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AND
GRIEVE NOT
The Scriptures tell us not to
grieve the Holy Spirit,
And grieve not the
holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of
redemption. (Ephesians
4:30) Similar warnings are found in other places, Matthew
12:31 for example,
Wherefore I say
unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven
unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not
be forgiven unto men. And,
in Mark 3:29, But
he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never
forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation
Virtually the same
statement is repeated in the Gospel of Luke
And whosoever
shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be
forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy
Ghost it shall not be
forgiven. (12:10) These are
powerful words. Entire theological schools have been built
and denominations founded on less. Yet, modern Christianity
seems unaware of the warning. No one appears to notice. No
one seems to wonder why the warning is there. Why would
grieving the Holy Spirit put us in danger of eternal
damnation?
To approach an answer, we have to
remember that God created man as an intelligent being
capable of recognizing Him as Father-God and author of the
universe. Man was created with the capacity to reason with
God (Isaiah 1:18). God giving Adam the job of naming His
creation suggests he is intelligent and intuitive. (Genesis
2:19) Paul claims in Romans 1:20 that the invisible
attributes of God are understood by men, because they were
created to engage in rational reflection and understanding.
Man is an intelligent, rational being capable of choice and
God knew it.
The Wycliffe Bible Commentary
states that God, "… also gave him the power of choice
and set before him the privilege of growing in divine favor.
Thus began the moral discipline of man." Man was created
with the capacity to freely come to the Father in loving
adoration. All Scripture testifies to God's desire for such
a loving relationship with His special creation. The
intimate manner in which He created us is eloquent testimony
to that intention. Why else would He go to such extremes to
"save" us, His rebellious creation? Why grant us a pardon
and provide us with eternal life? Wouldn't it be more
sensible for Him to have said, "Out, be done with you, be
gone?" Instead, He invites us to spend eternity with Him.
Strange that some reject the invitation.
God implemented a plan to deal with
the rebellious nature of a comprehending, intuitive,
thinking being. With dogs, cows and turkeys, He anticipated
no such problems. The plan was needed expressly because man
wasn't a slug -- or even a chimp. He was intentionally
ordained and created to be very special. To be God's friend.
Set aside any ideas that our ancestor's temptation and fall
was an oversight, mistake or something God did not expect or
anticipate. What followed was not a Band-Aid, a temporarily
repair, to an unforeseen flaw. Such an interpretation is not
recorded in or supported by Scripture. The image of God
found in the Scriptures requires us to understand that He
knew, He intended, He planned. If, what transpired in Eden
was no mistake, what is His plan?
Step one laid the groundwork, the
foundation. To get our attention, He dealt rather harshly
with us through - well, floods. That isn't to say we don't
grieve God and cause Him to wonder why He had created us. We
sorely try His patience. But, He did like Noah the prophets
and His "chosen people." There was Abram, Isaac, Jacob,
Joseph, Moses and the rest of the "team" from the Old
Testament. The Law, the prophets and a Holy Land, it was a
good, solid foundation. Yes, the Law that that curses,
condemns and evicts. The Law that demands payment, Step one,
is the record found in the Old Testament.
Step two. Now, this is not an
admission of the failure of step one. Some have taken it
that way. It is the second step of an intentional process
just as was the first step. The next step was Jesus. The
only begotten Son of God, second Person of the Trinity, God
incarnate came to dwell among us to teach us "up close and
personal. God in the flesh came to live among us. Isn't that
simply joyous? ." Some call this a "redemptive process."
This is the dispensation, this is the stewardship of
grace.(Ephesians 3:2) Grace that blesses and grace that
saves the bad. Grace that pays the debt and provides the
sinner undeserved righteousness. This, is where God provides
for our eternal life. You see our lives do (can) go on after
death. He, Jesus, provided for that. We are born twice -
once in the flesh and once in the spirit. Clearly, there are
no unintended or unanticipated consequences recorded here.
Jesus said He came to fulfill what the Law and the Prophets
had begun, He didn't say He came to make a mid-course
correction or to abolish or to replace the Law. He said He
came to fulfill - the Law. His ministry was a continuation
of the process. All that was done in "step one" was the
bricks and mortar, not the mistakes and errors, of God's
foundational plan. Everything that is recorded in the Old
Testament moved us a step closer to a return to the "Edenic"
existence with God. The record of the Gospels moves us
another step closer. A house of grace is built upon the
foundation of the Law.
Step one, God talked with us. Step
two, Jesus walked with us. Step three, the Holy Spirit
dwells within us. Step three begins with Pentecost and
continues through the Ascension. It is a dramatic,
fundamental and profound transformation from Christ being
with us to being within us. Some folks just can't get beyond
the Old Testament. Others can't go beyond the lessons of
Jesus in the flesh to Jesus in the Spirit. So many
Christians have difficulty adjusting to or even recognizing
the fact that it is now post crucifixion. The mortgage has
been paid. The Ministry of Jesus was not the end of the
story, it is, in so many ways, the beginning. We must move
on. We must move into and live in the house of grace. Now,
we are in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. Failure to
see this is as grievous as failing to see the Messiah has
come.
In the Old Testament, God didn't
talk with everyone, but everyone could hear. In the Gospels,
Jesus didn't teach all of us, but everyone could learn.
Because He ascended, He is within each of us. We are no
longer twelve or seventy, we are a royal priesthood, an holy
nation, a peculiar people; (1 Peter 2:9.) He was empowered
by the Holy Spirit. We are empowered by the very same Spirit
to do even greater works. It is written, Verily, verily, I
say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do
shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do;
because I go unto my Father John 14:12 KJV "What greater
works? We will cast out devils and speak in new tongues,
cure the sick, have power over our enemies, nothing shall
hurt us, heal the lame perform miracles, prophesy, have
discernment. He empowers us, He comforts us, He protects us,
we need to obey His call. That is living within the house of
grace built upon the foundation of the Law.
This is what grieving the Holy
Spirit is about. The people of the Old Covenant rejected
their mission. Jesus Christ was also rejected. The Holy
Spirit will not be so treated. Herbert Lockyer in All the
Doctrines of the Bible writes, "The Holy spirit is Gods'
ultimatum, His last Witness to men, therefore if they treat
Him as they treated the Saviour, then their doom is sealed."
(p. 111) Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 12:22-37
states, "But if, when the Holy Ghost is given, in his inward
gifts of revelation, speaking with tongues, and the like,
such as were the distributions of the Spirit among the
apostles, if they continue to blaspheme the Spirit likewise,
as an evil spirit, there is no hope of them that they will
ever be brought to believe in Christ;" The warning is
directed toward individuals, the "church." as the Body of
Believers and the institution. All who subrogate and profane
the purpose of Christianity are under a severe indictment to
heed the calling of the Holy Spirit. This is the age of the
"indwelling." of the Holy Spirit, not of rituals or
sacrifices, priesthoods or liturgies, canons or confessions.
Move in, move on.
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. John 14:17
†
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DO YOU TRUST
THE HOLY SPIRIT?
