Spirit Controls, Not Man

Four main evidences help us identify supernatural manifestations that are not the work of the Holy Spirit:

·         Consistent manifestations.

·         Not confirming God’s word.

·         Indiscriminate anointing.

·         The absence of faith.

In this section, we will discuss the evidence of consistent supernatural manifestations. One of the clearest evidences that supernatural signs manifested through a ministry are the work of demonic spirits is consistency. If ministers can perform these signs at will—that is, in every meeting they hold—we can be assured this is not the work of the Holy Spirit. Returning to the Exodus account, we see that Moses could only perform the signs God gave him when God told him to do them. God performed His signs when He chose to, not when Moses chose. The magicians, however, could produce the same signs at will.

Hebrews 2:2-4 “For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, (3) how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, (4) God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?”

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are always manifested as the Spirit wills and never as we will. The above passage of Scripture clearly teaches us that God permits signs and wonders to take place according to His own will. It is because ministers and believers do not understand this very basic truth in Scripture, and erroneously think that the gifts are manifested as they will, that the church ends up in trouble and becomes vulnerable to demonic powers. To illustrate that the gifts of the Spirit are manifested as the Holy Spirit wills and not as we will, we will examine some biblical examples of the operation of the gifts of the Spirit.

2 Kings 4:25-27 “And so she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, "Look, the Shunammite woman!  (26)  Please run now to meet her, and say to her, 'Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?' “And she answered, "It is well."  (27)  Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, "Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.” 

The first example we will examine is the prophet Elisha. In the context of the passage referenced above, we learn that a woman well known to Elisha came to him for help because her son had just died. As a prophet, Elisha operated in the gift of the word of knowledge. Under the Old Covenant, prophets were used by the Lord to deliver words of knowledge and words of wisdom to the children of Israel when they sought guidance from God through the prophet. This was the prophet’s mandate, as noted in 1 Samuel 9:9.

If Elisha was operating in this gift, he would have known what the woman wanted before she spoke, since he would have been seeking the Lord for the gift to manifest. However, the Lord revealed nothing to Elisha. This demonstrates that, in this instance, the Holy Spirit chose not to provide Elisha with a word of knowledge. From this example, it is clear that the Holy Spirit controlled the operation of the gift, not the prophet.

Mark 2:5-8 “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  (6)  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, (7) “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  (8)  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?”

The second example we will consider is that of our Lord Jesus. When Jesus walked on earth, He lived as the Son of Man, not as the Son of God. As such, He was anointed by the Holy Spirit to operate in the gifts of the Spirit. In this passage, Jesus had just told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven. As soon as He said this, the Pharisees began reasoning in their hearts, accusing Him of blasphemy.

The Holy Spirit, knowing their thoughts, revealed this information to Jesus. Jesus did not know this naturally. When Jesus perceived in His spirit what the Holy Spirit had disclosed to Him, He was able to address the Pharisees accordingly. Notice that Jesus did not ask the Holy Spirit to reveal their thoughts. Instead, the Holy Spirit initiated the gift of the word of knowledge in this instance, and Jesus responded to what was revealed.

During His earthly ministry, if the Holy Spirit did not provide Jesus with supernatural words of knowledge, Jesus was limited to operating in the natural, just as we are. This example clearly shows that it was the Holy Spirit who controlled the operation of the gift, not the Lord Jesus.

Mark 5:24-34 “So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  (25)  Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, (26) and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  (27)  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  (28)  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  (29)  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  (30)  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  (31)  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' “(32) And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  (33)  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  (34)  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

The next example involves our Lord Jesus once again. In the passage referenced above, Jesus did not lie—He genuinely did not know who had touched Him. While He was aware that power had gone out from Him, the Holy Spirit did not reveal to Him, in this instance, the identity of the person who had touched Him, even though it was clear that Jesus desired that information.

If Jesus had been operating the gift of the word of knowledge on His own, He would have supernaturally known who had touched Him. However, He did not. This demonstrates once again that, during His earthly ministry, if the Holy Spirit did not provide Jesus with supernatural words of knowledge, Jesus operated within the natural limitations of humanity, just as we do. This example further confirms that the operation of the gift was initiated and controlled by the Holy Spirit, not by the Lord Jesus.

Michael E.B. Maher

Holy Spirit Encounters

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