Holy Spirit or Power Spirit?

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8)" Apart from John 3:16, this is another oft-quoted verse, especially amongst Pentecostal or Charismatic Christians. We cannot deny that Christendom has lost somewhat the dunamis (dynamite) power of God in our every day living and ministry. We'd like to make reference to the demonstration of God's power during the times of the apostles in the book of Acts. Our hearts would often skip a beat when we listen to testimonies of the demonstration of God's power in far-away lands.

Surely, we are living in a kairos time where we are going to witness the greatest outpouring of the glory of God in the history of mankind as we enter the last days. Mighty signs, wonders and outrageous miracles will no longer be a domain for the select few but just as prophesied by Joel, it shall come to pass a day when the Holy Spirit shall be poured out upon ALL flesh.

However, in our pressing in into the Kingdom of God and praying and believing for breakthroughs and revivals, have we somewhat lost the understanding of the true identity of our God and inherited a mixed identity of the Spirit of God instead? Have we been guilty of reducing the Holy Spirt to just a Power Spirit? Does the end justify the means? Just because a person could display an array of the gifts of the Spirit, can we then justify his or her less-than-exemplary character or lifestyle? Surely, we are not in a position to judge another but how do we then reconcile such incompatibility in the light of the nature of Christ? These are valid questions that we should confront and honestly ask ourselves.

We have to be aware of the two pronged strategy of the adversary towards believers today. The enemy of our soul is the father of lies and would attempt at every opportunity to corrupt the intended work and purpose of God among His people. Firstly, the spirit of this age has lulled many Christians to sleep and to be complacent with their spiritual lives. The indifference of the younger generation and the complacency of the older generation are signs that the spirit of the age have penetrated believers worldwide. Will it be too late for us to realize that we are after all seeking a curse camouflaging as a blessing? Would it grieve our souls to realize how much of the world is inside us compared to the degree of Christ possessing our lives?

On the other hand, the influx of half-truth doctrines in churches today is alarming and errors have been spreading like wildfire. The passage in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 is taking place right before our eyes today, i.e. "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." Undoubtedly, we are living in times when God is pouring out His revelation and mysteries of the Kingdom of God are being unfolded to us but we would be naive to be thinking that the adversary of our souls would merely sit still to watch what God is doing.

We serve and worship a holy God. Nothing can subtract the holiness of God. We may be more interested in power and prosperity but God is interested in His pure and spotless bride. His bride will be gloriously beautiful indeed for God will not withold any good thing from His bride. But we should not lose sight of our holy God. The Spirit of God is FIRST, the HOLY SPIRIT of God. As much as we desire the power of God manifested in our midst, we must come to the realization that holiness is His nature. It is His desire that His bride be holy, just as He is holy. The priority of the workings and dealings of our God in our lives is the fruit of the Spirit. Yes, He is more interested in our character, our walk with Him, our relationship with Him. Our "being" precedes our "doing". There is a call to a deeper consecration for the body of Christ in this hour. It is a call to welcome the Holy Spirit to cleanse us and purge us from everything that is not of Him. Oh yes, we may have surrendered our lives to Him but He is calling us deeper and His demands of love are knocking at the doors of our hearts.

Christ Himself could say that "the ruler of this world has found nothing in Me" (John 14:30). As we allow His grace to work in our hearts to purify our motives and intents and search into the depths of our hearts - perhaps we could also echo the words of Jesus that our adversary has nothing in us. When the Word (Jesus, the word manifested) and the Spirit (alighting in the likeness of a dove) were in union during the baptism of Jesus, there was an open heaven and the commissioning of the public ministry of Jesus, signalling a new page in the history of mankind. We are also at the verge of entering a new chapter in this time and season we are living in. Let us consecrate ourselves to God and allow Him to work in us towards Christ-likeness. Allow Him to bring forth a revolution of His holiness among His people in preparation of the great outpouring of His glory. And the bride of Christ shall indeed arise and shine in purity and power. Come Holy Spirit!