The Real Person is working
By Abraham Israel
How significant is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the Church and to the believers?
When Jesus left this earth he did not command the disciples to wait to build a church or temple, but He told and commanded the disciples to wait for the ‘Promise of the Father’, which is nothing but receiving the Holy Spirit in power. From this we can easily know that the person of the Holy Spirit is the most important participant and executive in launching out the work of God that Jesus has told us to do. He is the most important person in the Church. When Jesus promised the disciples that He will send the Holy Spirit for them to be a witness for Him, He not only promised them but also to us who have believed Jesus’ words through His disciples (John 17:20). So Jesus’ commandments are for all of us believers! Praise the Lord!
He also spoke about the Holy Spirit to the disciples and believers and said to them, that the world neither sees Him nor knows Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. Here He described the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth (John 14:16-17). In the same 14th chapter verse 6 Jesus said, “….I am the truth….”. What does this imply to us, it implies that we cannot know Jesus the truth without the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus also said in John 8:32, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free”. This is the reason why most of the body of Christ is in bondage and is extremely suffering is because they have neglected this most important truth of the teaching about the Holy Spirit. This is also the reason why so many believers in today’s churches are completely influenced by the lies that come from the world system of governance which has made them feeble and weak against its evil influence. If Jesus took such a care to explain and teach about the Holy Spirit in relationship to Himself and His [Jesus’] future relationship with the Church through the Holy Spirit in the future building of the church, my question to you is, how can the church neglect it as something optional and still expect to stay free from bondage of the evil one and be powerful against him. How can the church neglect such an important teaching and expect the gospel to be preached in all the world. Absolutely impossible without Him.
So the church [i.e. the body of Christ] should stop playing games wit
h God and should allow the Holy Spirit to work in our midst as He wills. When we do this the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of truth will reveal all of Jesus in His fulness to His church. And He will empower the church to do and teach all that Jesus has instructed His apostles and disciples as in the first century two thousand years ago (1 Cor 12:11). Without the Holy Spirit there will be no liberty inside the church because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit who releases the Heavenly liberty in the church’s spiritual atmosphere and will bring the church in to the glorious liberty of the children of God (2 Cor 3:17; Rom 8:21). This is the reason many are playing churchianity and maintain their religiosity without the liberty of the Holy Spirit.
The bottom line is God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). If anybody will allow the Holy Spirit to take His place in the body of Christ, the latter rain revival will come mightily upon the earth (Zech 10:1; Isaiah 32:15; Hosea 6:3). Jesus will always come to His people like a rain poured upon a dry ground, if they seek after Him though the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord!
If we obediently welcome the Holy Spirit in to our lives and our churches, we will not be lamenting to God at least in the coming outpouring like the prophet Jeremiah lamented for His nation of Israel saying, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved!” (Jer 8:20). Hence the conclusion of the whole matter is that the Holy Spirit is the most significant person to the church and to the believers. If only we are hungry and thirsty for more of the Holy Spirit in our lives and Churches, only then we will ultimately find the truth of Jesus which will set us free and will take us in to the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Did the Holy Spirit function differently in the Old Testament?
The Holy Spirit never worked differently in the Old Testament because the Holy Spirit is God and He has said in His word, “For I am the LORD, I do not change….” (Malachi 3:6). But the Holy Spirit used different plans and strategies to fulfill God’s timetable. He empowered the chosen men of God in the Old Testament and used them in the physical realm mostly, all because He wanted to fulfill God’s timetable which was only for the nation of Israel through which God planned to bring the Savior of the whole world (Eph 2:11-12; Rom 11:15, 25; John 4:22). In the Old Testament, the war against Satan was physical as Satan concealed His identity. So only if you take note of it in the Bible, you can see that the word Satan was used only on few occasions or 3 times approximately. When the fullness of time had come in the timetable of God, God who spoke through the prophets in the times past [i.e. O.T Times], sent His son in to the world to purge us from our sins [past, present and future] (Heb 1:1-3).
The Holy Spirit was the one who took Jesus from heaven and placed him in the womb of Mary and the rest is history as God has fulfilled His plans through Him. The Holy Spirit was the same, and is the same and will be the same because He is not an influence but He is the Divine 3rd person of the Trinity.