"The Holy Spirit - a theme higher than which none
can occupy the attention of the Christian … only a
spiritually-minded church provides a soil in which a
literature of the Spirit can grow." Professor B.
Warfield.
One of the tragedies of modern Christianity is that it
has trivialized the Holy Spirit and dismissed Him. It has
reduced His office to "speaking in tongues" which it then
treats as trite and inane if not dangerous. It superficially
regards "Spiritual Gifts" only as adjuncts to volunteerism
under the auspices of the institutional church.
This image isn't Scriptural and these things aren't the
office or the workings ascribed to the Holy Spirit in the
Bible. Where in the world did it ever come from? What is His
true Scriptural image? He is referred to 90 times on the Old
Testament and 260 times in the New Testament. He helped with
the creation of the world (Genesis 1:2) as He was of man,
Let us make man in our image, Genesis 1:26 - Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. Further, the Holy Spirit assisted in authoring
the Scriptures themselves, For the prophecy came not in old
time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost, 2 Peter 1:21 and guides us to
the truth. Then, there is this, Joseph, thou son of David,
fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is
conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 1:20) John
the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit even before he
was born, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even
from his mother's womb. (Luke 1:15) He convicts the world of
sin, righteousness and judgment. (John 16:8) He is the
Spirit of Truth. (John 14:17) He is the Comforter. (John
14:16)
He has impressive credentials and there is more. He is
kind and loving. He has a will of His own and is very
intelligent. He is truthful and He is an emotional divine
being. However, in today's church and among today's
Christians, He just doesn't seem to be trusted. Perhaps, He
is the victim of "bad press," that culprit to which we seem
to want to ascribe all our maladies. More likely, the lack
of trust is due to our not really knowing anything about
Him. He is the "glue" of the church. Unfortunately the
"church" doesn't appear to know any more about Him than its
members.
John baptized Jesus and the Holy Spirit descended upon
Him. On the evening of the resurrection day, Jesus
"baptized" His disciples with the Holy Spirit. After His
Ascension, on the Day of Pentecost, the disciples were, once
again, along with others given the Holy Spirit. While Peter
was speaking to the household of Cornelius the Holy Spirit
fell upon the entire household. Paul laid his hands upon the
disciples at Ephesus and they received the Holy Spirit. You
were baptized in the name of the Father, Son and - Holy
Spirit. Did you receive Him? Did He fall upon you? Do you
believe in Jesus Christ as you Lord and Savior? Yes, you
received the Holy Spirit. The question is whether or not you
trust Him sufficiently to listen to Him. He is there.
Do you trust God? Of course. The Holy Spirit is God. Do
you trust Jesus Christ? Yes? The Holy Spirit is Jesus
Christ. While identifiably distinct, He is God. He is Jesus
Christ. He comes into our lives to help us fulfill the
ministry Jesus gave to us. Jesus came into our lives to
fulfill God's plan for our salvation that we might glorify
His Holy Name. They are a team. God loves us. Jesus loves
us. The Holy Spirit loves us. Paul wrote to the Philippians,
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever
things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever
things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if
there be any praise, think on these things. (Phil 4:8 KJV)
He, the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to follow
Paul's advice.
Do you trust Him? Who would you rather? Common sense?
Intuition? The well intended advice of friends or even
family? Astrology? Spiritualism? Science? The wisdom and
schemes of men? Out of all the bombast of these shrill and
competing voices, the Holy Spirit is like the voice of the
LORD speaking to the prophet Elijah, And after the
earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and
after the fire a still small voice. 1 Kings 19:12 A still
small voice. The voice of the Truth. The Spirit of our Lord
Jesus. The will of God. †
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PARACLETE
That's a fascinating word. It
appears just five times in the New Testament - in the
writing of John. From the International Standard Bible
Encyclopaedia, we find this discussion: In general Paraclete
signifies: (1) a legal advocate, or counsel for defense, (2)
an intercessor, (3) a helper. Perhaps there is no English
word broad enough to cover all the significance of the word
"Paraclete" except the word "Helper." The following are
given as the specific forms of its activity: (1) to show the
things of Christ, (2) to teach things to come, (3) to teach
all things, (4) to quicken our memories for past teaching,
(5) to bear witness to Christ, (6) to dwell in believers,
(7) other things shown in the context such as "greater
works" than those of Christ (see John 14:16-17) Did you ever
hear the like?
Reading this description, one of
the mysteries of emerging Christianity is why less and less
attention has been given to it. Surely, there is within the
Scriptural Paraclete, everything positive and nothing
negative. Are there any of its attributes we would not want
along-side us in our daily lives? Contemporary theologians,
Biblical scholars, seminarians and writers all but ignore
His Presence. Those who bother with the subject soon bog
down in a schism of accepting or rejecting speaking in
tongues. Yes speaking in tongues is a manifestation of the
Holy Spirit designed for the edification of the saints, that
is Scriptural. Yes, there are "gifts of the Spirit," that is
also Scriptural. But He is far more than these. His service
is far greater than that.
Why do we find less and less about
Parcelete, about the Holy Spirit, in our churches, in our
homes and in our lives? Maybe Luke had the answer, back some
two thousand years ago.
Ye stiffnecked and
uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the
Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do
ye. Acts 7:51 But, behind
that lies the history of the Jewish people. It isn't an
honorable history. That is obvious by the phrase Luke used,
"stiffnecked." That is obvious by the state of affairs of
the Jewish peoples when Jesus walked among them. They had
squandered their inheritance. Don't get too smug, we are
squandering ours. You don't think it is as dishonorable?
Read "church" history. Disgraceful.
God was with them. Can you possibly
imagine that? In the desert, He was in the Tabernacle right
down the path at every encampment. In the days of His
people's sojourn in Israel, He was in the Temple, right
across the street and up the hill from their houses. He was
a tangible reality. He was with them in their shrine, the
Ark of the Covenant, in the house of worship. The ordained
priesthood was to serve Him and minister to the people. The
manner and method of service and ministry written in
carefully prescribed ritual. Only high priests had access to
His Holy Presence. They were intermediaries between the
people and His Holy presence.
Then, God became incarnate, dwelt
among us was crucified, died and was buried. He was
resurrected and He ascended. These are the salient
milestones of His life with us. Birth, resurrection and
ascension, not just birth and resurrection. The New
International Dictionary points out, "The spiritual value of
the Ascension lies, not in Christ's physical remoteness, but
in His spiritual nearness. He is free from earthly
limitations," Unlike God's dwelling in the Tabernacle or the
Temple. Unlike Jesus walking among His followers, He is
within us. He can be, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, near
each of us - always and forever. Before Jesus Christ, God
was rejected in the Temple. After His Holy birth, He was
rejected in the flesh. We know that and we see the
foolishness of their ways. Why, then, do so many reject Him,
today, in the Spirit? With the advantage of the history of
the Scriptures, why do we continue on the same crooked
path?
