Category Archives: Holy Spirit

Firstborn

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Firstborn was conceived from this question-How can the firstborn of creation be the Last Adam or Second Man? After a fruitful study, I am now ready to birth this post about the Firstborn. This study started growing into a very complicated child because of all the aspects related to the topic of the firstborn. Maybe I will get to that plethora of information in a future post.

Some about the Firstborn

This is a title as well as a position on a family tree. Part of being the firstborn son was the inheritance and the blessing that went with that honor. These rights of the firstborn are mentioned in the Five Books of Moses. Each book has a slightly different focus. (I am making some very loose points here as rules and requirements are mentioned in Exodus to Deuteronomy.)

  • Genesis-The focus here is Jacob and how he handles the rights of the firstborn. He buys and steals them from Esau, takes them away from Ruben and gives them to Joseph, and transfers them to Ephraim. 1 Chronicles 5:1, Jeremiah 31:9, with Genesis 49:3,4; 48:5 and 14-20 all refer to the story of Ruben.
  • Exodus’ focus is that Egypt/Pharaoh will not let Israel (God’s firstborn) go, so it will cost them their firstborn.
  • Leviticus has only one mention of firstborn-Chapter 27. It states that they belong to the Lord.
  • Numbers-There are many things written about the firstborn in Numbers. The theme I saw was Egypt being traded for Israel, and now Israel would cover the redeeming of the Levites’ firstborn. Zelophehad’s daughters (Numbers 36:11) do set some rules about all-girl families.
  • Deuteronomy restates the rules and requirements of the firstborn. Chapter 21:15 adds a rule for loved and unloved wives, and whose children get the rights of the firstborn. I want to think this adjusts some things Jacob did so as not to be an excuse for later generations.

Firstborn of Creation

Adam was the prototype, while Jesus is the prototokos (Colossians 1:15). Adam was made/created/assembled by God and he received the breath of life (The first CPR:). Jesus came from that amazing creation when the Holy Spirit surrounded Mary with grace (charitoo) and put in the male half of the DNA to form Jesus. So, He was the first man born from the Spirit. (Luke 2:21-He was circumcised.) This sets the example of our born-again experience with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the firstborn of Creation (Hebrews 1:6, Colossians 1:15, Romans 8:29). He is also the firstborn of/from the dead (Revelation 1:5, Colossians 1:18). Jesus is the head of the church of the firstborn (Colossians 1:18, Hebrews 12:23).

1 Corinthians 15:45 and 46 is discussing the concepts that are also found in Romans 5:15 and 17 (here it is one man). The first Adam, the first man, allowed death into the world by his transgression. The last Adam (Jesus) is a life-giving Spirit that brought grace to us. In 1 Corinthians 15:46, Jesus is referred to as the second man. I believe, because of the Hebrew for Adam and man, being related has caused this to become the title of Second Adam.

Holy Spirit

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For Pentecost 2022, I was looking at the term (logos) Holy Spirit and found this interesting fact. Out of the New Testament writers, Doctor Luke uses Holy Spirit the most. (These are approximate numbers because translations are different.) Holy Spirit is used 100 times in the New Testament, 55 of those are used by Luke. The Greek doctor, who traveled with Paul and spent time with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and John, mentioned the Holy Spirit more than all the other writers combined. In his Gospel, it appears 13 times, with the rest (42 or 43) being in Acts. Luke wrote these letters to Theophilus (friend of God).

Other Tidbits

  • Ruach HaKodesh or HaKo’desh is Hebrew for Holy Spirit. Ruach is breath, wind, or spirit.
  • Hagios Pneuma is Greek for Holy Spirit. Pneuma is breath, wind, or spirit.
  • If you look in the KJV, use the term Holy Ghost instead of Holy Spirit.

Study of the Kingdom – Miracles

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Preach the Kingdom and Do Miracles

Jesus’ Kingdom is one of miracles!  Jesus did miracles, He sent His disciples out and they did miracles and people who came from their ministry did miracles.  Ananias who laid hands on Saul was a second-generation Christian, so that makes Saul/Paul a third-generation Christian and he did miracles.  It never really stopped, and the Azusa Street Revival was just one of several revivals that were used to reawaken the concept that God is a miracle-working God!

Matthew 4:23 says Jesus preached the “good news” and healed diseases and sickness.  Matthew 9: 35 restates that thought in almost the exact words and then Jesus sent the Twelve out to preach, heal diseases and sickness, and cast out evil spirits.  In between those two statements was a practical lesson from the Master Healer and Master Teacher.

  1. The Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes – preached the kingdom
  2. Healing a leper as a witness to the priest.  Mark 1: 40 tells the same story, only the man was disobedient. (The devil is a liar.)
  3. Heals the centurion’s (a Gentile) servant
  4. Calms a storm
  5. Heals the Man of the Gadarenes
  6. Heals the paralytic that dropped in through the roof
  7. Heals a sick woman and a dead girl
  8. Heals the blind and the mute

Preach the Good News of the Kingdom and Heal!  Hopefully, the point was made! 

Logos and the Rhema

The Logos (Jesus) spoke the rhema of the Kingdom and the crowds were amazed because of the authority of the teachings (Matthew 7:29).  The Logos also spoke the rhema of God and healed every illness and calmed storms.  As believers we needed the logos to preach and the rhema from Holy Spirit to heal!

Who Did You Ask and Who Gets the Glory?

