Holy Spirit - Part 1: The Trinity

We should not begin our study focus of the Holy Spirit until we have come to understand the concept of the Trinity, one of the bedrock foundations of the Christian faith. 

This concept places our faith apart from all other faiths. While there are quite a few religions that believe in a number of gods, we do not. We believe in one God, the true and living God, who has elected to present Himself to us in three persons. These persons are not individual persons apart from each other. They are three different manifestations of one God. In this way, the Christian faith is said to be “Trinitarian”, meaning accepting of AND worship of three essences of one God, FATHER, SON, & HOLY SPIRIT.

Some have taught that the Trinity is essentially a New Testament teaching. This is false doctrine. We should understand that the actual word “Trinity” does not appear in scripture, but it's teaching and doctrine begins all scripture for us. It is not a coincidence that this concept is prepared for us in Genesis 1:1:

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”.

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and in the Hebrew language this verse is given with the word Elohim to describe God. In the original language, “EL” is used to describe a singular thing, “ELAH” is used to describe a thing of two in number, and 

“ELOHIM” is used to describe three in number.

So in this most majestic statement that begins all understanding of the Holy Word, we see the Trinity presented. We must rightly divide the Word to truly gain understanding and even the first book, chapter 1, verse 1 is not alone in presenting us this concept of truth.

Genesis 1:26

“And God said, let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness...”

Genesis 3:22

“And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of US...”

Genesis 11:7

“... let US go down and there confound their language...”

God unfolds His revelation to us progressively. But even in the very beginning of the Holy Word, we are taught that God subsists in plural form.

It should be obvious to us that when the Father sent the Son, as reflected through the New Testament fulfillment of prophecy given before, more light is clearly shown on the matter of the Trinity. While the Father remained upon His throne in the highest heavens, the Son came to be among us in the likeness of our flesh, while scripture is clear where He was before He came.

John 1:1-2

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.”

God then revealed to all mankind for all time his plural purpose by coming to be among His creation. 

John 1:14

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...”

It is inspiring that when the Lord gave His only begotten one, His perfect Son, to be our once and forever sacrifice, atoning for all sin for all time, and then the Son returned to the side of the Father to always intercede for us, He did not leave us alone.

First He confirmed for us that special relationship of the divine.

John 10:30

“I and my Father are one”.

In John 16:7 Jesus made clear that it was expedient that He go away and send another comforter, the Holy Spirit. That wording in the original Greek means a better way to accomplish a purpose. So the Lord told us that it was better for us that He himself go, and send us the Holy Spirit.

In Matthew 28, Jesus commands His followers to make disciples of all nations, teaching them what His truth, and to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Notice here this teaching is of three persons, but one name. 

At the moment of the baptism of Jesus, we are given a moment in which all three persons of the Trinity are in evidence at one place. The Son comes up out of the water, the Father speaks from Heaven for all there to hear, and the Spirit descends upon the Son in the form of a dove.

The Holy Spirit is a person, and is God, and is a member of the Trinity. Any lesser view is inaccurate and not borne out by scripture. The Father is the source of all blessing, the Son is the channel of that blessing, and the Spirit operates within us to effect all blessing. The Trinity is real, is truth, and is within the Word of God.

Holy Spirit - Part 2: Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit is a person. Jesus, who introduces us in large part to the Spirit, never refers to the Spirit as “IT”. In John 14, 15, & 16 when He speaks of this one, He speaks of “HE”. The Spirit is not a force or a thing but is a person in His own right.

We see from the Bible teaching that He has intellect, emotions, and will. In addition, scripture also attributes to Him the acts we would expect of someone who was not simply a force of nature, but rather of someone who is a real and active person.

What can we say that scripture teaches us about this mysterious third person of the Trinity, also known as the Godhead? We have quite a few serious and direct teachings to help us to understand Him.

He speaks (Rev 2:7)

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches...”

(Acts 13:2)

“... the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them'”.

He intercedes (Rom 8:26)

“And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words”.

He testifies (John 15:26)

“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me”.

He leads (Acts 8:29)

“And the Spirit said to Phillip, 'Go up and join this chariot'”.

(Romans 8:14)

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God”.

He commands (Acts 16:6-7)

“And they passed … having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the Word in Asia... the Spirit suffered them not”. (The Spirit did not permit them to go).

He guides (John 16:13)

“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth; … He will declare to you the things to come”.

He appoints (Acts 20:28)

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood”.

He can be lied to (Acts 5:3-4)

“But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land...?'”

He can be insulted (Heb 10:29)

“How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God … and has insulted the Spirit of grace”?

He can be blasphemed (Matt 12:31-32)

“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven … whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”

He can be grieved (Eph 4:30)

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom ye were sealed for the day of redemption.”

Each of these instances or emotions are characteristics of a person. The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, like gravity or natural forces. He is a person, with all of the attributes of a person. Not only is He a person, but He is a divine person. He is God.

Throughout the Bible it is clear that the Holy Spirit is God Himself. Without a single exception, these attributes are those of God Himself.

He is eternal (Heb 9:14)

There never was a time when He was not.

“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God...”.

He is all powerful (Luke 1:35)

“And the angel answered and said to her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you...”.

He is everywhere present (Ps. 139:7)

“Where can I go from the Spirit? Or whither can I flee from Thy presence”?

He is all knowing (1 Cor 2:10-11)

“For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God … the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God”.

He brings the glory of God (2 Cor 3:18)

“We all beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit”.

He is the creator (Genesis 1:2)

“And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”.

We know that John's Gospel teaches that the Word made all things, but the Spirit was there moving in power at creation. All these characteristics and Holy scripture provide us a view of this one who is so very important to our faith. Paul teaches us in Ephesians 4:4 that there is one body and one Spirit. 

We also know that this third one has the overwhelming power over all things, as Paul teaches in 2 Cor 3:6 “... but the spirit giveth life”. His position among the Godhead is so important that Paul also finds it necessary to warn all believers in

1 Thess 5:19 “Quench not the Spirit”.

There is proof of the closeness of the connection between the persons of the Trinity in scripture, proving for us that there exists only one God, who speaks to us through the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 6:8-10 says that the prophet heard the voice of the Lord commanding him to go and serve. Acts 28:25 shows us the Apostle Paul quoting the exact words of these verses and telling us that in these words “...Well spake the Holy Ghost...”.

In Jeremiah 31:31-33 God makes a covenant with His people with Jeremiah teaching us that these words “... saith the Lord...”. In Hebrews 10:15 the writer reveals to us that the Holy Ghost spoke those words.

In Psalms 95:7-11 we are given the teaching of the wonderful greatness of God, using the specific words of “Lord” and “God”. Hebrews 3:7 retells the very same verses except assures us that the words were spoken by the Holy Ghost.

We are clearly given the purpose of the direction of the Godhead in both John 14:13 and Hebrews 4:14-16 both of which teach us that we deal with God through Jesus while we are also taught in Romans 8:16 that God deals with us through the Holy Spirit.

Before we are born again, we live and are ruled by the flesh with our souls(spirits) remaining in second place. At the moment of conversion there is an instant change in order within us, with our spirit moved to the dominant position for the rest of our lives, and at that moment the Holy Spirit takes control, helping us to become conformed to the image of Christ for the rest of our mortal lives.

We have the most wonderful teaching of 1 John 2:27 which summarizes the importance of this Holy one:

“... the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you...”.

The Holy Spirit does indeed come into each believer at the conversion moment, but it is also important that one more lesson on this matter be seen. 1 John 3:12 is very clear on the added command for each heart which seeks the Lord:

“If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and love is perfected in us”.

How did Jesus teach us that we would be known as His?

John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another”.

Holy Spirit - Part 3: In the Life of the Believer

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:

HELPER:

The Holy Spirit is a helper who comes alongside us to help lead us in our Christian walk. 

John 14:16

“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever;”

TEACHER:

The Holy Spirit is our teacher from the moment of indwelling conversion onward.

John 14:26

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you”.

1 John 2:27

“... the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as He hath taught you, ye shall abide in him”.

1 Cor 2:13-14

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned”.

When we are born again we enter the dimension of the Spirit. In this dimension, we can be taught by Him to understand the things of God that are beyond the reach of our experience or intellect. 2 Cor 4:18 “... the things which are not seen are eternal”.

The Holy Spirit brings the scriptures that we have read or heard to our remembrance for teaching us more and more about the things of God.

GUIDE:

The Holy Spirit will guide us in all truth.

He will give us the discernment to judge between true and false teachings. If we open our hearts and read the Bible with the Spirit as our guide, we will not stray from the truth and we will have all we need to guide us through the Christian life.

John 16:13

“Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth...”.

2 Peter 1:3

“... his divine power hath given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness...”.