The responsibility of the errors of
the past rest with the failure of the priesthood to fulfill
their obligations to the people. But Christ eliminated the
priesthood and closed the gap between God and His people. We
now can directly petition our God without intermediary. To,
once again, attempt to impose priesthood between us and our
Father in Heaven is an act of grievous moral
irresponsibility. The veil was torn asunder. We are His
"Royal Priesthood." We may petition Him directly. Our High
Priest, the only one, sits at the right-hand of God the
Father as our advocate. He is our vicar, not Rome. Nothing
could be clearer. It is positively Scriptural.
The New Testament does not end with
the resurrection. It ends with our resuming our interrupted
intimate relationship with God. That, which was made
possible by His blood, not by incantations, creeds,
confessions, sacrifices, tithes, offerings or obeisance to a
holy order, but by the blood that flowed from the cross. And
those who are accepted as His, in a renewed relationship
with God, go through an amazing metamorphosis - a NEW birth.
They are new persons. It is written.
And there's the rub; there is the
proverbial "fly in the ointment." Try if you may, try if you
can, try to imagine the astounding transformation that would
have been wrought had His people heeded His Word.
Contemplate how incomprehensibly different the world would
be if, the people of His day, had accepted Jesus Christ as
the long-promised Messiah. Mind boggling. Sit down some fine
day where you can watch the world, your world, go by. Try a
mall or a busy street corner, in traffic, at your office, in
your church, at home, within your introspective self. What
marvelous transformations would take place, collectively and
individually, if we permitted the voice of that
God-Within-Us, that Paraclete, that Holy Spirit, that "still
small voice" of the Savior, to be heard.
Mind boggling.
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CESSATIONISM
There are four New Testament
words/phrases referring to the "church." They are the
"kingdom of heaven," the "kingdom of God," the "church"
(ekklesia) and the "Body of Christ." Throughout most of His
ministry, Jesus used the phrases the "kingdom of God" and
the "kingdom of heaven. Most New Testament scholars consider
these as interchangeable terms referring to the "people of
God, the collective body of believers." On the occasion of
His benediction of Peter recorded in. Matthew 16:18, Jesus
used a different word closer to the Greek (ekklesia) we
translate as "church." Probably, the reason He used this
term was to distinguish between the peculiar Jewish
understanding of the kingdom and His broader intent for the
church. One exclusively Jewish (Even today, among the more
orthodox Jewish sects, there is no possibility of converting
to Judaism.) the other sent to all inclusively. The kingdom
of heaven and the kingdom of God carried the flavor of a
distinctive Jewish kingdom and worldwide reign of the chosen
people versus righteousness, holiness and doing of
the will of God. That "will of God" capably caught in
Christ's two commandments love God, love thy
neighbor.
Paul used the phrase "body of
Christ" in his appeal for unity among early Christians. From
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary we learn that, "In
Romans 12:14-15 and 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, he emphasizes
the church's unity, even though there are varied gifts,
ministries, and personalities. In Ephesians 4:4-12 and
Collosians 1:18-24 Christ as the head of the church is the
focus of Paul's ministry." It begins with an individual
confession of faith and becomes a brotherhood of all
believers.
Contained in each of these four
terms are some basic traits of the Biblical church. First,
the rock of the church/kingdom, the admission requirement,
if you will, was and forever will be a confession of faith
that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. All those who so
confess are members in good standing. Second, the head of
this Body is Christ Jesus. There is none other. There are no
substitutes. There never will be replacements,
representatives, vicar or Holy See. Third, the sole intent
and purpose of this saintly entity is to praise/glorify the
Lord God Almighty, creator of the universe. Fourth, the
ultimate triumph of the church is certain, and movement
toward that triumph is inexorable. And when he was
demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should
come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh
not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or,
lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is
within you. Luke 17:20-21. (Emphasis
added.)
The church was not limited by or
its work completed with the conclusion of Christ's earthly
ministry. The kingdom of God within us was to go, into
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mark 16:15.
Clearly Jesus was speaking of a
continuation of His work beyond His human ministry. In John
14:12, Jesus states, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He
that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also;
and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto
my Father, makes it perfectly clear that work was not only
to continue but with greater vigor. "He that believeth on
me." In John 7:38-39 we are told by Jesus that, 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 that believe on him should
receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that
Jesus was not yet glorified.) We, the church, "Shall
receive the Holy Ghost." Jesus, not Augustine, Ignatius of
Antioch or Pope John Paul but Jesus said that they that
believe in Him shall receive the Holy Spirit. "They" is
people in general, not just Peter, the disciples or the
Apostolic Fathers. The requirement for receiving the Holy
Spirit is believing in Jesus. Further, it was He who said it
was absolutely necessary for Him to leave, to ascend. John
16:7 tells us why, Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It
is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away,
the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I
will send him unto you. And John 16:13 makes that reason
just as clear, 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. How could
there be any confusion on the matter? The Holy Spirit will
be our Comforter. Not speaking for himself, but
speaking as directed by Jesus he will guide us into all
truth and will show us thing to come. That is the
church. Not Christ in absentia, but Christ in each of
us.
Today, the foundations for the
"kingdom," seem to have shifted. The "Body of Christ," it is
said, is no longer based upon confession of faith. The
"church," we are told, is no longer in need of the Holy
Spirit. Instead, it has the structure and organization set
forth by the prophets and the apostles. Ecclesiastical
hierarchies, theological seminaries, catechisms, cannons and
creeds have replaced the Spirit. We are to believe He is no
longer functionally necessary. His time is passed. He is
superfluous in the presence of exalted, accumulated human
wisdom. Other things have come along to replace the rivers
of living waters. Unaided, the human intellect is capable of
discerning the mysteries of God and the inscrutable puzzles
of the Bible. It and history, we are assured by
cessationists, is replete with the evidence of His archaic
status. Virtually the only Scriptural hint of such comes
from Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of
the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief corner stone; This is interpreted as Biblical
proof of His antiquation. History, it is further contended,
clearly illustrates that the gifts of the Spirit ceased
after the apostles died. When, what is called "normative
doctrines" of the church were established by our apostolic
fathers, no more need for the Holy Spirit existed. Further,
we are told, there is no historical record of a continuation
of manifestations of the Spirit. He has ceased to function
among us.
One might be wise to exercise great
caution in using history as evidence of the cessation of the
work of the Holy Spirit. First, because of the abominable
record of the early Church and its leadership. The record of
Church "accomplishments" through what is pleasantly called
the "Dark Ages" is nothing short of vulgar. Our Christian
heritage is scarlet with the blood of martyrs brought about
by doctrinal strife and conflict. Catholics butchered
Protestants at every turn. Lutherans, Calvinists and
Catholics drowned, beat, burned and tortured their versions
of heretics. Anabaptists murdered Lutherans, Calvinists and
Catholics. Puritans and Separatists joined the shame. All
built their own tower to heaven while putting their
opposition to the sword.
