The Holy Spirit Series 7

The Work of the Holy Spirit on Earth 2

We just celebrated the Resurrection Day a few days ago and what a glorious event it was indeed. All of Heaven rejoiced and all the forces of evil trembled and gnashed their teeth. I can imagine satan banging his fists and shouting seeing what had transpired, his victory was turned into defeat. The cheers had now turned into anger and frustration now that Jesus was no longer in the grave. For a believer the five most foundational days of faith, on which stands the Christian doctrine is the day of Crucifixion, the Day of Resurrection, the Day of Ascension, the Day of Pentecost and finally the Day of His return. I will talk now about the fourth day since that is from where we must begin in this topic ‘The Holy Spirit’s function in the New Testament.’

In The New Testament:

As we all know the Holy Spirit descended publicly upon men on the 50^th day from Passover. This day was also known as the Feast of Weeks. In scripture this event was prophetically called the Day of Promise. The Promise was made by Christ Himself in Mt 19:20 (Lk 12:12), Lk 11:13, John 7:39, during His discourse with the disciples however, Jesus alluded to what the scriptures spoke of in Is 32:15, Is 44:3, and Joel 2:28. The Disciples tarried in Jerusalem at the instruction (Lk 24:49) of Jesus just prior to His Ascension and this is what Luke is mentioning again in Acts 1:4.

There are a few reasons why the Holy Spirit was sent to us and these reasons maps out the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and the individual believer and non-believer. We will look at these roles one by one:

A.   To grant power: The last instruction that Jesus gave His disciples before ascending into Heaven was to tarry in Jerusalem for the promise. Only one reason was given for this wait and that was to receive power to be a witness for Christ. By the power received the Apostles witnessed Christ and His work on the cross until their end.  

What kind of power is this?

Many are confused as to the nature of this power from above. Well to simply put the power here refers to the Anointing, which means that it is an ability given by God to accomplish certain tasks which would otherwise be impossible to achieve by our own ability. It will not turn us into superheroes rather the man of God would actually be aware of his own limitations in ministry and would rely more on the Holy Spirit to get the work done. Jesus clearly said that the power was to make us into His witnesses.

What is implied by this statement?

Being a witness for Christ is not as easy as it sounds. The Greek word for witnesses here is Martus from which we have the word ‘Martyr.’ So, when Jesus said this what did He mean exactly: Is it to be a witness in a legal sense e.g. when signing a contract, or is it to be a witness to an occurrence like an eyewitness and finally in an ethical sense where the witness follows the same path that Jesus took to die for the sake of God’s purpose. When you consider these it is obvious that we are His witnesses in all three capacities. Many are all three but not all are martyred for their faith. We are most often ridiculed or even ostracized for our faith, which is the mildest form of persecution. However, in general everyone professing their faith must be ready to die for Jesus when faced with radical persecution. This is when the true nature of this power is revealed. Jesus taught His disciples not to fear those who can kill the body but to fear Him who can destroy the body and the soul in Hell Mt 10:28, Lk 12:4. No one knows the full details of their Calling ; it is revealed to us over time on a need to know basis. None of the disciples knew that they would be killed for the gospel, except Peter , but they were ready to die either way. This kind of faith is not normal. When Jesus died the disciples were living in fear but after they saw and spent time with the risen Lord they were completely transformed; Peter on the Day of Pentecost is a prime example. The power changes you. The Spirit man is empowered to lead the soul and body.

           

In Mt 10:16 Jesus said that He was sending the disciple out as sheep among the wolves. His warnings are clearly outlined in the following verses. Being a follower of Christ has its inherent dangers which I believe to be summed up by “And you shall be hated of all men for My Name’s sake: but he that endures to the end shall be saved” Mt 10:22. People will hate us for our faith. The Greek word for hate here is Miseó which means to hate/pursue with hatred or with detest. As I write this I am reminded of the ever increasing persecution that our fellow believers face today.  I am in no way trying to scare people but am trying to put things into perspective because these things are never preached or taught in churches today. I always knew that what I had learnt in church was somehow incomplete that’s why I pursued the matter with God.

A lot of people think that the power is to demonstrate supernatural gifts and the ability to supplant the works of satan in people’s lives. This is a fact that we are granted such a power but the teaching is not wholesome. Every child of God is anointed and under the anointing we accomplish His purpose. This could be at your home, workplace, your neighbourhood, your society; it could even extend to other countries. The point is; everyone has a part to play. Now comes the catch to having this power. The power is for function and it will demonstrate itself as we 'Go' for God. Go in the sense that we are ready to minister even in the smallest thing. Stephen is said to have been filled with the Spirit of God and he ministered to widows by serving when they came to eat! He would preach time to time too. Check out the sermon he gave that led to his death. What a message he preached? Where did he get such words and courage and how was he so articulate when facing authorities (who knew the Torah and were rulers) and not the average person? Stephen spoke with understanding and authority. His speech cut the hearts of those who heard him Acts 7:54. This impact and effect upon the heart is seen in Jesus's preaching as well. The power allows us to speak as God speaks and it speaks to the core of man and not his mind.

This my dear brothers and sisters is the power at work. It is not our ability nor our talents that helps us in the God's work. The mind and body follow the leading of the Spirit of God as per Lk 12:12. We need the power of the Holy Spirit for this to be a Spirit led work otherwise it will be a flesh led work. A flesh led ministry is HARD WORK! with a very low success rate. We are not called for a fleshy ministry. We are to minister as per His leading. We will study deeper into this Spirit led ministry later since there is lot of dynamics to it. I know you will be wondering how can you do a Spirit led ministry. I assure you I will explain it throughly as we progress. Right now I am laying the foundation to teach these topics which will follow. In our next session we will look at how the Power changes us. Till then God Bless.