False Ideas (11) - The Holy Spirit is a Failure

No one actually teaches this idea, but I think that most Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is a failure. This deception is implicit in the teaching that Jesus must return to establish the Kingdom. This age is the age of the Spirit. We live in a time when God is working in the world through the Holy Spirit. God has given the Holy Spirit the task of establishing the Kingdom (working through the church). If Jesus has to return to do the job, the Holy Spirit has failed.

The truth is the other way round. Jesus came to earth as a man, so he was limited to working in time and space. His influence was limited to the country of Palestine. This meant that it was impossible for Jesus to establish the Kingdom. He laid the foundation for the Kingdom by his death, resurrection, but he could not make the Kingdom of God a reality. Ruling the world from Jerusalem would have been impossible. This is why Jesus said it was better for him to leave the earth (Jn 16:7). By departing, Jesus released the Holy Spirit to work in the world. While living on the earth, Jesus had no influence beyond Israel. Once he left the earth and began to work through the Spirit, his influence soon extended throughout the earth.

The Holy Spirit has the capability needed to establish the Kingdom of God. The only obstacle to the coming of the Kingdom is human sin, but through the salvation of Jesus, the Holy Sprit has the power to overcome sin. He can empower his people to witness to Jesus throughout the earth (Acts 1:8). Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would "convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement" (Jn 16:8). He is able to give sinful people a new heart" (John 3:5). We can expect the Holy Spirit to be successful in these tasks. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the church means that it has dynamic power. Since he has all the infinite power of God, we should expect the Spirit to bring the Kingdom of God to victory.

Over the last century, Church has rediscovered the power of the Holy Spirit, but our understanding of his role has been limited to his work in the Church. We need a revelation of his role in establishing the Kingdom of God.