THE HOLY SPIRIT – XIII (The Anointing of the Holy Spirit - 1)

WBS.193

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE HOLY SPIRIT – XIII

The Anointing of the Holy Spirit - 1

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Messiah Yahushua unto good works, which Elohim hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

IAUE is working all things after the counsel of His own will.  We, as disciples, have been invited into that process as active players.  It is by walking in the Holy Spirit that we facilitate what IAUE wants to do in the world. Our obedience always brings glory to IAUE; though it may not always be pleasant for us; but what does that matter?  We have been bought with a price.  We are no longer our own.

If you are a regular reader of this blog you will have certainly noticed by now that threaded through the past several series of lessons has been a consistent declaration that the present day disciples of Yahushua Messiah should be doing the very same works that our Master did before he ascended to sit at the right hand of IAUE.  No serious study of the Holy Spirit can bypass this truth.

Notice in our opening verse of Scripture that we were created unto good works. It was IAUE’s predetermined counsel that those who experience the new birth in Yahushua Messiah would quite naturally take on his mantle, the Holy Spirit, and continue to do what he started.

In the Scriptures, a “mantle” (addereth) was a “hairy” cloak.  We would call it a fur, today.  I would imagine you have seen pictures of kings (especially African kings) who wore a lion’s skin or leopard’s skin over their shoulders.  It was a symbol of their authority.  An addereth is also referred to as a “glory.”  For a king, a cloak of lion’s skin or leopard’s skin was impressive and the very sight of it spoke of power and authority; and it commanded respect; but for a prophet, the mantle was made of a more coarse skin, less visually appealing to the eyes (see Isa 53:2).  The glory of the prophet was not demonstrated by the sight of a majestic skin; but rather, it was uniquely associated with the anointing (the spirit) of the prophet and was evidenced by signs and wonders.  The mantle is especially associated with the prophets, Elijah and Elisha.

2 Kings 2:8  And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.

9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;

14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the IAUE Elohim of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

In this passage of Scripture we see a foreshadowing of the time when Yahushua would leave the disciples who had travelled with and abode closely with him.  Elijah (Eliyahu – IAUE is Elohim) asked Elisha what he wanted of him before he was taken; and Elisha responded, “Let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”  Contrary to all the teachers and preachers, today, who talk about people today receiving a “double-portion” of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, as if that would make them twice as powerful a preacher or twice as powerful in the gifts of the Spirit, this was simply the request of the first-born. The inheritance of the first-born was twice as much as the other sons would receive; but there weren’t other apprentices traveling with Elijah such that Elijah would have to dole out to various “sons” an inheritance.  No, there was only Elisha; and he simply requested to have passed down to him all that Elijah was capable of passing down to a son.

Elijah responded, “If you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so unto you.”  What happened to the disciples who were with Messiah when he left to be with His Father?

Acts 1:8 ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

The disciples witnessed Yahushua being taken from them, in similar fashion as Elisha witnessed the departure of Elijah. 

The mantle fell from Elijah as he was taken up by the whirlwind, and Elisha picked up the mantle and immediately did the very same miraculous work that Elijah had done moments earlier.  Note that in this story of Elijah and Elisha that the sons of the prophets, who were watching from a distance, knew that Elisha had received the spirit that had been upon Elijah because Elisha parted the waters.  He did the same miraculous work that Elijah had done. In the book of Acts, immediately after the disciples received the Holy Spirit (the mantle of Yahushua) they began doing the miraculous (Acts 2:43), the same works that Yahushua had been doing for the prior three years.  

It might be helpful to note that Yahushua, at this point, was no longer the only-begotten son of IAUE.  No, the only begotten son died.  Yahushua was now the FIRSTBORN among many brethren (Romans 8:29).  The Scripture teaches us that the Father gave Yahushua ALL THINGS (John 16:14-15); and that we are now heirs of IAUE and joint heirs of Yahushua Messiah (Romans 8:17). Yahushua received the firstborn’s double-portion inheritance from IAUE (and being the only offspring of IAUE, he received EVERYTHING); and we who are IN MESSIAH are joint heirs of that firstborn’s double portion. We receive everything Messiah has; which also means we can do everything that Messiah did, the way he did it.

There are two more important lessons in this story of Elijah and Elisha I want to discuss that relate to the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the demonstration of power He brings to the life of the heir and joint heir.

2 Kings 2:10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

When Elisha answered Elisha’s question (What do you want me to do for you before I go?), Elijah responded by saying, “You have asked a hard thing.”  This was not a hard thing to do for Elijah.  It was not a difficult request to fulfill.  No, it was something that was going to be hard for Elisha.  The responsibility of the anointing and the hardships it would bring from the world were not going to be easy for Elisha.

John 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.

2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth Elohim service.

3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

If you read the book of Acts, you will see story after story of the price that the early apostles and disciples paid for walking in the Spirit of IAUE. James was beheaded.  All of the apostles were beaten and threatened if they continued to speak in the name of Yahushua. They were killed, beaten, stoned and imprisoned. When Paul was converted, it took IAUE three days to communicate to him all the things he would suffer for His name’s sake.

