A NEW SPIRIT, A NEW CHURCH
By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min.
Jesus paid with His blood at Calvary the price that give birth to the church.
It was (and continues to be) the role of the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity of the God who is One, to organize and launch the Church with the new form of heartfelt worship God desires (John 4:21-24).
The new Spirit in the land, the Holy Spirit, was largely unknown to the first century sons of Abraham. They certainly did not perceive the Spirit had been a member of the Triune Godhead from eternity past. Very few Israelites had any awareness of the Spirit’s role. To them, the Holy Spirit was a new power in the earth.
To fill that vacuum Jesus asked His Father to send the Holy Spirit to take Jesus’ place and the Spirit did just that (John 14:16; Acts 2).
The Holy Spirit made a quantum new beginning on that great first century Day of Pentecost when the Heavenly Father launched the ministry of the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is ultimate divine genius (omniscient is the theological term]. The Spirit knows everything about Jesus and holds the Lord’s same love and passion for people. The Spirit’s power is equal to Jesus’ power, but always without competition or conflict.
The Spirit is everywhere at the same time (omnipresent is the theological term).
The Holy Spirit is immutable, meaning He never changes.
The Holy Spirit knows every person by name and address, and never confuses a name or address.
The Holy Spirit knows the moral condition of every person’s heart.
The Spirit gives undivided attention and exact counsel to each person who seeks His direction. To use a word picture, no computer will ever match the Holy Spirit. The Spirit can give perfect counsel simultaneously to millions of God’s children, giving them power, encouragement, and direction. The Spirit speaks perfectly each of the 6500 languages spoken by the followers of Jesus Christ. The Spirit can talk individually and at the same time simultaneously with multiple millions of Jesus’ followers, and each person knows he is enjoying the Holy Spirit’s undivided attention. Not a single person comes away saying “the Spirit confused my language or my request with another person who has my same name. Neither does the Spirit ever place a caller on hold.
How big is God; how big and wide His vast domain?
To try and tell, these lips can only start.
He’s big enough to rule His mighty universe,
But small enough to live within my heart.
Lyrics by Ray Price
The Holy Spirit ministers to the unique prayer of each of Jesus’ followers. At the same time, He cares simultaneously for all of the other believers around the world who need His help, even though each of them brings a different request in a different language.
Yes, Jesus’ blood paid the price for our redemption and the Holy Spirit joins with the Heavenly Father as the perfect Counselor, Comforter, Teacher, Evangelist and Healer, and the list goes on, and on.
The third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, ushered in the new heartfelt worship God desires. In the New Covenant, believers worship Jesus and Him alone. It begins with the story of the woman at the well.
“Believe me, woman…, a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and Truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in Spirit and in Truth” (John 4:21-24).
Jesus made a prophetic announcement at Caesarea Philippi that He would build His Church and even the gates of hell would not be able to prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). The era of worship based on the bloody sacrificing of lambs was over.
Jesus Himself is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world (John 1:29, 36). His blood that dripped on the rocks at Calvary is sufficient to save anyone who comes to Him in genuine repentance.
Worship in the Church, therefore, is based on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers. It is the word picture of the vine and the branches. Jesus is the vine, and His followers are the branches. The branches can bear no fruit, not even a single grape, unless they are in the vine. Said another way, “God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23-24).
The First Church of Jerusalem, born that Pentecost morning and launched by the Holy Spirit, started with 3,000 new converts. Each of them needed a place that would welcome this new Spirit; a setting where they could enjoy fellowship with people of like faith and be able to mature in Christ.
The Lord’s plan was for the apostolic church to be built in house churches, and the model lasted for the first 300 years before the construction of church buildings began. Jesus’ vision is international. He does not want anyone anywhere to perish, but for all to come to repentance (Mark 16:15; Acts 5:42; 2 Peter 3:9).
The church has had many great teachers throughout its history, but none have equaled Jesus, the Master Teacher, and the Holy Spirit, who knows everything about Jesus (John 13:3; 14:26). Let it be underscored that for the Spirit to be able to teach all that Jesus is, including all Jesus said and did, required that the Holy Spirit be Jesus’ equal. Only then could He know and teach everything about Jesus. No Bible scholar who has ever served in the Lord’s church can make the Holy Spirit’s claim – to know everything about Jesus, including all Jesus said and did. In the ages to come, we will still be sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning from Him.
The new standard was rising, and the might of Rome allied with all the other forces of hell combined could not stop it (Isaiah 59:19).
Holy Spirit you are welcome in this place.
Holy Spirit you are welcome in this place.
Omnipotent Father of mercy and grace,
Thou art welcome in this place.
By: Aubrey Meeks
July 3, 2022 2:29 pm|
Great article. Frank I hope you received the email I sent with info you requested. Happy 4th of July. God bless you.