In the New Testament because of what Jesus has done for us, the Holy Spirit can now stay in us and will be with us “even until the end of the age” as promised by Jesus (John 14:17; Matt 28:20). So it is a great privilege to know and experience the third person of the trinity deeper than the prophets and saints experienced Him in the Old Testament because Jesus has made it possible for us in the New Testament with which we base our relationship with God (2 Cor 3:8-9, 18; 13:14; Matt 11:11). In the New Testament the Holy Spirit uses us in the Spiritual realm against the forces of darkness which are our real enemies which work against God and us through influencing people’s state of mind in a wrong way. In reality unbelieving people are used as pawns in the hands of Satan and his evil demons (2 Cor 10:3-6; Eph 6:12).
There are various ways in which the Holy Spirit relates to us,
1) The Holy Spirit is in us – to guide us with His Wisdom (Gen 41:38-39; Deut 34:9; Dan 4:8, 9; John 14:17).
2) The Holy Spirit is with us – to protect us from all harms and dangers (Ex 33:14; Josh 1:9; John 14:17; Heb 13:3).
3) The Holy Spirit is upon us – to make us a witness for God by empowering us to do mighty deeds (Judges 6:34; 11:29, 32-33; 14:19; 15:14; Acts 1:8; 4:8; 13:9-12).
He related to the men and women of God in this same way both in the O.T and N.T times as we have seen above, but in the N.T because of what Jesus has achieved for every believer by dying for them on the cross for all their sins [past, present and future], We in the N.T have assurance from God that the Holy Spirit will stay with us, in us and upon us forever and ever which was not the same in the O.T times (Heb 13:5; Ps 51:11;1 Sam 16:13-14; Isaiah 63:10-11).
What is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit?
Doctrine means the most important teaching in a religion. One of the most important teachings in Christianity is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit because He is the third person of the God head who connects us humans to the other two persons of the Trinity (1 John 3:24; 1:3-4;Eph 2:18). He is the God whom we worship through our intimacy with Him and He works along with us and through us (2 Cor 13:14; Mark 13:11). Now to us in the earthly realm, the Lord [i.e. the Master whom we relate to] is the Spirit (2 Cor 3:17). He is not an influence, power or emotion, but He is the very person of God who created us on the day of creation (Ps 104:30). He is our sustainer who prolongs our very life (Ps 104:29; Job 34:14-15). He has got intellect, emotion and will, just like any one of us. He is a person. He is a gentle man who is very sensitive and is the loveliest person in this planet earth. The Holy Spirit loves each and every one of us individually (Rom 15:30).
We cannot be saved by ourselves, it is the Holy Spirit who saves us and we become a brand new born again Christian (John 3:3,5,8). He is the same in essence and equal to the other two persons of the Trinity (Matt 28:19). Jesus Himself said that the words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life. It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing (John 6:63). In other words the words that Jesus speaks, the Holy Spirit quickens it in the now realm and supplies it to our human spirit which will in turn receives the life of God which is in it because the word of Jesus has life in it (Psalm 119:50).
The Holy Spirit is the one who transfers the life (John 14:6) [i.e. the eternal life] of Jesus in to our spirit man. The Holy Spirit never condemns a person, but convicts the person of His wrong doing! (John 16:8). What a great gentle man! He never forces anybody and He respects the decision, choice and the will of a person. The Holy Spirit is the one who is our teacher who makes us to understand more of Jesus as we ask Him to open our eyes and ears to understand His word (John 14:26). It is only through the Holy Spirit we can know about God as our Father and how he became our Father through Jesus Christ. We can make a decision to welcome the Holy Spirit in our life and enjoy a lifelong relationship with Him as you senior partner and your best friend. Ask for more of the Holy Spirit in your life and God the Father will give to you more and more of Him as you thirst for Him (Luke 11:13). The Holy Spirit will not speak about Himself but whatever He hears from Jesus who is now in heaven at the right hand of God, He will speak to you exactly those same words in your inner spirit man (John 16:13-15). Hallelujah! Will you ask for more of the Holy Spirit in your life, if yes, you are a blessed man to have Him in greater measure!
