In God’s
calling there are two phases of God’s Holy Spirit
given.
What are the
two phases and when are they given?
What is the
difference between the two phases of the Spirit?
When do we
receive them?
When God first
calls us He starts working with us and gives us a
small amount of knowledge and enables us to understand
the bible to a certain degree. As we study the
scriptures, we have a desire to study, a desire to
learn, we try to change ourselves and better ourselves
in line with the scriptures.
This is the start
of our calling. Let’s look at the scriptures and
see how some people respond to God’s calling at this
point.
Mat 13:3 Then He spoke many things to
them in parables, saying: "Behold,
a sower went out to sow.
When God calls
some people the truth is treated lightly, and it is
thrust aside and not given any real value. The
precious truths are not valued or protected, they are
just discarded and quickly destroyed, so that no
profit can come from these truths. These people
simply do not want any part of God’s calling, or
knowledge, or truth. They place no value on the
words, which could lead to eternal life for
them.
Mat 13:4 And as he sowed,
some seed
fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured
them.
Then we see
another group of people who perhaps valued the words
of God, but they had no deep desire for the truth, or
no deep belief in God, and so they had a shallow
relationship with God, perhaps it was for show, or
appearance sake, that they became interested in God,
but it was a superficial arrangement.
Mat 13:5 Some fell on stony places, where
they did not have much earth; and they immediately
sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
Once these people
were put under pressure, or some trials came their
way, they could not stand up to it, and they gave up
very quickly, again these people did not value this
calling or understand what the full extent of the
calling could mean.
Mat 13:6 But when the sun was up they
were scorched, and because they had no root they
withered away.
Others were too
involved with their physical lives, there was no time
to devote to the growth of God’s words, the world had
a strong pull and many people are drawn away from
bible study, towards T.V. movies, and many other
things that this world has to offer.
Mat 13:7 And some fell among thorns, and
the thorns sprang up and choked them.
Some people
valued the calling of the Almighty God, they took it
seriously, they took the time to study, to grow, to
allow God’s words to dwell in their mind. They
valued this precious calling, they wanted to grow,
they wanted to change and become like God. Some
more than others, as we see that some produced more
fruit than others did, to achieve a great deal
requires a great deal of effort and not everyone is
prepared to give 100% of themselves.
Mat 13:8 But others fell on good ground
and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some
sixty, some thirty.
Even though the
truth falls on good ground, what happens to it then,
is up to the individual. Some people put in more
effort than others.
When God is happy
with our attitude, and sees that we want to grow and
overcome, He gives us the Earnest of the Holy
Spirit. We can only learn and understand to a
small degree without the Holy Spirit, so our growth
will be limited until we receive the earnest of the
Holy Spirit.
This initial
calling is receiving the milk of the word. It is
also the manna from heaven. It is teaching from
God, but it is not the understanding of eternal life.
1Co 3:1 And I,
brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people
but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2 I fed you
with milk and not with solid food; for until now you
were not able to receive it, and even now you are
still not able;
Here we see some
were not ready for meat, because they were not doers
of the word, but hearers only.
Again this
condition of being ready for meat, comes after many
years of testing and trying, it is not obtained early
in our christian walk.
Heb 5:11 of whom we
have much to say, and hard to explain, since you
have become dull of hearing.
Heb 5:12 For though
by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone
to teach you again the first principles of the
oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and
not solid food.
Heb 6:1 Therefore,
leaving the discussion of the elementary principles
of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying
again the foundation of repentance from dead works
and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2 of the
doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of
resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Heb 5:13 For
everyone who partakes only of
milk is
unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a
babe.
Heb 5:14 But solid
food belongs to those who are of full age, that is,
those who by reason of use have their senses
exercised to discern both good and evil.
Joh 6:31 Our
fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is
written, 'HE GAVE THEM BREAD FROM HEAVEN TO EAT.'"
Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you,
Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but
My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is He who
comes down from heaven and gives life to the
world."
Deu 8:3 So He
humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with
manna which you did not know nor did your fathers
know, that He might make you know that man shall not
live by bread alone; but man lives by every word
that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
The earnest of
the spirit is given at baptism, notice the example of
when Jesus was baptized.
Mat 3:16 When He
had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from
the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to
Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a
dove and alighting upon Him.
Peter taught what
was required to receive the earnest of the Spirit
Act 2:37 Now when
they heard this,
they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and
the rest of the apostles, "Men and
brethren, what shall we do?"
Act 2:38 Then Peter
said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit.
Act 2:39 For the
promise is to you and to your children, and to all
who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will
call."
Act 2:40 And with
many other words he testified and exhorted them,
saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation."
