I don’t think there is a doctrine more misunderstood in the Christian church than the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. I pray that this blog is pleasing to God and useful for equipping the saints. I will attempt to provide guidance on this important subject.
The Holy Spirit is indeed God, fully God, a distinct person in the Godhead, same essence different person. The Holy Spirit has a role just as the Father has a role and Jesus as a role. Jesus, for instance, has a role as a servant to the Father. Now get this straight, just because Jesus has a servant role to the Father doesn't mean he is “less than”. It just means he's in a different position or role. He has a different job in the Godhead. His job is to glorify the Father. Now, the primary role of the Holy Spirit is to bring glory and honor to Jesus who will one day turnaround and give it back to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:28). In short, the role of the Holy Spirit is not to point to himself but to point to Jesus.
The Holy Spirit came to reside within Jesus Christ's true followers after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven (Acts 2). Jesus told His apostles...
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." (John 14:16-18)
The Holy Spirits Job (Role) in the Godhead:
- The Holy Spirit glorifies the Son by bearing "witness" of Jesus Christ (John 15:26, 16:14). He tells people's hearts about the truth of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit also performs a function for non-Christians as well. He convicts people's hearts of God's truth concerning how sinful we are -- needing God's forgiveness; how righteous Jesus is -- He died in our place, for our sins; and God's eventual judgment of the world and those who do not know Him (John 16:8-11). The Holy Spirit tugs on our hearts and minds, asking us to repent and turn to God for forgiveness and a new life.
- The Holy Spirit acts as a Christian's teacher (1Cor. 2:9-14). He reveals God's will and God's truth to a Christian.
There are so many ministries today that spend the majority of their time talking and focusing on the Spirit. -- Getting more of the Spirit, drinking in the spirit, focusing on the spirit, tasting of the spirit, ect. I'm sure you've heard many of these phrases from the so called modern-day evangelical ministries.
So, how do we know when the Holy Spirit, or as the Bible talks about, another spirit (demon) is leading? The Holy Spirit exists to bring glory to the Son who exists to bring glory to the Father. Let's keep this in focus as we look at the role of the Holy Spirit. With this in mind, another spirit (demon) moves Jesus into the background and it's all about the false spirit, or in many cases, glorification of self.
To be able to clearly distinguish between the Holy Spirit and another spirit that imitates the Holy Spirit, the following comparison may be helpful. I realize that the following list does not have verses to support the claims. I believe there are many verses that could be added to this summation. If you come to this study wanting to understand God more fully and rightly, I strongly suggest you test anything I write, or post, against the truth of God's Word.
THE HOLY SPIRIT | ANOTHER SPIRIT |
The Holy Spirit does not speak of Himself but reminds us of the words of Jesus and makes Him a reality in our lives. | The presence, power and gifts of this spirit are an overwhelming reality while Jesus is subtly moved to the background. |
He convicts you of your sin so that you may understand the real causes of your problems. | He instils nice and relaxed feelings in you so that you may be able to forget your problems. |
Isn't this one of the big claims most of the false teachers make? “Your best life now” ect. The Holy Spirit points to biblical Christianity which focuses on our hearts so that we may see our wretched nature and our need for the cross.
He convinces you of God’s righteousness as revealed through the perfect life and atonement of the Lord Jesus on the cross. | He convinces you through gifts and also supernatural experiences such as falling in the spirit, barking like a dog, getting drunk in the spirit ect. that God is with you. |
He convicts you in your spirit and reveals the condition of your heart and life to you in the way in which God sees it. | He uses people to instil ideas and suggestions in you that are supposedly from God, but are in effect not from Him. |
Don't rely on men to tell you what the Holy Spirit is doing. The Holy Spirit will use God’s word and your conscience to convict you.
He speaks to you through the Word of God which is spirit and life, and reveals eternal truths to you. The Bible, as the Word of God, becomes more precious to you as you grow in grace. | He uses prophets as human mediators to convey messages to you about what God wants you to do. He also specialises in extrabiblical revelations of God through dreams and visions. |
Have you heard this one before… “I have a word for you; this is what God wants you to do”. This is not how God works! God works through the Word and the preaching of His Word. How about the phrase… “I had a vision about you”? You should be extremely cautious when hearing words like this! That's how God used to give messages to prophets. Let me state, that type of revelation was very rare and given to very very few; not everyone. These days God provides us the Holy Spirit to reveal His son Jesus through the Word.
He is primarily working on the level of your spirit to quicken your spirit in a quiet way that you may awake spiritually to hear the calling of God and put your trust in Him for salvation. | He manifests his presence by way of sensual experiences such as thrills of joy, shivers on your body, a tingling on your skin, or a power that causes you to levitate or to be pushed down on the floor. |
I really don't understand how some professing Christians get this one wrong. Levitation, Come on!!! These types of “signs” are practiced in pagan religions. Why would the Holy Spirit need to manifest in anything less than the call of salvation and the continuing sanctification in a Christian’s life? Do we have Joy? Oh yeah! The God of creation stepped out of glory to become a man, died on a cross to take our place for the laws we've broken, then rose again and defeated death! If that doesn't give you joy, I don't know what will. The true gospel is bigger than the so-called experiences!
