Rediscovering the Holy Spirit: Proponents, Opponents, Components in His Conquest to Expand the Kingdom

By David S. Vanz

After decades teaching biblical concepts, author David S. Vanz believes many people have an incomplete understanding of the Holy Spirits activities in their lives today. In Rediscovering the Holy Spirit, he encourages Christians to set aside unbiblical opinions and rediscover the Holy Spirit, deepen their relationship with God, and allow him to guide their individual lives.

Vanz discusses how rediscovering the Holy Spirt requires prayer and a close look at the information within the scriptures. He examines the book of Acts as an example of the power and tools available to serve Gods purposes in the past; he believes this knowledge supplies a framework to understand ways the Holy Spirit is working today.

Sharing both personal and biblical observations, Vanz attempts to remove many of the false teachings and realize the accurate message. Rediscovering the Holy Spirit communicates that one can grow closer to Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit through scripture, worship, ministry, evangelism, and loving one another.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Aug 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781480848641

David S. Vanz

David S. Vanz earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Bible studies. He also received a degree from the Sunset School of Preaching. Vanz has participated in several foreign and domestic mission activities. Visit him online at www.rediscoveringthespirit.com.

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Copyright © 2017 David S. Vanz.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 byThe Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Greek Bible text from: Novum Testamentum Graece, 28th revised edition, Edited by Barbara Aland and others, © 2012 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-4808-4863-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-4864-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017909600

Archway Publishing rev. date: 08/07/2017

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgement

Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1: Pneuma

Chapter 2: Structure Of Acts

Chapter 3: Promised Covenant Revealed

Chapter 4: Expansion Of The Promise

Chapter 5: Comrades Of The Conquest

Chapter 6: Helps From The Spirit

Chapter 7: Conclusion

Afterword

End Notes

Bibliography

About the Author

Foreword

David does not disappoint, he focuses on his penetrating message: Theophilus is an example of one who discovered the precious powerful promise and all Christians need to discover this assurance. Will the Christian be a Proponent, an Opponent, or a Component? After decades teaching others biblical concepts, David believes many people have an incomplete understanding of the Holy Spirit’s activities in their lives today; he seeks to address this debilitating force. He recognizes exploring any part of the godhead is very challenging, but believes God will bless dedicated pursuit and reveal those concepts the individual believer needs to understand. David seeks to encourage Christians to set aside unbiblical opinions and Rediscover the Holy Spirit – allow Him to guide their individual lives, today. After presenting the elements of effective communication, David proceeds to consider the primary scriptures about the Holy Spirit, some which have caused immense conflict among Bible students. He proposes a biblical understanding about the part of God, which dwells within each Christian; he thinks this should provide each one incredible confidence to navigate and enjoy their spiritual life journey. In addition to whatever level of biblical knowledge and commitment the Christian possesses, the Holy Spirit resides in him and is willing to help him grow personally and execute Jesus’ desires for his life. The result will be praise and honor to God in some way; many times it will be to share the news about Jesus with others for encouragement or eternal life. He understands the assignment given to the Holy Spirit: instruct and lead believers towards a more dedicated life of service to God. David examines this goal by exploring Acts as an example of the power and tools available to serve God’s purposes in the past; he believes this knowledge supplies a framework to understand ways the Holy Spirit is working today. David explores Acts as a narrative Luke provided to one Theophilus for organized information and encouragement to cement his belief in Jesus so he might help himself and others better serve God. David provides unique assistance to Rediscover the Holy Spirit as he embraces both technical and practical aspects of the Spirit’s actions in the Acts narrative. David uses carefully noted explanations describing the spread of the promised Kingdom as a conquest that cannot be stopped, whatever the obstacle encountered. He uses a hyperbole of a primitive house being prepared for a grand celebration feast; the number of invitees is continually increasing. He pictures this house as being illuminated by a single lamp, the gospel. The flickering light, fanned by a moving breeze of the Holy Spirit, provides clarity and appeal for the focused mission. Achievements from the conquest are described in a beautiful bellowing tapestry, hung on the wall for all to see. Individual Christians are described as Components. They are both servants and combatants, each being invaluable to the goal of obeying the Holy Spirit as ungodly activity in the physical realm is overpowered. David notes how the Holy Spirit chose Christians with different talents and abilities to complete needed assignments and activities. From this starting point, the Holy Spirit also supplied any additional guidance or abilities needed. After a description of the expansion narrative, David explores, with individual focus, the specific behavior of three groups of participants in the conquest; He describes these as Proponents, Opponents, and Components following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He describes the expansion of the blossoming Kingdom as being carefully orchestrated by the Holy Spirit using these groups of people. He integrates a military theme for the conquest including an arsenal and incredible power to identify and overcome Satanic elements of any opposition to Jesus’ goal. David tries to convince all believers that there is a place for each of them to serve and continually grow into what Jesus wants them to become. He believes this end will be accomplished when Christian Components rely on prayer and scripture to Rediscover the Holy Spirit and honor God with whatever talent they have at the time.

