One of the greatest works of the Holy Spirit is revealing the new creation to the Church. We seem to hold onto the "dead man," instead of identifying with the new man. It's the Holy Spirit's job to reveal Jesus in all His glory to the Church (the Body of Christ) so that the Head (Jesus) has full control over the body. Imagine the natural body suffers a stroke and the Head is still telling the body what it needs and wants, but the body isn't responding to the given communication. If the communication lines are severed or out of order, then the commands of the head don't reach the limbs. There is nothing wrong with the transmitter, only the receiver.
John 16:13-15 (Amplified) says, "But when He, the Spirit of truth (the truth giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the truth (the whole, full truth) For He will not speak His Own message (on His Own authority) but He will tell whatever He hears (from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him), and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come (that will happen in the future)." Verse 14 says, "He will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you." Verse 15 says, "Everything that the Father has is Mine; That is what I meant when I said that He (the Spirit) will take the things that are Mine, and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you."
Everything the Father has is His (Jesus') and the Holy Spirit is to transmit the wisdom and knowledge of what the Father has, to the Church. We've learned so very little about what really occurred at Calvary throughout the years, that the Holy Spirit is exceedingly busy bringing revelation to the Church. We've mostly only allowed Him to transmit the fact of going to heaven when we leave this life.
There is so much that must be learned in these last days. Jesus said in John 16:14 (Amplified), "He (the Holy Spirit) will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you."
The revealing of what Jesus has, will be shown through the Holy Spirit and will glory and honor the Lord Jesus Christ. The new revelation is not given to "puff up" the Church, but is to glorify Jesus by it.
We've lost so much over the years by walking in what we think about Jesus, instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal more of Him. It's good that we haven't lost the truths that we have, but we need to allow the Holy Spirit to transmit the depth of this truth to us.
I'm not sure we will ever understand the fullness of what Jesus did, but we can understand much, much more than we currently do. Thank God for the revelation we have now concerning Calvary, but also Thank God for the further revelation we can have. Paul declared in 2Corinthians 12:1 (Amplified) that, "He will go on to visions and revelation of the Lord."
Even with the revelation Paul received about the new birth, the righteousness, the grace, the son-ship, the rapture and the other things he received from the Holy Spirit's revelation, he still expected to "go onto more vision and to more revelation about Jesus."
Only the Holy Spirit can bring the true revelation that Paul wrote to the Church about. We can read the Words that he wrote and agree that the Bible is true, but still not have the true revelation in our Christian walk and lives. Only the Holy Spirit can transmit this truth into our spirit. We can have a "head knowledge" of what the Word says and still not have it "revealed to our spirit."
Most of the world's population (at least in America) have heard about Jesus. We have church buildings on every corner. We have a head knowledge about Jesus, but the revelation of Him hasn't become truth in the heart or spirit of many. Again, there is nothing wrong with the transmitter, it's the receiver that isn't working.
Only the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of truth), the truth giving Spirit, can reveal Jesus to us. The revelation of the new birth and the Church that Paul received wasn't given to everyone simultaneously, only to him. When the Holy Spirit took him to the "Third Heaven," the Lord Himself transmitted directly into his spirit these truths and revelation.
2Corinthians 12:1-4 (Amplified) says, "True there is nothing to be gained by it (boasting), but (as I am obliged) to boast, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago-whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows-was caught up to the third heaven." Verses 3-5 go on, "And I know that this man-whether in the body or away from the body I do not know, God knows. Was caught up into paradise and he heard utterances beyond the power of man to put into words, which man is not permitted to utter. Of this same (man's experiences) I will boast, but of myself (personally) I will not boast, except as regards my infirmities (weaknesses)."
Paul speaks in these few verses, about his experiences after the road to Damascus. He was blinded by the glorious light of the appearing of Jesus and then he was healed of that blindness by Ananias in Acts 9:10-20. Let's read Acts9:8-9 (Amplified) which says, "Then Saul got up from the ground, but though his eyes were opened, he could see nothing, so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. And he was unable to see for three days, and neither ate nor drank (anything)."
It was during this time of blindness that Paul was fasting and taken to the Third Heaven and given the revelation we are still preaching today. He wasn't sure if he was actually taken bodily and said that only God knew that. He was given (by Jesus or God Himself) this revelation of the cross and resurrection and the full truth of what happened then.
We still struggle over what Paul wrote in the Epistles, but he said that what he heard was "beyond the power of man to put into words that which man is not permitted to utter." They crucified Jesus for the blasphemy of saying "God was His Father." What do you think they would say at Paul's revelation?
The Holy Spirit continues to bring light and revelation to the Epistles Paul wrote. And, men continue to not believe it and are angry when some declare to be "righteous before God" even today. We can say we believe what is written is the Word of God, then act like it isn't real to us. This is failing to allow the Holy Spirit to transmit what Jesus did for us, to us. It glorifies Him and honors Him when we believe. Only the Holy Spirit can transmit this truth to us without our boasting in our own self-righteousness.
The entire plan of redemption is only revealed by the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. His ministry as the One True Teacher of the Church, is where we're heading in these last days. Before the return of Jesus, we still have those even in the Church who don't recognize where we are in God's plan.
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