8 October 2023
THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE BELIEVER(4)
(Growing in Faith, in Truth & in Spirit: GFTS 15)
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and He plays a very important role in our lives as followers of Christ. Our Lord said, “When He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the Truth” (John 16:13). When we walk in the Spirit and allow Him to take control of our life, mind, heart, and spirit – He will protect us from false teachings and the deception of the devil. The devil is “the god of this world” and “the whole world is under his control” (2 Cor 4:4; 1 John 5:19). Hence, he will use people around us who do not know Christ and false teachers to influence us by their “worldly wisdom”.
Worldly wisdom comes from educated and intellectual teachers, professors, and “well-informed” respected people in society. They may advocate ungodly ethics, values and practices which are morally and spiritually questionable. The Apostle James tells what is wrong with worldly wisdom: “Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from Heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic” (James 3:15). That is why the world has accepted homosexual marriage, Evolution and One World Order – all these and many more, come from the devil controlling their minds and spirits. Unfortunately, many Churches and Christians are also unwittingly going along with them and accepting such thinking and practices.
The worst of all these is the devil’s influence on Church leaders, pastors and theologians accepting false teachings. The Bible tells had already warned us about this: “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Tim.4:1). We are now living in “the later times” and the devil is using preachers and theologians like he used Balaam to deceive Israel. Today many preachers and teachers in Churches and Bible Schools have “abandoned the faith” (based on Holy Scripture) and leading Christians astray with lies and deception. So let us beware!
The Holy Spirit will reveal these lies and deception to us if we are walking closely with Him. He will remind and teach us from Scripture (the Word of Truth) and show us these lies so that we will not accept them. Truth cannot be compromised because they are from the God of Truth and Jesus Christ Who is the Truth (John 14:6). He will guide us into all Truth so that we will not fall into error and depart from the Word of God and the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles and Prophets which are the foundation of the Church (Eph.2:19-22).
The Apostle John wrote to the Church and said: “It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the Truth, just as the Father commanded us” (2 John 4). The pastors and leaders in our Church will also rejoice when our members walk in the Truth of God’s Word! Then he wrote to Gaius and the Church in his house: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the Truth” (3 John 4). As a spiritual father, I also feel the same. May we all be faithful to the Truth and walk in it and glorify Father, Son and Spirit.
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