PROPHECY:

The Holy Spirit will show us things to come. The Spirit will help us understand the prophecies in the books of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelation which we need so much as we live in these final days of the age. We are guided into this truth so that we as believers stand fast in understanding and 

“... That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men... “. (Eph 4:14)

THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:

THE PROMISE:

Acts 1:4-5

“And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence”.

Here is the promise by the Father through the Son to give the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who are chosen and believe.

This promise did not begin with the New Testament nor with the book of Acts. It was given in prophecy by the Lord's prophet, Joel, hundreds of years before.

Joel 2:28

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy...”.

THE POWER:

We are clearly taught that the Holy Spirit gives us the power to live the Christian life as a witness for God.

Acts 1:8

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth”.

We ourselves live in the uttermost parts. We have been given the same power to witness and are called and commanded to do so.

It is impossible to live the Christian life without the power of the Spirit within us.

Gal 5:17-18

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh... For if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law”.

Matt 26:41

“Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation, the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak”.

Jesus himself is the best example of the witness that we should be.

In John 14:8-9 Jesus teaches Phillip that if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father. This is the life we should exemplify for the world. When the world sees us, they should see the Father in us. 

The word “power” in the Greek is “dunamis” from which we derive the word dynamic. When we become a true witness, we are at the same time a dynamic witness for all to see.

Before Peter received the power of the Holy Spirit he was afraid to be identified with Jesus. Mark 14 reveals to us the familiar story of Peter promising to remain with the Lord, and then fear overcoming him, even bringing his denial three times. After he received the Spirit, Peter witnessed boldly to these same people who had tried Jesus in the mock trial, as we see in Acts 4, even telling them that there was no salvation apart from Christ.

Then when Peter went back to the Christians, they prayed for even great boldness.

We must allow the Holy Spirit to change us within, rather than trying to change from the outside ourselves and then to hope we will change within. 

Romans 8:2

“For the law of the Spirit of the life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death”.

As we yield each area of our lives to the Spirit, He then progressively conforms us to the image of Christ.

THE CONFORMING WORK:

THE STANDARD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS:

In Matthew 5:20 Jesus told the disciples that they had to be more righteous than the scribes and the Pharisees, who rigidly follow the law, if they wanted to enter the kingdom of heaven. We must take this command very seriously even today, for there are still Pharisees among us.

In Matthew 5:21-47 Jesus gave illustrations as to how the law is to be considered. The Pharisees practiced an outward righteousness, but Jesus said the commands He taught required inward purity as well. We should constantly recall that He said that it was not what goes into a man that defiles him, but rather what comes out of a man from within.

He also taught that on the outside the Pharisees appeared as clean as whited tombs but inwardly they were filled with dead men's bones.

In the last verse of Matthew 5 Jesus concludes this teaching by teaching those who seek to follow Him to be perfect (meaning complete). This was the standard he brought in the newness of His own righteousness granted by grace to each who believe.

SALVATION THROUGH JESUS CHRIST:

Since we cannot hope to achieve the level of righteousness necessary to stand before holy God on our own efforts, He has given us another way to come to Him. In John 6:28-29 when the people asked Jesus what they should do in order to do the works of God, He told them “... to believe on Him whom He hath sent”.

When we come to believe upon Jesus as our savior, we are only able to do so when the Father draws us (John 6:44). At this moment of conversion the mystery of the Holy Spirit is revealed to us as it enters into our being, never to leave, and from that moment onward, the Spirit works within us to make us more like Christ, the process called sanctification.

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”.

Jesus is the example of what God intended man to be when He created man as explained in Genesis 1:26, “... in our image, in our likeness...”. In John 8:29 Jesus said He did that which pleased the Father, and we know that in Matthew 3:17, God spoke from heaven, telling the world He was indeed pleased.

Therefore, if we wish to please the Lord, it is necessary for each of us to become more and more like Jesus as we live for Him, through the Spirit given to us by Him.

How does that happen?

THE SPIRIT CONFORMS US:

God's predestined purpose for us was to conform us to the image of His Son.

Romans 8:29

“For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son...”.

The means provided by the Lord to accomplish this holy change is the Holy Spirit working in us to change us into the likeness of Christ.

Eph 4:13

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God...”.

When we come to see that this divine ideal is in the person of Jesus Christ through the teaching and guidance of the Holy Spirit changes us from glory to glory into that same image. Through that work of conformance by the Spirit we come to see Christ with an open or “unveiled” face that is not any more blinded to the truth.

2 Cor 3:18

“But we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord”.

We now can only see Christ within His holy Word (scripture) and we must have the Spirit to make the Word alive within our hearts.

2 Peter 1:4

“Whereby are given to us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature...”.

BECOMING SONS OF GOD THROUGH CHRIST:

Through this process of sanctification provided by the guidance and teaching of the Holy Spirit we are considered sons of God, not through any righteousness of our own but through His righteousness only (John 1:12 & Romans 8:16-17).

As we become more like Christ, our problems arise from living as redeemed spirits in unredeemed bodies. We desire to be delivered from these bodies of flesh so that we may enjoy the full, rich, and overflowing joy of life in the Spirit completely

(1 John 3:2 & 2 Cor 5:4 & Romans 8:22-23).

As the Holy Spirit continues to work in us, we find that our joy is growing continually as we become more conformed to the image of Christ.

Psalm 17:15

“I shall be satisfied when I awake, with Thy likeness...”.  

The Spirit descends through the prayer of the Son into human time thereby showing His eternal relation with the Son. He brings the love of the Father and we are accepted into that divine love through our acceptance of the conviction brought by the Spirit. All who are His (the whosoever of John 3:16) become beloved of God, forever (eternally) joined with Christ in His Holy Spirit. From the salvation moment onward each dwells in love and is indwelt by love, known both now and in eternity as SONS OF GOD.

Holy Spirit - Part 4: His Names

Within scripture, names are highly important, as in many cases the names of certain individuals describe for us their function, as well as help us better understand the person.

We remember one of the first names used to describe Jesus was Immanuel, meaning God with us, a strong example of this matter. When Jesus met the man possessed by many demons he commanded the evil one to give his name, which was Legion, meaning many were inside the man. We know that when the great prophet Elijah appeared unannounced to King Ahab, the wicked king, the meaning of his name carried its own truth and it was Yahweh is my God. So names have great significance within the Bible.

The same is true for our study person, the Holy Spirit.

Within scripture He is described for us with over twenty different names with each giving more explanation as to His nature, His character, and His function. His work is actually revealed by the names given Him within the Word of God.

Let's review and think about His many names and what they mean to us.

THE SPIRIT

The simplest and most used name is the original one given. Both the Hebrew and Greek words for this name contain double meanings, “breath” and “wind”.

John 20:22 is a most revealing moment when Jesus breathed upon His disciples and commanded them to receive His breath as the Holy Ghost. We see a similar meaning in Genesis 2:7 when God breathed life into the nostrils of Adam, and he became a living being.

Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that the Spirit is like the wind as it blows where it wishes and we cannot know where it comes from nor where it goes. This lesson is given so that we may fully understand that the Holy Spirit is sovereign and even though it is invisible, it is felt in a mighty way. In the same way, the Spirit is irresistible as shown in Acts 1, when Jesus said that it would come upon His followers and bring them power. When those tongues of fire appeared, they settled on all there without man's will needed or possible.

THE SPIRIT OF GOD

Paul writes in  1 Cor 3:16 that the “Spirit of God dwelleth in you” to teach that main function and authority of the Holy Spirit is to indwell us, teaching and guiding.

THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST

In Romans 8:9 Paul reinforces the same lesson by teaching that if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. We must remember that one of the main works of the Spirit is to reveal Christ to us, and to form Christ as a living presence within us.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

Luke 11:13 promises God gives the Holy Spirit to those that ask. While this name is a direct and simple one, we should never forget its real thought. This one is first HOLY and then also is SPIRIT, in His essence.

THE HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE

Ephesians 1:13 uses this name to explain exactly what we are sealed with when we are saved. This one seals us and remains with us forever.

THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS

Romans 1:4 teaches us that Jesus was declared the Son of God in power by the Spirit of Holiness. Here we see that not only is the Spirit holy, but that He has the power to impart holiness to others. This special blessing should bring us joy as we have no holiness in us until the Spirit comes upon us.

THE SPIRIT OF JUDGMENT

Isaiah 4:4 is so careful to describe this judgment by the Spirit when the filth of the daughters of Zion are purged. This name shows the Spirit brings sin to light and convicts of it.

THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH

John 14:7 shows that this name is used because the Spirit both communicates and then imparts truth to those he works within.

THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING

Isaiah 11:2 makes it evident here that the Spirit of the Lord conveys both wisdom and the understanding of it.

THE SPIRIT OF COUNSEL AND MIGHT

Also from the same verses in Isaiah, showing that the Spirit gives advice (counsel) and the strength to carry it forward.

THE SPIRIT OF LIFE

Romans 8:2 teaches that the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death.

THE OIL OF GLADNESS

Hebrews 1:9 provides this teaching to compare the teaching that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power and we are said to be anointed with our version through the Spirit. It is a beautiful and suggestive name given to remind us that scripture will later teach in the fruits of the Spirit that love and joy come from Him.

THE SPIRIT OF GRACE

Hebrews 10:29 shows us that the Spirit is to bring out and administer the grace of God.

THE SPIRIT OF GLORY

1 Peter 4:14 brings us the good news that we are happy  for this Spirit of Glory rests upon us and is not meant to say that the Spirit is glorious Himself, although He is, but rather to teach us that the Spirit brings the glory of God to us.

THE ETERNAL SPIRIT

Hebrews 9:14 proves the eternal existence of the Spirit as well as His Deity from everlasting to everlasting.

THE COMFORTER

John 14:26 is one of several verses that allow this name. In the Greek, this name is the “Paraclete”, and Jesus promises the Spirit is to be sent by the Father in the name of Jesus, and will testify of Jesus as well. The literal meaning is “one called to another's side” which describes exactly how this one walks with us daily and leads and guides us closer and closer to the Lord.

From all of these various names we can see that this Holy Spirit, known also as the Holy Ghost, has so many powers and assignments in the lives of the believers. As we come to study Him more  we will begin to learn and accept that the blessings of this mysterious one are many and without Him, all would be lost in our walk of faith.

Holy Spirit - Part 5: The Fruit of the Spirit

The Holy Spirit not only imparts (gives) life and holiness, but then He sustains the same things in the soul of the saved. He not only communicates heavenly graces but He cultivates and develops them. This process, which we call sanctification, was put into place along side the granting of the Lord's Messiah, such that after conversion, brought by election, each believer is to become more and more like the Messiah as we journey through our Christian walk.

While there is a  new nature of those who have become His own, this new nature has NO power of its own, being entirely dependent upon the Creator and Giver. Therefore the fruit which is born unto the believer is clearly called “the fruit of the Spirit”, so that the honor and glory of it goes only to He who grants it. 

The Old Testament prepared our understanding of this matter.

Hosea 14:8

“From Me is thy fruit found … I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed...”

Just as rains renew vegetation, so does the pouring out of the Spirit bring new life.

The fruit of the Spirit granted to the believer is the conforming of him unto Christ, first in his heart, and then in his life. It is only when a miracle of grace has been worked in our hearts that Christ begins to be formed in us, and that we (in our small way) reproduce His graces, and this is ONLY due to the sovereign operation of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 7:20

“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them”.

The fruit that the saved bear is that which will distinguish them as the children of God from the children of the devil. This fruit conforms them to the image of Christ, first to His graces, and then to His example. These virtues are not issued from the heart of one who was fallen until salvation, but are supernaturally placed within the newly renewed heart of faith. 

There are three leading passages on this matter in the New Testament:

John 15 names the conditions of fruitfulness which are union with Christ, calling and cleansing by the Lord, and mutual abiding by the Lord and the believer.

Galatians 5 furnishes a description of the fruit itself. 2 Peter 1:5-8 states the order of the cultivation of the fruit within the soul that has been called to God. All this effort is the work of the Holy Spirit, and the fruit by which the Father is glorified is the fruit of the Spirit.

John 15:8

“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit...”.

This fruit is clearly detailed for us as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.

There are three reasons why these are called fruit.

First, all grace is derived from the Spirit just as fruit is issued from a plant.

Second, the description of these is pleasantness of our new being and fruit is sweet and pleasant to the taste.

Third, fruit orchard owners are enriched by the fruit produced, just as believers are enriched by the fruits of holiness granted by the Spirit.

We should be very careful to note that the use of the term “fruit” is a singular number, meaning one, and teaches us that the gifts are in unity when given, not broken apart into separate portions.

We should also carefully note that these gifts are essentially considered into three thoughts, with the first three (love/joy/peace) when exercised lean toward God. The second three (longsuffering/gentleness/goodness) when exercised lean toward man. The last three (faith/meekness/temperance) when exercised lean toward ourselves.

Love is surely the greatest of all the fruit.

The mark of the follower of Jesus is love. Jesus so commanded in John 13:35, teaching that this one thing seen in us is how we will be seen as His.

This love is known in the Greek as “agape”, meaning a deep, spiritual, giving and godly love. Paul delivers this lesson for us in 1 Cor 13 showing its beauty. It is supreme and it suffers all things, it is giving by not seeking its own way, it remains kind after all trials, and when we exercise it we can say that we have passed from spiritual death into eternal spiritual life.

Its gentleness does indeed mirror the love of Jesus for all those who come to Him, and all of these graces gifted by the Holy Spirit as His fruit guide the renewed soul closer and closer to God.

Holy Spirit - Part 6: Being Filled with the Spirit

All the Old Testament prophets foretold the coming of Christ. Upon His arrival, he would perform glorious blessings – binding up the brokenhearted, proclaiming liberty to the captives, healing the sick, and building a new church.

Isaiah 61:1

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach the good tidings … and the opening of the prison to them that are bound”.

Jesus knew He would have to have anointed ministers. After His ascension back to heaven, he made provision for that ministry. At Pentecost, He poured out the Holy Spirit, sanctifying and empowering both sheep and shepherd. The Bible says that Peter, Stephen, and others like them were men “full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom” (Acts 6:3) and “full of the Holy Ghost and faith” (Acts 11:24).

Paul asked the important question to the Galatians in Galatians 3:5 :

“He that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth it he by works of the law, or by the hearing of faith”?

The only effective ministry of preaching and teaching comes by the Spirit alone, flowing out of the Spirit, with words given by the Spirit, brought by the power of the Spirit.

At the Upper Room, the Lord poured out the Holy Ghost on the faithful who had gathered there to wait as commanded. Acts 2:4 teaches they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and in that moment Peter became the channel of the Holy Spirit, ministering to multitudes in Jerusalem, and literally thousands were saved. The reaction to Peter was not by himself, as no conviction of sin comes by human power. These conversions were of the power of the Holy Spirit, supplied by the Lord, flowing out of a renewed and sanctified vessel.

Phillip demonstrated the same filling of the Spirit in power in Samaria, sending devils fleeing the city and stirring an entire city.

When these Spirit anointed men arrived, the Holy Spirit fell upon every one they touched by hand or word. Christ had promised that His church would be victorious  and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. These early lessons for us showed that there is only one kind of servant who is prepared to minister the Holy Spirit to others. That is the trusting and fully dependent servant.

In our day, in our modern church, how can we ourselves become filled with the Holy Spirit and minister to those in need by preaching or teaching or simple witness?

The Bible allows us to understand that there are three important steps outlined for each of us to seek that filling.

UNDERSTANDING

There are certain things we must know and understand in truth clearly revealed to us in the Word. The first truth we must understand is that God has given us the Holy Spirit, and that He dwells within us. If I have accepted Christ as my Savior, the Spirit of God dwells within me.

We accept this truth by faith.

It is the will of the Lord that we be filled with His Spirit.

Luke 11:13

“If you then, being evil, know hos to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him”?

At the moment of indwelling (and forever after) there reside within us two natures. There is the old sinful nature that wants only to live for self, and there is the new nature, freed from sin's dominion (Romans 6:14), a spiritual nature which wants to live for God.

The question is which nature will rule?

So to accept the filling of the Holy Spirit the Lord wishes upon us, we must deal completely with sin in our lives. This is one of the hardest missions of the believer as it is an ongoing and forever process of confession and repentance.

Confession must be as broad as our sin.

We must not only be honest about the confession of the various sins that afflict us, but we must also get down to the place in our heart that lays open our greatest sin, which is our failure to allow Christ to rule our lives. As long as we try to keep “self” at the center of life, we will practice habitual sin.

Jesus was clear on this matter and placed one condition upon us as we try to follow Him. 

Luke 9:23

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me”.

Only when we understand this matter, so well taught in God's Word, will we be able to then move onward to the second step.

SUBMISSION

This second step means we will renounce our own way and seek above all else to submit to Christ as Lord and be ruled by Him in all areas of our lives.

How does submission become reality?

It does so first by true confession and repentance in which humble confession opens our weak and sinful side to our Lord. A promise has been provided for each and every time we do so.

1 John 1:9

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.

