There's been much written and preached about Jesus and He's been the focal point of man's ministry. It's true that without Jesus, no one could be saved. Jesus is so much easier to teach, preach and deal with in men's lives because we can identify with Him as a man. Jesus was someone we can even envision with our mind's eye, because of His being made flesh.
The Holy Spirit, in Whom the ministry is now being revealed, is much harder for men to understand because we cannot see Him like we could Jesus. Each generation has their own ministry and their appointed time of ministry, but very little has been taught or revealed about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, even though without Him we will never know Jesus or the Father. The Holy Spirit and He alone, can reveal the things of God to the spirit of the believer.
Most teachings about the Holy Spirit are about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit found in 1Corinthians 12. And, most of these teachings have actually been wrong. We've heard many various teachings concerning the Gifts of the Spirit and have heard others teach that these gifts have "all passed away." If the Gifts have passed away, then so has He.
We taught these erroneously because we failed to let the One Whom we were teaching about, to reveal them to us. Most of the things we teach concerning the Holy Spirit were taught from a purely carnal mind and not from the Mind of Christ. Jesus said in John 6:63 (Amplified) that, "It is the Spirit Who gives Life (He is the Life-giver) the flesh conveys no benefit whatever (there is no profit in it) the Words (truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life."
We have almost exclusively omitted the ministry of the Holy Spirit from our teachings. When we teach about the things of God for the Church, we have all but rejected anything in His Word about the Holy Spirit. Even Jesus didn't perform any miracles in His ministry before He received the Holy Spirit at His baptism in the Jordan River.
Luke 4:1 (Amplified) says, "Then Jesus, full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led in (by) the (Holy) Spirit." We also read in Luke 4:18-19 (Amplified) that, "The Spirit of the Lord (is) upon Me, because He has anointed Me (the Anointed One, the Messiah) to preach the good news (the gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed (who are down trodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity). To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord (the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound."
Before being His baptism of the Holy Spirit, Jesus didn't perform any miracles (none were recorded). Because the Words Jesus speak are Spirit and truth, it would benefit us greatly if we allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth to us. 2Timothy 3:16-17 (Amplified) says, "Every scripture is God breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience (and) for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action). So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work."
Without the Holy Spirit's input, we only have what the unrenewed mind of man (the carnal mind) can devise from the Word. We've mostly centered in on the sin nature (carnal mind) of man rather than the righteousness that Jesus came to reveal. By ignoring what the Holy Spirit was doing in and through Jesus, we have centered in on the wrong thing.
John 3:17-19 (Amplified) says, "For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him. He who believes in Him (who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him) is not judged (He who trusts in Him never comes up for judgement; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation-he incurs no damnation) but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already (he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence) because he has not believed in and trusted in the Name of the Only Begotten Son of God (He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's Name)" Verse 19 goes on, "The (basis of the) judgement (indictment, the test by which men are judged , the ground (for the sentence) lies in this; the Light has come into the world and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light, for their works (deeds) were evil."
The Holy Spirit was sent to convict the world of righteousness through Jesus and to reveal Jesus as the Light in the darkness. The Holy Spirit is the only way to actually know the Father because God is a Spirit. John 4:24 (Amplified) says, "God is a Spirit (a Spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth (reality)."
You might ask, "What is reality?" Reality is the Spirit, not the natural. John 1:3 (Amplified) tells us, "All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being." We hold so many outlooks on the Word of God in today's churches, because as carnal minded men, we still see things differently from one another. The Holy Spirit is the only One Who can bring all things into reconciliation. When the Holy Spirit leads us, we all go in the same direction. He will never tell one man that he's still a sinner (even after being saved) and then tell someone else that he is righteous in Christ Jesus. He only speaks God's Word.
Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, man still focuses on the sins of the flesh and the old man, instead of the finished work of Jesus by the Holy Spirit. When we teach about being made the righteousness of God in Christ, the flesh (carnal mind) will reject that Word, but the Holy Spirit will confirm it. It's not only the teachings of 1Corinthians 12 that reveal the Holy Spirit, but it is the Holy Spirit Who reveals 1Corinthians 12.
As we share in the work and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, please keep your heart open to what He will teach us by His presence.
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