We've mastered the art of jumping to conclusions when it comes to God's Word. We tend to complicate what God has made simple enough so that a child can understand. If the Father wanted to make things hard to understand, then He certainly could have done so. A Being Who can speak an entire universe into place, would have no problem confusing us.
God went to great lengths making His Word understandable to His people. As carnal Christians, we have responded to His Word in the carnal realm. God, however, is Spirit and we must understand it by the Spirit. Jesus said in John14,15 & 16 that when the Holy Spirit came, He would lead us and guide us and show us all things that are to come. The Holy Spirit was to be, and is now the Teacher of the Church.
We have argued over things that are simple and have tried making them difficult to understand, like the speaking of tongues, for instance. If a man is born in Germany, then he speaks German. If he is born in France, then he speaks French. And, if a man is born in Spain, then he speaks Spanish. When a man is born in the Spirit, then he speaks spirit; it's really that simple, because it's the language of the spirit. We confuse the gifts of the Spirit with the speaking of tongues. 1Corinthians 14:2-5 (Amplified) says, "For one who speaks in an (unknown) tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands and catches his meaning; because in the (Holy) Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things (not obvious to the understanding). But (on the other hand) the one (who interprets the divine will and purpose in inspired preaching and teaching) speaks to men for their upbuilding and constructive spiritual progress and encouragement and consolation." Verses 4-5 say, He who speaks in a (strange) tongue edifies and improves himself, but he who prophesies (interpreting the divine will and purpose and teaching with inspiration) edifies and improves the Church and promotes growth in Christian wisdom, piety, holiness, and happiness. No I wish that you might all speak in (unknown) tongues, but more especially (I want you to prophesy (to be inspired to preach and interpret the divine will and purpose)."
Paul continues his teaching concerning the Gift of Tongues and the interpretation of tongues and the unknown tongues. He says that tongues and the interpretation of tongues equals prophecy. The unknown tongue (language of the born again spirit) is not God speaking to man, but man speaking to God. Verse 2 is where Paul says that, "One who speaks in an (unknown) tongue speaks not to men but to God." And, in Verse 4, we read, "He who speaks in a (strange) tongue edifies and improves himself."
The gift of tongues is God speaking through a person to His people (with and interpretation). The language of the born again spirit, is his spirit speaking to God. One of these is God speaking through you and the other is you speaking to God.
Jesus refers to the language of the Spirit in Mark 16:17 (Amplified) saying, "And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe; in My Name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages." Jude 1:20 (Amplified) says, "But you; beloved, build yourselves up (founded) on your most holy faith (make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher) praying in the Holy Spirit."
The above scripture in Jude mirrors 1Corinthians 14:4 (Amplified) which says, "He who speaks in a (strange) tongue edifies and improves himself." Jude says you build up yourself by praying in the Holy Spirit.
Genesis 11:6-8 (Amplified) says, "And the Lord said, Behold, they are one people and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do, and now nothing they have imagined they can do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confound (mix up, confuse) their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from that place upon the face of the whole earth, and they gave up building the city."
We discover in the Book of Acts 2:1-4, that God has started a new building project and it is called "the Church." The first thing God did when deciding to on this project, was to give the Church a new language so they could receive building plans from the Master Builder.
This source of communication was to be the language of the Spirit. It was a mystery to the natural man and the enemy, but to the believer it was strength and revelation. It was to be a language that would exceed the common language and limits of the mind and would reach into the depths of the very Spirit and wisdom of God Himself.
Another source of confusion in the Church is a result of lumping the second coming of Christ with the rapture of the Church into one event. These two events occur at different times and in different circumstances. We haven't been led by the Holy Spirit and have insisted on walking in the carnal mind. We have been cheated and have cheated others of their liberties in Christ.
This is the dispensation of the Holy Spirit Who is no less God than the Father and no less God than Jesus. The three are One in their fullness. Under the old covenant, God dealt with His people in His person. Then, the appointed time arrived when Jesus came as a Spirit filled man and the last Adam. He came to deal and die and be raised from the dead for the "new creation." When Jesus had fulfilled the death and resurrection on earth, He ascended to the Father. At the appointed time of Pentecost, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit came.
When Jesus was here on earth in His flesh and blood body, He could only be in one place at a time. Now, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, God can move and be in more than one person at a time. He can build a house and temple for His Spirit and presence in all His people simultaneously. This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Because we can identify with Jesus as a Man, it's easier than identifying with the Holy Spirit, Whom we cannot see.
The Holy Spirit is as real and tangible as Jesus is and was. We remain carnally minded without the Holy Spirit revealing the mysteries of the Father. The only way to know God is through the Holy Spirit. Man made religion has at least gotten us to the point where we have received the Spirit through the new birth. It has also trapped us at the infant state of this new birth.
I can now talk to God at anytime, through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the speaking of new tongues. 1Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified) says that, "When a man speaks in an (unknown) tongue, he speaks not to men, but unto God" and that "in the spirit, he speaks mysteries." Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, I'm not limited to my learned vocabulary, but to the unlimited vocabulary of the Holy Spirit. I can ask God for things my spirit needs, without my intellect even knowing I need them. Restoring a "common language" to the Church has brought about a new building program. Through the restoration of a new and special language of the Spirit, we can commune with God Who is a Spirit. We have one language, one Spirit, one Lord, one purpose and one kingdom through the Holy Spirit and our born again spirit.
The work of the Holy Spirit is to bring the power of this new creation to the spirit and life of God's children, by revelation through the Word of God. This work of the Holy Spirit is to take back dominion and to bring about the power of God, through the Church and the Holy Spirit. The light of the Holy Spirit comes to reveal Jesus to the world. We are to be a supernatural peoples by the very ministry and work of the Holy Spirit in our new lives. How can we ever hope to become what God has made us to be, if we aren't led by the Spirit?
The Gifts of the Spirit aren't as some have supposed, only for the early Church or the clergy, but for all those the Holy Spirit chooses to manifest them through as He wills. Why would He manifest the gifts of healing to someone who doesn't believe in healing? Mark 16:17 (Amplified) says that, "These signs will accompany those who believe."
No comments:
Post a Comment