History also records the shameful
genocide committed by our Christian forefathers on countless
cultures of Native Americans (North and South) and the
abomination of the Black slave trade practiced by Christian
nations around the world. South Africa is only a
contemporary example of apartheid and that was tacitly
endorsed by all Christiandom including the centuries of
segregation in this country. The war between Irish Catholics
and Protestants rages on as continuing evidence of the
absence of the Spirit of God within the hallowed sanctuaries
of contemporary Christianity. Then there was the deafening
silence of the mother of all churches. During the reign of
terror of that miserable little corporal from the German
army. A shameful reminder of its impotence. If our
historical notes are correct, Germany was predominately
Protestant. Hence we may bring into accounting "main-line"
Protestant denominations that also sat on their
hands.
Christian churches in the United
States lament the loss of Post World War II Europe to
Christianity. The obviousness of their departure is clear.
They have even stopped the pretense of attending church.
That the "main-line" Protestant denominations in the U.S.
are following suit is a matter of statistical record. In
truth, could anyone call this country a Christian nation?
Does any of this suggest the hand of the Spirit in the
affairs of the church? Did He leave or was He evicted? The
cessation of the power of the Holy Spirit in modern
Christianity isn't something to brag about, it is something
over which we should weep and wail and gnash our teeth. In
citrus growing areas of the country infested with the
damaging fruit fly, sterile flies are released to control
the population. Christianity, without the presence of the
Holy Spirit is a sterile fruit fly. There shouldn't be too
much doubt about who released such a drone on the world.
Now thanks be unto God, which
always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest
the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. 2
Corinthians 2:14
†
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GOD IS FOR US: WITH
US: IN US
(The Revealer of Divine
Truth)
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND OUR LORD AND SAVIOR
Perhaps the first revelation of truth is that God is
incomprehensible. Not so much that He chooses to be,
although that is His prerogative, as it is His unspeakable
vastness and our indescribable limitations. Infinity is
incomprehensible to the finite mind. We think linearly, from
yesterday to today and plan tomorrow not yet ours. God is
yesterday, today and tomorrow. We are becoming, He is. He
told Moses, "I
AM WHO I AM." He needs no introduction, no validation
beyond Himself. He is sufficient unto Himself.
He sent His Son as a finite being at a finite point in
time to enable us to comprehend what he wanted us to
accomplish while we are living. His ministry was led and
directed by the Holy Spirit. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me," He declared, "_ to preach the
Gospel"(Luke
4:18) It was, according to
International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia, the source of His teaching, His
resurrection and ascension. The Holy Spirit guided Him
through His temptations. The Holy Spirit was responsible for
His healing and enabled Him to cast out demons.
THE GOSPEL AND THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is the inspiration for the Scriptures.
The intellect research and reason of men do not, as we are
told, write them. The Bible is the result of men as they
were instructed and moved by the Holy Spirit. Paul writes
that, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God."(2 Tim.
3:16) It is His truth, as He deems appropriate to reveal to
us. The Bible, the Scriptures are the Holy Word of God. They
are "Holy Scriptures" not the writings of a great
Shakespeare or Hemingway. Nor are they the result of the
efforts of great theologians such as the "Latin Church
Fathers," Jerome, Ambrose and Augustine. The Scriptures are
the Word of God written by men who were inspired by the Holy
Spirit.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH
He gives the "church," the body of believers, Spiritual
discernment. The anointing given to us, we are told in
1
John 2:27, will teach us all things that are true.
Accordingly, we do not need "that any man teach you."
He sends us the Holy Spirit as guide and comforter in our
struggles along the way. Surely, if the Holy Spirit enabled
our Lord and Master, it is incumbent upon us to follow its
gentle solicitation. He sent us the Spirit of truth, why
would we settle for less? Why would we seek lessons from any
other teacher? Spiritual discernment is our teacher, why
should we seek knowledge and understanding through any other
science?
Clearly, as the revealer of Divine Truth, the Holy Spirit
is for us as He was with the people of the Old Testament. He
is with us as He was in the life of Christ recorded in the
Gospels. He is in us forever as recorded in the Book of Acts
and the letters of Paul.†
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Receive
the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
That is what Peter told the "Men of
Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem" on the day of
Pentecost. Acts
2:14 However, this was just
the last part of a three step instruction.
His first instruction to those who
gathered to inquire about what had just occurred was to
repent. That's what John the Baptist said to
do. Matthew
4:17. So did Jesus Christ in
Mark
1:5 and on many other
occasions. Jesus said he had not come to the righteous but
to call sinners to repentance.
Matthew
9:13. Perhaps, at this point,
we should be reminded of what Jesus said about sin,
"...he lifted up
himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among
you, let him first cast a stone at
her."
John
8:7 There is just the suggestion
that this need to repent applies to all of us and might be
more than just a one-time event.
Secondly, Peter told the assembled
crowd to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Now, just
a small digression. The Apostle Peter did not just say to be
baptized. He said to be baptized in the name of JESUS
CHRIST. He didn't say in the name of Muhammad ibn-Abdullah,
Siddhartha Gautama, Lao-tzu or any one other than Jesus
Christ. He is, emphatically, THE way.
We are to be baptized as an outward
manifestation of accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and
Savior and for the remission of our sins. By doing so, we
are released from our debt and its penalty. We are pardoned.
Praise God, He will remember them no more. It is written in
the book of Revelation that, "He
that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment;
and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life,
but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his
angels." Revelation. 3:5.
Repentance and baptism really seem like a good idea.
However, repentance and baptism are
only one side of the equation. In some sort of celestial
formulation, it would be coded, R+B = "?". AND you SHALL
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Repentance and baptism
equals the Holy Ghost.
Some translations suggest we WILL
receive. Shall or will, it is a promise from God. He keeps
His promises. It is a commandment. Have you? Have you
received the Holy Ghost? Yes, just as surely as you are
saved. Are you saved? Then, you have the Holy Ghost. You
knew that, didn't you?
It doesn't seem to be a matter of much
debate. There is no questioning the simple fact of His
existence in your very being. As a Christian, the Holy Ghost
is with you. It might be debated what you do with the gift.
It certainly is arguable that you may not know you possess
such a priceless treasure.
He INDWELLS. What a beautiful thought.
He exists as an animating spirit within us. He inhabits. He
resides within us as a divine inner spirit.
"Behold,"
John writes in Revelation, "I
stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and
open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him,
and he with me."
Revelation
3:20 That is real. There He
stands, today, in your life, in "wonderful condescension and
long-suffering" waiting for you to allow Him in. He won't
compel you to admit Him. He knocks and waits.
Perhaps, more than anything else, it
is awareness we lack. It isn't unwillingness to open the
door as much as not knowing that we may.
Know this, when we invite the Spirit
of the Living God to fall afresh on us, He will mold and use
us. It is written.
...HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR FATHER IN
HEAVEN GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM! LUKE 11:13
†
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"HE
BREATHED ON THEM"
The Book of John
(20:22)
records that, on the day He arose, Jesus blessed the
disciples with the Holy Spirit , And when He had said this,
He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy
Spirit."
In the fourth verse of the second
chapter in Acts,
the Holy Spirit is, again, visited upon the disciples. This
time, after His ascension. "And
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance."