Act 2:41 Then those
who gladly received his word were baptized; and that
day about three thousand souls were added to them.
Act 2:42 And they
continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and
fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in
prayers.
Act 2:43 Then fear
came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs
were done through the apostles.
Act 2:44 Now all
who believed were together, and had all things in
common,
Act 2:45 and sold
their possessions and goods, and divided them among
all, as anyone had need.
Act 2:46 So
continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and
breaking bread from house to house, they ate their
food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
Act 2:47 praising
God and having favor with all the people. And the
Lord added to the church daily those who were being
saved.
2Co 1:22 who also
has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts
as a guarantee.
2Co 5:5 Now He who
has prepared us for this very thing is God,
who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
Notice that we
receive the earnest of the Spirit when we believe God.
So once we receive the truth, we accept the truth, we
act and try to change, we have a desire to learn, and
grow, and change and become like God, and we believe
God then God will give us the earnest of the Spirit.
The earnest of
the Spirit is a down payment of what is yet to come.
Eph 1:13 In Him you
also trusted,
after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you
were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 who is the
guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of
the purchased possession, to the praise of His
glory.
Once the earnest
of the Holy Spirit is given then we can grow and
overcome and understand much more, without the earnest
of the Spirit our understanding is shallow, we need
the earnest of the Spirit to have a deeper
understanding of God’s word. We can begin our
christian walk, we can understand the bible as God
opens our mind to understand. We can obey, we
have belief, we have faith, love, and we should show
the fruits of the Spirit.
Gal 5:22 But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23 gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is no law.
Once we receive
the earnest of the Spirit at baptism, then we enter a
testing period, this testing period is likened to
the 40 years the Israelites wondered in the
wilderness.
Just as they were tested during that time, so are we.
God watches us and sees what we do with the knowledge
we have been given. Do we hunger for more
knowledge and more understanding? Do we
believe what we have been taught?
If this is the case God will be pleased with us.
If we complain and are rebellious and full of
disbelief, God will see this also.
God wants to know
if we are going to obey Him, believe Him, love His
word, and what our hearts are like. Are we fully
committed to our calling, God sees all these
things, and we are tested to see if we are
suitable to receive God’s Holy Spirit of power.
Deu 8:2 And you
shall remember that the LORD your God led you all
the way these forty years in the wilderness, to
humble you and
test you, to know what was in
your heart, whether you would keep His commandments
or not.
This growth can
take many years until God offers the knowledge of
eternal life.
This knowledge can only be understood when God opens
our minds to hear it and believe it and understand it.
Let’s look at the example of the disciples.
They were given the earnest of the Spirit.
Notice that they were given the Spirit at the
beginning. This enabled them to understand some
things,
Act 11:15 And as I
began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as
upon us at the beginning.
However the
knowledge of eternal life was a mystery to them, they
could not understand these things.
The disciples did
not know that Christ was going to die for the sins of
mankind. What Christ’s death meant, and why He
had to die was a mystery to them.
Mar 9:31 For He
taught His disciples and said to
them, "The Son of Man is
being betrayed into the hands of men, and they
will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will
rise the third day."
Mar 9:32 But they did not understand this
saying, and were afraid to ask Him.
Notice that the
understanding was hidden from them, they did not have
the Holy Spirit of power and therefore could not
understand.
Luk 9:43 And they
were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while
everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said
to His disciples,
Luk 9:44 "Let these words sink down into
your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be
betrayed into the hands of men."
Luk 9:45 But they
did not understand this
saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did
not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him
about this saying.
They were unaware
of His rising from the dead.
Joh 16:18 They said
therefore, "What is this that He
says, 'A little while'?
We do not know what He is saying."
Joh 16:19 Now Jesus knew that they
desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among
yourselves about what I said, 'A little while, and
you will not see Me; and again a little while, and
you will see Me'?
Once the
disciples received the Holy Spirit of power, the
spirit brought to remembrance the things Christ taught
them.
Joh 12:16 His
disciples did not understand these things at first;
but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered
that these things were written about Him and that
they had done these things to Him.
Joh 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in My name, He will
teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you.
It could be quite
a puzzle to understand why the disciples had the
earnest of the Spirit and yet did not understand.
As we explained
earlier, with the earnest of the Spirit we can
understand a good deal, but for the knowledge of
eternal life, requires a further step, God must open
our minds to greater understanding. This happens
when God shows us the scriptures, if we have a desire
to understand, grow, and believe what
God shows us, He opens our mind to greater
understanding.
Luk 24:44 Then He
said to them, "These are
the words which I spoke to you while I was still
with you, that all things must be fulfilled which
were written in the Law of Moses and the
Prophets and the
Psalms concerning Me."
