Tuesday, July 1, 2014

The Holy Spirit in the Present Age

Romans 8:
(8) So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
(9) But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
 
Romans 8 presents the victorious Christian life and the Holy Spirit is mentioned nineteen times in this one great chapter! It is impossible to live the victorious Christian life without the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must be grounded in what the Bible says about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the believer during this present Mystery Age. The Holy Spirit has worked in previous dispensations (Gen. 6:3) but I believe that He is doing more in this present dispensation than ever before.

Sadly, many believers are confused and misinformed about this doctrine. The reality is that most professing Christians just don’t study the Bible and among those that do, most do not rightly divide the word of truth. There are differences in the ministry of the Holy Spirit in different dispensations. Many like to quote Hebrews 13:8 and claim that God never changes in how He works. It is true that He does not change in His Person, but He does in His dealings with man.

For example, in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is never said to SEAL God’s people:
1 Samuel 16:
(14) But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
 
Ephesians 4:
(30) And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
 
Here is a simple overview of how the Holy Spirit works in the believer today:

I. The Relation of the Holy Spirit to the Believer
Every believer is in the Sprit and the Spirit is in every believer. This is brought about by five works of the Spirit.
A. He circumcises us – (Col. 2:8-11) Man is a tri-partite being (spirit, soul, and body, 1 Thess. 5:23). When Adam fell he died spiritually (separated from the Spirit of God), his flesh became corrupt, and his soul and spirit became stuck to the flesh. That is the condition of all that are born of the flesh. Upon salvation, Christ by the Spirit cuts away our inner man from the outer man. Our standing is no longer, “in the flesh”.
B. He baptizes us – (Col. 2:12, I Cor. 12:13) This baptism is just as spiritual as the circumcision in Col. 2:11. The word “baptism” primarily means “identification” and does not always involve water. This is a saving baptism and is not to be confused with Acts 1:5 (power vs. salvation, visible manifestations vs. none, prophecy vs. mystery, Christ the baptizer vs. the Spirit).
C. He regenerates us – (Titus 3:4-7) Salvation is not a reformation of the flesh but regeneration (new creature) by the Spirit.
D. He indwells us – (Rom. 8:9, I Cor. 6:19) All of the Spirit lives within every believer. The fact that He DWELLS in us (permanent residence) means we are secure.
E. He seals us (Eph. 1:13-14) – The Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we belong to God and our salvation is secure (Rom. 8:14-16). 

These five doctrines are not based on feelings and experience but on the word of God. They are true of every believer whether we know it or not. Many things happen upon salvation that we must learn about by studying the scripture. We have a STANDING in the Spirit that is unconditional and unchanging!

II. The Responsibility of the Believer to the Holy Spirit
Although the believer’s standing in the Spirit never changes, our STATE is conditioned on fulfilling our responsibility to Him. It is up to us if the Holy Spirit is going to affect our daily walk.

Galatians 5:
(25) If we live in the Spirit [STANDING], let us also walk in the Spirit [STATE].
 
A. Know about Him through His word (you can be deceived by other spirits, 1 Tim. 4:1)
B. Yield to Him by faith and obedience (Rom. 8:11-13)
C. Do not grieve Him (Eph. 4:30-32)
D. Seek to be filled with Him (Eph. 5:18-21). This is not an event with supernatural manifestations as in Acts, but a goal to press toward (Phil. 3:12-14). We are only filled to the extent we are yielded to Him and filled with His word (Col. 3:16)! 

III. The Results of the Holy Spirit through the Believer 
What can we expect when we are walking in the Spirit?
A. What NOT to expect
1. Signs and wonders - The sign gifts of the Acts period have ceased (1 Cor. 13:8-13).
2. Emotional high - I heard a well known Independent Baptist preacher claim that he gets “drunk in the Holy Ghost”. Many teach that “losing control of emotions” is evidence that you are filled with the Spirit. Yet, a fruit of the Spirit is TEMPERANCE! There is nothing wrong with strong emotions, but they can be deceptive.
B. What TO expect
1. Illumination to spiritual truth (1 Cor. 2:7-13)
2. Victory over the flesh (Gal. 5:16-21)
3. Fruitfulness (Gal. 5:22-23)
4. Communion with God (2 Cor. 13:14, Eph. 6:18)
 

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