Most Christians today seems void of any understanding of the spiritual world.  They do not recognize, as Paul taught in Ephesians 6, that our wrestling match (our inevitable close combat) is not with flesh and blood, but it is with evil spiritual forces; and as these demons influenced men in Messiah’s day to hate him and plan his death; so too will men influenced by evil spirits seek to do us ill if we will walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. [We must always be conscious of the fact that men influenced by evil spirits do not know what they are doing.  We must recognize that the blood of Messiah was shed to forgive all men of their sins and iniquity.  They already are forgiven and loved of IAUE; they just don’t know of their reconciliation provided by IAUE. We can no longer judge men according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:14-16).  We must set the captives free and show them the love of IAUE through Yahushua Messiah, no matter the cost.]

The second thing I want us to observe in our story of Elijah and Elisha is this.

2 Kings 2:12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

Elisha did not put the mantle of Elijah upon his body right away. Before Elisha took up the mantle of Elijah, he did not just remove his own outer garment; he rent it in two.  He rendered it useless to him. It was discarded, never to be worn again.

People, today, wonder where is the power of the Holy Spirit.  They academically believe what the Scriptures say is true.  They believe the Holy Spirit can still reproduce the works of Messiah in the lives of believers today.  They just don’t see it happening in their lives; and they wonder why that is. It is because they have never rent their own garment in two and cast it off.  The message that passes for the gospel, today, does not include repentance; and without it, we can never truly walk in the anointing of the Spirit of IAUE.  We cling to the world and hope for the glory of IAUE upon our lives.  It isn’t going to happen.

Elisha recognized that in order to walk in the spirit of Elijah; he had to walk like Elijah.  His life was no longer his own.  To demonstrate he understood that, he tore his outer garment in two.  Only then could he take up the mantle of Elijah. When he did, he immediately began doing the works of Elijah.

Today, repentance is the rending of our life as we know it.  Water baptism is the open declaration of that repentance.  This is why the proper order or sequence of events provided by Peter on the day of Pentecost was 1) Repent, 2) Be baptized, 3) Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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THE HOLY SPIRIT - XII (Walking in the Holy Spirit)

WBS.192

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE HOLY SPIRIT - XII

2 Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of Elohim, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

7 For Elohim hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

When we choose to walk in the Spirit, the carnality of our unrenewed minds is superseded by the direction of the Holy Spirit. Doing both (walking in the Spirit AND studying the Scriptures to renew our mind) is what changes us from glory to glory as the righteousness of Yahushua and the power of the Holy Spirit conform us to the image of our Father.

Walking in the Spirit involves; no, it requires implicit and immediate obedience to the Holy Spirit.  In essence, walking in the Spirit is like a collaboration of our own thought processes and the voice of the Holy Spirit.  We are free to contemplate and act on the things we are normally required to process and do up until the Holy Spirit intervenes with a different course of action. For example:  If I wake up in the morning and I begin to put on a pair of jeans and a shirt, and then I hear the Holy Spirit whisper, “Not that shirt, put on the green shirt.”  As innocuous as it might appear to be, we have absolutely no way of knowing how significant it might be that we wear the green shirt.  Immediate obedience to take off the shirt we initially chose, to put on the green shirt is called “walking in the Spirit,” and THAT is obedience to the will of IAUE.

Someone asked me this past week, “How can we learn to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit?”  I told them that the best and quickest way to develop a keen ear to the voice of the Spirit is to give instant obedience to it when we think we have heard it.  Do not question it.  Do it.  If it is the voice of the Holy Spirit, you will discover confirmation that you obeyed the will of IAUE.  If it is not the voice of the Holy Spirit, He will either stop you short; and you will hear a contradiction to it; or He will allow you to continue, and you will have confirmation that it wasn’t Him at all.  The thing is, when you are a disciple and walking in the Spirit is the life that you have committed yourself to live before your Master, what you hear will most certainly tend to be the Holy Spirit.  Your instant obedience to it will strengthen your ability to hear and discern His voice.

[Just to illustrate how such an insignificant thing like changing to put on a green shirt might be the will of IAUE:  There could be someone in deep depression or distress who tells IAUE if He does not prove to them that He exists and cares about their situation by having the next person they see be wearing a green shirt and jeans, they will end their life.  A person may have an emergency and runs to the store to get what they need to remedy their emergency.  Time is critical, but there is no attendant to help them find what they need; and they cannot find it on their own; so they pray and ask IAUE for help.  IAUE tells them, “A man wearing a green shirt will walk in the door in the next moment.  Follow him. He will lead you right to it.”  Or, a person in need of Yahushua might be drawn to your green shirt for any number of reasons and engage you in a conversation which results in their conversion to Messiah.  Realizing how many possibilities there are like this, even obedience to change shirts becomes apparently significant.]

