By Pas. Santo Ladu
Many Christian scholars agree that the birthday of the Church was when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles and Disciples in the Upper Room in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit descended on them in power. That day marked the era of the Christian Church journey. It all started with the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul asked believers in Ephesus, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Acts 19:2
Like the believers in Ephesus, many believers today have not received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and have not even heard about it. The mission of Jesus Christ on earth was twofold, to save people from their sin and to baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”. Luke 3:16
It is very important for a Christian to know and receive the Holy Spirit. This will enable the believer to be like Jesus Christ in every aspect of his/her Christian life. This is one of the differences between the Christian faith and other religions.
It seems easy to understand God the Father and understand Jesus Christ as being persons and carry personality traits; but when we try to understand who the Holy Spirit is, it becomes the subject of controversy even in the Christian cycle?
The Holy Spirit is not an active force revolving in the universe and is not wind, fire cloud and any other symbols used in the scriptures or elsewhere.
The Book of Genesis sets the scene for everything; those things and persons that have beginning and those that do not have a beginning. Those that do not have a beginning includes the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that as the earth was without form, void and darkness was upon the face of the deep, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)
It was after this that God spoke and said, “let there be”. I understand this to mean all the work of creation begun when the Holy Spirit started to move upon the waters. The earth that we see now, the galaxies and the planets are well organized compared to the Genesis 1 description. The Spirit of God, also known as the Holy Spirit, was moving upon the face of the waters signifying the work of creation that he was actively overseeing and putting order, form and light into the chaos which was caused by Satan when he felt into the earth. Revelations 12 says woe to the earth and all who dwell in it for the accuser of the brethren is cast down. I believe that it was at this point that the disorder, formlessness and darkness came into existence. The Holy Spirit started working from that point and he still works.
The Holy Spirit brings order into the life which is disordered by the chaos and worries of this world as a result of satanic work.
The Holy Spirit also known as the Spirit of God, is not separable from God. Just as human soul or spirit is inseparable from the person, the Holy Spirit also is inseparable from God, in fact He is God. The traditional way of understanding who the Holy Spirit is should not be contradicted even though we should dig deeper than that. Whether one believes in Trinity or not, the truth is the Holy Spirit is a person and he works.
The Old Testament dispensation indicates the work of the Holy Spirit behind the scenes. We read from Bible such as in the Book of Judges the Spirit of God coming upon people like Gideon, Deborah and others in power and caused deliverance from the bondage of the enemy. Here we see the word power. The Holy Spirit carries and imparts power into a believer’s live. This enables the believer to operate in the supernatural. This is exemplified from the prophets of the Old Testament when they operated in the spiritual realms and received divine messages from on High.
The Virgin Mary could not have given birth to Jesus Christ without the Holy Spirit overshadowing her and the power of God rested upon her and for that reason the holy one was born. (Luke 1:35)
Jesus Christ started his Ministry after his water baptism by John the Baptist who also received the Holy Spirit when he was still in the womb as the Bible tells us that when Elizabeth, the mother of John heard the greeting of Mary the baby jump or move with joy. I don’t know whether pregnant women know if the child in the womb can express happiness or not, but Elizabeth knew. The point here is Jesus started his Ministry by first being fill with the Holy Spirit as he was on this body, and he was also led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted of the devil which mean he was led into the battlefield by the Holy Spirit, and he was victorious in his first spiritual encounter with the forces of darkness. The Holy Spirit leads in our battles. Our problem is, often times we approach the warfare of life in our own capacity and not dependence on the Holy Spirit. And the end result is we find ourselves defeated in many fronts. Jesus says follow me; be led of the Spirit.
Jesus said if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God then the Kingdom of God has come upon you (Matthew 12:28 KJV). Casting out devils or demons is a sign that the Spirit of God is at work, and we live in the Kingdom of God. In other words, we are children of God.
The Bible informs us that Jesus Christ was anointed, and he went around doing Good and delivering/healing those who were oppressed of the devil. We cannot deliver those oppressed of the devil without the anointing of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 10:38). Deliverance and healing of all kinds can only occur as the anointing of the Holy Spirit flow in us and through us.
Throughout the Scriptures, and in almost all English translations except those that translated the scriptures base on their human logic and doctrine of their sect, personalized the Holy Spirit. They confirm that He is a person. It is up to the reader to put into either Trinity or not.
Now that we know that the Holy Spirit is a person like the Father and the Son, we should fellowship with Him as a person and if we do so we receive abundance of blessing as we serve God in our different capacities and ministries in the body of Christ.
The Holy Spirit carries and gives power. He empowers us for the Ministry. Jesus Said, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. He came upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost and the result was evident. (Acts 1:8)
He carries and gives divine messages known as utterance in either speaking in tongues or enables one to prophecy. Prophecy is not best wishes uttered to the desperate people seeking for miracles at all cost. It is not predictions that most of the self –proclaimed prophets of our days do.
The divine prophetic message when delivered accomplished basic three purposes of edification, exhortation and comfort of the body of Christ (the Church). Jesus said freely you have received, freely give, (Matthew 10:8-10). Do not let any man of God manipulate you into giving in return for prophecy.
The utterance of speaking in tongue is also another misunderstood doctrine. Tongue is a prayer language that the Holy Spirit gives to a believer and with this the believer edifies himself, (1 Corinthians 14:1-2). Again there is a lot of confusion in especially the Pentecostal and charismatic circle. The Apostle Paul advice is that things should be done in orderly manner. This orderly manner does not implies writing a prayer book or one person pray Church. He anoints and enables the believer to operate in the supernatural and one of the supernatural manifestations is speaking in tongues. This tongue could be the human language not learned by the speaker or the language of Angels.
Jesus told the disciples and the Church that he was not going to leave them like orphans. Meaning without parents to help, advice and guide them. But the Holy Spirit was coming and was coming for that purpose so that the Church would not be like an orphan. Without the operation of the Holy Spirit, impartation of power, the anointing to deliver and heal the sick, and without Prophetic utterance and speaking in tongues, the Church is an Orphan.
I urge the Christians in the Country not to celebrate Pentecost day without encountering and experiencing the Holy Spirit and His power.
The author can be reached via WhatsApp +211911380259 /+211921725681; Email: santoladu11@gmail.com