2014.04.27_Receive the Holy Spirit

The Terms on Which God and Man Can Meet

            God is spirit (John 4:23-24). A spirit cannot be seen with our eyes, heard with our ears, touched with our hands, nor does it have any smell. It is also the reason why people ignore God. The flesh of man is devoted to the carnal desires and emotions, and only seeks to acknowledge what it has sensed and experienced through the five senses. Thus, while God and man are in conflict with one another, the only way they could be in harmony is through the faith given to man by God. Man is able to know and receive in God, obey and have an everlasting relationship with God, through faith alone.

            The faith God has given to man is through a covenant (promise). God had made a covenant with man that He would send His Son who was with Him, and Jesus Christ came according to that covenant. Thus, to believe in Jesus the Son of God is to believe in God’s covenant, and to believe in God’s covenant is to believe in God’s Son, Jesus. God has given man faith through a covenant, and man harmonizes with God through that faith.

            It was through Jesus Christ, who came to the lowest place as a man, that man came to see, touch, hear and taste God. Christians firmly acknowledge the existence of God because they have such experience. On the other hand, even if the people of the world acknowledge God’s existence, for them is merely a conception. For most people, while they might profane God, they do not acknowledge the existence of God whom they have never seen or touched. Only Christians know God and call Him, Father.

            Regardless of how righteous man is, it is impossible for man to come before God with his own righteousness because sin has put enmity between God and man. As He suffered the curse that man was supposed to bear, His death corresponds to the death of man’s status as God’s enemy. In acknowledgment of this, one receives baptism. Receiving baptism is about uniting in Christ’s death and burying the old self that used to call the one on the earth, father. And by uniting in Christ’s resurrection, one becomes a new person who calls God, Father.

Since When did the Holy Spirit Come

            The Holy Spirit came into those who had thus united with Christ. It was only after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus that the Holy Spirit came. Even Jesus, the Son of God, received the Holy Spirit as He was being baptized in the Jordan River after having lived on the earth for thirty years. God raised Jesus from the dead because the Holy Spirit was in Jesus, and hence Jesus became the first fruits of resurrection. After ascending to Heaven, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to His believers in order that they may take part in the first resurrection at His advent.

            John 7:38-39 says, “’He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive (for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified).” There were many prophets at work before Jesus came. While they prepared the way for Christ and performed great miracles, none of them had received the Holy Spirit. It was angels that led them according to God’s revelation. Of course, working of the Holy Spirit was not completely absent in the past. At that time however, the Holy Spirit was within God only and had not come out of God and into man.

The Holy Spirit Comes to Whom

            When the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus, God said concerning Him, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” God sent the Holy Spirit to His beloved One, and was pleased by the works He did through the Holy Spirit. Today, we have the same experience in Jesus Christ. God sends the Holy Spirit to His beloved children, and they please God through the Holy Spirit.

            Even a well-cultivated man is unable to receive the Holy Spirit through self-discipline. No person of any religion on the earth has ever received the Holy Spirit, not even the Israelites who had thoroughly been trained by the Law of God. The flesh is only enmity against God, regardless of how well disciplined and refined it may be (Rom 8:7). Only those who have been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and united with Christ can receive the Holy Spirit (1 Pet 3:21). Acts 2:38-39 says, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” God would give the Holy Spirit to anyone who demolishes the dividing wall and puts an end to the enmity between God and himself.

            The Holy Spirit is God’s precious gift to His children. The prophets in the past did not get to see the day of such a precious gift being given. Matthew 13:16-17 says, “But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Among those born of women, there was no one greater than John the Baptist in terms of character and faith. Moreover, as the last prophet, he had baptized Jesus. Yet Matthew 11:11 says, “He who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” For though John the Baptist was great, he had never confessed Jesus as his Savior, nor ever called God as his Father.

What the Coming of the Holy Spirit Signifies

            We united with Jesus Christ by receiving Him as our Savior and being baptized in His name. Hence we became God’s children, and God has thus sent us the Holy Spirit. We should take pride in having received the Holy Spirit. The fact that we are God’s children is not our own subjective conviction. The Holy Spirit within us testifies to our status objectively. Therefore, if anyone is united with Jesus Christ, he must certainly receive the Holy Spirit. This is also a condition for us to take part in the first resurrection. Just as God raised Jesus to life by the Holy Spirit who was in Jesus, He will also raise us to take part in the first resurrection through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us (Rom 8:11).

