The Spirit of God

Consider this to be Part II on the Prophets, with emphasis on the gift of the Spirit. I wanted to capture some of the thoughts from a recent lesson. You will see some duplication with the previous article. Here goes...

The LORD said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone. (Num 11:16-17)

It is unclear from scripture when it happened. It may have occurred at the burning bush or maybe during his 40 days with the LORD on Mount Sinai. At one of these encounters, the LORD placed His Spirit on Moses. The Spirit was present at creation and had interacted with mankind since that time, but Moses is apparently the first person in scripture to receive the Spirit from the LORD in this manner. The giving of the Spirit follows the failure of the people to come forward at Mount Sinai and have fellowship with the LORD. The original plan of the LORD had been to speak directly with the people,

“’I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you’…And then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people,’” (Ex 19:9-11)

The people consecrated themselves and on the morning of the third day the LORD descended down on to Mount Sinai. However,

“When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.’ Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.’” (Ex 20:18-20).

The writer of Hebrews recounts the story in this way,

“You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.’ The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, ‘I am trembling with fear.’" (Heb 12:18-21)

Although Moses encouraged the people to approach the mountain, the people would not come forward to have fellowship with the LORD. The responsibility then fell on Moses to be the representative of the people before the LORD and to communicate to the people the words of the LORD.

“At that time I (Moses) stood between the LORD and you (Israel) to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.” (Deut 5:5).

Since the people would not approach the mountain to receive the word of the LORD, the LORD told Moses, “Go, tell them (Israel) to return to their tents. But you stay here with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess”. (Deut 5:30-31). The failure of the people to establish a personal relationship with the LORD, established Moses as the mediator between the LORD and the people. The people then came to believe in Moses as the representative of God, as it is written, “they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses,” (Ex 14:31). Following the pattern first established by Moses (Deut 18:15), believers are called to “believe in God, believe also in Me (Jesus),” (John 14:1).

What God intended to speak and write on the hearts of each Israelite at Mount Sinai became written on tables of stone delivered to Moses. This arrangement fell short of God’s original plan for the people, a plan that would be delayed until the words spoken by Jeremiah are completely fulfilled.

“They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, form the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jer 331:34).

THE PROLIFERATION OF THE SPIRIT THROUGH HISTORY

When Moses became weary from leading the people, the LORD told him to gather seventy elders of Israel and bring them to the Tent of Meeting to stand before the LORD. The LORD then came down and took from the Spirit that was on Moses and placed the Spirit on each of the seventy individuals. The Bible further tells us that two individuals of the seventy, Eldad and Medad, did not come to the gathering at the Tent of Meeting, but remained in the camp. Traditional commentary suggests that these individuals were too humble to feel worthy of the Spirit being placed on them. Although we do not know if this was the specific reason for their absence, righteousness flowing from humility was the primary prerequisite to qualify an individual for receiving the Spirit.

“Yet, the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp…Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, ‘Moses, my lord, stop them!’ But Moses replied, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit on them!’” (Num 11:26-29)

Paul would make a similar statement to the church at Corinth. “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy,” (1 Cor 14:1).

The distributing of the Spirit from Moses to the seventy elders was seen as the lighting of seventy candles from the flame of Moses. The other seventy received the Spirit, but the act did not diminish the Spirit that was on Moses. Through the action of the LORD, seventy-one individuals were now endowed with the Spirit. Although many believers hold to an opinion that the Spirit was only given after the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, scripture tells us that the same Spirit in believers was the Spirit placed on the seventy-one men of Israel. The apostle Paul tells us that the people of Israel were…

“all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (1 Cor 10:2-4)

Peter confirms this fact by telling us that the prophets “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit,” (2 Pet 1:21), which is the “Spirit of Christ,” (1 Pet 1:11).

Near the conclusion of his life, Moses would place his hand on Joshua and the son of Nun was “filled with the spirit of wisdom,” (Deut 34:9). The seventy would also lay their hands on righteous individuals who would follow in their footsteps. In this way, the LORD provided an unbroken chain of men and woman who received the Spirit to speak the word of the LORD to the nation of Israel from the time of Moses (1300 BC) until the Babylonian exile (600 BC). Just prior to the Babylonian exile, Ezekiel was given a vision of the glory of the LORD leaving the temple (Ezek 10:18). The vision of Ezekiel is understood to mark the beginning of the end of the prophetic word for the nation of Israel. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the minor prophets concluding with Malichi, all speak during the period just prior to or during the time of the Babylonian exile. As a consequence, these prophets are not only given the word for their generation, but also the word for the generations of Israel yet to come.

