Back to basics.

I am much disturbed by the current emphasis on the Holy Spirit in the church. I am baptised in the Holy Spirit and I have some gifts of the Spirit. I am not a cessasionist. However, God's intent is revealed in His word, which is:

"With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ." (Ephesians 1:8-10)

"For in Him (Jesus) all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him." (Colossians 1:16)

"Therefore God exalted Him (Jesus) to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.............." (Philippians 2: 9&10)

Demons are not impressed when we say "Holy Spirit". They must obey when we command them in Jesus' name. (Luke 10:17).

I pray for the church as Paul did:

"I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." (Ephesians 1:18-23)

aiki said:

Can you explain what you mean here?

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There is a great deal of talk about revival. It centres around the Holy Spirit. Recently, a "prophet" was proclaiming that there would be cities in the USA that people would come to so as to feel the presence of God. Others are talking about the Holy Spirit "hovering" as He did over the waters in Genesis.

If the spirit that is making declarations is not pointing people to Jesus, it is not the Holy Spirit.
John 16
12I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it. 13However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you. 15Everything that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take from what is Mine and disclose it to you.

Now if the spirit is not the Holy Spirit, what is it? If it is not the Holy Spirit, it is leading people astray. I saw this happen in the 1990's with the so-called Toronto Blessing. It was all about the "Holy" Spirit and nothing to do with Jesus. The current talk of revival leads me to believe that it will be another counterfeit. People will be going to meetings, feeling a charged atmosphere, singing, dancing and hand waving. They will be going out the front to be "zapped" by this spirit and end up being more bound up than when they came in. And they will think that it's revival. I hope that I am wrong. I want revival as much as anyone, but the real, not the fake.

aiki said:

Ah. I see. And "Amen"!

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Thank you.

Guojing said:

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"So do you consider the completed written word as the perfect that Paul was referring to in 1 Corinthians 13?"

No. The perfect refers to the perfect knowledge of God. People can memorise every word of the Bible and still not know God.

I do believe that the Bible is indeed the word of God. I believe the Genesis account of creation is literal, no matter what the doubters and sceptics say. If someone claims to have a word from God in this day, it will in no way contradict God's written word. In a perfect world with a perfect church, we would not need the written word.

We have the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth (John 16). Now if the Bible was all sufficient, we would not need the help of the Holy Spirit. From the amount of dissent, confusion and misunderstanding even on this forum, it is plain that we need the help of the Holy Spirit still.