FRIDAY, JULY 5TH 2013 - THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A LIVING PERSON One of the major heresies in the Church today has to do with the personality, deity and ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been so badly maligned today in the Church to the extent that many believers now simply regard the Holy Spirit as a mere subordinate, a divine influence, force, or anointing to activate, manipulate, control, or deploy as they wish. As a result of ignorance of sound and scriptural teaching on the personality, deity and ministry of the Holy Spirit, many believers today are not enjoying intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit or experiencing the divine ministry of the Holy Spirit. Your perception of the Holy Spirit goes a long way to affect, determine, or influence your relationship with the Holy Spirit. If you perceive or regard the Holy Spirit to be just a thing to possess, then you will always seek to control, manipulate, or use the Holy Spirit as your personal possession or property. Similarly, if you wrongly consider or view the Holy Spirit as a mere divine wind, fire, voice, anointing, influence, power or force, you will not reverence, obey, submit to, and relate with the Holy Spirit as you would to a living person. Rather, you will only be concerned about using the Holy Spirit to achieve your personal and selfish desires, goals or ambitions in life. The Scripture clearly and amply presents the Holy Spirit to us as a living and divine Person who possesses all the necessary qualities or characteristics of a living personality. While the Scripture employs diverse symbols such as dove, fire, wind, well, or river to represent and reveal the different dimensions, attributes, or works of the Holy Spirit, yet the Scripture clearly portrays the Holy Spirit as a living and divine Person to reverence, honour, obey, and fellowship with as God. Let us examine some of the personal characteristics or attributes of the Holy Spirit presented to us in the Scripture. First, like every living person, the Holy Spirit has His own will and mind. Therefore, He can choose, decide or determine what He wants to do, how He wants to do it, when He wants to do it, and who to employ to do it. The Scripture bears witness: “Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Rom. 8:27 NKJV). The will and mind of the Holy Spirit is always the same with that of Jesus Christ. The Scripture reveals that the Holy Spirit imparts or distributes His gifts to each believer individually as He wills (1 Cor. 12:11). You cannot force, push, or manipulate the Holy Spirit against His mind or will. Sadly, this is what many ministers of God and believers today are always striving to do. This is the major cause of their frustration. While certain prophets and teachers were ministering to the Lord in the church at Antioch, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." (Acts 13:2 NKJV). This shows that the Holy Spirit is a living person who can speak, choose, select, decide and call whoever He wants for whatever He wants them to do for Him. Unlike the early believers who yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit for they regarded Him as a living and divine Person who has His own will and mind, many ignorant believers today are always seeking to call, use and send the Holy Spirit on their personal errands as though He is their subordinate. Second, like every living person, the Holy Spirit has His own desires. The Scripture testifies: “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.” (Gal. 5:17 RSV). If you only perceive the Holy Spirit as a divine fire, wind, river, anointing or force, you will naturally not seek to find out what His desires are or seek to gratify them. The primary desire of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus Christ. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:14 NKJV). Third, like every living person, the Holy Spirit has knowledge and intelligence. The Holy Spirit searches, knows, and reveals the deep things of God. The Scripture testifies: “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” (1 Cor. 2:10-11 NKJV). Not only did the Holy Spirit possess divine knowledge, He also possesses the intelligence or ability to clearly teach, explain and communicate the deep things of God to us. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, "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 14:26 NKJV). "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:13 NKJV). Fourth, like every living person, the Holy Spirit has strength, power or might (Mic. 3:8, Lk. 4:14). The power of the Holy Spirit transcends all human power, for He is God. Not only does the Holy Spirit wield the unlimited supernatural power, He also gives power to those who acknowledges their weaknesses and those who humbly seek for His strength and power. Jesus promised His disciples: "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 NKJV). Fifth, like every living person, the Holy Spirit has emotions. He has the capacity to love and to feel loved (Rom. 15:30). The Holy Spirit can be grieved. This is why the Scripture commands: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Eph. 4:30 NKJV). Also, the Holy Spirit can be lied to. This is why Peter said to Ananias, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?” (Acts 5:3 NKJV). Moreover, the Scripture reveals and teaches that the Holy Spirit can be insulted and blasphemed (Heb. 10:29, Matt. 12:31-32). The Holy Spirit can hear, speak, or cry out (John 16:13, Gal. 4:6, Rev. 2:7). The Holy Spirit can groan, intercede, and help in our weaknesses (Rom. 8:26). The Holy Spirit can testify (John 15:26). The Holy Spirit can lead, guide and direct in the right path (Rom. 8:14). Jesus said: "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth...” (John 16:13 NKJV). Lastly, the Bible always uses personal pronouns when referring to the Holy Spirit because He is not an inanimate object or thing, but a living Person. Here are some instances: John 15:26 NKJV: "But when the Helper comes ... He will testify of Me.” John 16:8 NKJV: "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” John 16:14 NKJV: "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” Rom. 8:16 NKJV: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” Rom. 8:26 NKJV: “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.” Beloved, the Holy Spirit is a divine Helper sent by the Lord Jesus Christ to indwell and help you in this world. The Holy Spirit is not a mere thing to possess as your property. The Holy Spirit is not a divine instrument, weapon, power or force that you can use as you will or choose. Neither is the Holy Spirit a subordinate subject to your authority or control. Therefore, begin to reverence and relate with the Holy Spirit as a living and divine Person that He is.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 15:32:50 +0000
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