Spirit of Torah
Part 3 – The Spirit in the Gospels
By MMin Kevin “Oriyan” Phipps

     We have already seen how the Holy Spirit was active in the lives of the prophets and others in the Old Testament. He not only came upon God’s people, but indwelled them as well. We saw last week, how Yeshua’s ministry was governed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. He did noting of His own power, but the power of the Spirit in Him. This was to show that the same Spirit is available to us today to carry on the same work that our Messiah started. This week, we are looking at the work of the Spirit in the lives of others that lived during the time of Yeshua, as well as teachings about the Spirit given by Yeshua.

    He will be a joy and a delight to you, and many people will rejoice when he is born, for he will be great in the sight of Adonai. He is never to drink wine or other liquor, and he will be filled with the Ruach HaKodesh even from his mother's womb. [Luke 1:14-15]

     You might think this is Yeshua, but it is actually Yochanan/John the Baptist. This is something unique. Not only did the Spirit fill Yochanan, but He did it before Yochanan was even born! He was a nazir, consecrated from birth to the service of God. He was a son of a priest, Z’kharyah, who was also filled with the Holy Spirit and given the gift of prophesy.

    His father Z'kharyah was filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and spoke this prophecy:  "Praised be Adonai, the God of Isra'el, because he has visited and made a ransom to liberate his people by raising up for us a mighty Deliverer who is a descendant of his servant David. [Luke 1:67-69]

     Yochanan, then would have known Torah, not only as a Jewish man, but as the son of a priest. He would have been well acquainted with the Temple and most importantly, Messianic prophesies of the Tanakh, which would have been illuminated in his mind by the Spirit, so He would know more than anyone that the Messiah was coming and who He would be. Because of the Holy Spirit in Yochanan, the son of a priest was the first to declare to all, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who has come to take away the sins of the world!”
     Yochanan did not live a good life. He spent much time living in the wilderness, eating locusts and honey. He baptized people, including Yeshua Himself. He was a very humble man, always giving credit to the one who would come after him, of whose sandals he was unworthy to untie. At the end of his life, he was imprisoned and beheaded for His relationship to Yeshua. Despite this, the Spirit made him one of the most important and godly men in history, with the honor of ushering in the King of Kings.   

    It's true that I am immersing you in water so that you might turn from sin to God; but the one coming after me is more powerful than I — I'm not worthy even to carry his sandals — and he will immerse you in the Ruach HaKodesh and in fire. [Mattityahu/Matthew 3:11]

     This was a teaching by Yochanan concerning the type of baptism that Yeshua would perform, which Yochanan’s baptism was only a reflection of.  So what does this mean? 

    After his death he showed himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. During a period of forty days they saw him, and he spoke with them about the Kingdom of God. At one of these gatherings, he instructed them not to leave Yerushalayim but to "wait for what the Father promised, which you heard about from me. For Yochanan used to immerse people in water; but in a few days, you will be immersed in the Ruach HaKodesh!" When they were together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore self-rule to Isra'el?" He answered, "You don't need to know the dates or the times; the Father has kept these under his own authority. But you will receive power when the Ruach HaKodesh comes upon you; you will be my witnesses both in Yerushalayim and in all Y'hudah and Shomron, indeed to the ends of the earth!" [Acts 1:3-8]

     The Great Commission has already been given, but Yeshua wanted them to wait until the Holy Spirit was given before they sought to accomplish. With all the zeal that they probably had, it was no good without the guidance and enabling of the Holy Spirit. Unless God builds the house, the workers work in vain. Any ministry is in vain if done purely in accordance with the work of Man and not God. It is not our work we are doing in His name, it is His work. 
     The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a total immersion of one’s self into the Spirit of God. It makes little difference whether we are in Him or He is in us, the idea is still that we are intimately connected with the Spirit of God who directs us and enables us to accomplish God’s will. 

