Posted by kind permission of Cheryl McGrath.
BREAD FOR THE BRIDE:
Uncovering the "Covering Doctrine" Part One
Cheryl McGrath
UNCOVERING THE "COVERING DOCTRINE"
All scripture references NKJV unless otherwise
stated.
PART ONE
"I hope you will be patient with me as I keep on talking like a fool.
Please bear with me. I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God
himself. For I promised you as a pure bride to one husband,
Christ.
But I fear that somehow you will be led away from your pure and simple
devotion to Christ, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent. You seem
to believe whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach about a
different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different Spirit than the
one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you
believed." ( 2 Corinthians 11:1-4 NLT)
In this two-part edition of Bread for the Bride I am inviting you to
take a journey to freedom. Freedom, though, rarely comes without a
cost, so be prepared for a few bumps and bruises along the way! My
fervent prayer is that by the time you reach the end you will at the
least be stirred to do some personal exploring of the scriptures, and
at the most some long-held religiously-based mindsets will be
shattered beyond hope of repair.
Firstly, though, let me share a little personal history in order to
establish the fact that the teaching I offer you in this article has
not been arrived at hastily, presumptuously, or with lack of
experience in what is commonly known as "the church". For
almost my
entire life I have been "churched".
Born to a Catholic-Italian
father and an Anglican-Australian mother, anyone might have guessed
there would be a few pot-holes along my spiritual path! I do remember
at a very early age being taken by an uncle to a Catholic Mass, where
the sheer majestic atmosphere of the church overwhelmed me. He must
be some God! I thought. Later, I was introduced to Sunday School
at a
nearby
most important thing I learned was that God loved me. Good start!
In
my first year in high school a friend and her mother shared the
gospel. As a result, alone in my bedroom, I experienced a
life-changing revelation of Christ on the Cross. I was born again!
Several years were then spent attending a local Anglican church with
my friend. After some time I was allowed to teach the kindergarten
Sunday School class, but was still forbidden to take
communion because
I had never undergone infant baptism. (That scenario had been too
stressful for my Catholic father and Protestant mother!)
In my early twenties, through the encouragement of the same friend, I
was baptised in the Holy Spirit. My husband and I started attending a
little Assemblies of God church, where to my great delight I heard for
the first time about the gifts and anointing of the Spirit. There
followed nearly twenty years in that denomination, and during those
years I was certain that I would spend the rest of my life there. God
had other plans, however, and after a series of deep family crises
which my church preferred not to know about, my husband and I found
ourselves fellowshipping briefly at a
American readers). Perhaps "fellowshipping" is not the right
word.
"Attending" might be more appropriate, as fellowship did not appear
to
be on offer. From there the journey through "churchianity"
continued,
when a Congregational Pastor friend who'd been Spirit-filled invited
us along to his church. Alas, the pastor wanted the Spirit, but the
congregation didn't, so we, as well as the pastor,
found ourselves
being offered the left boot of fellowship! A major geographical move
found our family churchless again, so off we went to find our new
"spiritual home" among the local Pentecostals, trying several
different flavours, but somehow we knew we weren't fitting. God came
to the rescue again, directing us to a Baptist church with a
charismatic pastor, but with the clear message this was to be for "a
season only". This would prove interesting! (Lord, isn't this
where
I started???) We spent three years of relative peace there, before He
suddenly said "the season's up." That was four years ago.
These days
we fellowship in a house church community. I know this is the
place
of fellowship the Lord has for me at this time, but I also know that
He alone is my spiritual home. It took a lot of years and a long
journey for me to discover that truth.
Of course, there are many details I've omitted, some not so pleasant,
to make this history as brief as possible. My purpose in relating
these facts is not to imply any kind of pretentious credentials, or to
elevate one type of worship expression above another. My desire is
only to establish the fact that there IS a denominational history, and
a fairly extensive one, from which I draw upon in addressing this
issue of "spiritual covering".
You see, in a number of the denominations I've been involved in,
including at leadership level, a "doctrine of covering" was taught
and
accepted. And for many, many years, I never questioned this teaching.
After all, everyone believed it; the leadership upheld it, so it must
be right, right? It is only as the Holy Spirit has impressed me to
study the scriptures more deeply on this teaching that I've had to
come to terms with the fact that He never originated it! In His
infinite grace, He chose to wait patiently for a time when the Spirit
of Truth would become dearer to me than the traditions of men.