THE RIGHTEOUS REQUIREMENT FOR RECEIVING THE SPIRIT

The gift of the Spirit was not arbitrarily conveyed by God upon men, but was the crowning of an individual who had obtained an exceptionally high level of spiritual growth. To receive the Spirit, a prophet had to achieve and maintain an extremely high level of righteousness and few people ever reached this objective. It is no coincidence that Moses, the first man on whom the Spirit was placed, was also the most humble man on the face of the earth, (Num 12:3), a characteristic also found in Jesus, (Matt 11:29). This level of spiritual growth often required many years to achieve. Moses was over eighty years old when the Spirit was placed upon him. The process was loosely defined in the Hebraic traditions of the Talmud as follows:

“Zeal leads to cleanliness, cleanliness to ritual purity, ritual purity to self-control, self-control to holiness, holiness to humility, humility to fear of sin, fear of sin to saintliness, and saintliness to the Holy Spirit.” (Sot. IX:15) (Everyman’s Talmud, “Revelation,”T page 121)

The standard of righteousness did not change at the beginning of the first century AD. Men and women were still required to achieve a high level of personal righteousness before the gift of the Spirit would come upon them. At the beginning of the New Testament, Zechariah was filled with the Spirit and prophesized at the birth of John (Luke 1:67-79), and Elizabeth was filled with the Spirit upon hearing the greeting of Mary, (Luke 1:41). Luke records that the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon (Luke 2:25), who was moved by the Spirit to prophesize over the Christ child (Luke 2:34-35). The Holy Spirit also came upon Mary (Luke 1:35) at the pronouncement of the angel Gabriel. The knowledge that these individuals received the Spirit tells us a great deal about their personal character, a fact further substantiated by Luke.

Zechariah and Elizabeth: “Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.” (Luke 1:6)
•Simeon: “There was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout.” (Luke 2:25)
•Joseph and Mary: They did everything required by the Law of the Lord (Luke 2:39)

Later, the Lord chose the Apostle Paul, in part, based on his standard of personal righteousness, “as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless,” (Phil 3:5).

The sequence in the baptism of Jesus further supports this principle. Although Jesus was sinless, his baptism was required “to fulfill all righteousness,” (Matt 3:15). The statement of Jesus is puzzling and it is unclear what righteousness the act of baptism fulfilled. Jesus may have been setting an example for future believers, John may have been anointing Jesus as king like David had been by Samuel, or Jesus may have been preparing for his role as our High Priest since all priests were required to be baptized before entering the temple to offer sacrifice. Whatever the specific reason, the act fulfilled all righteousness.

Immediately after being baptized, the heavens were opened, and John saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting upon Jesus demonstrating that “all righteousness” had been achieved. John testified to this event by saying, “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him,” (John 1:32). Two addition aspects of Jesus’ baptism should be noted. First, the Spirit came down from heaven and “descended on him (Jesus),” (Luke 3:21), which typified the pattern of Moses and all the prophets that followed.

Second, John tells us that he saw the Spirit “remain on him (Jesus).” In the Hebrew text, the external dwelling of the Spirit “upon” individuals is somewhat analogous to a coat that can be put on or taken off an individual. The continued dwelling of the Spirit on any individual required that a continuous state of righteousness be maintained by the individual. If an individual failed to maintain the necessary state of righteousness, the Spirit would depart, as happened in the case of Saul (1 Sam 16:14). David was also concerned about the Spirit leaving after his sin with Bathsheba, as he cried out to the LORD, “do not take Your Holy Spirit from me,” (Psa 51:11). The fact that the Holy Spirit would “remain” on Jesus is a testimony to the complete righteousness of his life.

