The Holy Ghost: The Voice of God

The Holy Ghost is the administrator of the redemption plan of God. He is also the fulfilment of the promise God made to Abraham. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:14).

It is certain that a majority of the Body of Christ does not give the reverence to the Holy Spirit that is mandated by the Word. But I want us to take a closer look at the spirit which has changed the world. The apostle Paul reminded us that the Old Testament is our schoolmaster. It is in the Old Covenant that we see the mind of God for His people. Adam walked and talked with God. God made His presence known in the Garden. He spoke to Adam, giving him authority and instruction. But Adam’s sin separated him from God. There were no more personal encounters with God. No talks with Him in the cool of the day.

We do not read anywhere in the scriptures where God asked Adam or his children for an offering. We have assumed the Lord taught them the ritual of sacrifice. But we are not allowed to speculate. We must stay with the facts. Due to the absence of divine instruction, could it be possible that Adam is the one who taught his sons to give an offering to the Lord? Could it be that he was constantly trying to appease and atone for his sin? Perhaps this was his way of reverencing and acknowledging the fact that God was their Creator and provider. What we do know is these offerings were successful at getting God's attention.

Genesis 4:3-7

3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

We taught these passages in the church for many years, with the assumption that God’s disrespect for Cain’s offering was due to the fact that it was not a blood sacrifice; seeing as how only the shedding of blood can atone for sin. But a closer study of the scriptures reveal that God delighted in meal, flour, and other grain offerings presented to Him under the Law. In fact, He instructed Moses as to what grains were to be offered. I no longer believe it was the type of offering that was disrespected, but rather the quality or quantity, and surely the heart of the presenter.

Another reason for this conclusion, is the fact that Adam and his children were not given the privilege to offer intermediate atonements for their sins. God spoke of the seed of the woman, who would be their deliverer. The intervening atonements i.e. animal sacrifices were not offered until the institution of the Law. Cain and Abel offered gifts up to the Lord. This was an acknowledgement of God’s preeminence. They were not offering an atonement for sin. Therefore, they were merely giving the first and best of their substance. Nonetheless, these gifts opened God's heart and His mouth to speak to man. Unfortunately, His words to Cain were of judgement. In Genesis 4:11-15

Genesis 4:11-15

11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;

12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

• You are cursed from the earth.

• The ground will no longer yield its substance to you

• A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth Cain understood all too well the nature of his punishment. You have driven me out from among men; (from the face of the earth).

Notice also that he says, “every one that findeth me, shall slay me.” This means that during the time of Cain’s life the earth would be populated. God also confirms this fact. Therefore, whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. However, the most devastating of all these judgments... Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; There would be no more communication with God. Yes, fugitive, vagabond, and a murderer; but to never be able to plead my causes in prayer and supplication is terror. Paul also describes this great devastation. That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12).

Ever since man was expelled from the Garden, he has attempted to communicate with the spirit world. The first men on the planet talked with the God of the universe, so they knew assuredly that He existed. They also knew of the existence of angels and satan, who are also members of the unseen world. Cain was banished from the presence of God, while the line of Seth continued in the knowledge of God. Nevertheless, man sought after the knowledge that was contained in the spirit world. Because there was evidence of the One God, and His angels, evil men began to consider if there could possibly be more than one God.. God knew the potential folly of man and warned him beforehand.

Deuteronomy 18:10-15

10There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,

11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

13 Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.

14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.

15 The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

Before the children of Israel ever made it to the Promised Land, God warned them not to adopt the practices of those who possessed the land. He forbade them to use witchcraft, familiar spirits or to become a necromancer (one who is paid to call up the spirits of the dead). All these are acts of divination. The spirit of divination is the unbeliever’s parallel to prophesying. It is an attempt of man to know the will of their false gods. They wanted to know the future, or to extract the blessings of their gods on their future actions.

The spirit of divination is also fellowship with devils. But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils (1 Corinthians 10:20).

Let us go back to;

Deuteronomy 18:15.

15 The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

God has forbidden all communication with the spirit world except through Jesus Christ. It is through this prophet that God will talk to His people. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,...(Hebrews 1:1-2). You must accept this as truth. The Lord wants to communicate with us. He wants the fellowship. But He will have it only one way, and that is through Jesus Christ. Now here is truly where the Body of Christ must be persuaded. There is a distinct difference in God speaking to the prophets of the Old Covenant and God speaking to the Body of Christ. In the days of old, the Lord put a word in the mouth of the prophets. That word was to define God’s intent and purpose for the nation. There was no way to know what or how God felt about a matter until the prophet received that word from the Lord.

2 Peter 1:2-4

2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Now this is the game changer. We have received the nature of our God. We are divine. We are not of this world, nor is our message of this world. It is a word spoken to our inner man by the Holy Ghost. He has caused us to know the will of God.

1 Corinthians 2:12-16

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

I would jump up and down or stand on my head, if I thought it would convince you that we are not of this world. We are the children of the Living God. We are divine in nature. The Holy Ghost is our teacher, causing us to know all things pertaining to this life and godliness. Believe it and live.

Reference Scriptures:

Ezekiel 21:21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.

Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Galatians 4:8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.

2 Peter 1:3-4

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.