The Holy Ghost Teaches

CHAPTER ONE

PART I

THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

I like to refer to the teachings of Christ because they are so direct and to the point. They also embody all the principles we are to teach regarding the gospel of the Kingdom of God. The parable below makes us aware that the Father nor the Son were disillusioned as to how the sons of Adam, as well as the Sons of God, would respond to the Word and to the Spirit of Truth.

Mark 4:3-13

3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.

13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?

The inference in verse thirteen is that the disciples needed to understand this parable in order to comprehend the rest. Therefore, if this parable is essential knowledge for the disciples, then it must be essential for our comprehension of the scriptures as well.

The parable divides the multitude into four categories of people.

Group #1: Spectators - These are they by the way side. These are people who attend church, watch Christian television or read their Bibles. Nevertheless, after they have heard the Word, having been in the presence of its preaching or teaching, Satan comes quickly to take the Word out of their hearts. Now the same verse of Scripture is explained in Matthew 13:19 in which another element is added to Christ’s explanation.

Matthew 13:19

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Remember, the natural man cannot discern the things that pertain to God. Therefore, one without the Kingdom will never understand that which is taught by the Holy Spirit except it be given to him. It is the anointing that destroys the yoke of ignorance that blinds the heart of man.

Likewise, the Sons of God are equally as vulnerable to unbelief when they constantly and consistently receive a word that is not the purity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Such a word establishes a foundation for the growth path of the children of God. This foundation is built by the errors of speculation, assumption and presumption. Therefore, when the truth comes forth it is not understood, because the foundation provided an erroneous perspective of the Word of God.

It is imperative for those who are teaching in the Body of Christ to destroy the doctrines and philosophies of man that have poisoned the people of God. These philosophies and errors in doctrine must be eradicated before we can begin to produce true Sons of God. The only weapon that we have against such doctrines is the truth.

By truth, it is the sheep who will hear the voice of the chief shepherd (whose voice is truth). It is also the sheep who listen and depend on the shepherd. They are not as those who merely come into the presence of the shepherd simply to satisfy their thirst for knowledge. If the root of vanity and vain philosophy is not destroyed, the truth will never be established in the heart.

You must not be afraid to let go of those things that have not produced the purpose of God in you. Your pet belief system may be error. Your favorite preacher or teacher may teach error. When the Holy Spirit prompts you that the word you hear is truth you must be prepared to receive it.

Many in the reformation who have been made privy to the truth are simply failing to accept it as identification of their own personage. This has caused the same to become spectators to purpose. They are non-participants in the mystery of Christ being formed in them. They are subsequently unable to produce or present Christ to the world. Thus they are becoming frustrated with local church duties and responsibilities that simply pacify the flesh.

Group #2: The Offended - Those who gladly receive the Word, delight in the Spirit of enlightenment, but are not willing to suffer in the flesh because of the Word they have received. They are oftentimes offended because the Word required them to respond righteously to unrighteous persecution or situations.

Likewise, they are offended by the guidance of the Word through trials and tribulation. Their hearts are hardened and they refuse to comply with the requirements demanded by the truth. We must keep in mind that these attributes are the same for the saved and the unsaved alike.

The Sons of God are guilty of such offense. They have also hardened their hearts to the will of the Father specified in the Word. They tend to disregard the fact that persecutions, trials and afflictions come for the Word’s sake. In other words, it is because of the “Word” that must be tested and tried in us that the opposition comes. Therefore, all tests or trials are approved by and ordered by the Father.

The sad reality here is that we, the Sons, have already received the Spirit of Truth, who is a comforter capable of taking us through any and every situation that might arise. To walk in the Spirit of Truth would eliminate the offense. Christ is in no wise offended by having to obey the Word of God. He always does those things that please the Father.

I was ministering to someone recently about being offended. I explained to them that my greatest trial is to see the people whom I have led whole-heartedly, come short of satisfying the Word. They love the Word and are so dutiful and often dependable in their church works, but when the negative situations arise that prick the heart, they simply refuse to go all the way to righteousness. They move to a place in their hearts and minds to justify not responding righteously to persecution, affliction or emotional distress. It is sad to see them pull away the shoulder at the truth, knowing that in spite of all their dutifulness they will never enter the Kingdom of God without obedience to His Word, even in the midst of negative circumstances.

Group #3: The Wanton – These are those who yield their members to the pursuit of the things of this world. They receive the Word, but allow themselves to focus on the cares of this life. These cares choke the Word out of them and they become unfruitful, never able to produce the righteousness that can only be accomplished by self-denial.

No, my sister and my brother, you cannot have your cake and eat it too. You cannot serve two masters at the same time. You will love the one and hate the other, or you will leave the one and cleave to the other. Until you learn to be content with whatever state you are in, you will never be holy.

The people of God do not entangle themselves with the affairs of this life. They do not seek after the things of the world. Instead they are content with the provisions the Father makes. To walk in discontentment is to deny Christ. To walk in the lust of the flesh and the pride of life is to become the dog that returns to his vomit. We are better than that.

