There is a verse in the King James Version of the Scriptures which regrettably has caused confusion within the Church on both sides of the evangelical/charismatic divide.
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth? Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. (Isaiah 45:9-12)
Certain charismatic groups have taken “concerning the work of my hands command ye me” in this translation very seriously. They are commanding God concerning the work of his hands. This has naturally caused consternation among more conservative evangelical groups who are understandably horrified that we should dare to issue commands to God Almighty who created the heavens and the earth.
To resolve this issue, let us look at this passage from the NIV.
“Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’? Woe to the one who says to a father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to a mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’ “This is what the LORD says– the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts. (Isaiah 45:9-12)
In this case the NIV translation makes much more sense. The context of the passage makes it clear that the Lord is rebuking those who now dare to quarrel or strive with the One who created the universe and everything in it, including man himself. Who therefore are we to give orders to or to command or even to question God about the work of His hands?
Let us for a moment look at two literal translations of verse 11.
Isaiah 45:11 So says Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and the One who formed him, Do you ask Me of the things to come? Do you give command to Me about My sons, and about the work of My hands? (LITV)
Isaiah 45:11 Thus said Jehovah, The Holy One of Israel, and his Former: Ask Me of the things coming concerning My sons, Yea, concerning the work of My hands, ye command Me.’ (YLT)
We see that these two translations disagree. Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) would appear to support the practice of commanding God, while the Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (LITV) does not and takes into account the context of the passage. Apparently the Hebrew text can allow for both translations. Which should we choose as the correct translation?
To do this let us examine the overall context of the Bible in its entirety. Apart from the King James Version translation of this verse, does Scripture teach or even imply that man can ever command God to do something, i. e., that man has authority over God in any way? The answer is NO. Only God has all authority.
Therefore fearing God let us accept the interpretation which honors both the immediate context of the passage as well as the overall context of the Bible. When in verse 11 the NIV translation reads, “This is what the LORD says– the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?” it is honoring both the immediate context of Isaiah 45 as well as the overall context of Scripture.
Zeal without knowledge has consequences.
Romans 10:2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.
Zeal not based on knowledge, however, cuts both ways. Evangelicals who are zealous for interpreting Scripture properly and according to Biblical hermeneutics can quite ironically become victims of their own zeal—because it is not always necessarily based on knowledge.
Take the passages in Luke 9 and 10 where Jesus gives power and authority to his disciples over disease and demons and then sends them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick using his power and authority.
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. …So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere. (Luke 9:1-2, 6)
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. … Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ …The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” (Luke 10:1, 9, 17)
In particular, this authority over diseases and demons was applied by the disciples as they issued commands directly to infirmities, to infirm people, and to demons in the name of Jesus Christ. Miracles of healing and deliverance ensued as they exercised this authority. It is crucial to understand that the disciples were not commanding Jesus or God to heal or to cast out demons. Rather they were simply exercising the authority given to them by Jesus by issuing direct commands to infirmities and demons.
The simplest illustration of this is commanding your dog to sit. God has given us authority over our pet dogs. Therefore when we command our dog to “sit,” we are of course not commanding God. Rather we are commanding our dog to sit with the authority God has given us. In the exact same way the disciples healed the sick by issuing commands to infirmities which Jesus had placed under their authority for the sake of the gospel.
A study of the dispensation of Acts reveals that the disciples continued to use this power and authority over diseases and demons when the gospel was opened up and preached to the gentiles as well as the Jews. Therefore since today we are still in the dispensation of Acts, this supernatural power and authority is available to us disciples now for preaching the gospel to the lost.
We understand of course that ardent cessationists will not be able to accept this argument despite the weight of Scripture.
Unfortunately, however, even some non-cessationist evangelicals will have difficulty with our argument. Because of their understandable abhorrence toward the practice of commanding God, they are very uncomfortable with the practice of commanding infirmities and demons to go in the name of Jesus. Somehow the two practices, even though completely different, are lumped together in confusion. When we command infirmities and demons (which Jesus has placed under our authority for the sake of the gospel) to go in His name, they somehow feel that we are commanding God.
Thus among evangelicals the practice of prayer to God for the sick and demonized, which we do not see emphasized in the gospels and Acts, has evolved to the point where exercising authority over infirmities and demons is now discouraged and dismissed. But is it not ridiculous to pray to God asking Him to make our dog sit when we want him to sit?
Sadly to the detriment of the gospel, evangelical abhorrence at the practice of commanding God (which again is understandable and in fact shared by us) has led them to the very opposite extreme. We will simply pray to God and trust Him to take action for us in everything—which of course sounds very “spiritual” indeed. And indeed in those areas where we do not have authority, we must pray and trust God. But where we have been given authority by God to take action, should we simply pray and then sit around waiting for God to act?
When we want our dog to sit, should we just pray and trust God to do it for us? When we need finances, should we simply pray and then trust God to make money grow on our backyard tree? When our child graduates from high school and wants to go to college, does he or she simply pray to God and wait on Him for the acceptance letters from the colleges?
As ludicrous as these illustrations are, some evangelicals have unwittingly adapted the principle behind them to the realm of ministering to the sick and demonized as well—to the loss of the advance of the gospel.
The gospels and Acts teach us to exercise authority over infirmities and demons by issuing commands to them in Jesus’ name. But somehow we feel that it’s not very spiritual to give commands—after all, who do we think we are anyway? But it’s very spiritual to pray to God.
Perhaps the true definition of being spiritual is following scripture, and not our “sacred” traditions.
Once again, exercising authority over infirmities and demons by issuing commands to them in Jesus’ name is NOT COMMANDING GOD. Rather it is simply following what Jesus did in the gospels and what his disciples continued to do in Acts as the gospel spread throughout the known world. If we ignore this crucial distinction it is to the loss of the gospel around the world. It is for the sake of the gospel that Jesus gave this authority and power to his disciples two thousand years ago.
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. …So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere. (Luke 9:1-2, 6)
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. … Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ …The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” (Luke 10:1, 9, 17)