Sadly, the very next day after answering that question, I was outside walking the dog. A car pulled up and parked right beside where we were.  At that moment, I heard, “Raise your hands to IAUE.”  I recognized it was the Holy Spirit speaking; but I countered with, “That driver will think I am nuts.”  I did not provide instant obedience. Afterwards, the Holy Spirit went through a similar list of possibilities for me.  In the following three days, I heard Him say “Raise your hands to IAUE,” and I did every time without a pause. Each time, His voice was quieter and quieter to see if there was a point at which I would fail to recognize Him and obey. Walking in the Spirit means obedience to the Spirit; not understanding the purpose of His instruction.  That may or may not be provided at the time or at a later time.  Understanding His instruction is not a fundamental part of walking in the Spirit. He IS the Spirit of Understanding.  He has no difficulty in providing understanding to us when it is relevant to the will of IAUE in our life.  [For a detailed study on Hearing the Voice of the Spirit, see posts WBS14-WBS18 in this blog.]

2 Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of Elohim, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

7 For Elohim hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

The Apostle Paul tells Timothy to “stir up the gift of Elohim.” Paul was referring to that moment in Timothy’s life when he imparted the Holy Spirit to him in the same manner that Peter and John had done with the new disciples in Samaria (Acts 8:14-17).  The “gift of Elohim” is indisputably, the Holy Spirit.  This verse has the only usage of the word “Stir up” in the New Testament.  This word (anazopyreo) literally means to stoke a fire…to knock off the ashes and blow upon the embers of a fire to cause the fire to grow and release its light and heat.  In its usage here to “stir up the gift,” does not suggest that the Holy Spirit goes to sleep; it means that though He is always hot; we grow cold.  An Old Testament picture of this can be seen in the Tabernacle of Moses where the priests were required twice a day to trim the wicks of the Candlestick (the Holy Spirit).  This prevented the fire from causing soot and ash and dark smoke from filling the Holy Place (the Soul of man).

We do not take vacation days away from walking in the Spirit.  We cannot opt to “do our own thing” once we have put our hands to the plow; and yet, it is the nature of the unrenewed mind to do just that; hence the instruction to keep the fire stoked in our life.  Until our minds are perfectly renewed, we are dependent upon walking in the Spirit to render perfect obedience to our Elohim and our Master Yahushua. Unfortunately, most of the church is content to do only that which their minds are renewed to do.  If they even have the Holy Spirit, He is of little or no value to their life.

Look at how Paul characterized the “gift of Elohim” in Timothy. He first tells him what it is NOT.  It is NOT a spirit of fear.  This word, fear (deilia), is used only here in the New Testament.  It does not mean fear in its contemporary sense.  It means “timidity.”  The Holy Spirit is not shy.  He is not timid; and He does not make us timid.  Instead, the Holy Spirit is a spirit of POWER, LOVE and a SOUND MIND.

Note that the number one characteristic of the Holy Spirit of which Paul reminds Timothy is that He is the Spirit of Power (from the Old Testament, He is the Spirit of Might).  He is not timid.  He is not impotent.  He is the conqueror, the manifestation of the dominion of the Kingdom of IAUE in the earth.  He is ability. No enemy can stand before Him. With such a spirit within us, how can we be timid?  We must shake off our carnal nature and allow the GREAT ONE to live through us, speak through us, heal the sick and cast out demons through us.  Where is there any room for timidity? 

Remember when the Peter and John were called before the rulers, and elders, the High Priest, and all who were of High Priestly descent and were threatened to no more speak in the name of Yahushua? They returned to the company of believers; and collectively they prayed:

Acts 4:29 And now, IAUE, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Yahushua.

Their response to the threat was not to be timid.  It was to be bold; and not just bold.  It was to be bold to demonstrate that the power of the gift of IAUE within them enabled them to heal the sick and do all manner of signs and wonders in the name of Yahushua.

What was the second attribute to which Paul reminds Timothy of the Holy Spirit within him?  He is the Spirit of LOVE.  This is a point that we have yet to address regarding the Holy Spirit, and it is immense in its proportion. We will only introduce the concept in this post, today.

1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that IAUE hath to us. IAUE is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in IAUE, and IAUE in him.

This could be called the litmus test of walking in the Spirit.  If we are truly being led of the Holy Spirit on a momentary basis, we will love.  We will not hate.  We will not judge.  We will not condemn.  We will not speak evil of others.  Love does not contain these attributes.  Though the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Love, we find in Galatians 5:22 that this love is regarded as a fruit of the Spirit.  He grows love within us.  This is not something that just happens overnight.  As we walk in the Spirit, the love of IAUE is planted, watered and matures.  In time we will discover our attitudes changing toward not only our brothers and sisters in Messiah; but also toward all men and woman and children around us.  IAUE is love.  That is who He is, and He is in us.