    If someone acknowledges that Yeshua is the Son of God, God remains united with him, and he with God. Also we have come to know and trust the love that God has for us. God is love; and those who remain in this love remain united with God, and God remains united with them. [1Yochanan/1John 4:15-16]

     The mistake we make is when we over spiritualize the baptism of the Holy Spirit to a point where we expect some sort of dramatic, life changing experience. Unless you are on the floor writhing like you are having some sort of epileptic seizure, it is not a genuine experience. I do not doubt that there are some genuine encounters with the Holy Spirit which do this sort of thing to a person, but there is a good deal of falsehood that can go along with this as well. All that shivers isn’t God. 
    I have experienced real Holy Spirit encounters, and in each case, the Holy Spirit enhanced my normal experiences, but I was still in complete control of my body and mind. Again, not that loss of control does not happen, but we fall into danger when we begin to expect something dramatic, and in some cases actually create the drama for ourselves or others in the name of God.

     "Yes, indeed," Yeshua answered him, "I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." Nakdimon said to him, "How can a grown man be 'born'? Can he go back into his mother's womb and be born a second time?"  Yeshua answered, "Yes, indeed, I tell you that unless a person is born from water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. What is born from the flesh is flesh, and what is born from the Spirit is spirit. [Yochanan/John 3:3-6]

    Our physical body and our spirit are both part of our being, but they operate on different planes. Just as a person who is baptized goes into the water one person and comes out a new person, someone who is baptized in the Spirit also becomes a new person spiritually. The physical baptism of water is just a representation of what is happening on a spiritual level.

     So then, what about the fire? 

    But who can endure the day when he comes? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire, like the soapmaker's lye. He will sit, testing and purifying the silver; he will purify the sons of Levi, refining them like gold and silver, so that they can bring offerings to Adonai uprightly. [Mal’akhi/Malachi 3:3]

     Most of the time, in Scripture, fire represents judgment. It serves the purpose of burning away chaff and purifying the soul. The Holy Spirit’s first name is Holy. God does not need us to be holy in order to use us, but part of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives is to cleanse us from unrighteousness, as He enables us to lead others to Him so he can do the same to them. If we are to truly be an effective servant of God in our world, we need to have the heart of David who asked God to search His heart to see if there was any impurity within him. 

    But when they bring you to trial, do not worry about what to say or how to say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you should say. For it will not be just you speaking, but the Spirit of your heavenly Father speaking through you. [Mattityahu/Matthew 10:20]

     I have had this exact experience, when I performed Isaiah 1 for a Messianic congregation and received a special anointing of the Spirit. The words came easier and were brought forth with more authority than I had ever rehearsed it. Others who heard me acknowledged that it was more than just me speaking. 
     Others report sitting next to people and the Spirit giving them just the right words to say to someone to encourage them or be able to pray for them. Often, we avoid evangelism because we fear not knowing what we say. If the work is ours, that may be a real problem, but if it is truly Spirit led, as it should be, He will tell us what to say and how to say it, if was say anything at all. I believe it was Charles Spurgeon who said that we ought to preach the Gospel at all times, and sometimes we actually use words. 

    "Those who are not with me are against me, and those who do not gather with me are scattering.  Because of this, I tell you that people will be forgiven any sin and blasphemy, but blaspheming the Ruach HaKodesh will not be forgiven.  One can say something against the Son of Man and be forgiven; but whoever keeps on speaking against the Ruach HaKodesh will never be forgiven, [Mattityahu/Matthew 12:31-32]

     This is one of those teachings that what it is depends on who you talk to. I’m not going to claim a definitive answer to this, but based on the context, what Yeshua seems to be saying is that anyone who attributes to work of the Holy Spirit to the work of Satan will not be forgiven. He was just accused of casting out demons by the power of Satan, which He showed to be impossible for a house divided against itself cannot stand. My personal opinion about this is that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit only applies to Yeshua. Anyone who assumes that what He did was by the power of Satan rather than God is blaspheming the Holy Spirit, as it was the Spirit who enabled Yeshua to do all He did. I can accuse someone else of acting under the power of a demon rather than God, because that person is not Yeshua. That person can be deceived, and in some cases they are. I don’t have to fear that if I accuse someone of speaking in tongues under the power of a demon and in actuality it is the Holy Spirit, of committing blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, since that person is not Yeshua. Only an unredeemed person could truly believe that Yeshua acted under the power of Satan, and so this sin is not something that a true Believer needs to worry about.