Emotionalism!  Seeking some parts of the Holy Spirit’s ministry and rejecting others!  The Spirit accepts you, do you accept Him?  Knowledge and understanding of the moving and power of the Spirit are necessary, but head-knowledge does not replace the relationship.  

If you are asking the Father for the Holy Spirit why should you expect something harmful or hurtful?  Is Matthew 7:11 wrong?  The Father knows how to give good gifts, He gave us the Holy Spirit!  

Holy Spirit’s mission is to give glory to Jesus.  He will use willing people to channel His power to humanity and the glory goes to the Father and the Son!  Willingness leads to relationships!  “With your whole heart seek God and He will reward you.”  (Hebrews 11: 6) The Spirit will use you and do great things if you are willing.  How great? How willing!  Oh, you do not get to define great, the Spirit of God does that and it is on a person to person basis.  I can attest, unfortunately, it is very easy to replace a Holy Spirit relationship with works, rules, and many other things.  And then wonder why you are empty (the wrong way), shallow, and unproductive.

Peter and John worked at building a relationship with and knowing the Spirit.  At the Beautiful Gate when they healed the beggar they continually gave glory to God/Jesus for the healing.  (I wonder what happened to the beggar after their court appearance?).  Paul and Barnabas, in Acts 14 gave the glory to the Lord for the healing of the lame man.  Who gets the glory will tell you a lot about the miracle worker. 

Wait A Week

For Jesus, it was Sunday to Friday and they were hanging Him on the cross.

For the Church in Jerusalem, it was not long before favor went to headhunting.

Paul and Barnabas had a short time before the mob stoned Paul to death and Jesus healed him.

The devil hates it when Jesus gets praised!  The devil hates miracles because they undo his evil plans and works.  Unfortunately, it seems that the religious, who want the rules, are the ones who do the killing.  In the Welsh Revival, the leaders of the established church actually paid people to harm the revivalist and those who attended.

Miracles are an important part of the Church of Jesus Christ!  Just remember, the logos is spoken first, and then comes the rhema with signs and wonders to confirm the miracle of Jesus on the cross.

Holy Spirit and Four Births

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Brian Houston in his 2019 Christmas message to Hillsong Church spoke on Holy Spirit’s role in the Christmas story.  It is something that is easily overlooked, yet is the very heart of the story as that is how a virgin became pregnant.  This made me think of the other times the Spirit was present at the birth of things.  Now, these births cause the world and secular thinkers’ great displeasure and they often have very unnecessary things to say about each of them!  

Genesis 1: 2 – The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  The Spirit was at Creation – the birth of this Age that tells the story of His people.  The “world” cannot accept that God created the world and oversees His planet.

Luke 1: 35 – The Holy Spirit and the Power of the Highest will come to you and hover over you.  The Holy Spirit supplied the “50%” of the DNA that Mary did not get from a man.  The “world” really has a hard time with this.  Joseph even had a “hard” time with this until God sent an angel to him.  This Story, the Christmas Story, is what sets Christianity apart.  This is no less a story of Creation as the one in Genesis and unless the Holy Spirit opens your heart to it you will not believe.

Acts 2: 2-4 – On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit blew into Jerusalem and hovered over the Upper Room and 120 praying believers and birthed the Church of Jesus Christ.  The “world” does not like this either!  All sorts of attacks have been launched against the Church, but the Holy Spirit has always reserved a believing “120” to pray and carry His message to the harvest fields.

John 3: 3 – Unless you are born again you will not see the Kingdom of God.  The Holy Spirit will hover over you to get you born again.  He will not make you accept Jesus and the Good News of the Kingdom.  But if YOU decide to leave the “world” behind and go the opposite direction from it (repentance); Holy Spirit will birth something in you and fill you with all the power needed to live a righteous life.  See Following Jesus at the top of the page and Happy Birthday!  

Featured pic is from http://www.LumoProject.com.   

The Bible and Science – Hyperventilation

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Acts 8:5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ. (See Acts 6:5) NIV

Hyperventilation is when you are breathing in more than you are exhaling, throwing your blood gases out of balance.  This can be serious, but in non-chronic cases it is treatable.  The problem here is that you have more oxygen than carbon dioxide.  Yes, you need oxygen to live.  Yes, carbon dioxide is a “waste product” and too much is a problem.  But you are designed to have a balance – the “in” has to be in harmony with the “out.”

If I may view this in a spiritual sense.  Oxygen is the Holy Spirit.  Carbon dioxide is what we give back to the world (it is needed for plants to grow).  If Christians are only taking in the things of God, and never giving back what we receive to the world it is a problem.

You are depriving the world of something it needs, but the bigger problem is it will make you sick!  Webmd.com list some of the physical problems as being lightheaded (faint), heartbeat with be incorrect, short of breath, and numbness.  Personally, I do not want the spiritual counterparts of any of those.

Our remedy for this is found in Matthew 10:8 – Jesus tells us here to give freely because it was freely given to you.  And a bonus about giving (yourself, your knowledge and love of Jesus, time, money, etc.) is in Proverbs 11:24; the more you give, you will receive more back.

Staying healthy spiritual and not hyperventilating requires a balance between getting and giving.  Philip is an example of this, he was full of faith and the Holy Spirit and he went to Samaria and gave.

∞ Jesus, thanks for being our example in “giving.”  Help us to not hyperventilate so we can give out what you have given us. Amen.

Thought for the Day

To be a healthy Christian give the things you have been given.

https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/tc/hyperventilation-topic-overview#1