The Not-For-Today Version of the Bible

Since the end of the 7th century, there have been over 450 versions of the Bible translated into English! In spite of the many versions of the Bible available today, there is one that is not on the market, but is used by multitudes of believers and unbelievers. I call it the "Not-For-Today Version."

Many moderns use this version as they rant about how the Bible is just not for today. They pontificate authoritatively that if it is to be made to fit a civilized society, it must be watered down, reinterpreted, and compromised. The Authorized Version of the Bible fits neither the culture, nor the education levels of this generation, despite a growing number of exceptions who choose to remain ignorant and backwoods-ish by way of educational preference. Except among those who are stubbornly wound up in it as a belief system, the Bible has no appeal.

Sincere believers and highly trained bible teachers have looked at the kingdom of heaven and the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 5-7, which we refer to as the Sermon on the Mount, and have declared, “The kingdom is postponed and the teachings of Jesus in these chapters is not for today, but for the Jews in the Millennium.

Many evangelical believers would agree with one of their own as he declared, “The Apostolic Signs are not for today, because they were only for confirming the word of God to the unbelieving Jews in the first century.”

Many prominent pastors and seminary professors vehemently assert that the baptism in the Holy Spirit, with the accompanying gifts, is not for today. Some go even further and say it is wrong, or demonic.

Those who advocate that the gifts of the Spirit are not for today say that when the Bible as we know it today was canonized “that which is perfect” came and so the gifts or the supernatural manifestations of God are not needed anymore.

For many years the Bible that I read and taught from was the Not-For-Today Version. As the footnotes of my Bible explained, so I maintained and proclaimed that apostles, prophets, divine healings, miracles, and supernatural signs and wonders had all passed away and were just not for today. Although I, and multitudes like me, claimed to believe the entire Bible, yet we thought and taught that much of the work of God described in the Bible is not for today; that some things that were available for God’s people during Bible days are not available for believers today because they have ceased, or with all our access to technology, higher education, scientific and medical advances, coupled with our abilities to rightly divide the Word of Truth, we just don’t need them anymore. I had been taught and then I taught for years that the manifestations of God’s power had “passed away” and were not for today.

But through a serious of divine appointments, I was benevolently ambushed by the Holy Spirit and was lovingly compelled to discard the “that’s not for today” version of interpreting scripture. When I did, the Bible came alive to me, and the power of God became available and operative in me and through me.

The Word of God reveals that the Spirit of God gave the Church of the Living God a supernatural entrance and will give her a supernatural exit. Therefore the Church must live a supernatural existence and experience. The Church may employ Madison Avenue tactics to draw the masses, but there won’t be any miracles. And without the obvious presence of the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit, we will boast about being many for God, but we won’t be much for God! We can convince unbelievers by the power of our reasoning that God exists, but only the Holy Spirit can convict and bring the revelation that God can be known by personal experience.

Why not discard the Not-For-Today Version of the Bible you have been reading, repent of unbelief, and make this confession with me:

Unbelief says some other time, but not now; some other place, but not here, some other people, but not us. I begin today to confess in faith that whatever God did some other time, He is willing to do now; whatever He did some other place, He is willing to do here; whatever He did for any other people, He is willing to do for us, NOW!