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The Nature of God & The Role of the Holy Spirit
An understanding of calculus is built on an understanding of algebra
and trigonometry first. So it is, with God's word. To gain greater
understanding we must first gain a better understanding of more
basic truths and no truth is more basic for the Christian to
understand, than the truth about who God is. Interestingly, the
major Christian denominations agree on the three major
characteristics describing God, but get into many disagreements,
when applying that knowledge to the realities of life. Stay with me,
as I briefly describe the three major characteristics of God, and
you will better understand why knowing a little about the nature of
God is very important.
God’s
nature allows him to be everywhere at once (Omnipresent). He is and
was the God of heaven and at the same time is and was Jesus. To be
both persons, he had to be in more than one place at a time. That
was no problem because he is omnipresent. To become a man he also
made use of his other characteristics of omnipotence and omniscience
and assumed the form of a man and was born of a virgin. We know that
this took a power and knowledge far beyond that of his creation, but
God was able to do this, because he is all-powerful (Omnipotent) and
possesses all knowledge (Omniscient). These qualities give God
abilities far beyond those possessed by mankind, but mankind, using
only his natural thought processes, and not really believing that
God is who the bible says he is, saw Jesus then and now as only a
man.
It’s easy
to put God in our own little box if we are not careful. When we do
this we miss the truth. Instead, we should allow the Holy Spirit to
reveal his truth to us within the framework of what the bible says.
The supernatural characteristics of God are fully manifested in each
of the three personalities of the Trinity throughout the bible.
Because the Holy Spirit is God and can be in more than one place at
a time, it is completely possible for him to have been one with
Jesus and at the same time to have manifested himself in his own
separate personality, and descend on Jesus when He was baptized by
John. The three characteristics of God that allowed Him to
accomplish this feat are completely consistent with the description
of God in the bible. While the Body of Christ generally agrees on
the three basic characteristics of God, it seems to be very confused
when applying this knowledge.
This great
truth of the three being one is also consistent with what the bible
teaches us about the life of Christ. God was able to do such a good
job of being in more than one place at a time, in assuming the form
of a man, that the world saw Jesus as a man. Indeed, he was man, but
he was also God. However, the world never saw God in him because
they were blinded by their own iniquities. Jesus said, “If you have
seen me you have seen the Father.” (Jhn. 14:9) This was and is
unthinkable to the carnal mind of mankind because the carnal mind
judges by earthly standards. It continually tries to reduce God down
to its shabby state, rather than accepting him for who he really is.
If Jesus were not one with the Father when he walked on earth, as a
man, then he would have lied when he said, “If you have seen me you
have seen the Father”. It is impossible for something or someone to
be one with another, and still not be a part of the very thing that
it or he is one with. The bible would be contradicting itself when
it says there is one God, (Mal. 2:10)(Mar. 12:32)(1 Co. 8:6) if God
were really three completely separate entities.
Here is an
example that has helped me to understand this truth. Compare the
three personalities of God to the roles you and I must perform in
our own life. We, as human beings, are usually called upon to
perform more than one roll in life. In my roll as a father, I must
perform actions that are very different from the roll I am called
upon to perform in my professional career. When I am with people
that need my professional services, I am still my children’s father,
but I do not assume the roll of father while I am with people who
need my professional services. However, I can still say to people
who are using my services, “If you have seen me, you have seen my
children’s father and that statement would be true.” So it is with
God. However, the characteristics assumed by each of the
personalities of the Trinity are much more pronounced, than the
differing rolls played by you and me, as mere mortals. The
difference between my role playing and God's roll playing is this.
God can do anything and I can’t. He can assume more than one form at
a time and have each be in different locations at the same instant.
