I recently finished the J.C. O’Hair biography, and it was a genuinely impressive read. Learning about the man, his influence on understanding God’s word, and the history surrounding his ministry was a profound experience. Rarely am I so impressed with a biography, but this one, much like the way Bonhoeffer was written by Eric Metaxas, was truly exceptional.
I was fascinated to see O’Hair’s spiritual start in Catholicism, his transition to Presbyterianism, and how he eventually came to the glorious realization of the Grace Gospel. His path was forged after confrontations with Pentecostals and other groups, but the clarity of grace ultimately shone through for him.
My own journey was similar in spirit. I was raised Baptist, but my parents took me to charismatic churches throughout my teenage years. Finding true grace—the grace of God—was the greatest thing to happen to me since I met Jesus Christ.
Spiritual vs. Physical: Our Heavenly Blessings
One of the most significant takeaways has been the monumental truth that we are a spiritual people and not a physical people.
So many times, the teaching from Pentecostal and Charismatic circles suggests that we are spiritual Israel and that all of Israel’s physical blessings belong to us. That is simply not the case. Israel was a people of physical blessings—land, healings, miracles, and even risings from the dead.
In contrast, we, as members of the Body of Christ, are a spiritual people. As the book of Ephesians teaches, all our blessings are spiritual and “in the heavenly places.”
I was once accused by my late father of not being “spiritual enough.” He wanted to see me speak in tongues, raise my hands in church, dance, and witness physical miracles in my life. All I wanted for him was to find rest in the truth that all of God’s miracles for us are spiritual and in the heavenlies. I know he sees that now because he is with the Lord, but I only wish he had seen it then.