I am always amazed That the Lord would ever give a mere mortal the revelation he gave to Paul the Apostle. He was taught in the secret chambers of eternity Himself, and that to lay a foundation for the very essence of the Church Eternal herself.
How could it be? Colossians and Ephesians.....on and on. And his obsession with mercy, in light of his own sinfulness and depravity. He was given suffering as bread, so that he would not trust in himself, but God alone.
I know that this is not fair, in light of the question, but here is a MAN given grace to form the written Word of God and display it without a semblance of self promotion or pride. I'm impressed.
As far as others, T. Austin Sparks has fed me more than any other. A. W. Tozer, Whitefield, Bunyan, Nee, and let me not forget Oswald Chambers; who loved his cross. Under that tier, I have been drawn to the devotional brothers, who accented death and resurrection in the believers life, corresponding with a life of worship. People who direct me to the truth that it much more important to God in what I become, rather than how I act or what I do.
These men are not primarily theologians. The error of this thinking [theologian's] is that knowledge is reality, and they insinuate that what you believe in your mind affects your position with God; but in reality it is your DEEDS and your FRUIT that follow after you, not your doctrinal stance or mindset.
Pulpit ministries, alone, seem to support a CLERGY/Laity mindset, and in my mind beget division and pride. [ Though some holy men have Pulpit ministries..]
Meetings are not the Church, and Pulpit preachers alone , without a basic understanding of ministry to the LEAST, do not impress me. I am drawn to brothers that know the fellowship of His sufferings, and can sense their love in their writings. I also see, that without sound DOCTRINE, the Church will Perish, no matter how spiritual you may think you have become.
I am now in a season of reading my Bible almost exclusively.
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