Luk 24:45 And He
opened their understanding, that they might
comprehend the Scriptures.
Once God opens
our understanding to the scriptures, then there is a
period of time until we receive the Holy Spirit of
power, in the case of the disciples it was the period
from when God opened their minds to understanding,
till Pentecost.
In the case of the disciples, Christ was with them for
40 days teaching them, and showing them about the
Kingdom.
In our case it is the same, God teaches us and shows
us many things until we receive the Holy Spirit of
power.
The giving of
the Holy Spirit of power, is a very serious time in
our spiritual life, and God takes the giving of His
spirit very seriously. When we receive it we
have eternal life inherent.
The two phases of
the spirit are very different, the first, the earnest
of the Spirit, is the down payment, of eternal life,
it is a deposit of greater things yet to come.
The Holy Spirit of power once it is given is eternal
life inherent. Great power is given with this
phase of the Holy Spirit it is called the spirit of
power, or truth.
Act 1:8 But you shall receive power when
the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall
be witnesses to Me in
Many readers
might think that the disciples first received the Holy
Spirit at Pentecost, but the following verse shows
that they already had the Holy Spirit and were to
receive another comforter.
Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and
He will give you another Helper, that He may abide
with you forever
There is a huge
difference in the spiritual understanding we receive
with the earnest of the Spirit compared to the Holy
Spirit of power.
The Holy Spirit
of power or truth enables us to understand the things
pertaining to eternal life.
IT IS
IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW THESE TRUTHS WITHOUT GOD FIRST
OPENING OUR MINDS TO UNDERSTANDING THE THINGS OF
ETERNAL LIFE. AFTER
WE ACCEPT THE TRUTH AND BELIEVE THE TRUTH, WHEN GOD
DECIDES, WE ARE GIVEN THE HOLY SPIRIT OF POWER. WHEN
THIS HAPPENS IS ENTIRELY UP TO GOD.
Notice how God
gives us understanding.
1Jn 5:20 And we
know that the Son of God has come and has given us
an understanding, that we may know Him who is true;
and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus
Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
2Ti 2:7 Consider
what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding
in all things.
We must come to
the knowledge of the truth.
1Ti 2:4 who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth.
We must have a
desire to learn, believe, and obey, then we will find
the knowledge of God.
Pro 2:3 Yes, if
you cry out for discernment, And lift
up your voice for understanding,
Pro 2:4 If you
seek her as silver, And search for her as for
hidden treasures;
Pro 2:5 Then you
will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the
knowledge of God.
When we receive
the truth we must also believe it.
1Th 2:13 For this
reason we also thank God without ceasing, because
when you received the word of God which you heard
from us, you welcomed it not as the
word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God,
which also effectively works in you who believe.
2Th 2:13 But we are
bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren
beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning
chose you for salvation through sanctification by
the Spirit and belief in the truth,
We receive power
when we have the Holy Spirit of power.
Mic 3:8 But truly
I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, And of
justice and might, To declare to Jacob his
transgression And to
2Ti 1:7 For God
has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and
of love and of a sound mind.
Let’s look at
some of the things that are opened to our minds once
we have the Spirit of power.
THE FATHER IS
THE ONE TRUE GOD.
The knowledge of
the Father and the Son is eternal life, we must know
that there is one true God and that is the Father, He
is the only one who has existed for all
eternity. He is the self existent one,
Jehovah. Jesus Christ has not always existed, He
is from the beginning, He was born before creation. He
is the firstborn Son of God. He is God but He
has not existed for eternity. He is second in
charge to the Father.
Joh 17:3 And this is eternal life, that
they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have sent.
Jer 10:10 But the
LORD is
the true God; He is the
living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath
the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be
able to endure His indignation.
Mar 12:32 So the
scribe said to Him, "Well said,
Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one
God, and there is no other but He.
1Co 8:6 yet for us
there is
one God, the Father, of whom are all
things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom are all
things, and through whom we live.
1Ti 2:5 For there is
one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man
Christ Jesus,
Once we learn
these truths God will show us many more things, like
the correct day of the Passover, the correct meaning
of the Holy Days and much much more.
The prophets and
other righteous people would not have been given
certain knowledge because it was to be revealed to the
disciples, until then it was not known.
Mat 13:17 for assuredly, I say to you that
many prophets and righteous men
desired to see what you see, and did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
This knowledge is
to be restored in the end time church. All things
will be restored. This knowledge will eventually
fill the whole earth. It was known by the
disciples, but lost since then, to be restored in the
end time.
Mat 17:11 Jesus
answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first
and will restore all things.
