THE PURPOSE AND SPHERE OF THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The present Day of Grace is the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, complementing the preceding ministry of the Son, a divine work wholly unperceived by unregenerate man. His coming into the world was as momentous as that of the Son and signalled the beginning of a new age, the dispensation of the Spirit.
As the Son was introduced to the nation by John Baptist, so the Holy Spirit was introduced to the disciples by the Lord Jesus as recorded in John 14, 15 & 16. He said to them:
- “He shall be in you” – John 14:17.
- “He shall teach you all things” – John 14:26
- “He shall testify of me” – John 15:26
- “He shall convict the world” – John 16:8-11
- “He shall guide you into all truth” – John 16:13.
- “He will show you things to come” – John 16:13
- “He shall glorify me” – John 16:14
Thus the disciples were instructed regarding the coming of the Spirit and the character of His ministry. His coming, as that of His Predecessor, was for a spiritual ministry, in this instance in and through the believer and local gathering, not a ministry in connection with the natural sphere.
It is the task of angels to bring divine purpose to fruition in the sphere of the natural world, whether relating to individuals, Acts 12:7-11, Matt.13:41, or nations, Rev.7 & 8. Angels are spirit beings but are not engaged in a spiritual ministry on earth, that is the province of the Holy Spirit as itemised above; rather they are learning spiritual things, Eph. 3:10. Whilst they themselves are unseen, their present activity on earth is concerned with the things that are seen, the sphere of the natural world.
So whilst the angels have a ministry to bring divine purpose to fruition in creation, the Holy Spirit has a ministry to bring divine purpose to fruition in the spiritual sphere of the new creation. They are active in the things that are seen, He in the things that are unseen; they are consequently involved in the natural life and circumstances of the believer in the context of creation and providence, He with the new, spiritual life of the believer. This distinction is illustrated in Acts 8 regarding Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch; in verse 26 an angel spoke to Philip with instructions concerning his journey, while in verse 29 it is the Spirit who speaks to him in an imminent spiritual context.
Failure to distinguish between the natural and spiritual spheres, Luke 20:25, Rom.14:17, (things seen and unseen, 2 Cor. 4:18), has contributed to the common error of supposing that the Spirit has a guiding role in the secular life of the believer. However, nowhere does Scripture state that He guides the Christian in daily natural life, rather as indicated by the Lord, His ministry has to do with new, spirituallife, the new man, not the old man and natural life. However, this should not be construed as in any way inferring that secular life is divorced from divine interest or scriptural guidance. The epistles are replete with (apostolic) “commandments of the Lord” relating to secular life.
The Holy Spirit is in the believer, dwelling in him and abiding with him permanently. In former ages He had come upon men for a specific purpose; now He was to take up His abode in them for a permanent dwelling place, 1 Cor. 6:19, Eph.2:22. He is the Divine Presence in the believer, a spiritual presence, creating the new and inward man, a new creation. By Him unregenerate man is born-again, acquiring a newlife, the life of the Spirit and that new life manifests itself spiritually in fruit-bearing, the fruit of the Spirit. It is the law of nature that all life should bear fruit after its kind and it is so in the spiritual realm.
The fruit of the Spirit, as detailed in Gal.5, is unique to the believer and assembly, radically different to those natural qualities which are the equivalents in unregenerate man and the world. The believer is a new spiritual man, not a new Adam, a new creation, “created in Christ Jesus unto (spiritual) good works”. It is “not by might nor by power but by my Spirit, saith the Lord”.