What Does ‘Revival’ Mean in Biblical Terms?

Share:

As impressive moves of faith unfold across America—from the beaches of northeastern Florida to the shorelines of Southern California—many are wondering if the country could be on the cusp of revival.

Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, and the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, is the author of the forthcoming book, “Revival: When God Comes to Church,” in which he unpacks a biblical understanding of the word “revival” and what Christians ought to do to create an atmosphere for spiritual restoration.

The most succinct definition of “revival” Gaines has come across, he said during a recent appearance on CBN’s “Faith vs. Culture,” comes straight from the Old Testament: “When the glory of God fills the house of God.”

Breaking NewsSpirit-Filled Stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!

“The word ‘vive’ has to do with life; ‘re’ means to repeat or to have fresh life,” the pastor said. “So it means ‘to have new life’. That’s what it is. And revival is not for people who don’t know Christ. I like to say it this way: You can’t revive something that’s never been ‘vived.’ So if they’ve never been given life in Jesus Christ, they can’t be revived. That’s for Christians. So revival is specifically for the people of God.”

Gaines turned then toward a passage of Scripture he believes is often “totally misrepresented.”

In Revelation 3:20, the Apostle John wrote, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me,” (NIV).

The verse, the pastor explained, isn’t addressing individual salvation, as it’s often used. Rather, the passage is referring to Jesus attempting to regain access to—or to revive—His collective church.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up-to-date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

“He’s not knocking on the door of somebody’s heart,” Gaines said. “He’s knocking on the door of the church of Laodicea, and He’s trying to get back into His church! That’s an amazing picture: that Jesus — a lot of the time — we lock Him out of His own church. We’ve got our programs, we’ve got our stuff, we’ve got our denominations, we’ve got all this stuff that we rely on, and we’re not relying on the Lord.”

He added, “The greatest thing we can give anybody is the manifest presence of God. When they come [into the church], is God there? Is God really there in manifest presence, or is He outside knocking, trying to get into His own church? I just believe we ought to let Him have His church.”

To read the full story, visit our content partners at Faithwire.

Reprinted with permission from faithwire.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Share:

Leave a Reply


More Spiritual Content
Supreme Court to Consider Male Athletes in Female Sports
Judge Allows Family of Boulder Terror Suspect to be Deported
New Tracker Uncovers Hundreds of Left-wing Lawsuits Targeting Trump
Massive Interstellar Object Hurtles Toward the Sun, May Cross Path With Mars
Breaking: House Casts Final Vote on ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
Pentagon Confirms 1-2 Year Setback for Iran Nuclear Program
Wisconsin Supreme Court Overturns 1849 Abortion Ban
New York Bill Threatens $1M Fines for Donations to Israeli Aid Groups
Trump: Israel Agrees to Ceasefire, Warns Hamas to Take Deal or Else
Diddy Trial Verdict: Combs Found Guilty on Two Counts
previous arrow
next arrow
Shadow

Most Popular Posts

Latest Videos
113K Subscribers
1.3K Videos
12.7M Views

Share