THE PLUMBLINE OF GOD’S WORD

Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. 1 Cor 14:29 NKJV

How do we decide what is right or wrong, good or evil, truth or error? Is truth subjective, in other words as being defined by the feelings or temperament of the subject or the persons thinking? Or is it objective, meaning to be a fixed standard apart from the whims or temperament of anyone? If right or wrong, good or evil, truth or error, is subjective then we have no basis for any relationship with anyone, because what is good to you may be evil to me, what is right to me may be wrong to you.

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judg 17:6 NKJV

Now this doesn’t mean we all have to agree on the same flavor of ice cream. But in all important matters we must have a standard by which we agree to cooperate, first with the Lord, as King, then with one another, or else there is chaos, the utter breakdown of families, communities and nations. When two people, or a group, community or nation cannot agree upon a common standard then there can be no compatibility. The Lord calls us to His righteous standard…

…and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand. Amos 7:7 KJV

A construction plumbline was a string that was weighted by a stone that would be cut into a perfect square and perfectly balanced. It would be used to test the perfect uprightness of walls and corners or intersections of walls. A wall that was not upright and balanced in construction could not support weight above it and would soon fall down. Today, lasers are used in place of the old plumblines…

The Bible is objective truth, a fixed standard that is not changed by anyone’s opinion. The Bible is the joyous plumbline, the measure and definition of truth. The Bible says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Do you see the plumbline? Some would say this is hate speech; but no, it is not, because ‘he who believes’ can be anyone, at any time, under any conditions, regardless of how gross the circumstances. Do you see it? It is not hate…it is simply the plumbline.

THE PLUMBLINE TESTS OUR BELIEFS

Now in our study of the gifts of the Spirit the plumbline of God’s Word must always be at the forefront of our thinking and discernment lest we will fall like an untrue wall.

For instance, some teach that you can have ‘out-of-body’ experiences, that your spirit can travel to different places while your body stays home. No, it can’t. The spirit of man is what gives life to the physical body. The plumbline, God’s Word, says that the body without the spirit is dead. But these teachers all have great experiences! Dear one, experiences, as wonderful as they may be, are all subjective, completely open to the interpretation of the one who shares the experience. This is why you must judge, by the plumbline, everything that you see and hear!

Then the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea… Ezek 11:24 NKJV

This wasn’t an ‘out-of-body’ experience…this was revelation. He went there by revelation. God can move you physically from one place to another. The Holy Spirit moved Jesus, and Stephen and others. I’ve often thought how wonderful it would be to learn to travel by the Spirit of God. Adam must have been able to move by the Spirit of God in order to be able to tend and keep the Garden. Oh, what was lost in the fall!

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  John 8:32 NKJV

One time a dear man of God wrote about casting ‘deceased human spirits’ out of people. When I had a chance to meet with him, I confronted him, saying, “Where can you show me in the Word about casting out so-called ‘dead human spirits’?” He admitted he could not find a single verse to confirm his ideas. I said, “You better be careful about espousing such a doctrine.” You see, the plumbline speaks even when it is silent…

The Bible is the joyous plumbline, teaching us right from wrong, truth from error, righteous freedom from depressed enslavement.

THE BAPTISM OF FIRE

Let’s examine the plumbline for what it declares about speaking in tongues and what is God’s will for every born again one (Lightbearers trained teachers are contending for the gifts of the Spirit all over the world, bless God forever).

Some would espouse that there is a separate experience called the baptism of fire. But I believe the evidence of the plumbline points to the baptism of the Holy Spirit being the baptism of fire.

Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, Acts 2:3-4 NKJV

We see that ‘fire’ is clearly associated with speaking in tongues for the first time.

The fact that Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4 is the birth day of the Church, and they spoke in tongues, sets a divine precedent for all believers in the Church Age. Every born again one should speak in tongues. American law works under the principle of precedents in its application – they call it stare decisis – which is a sound principle. Now, precedents set by men can be overturned, but there is no place in the New Testament where God’s divine precedent in Acts 2 is overturned.

Now let’s consider the verse they use to prove a baptism of fire.

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  Matt 3:11-12 NKJV

We’ve seen already that ‘fire’ is associated with speaking in tongues. Now, here is what I believe is an example of a figure of speech used in the Bible. It is the figure call HENDIADYS, meaning ‘one out of two.’ We use figures all the time in our daily language to give color and emphasis to our words. When the ground is dry, that’s a plain statement of fact. But when we say, the ground is thirsty, that is a figure of speech. The ground is not literally thirsty, but the figure gives emphasis to the fact. With the figure HENDIADYS, two nouns are used to mean the same thing, and the second noun modifies the first noun. So, to say the Holy Spirit and fire, understanding the figure, means ‘the fiery Holy Spirit.’

Now don’t think that just because I don’t believe in a separate baptism of fire that I’m not a Holy Ghost man. I got a wonderful compliment recently where a dear pastor said, “When Kevin is around we all get drunk in the Holy Spirit!” JESUS! That’s a good reputation to have…

THE PLUMBLINE – GOD’S WILL FOR ALL

Finally, I’m writing this section for all of our teachers who run into religious opposition to the baptism of the Spirit. The plumbline sets God’s standard. When questioned about whether all believers should speak in tongues, you only have answer with one section of Scripture.

…Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39 NKJV

The Lord of the plumbline set His marker for all eternity.

‘He who believes in Me…’ refers to every born again one. The standard is set. We could take this section apart word by word to show you its great depth but let me simply say here that Jesus meant what He said, and He said what He meant. Now, perhaps not every believer will speak in tongues, but only because the devil HATES speaking in tongues, and he will use religious ones everywhere to oppose it. The unbelief is so deeply entrenched against the Spirit that most churches don’t even have a model for leading people into tongues.

But that is changing, bless God forever, because of people like you, who stare down unbelief to its face, and proclaim the truth of the plumbline that God has set for all time. I salute you, and I am so humbled to be in your ranks. Love you!

Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…