Grace and Truth
Bible Ministries

The only power sufficient for the spiritual life of the Church Age is the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit

In our continuing study of the unique spiritual life of the Church, we stopped last time we were discussing the believer's status when they are out of fellowship as being as "carnal" KJV or "in or of the flesh" NASB 1Cor 3:1-3; Rom 8:5-8;

It is referred to in this manner because the OSN resides in the cell structure of the body so it is "in or of the flesh"

When we are "carnal" or "in the flesh" we are described as grieving the Spirit in cosmic one. We are commanded in Eph 4:30 to " stop grieving the Spirit." Or we are described as quenching the Spirit in cosmic two. We are commanded in 1Thes 5:19; to " stop quenching the Spirit."

The present active imperative that is used in both of these verses is a command to stop and activity that is already in progress. Persistent carnality results in reversionism that is momentum for evil inside the cosmic system.

At any given time the believer is either spiritual or carnal. Both are an absolute status where the believer is either in fellowship with God or out of fellowship with God. In other words, there are no degrees of spirituality. At any given moment the believer is either 100 percent or zero percent spiritual.

The relative status of the Christian life is a function of advance of knowledge of grace and doctrine but not spirituality because the believer at any stage of spiritual growth can be 100% spiritual or 100% carnal. A baby believer can be carnal or spiritual. An adolescent believer can be carnal. A mature believer can be carnal or spiritual.

Usually, the mature believers have very little carnality because they have capacity from the PSD's to persist in spirituality. A baby believer filled with the Spirit does not have the power to persist in the divine dynasphere from persistent positive volition to God the Holy Spirit that a mature believer who is filled with the Spirit has. Once the believer reaches spiritual self-esteem the power of the Spirit becomes dynamic because of the believer's doctrinal capacity to apply the PSD's under the faith rest drill.

Within the absolute status of carnality, there is a relative status because the carnal believer can be in any of the eight stages of reversionism. While in the status of reversion, the believer is always carnal but he can be spiritual or carnal when progressing.

We see from this that at any given moment the believer is either filled with the Holy Spirit, grieving the Holy Spirit, or quenching the Holy Spirit and each of these is the subject of a command in Scripture.

The misunderstanding of what comprises spirituality is the reason believers do not advance to maturity. Apart from the filling of the Holy Spirit the believer cannot advance to maturity. Spirituality is the link between salvation and maturity because spirituality is the sine que non of spiritual advance to maturity.

A believer who is not controlled by the Holy Spirit cannot be distinguished from an unbeliever. When the old sin nature controls the soul, a believer can do anything an unbeliever can do.

There is a great danger in not rebounding immediately when you sin because this perpetuates carnality, entangles the believer in the Satan's cosmic system, and enters them into the cycles of Christian reversionism and degeneracy.

The ministry of God the Holy Spirit is different in the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union and the Church Age than it is during the other dispensations. We describe this difference with the words enablement and enduement.

Enablement is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit to Church Age believers today. Enablement only functions when we are filled with the Spirit inside the divine dynasphere.

Enablement is the equal availability of the power of the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit to every believer.

During the Church age the same divine power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the power available to every believer. Eph 1:19-20; "And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who have believed for the working of His superior power, which superior power He made operational by means of Christ, when He raised Him from the dead."

To utilize the power of the Holy Spirit, the believer must consistently execute the mandate of Eph 5:18, to " Keep on being filled with the Spirit."

Just as the protocol plan for the Church Age supersedes ritual plan of the Old Testament, the enablement of the Holy Spirit supersedes the enduement of the Holy Spirit.

Enduement describes the ministry of the Holy Spirit to a select few Old Testament believers. In the Old Testament, God the Holy Spirit helped less than one percent of all born-again believers. He helped the prophets who wrote scripture, and the judges and kings. But every believer was not indwelt or filled by the Spirit like they are today.