Paul was not there. He was not there
at the tomb when the risen Christ breathed upon them. Nor
was he in Jerusalem to hear the sound of a "rushing mighty
wind," He did not see the "cloven tongues like as of
fire."
His absence, on these incredible
occasions, caused him a great deal of difficulty later.
After his miraculous conversion, he was treated as a
second-class citizen, not to be counted among the Apostles.
"The badge of honor was not his." Nor, presumably, were the
rights and privileges of apostleship his.
Paul first responded that he had the
same authority as the "original apostles" by right of having
"seen Jesus." "Am I
not an apostle? Am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ
our Lord?" he writes in
1
Corinthians 9:1.
But, his greatest defense was his
"workmanship." He continues in the first verse with this
argument, " ARE NOT YE MY WORK IN THE LORD?" Read that
again. "Are ye not my work in the Lord?" He was speaking
about those whom he had brought to Jesus. This was his
winning argument. What he did.
Yes, he saw Jesus on the road to
Damascus. That experience, it is safe to say, dramatically
changed his life. Because of that experience, he stopped and
he started. He stopped the negative behavior of persecution.
He started the positive behavior of evangelization. He
brought thousands people, in his time, to Jesus Christ. He
left a legacy of letters to inspire millions through
thousands of generations - until there will be no more - to
seek Jesus. Which was more important, his title or his work?
Was he an apostle?
Has Jesus breathed on us? We were not
at the tomb or at Pentecost. Is the Holy Ghost with us? Are
we His apostles?
By our sins we persecute Jesus Christ.
By our Spirit-filled lives, we glorify Him.
If we truly believe we are, by
adoption, the children of God, how can we contain our joy?
If we truly believe that the creator of the universe is
mindful of us, shouldn't our lives be transformed? Aren't
we, like Paul, qualified as apostles? Are we not His work in
the Lord?
May we stop dying and start living in
Jesus Christ. †
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THE
FORGOTTEN MEMBER OF THE TRINITY
JOHN 7:17-18
IF ANY MAN WILL DO HIS
WILL, HE SHALL KNOW OF THE DOCTRINE, WHETHER IT BE OF GOD,
OR WHETHER I SPEAK OF MYSELF. HE THAT SPEAKETH OF HIMSELF
SEEKETH HIS OWN GLORY: BUT HE THAT SEEKETH HIS GLORY THAT
SENT HIM, THE SAME IS TRUE, AND NO UNRIGHTEOUSNESS IS IN
HIM.
This Scriptural passage provides , "A
principle of immense importance; showing, on the one hand,
that singleness of desire to please God ... and, on the
other, that the want of this, whether perceived or not, is
the chief cause of infidelity amidst the light of revealed
religion." (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
Commentary)
This profound statement of the DESIRE
TO PLEASE GOD can only be grasped through the urging of the
Holy Spirit. It must be the "North Star" of our existence as
individuals and as the Body of Christ. Yet, so often we,
individually and collectively, have other business.
Personally, we are unfaithful , by
seeking our own fame and fortune. We passively accept
sermons about the flowers of the field and continue, with
single-minded intent, pursue our fortunes and financial
security. We thoughtlessly absorb pulpit eloquence on not
being respectors of persons while shamelessly flattering
those from whom we may profit. Our glory, not His.
Collectively, the church inserts
itself between ourselves and the Heavenly Father in the name
of all that is holy. It proclaims doctrines and creeds that,
solely because of their age, are regarded as sacred and
unassailable. The "church" seeks its greatness, not that of
the Lord God Almighty. Where is truth?
Yet, as Greg Ogden in The New
Reformation tells us, it is possible for every Christian to
have a direct encounter with the Lord God Almighty. We can
be "Spirit-filled" and "walk in the Spirit." Not only is it
possible, since we are "born again," it is our birth right -
our inheritance. Because of our loving God and our personal
patron and mentor, we may approach the throne of grace with
confidence. Hebrews 4:16
Before any of this is possible,
however, we must develop a greater understanding and
awareness of the third personality in the Holy Trinity.
Ogden calls Him the forgotten member of the Trinity.
God lives; Jesus Christ lives. They
live in us through the Him. He enables us to experience the
living God. He inspires, illumines, unites and equips us for
service. Within the framework of thought provided by the
Word, and a framework of experience provided by the Body of
Christ, we are empowered and enabled. (p.14) It is He who
gives spiritual and intellectual insight. It is he through
whom God continues to directly speak to us today. It is He,
the dictionary proclaims, who is "the aspect of God immanent
in this world, in people, and in the church." Lockyer (All
the Doctrines of the Bible, p. 127) writes He is the agent
who transfers the blessing of the Father and the Son upon
the redeemed. It is by the Holy Spirit that we are as close
to the Lord of the church as the twelve were in the first
century according to Bruce Larson.
A Christian without the Holy Spirit is
dead in his faith. Ogden states, "The Spirit is directly
available to and energizes all for service and witness to
Jesus Christ." (p.17) He is available. Unfortunately, He
does not to seem to be very prevalent in our personal lives
and in our churches. It is Ogden's expectation that we are
on the brink of a revolutionary rediscovery of the forgotten
member of the Trinity. A discovery that will return the
ministry of Jesus Christ to the people of God.
Where He has been for fifteen hundred
years or more is not as important as a renewed consciousness
of His presence. Actually, He has been here right along;
we've been ignoring Him. Why we have been doing so isn't as
important as getting re-acquainted. †
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Tongues of
1 Cor 14:22 Wherefore tongues
are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that
believe not: (KJV)
One of the great sacrifices God
made when he became the incarnate flesh of Jesus Christ was
that He, the omnipotent God, became finite. He was born into
obscurity and for most of His years remained that way. When
He was born cannot be determined. Nothing is known of His
childhood. Only one incident of His youth, when He was
twelve, is recorded. This, the God of the universe.
In his bodily existence, Jesus
could only be in one place at one time. He could only
comfort those near. He could teach just those who could hear
His voice. He could disciple only those few around Him.
Thousands, perhaps, no more, saw Him and heard His
teachings. In His thirty-three years, Jesus Christ did not
travel far from His home. Most of His life and ministry took
place in Palestine. This, our God incarnate.
His upbringing may have been middle
class for the time. However, during His ministry He had no
source of income except those with whom He found favor. He
lived in poverty, single and without an established
residence. It is accurate to say His career was that of an
itinerant preacher at best a drifter at worst. This, the
"messiah," the savior of the world. Yet no one has been more
influential. No one.
To account for that profound
influence, we often look at what He was and what He did.
Instead, we should look at what He left behind. He left
behind followers who recorded his words we are to live by.
However, more importantly, He left behind the Holy Spirit.
Without that precious treasure, it would have been as if He
never lived. His words would have been lost, His message
forgotten.
A comforter He promised. A mighty
protector and counselor was His legacy. As "Tongues as fire"
He came (Acts 2:3 "Then there appeared to them divided
tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.") and
remained. In John 14:26, Jesus tells of the coming of the
Holy Spirit and what He will do for us, "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."
