My Personal Person - Part 2
- Femi Ade
- Jun 20, 2021
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 24, 2021
Manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the three major dispensations in the Bible.
Before you proceed, please endeavor to read the previous article on My Personal Person (gurugeeksroyalty.biz) which is the introduction of who my personal person is, His power and gifts.
In this write-up, I will be sharing few highlights on the manifestation on the Holy Spirit right from the book of Genesis to Malachi, Matthew to John & Acts to Revelation.
You might be wondering why I have divided the scriptures into three sub-sections, this is simply because each sections mentioned above shows more appearance/manifestations of each of the triune God than the other.
Genesis to Malachi - More of Manifestation of the God The Father
Matthew to John - More of Manifestation of God The Son
Acts to Revelation - More of God the Holy Spirit.
Having said that, many people think the Holy Spirit only came into manifestation in the New Testament on the day of Pentecost which was when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples of Jesus.[Acts 2] but that is wrong. The Holy Spirit definitely manifested Himself in different ways right from the book of Genesis to Revelation.
So lets go through a few examples in each of the major dispensation of the Bible below:
1. Genesis to Malachi
a. [Gen 1:1-2]
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters"
In the passage above, we clearly see the intimate interworking of the Trinity God - Father, Son (Word) verse 3 and Holy Spirit participating in creation.
b. [Gen 2:7, Psalm 104:29,30]
"Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."
The Holy Spirit gives life to Mankind and other creatures. The word "breathe" is translated as life/spirit. We share same life as Jesus and we are one with Him just as He is one with the Father through Jesus' death, burial & resurrection. [John 17, John 3:6, John 14:20, Gal 2:20]
c. The Holy Spirit came upon certain judges, warriors, and prophets in a way that gave them exceptional power for a certain task: for example, Joshua (Num. 27:18), Othniel (Judg. 3:10), Gideon (6:34), Samson (13:25; 14:6), and Saul (1 Sam. 10:9, 10). However, the Spirit later departed from Saul because of his disobedience (16:14) as in the old Testament.
In the new testament, The Holy Spirit cannot be taken from a Christian, when the Spirit comes on you, he comes to remain because its a gift that comes with our Salvation, we do not earn it based on how good or bad we are, He is a wonderful gift to us through Christ.
2. Matthew to Gospel of John.
a. Jesus conceived by the Holy Spirit - [Matt 1:18-20, Luke 1:35]
In this passage, we see an account of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit upon Mary, how He anointed her - a virgin to conceive our spotless Lord Jesus Christ, again confirming His word in John 3:6 - Spirit gives birth to spirit.
b. The Holy Spirit upon Jesus [Matt 3:16]
"As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him"
Here we see the manifestation on the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove, please bear in mind that the statement "like a dove" is a symbolic word of expression not literally that a dove descended on Him.
The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus to affirm that He is the Son of God and to also empower Him for his ministry and you can see in the next chapter that He was later led by the Holy Spirit just as the Romans 8:14 confirms that those that are led by the Spirit are the children of God.
More so, for you to be effective in the work of ministry, you definitely need the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Isn't it interesting that Jesus' forerunner was also filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born [Luke 1:15] and that he is also confirmed that through Jesus, his disciples will be baptised with the Holy Spirit and Fire [Matt 3:11].
c. Jesus casting out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit. [Matt 12:28]
it is obvious that Jesus couldn't have done lots of the miracles we see in the Bible if not by the power of the Holy Spirit. So you see how important the presence and anointing of the Holy Spirit is in one's life.
3. Acts of Apostle to Revelation
a. Manifestation of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost [Act 2]
The impartation of the Holy Spirit to believers was foretold by Jesus before His ascension as noted by Luke in Act 1:4-5. This promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. The Pentecost (i.e celebrating the giving of the Torah and the summer wheat harvest) is a Jewish festival normally celebrated 50 days after Passover (The Passover Feast commemorates Israel's deliverance from slavery in Egypt.)
About 40 days after the resurrection of Jesus, the 12 apostles and other early followers were gathered together in a house in Jerusalem to celebrate the traditional Jewish Pentecost and "Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them." [Act 2:1-4]
This event also marks the fulfilment of the prophecy by Prophet Joel [Joel 2:28-32].
From the day of Pentecost forward, it became a norm that believers receive the Holy Spirit at the time of their conversion. At Pentecost, Peter identified the receipt of the Holy Spirit as a consequence of salvation in Act 2:37-39.
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
b. Holy Spirit, the Mediator of Christ's sacrifice to God for the sins of mankind [Heb 9:13-14]
Jesus Christ came as our High Priest and did not enter the Most Holy Place [Psalm 24] by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
Jesus was able to live on this earth blameless and to offer Himself unblemished to God cleansing our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God through the eternal Spirit.
c. The Spirit if the source of life [2 Cor 3:6]
Jesus said He has come to give us life in abundance which means a life with nothing missing, lacking or broken [John 10:10]. This can only come to manifestation by the power of the Holy Spirit. To live a purposeful & fulfilled life in this world, we need to rely on the Holy Spirit for impartation on a daily basis. We cannot fulfil all God's promises for us without the help of the Holy Spirit.
"He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
d. The Spirit is implanted in believers' heart as a pledge or deposit guaranteeing future redemption [Rom 8:9-11, 2 Cor 1:22, 5:5; Ephe 1:13; 4:30]
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us constitutes a seal that Gods' people are sealed for the day of redemption. We are authentic, owned & preserved by God through the Holy Spirit in us.
God has not given us the spirit of fear but He gave us the Spirit of love, power & sound mind. [2 Tim 1:7]. We need to remind ourselves everyday. Let this mind be in you always and you will join Christ to say I have overcome this world.
e. Believers are washed, sanctified, justified and baptized by the Spirit [1 Cor 6:11; 12:13, 2 Thess 2:13, Tit 3:5]
Those that have placed their faith in Christ Jesus are washed, sanctified, justified by the Holy Spirit. Not by our works of righteousness but by God's mercy, He saved us. This reckless love of God should teach us humility and encourage us to show kindness to others without expecting any praise or reward.
f. The Spirit enables communication to God beyond the human realm [Rev 1:10]
The expression "in the Spirit" describes the exaltation and detachment of the human spirit brought by the Holy Spirit who enables divine communication to be made to God. We see Apostle John in the book of revelation carried beyond the realm of the physical and natural sense to a supernatural realm (normally unseen) where the Holy Spirit becomes the divine illuminator.
"On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” [Rev 1:10]
In Rev 14:13 , we also see John received a word form the Spirit which is an assurance in connection with those (saints) who has placed their faith in Christ as their Lord and Savior in defiance of the Beast.
Also, to highlight the last word from the Spirit as stated in the book of Revelation.
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. [Rev 22:17]
The Holy Spirit joins with the Bride (the church) in response to the unfolding of Christ as the water of life and a reminder that He is coming again soon.
I hope you've been blessed studying the few things about the person of the Holy Spirit. It doesn't stop here, there are more and more to learn about the Holy Spirit. I pray the Holy Spirit will reveal Himself to you in a mighty way in Jesus Name. Amen
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