            Some people say that a person has already received the Holy Spirit if he believes in Jesus. However, such blind submission to the doctrine does not benefit the spirit. The Scripture shows clearly that receiving the Holy Spirit is distinct from believing and uniting with Jesus. Believing in Jesus does not mean to have started attending a church. A person who genuinely believes in Jesus Christ would receive baptism in His name and be united with Him; if the person has truly been united with Christ, God would guarantee his status by pouring out His Holy Spirit.

            The Holy Spirit secures our faith in Jesus whom God had promised. No man has ever seen God. However Jesus, who came according to God’s promise, was both medically and biologically dead but rose again. The fact that we have received the Holy Spirit proves that He has resurrected and entered Heaven. Jesus had once said, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). If the Lord had not resurrected, the Holy Spirit would not have come to us; if the Lord’s words were not from God, we would never have received the Holy Spirit no matter how much we ask.

           We received baptism and became Christians; as Christians we gained the right to receive the Holy Spirit; and thus received the Holy Spirit given by God. Regardless of how well-disciplined the people of world are, they still call those on earth, father. Although we may not be as cultivated, we have buried our old self that used to call those on earth as our fathers, and attained the status to call God as Father, by uniting with Jesus Christ. No matter how hard we try in the flesh born from our mother’s womb, we could not shake off our status as God’s enemies. Yet, we have become born again in Jesus Christ into a new person who can call God, Father (Matt 23:9). The Holy Spirit testifies to this truth.

The Life of a Person After Receiving the Holy Spirit

            We should no longer follow the senses and emotions of our flesh, but live by the Holy Spirit. Even if the flesh constantly hinders our spiritual life, the spirit must always be led by the Holy Spirit. Paul used to be a persecutor of Christians but when he received the Holy Spirit, he became Christ’s disciple instead. Those who live by the Holy Spirit are always thinking about how they could please Christ, how they could please God, and how they could work for the Lord’s kingdom. On the other hand, those not led by the Holy Spirit despite attending the church, worry about how they could purchase a house, how their business could be better, and how they might live longer in the flesh.

            Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Have you been born again? Are you not perhaps still living like a fatalist? Where is your hope? Could it be that you are still following the ways of your old self that called the one on earth as your father? We have buried our accursed fate of the past, united in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and are living with a new hope.

            If we have become born again of the Holy Spirit we must now live by the Holy Spirit, and the level of our faith has to increase with time. Just as a person perfecting martial arts gradually attains higher levels through continuous training, those leading a Christian life must rely on the Holy Spirit at all times and acquire more abundant wisdom. The Bible tells us to worship through the Holy Spirit (John 4:23-24), pray in the Holy Spirit (Jud 1:20), serve by the Holy Spirit (Phi 3:3), evangelize through the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:4) and bear witness by the Holy Spirit (Act 1:8). The flesh cannot but face all kinds of suffering amid difficult circumstances while getting through life in this world. Nevertheless, our spirit must constantly be led by the Holy Spirit and thus continue to increase the level of our faith life.

            It is a pity that some of those who once had the joy of receiving the Holy Spirit and were zealous in their faith life, have distanced themselves from the church, neglected their faith and eventually turned into an unbeliever. Would that really be possible if they had truly been born again? We ourselves need to ascertain whether or not we are born again. A person cannot take part in the first resurrection without being born again. A born again person does not call anyone on earth as his father; he is not shaken by an accursed fate. A true born again person follows the Holy Spirit.

            The person who follows the Holy Spirit is able to employ spiritual wisdom in all matters. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” God does not rebuke us if we lack in wisdom, but freely gives wisdom to those who ask. We need to increase the level of our faith by asking for wisdom continuously. The level of our faith must not be stagnant with the passing of time.