Finally, Paul tells Timothy that the gift of Elohim within Him is the Spirit of a sound mind.  This does not mean that the Holy Spirit gives us a stable mind or clear thought.  No, the Holy Spirit does not force anything upon us.  He desires us with a jealous love, that we would give unto him our entire being as a voluntary act.

James 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

This “sound mind” is another word that is used only here in all the New Testament.  A “sound mind” (sophronismos) means to be admonished or called unto moderation and self-control.  As a Spirit of a sound mind, the Holy Spirit keeps us disciplined to stay on track with the will of IAUE.

Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

IAUE is working all things after the counsel of His own will.  We, as disciples, have been invited into that process as active players.  It is by walking in the Holy Spirit that we facilitate what IAUE wants to do in the world.  Wearing a green shirt when we are told to do so; raising our hands when He tells us to do it; laying hands on a sick person or commanding a demon to leave; being in the right place at the right time; speaking a word that is perfect for the moment and for the audience.  Our obedience always brings glory to IAUE; though it may not always be pleasant for us; but what does that matter?  We have been bought with a price.  We are no longer our own.

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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THE HOLY SPIRIT - XI (The Spirit of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel and Knowledge)

WBS.191

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE HOLY SPIRIT - XI

Romans 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of IAUE, they are the sons of IAUE. 

We do not have a generic spirit from IAUE.  We

have HIS Spirit; and He wants fellowship with us.

I am regularly instructed by the Holy Spirit to remind disciples that man was created for one principal purpose.  Just as the things made by man have a specific purpose (i.e., a toothbrush is made to brush teeth; a broom is made to sweep floors; a car is made to provide transport) so are the things made by IAUE designed for a purpose.

If a man-made thing is used for something other than the purpose for which it is designed, it immediately becomes obvious it is not what it was designed to do. If I asked you to sweep a dirty floor and handed you a toothbrush for the tool to use, it would immediately become apparent that the job would be virtually impossible to accomplish with a toothbrush.  It also would immediately become apparent that sweeping floors is not the designed function of a toothbrush.  So it is, in the eyes of IAUE, that a man’s life is wasted doing that for which he was not created.   

Man has a designed function; and it is in the performance of that function that man finds his fulfillment and satisfaction. Man’s created purpose is to do the will of IAUE.  Man, however, lost his ability to perform that function in the Garden of Eden. When Adam sinned, he forfeited his righteousness, the moral perfection that provided the foundation of his ability to choose to do that which is right in the eyes of IAUE.  That ability was restored to man in the “new creation” (2  Corinthians 5:17) where righteousness is restored to man by the imputing of Yahushua’s righteousness to the believer.  Today’s post is intended to explain the mechanics of how man’s designed purpose (to do the will of IAUE) is functionally restored to him.

The Scripture tells us plainly that man becomes righteous in the eyes of IAUE, not because man has become righteous; but rather, because IAUE’s son has clothed the believer in his own righteousness.  Therefore, the believer does not behave righteously because such behavior is produced of his own nature, but rather, because it is the nature of the Son of IAUE.

1 John 3:5 And ye know that he (Yahushua) was manifested to take away our sins; and in him (in Yahushua) is no sin (no disobedience to the will of IAUE).

6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of IAUE was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

9 Whosoever is born of IAUE doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of IAUE.

There are two ways in which the believer does the will of IAUE.  The first way is by renewing the mind to understand what the will of IAUE is and then doing that (Romans 12:1-2).  Rev. Lester Sumrall once said, “To know the will of God, read the Bible.  To do the will of God, do the Bible.”  The second way is by walking in the Spirit, which leads us to do IAUE’s will instinctively.  By walking in the Spirit, we are not always even consciously aware of how we are fulfilling His will.

John 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Man does not become intrinsically righteous in the new birth, the new creation.  If he did, he would not need to have his mind renewed.  His mind would be instantly transformed by the force of righteousness infused into his nature.  Instead, man must rely on the leadership and insight of that which IS intrinsically righteous. He must rely on the Spirit of Yahushua and the Spirit of IAUE.

Romans 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against IAUE: for it is not subject to the law of IAUE, neither indeed can be.

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please IAUE.

9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of IAUE dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Messiah, he is none of his.

Many believers read right through this passage of Scripture and miss what it is saying.  This is due largely to the doctrine of the Trinity.  A Trinitarian will read these verses and fail to understand that a clear distinction is being made between the Spirit of IAUE and the Spirit of Messiah. When you don’t understand their distinction, you cannot understand their roles in the life of a disciple. The confusion results in ineffective results. Here Paul explains that it is by receiving the Spirit of Yahushua Messiah that we enter into the family of IAUE…we belong to Him. We are not even candidates for receiving the Spirit of IAUE until we belong to IAUE.  Once in IAUE’s family, we are to receive the Holy Spirit; and what does that produce?  “Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.” 

