Revelation 2:1-3 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, 'These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lamp stands: (2) "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; (3) and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary.”
This brings us to the second type of manifestation that can and sadly does occur in this area, which is people pretending to fall under the power of God. There are two dimensions to this display of the flesh. The first dimension, which we will discuss now, grieves the Holy Spirit more than the other. We have already discussed the fact that the power of the Holy Spirit can come upon individuals by one of two methods, i.e. either directly from heaven or through the laying on of hands. It is the second method that can be abused by those who would pretend to be ministers that are anointed by the Holy Spirit. Fortunately this is the only area where those operating in the flesh can try to mimic the work of the Holy Spirit. In the above passage of scripture, our Lord Jesus commended the church at Ephesus for testing those who claimed to be His ministers and found them to be liars. So how did the church at Ephesus test the false ministers? The apostle Paul gave us an indication as to how this is done, when he said to the church at Corinth that he would deal with those who spoke against his authority, by testing not the words of those who spoke against him but their power, for he went on to say that the kingdom of God is not in word but in power (1 Corinthians 4:19-20).
Michael E.B. Maher
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