The teaching on "covering" goes like this. Everyone needs to be
accountable to someone who is spiritually his or her superior. This
someone may be your cell group leader, the head of a church department
or your senior pastor etc. In turn, these leaders receive covering
from someone further up the line, for instance a denominational leader
or a "recognised" apostle. The necessity for this covering is based
on
the belief that believers need to be safeguarded from falling into
error and/or sin. So covering is provided by those who are more
spiritual than we to protect us from such error. At the top of this
pyramid of covering there is quite often a well-known and recognised
"name" but the chances of meeting or having any kind of relationship
with that person if you are at the bottom of the pyramid are fairly
slim. Currently, there are several networks offering this kind of
covering to those in some form of church leadership or ministry, more
often than not for an annual fee. The annual fee usually provides
for the running of the network, and conferences where you can
fellowship with others under your particular brand of covering. You
may also be denied entrance from one of these networks because you
don't have the appropriate credentials.
One of the strange things about this "covering" teaching is that
rarely is anyone asked about their spiritual covering, until they step
outside their particular church, denomination or network. However,
the minute a believer shows signs of having something important to
share with the wider Body of Christ, suddenly all and sundry are
interested primarily in that one important question: "Who are you
covered by?" It all sounds pretty reasonable except for one problem
-
it's not found in scripture. In fact, the early church was taught to
rely on the inner anointing to discern the spiritual source of
potential ministers. (1 John 2:20; 1 John 4:1)
So, where did this idea originate that believers need to be "covered"
in order to serve God and minister within Christ's Body? Are you,
like many others, living your Christian life under the shadow of this
fear that without "covering" you dare not minister, preach,
pray or
do a myriad of other things you're called to do by the Spirit of God,
because you will somehow be ministering without protection?
The purpose of this article is to shed some light on this issue based
on scriptural truth. To begin with, though, we need to understand
that this need to be covered by a perceived spiritual authority, and
the scriptural instruction to submit ourselves to God's delegated
authorities, are NOT necessarily one and the same thing. Furthermore,
New Testament authority as demonstrated by Jesus and the first
apostles, is servanthood-authority, upholding,
strengthening,
reinforcing and overseeing the Body from beneath, not domineering,
controlling and ruling from above. Therefore, it is vital in
examining this issue that we begin from a correct understanding of
Biblical submission and Biblical authority.
'LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU'
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being
in the form of God, thought in not robbery to be equal with God; but
made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in
fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross." (Phil. 2:5-8)
The current mindset we carry in much of the church concerning
submission is quite unrelated to the submission taught
and
demonstrated by Jesus and the early apostles. There is a desperate
need to return to the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. The
scripture tells us that though He was equal with the Father, Jesus
CHOSE to submit Himself, He CHOSE to humble Himself,
He CHOSE to obey.
This is the key to Biblical submission, and the model laid down for us
by both the Father and the Son. Submission is firstly a choice; a
choice that can only ever be made by the giver. Biblical submission
can never be demanded or forced. That kind of relationship is
subservience, not submission. Jesus chose to subject Himself to the
Father, but the Father "so loved the world that He GAVE His only
begotten Son." Sacrificial giving and sacrificial submission are
married to each other. In the Spirit, you cannot have one without the
other. If you try, you will invariably end up with control,
dependence and abuse rather than humility, interdependence and grace.
The New Testament concept of submission, or subjection, is one of a
totally voluntary attitude of giving, of yielding one's preference and
deferring to another. In this way, Jesus as a child was subject to
His parents, yet the scriptures record that He did not even consult
them when He was "about His Father's business." (Luke
"IT SHALL NOT BE SO AMONG YOU"
"Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to
watch over your souls, and they know they are accountable to God. Give
them reason to do this joyfully and not with sorrow. That would
certainly not be for your benefit." (Hebrews 13:17, NLT)
"But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that
those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them,
and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not
be so among you; but whoever desires to become
great among you shall
be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave
of all." (Mark
"Jesus got them together to settle things down. "You've observed how
godless rulers throw their weight around," he said, "and when people
get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads." (Mark
The Message)
There is no question that the scriptures instruct each one of us to
submit to God's delegated authority. It is the understanding and the
application of that authority we often stumble over. The Bible records
that Jesus taught the twelve this Kingdom authority as they walked
along the road to
and it is certain He was keenly aware of the short time He had left
with them. Perhaps He was conversing with His Father about what were
the most important lessons He could impart to them during the time
that was left. We know that He heard them disputing over who among
them was the best "leadership
material". Perhaps Peter, having not
long before witnessed Jesus' transfiguration, thought that gave him
special status. Perhaps James and John felt they were more likely
candidates for rulership than impetuous Peter.
Shortly before, they
had asked Jesus to give them special places of honour in His Kingdom.
Whatever had started their dispute, Jesus certainly knew how to end
it! "Whoever desires to be first among you,
let him be your
slave....." (Matt. 20:27).