The Holy Ghost is our comforter. He will strengthen us with a Spirit of Might to endure temptations and deny worldly lusts. You can resist such by agreeing with the will of God for your life.

Group #4: The Sons of God – These are they who believe, receive and obey the Word. They are able to produce the fruits of righteousness because they are willing to deny themselves. Likewise, they are able to reproduce themselves in others. They allow Christ to live through them with no thought of the things pertaining to the world. They are the true sons.

The Sons of God obey the Lord because they believe in who they are. This is crucial to the development of the Body of Christ. Each must believe that the Father has done in us exactly what the revelation of the mystery says: "as he is, so are we."

I do not know how to express the importance of believing and accepting the written witnessed report. We are the offspring of God. This is a fact. But we will die like men if we do not believe it.

Part II

THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

1 Corinthians 2:11-14

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

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.

It is the Holy Ghost who knows God and it is by the Holy Ghost that we are able to perceive God. It is the Holy Ghost who quickens the flesh, influences the heart, and provides a physical revelation in the soul, causing us to know the things that God has done in us. Consider this. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of God who has been assigned to teach spiritual people things pertaining to God. When Paul makes the statement “comparing spiritual things with spiritual,” he is referring to the fact that every natural action is initiated by a spirit, whether that spirit is good or evil. Because all natural things have a spiritual origin, they also mandate a spiritual consequence. The greater inference here is that the sons of God have moved to another realm of existence. We are not natural beings, but spiritual beings. We live and move and exist in the Holy Ghost. Thus, our desires, our will and our judgments are not of this world.

1 Corinthians 2:15-16

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.

It is the knowledge provided to us by the Holy Ghost that causes us to be nonplussed regarding things pertaining to God and salvation. Nonplussed means a state of bafflement or perplexity or to cause to be at a loss as to what to say, think or do. It is by the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Enlightenment, that we are confident in the knowledge of God.

Part III

THE THINGS THAT WE MUST KNOW

All the previous scriptures insist that the Lord has given us things that can only be discerned by the Holy Ghost. Therefore, it behooves us to investigate those things that have been given to us freely by the Father through Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

The things God has given us are all spiritual. We must be reminded here that the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit, therefore we need to be created spiritual beings first, in order to receive the inheritance given to the Sons of God. The things that God has given to us are in Christ. Christ is that unction which John talked about in his epistle. It is the anointing. It is the Spirit of God who upholds all things. Christ is a heavenly place. It is the Spirit who embodies all creation. It is the omnipresence of God.

Ephesians 1:4

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

The fact that we were chosen to be in Christ means that we were chosen to be holy and without blame. Likewise, it is conceivable for us to believe that the Father wants us to accept the fact that He created us holy. Strangely enough, this is the very truth that the church has denied. The blessings that He gave us that have been determined to be spiritual blessings are simply the attributes of dwelling in Him.

It is the next two verses that explain how this is to be accomplished. Here, Paul begins to explain the operation of redemption. He declares that we were to be more than beneficiaries of the atonement of Jesus Christ (just as Israel benefited from the sacrifices of Moses). Instead people were elected and selected to become the children of God through Jesus Christ. We must take this in the literal sense. We are the offspring of God.

Ephesians 1:5-6

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

We have been placed in the royal family. We are the begotten of God. I remember the Lord saying in the book of St. John that Jesus was His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased. We have now been placed inside of that beloved Son. We are in Him and He is in us, even as Christ was in the Father and the Father was in Christ.

The problem here is that the church does not believe this literally. It cannot believe that we are the same creature possessing the same nature as Jesus Christ. Somehow we see Him as totally different. We have not believed the report. We cannot believe that salvation created us to be in the likeness of the man Jesus Christ. Instead, we choose to camp out at the next verse.

Ephesians 1:7

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Paul is trying to get us to see that God did more than forgive us of our sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. Redemption through the blood and forgiveness of sins is according to the riches of His grace. The riches of His grace establish God’s influence, which is the Holy Ghost within us. This placing of the Holy Spirit within gendered a process of regeneration that transformed us into a New Creature.

Ephesians 1:8-10

8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

The acquisition of sons, the crucifixion of the old man and the creation of the New Creature are things that were hidden in God. These are the spiritual things that cannot be discerned by natural men for they are foolishness to them. The problem is, the church has taken the same position as the natural man. It, too, does not believe. Even after having received the Spirit of Truth, it walks in denial of its inheritance.

Ephesians 1:11-14

11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

We must believe in the finished work of Christ. We must believe that we are that which God has made us. If we do not believe that we are the Sons of God created in the image of Christ, then people will never believe in the power of our salvation. We will never manifest Christ in our earthen bodies. This also means that we will never walk in the character of Christ.

Belief is essential to our development. The New Creature must believe in who He is. We must believe that God has created us new. These are the things that the Holy Spirit has exposed to us that we might know what the Father has done in us. This truth will remain ineffectual if we do not believe and accept the truth. The Father will deal with us no other way. We must simply believe that which the Holy Ghost has taught us.