It does so then by secondly a most important step, yielding ourselves to God and His will. Confession and repentance might be thought of as the negative side of submission which rids us of all things that hinder God's control. Yielding is the positive side of submission, placing ourselves totally and completely (as best we can still having two natures within us) into the hand of God, humbly and of broken spirit, seeking only His will, not our own. 

WALKING IN FAITH

The last step necessary toward the infilling of us by the Holy Spirit is walking in faith (no longer by sight). No person who is filled with the Lord's Spirit goes out and brags about it, or seeks attention to himself. When the filling arrives, it is seen by the life we lead. In that Spirit filled life, arranged by the first two steps, we come to bear the fruit of the Spirit promised to us, and that fruit comes only by faith (the evidence of things not seen). 

Sin remains a reality in the Spirit filled life, but the closer relation to the Holy Father, and the Holy Son, brought into evidence by the Holy Spirit, means we are no longer controlled by sin. Yes, it exists still, but it has no dominion over us.

Finally we must realize and accept that the filling by the Spirit is NOT a one time thing, NOR a one day happening. It is a continuous realty every day of our lives. When Paul wrote of this matter in Ephesians 5:18, “... Be filled with the Spirit...”, he wrote using a Greek verb meaning to keep on being filled.

We are already the temple of the Spirit, indwelt as new creatures, but He wishes us to continue to be filled. That constant renewal is holy and sweet, and found again and again by those who wish to be emptied of self and yielded to Him. Active surrender must  continue day to day, concerning every part of life.

We draw closer and are more filled when we give up us and take up Him!

Holy Spirit - Part 7: Our Bible Commentator

The Holy Spirit makes the things of God and His Word clear to us.

1 Cor 2:10

“... God hath revealed them (things of God) unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God”.

The natural man cannot understand the things of God because he does not have the Holy Spirit to teach him.

1 Cor 2:14

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned”.

The Spirit has revealed unto us the things of God prepared for us because we love Him as proven in 1Cor 2:9 :

“... the things that God hath prepared for them that love Him”.

There are some aspects of God that man cannot understand and only the Spirit knows them and therefore only the Spirit can show them to us.

1 Cor 2:11

“For what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God”.

Many people try to discover what the Bible is all about by approaching them with human intellect. They cannot understand spiritual things without the Holy Spirit to open their minds, so such things appear foolish to them.

1 Cor 2:12

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given us of God”.

The Holy Spirit is our teacher and Bible commentator guide in spiritual things. Jesus made this promise to all who would follow Him.

John 14:26

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you”.

When we sit down to read our Bible we should always begin by asking the Holy Spirit to open our minds and hearts to receive and understand what we are reading.

1 John 2:27

“... ye need not any man teach you … but the same anointing teacheth you all things, and is truth...”.

The Word of God is our spiritual food and we cannot grow as Christians without it. When we read and study the word, the Holy Spirit plants scripture in our minds  which will bring us to remember those teachings in our times of greatest need.

He guides us into all truth and shows us the things that are going to happen so that we are well prepared when they do.

1 Thes 5:4

“But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief”.

The Holy Spirit cares for us as he walks along side us and dwells within us, keeping us always moving closer to the Lord as our guide, while at the same time teaching us what the Lord wishes those who are His children to know.

Holy Spirit - Part 8: The Holy Spirit in the World

When Jesus came to earth in the likeness of human flesh, he ministered in human form, not in his glorified form that was seen at the Transfiguration by Peter, James, and John, and was later seen after His resurrection by more than a few very fortunate people.

In that human form He had control over all natural things, but chose to limit the display of that control to miracles of healing and creation of some things (such as the wine at Cana) and the multiplication of other things (such as the food to feed thousands). He chose during His earthly ministry to forego His omnipresence (being in all places at once) in order to relate to those He chose to be His disciples.

Because of that self limitation, He restricted Himself to being in one place at one time. But the Holy Spirit given by the Lord was not so limited and was not visible, being not incarnated into the likeness of a human form. 

John 16:7

The Comforter is announced by Jesus.

In the conversation with Nicodemus in John 3, Jesus compared the Holy Spirit to the wind. 

John 3:8

“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hears the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone who is born of the Spirit”.

Since the Word was to go out into all parts of the earth, even the uttermost parts, Jesus brought the Holy Spirit to minister more effectively to the church, unlimited by human body restrictions.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would reprove the world of sin meaning to correct it. All sin can be corrected except one as all is forgivable except one, which is being in blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which is rejecting the divinity and salvation of the Lord.

John 3:18

“... he that believeth not is condemned already...”.

This same Spirit reproves the world of both righteousness and judgment, of righteousness because the standard of righteousness is to believe in Jesus, who fulfilled all the law and lived a sinless life, and thereby provides through His sacrifice for our sins the righteousness we must have when we come into the presence of God at the end of our mortal lives.

He reproves of judgment because through the same act, Satan has been judged forever so clearly stated in John 16:11:

“Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged”.

From the moment of resurrection, Satan lost his power over us to force us to do his wishes, which are contrary to the Lord. Therefore when we sin, after we are saved, we are not using the power God has provided us in His Holy Spirit. We must consistently yield to that Spirit to gain any victory over Satan. Remember the three persons of the Godhead are one and Jesus taught us in John 15:5 that without Him, we can do nothing.

Any power Satan exercises over the Lord's chosen and saved ones is power relinquished to him by us willingly. His authority and control was removed on that wonderful first morning when the tomb was empty.

Our prayers must be serious and specific as to the challenges of Satan as we seek to be unyielding to his temptations. The battle is a daily one, sometimes hour to hour. But the power is within us to gain that victory.

1 John 4:4

“... greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world”.

This is how the Spirit works in the world. He is always convicting those lost of their sin, and constantly renewing the saved as they witness for Jesus Christ by their lips and their lives.

Holy Spirit - Part 9: The Seal of the Holy Spirit

In Ephesians 1:1-14 Paul lists for us the wonderful blessings we have as children of God. We are blessed by being chosen, predestined, accepted as redeemed, and most importantly of all, forgiven. God also makes His will known to us and gives an inheritance to us.

In verse 13 Paul talks about the Christian being “sealed” with the “Holy Spirit of promise”.

Eph 1:13

“... after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise”.

First, we must hear the gospel:

Rom 10:14

“... how shall they believe in him in whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”

Next we must become aware that our sins separate us from God.

Isaiah 59:1-2

“... and your sins have hid his face from you and he will not hear...”

Then we must believe in Jesus Christ as God's plan for our salvation as so well explained in John 3:16. After we believe, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit.

In the Bible days the seal was used primarily as a stamp of ownership. Roman merchants would travel to Ephesus, purchase goods, pack them for shipping and place a mark seal from their signet ring in wax on the packaging so as to show who owned the goods as well as to assure they arrived secure (if the seal was unbroken).

Once we believe, God claims us as His own possession. The seal of God's ownership is the Holy Spirit indwelling our lives.

2 Cor 1:22 also deals with the seal of the Holy Spirit. Speaking of God, Paul says, “Who hath also sealed us and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts”. The use of the word “earnest” here means the same today as it did then, a deposit to show intention of ownership and the beginning of the payment to transfer the item purchased to the new owner, in this case, us, as His purchased possession.

In Ephesians 4:30 we are told “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption”. Ephesians 1:14 also speaks of the Christian being sealed “until the redemption”. God declares His intention of completing our redemption by giving the Holy Spirit to us, His down payment until that last day.

Our redemption will not be fully complete until we are freed from our mortal and sinful bodies. Paul speaks of this matter in 2 Cor 5:4 when he teaches of the believer being “burdened” with a body, and all of creation is groaning , waiting for the redemption of our bodies.

Rom 8:22-23

“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travail in pain together until now.

… even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body”.

Paul also teaches us that our new bodies God will give to us will be a “building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor 5:1)

In Rev 5 John describes the scene in heaven as Jesus completes the redemption. Jesus purchased the earth with His death on the cross and then sealed all those who accepted His promised salvation, only given through Him.

For now we are waiting for God to finish His work of redemption in us, hopefully to arrive very soon. 

Holy Spirit - Part 10: The Original Promise

John 14:15-20

“If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in the Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”

The work of the Holy Spirit is boundless and endless, not only in the creation of the world and man but the Holy Spirit bears witness to the truth regarding Jesus Christ and convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He makes new again, rebirths, (regenerates) the believer, sets the believer in Christ free from the law of sin and death, strengthens him with power in the inward man and leads to a holy and godlike life, conforming continually those saved in the image of the Lord, recreating and sanctifying them as sons of God.

Holy Spirit - Part 11: The Holy Spirit in the Church

THE PURPOSE OF THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

In 1 Cor 12 Paul discusses  the proper balance  of the use of the gifts of the Spirit within the church.