The Lord was speaking to a group of people who had grown up under the
rule of the
through forced subjection and harsh cruelty. In fact, the literal
translation of the words Jesus used in reference to Roman rule mean
"to be under the power of" and "to be subdued."
Despite having
witnessed Jesus using a very different kind of authority and power,
the disciples had not yet understood exactly what He would require of
them. The Romans were, in the political sense, their masters. Yet
here was Jesus stating that to exercise the authority He was going to
invest in them they would need to become slaves to one another, and
not masters. One might safely assume these weren't words any of them
particularly wanted to hear that day!
Kingdom authority has nothing to do with titles, positions,
educational qualifications or reputation. Kingdom authority is granted
by the Lord according to the measure with which He can trust us to
wield it with humility. The greatest authority in the kingdom is
reserved for His bondslaves.
WHAT ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY?
In today's church system we have confused the word
"covering" with the
need for accountability. Consequently many are holding themselves
accountable to people with title and position, regardless of whether
or not they are developing an ongoing transparent relationship with
that person. In the Kingdom, it is not possible to be truly
accountable to those with whom we are not actively growing in
relationship. How can I be trusted to call you to account
righteously if I don't love you in Christ? How can you love me with
Christ-like love and not call me to account?
Paul was able to correct the Corinthians because he had true
relationship with them. He had travailed over them, nurtured them,
wept for them and rejoiced with them. Therefore he was able to
reprove them, for their edification and not for their destruction. (2
Corinthians 13:10)
When we turn to the scriptures for guidance on this issue of
accountability, a startling fact confronts us. The News Testament
mentions accountability ONLY in terms of the believer towards God.
The scripture teaches that we will give accountability TO GOD ALONE in
the following areas:
*stewardship (Luke 16:2)
*ourselves (Rom. 14:12)
*fruit (Phil 4:17)
*what we do in the flesh (1 Pet. 4:5)
*leaders shall give account for the souls they watch over (Heb. 13:17)
What then, DO the scriptures teach about how believers, as members of
the corporate Body of Christ, are to relate to one another?
"... all of you be submissive to one another, and
be clothed with
humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
(1 Peter 5:5)
In Galatians Chapter Two we read of a journey Paul took to
He states that he went up "by revelation", that is, at the
instigation
of the Holy Spirit, in order to confirm that the gospel he had been
preaching was approved by the eldership of the
goes on to state that "those who seemed to be something, whatever they
were, it makes no difference to me," had nothing to add to his
teachings. He further adds that when James, Cephas
(Peter) and John
perceived the grace God had shown him, he was given the "right hand of
fellowship."
At the instigation of the Holy Spirit, Paul had subjected himself to
the
accountability. One may safely assume that Peter, having spent around
three years day and night with Jesus, and highly regarded by the early
believers, held very great authority in the church. Paul, however
did not ask Peter to cover him. Instead, he did not hesitate in
calling Peter to account when Peter was later swayed to go back on his
word by the fear of men (Gal.
same Peter who stated "We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts
These men understood the nature of relationship through the Holy
Spirit; ALL of you be submissive to one another,
ALL of you be
clothed with humility. Each of us is accountable to one another,
whatever our function in the Body, whether apostles, teachers, deacons
or helpers. This is the church Christ is building.
To say that we are demonstrating accountability to a person or group
of people we may briefly rub shoulders with at a meeting once or twice
a week, or perhaps once or twice a year, is ludicrous. True
accountability is about how we express Christ in us - our lifestyle,
our character and our integrity in families, jobs and church
community. This cannot be measured outside Godly relationships, and
without a humble willingness to be in subjection one to another. Each
one of us needs to seek out and submit ourselves to those in the Body
the Lord has placed close to us to provide that accountability,
regardless of their position, title or function. Each one of us needs
to be willing, in humility and service, to
provide that same
accountability base for others in the Body. This applies to
leadership equally as it does to the newest, most inexperienced member
of the Christian community.
Sadly, what we see today in so much of the church, is
a frenzied
jockeying for position under the supposedly protective umbrella of
some ministry name or reputation, in order to prove ourselves
"covered". "Who covers you?" has
become one of the most frequently
asked questions among Christians, and too often it is the deciding
factor in assessing a ministry's integrity or otherwise. Consequently,
an unsatisfactory answer to that question in some church circles can
label you "outside the camp" and almost certainly not to be trusted.
Christians are judging each other's worth and relationship with God on
this issue of covering, and using it to justify self-righteousness and
spiritual elitism.
