Study 15 – The Restoration of the Supernatural in the Church II

“He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”
—John 14:12

Introduction

The church was birthed in the supernatural, through Jesus’ resurrection and the power of the Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost. Miracles, signs, and wonders established and verified the church’s teaching and doctrine. Christians in the New Testament lived a supernatural lifestyle, and the power of the kingdom caused the early church to multiply. Today, the church seems to have lost its life and power, but God has begun to restore the supernatural to individual believers, churches, and ministries who have opened their hearts to receive it. His desire is to fill His entire church with His presence and power.

The gospel of the kingdom is supernatural because it brings heaven to earth. If we are to proclaim this gospel in its fullness, as we discussed in the previous study, we must understand the supernatural, so we may recognize it and walk in it.

Study Questions

                             … From last week

Part II: Opposition to the Supernatural

One of the terms for Satan is “adversary” (1 Peter 5:8). He opposes God and His purposes in both direct and subtle ways. One of his strategies is to tempt and attack the church so that it will ignore or reject the supernatural, reducing itself to be merely a natural institution. Let us look at two avenues through which he does this.

• Through the Spirit of Antichrist

10. (a) What are some truths that the spirit of antichrist denies? (1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:3a)

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(b) John wrote of “many antichrists” who operated from within the church but then “went out” from it. (See 1 John 2:18–19.) What protects us from the spirit of antichrist, so that we remain in the truth? (1 John 2:20)

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(c) These “many antichrists” had the same characteristic as other people who resisted the truth, whom Paul mentioned. How did Paul describe them? (2 Timothy 3:5a)

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KEY DEFINITION: The Greek word for “Christ” is Christos, which means “anointed”; it designates the Messiah (STRONG, G5547). The prefix anti- in antichrist means “against.” The enemy’s ultimate goal is to replace the true Christ with a false one in people’s lives. If he is unable to enter the church through the front door, then he will bring forth people with an antichrist spirit or substitutes for Christ through the back door. The true Christ is the Anointed One who has the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. (See Luke 4:18–19.) We cannot separate Christ from the anointing, or power, He received from God; if He had lacked this anointing, He would have been a false Messiah. Similarly, “the anointing” is a term we use to refer to the revelation and power a believer receives from God in the Holy Spirit.

Religion is a form or appearance of godliness, without power.

• Through the Greek Mind-set

The “Greek mind-set” is a perspective based solely on human reason and logic, excluding faith and the supernatural.

11. (a) What did Paul say to warn the Colossians against the Greek mind-set? (Colossians 2:8)

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(b) What has God made the wisdom of this world to be? (1 Corinthians 1:20b)

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(c) What is Christ to those who are called by God? (Verse 24b)

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(d) How can we dismantle the remnants of the Greek mind-set that still influence our thoughts and actions? (2 Corinthians 10:5)

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The impossible is founded on reason and established by logic.

Part III: Why We Need the Supernatural

• The Supernatural Manifests Evidence of God’s Existence and Reveals Him in the “Now”

12. (a) Similar to the scriptural pattern we have noted in earlier lessons in this Bible study, when Jesus sent out His twelve disciples to preach the kingdom, what corresponding evidence of God’s immediate presence and power did He enable them to manifest? (Luke 9:1b)

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(b) What actions did the disciples subsequently take? (Verse 6)

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(c) The apostle Peter raised from the dead a woman named Dorcas, who was a faithful believer, thereby revealing God’s resurrection power in the “now.” When the people in Dorcas’s community of Joppa learned what had happened, how did they respond? (Acts 9:42b)

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• The Supernatural Establishes the Flow of God’s Life in Us

13. (a) How can we maintain the flow of Jesus’ life in us so that we can bear supernatural fruit for God? (John 15:5b)

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(b) What did the apostle John pray for the believers to whom he wrote his third epistle? (3 John 1:2)

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When a believer becomes spiritually stagnant, it is because the supernatural has stopped flowing through him.

• The Supernatural Brings Acceleration

14. (a) What images related to harvesting did God use to describe the blessings and fruitfulness He would bring to His people? (Amos 9:13a)

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(b) The early church started with 120 of Jesus’ followers. How many believers were added to the church on the day of Pentecost when the gospel was proclaimed in conjunction with the outpouring of the Spirit and supernatural signs? (Acts 2:41)

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(c) What was the total number of men who believed after Peter and John healed a man who had been lame from birth, and after Peter preached to the crowd that gathered, proclaiming that Jesus had been raised from the dead? (Acts 4:4)

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(d) As the apostles did many signs and wonders among the people, and as the church functioned in unity, how many men and women were “increasingly added to the Lord”? (Acts 5:14b)

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• The Supernatural Overcomes the Impossible

15. (a) Contrast the natural inability of human beings to save themselves with the supernatural ability of God to save them. Complete the following:

Mark 10:27: “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God _____ ___________________ ___________ _________________________.”