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE BELIEVER THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

"But I tell you the truth, 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 go, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7)

In the past, I wondered if this statement indicated some type of cosmic anomaly that prevented Jesus from being on the earth after the Spirit had been poured out on mankind. Otherwise, why was it necessary for Jesus to go away or else the helper would not come? My error was to focus on the going away and not the redemptive act that proceeded the departure of Jesus. Earlier in his ministry, Jesus had been present in the temple on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles when the priest pours water onto the altar requesting rain for the land (Zech 14:16-17). Jesus used this opportunity to proclaim to the people in a loud voice,

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:37-39)

John makes it clear that it was not the departure of Jesus, but the glorification of Jesus that made the coming of the Spirit possible. The standard of righteousness required for the dwelling of the Spirit had not changed. For the Spirit to be poured out on the day of Pentecost, it was first necessary for individuals to become righteous. Without righteousness, the Spirit cannot come to dwell upon an individual. Believers became righteous, not because of their own merit, but because of the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, as it is written,

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor 5:21)

After the redemptive work of Jesus, men and woman became eligible to receive the Spirit, not because of their own righteousness, but because they received righteousness by trusting in the one who is righteous. In this way, Gentiles have access to the promises given to Abraham through faith.

He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Gal 3:14)

Believers have been given an incredible gift, the opportunity to receive the Spirit of God. Up until the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, men and women spent their entire life striving under their own ability to achieve a level of righteousness necessary to receive the Spirit. A few achieved the necessary level of righteousness, but only after many years and then there was no certainty that the Spirit would remain. The dwelling of the Spirit could still be lost if a person’s righteousness faltered.

Up until the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, the Spirit was primarily said to dwell “upon” an individual. After the cross, the Spirit is primarily said to dwell “within” an individual, (Rom 8:9)(1 Cor 3:16). The distinction is important because it establishes a greater permanency of the Spirit in a believer’s life than was possible before the cross. Dwelling “upon” a person was somewhat analogous to an article of clothing that could be put on or taken off. After the cross, the Spirit is seen as indwelling a person like the heart or liver, which cannot easily be removed.

The indwelling of the Spirit is difficult, if not impossible, when the indwelling relies on the personal righteousness of the individual apart from Christ. With a profession of faith that comes from trusting in Jesus, the righteousness of a believer no longer depends on personal merit, but on the one whose righteousness will never fail. The Spirit then becomes a deposit “guaranteeing what is to come,” (2 Cor 1:22), that is, “guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession,” (Eph 1:14). Since the righteousness of Jesus will never fail, the Spirit will never depart, provided a believer’s faith in Jesus remains steadfast.

THE HELPER ENABLES US TO WALK IN OBEDIENCE

"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” (Ezek 36:27)

Before the cross, the Spirit was given to individuals who had demonstrated a righteous life in obedience to the commandments. After the cross, the Spirit is given to enable believers to walk in obedience to the commandments of God. Before the cross, the ability of an individual to live a righteous life was based entirely on the individual. After the cross, an individual is still called to a walk of obedience, but is given a “Helper,” (John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7), like Adam (Gen 2:20), to enable the believer to “walk as Jesus did,” (1 John 2:6). Like the wife of our youth, the individual should cleave to the Spirit, and not grieve the Spirit (Eph 4:30), less our prayers be hindered, (1 Pet 3:7). In the words of Paul, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. (Gal 5:16)

In the words of Peter, believers have been granted “His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature,” (2 Pet 1:4). Through the promises of God we have been granted the gift of the Spirit in order to act in a manner that Peter defines in the verses that immediately follow.

Now for this very reason, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your .knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ…for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom will be abundantly supplied to you. (2 Peter 1:5-8 & 11)

The Bible has an extensive list of how the Spirit enables us in our walk in obedience to the will of the LORD. Among His many roles, the Spirit:

•Convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and of the coming judgment (John 16:8-11)
•Searches the depths of God (1 Cor 2:10)
•Informs believers of things freely given to us by God (1 Cor 2:12)
•Intercedes for believers in prayer (Rom 8:26)
•Directs the steps of believers (Acts 8:29)(Acts 9:17)(Acts 10:19)
•Reveals future events (1 Tim 4:1)(Rev 1:10)
•Is a witness to the salvation of the believer (Rom 8:16)

The Spirit is said to be “the Spirit of truth” who…

Will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. (John 16:13-15)

In Scripture, the “truth” is analogous to the word of God, as it is written,
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth,” (John 17:17)
“He brought us forth by the word of truth,” (James 1:18)
“Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” (Prov 1:23)

Paul defined the source of scripture as “God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work,” (2 Tim 3:16-17). In scripture, the breath of God is associated with the Spirit of God (John 20:22) and with the life sustaining spirit in man that comes from God, (Gen 2:7). Spirit, wind, and breath, all derive from the same Hebrew root word, “ruach.” Therefore, the statement of Paul could loosely be translated as “All Scripture is God Spirit.”

