THE SPIRIT OF A MAN IS THE LAMP OF THE LORD

The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.Proverbs 20:27

What an incredible truth. Our spirit is meant to be the lamp of the Lord. A lamp requires oil to function (period). It cannot function without oil. Likewise, our spirit cannot function as God intended without the Holy Spirit.

When Adam and Eve sinned and disobeyed God the Holy Spirit left each of their spirits and they could no longer function as the lamp of the Lord. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, God the Father sends the Holy Spirit to once again indwell our spirit and enables it to function once again as the lamp of the Lord.

We cannot function as a Christian without the Holy Spirit. He is the one who produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.Galatians 5:22-24

He is the one who provides the nine gifts to enable us to minister effectively for God.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.1 Corinthians 12:8-11

Remember the Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity make sure you do not grieve Him, nor quench His work in your life.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.Ephesians 4:30

Do not quench the Spirit.1 Thessalonians 5:19

DO YOU GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT AND QUENCH HIS WORK IN YOUR LIFE?

The Holy Spirit is the least known member of the Trinity. Many Christians know much about God the Father and God the Son but many do not know anything about God the Holy Spirit. Some denominations do not even acknowledge that the Holy Spirit is God.

The three persons of the Trinity

Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to indwell each believer’s spirit so they can live the Christian life. The Holy Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit (9) in believers’ lives: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness, kindness, and self-control. He also provides the gifts of the Spirit (9) to enable ministry, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, prophecy, faith, healings, miracles, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues. These are all provided by the Holy Spirit under His direction as needed.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. Romans 8:9

According to Barna research in 2021: “The study shows, in general, that while a majority of America’s self-identified Christians, including many who identify as evangelicals, believe that God is all-powerful, all-knowing and is the Creator of the universe, more than half reject a number of biblical teachings and principles, including the existence of the Holy Spirit.”

Lack of knowledge of who the Holy Spirit is has led to lots of blasphemy against Him. Even some who believe in Him are not aware of His personality. Some use inanimate pronouns to describe Him because they do not know that He is a person (John 16:7). Many grieve Him because they do not know that He has feelings (Ephesians 4:30). Many quench His work in their lives (1 Thessalonians 5:19). Many things have been said about the Holy Spirit that are sacrilegious, offensive, and profane by those who are supposed to revere and worship Him.

The Holy Spirit is the executive arm of the Trinity. He was involved in the creation of the world as He moved upon the face of the waters in Genesis 1. He was the one who wrote the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16).  He was responsible for the miraculous birth of Jesus (Luke 1:35). All miracles which Jesus did were done by the power of the Holy Spirit (Mathew 12:28). Jesus was able to go to the Cross to be crucified for the salvation of humanity by the leading of the Holy Spirit (Hebrew 9:14). Jesus would have remained in the grave if not for the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11). After Jesus commissioned the Apostles and the other disciples, they had no motivation for preaching the Gospel until the Holy Spirit enabled them on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). There is no way we would have come to know Jesus if not for the conviction power of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). The Holy Spirit is powerful in more than one way.

Read what Jesus said about speaking against Him.

I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come” (Mathew 12:31-32 ).

This warning of Christ is frightening and should be carefully and strictly adhered to. Eternal sin is an offense that no one can sweep under the carpet no matter how gracious we think God is.

Jesus made the above statement when He observed that the Jews were saying that He was casting out demons with the power of demons. What this means is that denying the works of the Holy Spirit and attributing them to some other powers is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. When “Powerful men of God” abuse their office, they are getting dangerously close to blasphemy. Prophecy is one of the vocal gifts of the Holy Spirit, and abusing the gift of prophecy and saying what the Holy Spirit did not say is a blasphemy against Him.

Even back in Jesus’ day, blasphemers would be executed for blasphemy:

But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again, the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ ‘I am,’ said Jesus. ‘And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ The high priest tore his clothes. ‘Why do we need any more witnesses?’ he asked. ‘You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’ They all condemned him as worthy of death” (Mark 14:61-64).

It is important that we take heed to the warning of Christ not to say a word against the Holy Spirit because this sin is unforgivable here on earth and in the afterlife. If blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven, what will be the fate of those who are ignorantly engrossed in this sin?

Christians should avoid reckless talks against the Holy Spirit. Those who deny His existence are guilty of the sin of apostasy. Those who fake miracles, prophecies, and testimonies are guilty of blasphemy. We should not be too familiar with God to the extent of taking His words for granted. Hiding this warning of Christ in our hearts and exercising caution is a sure way of escaping this unpardonable sin.