Specific examples of enduement include:
Joseph, Gen 41:38;
The skilled laborers who worked on the Tabernacle and the tailors who made the High Priest's clothes. Exod 28:3;
Moses and the seventy elders Num 11:25;
Joshua Num 27:18;

Enduement was provided to certain judges and kings including: Othniel, Judges 3:10; Gideon, Judges 6:34; Jephthah, Judges 11:29;Samson, Judges 14:6; Judges 15:14-15;
Saul, 1Sam 10:9-10; David, 1 Sam 16:13; Daniel Dan 4:8; Dan 5:11-12;

Enduement was provided to the human authors of the Old Testament scripture, 1 Pet 1:11-12; 2Pet 1:20-21;

Old Testament believers could request the Holy Spirit as Elishah did in 2Kings 2:9-10;

During the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union disciples were told that they could request the Holy Spirit. Luke 11:13;

There is no indication that they ever asked, but the Lord gave them enduement after his resurrection. John 20:22; and they received the enablement along with all the other believers who were assembled when the Church Age was launched on Pentecost. Acts 2:1-4;

We see from this that Church Age believers have the opportunity to use a power that was never made available to even the greatest of the Old Testament believers. This is one of the reasons why the least of believers in the Church Age is greater than the greatest of the Old Testament believers. Matt 11:11; NET note 19

To understand the ministry of grace on the part of the Holy Spirit, we must remember that God the Holy Spirit now makes His divine power available to all of us but we must be in the right place at the right time to receive it.

We must be residing in the operational type divine dynasphere under the filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ was the pattern for the enabling power of the Spirit.

Just as the unbeliever cannot understand the Gospel or receive Christ as Savior apart from the ministry of the Spirit in common and efficacious grace, likewise we as believers cannot fulfill the protocol plan of God apart from the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.

While the indwelling of the Spirit is designed to provide a temple for the indwelling of Christ as the Shekinah Glory, the filling of the Spirit is designed to give you all of the necessary power to fulfill God's plan for your life.

Some principles that come from this include:

Divine power does not and cannot coexist with human power and ability. Divine power and human power cannot and do not coexist. Therefore, spirituality is an absolute.

The use of human power instead of divine power is classified as legalism. Legalism is the trend of the sin nature that results in moral degeneracy during the frantic search for happiness of the second stage of Christian degeneracy.

You cannot mix divine power with human power and fulfill God's plan. No believer can fulfill the protocol plan of God outside of the divine dynasphere, because no believer can fulfill the protocol plan of God in the energy or the power of the flesh. Rom 8:8;

The power of the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit is the only means of execution of the protocol plan of God for the Church.

The primary function of the omnipotence of the Spirit is to enable the understanding of Bible doctrine because without the filling of the Spirit inside the divine dynasphere, the believer cannot learn the mystery doctrine of the Church Age.

God the Holy Spirit is the teacher of doctrine, but He only teaches us when we are inside the divine dynasphere. Our Lord prophesied this in John 14:26; John 16:12-14; Paul reiterates this in 1Cor 2:9-16; and John taught it in 1John 2:27;

The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit is the means of execution of the protocol plan of God for the Church Age. However, the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit is only available inside the divine dynasphere.

When the believer is filled with the Spirit, he is residing in the divine dynasphere. When the believer sins, he is outside of the divine dynasphere and is said to be grieving or quenching the Holy Spirit. When the believer is in a state of carnality, he can only reenter by acknowledging any known sin to God.

Inside the divine dynasphere, the believer is described as walking in the light, 1John 1:7; but outside the divine dynasphere, the believer is said to be walking in darkness, 1John 1:6;

This means that the logistics for the Christian way of life are provided in grace by the omnipotence of God, (the omnipotence of God the Father related to our portfolio of invisible assets, the omnipotence of God the Son related to the perpetuation of human history, and the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit related to the utilization of divine power inside the divine dynasphere).

The filling of the Spirit and walking by means of the Spirit are different sides of the same coin because both terms refer to spirituality.

When the believer is filled with the Spirit, he automatically resides in the divine dynasphere where he has equal privilege and equal opportunity for the execution of the protocol plan of God.

Outside the divine dynasphere, the believer functions on human power and human ability. Divine omnipotence and human power are mutually exclusive. The Christian way of life is a matter of learning and utilizing divine power rather than human power and ability.

Divine power is necessary to execute the divine plan. A perfect plan demands a perfect power for its execution. Invisible heroes are only manufactured by the divine power that is available inside the divine dynasphere, the place of the filling of the Spirit.

The Christian way of life is a supernatural way of life and demands a supernatural means of execution.

The availability of divine power gives every Church Age believer equal opportunity for the execution of God's plan, will, and purpose. Every believer has exactly the same power, plan, purpose and will from God.

Eph 3:16; "Now to Him who is able to do infinitely more than we could ever ask or even imagine on the basis of the power that works for us."

1Cor 2:5; "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man but in the power of God."

 

© Copyright 2007, Michael Lemmon Bible Ministries. World Rights Reserved.  This document was created on 4/18/2012