In Part Two of this study we will talk about what is
at the root of
this distorted doctrine, and the clear choices that lie before us in
order to be free from it.
BREAD FOR THE BRIDE:
Uncovering the "Covering Doctrine", Part Two
Cheryl McGrath
Jul 3, 2003
UNCOVERING THE COVERING DOCTRINE
PART TWO
".....then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount
Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the
shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will
be a covering." ( Isaiah 4:5)
"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou
trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." Ps. 91:4
IT'S ABOUT HIS NAME
"Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the
temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the
scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him,
saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who
is he who gave You this authority?" (Luke 20:1-2)
As we see from this portion of scripture, the question "who covers
you?" is not new. The chief priests,
scribes and elders were not
simply asking Jesus where His supernatural power came from. More than
that, they wanted a NAME. "Who is he?' Come on,
tell us Jesus, who
is the scribe, who is the rabbi, who is the prophet who covers you?
And no more of that over-spiritualised talk about your Father. We
want the name of the person who said you could do these things!"
The apostle Paul confronted a similar problem in the Corinthian
church.
"Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions
among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind
and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning
you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are
contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you
says, "I am
of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or
"I am of Cephas," or "I am of
Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or
were you
baptised in the name of Paul?" (1 Cor. 1:10-13)
The Lord is jealous over us concerning His Name. We were bought and
paid for by His Blood, and His Name is the only Name by which we are
to identify ourselves. When believers choose to find their identity
in another name other than His, the Spirit is grieved and His Name is
dishonoured.
IT'S ABOUT THE FLESH
"Don't ever let anyone call you `Rabbi,' for you have only one
teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters.
And don't address anyone here on earth as `Father,' for only God in
heaven is your spiritual Father. And don't let anyone call you
`Master,' for there is only one master, the Messiah. The greatest
among you must be a servant. " (Matthew
23:8-11, NLT)
The Corinthians were apparently separating into factions according to
whom they considered was the most authoritative teacher. They were
following after men, and for that reason Paul took issue with them.
Further in his letter he goes on to challenge them by describing this
kind of mindset as carnal and fleshly rather than spiritual:
"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as
to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with
solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even
now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there
are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and
behaving like mere men? For when one says, "I am of Paul," and
another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal?" (1 Cor.
3:1-4)
Finally, he instructs them:
"Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether
Paul or Apollos or Cephas,
or the world or life or death, or things
present or things to come--all are yours. And you are Christ's, and
Christ is God's." (1 Cor. 3:21-23)
The Corinthians had become so obsessed with the attributes of
certain
teachers they were idolising them. They wanted to regard particular
individuals as their "master", "father", or
"teacher", but Paul wanted
them to understand that in doing so they were falling short of their
full inheritance in Christ. He wanted them to see that all of these
teachers, belonged to them as servant-ministers, and
not the other way
around.
IT'S ABOUT A SUBSTITUTE KING
At the heart of the Corinthians' idolatry was the age-old desire for a
ruler, a king. The flesh would much rather fear man than fear God.
The flesh would much rather submit to the control of law than submit
to the freedom of the Spirit. This principle is seen throughout
scripture.
Afraid they would die, the Israelites begged Moses to be God's
messenger to them, rather than hear His Voice for themselves.
"Now all the people witnessed the thunderings,
the lightning flashes,
the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the
people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to
Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak
with us, lest we die." ( Exodus 20:18-19)
God desired for the people to hear Him for themselves, but they
refused. Effectively, the Israelites were elevating Moses as their
mediator. The entire nation had been called as a kingdom of priests,
but their preference was to be ruled by one man. (Exodus 19:1-9)
Many years later, when the prophet Samuel officiated as
judge,
"Then all the elders of
Ramah, and said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk
in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations."
But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to
judge us." So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel,
"Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they
have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that
I should not
reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since
the day that I brought them up out of
which they have forsaken Me and served other gods--so
they are doing
to you also. Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall
solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behaviour of the king who
will reign over them." So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the
people who asked him for a king. And he said, "This will be the
behaviour of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons
and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some
will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his
thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some
to plow his
ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and
equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be
perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your
fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his
servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and
give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male
servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your
donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep.
And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because
of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will
not hear you in that day.
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they
said, "No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like
all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us
and fight our battles." And Samuel heard all the words of the people,
and he repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. So the Lord said to
Samuel, "Heed their voice, and make them a king." (1 Samuel 8:4-22)
The key to
reign of Yahweh over them, was "that we also may be like all the
nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight
our battles." They wanted a name and a face that could "go out
before" them. They wanted someone visible they could show the other
nations. They wanted a symbol, a token leader who could take
responsibility for how they would live and conduct their lives. They
wanted someone with a reputation they could identify with. They
wanted to be like the world. They wanted human "covering."