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When Jesus left this earth he did not command the disciples to wait to build a church or temple, but He told and commanded the disciples to wait for the ‘Promise of the Father’, which is nothing but receiving the Holy Spirit in power. From this we can easily know that the person of the Holy Spirit is the most important participant and executive in launching out the work of God that Jesus has told us to do. He is the most important person in the Church. When Jesus promised the disciples that He will send the Holy Spirit for them to be a witness for Him, He not only promised them but also to us who have believed Jesus’ words through His disciples (John 17:20). So Jesus’ commandments are for all of us believers! Praise the Lord!
He also spoke about the Holy Spirit to the disciples and believers and said to them, that the world neither sees Him nor knows Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. Here He described the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth (John 14:16-17). In the same 14th chapter verse 6 Jesus said, “….I am the truth….”. What does this imply to us, it implies that we cannot know Jesus the truth without the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus also said in John 8:32, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free”. This is the reason why most of the body of Christ is in bondage and is extremely suffering is because they have neglected this most important truth of the teaching about the Holy Spirit. This is also the reason why so many believers in today’s churches are completely influenced by the lies that come from the world system of governance which has made them feeble and weak against its evil influence. If Jesus took such a care to explain and teach about the Holy Spirit in relationship to Himself and His [Jesus’] future relationship with the Church through the Holy Spirit in the future building of the church, my question to you is, how can the church neglect it as something optional and still expect to stay free from bondage of the evil one and be powerful against him. How can the church neglect such an important teaching and expect the gospel to be preached in all the world. Absolutely impossible without Him.
So the church [i.e. the body of Christ] should stop playing games wit
h God and should allow the Holy Spirit to work in our midst as He wills. When we do this the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of truth will reveal all of Jesus in His fulness to His church. And He will empower the church to do and teach all that Jesus has instructed His apostles and disciples as in the first century two thousand years ago (1 Cor 12:11). Without the Holy Spirit there will be no liberty inside the church because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit who releases the Heavenly liberty in the church’s spiritual atmosphere and will bring the church in to the glorious liberty of the children of God (2 Cor 3:17; Rom 8:21). This is the reason many are playing churchianity and maintain their religiosity without the liberty of the Holy Spirit.The bottom line is God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). If anybody will allow the Holy Spirit to take His place in the body of Christ, the latter rain revival will come mightily upon the earth (Zech 10:1; Isaiah 32:15; Hosea 6:3). Jesus will always come to His people like a rain poured upon a dry ground, if they seek after Him though the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord!
If we obediently welcome the Holy Spirit in to our lives and our churches, we will not be lamenting to God at least in the coming outpouring like the prophet Jeremiah lamented for His nation of Israel saying, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved!” (Jer 8:20). Hence the conclusion of the whole matter is that the Holy Spirit is the most significant person to the church and to the believers. If only we are hungry and thirsty for more of the Holy Spirit in our lives and Churches, only then we will ultimately find the truth of Jesus which will set us free and will take us in to the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Did the Holy Spirit function differently in the Old Testament?
The Holy Spirit never worked differently in the Old Testament because the Holy Spirit is God and He has said in His word, “For I am the LORD, I do not change….” (Malachi 3:6). But the Holy Spirit used different plans and strategies to fulfill God’s timetable. He empowered the chosen men of God in the Old Testament and used them in the physical realm mostly, all because He wanted to fulfill God’s timetable which was only for the nation of Israel through which God planned to bring the Savior of the whole world (Eph 2:11-12; Rom 11:15, 25; John 4:22). In the Old Testament, the war against Satan was physical as Satan concealed His identity. So only if you take note of it in the Bible, you can see that the word Satan was used only on few occasions or 3 times approximately. When the fullness of time had come in the timetable of God, God who spoke through the prophets in the times past [i.e. O.T Times], sent His son in to the world to purge us from our sins [past, present and future] (Heb 1:1-3).
The Holy Spirit was the one who took Jesus from heaven and placed him in the womb of Mary and the rest is history as God has fulfilled His plans through Him. The Holy Spirit was the same, and is the same and will be the same because He is not an influence but He is the Divine 3rd person of the Trinity.