Listen to this, Jesus promises that
the Holy Spirit will "guide [us] in all truth,"
(John 16:12-15 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. All things that the Father hath are mine:
therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew
it unto you.")
In John 16:7 Jesus makes it clear
that His legacy is one that lives, "Nevertheless I tell you
the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I
go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I
depart, I will send him unto you." As our Comforter, Jesus
Christ lives in the hearts of all of us. The Spirit of God
vitalizes the Gospels and makes them alive for us. "For the
Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to
say." (Luke 12:12) In John 14:6, Jesus said, "...I am the
way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me. Unless His comments were just intended for
Thomas, the centuries must be bridged by the Holy Spirit. It
is through the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ teaches us today
just as surely as if He physically walked among us.
Only now, He is not limited by
human flesh. He may span distances and ignore time. He
walks, individually, with everyone who believes in Him and
invites Him into their hearts. He speaks our languages,
knows our hearts, and imparts His wisdom to all who will
receive. He was endowed with the Holy Spirit, should we be
less? Apart from His Spirit what are We?
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Dispensationalism
Dispensationalism comes from the
word meaning "an exemption or a release from an obligation
or a rule, granted by or as if by an authority. An "ism," is
a "distinctive doctrine, system, or theory:" Now that the
formality has been dispensed with, it may be simply stated
that "dispensationalism" is a belief, held by some
theologians, that the doctrines of the Bible no longer
apply. Specifically, it is the belief that God has withdrawn
miracles, prophecy, revelations and other spiritual gifts.
Dispensationalism believes they are no longer necessary.
Their time and their usefulness have past. They were used to
start the "church" but now, that the church is established,
they aren't needed. They aren't needed in much the same way
that the required sacrifices of the Old Testament, with the
exception of tithing -- of course, are no longer needed
because of Christ's sacrifice. Now, we have the church with
its scholars and seminarians. We have the written Word. We
don't need miracles and the Holy Spirit. The reasoning is
simple, we don't see miracles and the workings of the Holy
Spirit, and ipso facto God has released Himself from those
obligations
There are a number of
"explanations" for the dispensation. None is particularly
noteworthy. Most frequently, it is believed that God
dispensed with the power and ministry of the Holy Spirit
because He has given us the church in its place. The church
must be the replacement of miracles, etc. or we have some
explaining to do. The choices are fairly simple and few in
number. Either God has withdrawn these manifestations of His
loving, personal, involvement with humanity or something is
seriously wrong with the churches, seminaries and
seminarians of today. Something is deadly wrong with
Christendom. Which? If the "workings" of one age do not
apply to the next, are the Ten Commandments obsolete? What
about the Sermon on the Mount - the rest of the Gospels and
Epistles? Out of date?
What do the Scriptures say about
changing the rules?
Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Malachi 3: 6 For I am the LORD, I
change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not
consumed.
James 1:17 Every good gift and
every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the
Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning.
1 Sam 15:29 "And also the Glory of
Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man
that He should change His mind."
Hebrews 6:17 Because God wanted to
make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the
heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an
oath.
Psalm 102 But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.
Isaiah 46:4 And even to your old
age I am he, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have
made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver
you.
Hosea 12:5 Even the Lord God of
hosts; the Lord is his memorial.
Revelation 1:4 John, To the seven
churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you
from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from
the seven spirit before his throne,
Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, "I
AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites:
'I AM has sent me to you.'"
The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown
Commentary state, "His unchangeable faithfulness to His
promises flows from His unchangeable being, or
self-existence, which is the root-meaning of Yahew. As He
was unchangeable in His favour to Jacob, so will He be to
His believing posterity."
OOPS! Well, now, so much for the
substitution of the "church" for the Holy Spirit. Any such
speculation about the "working" and power of ages gone not
applying today must be considered ridiculous conjecture. The
self-serving nature of dispensationalism is obvious, where
is its Scriptural foundation?
It is almost as though the churches
that claim to have inherited Peter's legacy are saying to
us, "Come unto us with your tithes and offerings. God will
prosper you with material things. Come unto us for the
sacraments. Only we have the authority to perform them. Come
unto us for missionary and ministerial work for only we have
the knowledge. Come unto us for your prayers and solemn
occassions. Come unto us for the teaching of the 'orthodox'
word. We'll decide what is and isn't Scriptural. But don't
come unto us for miracles, prophecy, healing or speaking in
tongues. Don't come unto us for teaching about the gifts of
the Holy Spirit. These things are simply outdated. You
really don't need Him anymore because you've got us."
Yet, it is simply Biblical that you
were baptized by the Holy Spirit, into the Holy Spirit. He
is your birthright, your inheritance. Where is the Scripture
depriving you of your portion?
In Hebrews 13:9, Paul warns "Be not
carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a
good thing that the heart be established with grace; not
with meats, which have not profited them that have been
occupied therein."
But, above all, with those who
would dispense with the Holy Spirit and replace Him with the
institutionalized church, let us remember it is they who are
lacking. Let us not make their inadequacies our virtues.
The man without the Spirit does not
accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them,
because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14
†
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Then, an
Ark!
From the time God's people left
Egypt, the Spirit of God was with them. It is written.
During the day, He was in a pillar of a cloud that went
before them and at night they had a pillar of fire. The
reference is Exodus 13:21 And the LORD went before them by
day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by
night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day
and night: They were the people's guide and
guard.
The presence stayed through the
tribulations in the desert. The cloud and the fire did not
leave until the river Jordan or no further than Mount Hor or
after the death of Aaron. They left.
All agree that the Ark of the
Covenant took the place of the pillars of cloud and fire.
Remember Joshua's crossing the Jordan into the land of
Canaan? The river's water stopped as the feet of the priests
carrying the Ark touched it. God was there in it. The Ark
was at Jericho. It went to battle with David. Solomon built
the Temple for it. It disappeared in 586 B.C when the armies
of Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem. Where did it go? To
His Ascension and Pentecost. The Pillars and the Ark dwell
within each of us as the Holy Spirit. We are guided and
protected too. Imagine that!
†
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ENLIGHTENMENT
Seventeenth and Eighteenth century philosophers launched
a movement called the Enlightenment that had human reasoning
as its centerpiece. Review the major tenets: 1. The universe
is fundamentally rational, it can be understood through the
use of reason alone; 2. Truth can be arrived at through
empirical observation, the use of reason, and systematic
doubt; 3. Human experience is the foundation of human
understanding of truth; 4. All human life, both social and
individual, can be understood in the same way the natural
world can be understood; once understood, human life, can be
engineered in the same way the natural world; 5. Human
history is largely a history of progress; 6. Human beings
can be improved through education and the development of
their rational facilities; 7. Religious doctrines have no
place in the understanding of the physical and human worlds.
(From EIGHTEENTH CENTURY RESOURCES by Jack Lynch)
The "Enlightenment" was not the beginning of man's
flirtation with his own mental prowess. Adam and Eve out did
these guys by thousands of years. And, for centuries the
historical Church has relied upon its own resources,
formulated its own rules and dictated the major doctrines of
Christianity with no regard for anything other than its own
earthly credentials.