He leads you to the cross of Jesus where your burdens are lifted and where you are cleansed from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. | He removes guilt complexes in his own right, without specific reference to the cross, and surrounds you with light and joy. You are ever dependent upon him. |
If you act upon the Spirit’s conviction of sin and on the basis of Christ’s work of grace to settle your case with God, the Spirit regenerates you into a new person who is reconciled to God. | He causes physical experiences to make you think you are born again, but he does not regenerate your heart. He only manipulates your feelings and creates false impressions in your heart. |
He keeps on convicting you of sin that you may be cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, live a holy life, walk in the light of God’s presence, and be very sensitive to sin and deception. | He does not convict of sin, and has no problems to live with lies, deceit, distorted versions of the truth, and fornication. He gives to people the false hope that they are saved and will go to heaven. |
He can easily be grieved by unfaithful Christians who deliberately yield to the lust of the flesh. He will convict you of these sins that you may confess and forsake them, and recommit yourself to the Lord. | He is not concerned about your sins. He will ignore it and instead make you feel guilty about things that are not sins. If you are a fundamental believer he will charge you of being critical of other believers and devoid of love. |
He leads you to search your heart, confess and abandon all evil, and to trust God for a pure heart. Cleansing by the blood of the Lamb and being filled with the Holy Spirit is God’s way to enable us to a life of victory. | He guides you through a process of inner healing to a spiritual reprogramming of your life in which the scars of the past, and even from before your birth, are put right by self-healing, positive confession en hypnotic regression. |
This spiritual reprogramming is used by some in the emergent movement. It's really not much different than Scientology. Again, this is a focus on “self” and making “self” better. As Christians, it’s our personal responsibility to confess and abandon all evil. God commands us to be holly because He is holy. Only God can give us a new heart! This not a process of “reprogramming”. The Holy Spirit helps us through the study of God's Word to understand theology like… this world is sinful and wicked. In fact, if it wasn't for the blackness of this world, the diamond of God's grace would not shine so brightly. We just happen to be in this evil world. God has ordained it all for our good and His glory. Put your trust in Him not wacky experiences!
He makes you conscious of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the only One who can guide your life. The Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of Christ who makes Him a reality in your life. | He makes you conscious of himself and induces you to only plead to him in your prayers. You are primarily guided and empowered by him. He is a greater reality in your life than Jesus. |
When He fills somebody, that person becomes holy, humble, and prepared to serve the Lord. He is available to God and gets involved with evangelisation by reaching the lost world for Jesus Christ. He never exalts himself, but lives and gives sacrificially for the cause of the gospel. | He gives a person an entirely new self-image which borders on pride and arrogance. Such a person’s main purpose in life is a quest for new and more powerful spiritual gifts, and the attending of services where signs, miracles, and new revelations regularly occur. Others are invited to these meetings. |
This is not about a debate on whether one Christian group believes that speaking in tongues is relevant to the church today or the other that believes the gift has ceased. The debate on “sign gifts” among Christians will probably not end this side of heaven! We continue to see, on the “Another spirit” side, a complete focus on “self”.
Moreover, the primary way the gospel is spread throughout this world is through the preaching of God's Word. It is not spread by so-called evangelism efforts of inviting someone to a meeting so they can see all the wonderful signs and miracles that are occurring at church. A core principle communicated very thoroughly in the Bible is: Church is for believers. It is not for nonbelievers. It is the believer’s duty to go out into the dying world and preach the gospel. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Once a person is a Believer/Born Again/Saved, they are completely welcome in the gathering/assembling of the Saints (the Church)! The gospel is not defined as: church meetings of signs and wonders.
The presence of the Holy Spirit can clearly be discerned where He is working and Jesus Christ is exalted. It occurs on a spiritual level and induces people to humble and submit themselves to the Lord. The peace and joy of the Lord fills their hearts. | A foreign spirit gives a show of power to influence people and create the impression that they are in the presence of the Lord. Because people want to experience this power in their lives, they readily open themselves up to it. Without it they feel empty. |
He teaches you to pray. He helps our infirmities and intercedes for us. He gives us enlightened eyes of the mind that we may understand the things of God, and be able to pray intelligently. He helps us to gird up the loins of our mind and to be alert, sober and vigilant. | He teaches people to meditate. They switch over to their ‘rightbrain’ to have mystical experiences and to hear obscure voices. They empty their minds and withdraw themselves from reality to descend to the deeper levels of their subconscious mind which is ‘the world of the spirit’. |
Can anybody say Eastern mysticism or the modern-day contemplative prayer? Why do professing Christians continue to let pagan concepts seep into the Church? Probably, because many feel so empty. They “put on” Jesus for the wrong reason. They are looking for some life enhancement formula. They crave validation by physical manifestation to confirm their religion of self love and earthly accomplishments.
