From heaven Jesus set up the New Testament church and God gave a new covenant to HIS people.
Jesus spoke directly to Paul from heaven to change him and to put him into the ministry.
Acts 26 (Paul speaking to king Agrippa)
Paul had been persecuting the church, taking individuals to the high priest in Jerusalem to be put in prison and in some cases killed.
On the road to Damascus:
14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou ME? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord?
And HE said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
For the next 3 years Jesus taught Paul things of God and how to be an apostle and teacher according to his calling from heaven.
Ephesians 4
8 Wherefore HE saith, When HE ascended up on high, HE led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
11-12 And HE gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
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It is exactly the same with us. We are given a new heart and new Spirit when God speaks to us to cause us to be born again. And some of us are put into the ministry to work in the New Testament Church.
I was born again in 1975, when God brought to my mind the following "word":
"Joan ... you know all these mistakes you've been making all these years? Those weren't mistakes. Those were sins."
I was instantly completely changed, born again by The Word from God, just like The Word changed Paul.
A few nights after this, I was asleep and was transported into heaven where I was with God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit. (I saw no physical images. It was a spiritual experience.) At that time I was merged into the body of Jesus, made one with the Word of God, God and the Holy Spirit witnessing.
And a second time, two or three nights later, the exact same thing happened again.
I was on fire for God after this. All I wanted to do was to hear things from God and read the Bible and be with the people of God.
My old life was over!
2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
This book focuses on God speaking to HIS people and various ways God meets the needs of the New Testament people today.
Joan Boney