The Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood part of the entire new covenant. He is the One Who was sent to be the Administrator and Counselor of the finished work of Christ. We've had a very limited view of what the Holy Spirit has been sent to do in and through the Church. Mostly, we only viewed Him in connection with the Gifts of the Spirit and the speaking of tongues and not His ministry as the Teacher and guide of the Church.
It's through the Holy Spirit that the Love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts, according to Romans 5:5 (Amplified) which says, "Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given us." That bears repeating: The Holy Spirit has been given us! This isn't something that only a few chosen Christians have nor is He Someone Who must be earned by good works. The Holy Spirit is a gift, just like righteousness is a gift and justification is a gift. All these gifts came through your salvation, when you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
We've never truly allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal these gifts by His ministry. His ministry to revealing to the Church what Jesus gave us in His resurrection. Many in the Church have been waiting to receive these things when they get to heaven. The Holy Spirit's ministry is to bring the power and presence of heaven to earth. The first step to receiving these things is to acknowledge that the Holy Spirit is God. He is not Casper the ghost or something spooky and weird. He is God!
We consider ourselves "supernatural" people, but then get upset over supernatural things. I know some Christians who believe that healing is of the devil and that speaking in tongues is foolishness. How can we ever hope to know our Father if everything He is doing is rejected by His people?
Romans 8:2 (Amplified) says, "For the law of the Spirit of Life (which is) in Christ Jesus (the Law of our new being) has freed me from the law of sin and death." We still seem to focus more on the Law of sin and death than we do with the Law of our new being. We mouth words like new people and then judge ourselves by the old order. It's almost like we don't dare speak or believe that what the Holy Spirit came to do, is real.
Romans 8:15-17 (Amplified) says, "For (the Spirit) which you have NOW received (is) not a Spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption (the Spirit producing Sonship) in (the bliss of) which we cry, Abba (Father) Father!" Verses 16-17 says, "The Spirit Himself (thus) testifies together with our own spirit (assuring us) that we are children of God. And if we are (His) children, then we are (His) heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, (sharing His inheritance with Him) only we must share in His suffering if we are the share His glory."
We've seemed to have gleaned only the last part of Verse 17 about Jesus' suffering. Only the Holy Spirit can show us "His suffering." We think the cross was Jesus' suffering. If this is true, then Jesus' death on the cross is what we must share. The Word says that Jesus did this for us and not to us. We couldn't suffer the death on the cross, because we were never sinless or righteous enough to die for the world. This isn't suffering that we share with Him. This was the suffering He bore for us. The suffering He bore that we're to bear is the rejection of the people, the misunderstanding of the world and sometimes the Church, the separation from the flesh, and the sorrow over the unsaved.
Let me show you some of the sufferings we are supposed to be sharing as He did. There was a certain man in the Gospel of John 5:5 (Amplified) who suffered from a deep seated disorder for thirty-eight years. Jesus told the man to "Take up your bed and walk." The man did what Jesus told him to do and walked. The religious order, feeling as though Jesus was outside their authority, began persecuting Him, saying in Verse 16, "For this reason the Jews began to persecute (annoy, torment) Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath."
You will find that throughout Jesus' ministry, not all His sufferings happened on the cross. This suffering was on our behalf and the persecution was from our pride and disbelief. If you allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the difference to you between suffering as He did and suffering the cross, then it will be easier for you to distinguish the difference in suffering.
I've witnessed how in my Christian walk, that whenever you dare go deeper in realm and understanding with the Holy Spirit, then you begin to suffer by being put our of fellowship and being abandoned by others. There are currently many false prophets and ungodly men preaching lies and false doctrines. Many people are being caught up in these things because we haven't allowed or accepted the Holy Spirit as the Teacher of the Church. This is the time for the Church's greatest glory and the time for the world's greatest deception. Only the Holy Spirit can show us the truth of Christ.
Somehow, we've allowed the enemy to steal many things from our inheritance. Many have been deceived into receiving the world's idea of truth. Jesus said that, "When the Holy Spirit comes, He will lead, guide and show us all things that He (Jesus) has taught." Many believe that only includes the four gospels, while others read only the Epistles because Jesus spoke through and to the apostles. Only the Holy Spirit can show us the truth of Christ.
There's a big difference between man's idea of what Jesus has done and the Holy Spirit's idea of what Jesus has done. Man still wants to live under the Law and atone for his own sin by works. The Holy Spirit wants man to live by faith in His grace and receive the gift that Jesus granted to all who will believe. He wants us to understand that the old, religious order isn't always grace.
I know Christians who believe that if someone wears make-up or certain types of clothing, then you cannot receive the Holy Spirit. This is man's idea of "earning" the gift of the Holy Spirit by works. Acts 2:39 (Amplified) says, "For the promise (of the Holy Spirit) is to and for you and your children, and to and for all that are far away (even) to and for as many as the Lord our God invites and bids to come to Himself."
Notice how this verse says nothing about how or if you wear make-up or if you "earn" or deserve the gift of the Holy Spirit. It says that the Holy Spirit is to as many as the Lord bids and invites to come to Him. How can we continue quoting John 3:16 and then tell others that it must be done on our own terms? As I read about Paul's suffering for the gospel and the uproar that came against the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in Acts 23, I realize how we still seem to live more by what we want rather than what He teaches.
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