This "Enlightened Church" preempted the 18th Century
philosophers, and for hundreds of centuries, we have been
the victims of what must be called "rational theology." What
both failed to realize is that when contemplating the
universe and the will of God, the limiting factor is
precisely our intellectual inability and our incapability of
fathoming the infinite. To trust human reasoning in either
area is folly. To use our limited and unaided capacities in
the work of the Kingdom spells total disaster. The fruits of
the Eighteenth century Enlightenment are superseded by their
misfortune only by those of the Enlightened Church.
There is another "Enlightenment" that had its beginning
before there was a beginning. The authors of this movement
were the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is giving
Spiritual light to the soul of man. And, as we are told in,
2 Timothy 3:16 we have the Holy Scriptures that are our
source for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness. When Jesus Christ's first
ministry on earth was finished, we weren't abandoned nor
were we left to our own devices. He did not just up and
leave us in the same condition that got us in trouble in the
first place. The record of reasoning and logic is
self-evident. It bears the responsible for the confusion
plaguing Christianity over its 200 century history. This is
what the Scriptures say, The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his
calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints, (Ephesians 1:18) Was it the Apostles He
left in His stead? Peter? The Bible? How have our eyes of
understanding been enlightened?
Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of
Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.
For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but
men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy
Spirit. 2 Peter 1:20-21 †
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TOTALLY
HUMAN
And the spirit of the LORD shall
rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of
the fear of the LORD; Isaiah 11:2 KJV
Yes we are "Totally Human" but this
is not about us, it is about our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. Jesus Christ was and is totally human (Let it be
noted that He is totally divine as well.) These are the
inspiring words of the Apostle John, And the Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of
grace and truth. John 1:14. He humiliated himself by
becoming flesh. The Son of God, none other, none less, was
manifested IN THE FLESH. (1 Timothy 3:16) What a mysterious,
magnificent, marvelous wonder that was. "The marvelous
thing," Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary states, "is
that in Jesus, God Himself began to live a fully human life.
As the apostle Paul declared, "In Him dwells all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col 2:9). The capacity of
Jesus to reveal God to us and to bring salvation depends
upon His being fully God and fully man at the same
time."
He was the perfect example of human
potential, in the form of a servant, in the likeness of men.
Differing only that He was without sin He. made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men: Philipians 2:7
Humiliated, He was what Adam could have chosen to become.
Perfectly constituted, man was made to have dominion over
the works of God. Sin took most of his dignity and much of
his dominion. Jesus remains the perfect man. His life, His
mortal life shows us what we could have been and what we
will become.
It is recorded in 1 Timothy 2:5-6,
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for
all, to be testified in due time To atone for our sins,
He had to be totally human. He was the perfect sacrifice. He
was the only possible and acceptable sacrifice. "The object
of the sacrifice," from Unger's Bible Dictionary, "is to
establish a moral relation between the man as a personal
being and God the absolute Spirit, to heal the separation
between God and man that had been caused by sin."
"Ultimately, this symbolized the necessity for man to
present himself perfect before God by presenting the perfect
one in his place (1 Peter 1:18-19). The true Lamb of God,
innocent of all sin, took away sin (John 1:29)."(Nelson's
Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
The life of our Lord and Savior
began and ended with miracles. About His miracles it
reported that, "He had supreme command over Nature; that not
only the winds and the sea, but the human soul and body
obeyed him, and in the striking words of the English service
for the Visitation of the Sick, that He was "Lord of life
and death, and of all things thereto pertaining, as youth,
strength, health, age, weakness and sickness." This is the
grand fact which the miracles establish" (International
Standard Bible Encyclopaedia,) About His ministry He said,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath
anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent
me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the
captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at
liberty them that are bruised, Luke 4:18
The requirements of the sacrifice
He was to become were for Jesus Christ to be totally human.
Yet, the full implication, for us is frequently overlooked.
We are acutely aware that His living sacrifice paid the
price and guaranteed us eternal life. We know that the
innocent blood of the Lamb of God reestablished our
relationships with God the Father. We are not so acutely
aware of the power by which our Lord and Savior performed
His miracles. There is a profoundly valuable lesson in that
awareness. How did He, incarnate, humiliated, do miracles?
How did He heal the sick, cleanse the leper and raise the
dead? According to the International Standard Bible
Encyclopaedia, "the miracles of the New Testament, whether
wrought by our Lord or by His apostles, reveal a new source
of power, in the person of our Lord, for the salvation of
men." That new source of power is the Holy Spirit. Jesus was
guided and empowered by the Spirit. Acts 2:22 suggests that
God worked through Jesus to perform miracles, wonders and
signs. That is the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them
that are bruised, Luke 4:18 KJV
Please note that, in the earlier
quotation from the ISBE, this power extended beyond our Lord
and Savior. It is recorded that Philip, Steven, Peter and
Paul performed miracles. Others, too, probably, weren't
recorded. They "performed" miracles in the sense that they
were the actors. The power behind the action was the Spirit
of the Lord. Now, did Jesus love God? Was He devoted to God?
Did Jesus do His will? Did those miracles bring glory to God
the Father? "Yes, yes," you say, "yes, yes." There it is,
then. Remember this the next time you ask for a healing or a
miracle. We cannot approach the perfection of Jesus Christ.
Neither could Philip, Stephen, Peter or Paul but they loved
Him and gave their lives to Him. They strove to do His will
and glorify His Holy name. And to the degree they did so,
much like Peter stepping out of the boat, their efforts were
fruitful. Sanctified lives with an eye single to the glory
of God the Father can move mountains.
Christians are to walk defended,
protected, comforted, instructed and directed by Him. It is
He who makes us a "Royal Priesthood" It is through His
empowerment that we are to do even greater works than Jesus
Christ Himself. Through the Holy Spirit, we are to, shew
forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvellous light 1 Peter 2:9 Listen to what we
are to become, you also, as living stones, are being built
up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:5 Jesus Christ now sits at God's right hand as our
intercessor and advocate. In His stead, He sent the Holy
Spirit.
†
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IN ITS FULLNESS
(COL.
1:25)
Are you receiving the fullness of the Gospel? Are you
aware of the full fruits of the Spirit? In his letter to the
Galatians, Paul speaks of the fruit of the Spirit, "... the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against
such there is no law." (Galalatians 5:22-23) The Holy Spirit
is also our teacher and our comforter
(John
14:16, 14:26).
He reveals the deep things of God
(1
Corinthians 2:10) and the mystery of Christ
(Ephesians
3:4). He was the energy through which Jesus resisted
evil and performed miracles. Now, He is willing to provide
us with knowledge and wisdom; fountains, rivers, of "living
water." In his book All the Doctrines of the Bible, Herbert
Lockyer writes, "If only the Spirit could come into His own,
lives would be rich in fruitfulness and fragrant with the
perfume of Christ. Realizing all that the Third Person of
the Trinity has for us, means the transformation of facts to
promise into factors of power. When Spirit-filled, life is
enriched, labor is empowered and the Lord is enthroned." (p.
