “False christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray.”
2 Thessalonians 2:9 – “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders.”
Discernment:
1 Thessalonians 5:21 – “Test everything; hold fast what is good.”
1 John 4:1 – “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.”
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