AFTER DARKNESS – COMES LIGHT! [THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OPERATING IN US]
Jesus’ Disciples had a hard time understanding how it could be a good thing for their Messiah – Jesus The Christ – to leave them and to send the Comforter back from Heaven, to take His place, and lead them into all understanding.
He said to the Disciples in the Gospel of John 16:6-7, “Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate(or Comforter) won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send Him (which means identical to ME) to you.”
HERE’S ARE SEVERAL REASONS WHY THE SENDING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BY JESUS – FROM HEAVEN – IS SUCH A BLESSING:
He REGENERATES US … which means to make us alive Spiritually: Turn to John 3:3-8, “Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You ]must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
And Titus 3:5, says, “he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.”
So, what does it mean to be Spiritually alive as a Believer? It means that YOU earnestly seek fellowship with God as well as with people who love Him; It means that YOU’RE highly sensitive to sin; And it means that YOU’RE someone known for your serious obedience to the Word of God.
He TAKES UP RESIDENCE in US … which means that He indwells within us: Turn to Romans 8:9-11, “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit, if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to Him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life, because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”
So, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the action by which God [Himself] takes up permanent residence in the physical body of a believer in Christ. Remember, in the Old Testament, the Spirit of God would over-shadow the person, and empower him/her with His anointing for a specific task, but would not necessarily remaining with the individual.
He BAPTIZES US … which means that He places us into a body of Believers in Christ: Turn to 1 Corinthians 12:13, “Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.”
He SEALS US … which means that marks us as His, which means that He makes us secure: Turn to 2 Corinthians 1:22, “he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.” And in Ephesians 1:13, “you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.”
It’s very important that YOU understand the purpose of a ‘seal.’ In the Books of Roman and Corinthians, when the Apostle Paul mentions the ‘seal’, he’s referring to an official mark of identification that was placed on an important document, from a ruler. The seal usually was made from hot wax, onto the document and then imprinted with the signet ring of the ruler. This was the official identification that the document was authentic and carried the authority of the ruler to whom the signet ring belonged. God’s seal concerning us, was/is the Blood of His Son, Jesus, that was shed on Calvary’s Cross.
He FILLS US … which means that He empowers us for life and ministry: Turn to Ephesians 5:18, “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,”
Being filled with the Holy Spirit isn’t a one time event, in reference to when YOU were saved: The Greek verb that Apostle Paul used in Ephesian 5, is Passive Active, meaning, even though, an event has started, it continues its work in YOU! Therefore, it’s “be being kept filled.” It’s the idea of keeping yourself constantly filled with God’s Spirit, EVERYDAY OF YOUR LIFE, as you yield day by day to the unctioning of the Holy Spirit. It’s what Galatians 5:16 is talking about, ‘walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
He TEACHES US … which means that He keeps us from being gullible to fallacy: turn to John 14:26, “But when the Father sends the Advocate (or Comforter) as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” And in 1 John 2:26-27, “I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. But you have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what He teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as He has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.”
When you combine these two statements of truth, from the Apostle John, what he’s saying is this: When You received Christ, there was an anointing that came with your Salvation; so, you don’t need false teachers coming along, twisting what you’ve heard and understood as truth, from the reading of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit.
He GUIDES US … which means that He shows us how to live the Christian life: Turn to Galatians 5:16, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” And in verses 25-26, “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”
He CONVICTS US … which means that He points out our sins to us: Turn to John 16:7-8, “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate(or Comforter) won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.”
He PRAYS for US … which means that He strengthens us in our weaknesses: Turn to Romans 8: 26-27, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.”
He ASSURES US … which means that He reminds us that we belong to Him: Turn to Romans 8:16, “For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” And in Galatians 4:6, “And because we[c] are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”
He REPRODUCES Christ in US … which means that He develops within us the characteristics of Christ: Turn to Galatians 5: 22-23, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”
He GIFTS US … which means that He equips us to serve others: Turn to Romans 12:3-8, “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, So it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”
And we know of the 9 Gifts of the Spirit found in 1 Corinthians 12:4-31, “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of
you is a part of it. Here are some of the parts God has appointed for
the church: first are apostles,
second
are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those
who have the gift of leadership, those who speak in unknown languages.
Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.