(b) After Lazarus died, Jesus commanded that the stone sealing his tomb be taken away. Lazarus’s sister Martha said, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days” (John 11:39). What was Jesus’ reply? (Verse 40)

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When the supernatural is present, spiritual fruit is not only possible but inevitable.

• The Supernatural Enables Us to Live Victoriously in Our Times

16. (a) Who is able to overcome the world? (1 John 5:4a, 5)

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(b) What is the victory that has overcome the world? (1 John 5:4b)

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(c) What statement did Paul make about living victoriously in the midst of the changing circumstances of life? (Philippians 4:13)

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Conclusion

God is restoring “all things” to the church, including the supernatural, in preparation for the crowning restoration that will arrive with the second coming of Jesus. (See Acts 3:21.) There are some key words from Acts 3:19–21 that will help us to enter into God’s restoration plans. First, what is required if we are to experience restoration? “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out…” (Acts 3:19). Next, what will we receive as a result of our repentance? “…So that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (verse 19).

Spiritual refreshing comes through the Holy Spirit and manifests as revivals, the outpouring of the Spirit, the supernatural fire of God, the shekinah (the visible manifestation of God’s glory), joy, laughter, and other spiritual phenomena. When they receive refreshing, however, many people consider it an end in itself; they enjoy it, but they do not share the power and presence of God they have experienced. For example, they do not minister to other people what they have received from His anointing and glory. Yet spiritual refreshing is a step toward the final objective—extending the kingdom of God in the world and bringing the message of salvation to every person on earth.

That is why each of us must make the decision to expand God’s supernatural kingdom. Let us therefore…

• Recognize God Almighty as a supernatural Being who surpasses reason and the natural world.
• Renounce the influences exerted by the spirit of antichrist and our culture’s overemphasis on the Greek mind-set.
• Repent of having allowed substitutes for the supernatural to reign in our lives, families, and ministries.
• Acknowledge our need for the supernatural and ask God to fill us with His presence and power.
• Commit to walk in the supernatural—not as an isolated event but as a lifestyle.

Together, as the church, let us proclaim the gospel of the kingdom, heal the sick, deliver the captives, raise the dead, and manifest the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, thereby demonstrating the real and living Christ to the world!

Prayer of Activation

Heavenly Father, Your Son Jesus pioneered the restoration of the supernatural on earth. We ask You now to activate us, as the members of His body, to be the pioneers who will continue His supernatural ministry in this world. Empower us to conquer impossibilities—to do the “greater works” that Jesus said we would do because He was returning to You, Father. Do signs and wonders through us as evidence of Your existence, and as revelations of Your presence and power in the here and now, so that multitudes of men and women will be added to Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, amen!

Action Steps

• The supernatural will not work in our lives if we are not living in obedience to God. For example, we may believe that Jesus has healed us, yet, at the same time, we may be harbouring unforgiveness toward someone. (See, for example, Matthew 6:14–15.) If your mind-set and behaviour are contrary to God’s ways, even in one area of your life, you must repent and receive His forgiveness. Then, continue to seek Him, asking Him to manifest His supernatural power in and through you.
• Learn to flow in the supernatural by following these steps: (1) Ask God for a breakthrough in the natural realm. A breakthrough occurs when we receive a revelation from Him or when we witness or experience a visible demonstration of His kingdom and power. Therefore, begin to “walk by faith, not by sight”(2 Corinthians 5:7). Ask God to pour out His Spirit in your life and give you breakthroughs. (2) Expect the supernatural. Read Acts 3:1–8, taking special note of verse 5 and the results of the lame man’s expectation—which were more than he asked for! (3) Respond to the supernatural. Each time God manifests or reveals a part of His knowledge or wisdom, it is our responsibility to respond to Him. We must release our faith in His presence to capture the supernatural. (See Hebrews 11:6.) In what area is your impossibility? Is it finances, health, or a family relationship? Believe that the supernatural invades your situation, right now, and receive the power of God. (4) Continually reach out to God through prayer and fasting. Revelation and power come from seeking God and being one with Him in the Spirit. (See Colossians 4:2; Matthew 17:14–21.) (5) Seek progressive revelation. Without continual, progressive revelation from God, we cannot function in the spiritual realm or manifest His kingdom on earth, because His kingdom is supernatural in every way. Progressive revelation from God takes us “from glory to glory.” (See 2 Corinthians 3:18.)