            Ministry also needs to be done by the Holy Spirit. The church is a gathering of people who are heterogeneous in many aspects. Unless the minister is led by the Holy Spirit in his ministry, it would be impossible for the diverse people to harmonize and stand as one church. For the church to stand firm like a rock built on the foundational rock, each of the saints must stand firm, and also be in harmony with one another, just as the Lord said, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18).

            In the family, children should also be reared through the Holy Spirit. If children are not disciplined in the family, out in the society they will be given a cold welcome. Today more and more people are having only one child and spoiling them that they grow up without any discipline. How disorderly would the society be when those children become the primary members of society? It would be hard to expect any sound teaching and discipline of faith in such a society.

            A person born again of the Holy Spirit ought to develop his spirit. He must not let his spirit remain at infancy but increase the level of his faith. This is only possible when one lives by the Holy Spirit. If anyone maintains his faith life by relying on the strength of his flesh, he will find out once he dies that his spirit is poor like an empty shell. Of course he would receive salvation because of his faith in Jesus, however it would be as if only escaping through the flames. Every aspect of our faith life including evangelism, counseling and service, has to be done through the Holy Spirit.

The Church Life of the Person Who Received the Holy Spirit

            The day on which Jesus resurrected was the day after the Sabbath. Leviticus 23:36 says, “For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.” For the Israelites who had received the Law on Mount Sinai, the holy day was the Sabbath which was Saturday. However, Christians keep the day after the Sabbath, that is the day on which Christ resurrected as the holy day, and call it the ‘Lord’s day’ (Rev 1:10).

Jesus the crucified remained in the grave on the Sabbath and resurrected the next day morning. Christians today worship on the Lord’s Day morning to commemorate the risen Lord. On the evening of his resurrection, the Lord appeared where the disciples were gathered and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). Christians today worship on the Lord’s Day afternoon to remember and read the Words of the Lord who appeared after His resurrection and gave the commandment to receive the Holy Spirit.

            Then what is the ‘third day’ worship service? This is not merely having an extra worship service in the middle of the week. The day on which God had given Moses the Law was the third day. The third day would be Tuesday if based on the Sabbath day, however Christians worship on Wednesday, which is the third day based on the Lord’s Day. On that day we remember God’s commandments and covenant and usually have Bible studies.

            Many people today say they keep the Lord’s Day and yet only attend the morning worship service and spend the rest of the time for their personal leisure, not to mention Wednesday. If anyone is led by the Holy Spirit, he would have the heart to also be wherever the Lord is at work.

            After His resurrection, Jesus’ first sermon to His disciples was, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:22-23). When the people who have received the Holy Spirit evangelize, they can help those who are enemies of God receive forgiveness and return to God. This is in accord with the Lord’s word to Peter, “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt 16:19). Therefore, we must first receive the Holy Spirit as the Lord has promised.

The Holy Spirit is a gift from God (Act 2:38). The wife is happy when she receives a rose from her husband on their wedding anniversary because she has received her husband’s heart expressed through that gift. A gift carries the heart of the giver. Matthew 7:11 says, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” And Luke 11:13 says, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” The Holy Spirit is the greatest gift of God given to His children. If we ignore that gift, how offended would God feel? We must indeed receive God’s gift into our hearts, as well as our families and children, and thus have the continuous works manifested through it.

            It was not for us to have a more comfortable life that God has given us the Holy Spirit. We have to keep in mind the words, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?” (Luke 12:20). We, who believe in the resurrection of Christ, have our hope in Heaven. God has sent the Holy Spirit to guarantee such faith as ours. We can testify to the resurrection of Jesus despite all the persecution and hardships on the earth because the Holy Spirit dwells inside of us. We must live by the Holy Spirit. The fullness of the Holy Spirit is what God has commanded us. Unless we are born of the Holy Spirit, we cannot see the Kingdom of God.

By being filled with the Holy Spirit, we need to exert ourselves in the work of forgiving the sins of others. We should have compassion for those that are perishing as God’s enemies, and forgiven them their sins. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit and forgive them their sins, they will be forgiven. This is also the way to revive the church. Every Lord’s Day, the church should be filled with people receiving forgiveness of sins. For this, we must first receive the Holy Spirit. We need to obey the command of the risen Lord. Not only ourselves, but our families and children must all receive the Holy Spirit.