59) That is why the question, " have you been Deprived of
the fullness of the Gospel?" Think of what life would be
like with Him in control of our lives.
If you are not benefiting from His presence, if you have
not been taught about Him and encouraged to invite Him into
your life, you have been deprived of the fullness of the
Gospel. Lockyer quotes Professor B. Warfield in offering a
possible answer to this shortcoming, "The Holy Spirit - a
theme higher than which none can occupy the attention of the
Christian … only a spiritually-minded church provides a
soil in which a literature of the Spirit can grow." (p. 59).
Take note of Warfield's one comment, "a theme higher than
which none can occupy." Nothing is more important or
essential than the understanding of the workings of the Holy
Spirit.
Now, listen to this, "but whoever drinks of the water
that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that
I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water
springing up into everlasting
life." John
4:14 Then read this, "…the 'water' that Christ
gives-- spiritual life-- is struck out of the very depths of
our being, making the soul not a cistern, for holding water
poured into it from without, but a fountain …springing,
gushing, bubbling up and flowing forth from within us, ever
fresh, ever living. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit as the
Spirit of Christ is the secret of this life, with all its
enduring energies and satisfactions, as is expressly said
<John
7:37-39>. 'Never thirsting,' then, just means that
such souls have the supplies at home. It is an internal
well, 'springing up into everlasting life'-- by which words
our Lord carries the thoughts up from the eternal freshness
and vitality of these waters in us to the great ocean in
which they have their confluence. `There, ' says devout
Bengel, `may I arrive! '" (from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
Commentary)
When you were becoming a Christian, did your preparatory
instruct you in the Holy Spirit? Recall the preparation for
your baptism, was anything said about receiving the Holy
Spirit? What about sermons from the pulpit? Bible-study
lessons? At what point, were you introduced to the Holy
Spirit? When were you encouraged to expect His presence in
your life? Is there an emphasis on the importance of the
promise of His presence? If not, who is supposed to guide
your life? Who is to encourage you? From whom are you
receiving your inspirational energy? To whom do you turn for
comfort? What is your source of joy? Have you been deprived
of the fullness of the Gospel?
How is it possible that, the second most important event
of a person's life has been overlooked? The first event is
accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. His
excruciating death on the cross and His resurrection assures
our eternal life. All that is required is to accept the
gift. We are, at that point, saved. There is nothing else
required.
But, remember, His resurrection was not the end of Jesus'
ministry. Nor is it the end of our spiritual journey. Many
Christian denominations finish their ceremonial celebrations
with Easter. "He is risen. He is risen indeed." is the cry.
His resurrection is the beginning of the second phase of His
teachings culminating in His ascension. In His resurrection,
Jesus heartened and united a disheartened band of followers.
Many saw Him and testified to His being raised from the
dead. For forty days Jesus walked among His followers proof,
in His resurrection, that He was the Son of God. Proof that
we would triumph over death. Jesus brother, James, became a
believer. Perhaps Paul in his writing to the Corinthians
said it best, "And if Christ be not risen, then is our
preaching vain, and your faith is also vain."
1
Cor 15:14 The resurrection was the assurance that our
salvation is accomplished and our faith is not in vain. In
writing to the Colossians, Paul encourages us to set new
goals, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things
which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of
God." Colossians
3:1 And in the following verse, he tells them to find
new meaning in life, "Set your affection on things above,
not on things on the earth." Colossians 3:2
With the work of redemption He was not yet finished. If
our affections are to be set on things above, if we are to
seek those things above as Paul commanded, more had to be
done. If life is to be lived in its fullness and we are to
receive the Word in its fullness, Christ had to depart. He
said, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient
for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him
unto you." John 16:7 Here is the fullness of the Gospel.
Upon His ascension, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in the
hearts of all believers. Everything we are to do as His
chosen people, hinges upon the Holy Spirit. Jesus could only
be with a few followers in a few places. The Holy Spirit can
be with everyone, everywhere. We now enjoy the presence of
the Holy Spirit in our lives. We now are the beneficiaries
of the gifts of the Holy Spirit
Lockyer, All the Doctrines of the Bible (p. 102), writes,
"Fullness … suggests a permanent position, a habitual
abiding condition. Barnabas and Stephen are spoken of as
being 'full of the Holy Spirit.' Christ also, was full of
the Spirit. He received the Spirit without measure. …
What believers should seek and claim as their privilege is
the habitual condition - always full of the Spirit. And this
abiding condition, being full of the Spirit, should
characterize every believer at all times and under all
circumstances." That would be the fullness of the Gospel.
That would be the fullness of life.
Now consider this, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in
the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of
his." Romans 8:9 (KJV). That is serious business. How is it
that so many of our churches seem to have overlooked the
fullness of the Spirit and deprived us of the fullness of
the Gospels?
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and
saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: John 20:22
†
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THE
NEW REFORMATION
The Lordship of Jesus
Christ
In 1982, Dr. Robert H. Schuller wrote Self-Esteem: The
New Reformation. In it, he spells out the foundation for his
worldwide ministry. Over the next several issues, this
column will present some of the basic ideas of his New
Reformation as they relate to discipleship.
The first is an affirmation of the central role the Holy
Spirit must play in our lives. It is a declaration of how
questions, conflicts and criticisms can be resolved through
faith and prayer. Most importantly, it is a statement, of
the focus for our lives - to search out the will of our Lord
and Savior.
We must, Schuller writes, begin to submit our theological
thinking to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Christ, the
"Eternal Word" transcends all else. He is the Word made
flesh. He must be accepted as Lord over everything.
According to Dr. Schuller, we must rely upon the Holy Spirit
to resolve theological disputes, not intellectual activity.
He states, "For unless Christ through his Holy Spirit
controls the believers in him and in His Word, we shall
continue to see his followers remain dangerously divided
over biblical interpretation." (p.45)
When contradictions and conflicts occur between
Christians, the first order of business is to"…to
search out the mind and will of our Lord.…" When
disputes over theological issues threaten to divide the
church and separate one from another, then "let Christ enter
our minds as Lord over all" He, through the Holy Spirit,
must control all that we do, think and say. Our first
priority, through prayer, must be to discover the central
concern in the mind of Christ.
We are an "I" centered culture. When we enter any type of
relationship, one eye is always on the return "I" can expect
from the investment. We are a "reasoning" culture. We
believe that, with enough facts, we can understand anything;
discover any truth. I-centerdness" results from feeling
inadequate and inferior. Only people truly secure in their
person-hood are capable of genuine caring and concern for
others. Those who fully understand the significance of the
event of Jesus Christ in the world have such personal
security. The desperate need to control and dominate, as
those who manipulate facts and reasons to fit their own
fancies are doing, is just one symptom of deep-seated
personal anxiety.
The love of God in our lives releases us from both "I-ness" and the
need to reduce God and His universal creation to our capacity to
understand. The renting of the veil at His crucifixion is what makes
each of us His disciples. We now have direct access to to the most
holy. We may enter where, previously, only Aaron could go. We are His
holy priesthood.
†
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