In verse 1 the word 'gifts” was added by the translators. Paul used the Greek word “pneumatikos” which means “spirituals”. Paul had been dealing with carnal problems earlier in this letter, and now he was moving into the subject of spiritual things.

In verse 7 Paul tells the Corinthians that these spiritual things are given to every man for profit. God does not give these things so that we can retreat from the world and enjoy them. Instead, He gives them to benefit the whole church. These gifts are not meant to exalt individuals. He gives them so that individuals may use them to exalt Jesus Christ.

The one exception Paul brings to light is the gift of tongues, given to build up the believer and Paul has noted the importance of that particular spiritual gift.

Just as there are many types of gifts (see 1 Cor 12:4-6) so there are many different parts of the body itself and its functions. Paul makes the analogy here that the body of Christ is somewhat like the human body in its construction.

Christ is the head, completely in charge, directing the body. The Holy Spirit is the nervous system of the body, taking the messages from Jesus to the various parts of the body and then coordinating them for smooth operation of the body itself.

Every part of the body has a vital function to perform. Whatever our gift (our portion of the body) we are to function without striving in jealousy of those with other gifts and functions. The Spirit is sovereign in bestowing these gifts and He decides what each believer is best suited to do. All these “spirituals” work closely together when we come together for worship, fellowship, and ministry. 

We should be sensitive to each other, suffering when another member suffers, rejoicing when another member finds joy, remaining in hope that each member understands and is satisfied that the Spirit knows best what we can best do for the Lord.

In Ephesians 4, Paul teaches that the various gifts given are so given to perfect the saints and to edify (build up) the body of Christ. He says that the Holy Spirit is working in the body to bring us to “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”.

Eph 4:12-13

“... For the perfecting of the saints … for the edifying of the body of Christ. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”.

In Romans 12 Paul explains how we receive the gifts of the Spirit, how we can be used of God, and how we can find our place in the body.

Romans 12:1-3

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,  that ye present your  bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable  service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of you mind … … to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think ...”.

We can know God's perfect will for our lives by presenting our bodies to Him “holy and acceptable” and as a “living sacrifice”.

We cannot allow ourselves to be conformed to worldly patterns and we must be transformed to godliness by “renewing our minds”, that is, by seeking God and waiting on Him for direction.

One of the greatest dangers we face is the sin of pride. We need to constantly be aware that God is demonstrating His grace when He uses us, and never forget that we are useless sinners without Him.

THE SPIRIT FLOWS WITHIN THE CHURCH

God directs those He chooses as His instruments to do His will within His world.

2 Chron 16:9

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him...”.

If our hearts and lives are in harmony with the purposes of God, He will use us as channels for His love, power, and Spirit to flow to the needs of the world. The Holy Spirit was given  to help us become aligned with God's purpose and plan.

When we receive salvation we also receive His Spirit to dwell within us, but there is a deeper relationship we can experience.

John 7:37-39

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, 'If any  man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow  rivers of living water'. (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; cause that Jesus was not yet glorified)”.

We can have the Holy Spirit gushing from our own selves in rivers of living water.

If we are open to God and are walking in the Spirit, His blessings will be manifest in us, seen by others, who will also wish to be conformed to His image as we are when saved, and this view is being consistently perfected by the work of the Holy Spirit.

In verses 8-12 of 1 Corinthians, Paul gives a partial list  of the gifts of the Spirit, all of which are exercised through faith. Through that exercise of faith we come to understand the difference between knowledge and wisdom.

Knowledge is an accumulation of facts. Wisdom is the proper application of that knowledge. Acts 7 teaches that when Stephen stood before the council, the Holy Spirit  gave him the word of wisdom. Acts 23 teaches the same lesson of Paul himself as he stood before the same council. Acts 15 teaches that James was given the word of wisdom when the church needed to settle the Gentile issue.

One of the problems of the Christian life is to determine whether something has come from our own minds (which can be carnal) or has come as inspiration of God.

Peter had this problem when he declared that Jesus was God's Son by the inspiration of the Spirit but was later rebuked harshly by Jesus when Jesus heard the words of Satan come from Peter's mouth (Matt 16:13-23). To help us with this issue, God had allowed the gift of discernment to each believer.

THE GIFT OF DISCERNMENT

In Rev 2:2 Jesus commended the church at Ephesus because they could discern spirits properly and their messages correctly. False messages and false teaching must be rejected. We are ofter taken in by false messages or teachers because we do not listen closely enough. Their errors  can be subtle and damning. We cannot be lulled nor weary when such messages appear. Our faith must be well grounded in our knowing God's word by careful Bible study, both by our own study and by group study.

When we listen to the testimony, we should discern whether the messenger is glorifying himself of giving all glory to the Lord for all things.  

Holy Spirit - Part 12: The Gifts of Faith, Miracles, and Healing

Our faith comes from God and we are saved by grace through faith, which is a gift from God. (Eph 2:8-9)

Mark 11:22

“And Jesus answering, saith unto them 'Have faith in God' “.

His command to those who believe is to have faith and He did not simply order us to do so but He also gave us the capacity to accomplish that command.

Roman 12:3

“... God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith”.

Hebrews 12:2

 “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith...”.

Hebrews 11 is our strongest teaching on the gift of faith, explaining that it is believing in what we cannot see (walking by faith not by sight). When it comes to God we must truly believe two things:

ONE – That He is

TWO – That He rewards those who seek Him

Faith is the characteristic of the believer that allow us to overcome and to accomplish what may otherwise seem impossible in our lives. If we know God we will not limit His work in our lives for His Word gives us the proper concept of Him.

Romans 4:21

“And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform”.

Our faith in God is not blind for the man of faith often sees more than others may see.

2 Kings 6 shows Elisha revealing to his servant what before only he could see himself.

Hebrews 11:27 teaches us that Moses saw He who is invisible and by faith walked forward to begin to lead the chosen people.

There is “saving faith” as taught in Ephesians 2 and there is “active faith” revealed in Exodus 14, Joshua 3 & 6). Active faith sees and believes God's promise to deliver.

This gift of the Spirit is given to be used in love.

1 Cor 13:2

“... though I have faith and understand … I am nothing...”

Faith known but not expressed in love, brings no results of value. All of the gifts of the Spirit are received and exercised by faith. 

Peter said that faith in Jesus AND the faith by Jesus heals.

Acts 3:16

“... faith in his name … the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness...”.

When we exercise our faith, it shows to be never ending as more is granted to those who show that which they have been gifted by the Spirit. We must stand strongly in the faith gifted as Satan is well aware of it and he waits at the foot of every spiritual mountain to diminish or destroy our faith. We can see this fact in Matthew 17 as the miracle of the Transfiguration was seen by the fortunate three, and only a few verses later, Satan showed his displeasure by arranging failure of the apostles to cast out evil spirits.

Our faith is tested when we do not see immediate results after we have stepped out in active faith. Sometimes there is a time interval before God reveals His purpose and implements His will in us. Patience is required (longsuffering). Hebrews 6 & 10 & 11, as well as James 1 teach this lesson clearly.

GIFT OF MIRACLES

If we cannot believe in God, we cannot believe in miracles.

Acts 26:8

“Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead”?

A miracle is God operating according to laws higher than the laws of nature that we know and understand. He supersedes the laws we know.

Isaiah 55:8

“... neither are you ways my ways, saith the Lord”.

Everyday things we accept today as normal in our lives would have been considered miracles 100 years ago. 

We must be well aware that all miracles are not of God. Some are of the evil one.

2 Thess 2:9

“... Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders”.

Should miracles be shown at any times through us, in our faith being active or as answered prayers, we must be very careful never to accept praise for such things, as all

praise and glory are His, not ours.

God used massive miracles in the OT to deliver His chosen ones, and in the NT to demonstrate His gift of power to the Messiah He sent as well as power in His chosen apostles. After those dispensations, He revealed perhaps His greatest and most evident miracle in bringing the Holy Spirit to actually live within us, guiding and teaching us to be more and more like our Messiah.

While we ourselves are likely not able to perform miracles at will, we should not lose sight of the fact that God can and does. All things are possible with Him.

Gen 18:14

“Is anything too hard for the Lord...”?

GIFT OF HEALING

Sickness and aging came into the world with the original sin of Adam and Eve. From that time forward, it has been important that we remember that sickness in an individual is not necessarily due to specific sin in that one, but is due to sickness that resides in the world.

Isaiah 53 speaks of the horrible beating Jesus took for our healing. He purchased our salvation and sin debt at Calvary and paid for our sin by His own stripes.

The Father promised such healing for us.

Exodus 15:26

“... if thou wilt diligently harken to the voice of God … I will put none of these diseases upon thee...”.