He can assume the incarnation of a man (Jesus Christ) and still be
sitting on the throne in Heaven as the Father God without
diminishing his powers in the least. Since He is one God, we receive the Holy Spirit and the Father in our spirit when we receive Christ's spirit through the second birth, but we do not receive the active personality and roll of the Holy Spirit, working to empower us in our soul (mind, will, emotions) until we yield to that personality as a born again believer. When we, as believers decide to come to God and receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, then He is ready to manifest the personality of the Holy Spirit to us, in us and through us. We must take that second step. That step toward God is the second most important step in our lives. The first most important step is being born of the spirit. When we are born of the spirit, we receive the forgiveness, justification, grace and restoration afforded us by the personality of Jesus Christ. When we then humble ourselves to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit, He will make use of his supernatural power, to empower us in our minds to become free from the bondage of the devil and secondly to lead us into His will for our life. The Holy Spirit will never violate our will. Although he lives within our spirit, he will never manifest his awesome power and personality in our minds until we humble ourselves before Him. Jesus humbled himself, when he was baptized by John. Our Lord, who already possessed the power of the God Head, submitted to God's minister, John, and the Holy Spirit. He should be our foremost example. Until we actively submit to the infilling of the Holy Spirit in our soul, by a conscious effort, giving him permission to take complete control of our life, we cannot experience the closest with God which we would otherwise experience. It is the Holy Spirit who leads us into the understanding needed to strengthen this relationship. One of the biggest hurdles to overcome in order to have a closer relationship with God, is deliverance. However, deliverance cannot begin to happen if we do not give The Holy Spirit permission to occupy our minds, manifesting himself any way He wishes, as deliverer, mentor, comforter and teacher.
How do I
know this is the way it works? I know because the Bible says it
works this way. Jesus said he would send the Comforter to us after
he left to go to the Father. (Jhn. 14:26, 15:26, 16:7) The bible is
very clear about this. When he had risen, for the first time, he
addressed his followers as brethren indicating that he had finished
the work required to make them a part of the family of God. In other
words, they had at this point received the gift of salvation. If
they had not received this gift then Jesus would not have referred
to them as brethren. (Mat. 28:10) However, they did not receive the
anointing of the Holy Spirit until later. The bible is very clear
about this also. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told his
disciples to wait in the city of Jerusalem until they were endued
with power from on high. (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4,5) Later, when they
were assembled in one accord in the upper room of a house in
Jerusalem it happened just as Jesus said it would happen. They were
endued with power from on high. (Acts 2:1,4)
Secondly, I
know this is true because I have experienced it myself. I have
walked with the anointing of the Holy Spirit in my own life and
realize that there is no way I would have had any deliverance from
Satan's foothold or received other victories in my life, had I not
received the Holy Spirit’s anointing when I was eleven years old.
Sadly, I have another witness to the truth of what I am saying. I
have witnessed the lack of fruit and the stunted grow in the lives
of every Christian who has not yielded to the Holy
Spirit.
The key to
obtaining this important gift that God has made available for us is
humility and submission. When we yield to the Holy Spirit, he places
his anointing on us, evidenced by speaking in tongues. However,
there is greater evidence than speaking in tongues. That evidence is
manifested by a spiritual anointing, that gives us power over every
weapon formed against us, which is very necessary if we are to enter
into the ministry God has planned for our lives. Without the
anointing that comes from yielding to the Holy Spirit, we are
destined to wander around in a vast spiritual wilderness all the
days of our lives, spent here on earth.
We are
still God’s children and he will still provide for us, but we will
never know the taste of victory that comes from the great battles to
be fought and won in the very eye of God’s will and purpose for our
lives. As his spiritually challenged children lacking the power and
knowledge which comes from the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we will
never possess the where-with-all to enter into this dangerous place
known as The Promised Land in the biblical analogy.
The bible
makes it clear, that the three personalities of the Trinity have
existed together, equally as one God, forever. However, here in this
world in the short time God gives us to promote his will as his
beloved church, I would like to urgently impress upon the Christian
reader the importance of allowing the work of the Holy Spirit to
take place in his or her life. Many in the Body of Christ today have
rejected Him without realizing they have done so, due to a lack of
knowledge. Many others have done so, because they are deceived by
false teaching. The great problem in rejecting the Holy Spirit’s
anointing is that he is the very one who opens the eyes of our
understanding and leads us into all truth. I pray that He will
anoint these words I am writing because many who read this may be
blinded to what I am trying to say, without the very anointing that
is required for that understanding to take place.
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