Re: The Early Christians: In Their Own Words

Whenever God reveals himself, bringing boundless forgiveness and renewal, 
it first means sharp chastisement and purification. There was a woman
whose 
hypocritical and impure life was unmasked by the spirit working in Paul; 
she was thrown to the ground, paralyzed. The hands of a young man withered

when he shared in the meal because he tried to hide a murderous act from 
the all-seeing Spirit. The apostles were equipped with both the power to 
reveal the true state of a person and the authority to forgive; both gifts

were inseparable; both revealed the truth. To be filled with the Spirit 
meant purity, truth, and love in daily life, and sure guidance in all they

did. Only then could the Spirit say what was in people’s hearts, or 
pronounce forgiveness of sins as Christ himself granted it and gave 
strength for a new life. Because forgiveness meant that God himself took 
away sin, it was a power from God that abolished the rule of sin.