Jesus' entire ministry was one of healing, spiritual and physical. He made it clear at several healings that these were done so that the power of God might be seen. He sent His apostles out to heal but was very clear that they can heal if and only if they do so in His name. They did so, and many were healed.

We ourselves do not have to have the gift of healing within us to pray for those who need healing. James 5 teaches that all believers are to pray for one another.

Luke 22:19 teaches us that in the communion service, our remembrance should be of the body that was given and broken for our healing.

Our spirits were in need and we were healed by His Word, and it is our responsibility to witness that same Word to those we meet who are in need of that same healing.

Holy Spirit - Part 13: The Gift of Tongues

We are aware that there are two separate and quite different interpretations of the Bible scriptures concerning the Holy Spirit bringing the gift of tongues to those who are born again.

Most Protestant churches accept that the correct interpretation of this gift is that there were times in the early church when it was necessary to speak the Holy Gospel to groups of people who were of different lands but happened to be present at the preaching and teaching. At that time, by the work of the Spirit, speakers would deliver the gospel message and it would be heard and understood in the native language the listeners, with all different listeners hearing in many different languages at the same time, allowing the message to be spread far more quickly than using verbal interpreters of each language.

There are a few denominations which take a strongly different view, which is that at certain times, speakers who are overcome and perhaps overfilled with the Spirit find themselves speaking in a tongue not only they themselves do not understand but also no one else present understands either. In these moments, these speakers seem to accept that they are speaking in a heavenly or spiritual language which resides apart from our realm.

Our Pentecostal brothers and sisters lean toward this view.

We should begin this portion of study with the completely true fact that Jesus commanded at the Great Commission that speaking in tongues would be a part of that effort by witnesses spreading His gospel message.

Mark 16:17

“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues”.

Acts 2 contains an account of the gift of tongues given to believers. “As the Spirit gave them utterance” may also be translated “as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak”. When the speakers presented the message, those listening heard it in their own language, as if the speaker was speaking simultaneously in several languages at once.

Paul taught that the best use of this gift is in our private devotions rather than in public worship. 

1 Cor 14:4

“He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophecieth edifieth the church”.

Paul did not leave us an explanation as to how speaking in tongues in private devotions worked for if we are in private (one on one with the Lord, perhaps in our prayer time) what would be the purpose of speaking in another tongue?

Paul did, however, teach that we can control the gift of tongues. He felt that the Spirit does not compel one to interrupt the worship message with tongues. We can speak to God quietly within ourselves we feel the Spirit moving us to do so.

1 Cor 14:28

“But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God”.

Here again, Paul does not enlighten us as to how an interpreter would be needed if someone spoke in a language of the listener. But it does seem that he is teaching us to limit such language in worship.

If we find ourselves somehow without the proper words to convey our meaning to the Lord while in prayer, scripture is quite clear that the Spirit will step in and convey our inner meaning to God.

Romans 8:26-27

“... we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh  intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. … the mind of the Spirit maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God”.

Our prayers therefore made in the Spirit are always according to His will. In this teaching we are assured that weak flesh (of which we are all made) will not hinder our prayers to the Father's ear, which is forever inclined toward His own.

Some teachers have pointed out that the accepted view of speaking in tongues was only necessary in the time of the early church, and is not necessary today. There may be some validity to that view as most people (but certainly not all) on the earth do hear and understand two or three languages which have become nearly universal in our modern times.

Holy Spirit - Part 14: Sins Against the Holy Spirit

One of the most solemn themes in all of scripture concerns sins against the Holy Spirit. Both believers and unbelievers can and do sin against Him. What is the nature of these sins and what can we do to guard against them?

BLASPHEMING THE HOLY SPIRIT

(DENYING UNTIL DEATH THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST)

Of all the sins that men commit against the Holy Spirit none is worse than blaspheming Him. The reason for this is clear. This is the one sin for which there is no forgiveness. All other sins against the Holy Spirit are committed by believers. Of those, we who are His can repent of them, be forgiven, and make a new start.

This is not true of those who blaspheme the Spirit, which is called “the unpardonable sin”. It was committed by the enemies of Jesus when they accused Him of casting out devils by the power of Satan after Jesus had clearly stated that they were cast out by the power of “the Spirit of God”.

Matthew 12:31-32

“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but  blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come”.

No one has committed this sin who continues under the convicting and drawing power of the Holy Spirit. The unpardonable sin involves the total and irrevocable rejection of Jesus Christ. This sin was exactly what Stephen was talking about just before he was stoned to death.

Acts 7:51

“You … who are stiff necked … are always resisting the Holy Spirit”.

In the OT some opposed and persecuted and ridiculed the prophets of God. Since the prophets were inspired by the Holy Spirit, these people were in fact resisting the Spirit of the Lord. Stephen's message was that these past people as well as the Pharisees of his own day were all committing that sin for which there is no forgiveness. This sin is committed only by unbelievers and it is a sin that leads directly to eternal doom.

The only way a sinner can overcome such sin is to cease resisting and embrace Jesus Christ, of whom the Spirit brings witness. As long as the sinner continues his current path, he is condemned for eternity.

John 3:18

“... he that believeth not is condemned already...”.

This sin without pardon (while remaining lost) is rejecting the truth about the Lord's Messiah, sent to save sinners. It is rejecting completely and finally the witness of the Holy Spirit, which declares that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who alone can save.

If one is saved, we know, on the basis of God's Word, that sin, whatever it is, is not unpardonable sin. It will not send us to hell, because we have been saved and delivered from such by the atoning shed blood of Jesus.

Psalm 103:12

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us”.

CHRISTIAN SINS AGAINST THE SPIRIT

There are indeed two sins which fully saved people can commit against the Spirit.

One is to grieve the Spirit  and the other is to quench the Spirit.

Paul warns us in Ephesians 4:30 that we  are not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom we are sealed for the day of redemption. It is important that we read this warning carefully and note that in spite of such sin, we remain sealed. Paul is speaking here of those things that we do that are inconsistent with and strike against the nature of this Holy one, thus hurting His heart, wounding Him, bringing Him pain by our actions.

Paul's warning on this serious matter continues in Ephesians 4, verses 20-32. Here Paul says that whatever is unlike Christ (in whose image we are being reformed by the Spirit) in conduct, speech, or disposition shown, brings grief to the Holy Spirit. 

We must recall that this Spirit is the Spirit of:

TRUTH (John 14:17) Anything false or deceitful grieves Him

FAITH (2 Cor 4:13) Doubt, distrust, and needless worry grieves Him.

GRACE (Heb 10:29) Being harsh, unforgiving, or unloving grieves Him.

HOLINESS (Rom 1:4) Becoming unclean or defiled grieves Him.

There is one glorious aspect to this warning, which is that to grieve the Holy Spirit does not mean we lose Him for life. He does not cease to seal us nor does He remove Himself from us. No believer can grieve Him and thereby rid himself of Him. We may backslide but we cannot fall from grace.  Once we are baptized into the body of Christ and are indwelt by the Spirit, we are forever sealed and saved. None can take us from Him and He continues to love us, even when we sin.

Paul also gives us a quick and most powerful warning concerning the second sin.

1 Thes 5:9

“Do not quench the Spirit”.

The word “grieve” implies being hurt or sorrowful, having to do with the way we bruise the relation with the Spirit in our individual life by sin. The word “quench” seems to imply putting away or putting a damper on.

When we do not stir up our souls , when we do not use the means of grace given us, when we fail to pray, when we fail to repent sincerely, when we fail to witness using the gifts of the Spirit, the fire of the Holy Spirit is diminished within us. These things are channels which God uses to constantly kindle the flame of His Spirit in us.

Willful and habitual sin can quench the Spirit. When we criticize, act unkindly, belittle others, be careless with hurtful words, flee from humility, or simply fail to show the love Jesus commanded in John 13:35 (which shows us to be His), the flame of Holiness indwelling us can be diminished for a time.

No Christian MUST sin. Yet, none has quite yet been rendered incapable of sin while we remain here in mortal life. A Christian can sin, but does not have to do so. It is possible to live our lives as His follower, with His Spirit within us, and NOT grieve or quench the Spirit. 

God would not have told us to reject evil acts if in point of fact we were not given the ability to do so. 

These warnings are serious matters. They call for our careful attention. If we find ourselves within these snares of the evil one, NOW is the time to confess and repent. Only then may we again walk in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, enjoying His guidance and leadership in our lives.

Holy Spirit - Part 15: Convicting the World

Each believer's salvation begins with our being brought to a profound sense that we are in need of a redeemer/savior. The Holy Spirit is the one who brings us to this realization.

This truth is given us in the words of Jesus.

