THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE CHURCH

“Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the HOLY SPIRIT” – 1 Corinthians 12:3

The HOLY SPIRIT in the CHURCH distinguishes the Body of Christ as a Living Organism, not just a human organisation. In the Old Testament, God’s Spirit descended on special individuals, equipping them, but not indwelling them continually. The Lord Jesus Christ promised His disciples that the Holy Spirit would come and dwell with us and, as the Comforter, abide in us forever: “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (Jh.14:16-17).

Here are five features of the Holy Spirit’s work in the Church:

The Holy Spirit formed the Church on the Day of Pentecost into a corporate STRUCTURE – the Body of Christ. He baptises living members into this spiritual body: “Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place…And they were all filled with the HOLY SPIRIT…” (Acts 2:1-4). 1 Corinthians 12: 12-27 describes the Body of Christ: “For as the body is one and has many members but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (vv.12-13).

The Holy Spirit formed the Church to be the new and living TEMPLE of GOD, setting believers into their places as living stones in the New Covenant temple: “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God IN THE SPIRIT” (Eph.2:22). The Holy Spirit coordinates the building of God’s holy temple – the Church. At another level, He enables and equips individual believers to be His temple: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1Cor.3:16).

The Holy Spirit releases ANOINTING, INSPIRATION, and ILLUMINATION to the Church: “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things…” (1Jh.2:20,27). The Holy Spirit distinguished Jesus’ ministry: “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38). Paul prayed “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the SPIRIT of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph.1:17). Praise the Lord, He “has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a deposit” (2Cor.1:21).

The Holy Spirit manifests GIFTS and GRACES through the members of the Church: “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit” (1Cor.12:4). The diversity of gifts demonstrates the Holy Spirit’s blessing and power (1Cor.12:4-11). The Fruit of the Spirit is the evidence of the character of the Holy Spirit in the members of the Body of Christ (Gal.5:22-23).

The Holy Spirit is the Agent of GUIDANCE and GOVERNMENT in the Church: “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the HOLY SPIRIT said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them…” (Acts 13:2-4). The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church and He directs affairs in His Body through the Holy Spirit. It is He who calls, quickens, energises, and equips the various ministries in the Church and every member of the Body (Eph.4:8-12). Paul admonished the Elders at Ephesus: “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the HOLY SPIRIT has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).