THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Part 3)

“He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:14 NKJV)

 

One of the primary missions of the Holy Spirit on earth is to honour, magnify or glorify Jesus Christ. But how does the Holy Spirit honour, magnify or glorify Jesus Christ?

 

The Holy Spirit honours, magnifies or glorifies Jesus Christ primarily in and through the Church (the believers).

 

The Lord Jesus Christ clearly explains to His disciples how the Holy Spirit will glorify Him.

 

John 16:

 13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

 14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

 15 “All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. (NKJV).

 

From the explanation of Christ, it is evidently clear that the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ by taking of what is Christ and revealing or declaring it to the believers in Christ.

 

The Greek word translated “glorify” in John 16:14 is “doxazo”

 

It implies “to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledge” (BLB Lexicon).

 

In other words, the Holy Spirit glorifying or magnifying Christ is simply causing the divine life, nature, glory, wisdom, power, and gifts of Christ in the believers to become manifest, acknowledged or recognized by all the people.

 

When you receive, believe, internalize, and walk in the revelation knowledge of your spiritual oneness or identity with Christ as a new creation, you are cooperating with the Holy Spirit to glorify Christ in and through your life.

 

You allow the Holy Spirit to glorify and magnify Christ in and through your life when you shine as light in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, having your conduct honourable among the Gentiles (Matt. 5:13-16).

 

Christ is glorified and magnified in your life by the Holy Spirit when you heed these admonitions by Paul and Peter.

 

Ephesians 5

 1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.

 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

 3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;

 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. (NKJV).

 

Philippians 2:

 14 Do all things without complaining and disputing,

 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. (NKJV).

 

1 Peter 2:

 11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,

 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. (NKJV).

 

Similarly, Christ is honoured, glorified and magnified in your life by the Holy Spirit when you suffer, bear or endure reproach, suffering, or persecution for Christ’s sake patiently.

 

1 Peter 2:

 19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.

 20 For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.

 21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: (NKJV).

 

1 Peter 4:

 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters.

 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. (NKJV).

 

Likewise, when you yield yourself to the Holy Spirit for His power, gifts or supernatural abilities to flow and manifest through you to edify the Church, Christ is magnified and glorified in and through your life by the Holy Spirit.

 

Paul, in his epistle to the Corinthians, cites an example of how operating in the gift of the Holy Spirit (prophecy) can result in Christ being magnified and glorified.

 

1 Corinthians 14:

 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all.

 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you. (NKJV).

 

Similarly, Christ is extolled, worshipped and glorified when you flow and operate in other gifts of the Holy Spirit in the spirit of love (Acts 3:1-16, 5:12-16, 19:11-12).

 

Beloved, Christ is magnified and glorified in and through your life when you let the Holy Spirit work in and through you, thereby bearing the fruit of the Spirit, manifesting the gifts of the Spirit, and enduring suffering and persecution for Christ’s sake patiently.

 

Besides revealing Christ and glorifying Christ in and through the believers, it is also the mission of the Holy Spirit to transform the believers’ character progressively into Christ-likeness.

 

At the New Birth, the Holy Spirit instantly transformed the believer’s heart or spirit, making it to be conformed fully to the image of Christ.

 

Paul amply states this truth.

 

Romans 8

 28 And we have known that to those loving God all things do work together for good, to those who are called according to purpose;

 29 because whom He did foreknow, He also did fore-appoint, conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be first-born among many brethren. (YLT).

 

Galatians 4

 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” (NKJV).

 

1 Corinthians 6:

 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (NKJV).

 

2 Corinthians 5:

 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (NKJV).

 

Similarly, at the physical revelation or return of Christ to the earth, the Holy Spirit will instantly transform the believer’s vile and mortal body, making it to be conformed fully to Christ’s glorious body.

 

Paul clearly states this truth in his epistles.

 

Romans 8:

 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (NKJV).

 

Philippians 3:

 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. (NKJV).

 

However, in the meanwhile the Holy Spirit is working in the believers transforming their will, desires, thoughts, speech, emotions, actions, conduct or character progressively to be conformed to that of Christ.

 

This is progressive sanctification!

This will continue till Christ returns!

 

James 1:

 21 Wherefore having put aside all filthiness and superabundance of evil, in meekness be receiving the engrafted word, that is able to save your souls. (YLT).

 

2 Corinthians 3:

 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (NKJV).

 

1 John 3:

 1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (NKJV).

 

Beloved, though the Holy Spirit is on a mission to transform you increasingly, from glory to glory, into the likeness of Christ in your will, desires, mind, thought, perception, speech, conduct or character, yet you will hinder and frustrate the mission of the Holy Spirit in your life if you are not constantly beholding the glory of the Lord Jesus in the Scripture.

 

The Holy Spirit can only transform you increasingly into the image of Christ if your mind is fixated on Christ alone. It is as you diligently imbibe and meditate in the words and works of Christ that your mind will be renewed, thereby resulting in the progressive transformation of your character into Christ-likeness.

 

Romans 12:

 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJV).

 

 

Prayer: My Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit to glorify Christ in and through my life and also transform my character progressively into the likeness of Christ. My Dear Holy Spirit, teach and help me daily to cooperate with You to accomplish Your mission in my life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.