In the New Testament because of what Jesus has done for us, the Holy Spirit can now stay in us and will be with us “even until the end of the age” as promised by Jesus (John 14:17; Matt 28:20). So it is a great privilege to know and experience the third person of the trinity deeper than the prophets and saints experienced Him in the Old Testament because Jesus has made it possible for us in the New Testament with which we base our relationship with God (2 Cor 3:8-9, 18; 13:14; Matt 11:11). In the New Testament the Holy Spirit uses us in the Spiritual realm against the forces of darkness which are our real enemies which work against God and us through influencing people’s state of mind in a wrong way. In reality unbelieving people are used as pawns in the hands of Satan and his evil demons (2 Cor 10:3-6; Eph 6:12).
There are various ways in which the Holy Spirit relates to us,
1) The Holy Spirit is in us – to guide us with His Wisdom (Gen 41:38-39; Deut 34:9; Dan 4:8, 9; John 14:17).
2) The Holy Spirit is with us – to protect us from all harms and dangers (Ex 33:14; Josh 1:9; John 14:17; Heb 13:3).
3) The Holy Spirit is upon us – to make us a witness for God by empowering us to do mighty deeds (Judges 6:34; 11:29, 32-33; 14:19; 15:14; Acts 1:8; 4:8; 13:9-12).
He related to the men and women of God in this same way both in the O.T and N.T times as we have seen above, but in the N.T because of what Jesus has achieved for every believer by dying for them on the cross for all their sins [past, present and future], We in the N.T have assurance from God that the Holy Spirit will stay with us, in us and upon us forever and ever which was not the same in the O.T times (Heb 13:5; Ps 51:11;1 Sam 16:13-14; Isaiah 63:10-11).
What is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit?
Doctrine means the most important teaching in a religion. One of the most important teachings in Christianity is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit because He is the third person of the God head who connects us humans to the other two persons of the Trinity (1 John 3:24; 1:3-4;Eph 2:18). He is the God whom we worship through our intimacy with Him and He works along with us and through us (2 Cor 13:14; Mark 13:11). Now to us in the earthly realm, the Lord [i.e. the Master whom we relate to] is the Spirit (2 Cor 3:17). He is not an influence, power or emotion, but He is the very person of God who created us on the day of creation (Ps 104:30). He is our sustainer who prolongs our very life (Ps 104:29; Job 34:14-15). He has got intellect, emotion and will, just like any one of us. He is a person. He is a gentle man who is very sensitive and is the loveliest person in this planet earth. The Holy Spirit loves each and every one of us individually (Rom 15:30).
We cannot be saved by ourselves, it is the Holy Spirit who saves us and we become a brand new born again Christian (John 3:3,5,8). He is the same in essence and equal to the other two persons of the Trinity (Matt 28:19). Jesus Himself said that the words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life. It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing (John 6:63). In other words the words that Jesus speaks, the Holy Spirit quickens it in the now realm and supplies it to our human spirit which will in turn receives the life of God which is in it because the word of Jesus has life in it (Psalm 119:50).
The Holy Spirit is the one who transfers the life (John 14:6) [i.e. the eternal life] of Jesus in to our spirit man. The Holy Spirit never condemns a person, but convicts the person of His wrong doing! (John 16:8). What a great gentle man! He never forces anybody and He respects the decision, choice and the will of a person. The Holy Spirit is the one who is our teacher who makes us to understand more of Jesus as we ask Him to open our eyes and ears to understand His word (John 14:26). It is only through the Holy Spirit we can know about God as our Father and how he became our Father through Jesus Christ. We can make a decision to welcome the Holy Spirit in our life and enjoy a lifelong relationship with Him as you senior partner and your best friend. Ask for more of the Holy Spirit in your life and God the Father will give to you more and more of Him as you thirst for Him (Luke 11:13). The Holy Spirit will not speak about Himself but whatever He hears from Jesus who is now in heaven at the right hand of God, He will speak to you exactly those same words in your inner spirit man (John 16:13-15). Hallelujah! Will you ask for more of the Holy Spirit in your life, if yes, you are a blessed man to have Him in greater measure!
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