Being born again, alone, is not enough to enable us to be successful at doing the will of IAUE.  Why is this?  It is because without the indwelling Holy Spirit in our lives, our capacity to do the will of IAUE is restricted to the areas in which our minds have been renewed to understand what the will of IAUE is. In all other areas, we are still walking in the flesh; and “they that are in the flesh cannot please IAUE.”  Solomon tells us that “There is a way that seems right to a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25)  This is what an unrenewed mind produces.  It is not the will of IAUE.  Paul teaches us, however, that if we have received the Spirit of IAUE, the Holy Spirit empowers us to cease walking in the flesh.  How is that? It is by empowering us to “walk in the Spirit,” thus enabling us instinctively to do that which is the will of IAUE.  If we are led by the Spirit of IAUE, we are doing the will of IAUE.

This brings us wholly back to our study of the Holy Spirit.  Let’s look at some of the remaining attributes of the seven-fold Spirit of IAUE (which we have not yet discussed in prior posts).

Isaiah 11:2 And the spirit of IAUE shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of IAUE;

The spirit of wisdom (chokmah – skill/insight/wisdom)

The spirit of understanding (biynah – understanding/intelligence/insight)

The spirit of counsel  (etsah – counsel/advice)

The spirit of knowledge (daath – knowledge, from which is produced cunning and discernment)

We know from Paul’s teaching on the gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12, that the Holy Spirit manifests Himself through the believer through the gift of the word wisdom, and the gift of the word of knowledge. These are specific impartations of wisdom and knowledge that are intended to aid the disciple as he does the work of the ministry; but they are also things that are implanted in our mind by the Holy Spirit as we are simply living our lives day by day…things which direct our paths into the will of IAUE.

Notice in our verses above in Romans 8, that the objective of the Holy Spirit is to replace a carnal mind with a spiritual mind.  When we are walking in the Spirit, He is influencing the very thoughts of our mind.  He is imparting His knowledge, His counsel, His wisdom, and His understanding to us.  He makes us more than we are without Him.  Most disciples have never even contemplated how the Holy Spirit is momentarily (moment by moment) involved with WHAT we are thinking. When they hear someone say that we are to be led by the momentary inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that idea is usually waived off as an unrealistic expectation.  This is because they do not know who they are.  They do not think of themselves as new creatures in Yahushua Messiah.  They do not understand that they are the Sons of IAUE, and that life is not supposed to be what they are used to experiencing in the past.  Those days should be behind us.  We are to walk in the authority of the King and in the power, revelation and inspiration of the Holy Spirit at all times.  This is our heritage.  Anything less is beneath the dignity of a Son of IAUE.

Wisdom, understanding, counsel and knowledge.  Four out of seven cardinal aspects of the Holy Spirit deal with the mind.  Wisdom, understanding, counsel and knowledge are all attributes of the mind.  They are in their essence, just information lined up in such a way as to help us to know and to do the will of IAUE; to overcome a carnal mind.

We are to learn what will of IAUE is; then we are to do the will of IAUE.  We are to accomplish that in both ways available to us.  When we approach the Scriptures to renew our minds; it is the Holy Spirit who teaches us the Scripture.  It is the Holy Spirit that reveals the Word of IAUE to us.  It is the Holy Spirit who shows us in the Scripture what is the good and perfect and acceptable will of IAUE.  He does that for one primary purpose---that we might DO the Bible; that we might DO the will of IAUE.

The Holy Spirit is also the infuser of wisdom, understanding, counsel and knowledge to us as we abide in Messiah and walk in the Holy Spirit’s direction.  He makes His thoughts to become our thoughts.  He makes us instinctively to do the will of IAUE.  We may have no idea how, when we felt the need to turn left at an intersection instead of going through it, we accomplished the will of IAUE; or how giving some money to a stranger because we just sense it was what we needed to do may have changed his life or the life of hundreds of people.  When we choose to walk in the Spirit, the carnality of our unrenewed minds is superseded by the direction of the Holy Spirit. Doing both (walking in the Spirit AND studying the Scriptures to renew our mind) is what changes us from glory to glory as the righteousness of Yahushua and the power of the Holy Spirit conforms us to the image of our Father.

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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THE HOLY SPIRIT - X (The Teacher - 3)

WBS.190

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE HOLY SPIRIT - X

Isaiah 11:2 And the spirit of IAUE shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of IAUE;

There are those who would say they can’t understand the Bible.  They need to be born again and receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit of IAUE.  If a man has the Holy Spirit, he does not need to be taught of man.  If one has the Holy Spirit in his/her life, their intellectual ability or lack thereof is not relevant to understanding Truth.  That is the job of the Holy Spirit, to teach us all things and to bring to our remembrance the words of our Master Yahushua.

IAUE drew us unto Himself by revealing His Son to us as our Messiah.  We responded with repentance and submission to Yahushua as our Master.  The Scripture tells us that when we receive the Holy Spirit we shall receive power and we shall be his witnesses (Acts 1:8).  It does not tell us that once we are born again, we should wait and see who among us are “called” to become preachers or pastors; and that those with a calling should go to seminary and become schooled theologians.  No, the Scripture says the field is ripe unto harvest, now.  We do not need to wait to receive special training.  We are witnesses, now.

