WBS.181
FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
THE HOLY
SPIRIT - I
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon
the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Elohim moved upon the face of the
waters.
Once we allow our souls to embrace the reality that
the spirit of Yahushua is literally inside of us; and we being to walk in the
assurance that we are the sons of IAUE, then the great Firstborn, the Messiah,
will begin to manifest himself in our lives in ways we can only imagine, today.
For
26 weeks we discussed the need for and the process to renew our mind. We followed that with 17 weeks of discussion
about the transformation of the soul. At the culmination of 43 weeks of study,
we arrived at the simplicity of the gospel; that it is Yahushua Messiah in us,
the exceedingly great and glorious treasure of IAUE living in us. He expects of us the reasonable exchange of
our lives for his life. He died for all
that all we who live should no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave himself
for us. That one simple decision will
result in a life that will transform the soul and release the spirit of Messiah
within us.
We
know that when Yahushua was born, his spirit was perfect, righteous, pure and
abiding in the light and life of his Father, IAUE; and yet, he did no miracle or
mighty work, he preached no sermon, taught no lessons, healed no diseases,
raised no dead, cleansed no lepers, cast out no demons until he received the
Spirit of Elohim at his baptism. Being
in right standing with IAUE does not mean we have power. It means that we are in a place where the
grace of IAUE enables us to do His will.
Even Yahushua could not do what His Father called him to do without the
enablement that comes through the Holy Spirit. IAUE equips us with what we need
in order to do His will; and what IAUE wants us to do cannot be done in the
strength and ability of our natural man.
(If our lives are not being marked by the supernatural, then either we
have not received the Holy Spirit, or we are making little or no use of the
Holy Spirit.)
WHO IS THIS HOLY
SPIRIT?
The
first place we see reference of Him is in the second verse of the Scriptures.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form,
and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Elohim
moved upon the face of the waters.
Notice
in verse 1, it is Elohim that created the heaven and the earth; but in verse 2,
it is Elohim’s “spirit” that is moving upon the face of the waters upon the
earth. The first time in Scripture the
Spirit is referenced, He is called “the spirit of Elohim.”
Let’s
look at the primary ways the spirit of Elohim is identified in Scripture.
Old Testament New Testament
The
spirit of Elohim:
14 times 12 times
The
spirit of IAUE: 26 times 5 times
The
Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit: 3 times 93 times
By
simple analysis, if He is the spirit of Elohim AND the spirit of IAUE; then
Elohim IS IAUE. Of course, that Elohim
is IAUE was no mystery to be discovered; but it is important for us to
understand this. IAUE is supreme.
IAUE is Elohim. The Holy Spirit is the spirit OF IAUE. The Holy Spirit is not distinct and separate
from IAUE any more than your spirit is separate and distinct from you. Your spirit is a function and element of you.
The Holy Spirit is a function and element of IAUE. When you speak of the Holy Spirit, you are
speaking of an attribute of the singular Creator of heaven and earth (Genesis
1:1).
There
are many other ways to which the Holy Spirit is referred in Scripture,
identifying some qualifying characteristic like, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit
of the Father, the spirit of counsel, the spirit of might, the spirit of power,
the spirit of judgment, the spirit of truth, the spirit of holiness. He is also referred to in terms of the
ministry He provides to the believer, such as: the comforter, the helper, the teacher.
The
Holy Spirit, by whatever name or title, is mentioned less than half as many
times in the 39 books of the Old Testament than He is in the 27 books of the
New Testament. Why is this? The Scripture does not answer that question
directly; but it is evident that men in the time prior to Messiah’s resurrection
did not have the capacity for a relationship with IAUE in the way that we do,
today. The Holy Spirit would come upon
people to accomplish a purpose and then departed. [We know from Messiah’s own teaching that you
cannot put new wine (the Holy Spirit) into an old wineskin (unregenerate man).] In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit coming
upon someone was somewhat rare; and when it occurred, the person upon whom He
came was distinguished as such from all others.
The Holy Spirit’s participation with mankind generally was unknown prior
to the resurrection of Messiah. Messiah
stated plainly that the world neither could receive the Spirit, nor see the
Spirit, nor know the Spirit. It is
little wonder He is not often mentioned in the Old Testament.
John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye
know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in
you.
In
one of his final discourses with his disciples, Yahushua alerted his faithful to
a coming experience for which they really could not be prepared. How do you
explain what it will be like when the spirit of IAUE comes and takes up
residence inside of your body? When we
read this verse in church or in our own personal study of the Scriptures, we
tend to fail to comprehend to any degree the great significance of what the
Master declared. The Christian church
has such a petty concept of the Spirit of IAUE.
This is what leads to such powerless living in the Body of Messiah,
today.
Yahushua
could have said it like this. “While I
have been with you, the spirit of my Father, the spirit of the great Elohim,
has been with you because He has been
in me; but this One who moved upon the surface of the waters in Genesis 1:2, this
One who has been the power behind every single miracle you have ever see me do;
this One who has given me words of such profound wisdom these past three years,
the spirit of IAUE Elohim is going to be inside of YOU!”
Is
that really the way you think of the Holy Spirit? Are you conscious of the spirit of the Creator
being inside of you? Would the way you
live your life change, the choices you make change, the words you speak change,
if you were constantly aware of the fact that the spirit of IAUE Elohim was
inside of you?
Did
you notice above that only three times is He called the Holy Spirit in the Old
Testament; and yet that is the most common name given to Him in the New
Testament? The word “holy” (qodesh
in Hebrew, hagios
in Greek) means to be pure, chaste, revered set apart. Because the
Holy Spirit was not yet given to man to live inside of them, men were not set
apart by the Spirit; thus He was not known as the separator of men. In the New Testament, when the believer
received the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, “the promise of the
Father,” they were set apart unto IAUE by His presence within them. Man becomes distinguished as being
consecrated to IAUE.
John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I
go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you;
but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Can
you imagine hearing this as one of the disciples who had walked with Yahushua
for three years? You have spent every
single day for three years by his side watching him heal the sick, cleanse the
leper, raise the dead, cast out demons.
You have even done the same things yourself operating within the hub of
his authority. You have seen him
confound the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the leaders of the synagogue, the rules
of the Sanhedrin, and the politically minded priests and scribes (which would
have been particularly enjoyable to watch).
Now, he tells you that it is better that he leaves you rather than staying
any longer with you. How could being
without him be better than being with him?
“If I go not away, the Comforter will not
come unto you.”
“Ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
Yahushua
had to complete the job for which he came.
He had to suffer stripes to take away man’s sickness and disease. He had
to die to take away man’s sins. He had
to rise from the dead to conquer sin and death.
He had to be exalted to the right hand of IAUE in order to administer
his last will and testament, the New Covenant; and he had to send the promise
of His Father, the Holy Spirit, to be a companion residing within his disciples.
Over
the next few weeks, we will be looking into the purpose and the ministry of the
Holy Spirit in the earth, today.
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
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