    There was in Yerushalayim a man named Shim`on. This man was a tzaddik, he was devout, he waited eagerly for God to comfort Isra'el, and the Ruach HaKodesh was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Ruach HaKodesh that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah of Adonai. Prompted by the Spirit, he went into the Temple courts; and when the parents brought in the child Yeshua to do for him what the Torah required, Shim`on took him in his arms, made a b'rakhah to God, and said, "Now, Adonai, according to your word, your servant is at peace as you let him go; for I have seen with my own eyes your yeshu`ah, which you prepared in the presence of all peoples — a light that will bring revelation to the Goyim and glory to your people Isra'el." [Luke 2:25-32]

     Though there is not proof of it in the text, I get a feeling from reading this passage that Shim’on may have been a righteous gentile living amongst God’s people. I find it interesting at the end that he mentions the Goyim first, then your people Isra’el. One way or another, this was a man filled with the Holy Spirit. Granted, the text says that the spirit was upon him, not in him, but when the Spirit came upon Yeshua, there are some earlier text that state that the Spirit came into Him, so I think it is safe to assume that upon or in, when it comes to the Holy Spirit’s influence in the life of a person is essentially the same thing.

    "Is there any father here who, if his son asked him for a fish, would instead of a fish give him a snake? or if he asked for an egg would give him a scorpion? So if you, even though you are bad, know how to give your children gifts that are good, how much more will the Father keep giving the Ruach HaKodesh from heaven to those who keep asking him!" [Luke 11:11-13]

     Yeshua offers us the Holy Spirit as a gift, but we will not receive it unless we ask for it, and keep asking for it. God desires a relationship with us, and a relationship involves more than just a one time encounter and then we go on with the rest of our lives. He need to keep coming to Him and communing with Him, so we can continually receive from Him what we need to get through life.

    But the Counselor, the Ruach HaKodesh, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything; that is, he will remind you of everything I have said to you. [Yochanan/John 14:26]

     In verse 16, Yeshua calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth, and it is in the Truth of God’s Word that He teaches us all we need to know to have a relationship with God and accomplish His will. In fact, nothing we believe from God’s Word is of our own intellect, but the revelation of the Holy Spirit. There is no room for doctrinal pride, which is so common in Messianic congregations and churches. If I believe something that you don’t, it is not because I am smarter or more spiritual than you, but because the Spirit has revealed something to me that He hasn’t to you. In some cases, He may reveal something different, in order to accomplish God’s will, and both are Truth because they come from the Spirit of Truth.
     One thing the Holy Spirit will never do is teach someone something which is contrary to God’s Word. The Word is Truth, and the Spirit of Truth cannot contradict it. Any doctrine claiming to come from the Holy Spirit, which contradicts Torah, is therefore not from the Holy Spirit and is false. The testimony of Yeshua as Messiah (Jn.15:26, 1Jn.4:1) and adherence to the entirety of God’s Word is our litmus test to know we are being lead and enabled by the Holy Spirit of God.

    However, when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own initiative but will say only what he hears. He will also announce to you the events of the future. [Yochanan/John 16:13]

 This verse is likely to return when we get to the Spirit in Revelation and end times prophesy, but as we are going through the teaching of the Spirit in the Gospels, I want to point out that this verse is here. All end times prophesy, which is legitimate, will come from the Holy Spirit and be backed up by the entirety of Scripture. The Spirit not only teaches us what we need to know now, but what we need to know in order to prepare ourselves for the future.

 This brings us to the end of the Gospels, with the exception of Scriptures relating to the ministry of Yeshua, which I covered last week. We have seen once again that there were Spirit filled men and women prior to Pentecost who did amazing things for the Kingdom through the power of the Holy Spirit. Not only did Yeshua act according to the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and power, but He passed on the gift to His talmidim and gave them the authority to do the same. Yeshua was “God with us”, and the Spirit is Yeshua with us. Our rabbi is no longer living physically in our midst, but He has given the Comforter to all who ask and seek to live according to His ways.