John 16:8-11

“And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Of sin, because they believe not on me;

Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”

We see in this important passage that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict men of sin. We have the first recorded fulfillment of this promise shortly thereafter.

Acts 2:36-37

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that  same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts, and said unto Peter and unto the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do”?

The Holy Spirit had come just as Jesus had promised that He would and when he came He convicted the world of sin. He pricked them to their heart with a sense of their awful guilt in their rejection of their Lord and their Christ.

If the apostle Peter had spoken the same words the day before Pentecost, no such results would have followed; but now Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4).

The longer we study human nature, the more clearly we see how hopeless is the task of convincing other men of sin. We cannot do it, and God has not left it to us to do. He has put this work in the hands of one who is very able to do so, the Holy Spirit.

But while we  cannot convince men of sin, there is within each of us one who can.

He can convince the most hardened and self-blind man of his sin and indifference and take their hearts to a place where they see clearly their need of a savior. So we are not to despair of any man no matter how hardened they appear, no matter how worldly, no matter how self-satisfied, the Holy Spirit can convince them of their sin.

On the day of Pentecost, it was the Holy Spirit who convinced the 3,000 of sin, but the Holy Spirit came to the group of believers and through them, convinced the outside world. As far as the Holy Scriptures tell us, the Holy Spirit has no way of getting at the unsaved world except through those who are already saved. Each conversion in the book of Acts was through men or women already saved. Even Paul required Ananias.

The power of this Holy One is worked through those of us who are already His. We must recognize this fact and understand that while the Lord ordains all things before they occur, He also ordains the means of those things. This fact should renew our hearts to witness without concern of rejection by men. If we are rejected by 100 and then reach one, it is worth it. 

Notice which sin the Holy Spirit convicts men of, the sin of unbelief in Jesus Christ, “... of sin because they believe not on me...”. The one thing eternal God requires of men above all other things is that they believe on the one He has sent.

John 6:29

“Jesus answered and said unto them, 'This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him who he hath sent'”.

The one sin that reveals men's rebellion and defiance of God is the sin of not believing on Jesus Christ.

Next, we see that the Spirit has convicted men of righteousness because Jesus Christ has gone to the Father. He is convicting the world of the righteousness of Christ which is proven by this event. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see that Jesus Christ, whom the world condemned was indeed the righteous one. The Father has set the stamp of His approval upon His character by raising Him from the dead and exalting Him to His own right hand and giving Him a name above all other names.

Finally, we see that the Holy Spirit also convicts the world of judgment. This portion of conviction cannot be over emphasized. It stands alone in high importance.

John 16:11

“Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged”.

When Jesus was nailed to His cross, it seemed he was judged. In reality, it was Satan, the prince of this sinful world who was judged. By raising Jesus the Father made it plain for all ages to come who the cross truly judged. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to this fact. Judgment has come to be somewhat diminished in teaching in our modern days, but we should be thankful for this lesson in eternal retribution first promised in Genesis 3:15 by the Lord, that the head of the evil one would be crushed.

Holy Spirit - Part 16: The Saving Work of the Holy Spirit (Regeneration)

One of Paul's greatest teachings on the Holy Spirit comes to us in his book of Titus.

Titus 3:5

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy

He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost”.

In these words we are taught that the Holy Spirit renews men, making men new, and that through that renewing of the Holy Spirit we are saved. Jesus taught this exact lesson himself in His lesson He gave to Nicodemus concerning salvation.

John 3:3-5

“... except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God...”.

Regeneration is the giving of life, spiritual life, to those who are dead, spiritually dead in

their trespasses and sins. It is the Holy Spirit who imparts this new life. The instrument that God uses in this process is His written Word.

1 Peter 1:23

“Being born again … by the Word of God”.

James 1:18

“Of His own will begat He us with the Word of truth...”.

These passages make it clear that the Word is the instrument used in regeneration, but it is only as the Holy Spirit uses this instrument that the new birth results.

John 6:63

“It is the Spirit that quickeneth...”.

The Word of God is a living thing written upon our hearts by the Spirit of the living God. We must understand that the Bible itself, as a written book, is no more than paper and ink unless the Spirit moves the heart to apply it.

Regeneration is further the giving of a new nature , God's own nature, to the one who is born again.

Every human born in flesh is born with a perverted and depraved nature, handed down in the form of the original sin. This nature is contrary to God and is our unfortunate inheritance. 

1 Cor 2:14

“... The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God... “.

In the new birth, a new affection is imparted within us, one that sees as God sees, and seeks His will continually after salvation. This new will is a will that the Spirit moves within us to bring into harmony with the will of the Lord. It is the Holy Spirit that creates this new nature. No amount of preaching or individual study of the Word will bring regeneration unless the Holy Spirit moves. It is He and He alone who makes the new creature from the old one.

The Holy Spirit raises the spiritually dead in sin to new life in salvation. We know that the conversion moment opens the door to loving eternity for us but it is the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration that goes down to the deepest depth of the inner soul, transforming thoughts, affections and will of the inward parts of man.

This doctrine of regeneration by the power of the Holy Spirit is a glorious doctrine, and is that which makes our faith unique, alive, and complete in the transformation of the heart, preparing it for eternity with God. It sweeps away all false hopes.

Education and culture are not enough for you must be born again.

Trusting in human morality is not enough for you must be born again.

Church attendance or personal study are not enough for you must be born again.

Baptism is not enough for you must be born again.

Turning over a new leaf is not enough for you must be born again.

Putting away meanness and hatefulness is not enough for you must be born again.

In place of these shallow human things comes a new hope, a blessed hope, and it says:

YOU MAY BE BORN AGAIN

By the work of holiness upon the believer done by the Holy Spirit, we become a partaker in the divine nature, becoming more and more like Jesus Christ in the guidance of the Spirit. 

2 Peter 1:4

“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers in the divine nature...”.

Holy Spirit - Part 17: Freedom from the Power of Sin

Romans 8:2

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death”.

Paul could not have written clearer words to perfectly describe what the most wonderful lesson of his conversion had brought to him. He soon discovered that beside the law of God outside of him, which was holy and just and good, there was another law inside him directly contrary to the law of God outside of him. A fierce combat existed between these two things where the holy and just a good law outside was in war with the other law of his members in flesh. The law which his mind told him was holy and righteous was at times losing battles to the sin of his body. 

Paul's attempt to keep the good law was a total failure.

He found himself sinking deeper and deeper into the muck and mire of sin, feeling constrained and dragged down by this inclination to sin in his flesh. This war was so difficult that he finally cried out in his anguish.

Romans 7:24

“O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death”?

Like us at times, he had found himself utterly helpless to prevail in this warfare, until he looked up to the Holy Spirit to do for him what he could not do for himself. He came to know, as we must accept, that only when we submit all desires and purposes to the control of the Lord's Spirit in our lives, this Holy One will take control and will indeed set us free from the power of sin that also indwells us from birth. This victory is a moment to moment, hour to hour, day to day victory.

There are Christians who live daily in the experience Paul described in Romans 7:9-24, existing in constant defeat and thinking that this type of existence IS the normal Christian life. But Paul is so clear to tell us in 7:9 that in that time the commandment came and “... I died...”. The purpose of that verse is to tell all who will read it for all time that only when we no longer place our priority on “I”, and give over control to Him, change arrives.

In that chapter (Romans 7) we see the use of “I” over 30 times. What do we see in the next chapter?

Romans 8:9

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit...”.

Now in the beauty of chapter 8 Paul allows the inner view of the true Christian life. Here is victory over sin and death which has lived in us because life is no longer ruled by the flesh. When the Spirit controls life, all life changes for the better. What is the blessed result?

Romans 8:14

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God”.

Moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day, the Spirit puts to death the deeds that the body of flesh would have us do.

This victory is NOT in ourselves, nor in any strength of our own. Left to ourselves, we are helpless and remain mired in the sin of our flesh. Here is the profound truth that all victory is found in the power of the Holy Spirit when He assumes control.

What did Jesus himself teach us about this very matter?

John 15:5

“... without Me ye can do nothing...”.

We must live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit if we would have continual victory over sin and spiritual death. The vitality of the life in the Spirit is assured by the study of the Word and by prayer.

John 8:32

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”.

That truth is the Word of God, and through that Holy instrument, the power of the Holy Spirit works within us to make us free. It is of no value to talk of the Holy Spirit indwelling us if we neglect the Word. If we are not feeding on the Word, we are not walking in the Spirit and we shall not know victory. Our proof rests in the Psalms.

Psalm 119:11

“ Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee”.

Holy Spirit - Part 18: Conforming us to the Image of Christ

There is a wonderfully deep and carefully constructed thought of Paul written to us in the letter to the Ephesians:

Eph 3:16-19

“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man: That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and  depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God”.

