twoths

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Understand Who The Holy Spirit Is

Hebrew - ruwach ha kodesh

Greek - hagios pneuma

The Holy Spirit is the "representative" of the total character and nature of God.

A look at the original language of the New Testament reveals something very interesting about the hagios pneuma. Hagios comes from the root word hagos which means "awful". We often refer to the moving of the Holy Spirit as "awesome". And rightly so. The presence of the Holy Spirit should cause us to respond in "awe".

As we begin to understand the fullness of the nature, character and will of God and how He moves into our lives, we also begin to see that the saints (hagios)of God are intended to be his "awful" and "awesome" ambassadors representing Him as we walk and live as "salt" and "light" here on earth.

The witness of the early apostles bears this out.

"And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all in one accord in Solomon's Porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women." Acts 5:12-14

If we are going to have all that the first century believers had and do all that the first century believers did, then we are going to have to see the Holy Spirit as they saw Him.

In The Beginning...

The Holy Spirit was active and present at creation, hovering over the unordered conditions that existed before the earth was miraculously ordered to support human life.

"The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." Genesis 1:2

1. We need to begin seeing the Holy Spirit hovering over:

a. the unordered situations in our personal lives.

b. the unordered situations in our families.

c. the unordered situations in the church.

We need to allow the Holy Spirit to move into the disarrayed shambles that are created when and where rebellion provokes the hand of God and where sin allows for the collapse of the order that God intends for us.

In The Written Word...

1. We need to begin to see the Holy Spirit as the one who:

a. inspired the writing of Holy Scripture.

"All Scripture is given by inspiration from God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." 2 Timothy 3:16

"For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:21

This is important! Holy Scripture is not man's opinions or philosophies. The Holy Scriptures are a direct communique from the Throne of God to the people He has created and it is in our eternal and natural best interest to heed the things that God has said to us.

In The Old Testament...

1. We need to begin seeing the Holy Spirit as:

a. the origin of supernatural abilities.

"And Pharaoh said to his servants, Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?" Genesis 41:38

Joseph is only one among many examples who possessed supernatural abilities and exercised gifts from God to interpret dreams and visions and to foretell future events.

b. the giver of artistic skill.

"See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship." Exodus 31:2-5

Artistry and craftsmanship is a gift from God and needs to be treated as a special trust from him and used to his glorify.

c. the sources of power and strength.

"So Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God. And Joshua said, By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites." Judges 3:9-10

This was spoken concerning taking the promised land. God is our source of power and strength to face all of our enemies and the obstacles that stand in the way of us realizing the will of God for our lives and for the church.

d. the inspiration of prophecy.

"Then Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as leader over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul and they also prophesied. And when Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. Then Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is a Sechu. So he asked, and said, Where are Samuel and David? And someone said, Indeed they are at Naioth in Ramah. So he went there to Naioth in Ramah. Then the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah." 1 Samuel 19:20-23

These men were not writing and reading sermons. These men were overtaken by the Holy Spirit and were prophesying messages directly from the heart of God addressing the specific current issues and events of their day.

e. the equipper of God's messenger.

"But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, And of justice and might, To declare to Jacob his transgressions and to Israel his sin." Micah 3:8

One of the great casualties in our day is that we want the prophets to read our mail and foretell success and prosperity. But the reality is that God's prophets are called to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

In Old Testament Prophecy...

1. We need to begin to see the Holy Spirit as:

a. the cleansing agent of the heart for holy living.

"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgements and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be my people and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleanesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it and bring no famine upon you." Ezekiel 36:25-29

God is working through the agency of His Holy Spirit to do a work in us that will both change us and bless us spiritually and materially. Are we yielding to His work and receiving the benefits or are we resisting His work and missing out on what He has for us?

In Salvation...

1. We need to begin to see the Holy Spirit as the one who:

a. brings conviction.

"And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: of sin, because they do not believe in me, of righteousness, because I go to my Father and you see me no more; of judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged." John 16:8-11

Our job is not to condemn anyone. Our job is to live our lives focused on and centered in God's will. The Holy Spirit is big enough and smart enough to know how to convict the hearts of sinners without us getting in the way.

b. regenerates the believer.

"not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, throught the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." Titus 3:5

There is no good work, or religious rite, that we can do that can change us. It's all done by the Holy Spirit.

c. sanctifies the believer.

"But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth." 2 Thessalonians 2:13

To sanctify something or someone means to set it apart for God's purposes. Believers are set apart for the purposes of God. It's not our doing. It's His. From beginning to ending. The important question to ask here is, "are we are living as yielded sanctified vessels or not"?

d. completely indwells the believer.

"The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." John 14:17

"So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." Romans 8:9-11

Realize this. The same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead after three days of his physical body laying in a tomb is the same Holy Spirit who has made your body a place of His habitation and He desires to manifest Himself in you!