I want to discuss this matter before moving on in this series because it is important that we renew our minds regarding it.  This will help us participate more thoroughly in the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The contemporary Christian church has created the very thing which our Master hates.

Revelation 2:15  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.

What was this doctrine?  It is referred to as the “clergy/laity split.”  In other words, it made a distinction between the clergy (the pastors, bishops, elders, etc.) and the general congregation of believers. The “leadership” is distinguished from the general populace of the church as having greater access to the truth and to a more perfect understanding of the Scriptures.  In contemporary setting, it is the distinction made between the seminary trained preachers and theologians (with letters after their name), and the run of the mill believer who fills the pews on Sunday. To the schooled and studied are given respect for their training which supposedly gives them an advantage to understanding the Scriptures.  The natural consequence of this is for the common believer not to study the Scriptures and to just listen to what the better trained are telling them.  It would never ever occur to them to challenge what the pastor or theologian is teaching for they are deemed clearly to be better equipped to understand the Scriptures; especially if they understand how to read Hebrew and Greek.  (Just imagine what would happen if, during a televised church service, someone stood up and said, “Pastor, that isn’t what that verse means.”)

Here is the truth behind the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes.  Its sole purpose is control. It changes the church from being a living vital organism into a business venture; and it enables the “clergy” to manipulate the congregation to support their own personal objectives. It creates “jobs” for them, allowing the body of believers to pay for them not to work.  Their “spiritual” work is made to be perceived as worthy of the church’s financial support. The fact is, we do not need a man to teach us the Scriptures if we are listening to the Holy Spirit as our Teacher (1 John 2:27); and the lowliest member of the congregation may thus have keener insights and revelations into the Scripture than the heavily-schooled pastor. (There are many seminaries whose doctrinal orientation is wrong from the start; so the graduates of those seminaries are already founded upon theological and doctrinal error.)

The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes dumbs down the congregation and renders believers impotent to do the work of the gospel. Paul tells us that the ministries of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher is to train the disciples to do the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12).  It is the congregation that is supposed to be doing the work of the ministry.  We aren’t supposed to be paying church leadership to do the work of the ministry; but that is what the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes produces; and the result is, NO ONE is doing the work of the ministry.  We are all just learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:7) The truth is that we are supposed to be DOING the Word of IAUE, not just hearing it only, deceiving ourselves (James 1:22).

Last week we discussed the Holy Spirit as our Teacher.  I want to take a somewhat different approach to that subject now; and discuss an aspect of our Teacher that is a very personal.

Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong unto IAUE our Elohom: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of Elohim to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

One of the most wonderful aspects of the Holy Spirit is His desire for intimacy with us.  By that, I mean, He wants to be very personal with us.  He takes delight in revealing to us the secret things of IAUE and hidden things in the Scripture.  IAUE has indeed hidden gems in the Scriptures; and it is our glory to search for them; and it is the delight of the Holy Spirit to reveal them to us.  Some of these things you could stand behind a pulpit and preach as the Truth for everyone to know and understand and to assimilate into their lives.  Other things are just fun insights that you could not teach to others as “doctrine,” but they are wonderful things that He shows us to amuse us and cultivate that “personal” intimacy with us that He desires.  Let’s look at some examples.

Revelation 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of IAUE.

Now, we could study this out to greater detail; but it is a generally accepted idea that the “seven Spirits of IAUE” is just another way of saying the Holy Spirit; but it suggests that there are seven distinct attributes or elements to the Holy Spirit. It could just mean the number 7 is being used as the number of divine perfection, meaning that the seven Spirits of IAUE is just another way of saying the divinely perfect Holy Spirit.  Having stated that as an option, we recently have seen this verse in Isaiah.

Isaiah 11:2 And the spirit of IAUE shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of IAUE;

This is clearly speaking of the Holy Spirit; and there are seven distinct elements of the Holy Spirit being presented.  Now, let’s move on to a “personal” insight…a point of intimacy between the Holy Spirit and myself; something I enjoy with Him; but not something I would teach as a point of doctrine.  This is a “secret thing” He uncovered for me just to enhance our intimacy with each other.

1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that IAUE is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

When visible light is broken down into its component colors (as seen through a prism or in a rainbow, for example) we find it is constructed of seven different colors in this order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.  If we contemplate these colors as representing the attributes of the Holy Spirit in the order in which they appear in Isaiah 11, we have this:

Red                 = Spirit of IAUE

Orange           = Spirit of Wisdom

Yellow            = Spirit of Understanding

Green             = Spirit of Counsel

Blue                = Spirit of Might

Indigo             = Spirit of Knowledge

Violet              = Spirit of the fear of IAUE

If we contemplate this further, we can consider the primary colors (red, yellow, blue) to be the primary aspects of the Holy Spirit from which all other colors (orange, green, indigo and violet) are constructed.  That would suggest, then, that the Spirit of IAUE, the Spirit of Understanding and the Spirit of Might form the basis for all other aspects of the Holy Spirit.