Here the power of the Spirit is manifested not just in giving us victory over sin and death but in other things as well.

CHRIST DWELLING IN OUR HEARTS

The word translated “dwell” here is a particularly strong word in the original language. It means literally “to dwell down”, “to settle”, “to dwell deep”. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to form the living Christ within us, dwelling deeply down to the innermost parts of our being. In doing so, this work, a lifelong effort, conforms us to the image of the Son.

In Christ's work on the cross at Calvary, He made an atoning sacrifice for sin, and in that work we see that Christ was FOR US. But by the power of the Holy Spirit bestowed on us by the risen Christ, we have Christ IN US. Here lies the secret of the Christlike life we seek to live.

God does not demand of us the impossible. He does not demand of us that we imitate Christ in our own strength. He offers to us something infinitely better. He offers to form Christ in us by the power of His Holy Spirit. We therefore become more and more like Jesus after we are saved not by struggle of our limited human strength. No human effort can accomplish this need. By our weakness is His strength shown, for the work is done in spite of our human weakness, by one with no limit on power.

WE ARE ROOTED AND GROUNDED IN LOVE

Paul tells us that that by the strengthening by the Spirit in the inward man, we send the roots of our life down deep into the soil of love. The foundations of our character during the time of our being conformed are built on the rock of love. Love is the sum of holiness, the fulfilling of the law.

Romans 13:10

“... therefore love is the fulfilling of the law”.

There is the most intimate relation that starts when Christ begins to be formed within us by the Holy Spirit for Jesus Christ Himself is the absolute perfect form of divine love.

OUR BEING MADE STRONG WHEN WE KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST

The love of Christ is a love which passes all knowledge of man. It should be the object of our meditations, our wonder and our joy. It is only in the work of the Holy Spirit that we come to apprehend it. Only then does strength flow forward into us, overcoming our human weaknesses and limitations.

OUR BEING IS FILLED WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD

Paul wrote in this clear passage that our being is filled “WITH” the fullness of God. This passage was considered so strong in its meaning that when the KJV was later revised, the translator revisers changed the wording to our being filled “UNTO” the fullness of God. 

The Holy Spirit undertakes His work to dip His holy hand again and again into that never ending portion of God's fullness and pours it continually into our being, day by day, month by month, year by year, seeking to fill us with that goodness that none deserve but all who are saved are granted by His grace.

Holy Spirit - Part 19: Guiding the Believer into Life as a Son

Romans 8:14

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God”.

Here in this small passage Paul shares with us the moment in which the life of each believer comes under the control of the Spirit. An honest and real Christian life is one conducted by the divine Spirit of the Lord. Believers must consider it a privilege, not a burden, to be absolutely set free from the worries of sin and death, for from the moment the Spirit moves into us, those worries are then reduced to zero if we trust and surrender.

Christian life is not one governed by a long set of rules made outside of us, with the dread that we may in an unguarded moment break one or more and then therefore no longer be His. That life, which is actually lived by many professing Christians, is a life of awful bondage. Such a “rule centered” existence is not faith but is legalism and harkens us back to the Pharisees in the time of the earthly ministry of the Lord.

Romans 8:15

“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear...”.

Our lives are to be led by a holy guide, leading us constantly deeper in the Word, and continually conforming us to the image of His Son, and by that conformance we are made co-heirs with Christ to the kingdom. In that process, as we surrender more and more to the Spirit guidance, we become sons. 

YES, we will continue to sin as we remain in mortal and carnal bodies. But our sin will not result in our condemnation. 

Romans 8:1

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus , who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit”.

Paul had earlier made the most profound point in this matter and we must never overlook it as we consider these things.

Romans 6:14

“For sin shall not have dominion over you...”.

If, therefore, we find ourselves in the presence of some spirit leading us to do something that is contrary to the teachings of Jesus, or His Apostles, we may be sure that this spirit trying to take us astray is not the Holy Spirit. 

1 John 4:1

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: Because many false prophets are gone out into the world”.

As we are led by the Holy Spirit we should take great joy that we are not toddling or immature children of the Lord but have come under His drawing, His saving, and His granting our guide and teacher. We have moved beyond the child stage, and have been declared sons. We have the privilege of not any longer being under the bondage of law or rules and have entered into the joy of the liberty of life as His adopted sons.

There is a further teaching on this matter that is important for our consideration.

There are two witnesses to our sonship, first, our own spirit, taking God at His word.

John 1:12

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God...”.

Here is scriptural proof to His promise.

But there is another witness to our sonship, which is the Holy Spirit. He bears witness TOGETHER with our spirit. Notice He does not bear witness “to” our spirit, but stands with us and bears witness “with” our spirit.

Gal 4:6

“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, ABBA, Father”.

He is our Father and He alone in all the universe loves us as no earthly father ever can.

Holy Spirit - Part 20: Our Teacher

In the last conversation with His disciples before His crucifixion Jesus made a statement that was revealing of what was to be the next step in God's revelation of Himself to man.

John 14:26

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you”.

Here we see that the Lord revealed a two fold purpose for the coming of the Holy Spirit, teaching, and bringing to remembrance what Jesus had already taught. It may be better to consider the second purpose first.

This promise was made primarily to the Apostles and is the guarantee of the accuracy of their report of what Jesus said however the Holy Spirit does a similar work with each believer. The Holy Spirit brings to our mind the teachings of Christ and of the Word just when we need them for either a necessity of our life or our service.

It is by the Spirit bringing His words to remembrance and then later continuing to teach us the truth of those words that we obtain and then abide in His peace.

There is a more explicit promise made to us on this matter two chapters later.

John 16:12-14

“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now, Howbeit, when He the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you”.

This promise was first made to the Apostles, but the Apostles themselves applied it to all believers.

1 John 2:20

“But ye have an unction (meaning an act of anointing) from the Holy One, and ye know all things”.

It is a privilege of each believer in Jesus Christ, even the most humble among us, to be taught of God through His Spirit, sent to each of us exactly for that purpose.

While each of us learns much from men, we are not dependent upon them. We have a Divine Teacher, the Holy Spirit. The most precious and ultimate truth concerning godly things is taught only by Him. The believer taught by this Holy One will understand the truth of God even better that scholars who may have deep knowledge of both Hebrew and Greek.

This step by step teaching occurs over time. Each moment, hour, and day brings further teaching as we seek His will that we should know more.

There are some things which God has seen fit to keep to Himself, secret things belonging only to Him. 

Duet 29:29

“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God...”.

Among those things are the time of the Lord's second coming. No man is allowed to know this time (as taught in Acts 1:7). No amount of speculation nor study will reveal to man those things God has reserved unto Himself.

The teaching of the Spirit is above all things designed to reveal the truth of Jesus Christ and thereby to bring glory unto Him as we learn more and more is reflected in our lives in His image.

On the day of Pentecost when Peter and the rest of the Lord's own were filled with the Holy Spirit, they talked about Jesus, speaking little if any concerning the Holy Spirit.

Peter's great sermon on that day as seen in Acts 2 rested only on the them of Jesus and by that sermon, 3,000 souls were saved. Had Peter tried to preach that same sermon the day before, there would have been no such results. 

We read also in scripture how the Spirit reveals not the things of the world, but the deep matters of God to all chosen and saved.

1 Cor 2:9-13

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man,  the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him...”.

These things are freely given to us and revealed that we should become better stewards of His truth as long as we remain here to do His will and work. Not only does the Spirit reveal these things but He also assures that we understand them.

Psalm 119:18

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things...”.

In theory, our modern church recognizes the insufficiency of man's righteousness. Perhaps we need a renewed acceptance that in these modern days of the insufficiency of man's wisdom.

There seem to be three things that may be hindering the effective communication of that need in our modern day assemblies:

Some other message is being taught other than the message revealed by the Holy Spirit. Much preaching tries to discuss science, art, literature and economics, and the current poor state of world affairs, not the direct and simple message of God as taught by the Holy Spirit as found in the Book he wrote for us – the Bible.

The Spirit taught understanding tries to be understood by the thoughts of natural man as opposed to seeking understanding though prayerful study begging the Spirit to sit beside us, and guide and teach us more.

There seems to be a reluctance to recall and renew the fact taught clearly in our Holy Word that only by full and humble surrender do we begin to welcome once more the wishes of God into ourselves.

Psalm 51:16-17

“Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it...The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart...”.

He must be the power as well as the message.

We must rely on the Spirit. Biblical study and interpretation is a spiritual exercise. We must depend on the light given by the Holy Spirit to avoid error as we seek to interpret the Word of God correctly. This dependence we must have upon the Spirit as our teacher was foretold by Jesus.

John 6:63

“It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life”.