In The New Testament...

1. We need to begin to see the Holy Spirit as He:

a. imparts spiritual truth.

"These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." John 14:25-26

There is no legitimate excuse for ignorance of the will of God. We have the Word of God and we have the Holy Spirit to show us, to teach us, what we need to know in order to be effective in the kingdom of God.

b. glorifies Jesus.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, that works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My Name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." John 14:12-14

All that we do in life, all that we ask in prayer, needs to be done to glorify Jesus. Attitudes and actions that fail to glorify Jesus are not the will of God. The Holy Spirit will not honor them. Attitudes and actions that exalt Jesus, that elevate the will and purpose of God, will be honored by the Holy Spirit.

c. endows with power for proclaiming the gospel.

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8

There is a very focused point to the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in us. It's to make witnesses out of us.....witnesses of the power of God in Jesus Christ to save souls and change lives.

d. fills believer.

"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:4

There is a very definite "after salvation" experience where we experience what has been referred to as the "baptism in the Holy Spirit". It is both liberating and exilerating and should be sought by every believer. Though the Holy Spirit resides in us without this deeper experience, we are not fully empowered without it. Early church documents refer to "tongues" as the "signing seal" of the Holy Spirit. It was the custom of the second century church to put converts through a course of discipleship before they were baptized. At the act of water baptism new converts also received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and came up out of the water talking in tongues.

e. pours out God's love in our hearts.

"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:5

God's love in us overhauls us. It makes us look at the world and all that's in it from a different perspective. It causes us to see the needs and compells us to meet the needs. It causes us to raise our focus above ourselves and to see the hope that is ours because of what Jesus did on the Cross and because of the Holy Spirit constantly bearing witness to our spirits of God's plan and purpose for our lives and for the kingdom of God.

f. enables believers to walk in holiness.

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit." Romans 8:1-6

Contrary to the belief of some, holiness is not measured by the way we wear our hair or what cut of clothes we put on. These outward practices are little more than legalistic acts. Jesus came to set us free from the bondages of legalism and ritual. Holiness is a heart matter and that's something that only the Holy Spirit can remedy. And be sure, the Holy Spirit will never lead us into personal behavior or practices that are harmful to the spiritual welfare of ourselves or others.

g. makes intercession.

"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." Romans 8:26

We have a helper to help us pray the right way. It's important to pray in the Spirit (pray in tongues) in order to keep our own emotions from praying things that may be contrary to God's will. God has made a provision for us through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He makes intercession for us. Intercession means "falling into and with". That means the Holy Spirit is falling into the will of God and standing with us when we pray. Our petitions are carried to the throne of God and since we are praying in the will of God we know that He hears us and answers us.

h. imparts gifts for ministry.

"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills." 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

The Holy Spirit is working to distribute His gifts to members of the Body of Christ. It's important that every member of the Body understand what spiritual gifts he or she has in order for the whole Body to function properly.

i. anoints and appoints for offices of leadership.

"And He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. " Ephesians 4:11-14

God has designed a leadership structure for His church and this is it. Most modern churches fail to follow His plan and opted for other forms of church government that hobble the God anointed and appointed leadership. Where God's plan isn't followed, men and women of God are not free to follow God and often live in fear of offending someone whose signature is required on their weekly paycheck. How pitiful. God's leaders suffer. The saints suffer. And the kingdom of God suffers as a result of man-rule rather than God-rule.

j. strengthens our spirit and gives understanding.

"that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19

God desires that none of us be impotent believers. The Holy Spirit is our direct link with God and through Him we are able to receive everything we need in order to be vital and vibrant believers growing in the grace of God and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through Him we can know the will of God and be filled with the fullness of God.

There is an old hymn that was written after the turn of the last century that really captures the beauty of the truth that this writer is attempting to convey. Read it as a prayer and invite the Holy Spirit to visit you with His baptism.

SPIRIT HOLY

C.W. Naylor and Andrew L. Byers 1918

Spirit holy in me dwelling, Ever work as thou shalt choose;

All my ransomed powers and talents for thy purpose thou shalt use.

O how sweet is thy abiding! O how tender is the love

Thou dost shed abroad within me from the Fathers heart above.

Thou hast cleansed me for thy temple, Garnished with thy graces rare

All my soul thou art enriching by thy fullness dwelling there.

In me now reveal thy glory, Let thy might be ever shown;

Keep me from the world's defilement, Sacred for thyself alone.

Spirit holy, Spirit holy

All my being now possess

Lead me, rule me, work within me

Through my life thy will express.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES FROM THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW KING JAMES VERSION, THOMAS NELSON, INC. USED BY PERMISSION.

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