In previous session we completed the
study of the functions of the Holy Spirit in the individual life of the
believer. However, there are a few points that I have left out purposely such
as the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit; both of which operate in the
individual life of a child of God. We will definitely look into these when we
will deal with them under the topic of the Anointing.
Today we will begin to
study the Holy Spirit in a different capacity:
The function of the Holy Spirit in the Church
J. To bring unity:
“Behold how good and how pleasant it
is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment on
the head of Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the
dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended on the mountains of Zion: For
there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.” Ps 133:1-3
This is the key verse for us to study
regarding the unity brought by the Spirit within the Church. As most of us know
the ointment upon Aaron’s head is akin to the Holy Spirit anointing. As per
scripture any person chosen to assume an office must be anointed to do so.
David was anointed by the Prophet Samuel to be King. Every Levite was anointed
prior to joining the ranks to serve God. It was the initiation process to the
service for the Lord. The anointing is based on the God’s choice and not that
of men. We all know how hard it is for men to dwell and work in unity; egos and
complexes tend to cause a lot of friction. Love is the key lubricant to ease
the heat produced. One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit produced is Love. Truly
only God can bring about this emotion in men, that has no agendas of its own.
Bind us together with chords of Love that cannot be broken. Amen.
Paul exhorts the Roman church to
pursue everything that aid in peace in order to build one another in Rom 14:19.
1Pt 3:11 asks us to seek peace and pursue it, meaning that we must never give
up and seek the betterment of our brother/ sister. It is a continuous process
because each instance is a challenge in itself which the Holy Spirit can help
us overcome. To pursue peace is to seek it as the end result in every
situation. Peace again is another fruit of the Spirit. I believe that from the
day be are born again there begins a process in each of our lives, where the
Holy Spirit begins His work of moulding us into the image of Christ. Thereby we
begin to seek the things that are in the will of God. We become a part of His
great work according to the level of our submission and commitment to His
cause. When Gideon set out to defeat the Midianites many people joined him but
finally only 300 were chosen by God because only they possessed the right
attitude and poise. In the end the numbers do not matter but the quality does
and our role in this depends on our love for God and His people. The Holy
Spirit is there for us but are we there in readiness?
Another way in which the Holy Spirit
is bringing about unity is by teaching men and women the pure doctrines that
held the 1st Century believers together. The restoration of the
five- fold ministries is one of the ways in which God will bring us together as
mentioned in Eph 4:11-13. Paul speaks of endeavouring to keep the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace in Eph 4:3 as part of our walk, which should be
worthy of the calling of God and the Five-Fold ministry exists to accomplish
this very task within the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit gives the children of
God the necessary gifts to bolster their abilities and function in certain
capacities. This particular ministry is part of God's restorative ministry since it was
lost shortly after all the Apostles died. However, there are been a resurgence
of this work in the past 70 yrs. or so.
K. To Glorify Jesus
How does the Holy Spirit glorify
Christ? He glorifies Christ by talking what belongs to Christ and revealing it
to His disciples Jn 16:14. This ministry of the Holy Spirit is our life blood bringing
nourishment for our spirit. It is this function that gives us the Rhema word,
prophetic utterances, etc. It is the provision that grants us all spiritual
blessings, gifts and fruits. The Lord is glorified in our lives thorough these
and we in turn use them for the glory of God. This function is recipient
specific and basically works within the believer however each one receives for
the benefit of the whole body (Church) 1Cor 12:7. Whatever we receive from God
is actually His investment in us. We are required to be accountable for it just
as the parable of the 10 minas (Lk 19:11-27) and 10 talents (Mat 25:14-30)
dictates. The Holy Spirit will help us to minister these gifts effectively as we
begin to use them in faith Rom 12:6-8. When we operate in the gift of
teaching/prophecy etc. with faith the Holy Spirit will give us the words we
need to speak to being about spiritual edification because only the Spirit can
edify the spirit of man.
L. Gives
Birth
The Holy Spirit is the one who
convicts us of our sins and thus when we confess our sins He births us into God’s
Heavenly Kingdom.
“Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit
is born of the Spirit.” Jn 3:6
The word “Church” is transliterated
from the Greek word Ekklēsía, is a composite of the words ek, "out from and to" kaléō, "to call". The English word "Church"
comes from the Greek word Kyriakos, "belonging to the Lord" This
would therefore mean that the Church translates to mean “those who have been
called out from the world and belong to God.” The Bible tells us that God has
called us (2 Timothy 1:9/ Isaiah 43:1) but have you considered how we are
translated to His Kingdom?
“Who hath delivered us from the power
of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son…” Colossians
1:13
“The eyes of your understanding being
enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what is the
riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward
us who believe, according to the
working of his mighty power, Which he performed in Christ, when he raised him
from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places…”
Eph 1:18-20
We all know that God raised Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Now as per Eph 1:18-20, this same power was worked in us to raise us from the spiritual deadness to Life; thus translating us from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Jesus. This is the way in which we are born of the Spirit. Once born of the Spirit we are spiritual beings encased within this earthly flesh. This is what Paul the Apostle meant by putting off this tent in 2Pt 1:14. God has begotten millions of children through the Holy Spirit who will one day be revealed. Each one of us spirit born children have the mandate to speak of Jesus and His eternal work, which is the gospel (the seed of God). This seed has the potential for growth depending upon the heart (ground) it is sown into (the parable of the sower Mt 13:3–9). Those called by God are convicted by the Holy Spirit, it is in these hearts the word and the Spirit bring about new birth. What a wonderful work this is. We have so much learn and impart, if only we knew who we are and what is expected of us.