You see, friends, there is a place for governmental leadership, there
is a place for accountability within the Body, there is a place for
submission to legitimate God-delegated authority. All these are valid
and in order, but only insofar as they are not permitted to substitute
for the direct rule of God in our lives. And only
insofar as they are
not sought out as a counterfeit for the sovereignty and rulership
of
the Holy Spirit within each believer.
IT'S OF A DIFFERENT SPIRIT
"You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were
on the holy
fiery stones." (Ezekiel 28:14)
Many Bible scholars agree that God's rebuke to the "king of
recorded in Ezekiel 28:1-19 is prophetically addressed to Satan. In
it, we find that originally this fallen angel was called the "anointed
cherub who covers". Some scholars believe he was especially anointed
to cover the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies. In the Presence of God,
he walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones. The
passage states that when iniquity was found in him he was cast out of
God's holy mountain, and removed from the midst of the fiery stones.
This Hebrew word "to cover" means "to hedge, fence about, shut
in,
block, overshadow, screen, stop the approach, shut off, cover" ( H.
"cakak" Strongs
05526 ). It is a word than can be used either in
relation to defence or oppression.
Beloved, Satan still desires to walk back and forth in the midst of
God's living, fiery stones. He still desires to be the covering
cherub on God's holy mountain, but the covering he offers is
oppressive, designed purely to hinder believers and rob them of the
freedom and full potential that is ours through Christ.
The doctrine of covering is an old lie with a new name. It is
fundamental to the maintenance of a false hierarchical religious
system controlling many Christians in this day. Without the power of
this erroneous mindset, it is even doubtful that some sections of the
"church" could survive.
"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of
peace. There is one body and one Spirit -- just as you were called to
one hope when you were called -- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one
God and Father of all, who is OVER ALL and THROUGH ALL and IN ALL.
(Ephesians 4:3-6)
The scriptures plainly state that it is God alone who is OVER all.
Only God can cover His people, and only the Holy Spirit can unite
them. The most disturbing aspect about the covering teaching is that
it subtly encourages believers to look to men and women rather than
develop their own deep relationship with God through the Holy Spirit.
It upholds a man-made church built on hierarchy rather than a
spiritual temple built through the unity of the Spirit. It promotes a
class system of rulership by title, human appointment
and personality,
and devalues the priesthood of every believer. It negates leadership
by the Holy Spirit and discourages believers from hearing the
direction of the Spirit for themselves. It is a
doctrine of demons
being used to deceive and bind countless believers.
Now, about that freedom we were talking about at the beginning of this
article! Don't, repeat DON'T, use your newfound liberty as a licence
for rebellion against authority. If you have been trapped in this
covering doctrine be wise in how you appropriate your
freedom. There
are many, many humble and faithful men and women overseeing and
serving the Body of Christ with humility and devotion, and it may well
be that whoever has been "covering" you is one of them. If you
are
blessed enough to be aligned with a servant-leader who demonstrates
true Biblical authority, honour them, support them, and submit to
them. But don't expect them to cover you - that's not theirs to give.
False doctrines are mindsets and beliefs that can only be cast down by
the Spirit and the Word together. And ultimately, our walk in the
Spirit is not the responsibility of leadership; it is our own
responsibility. It is time for each one of us to choose - do we want
the rulership of kings, or do we want the rulership of THE King?
Finally, let me leave you with these thoughts:
1) Who covered Philip when He went down to
revival? (The apostles heard about it and sent Peter and John down to
check it out!) (Acts 8:4-8)
2) Who covered Philip when the angel of the Lord
directed him to the
eunuch asking him for his "covering" credentials!)
3)Who covered Ananias when
he was sent to pray for Saul? (He went to
pray for a known enemy of the church and didn't event get permission!)
(Acts
4)Who covered Apollos when
he taught boldly in the synagogue, even
though he had not yet received the full gospel? (Acts
5)And who covered Aquilla
and Priscilla when they took Apollos under
their wing to instruct him further? (Acts 18:26)
6)Who covered Agabus when he
travelled down from
prophetic word to Paul? (Acts
The answer is the same in each instance: The Holy Spirit covered,
protected, led, and enabled. He is the only covering we need. The
real question is this: is He the only covering we want?
"IT SHALL NOT BE SO AMONG YOU."
Cheryl McGrath
Great South Land Ministries
www.greatsouthland.org
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Copyright Cheryl McGrath, Great South Land Ministries, 2003 This
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Diggers is the communication List of the Australian Intercessors Forum
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