In the New Testament, the Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), which is traditionally the same day that Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the original Ten Commandments, the word of God. When the Bible proclaims that “true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth,” (John 4:23), the Bible understands this worship to be in accordance with the word of God enabled by the Spirit.

Although most believers want to focus on the more glamorous gifts of the Spirit, such as healing, a primary role of the Spirit is to communicate the word of God to the believer. He did this first through the prophets and now through the word contained in the Bible. In this role, the Spirit never seeks to glorify Himself, but to bring glory to Jesus Christ by taking what Jesus said and making those words known to the believer, (John 16:14-15). In effect, the Spirit is acting after the pattern established by the LORD who took from Moses and distributed the Spirit upon the seventy elders of Israel. In a similar manner, the Spirit takes from Jesus and makes it known to believers.


THE MEASURES OF THE SPIRIT

He gave to the wind its weight, (Job 28:25)

Since the words for wind and Spirit can be interchanged, the Old Testament commentators often understood this passage in Job to say, “He gave the Spirit by measure.” In other words, not every individual received the same measure of the Spirit. The quintessential example is the request of Elisha to receive a double portion of the Spirit that was on Elijah, (2 Kings 2:9). The statement of Elisha implies that differing measures of the Spirit are possible and since Elisha saw Elijah when he was taken up by a whirlwind into heaven, we understand that the request of Elisha was granted.

In relationship to Jesus, the Scripture tells us,

"For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.” (John 3:34)

Again, the scripture implies that the Spirit is given in measure, but in relation to Jesus, the Spirit was given “without measure.” Often, believers hold to a position that the source of Jesus’ miracles and teachings came from the “God portion” of His being. However, the apostle Paul tells us of Jesus…

Although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Phil 2:6-9)

By saying that Jesus “emptied Himself,” Paul understands that the source of Jesus’ miracles and the teachings He delivered did not originate from the “God portion” of His being. Jesus emptied Himself of this aspect of His nature when He humbled Himself by becoming a man. If Jesus elected to not rely on His God nature, what became the source of His power to minister and perform miracles? When Isaiah prophesized of the coming of the Messiah he said,

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. (Isa 11:2)

Luke confirms the promises of Isaiah as he wrote,

about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. (Acts 1:1-2)

The knowledge that Jesus accomplished His work on the earth through the Spirit becomes empowering to the believer because we also have access to the same Spirit through the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross. Yes, we are just human, but “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours,” (James 5:17). These words of James are intended communicate that each believer has access to the same power as Elijah and is capable of accomplishing works after the pattern of Elijah. So why don’t we?

The ability of any believer to perform the works of God is proportional to the “power” of the Spirit within the believer. In the words of Paul, Christ Jesus “is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,” (Eph 3:20). The power that works within us is the Spirit and the works that Jesus can perform through the believer are directly related to the power of the Spirit within the believer. When we “grieve” the Spirit (Eph 4:30), we diminish the ability of the Spirit to work through us. However, when a believer is “filled with the Spirit,” (Eph 5:18), then Jesus is able to do above and beyond all that we ask for or even consider.

Grieving of the Spirit is caused by, among other acts, “unwholesome talk…bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice,” (Eph 4.29&31). If grieving the Spirit is possible through the actions of a believer, it would follow that a greater filling of the Spirit is also possible through the actions of the believer. The filling of the Spirit becomes possible through increasing obedience to the commandments of God.

In the parable of the talents, it is the disobedient servant who only received a single talent in the beginning. Is it just a coincidence that the man who was faithless received the fewest talents to work with or is it a pattern we should appreciate? The servant who received five talents and the servant who received two talents were rewarded for their faithfulness with a doubling of their talents. In addition, the single talent from the faithless servant was given to the one who already had ten talents. “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away,” (Matt 25:29).

The more righteous our actions, the greater the measure of the Spirit that will be entrusted to us following the principle,

“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much,” (Luke 16:10).

Every believer has the ability to increase the measure of the Spirit working in their life through faithfulness demonstrated by obedience to the commandments. Just as there was a path to receive the Spirit in the Old Testament, there is a path to a greater fullness of the Spirit in the New Testament. In the words of Peter,

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." (1 Peter 1:13-16)

The believer is made holy through the precious and atoning blood of Jesus Christ. The believer is then called to live a life reflective of holiness. This life becomes possible because we have been given the Spirit of truth, a helper to aid us in our walk to become more like Christ.

Scott