He controls the emotions and decisions of believers by enabling and empowering their regenerated heart and spirit. The center of a person’s control changes from his self-centred mind to his quickened spirit. | The emotions of people are manipulated by a foreign spirit and they act like hypnotized captives. They would laugh, cry, roar, bleat, howl or bark without knowing why they do it. The spirit of delusion gains authority over them. |
If you've ever seen a pagan tribal ceremony where a spirit enters performers, or those in the crowd, you've seen the spirit as described in the “another spirit” column.
He guides you through the Bible and through your conscience that warns you when you do something wrong. He gives you insight to know the will of God and the power to do it. | He commands you and demands certain actions through prophecies uttered by other people. Driven by the fear of disobedience to God’s will [not by inner conviction] you obey these commanding voices. |
Has God, in fact, told His people in the Bible, they should hear His voice in both spoken and written words? Does not this new view threaten to set aside the historic doctrine of the sufficiency and finality of Scripture? The promise of such guidance inevitably diverts attention from the Scriptures, particularly in the practical and pressing concerns of life, to supposed new revelations given from the mouths of men. You may not even know these “prophetic men” that well. How am I to authoritatively know what a man says is direct words from God? Well, if those words are rightly divided from God’s word, I can! That concept is called “forthtelling” (the ability to speak forth the revealed word of God, to preach the truth of God's Word with great power and insight). The church hears God’s true voice in the Scriptures, we can know beyond a shadow of doubt that God is speaking His very words to us. Advocates of words "freshly spoken from heaven" should beware: By diverting attention from the Scriptures, they quench the Spirit who is speaking therein.
You are commanded to lead people to Christ where they can obtain mercy and the forgiveness of all their sins. It does not matter by which evil forces they are bound, Jesus is the Saviour of their souls and He is able to completely set them free from their bondage. Through the blood of the Lamb the hearts of sinners are cleansed and the power of the devil broken. They do not need human mediators to declare them sanctified by virtue of the miracles. | You are abused to invite other people to meetings where the false revival occurs. There they can obtain healing, experience miracles, become drunk in the spirit and be sanctified by golddust – not by the blood of the Lamb. You become critical, and even hostile, towards all people who are negatively inclined to this modern revival movement. You do not realize that you are actually deceived through the blinding of your mind and the manipulation of your emotions and senses. |
The Spirit of the Lord Jesus is the One who guides you. You are faithful to Him and make yourself available to Him. | The leader of your worship group [or church] becomes a cult leader who prescribes your decisions and actions. You must obey him. |
Spiritual gifts are given to you to increase your usefulness in the service of the Lord. Through the power of the Holy Spirit you can be a witness for Jesus and also minister to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. | You receive gifts such as prophesying, self-healing, warm [healing] hands and clairvoyance. Gold-dust may also fall on people, or their teeth fillings may turn into gold. Gifts of this nature are derived from foreign spirits and are consequently false and occult. |
The Holy Spirit makes you a servant of Christ, a soldier of the cross and a stranger in a world that lies in the sway of the Evil One. The authority for your actions is vested in God. After the coming of Jesus you will reign with Him in His eternal kingdom. | He declares you a king who already has dominion on earth, and who can claim and demand anything he likes. You do not have to suffer poverty, disease, or other afflictions, and can change anything through positive confession. You are in command. |
Do I really need to comment on this last section? The bible tells us to set our affections on things above, and not on the things of the earth beneath, Colossians 3:2. Those who follow Christ set their affections on things above. They will not be overtaken by the things of the earth beneath. The things of the earth consist of the lusts of the flesh, while the things above consist of spiritual things.
Galatians 5:17 (NASB) For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
Those who are in Christ have crucified the flesh with it's affections and lusts, according to the scripture. I think prosperity teachers fail to understand the 10th Commandment. They covet what is not theirs. Their covetousness leads them to believe that they have the power, through their words, to obtain earthly material things. Why do they think they have this power? Because they believe they are little god's. Can anybody remind me what the serpent’s deception to Eve was? “You can be like God”. Hmmm…
Jesus tells us, in His word, that we must take up our cross daily and deny ourselves. This verse is telling us to put to death the deeds of the flesh. Galatians 5:19-21 (NASB) Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Those who are in Christ will not be overtaken with such things, according to the bible. Those who are Christ's have a new nature, a spiritual nature. Therefore, their affections are set on things above, spiritual things.
Remember, the Holy Spirit’s primary role is to glorify the Son! If actions submitted as works of the Spirit glorify: self, others, experiences, or works, by definition, these are the works of “another spirit”.
Well that's all I have for this blog. I pray the contents were of some benefit to you. I thank you for patiently waiting for this update! Next, I'm working on the subject of worship. I am concerned about where the church is at in its worship to God. In the church today, worship is more about creating an emotional response than eliciting a profound spiritual reflection. The measure of a good worship leader is often how many in the audience stand up or raise their hands out of their own volition. This is a touchy subject and most of the Church has defined worship wrongly. I will attempt to answer “What is biblical worship”?
Until next blog… God bless you and yours!
In Christ,
David (The Systematic Maniac)
