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The Holy Spirit of God
WE
READ and meet the Holy Spirit of God in the first
words of the Holy Bible: "and the Spirit of
God moved (fluttering) upon the face of the deep"
(Genesis 1:2).
"The
earth was without form and void, and darkness was
upon the face of the deep" (Genesis 1:2).
The
Holy Spirit was there like an eagle, fluttering, ready
to go into action, to create or recreate.
Another
picture is given to us in (Deuteronomy 32:11): "As
an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her
young, spread abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth
them on her wings, so the Lord alone did lead Israel."
So
we have the picture of the Holy Spirit fluttering
over the dark, black seas, ready for action.
Strangely,
but wonderfully, we see the Holy Spirit taking another
form in the New Testament (Luke 3:21). After the Baptism
of Jesus Christ under the ministry of John the Baptist,
"Jesus was praying as He came out of the waters,
the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended
in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him."
The
first picture we have of the Holy Spirit is that of
an eagle; at the beginning of the New Testament and
in the dispensation of Grace, He came in the likeness
of a dove upon Jesus Christ.
So
the new ministry of action was that of love, gentleness
and grace, all in the power and energy of the Holy
Spirit. So one can outline the Personality and Power
of the Holy Spirit of God under four headings:
The
Spirit of God in Creation and the Old Testament.
The
Spirit of God in Redemption through Jesus Christ.
The
Spirit of God in the formation of the Church the Bride
of Christ.
The
Spirit of God in the Restoration Redemption of Israel.
The
Holy Spirit of God in Creation and the Old Testament
If
one roamed through the Old Testament, one could pick
out such Scriptures as Job 33:4 - Elihu said to Job.
"The Spirit of God hath made me and the breath
of the almighty hath given me life."
The
Psalmist has it in a few words:
"Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created"
(Psalm 14:30).
Summarising
the Book of Genesis we come to the outstanding person
of Joseph, one of the greatest types of Jesus Christ
in the Bible.
The
great ruler of Egypt, Pharaoh, testified about Joseph
in Genesis 41:38: "Can we find such a one as
this man is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?"
So
we have a problem to try to follow the moving of the
Spirit of God through prophets, priests and Kings,
but there were outstanding people, like Gideon and
Samson (Judges 6:34; 1419; 15:14), not forgetting
the craftsmanship of Bezalel, who was filled with
the Spirit of God in wisdom, understanding and knowledge,
and in all manner of workmanship. The result was that
"The glory of God filled the Tabernacle."
God
the Holy Spirit gave Isaiah an outstanding vision
(Isaiah 6:1-8) concerning Himself and the people:
"One cried unto another, said Holy, Holy, Holy,
is the Lord God of Hosts: the whole earth is full
of His glory." Here is the acknowledgement of
the blessed Trinity.
One of the greatest pictures of the Holy Spirit is
in Ezekiel 37.
The
breath of God, i.e. Spirit of God first moved upon
Ezekiel and then upon the valley of dry bones. The
bones were brought together, a glorious vision and
prophecy concerning the revival and restoration
of Judah and Israel from among the nations to their
own land to become a State.
This has happened through the Eternal Spirit, and
now Israel is a State as from 14th May 1948, when
David Ben Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister,
read the Declaration of Independence.
Reading
from the Old Testament the Chief Rabbi, choking
with emotion, gave thanks, using the words: To Him
who hath kept and sustained us and brought us into
this time," the breath of God fulfilling His
prophetic Word.
In
the words of Herbert Lockyer, the Old Testament
activities of the Holy Spirit, show Him to be Co-Creator
of Man, animal life and beauty, and Israel and His
purpose in God on earth.
The
Holy Spirit of God in Redemption through Jesus Christ
Beginning with the mother of John the Baptist, and
Mary the mother of Jesus, we see the Holy Spirit
at work (Luke 1:15,41). The Holy Spirit moved in
Elisabeth; even the babe leaped in her womb.
Then
concerning Mary we read in Luke 1:35: "The
Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and the power of
the Highest shall overshadow thee." So Jesus
was born and He was to be called the Son of God.
No wonder two ladies sang their songs of praise,
inspired by the Holy Spirit!
John
the Baptist's testimony of Jesus Christ was: "I
indeed baptise you with water, but One Mightier
than I cometh. He will baptise you with the Holy
Spirit and with fire."
So the ministry of Jesus Christ began.
It
fulfilled the prophecies in words and in deeds.
The resurrection of Jesus was the work of the Holy
Spirit and what a mighty miracle "But if the
Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead
dwell in you, He shall quicken your mortal bodies
by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.
The
teaching of Jesus about the Holy Spirit is wonderful
and revealing John 15:26-27; 16:7-15). He spoke
of another Divine Person who would take His place,
the Third Person of the Trinity, so we have the
two-fold ministry of Jesus Christ as our great High
Priest in Heaven, as taught in the Hebrew Epistle,
and the Ministry of the Holy Spirit as taught in
Romans 8:26-39.
We
become more than conquerors through this two-fold
ministry of Jesus Christ in Heaven and the Holy
Spirit in and with the Church.
The
Holy Spirit and the Formation of the Church
The book of the Acts or the Apostles should be called
the Acts of the Holy Spirit.
The
promise of the Holy Spirit came like the sound of
a rushing, mighty wind. God must have breathed very
heavily! Jesus breathed upon His disciples in the
upper room, but was much more moving and mighty: "the
sound of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the house
where they were sitting." This breath of God
was to expand, and it did, for within fifty years
the Gospel of Jesus Christ went into every known country
in the world.
It
is wonderful and thrilling to read about the work
of the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles. God's
presence of power through this glorious Person, the
Holy Spirit, filled eyes, ears, tongues, hearts, minds,
wills, bodies made the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1
Corinthians 6:19-20). When Stephen was being martyred,
full of the Holy Spirit, he looked into heaven and
saw the glory of God and the Son of Man standing on
the right hand of God.
The
Holy Spirit caught Philip from the desert and the
Ethiopian Eunuch and placed him somewhere else (Act
3:39-40). As Peter preached the Gospel in Jerusalem,
signs and wonders were wrought by the Holy Spirit.
So great was the crowd that at the least the shadow
of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them
(Act 5:15), and this shadow was different from the
shadow mentioned in the Old Testament, for it was
not the shadow of death, but the shadow of God the
Holy Spirit giving life.
This
Spirit had the last word (Acts 28:25). The churches
were created through the ministry of the Apostles
and the building up of the people in the faith. The
blessing of the Trinity is mentioned in Ephesians
5:18-20: "Be filled with the Spirit, speaking
to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord;
giving thanks always for all things unto God and to
the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
The
Holy Spirit of God in the Restoration and Redemption
of Israel
Through
the whole Bible since the days of Abraham, the Holy
Spirit is mentioned. One scripture stands out as we
link it with Peter's Sermon on the Day of Pentecost
(Act 2:17-21). Peter quoted Joel 22:28-32, but in
Joel 2:21-23, there is the mention of the former and
the latter rain, which concerns Israel.
Israel
is now a State and almost a land flowing with milk
and honey, increasing in every trade. Fads and figures
are publicised weekly on the increase of imports and
exports by great firms in Israel.
She
is experiencing a boom in building, technology, agriculture,
and many other areas. Israel is prosperous in almost
everything, the fulfilment of Biblical prophecy and
the co-creative work of the Holy Spirit.
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