Red and yellow = orange.  The Spirit of IAUE and the Spirit of Understanding produces the Spirit of Wisdom. 

Blue and yellow = green.  The Spirit of Might and the Spirit of Understanding produces the Spirit of Counsel.

Blue and green = violet.  The Spirit of Might and the Spirit of Counsel produces the Spirit of the fear of IAUE.

I don’t want to dwell on this and explain how I see these color combinations actually working as combinations of the Spirit’s attributes producing the other attributes; but you can see how interesting a conversation might ensue between you and the Holy Spirit over this.

Another illustration of a “secret” thing being revealed might be found in the story of the feeding of the 5,000 in Mark 6:34-44.  First, that number 5,000 only represented the adult males in the group.  It did not include the woman and children.  The disciples wanted to send them away into the nearby villages to buy bread to eat; but Yahushua told THEM to feed them.  They said that they only had five loaves and two fishes among them.  When the Master blessed the loaves and fishes, they fed the entire multitude.  Do you remember how much they collected that was left over from that event?  It was twelve baskets full of fishes and bread.  Have you ever wondered how they just happened to have twelve baskets? They were quite possibly the lunch baskets of the twelve apostles.  They had already eaten their own pre-packed meals, and it was probably their leftovers that fed the multitude. Despite their apparent selfishness, the Master refilled their lunch baskets after everyone else had been fed.

Now, this isn’t something you preach from a pulpit; but it is the kind of insight that the Holy Spirit might give just to make learning under His tutelage more of a delight.

We need to understand that we are in relationship with IAUE through His Son, our Master, Yahushua Messiah; and that it was IAUE’s great joy and expectation fulfilled to be able to bestow His Spirit upon us.  We do not have a generic spirit from IAUE.  We have HIS Spirit; and He wants fellowship with us.  It is personal.  It is real.  It isn’t an academic concept…unless, of course, you do all your learning in a Nicolaitane church.

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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THE HOLY SPIRIT - IX (The Teacher)

WBS.189

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE HOLY SPIRIT - IX

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

The Holy Spirit is the greatest gift IAUE can give to His children.  He does not want us to receive the Holy Spirit and become callous toward Him and disregard His presence within us.  He also does not want us to receive His gift and be intimidated by its power and capabilities.  He wants us to receive His Spirit and rise to the occasion, allowing the Spirit of IAUE to do through us what He did through Yahushua.  He wants the Kingdom of IAUE to be manifest in our lives everywhere we go, and to influence everything we do.  He wants us to be one with Him; and to understand what that means.

We are to be the salt of the earth, preserving righteousness within the society.  We are to be the light of the world, providing a living example of what righteousness looks like; and shining a pathway for all men to come to Messiah.  We are to be a people the lost of this world point to and say, “The Kingdom of IAUE is there…inside of them!” 

Salt and light are influences borne of the righteousness that is already inside of us who are in Messiah; but we do not preserve our society, nor do we shine righteousness until it is enabled to be released from our lives. The recent series we have done, Renewing the Mind and The Transformation of the Soul, ultimately have been dedicated to this objective; but this blog, and these posts, are just my words. 

Hopefully, you have sensed the Holy Spirit speaking through my words; but I make no claim beyond these posts being my words, written from the wealth of knowledge and wisdom and understanding that the Holy Spirit has taught me through the years. This is the next aspect of the Holy Spirit’s ministry that I want to discuss:  The Holy Spirit is our Teacher.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

When it says “he shall teach you all things,” this verse also tells us what the “all things” are: “and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

Now, while it is still fresh in our minds from the paragraphs above; let me ask you.  What does it mean for you to be salt and light?  What does it mean for you to be the manifestation of the Kingdom of IAUE; and how are these things worked out in your lives?  Is it because of how you act, or what you say, or is it the choices you make or the things you do?  How do you sprinkle your salt or shine your light?  Are you going to just sit in a pew and let someone tell you? Are you going to be content to read a blog and just believe what it says, or are you like many who just read the latest book that becomes the hot item in the Christian bookstore, and believe it because it wouldn’t be so popular if it were not true?  Where does the ministry of the Holy Spirit enter into your answer? 

James warns people against becoming teachers; because we have the greater condemnation (James 3:1-2). Those who teach, whether from a pulpit or from a book or a blog, have the greatest potential of offending others by their words.  That offense is not just turning people off from what they are saying because it disagrees with what they believe or suggests they make a change in their lives they are not willing to make; it also includes saying things that they embrace and make a part of their life; but they were the wrong words; and despite this, the Scripture tells us plainly that we are given teachers to help us grow up in Messiah (1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11, 1 Timothy 2:7, 2 Timothy 2:2, 2 Timothy 1:11, Titus 2:3-4, Hebrews 5:12).  You should never embrace the teaching ministry of someone, placing blind confidence in their understanding of Scripture and just accept whatever they say.  Even if you are receiving the confirming witness of the Holy Spirit to their words, you absolutely should take what they say to the Scriptures to confirm that what they are teaching is the Truth.  The people in Berea did not take Paul’s words for “gospel,” until they saw it in the Scripture.

Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Even though Messiah has provided for there to be teachers in the body; even though He indicates that we should all mature on schedule to be able to begin teaching others at some point in our own walk in Him; no one can take the place of the Holy Spirit in this ministry.

1  Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of IAUE; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of IAUE.

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of IAUE: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Notice in this passage of Scripture that the Holy Spirit is given to man to enable us to know the things that are freely given to us of IAUE; but if we learn of those things through the words of a man (a human teacher), that teacher first have been taught by the Holy Spirit.  Then he must communicate those things with spiritual words inspired by the Holy Spirit if we are to profit from his words; otherwise, we must learn of them from the Holy Spirit directly.  Why is this?  It is because the things which are freely given to us of IAUE “are spiritually discerned.”  It must first be revealed within our spirit; then that revelation will make its way through our conscience, to our understanding, and then to be embraced by our soul.  The natural man has no such process because his spirit is disconnected from the life and light of IAUE.

We have observed from the Scripture in recent weeks that the Holy Spirit testifies to us of the Master.  He takes the things of Messiah and shows them unto us.  He is constantly magnifying and bringing glory to Yahushua Messiah, because that brings glory to IAUE. The Holy Spirit has been given to us to be a constant conduit of the flow of the things of Messiah into our lives; and yet, most people sitting in pews on Sunday morning have never even received the Holy Spirit into their lives.  They sit and listen and go home and forget what manner of person they are (James 1:22-24).  What good is it to have a teacher if we never let him teach?

There are two things that most professing Christians would rather listen to fingernails being scraped across a blackboard than commit any time to doing.  That is prayer and study of the Scriptures.  Our opening verse for today’s post says that the Holy Spirit will bring to our remembrance the things that Messiah has said.  You cannot be reminded of something you have never heard.  If you do not spend time in the Scriptures to allow the Holy Spirit to teach you, then you have no reservoir of Truth from which the Holy Spirit may provide you with wisdom and understanding in your daily walk; or in those critical times when you need to know what to do or say right now.  We must spend time in the Scriptures, reading the words and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit in order to provide Him with the material to “remind” us at the time we need it.

Several times during the course of this blog, I have mentioned that the words on the page of the Scriptures are like watching an advertisement on television or in a magazine.  You can become extremely familiar with all the attributes of the product; but until you actually purchase and experience the product you only have the advertisement in our life.  If a person tells you all about a juicy steak dinner being offered by some restaurant; but he has never eaten the meal, but you have; you KNOW he is speaking only of the ad and has never experienced the steak dinner.  He can never describe the meal in the way that you can.

That is true of doctrine or any teaching you learn from reading the words of Scripture.  The words are vessels full of the Spirit of IAUE.  If you only tap the words and not the Spirit, you never acquire the product, and the Truth will not set you free.  When we read or study the Scriptures, the words on the page should serve as a platform for listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit to bring revelation of the things of Yahushua to our spirit.  The words without the Spirit is just academic information anyone can learn…even the lost can know what is written in black and white.  The words on the page alone is not what is not spiritually discerned.  The voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to us the meaning of the words on the page is.  The words combined with the voice of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit teaching us all things, is life.

1 John 2: 27  But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

There are those who would say they can’t understand the Bible.  They need to be born again and receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit of IAUE.  If a man has the Holy Spirit, he does not need to be taught of man.  If one has the Holy Spirit in his/her life, their intellectual ability or lack thereof is not relevant to understanding Truth.  That is the job of the Holy Spirit, to teach us all things and to bring to our remembrance the words of our Master Yahushua.

Frankly, this has been to me the most exciting aspect of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in my life for the past 42 years.  Since I received the Holy Spirit, it has been next to impossible for me to pick up the Scriptures and read more than a verse or two before the Holy Spirit is already opening up insights and revelations into the Word of IAUE; but then, I EXPECT to hear Him speaking to me, teaching me.  I come to the Scriptures as a student full of expectation that the Teacher will show me all things that my Master has for me.

The word for “disciple” throughout the New Testament is “mathetes,” which means “a pupil, a student.”  If we are to be disciples, we are to maintain a position before our Master as one who is ever learning; we must understand that all students, all pupils, have one thing in common.  They all have a teacher.

I challenge you to open your Bible to your favorite chapter of Scripture; and before you read it, say with expectation, “Holy Spirit, Sir, teach me and show me what you want me to see in this chapter of Scripture.”  Then humble yourself to your Teacher and read the Scripture with your heart attentive to His voice.  I suspect that the Teacher will absolutely amaze you.

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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