K. E. Hurff

Preface

Over 30 years ago, when my wife and I returned from a mission commitment in Europe, we attended a newly founded church in a small community. The church did not yet have elders, so any needed shepherding responsibilities were assigned as needed via a men’s business meeting. In addition to some of these sensitive tasks, I happily accepted a role as deacon of Adult education. There were many different levels of biblical understanding assembled under this small roof and I enjoyed helping them expand their understanding of the Bible. These Christians, many recent converts, were seeking to better understand the Bible. They were very open to instruction and the general attitude was very conservative. In addition to weekly congregational studies, men’s and women’s Bible study meetings and personal spiritual conversations were quite common. An event materialized which caused an unsettling stir within these believers. At one of the women’s meetings, an extremely gentle, complacent, but active and faithful woman shared that she went into her closet and prayed in tongues. A very cohesive group of Christians was shattered, women first, then husbands and other men and women. The congregation changed from enjoying common activities together for encouragement to a setting of tension, confusion, and distrust – was this heresy? The essential question was: should we maintain fellowship with a person who does such things that cannot be explained or controlled? As deacon of adult education, expectation to resolve this issue fell to me. Through open and direct communication, the Holy Spirit helped allay the fears and repair the broken relationships within this group. While the unrest was averted, I personally had many more unanswered questions. So began an intensive study of the Holy Spirit using the Bible and wide ranging biblical literature encompassing other countries, other belief systems, and any relevant material I could find. While no one should claim a complete understanding of this topic, I believe we can encourage one another by allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal to each of us what we can comprehend and are able to understand at the appropriate time to serve God. My efforts have led to five critical conclusions about this spiritual journey on which believers find themselves: Jesus died as a potential sacrifice for all people no matter what their background may be; a human cannot understand many of God’s activities because His ways are greater than ours; since many believers have very different backgrounds and challenges, individual progression along this salvation journey may be sporadic at times so some appear farther along than others; the best method to understand God’s desires for our human life is to change our desires to wanting to please God, not ourselves, and spend much time in listening to God through Bible study and prayer; seek other believers with which to explore whatever the Holy Spirit is revealing so that ‘iron may sharpen iron.’ Using these five elements, believers should have confidence that, over time, the Holy Spirit will mold each person into what they need to become. Some believers may be molded differently and we need to accept this. Our personal journey will provide some reflection to unbelievers who are considering what God means to them.

My hope is that exploration of this topic will lead you to a greater appreciation for the modern conquest: the place and work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians, not only to strengthen and help them be better servants, but also as a motivator to reach out and help other believers along their journey. Additionally, strengthened servants should equate to furthering the present conquest, witness which yields expansion of the Kingdom of God. This introduction explores the information Luke provided to Theophilus about what was happening as this new series of events unfolded – the initial efforts to expand God’s Kingdom.

When some read or listen to the letter of Acts, they seem to easily recoil at the instances of persecution, shudder with amazement at some unexpected practices, or become mesmerized at the spectacular events revealed. In so doing, they tend to miss the real focus, God’s unique creation. The Father wants to spend eternity with as many people as possible and those who want the same thing are offered a pathway to this goal. This was the reason Jesus came to the earth and the reason the Holy Spirit remains. A brief look at His disciples illustrates that Jesus choose some of the most unexpected persons in that society to be his closest helpers; they accepted the invitation to pursue His goals with Him. Consistently, Luke’s underlying focus is on the people involved in this Kingdom expansion. Luke presents a description of the approach the Holy Spirit used as He directed this expansion, culminating in a realization that Components were the largest concern.

If you began reading this account expecting to find a chronicle of modern miracles, spectacular events, or methods to coerce the Holy Spirit into granting your personal wishes, your expectations will leave you disappointed. This treatment does not attempt to confirm or deny claims from Pentecostal, Neo-Pentecostal, Charismatic, or Third Wave movements;¹ it is an attempt to Rediscover the Holy Spirit of God as introduced in the Bible. What the Holy Spirit did, and does, is a part of who He really is, but He is so much more. God certainly has the power to do whatever He wants, whenever He wants, and however He wants to do it. These actions will be according to His desires. However, a key reality we humans must learn from biblical history is that we are very unlikely to predict His specific actions, and we definitely cannot expect our wishes or desires to be granted on demand. This stated aspiration is in direct opposition to many teachers and preachers who would claim otherwise. However, if you began reading hoping to experience a miraculous change in your relationship with God, this is definitely available to those who open their minds and heart to God’s nurture. It is perfectly acceptable to God when one learns a little bit here and a little bit there on any occasion possible, as long as the information is consistent with His revelation. At the center of this discussion is the spiritual realm; adopted believers, or Christians, exist as servants in that realm. Although they are children in God’s spiritual family and eventual heirs (Gal. 4:1), they are now children without adequate preparation to experience what awaits them. Even as children, Christians have special privileges, even rights as members in God’s spiritual Kingdom. The writer of Hebrews (4:16) declares that believers should have confidence and boldness when approaching God in His spiritual realm. The descriptive word used in this text is Greek, PARRESIA², which means the right of a ‘free man’ to speak, leading to confidence and boldness. In the physical realm at the time period the New Testament was written, many people were slaves and some of them became Christians. There were several reasons a person might become a slave. Some people were slaves because they had been captured during war and some because they were indentured to a master who purchased them; some were slaves to work off personal debts or offences.

Since slaves were humans, they always had observations, opinions, and feelings. However, slaves were expected to speak those opinions only when given permission by their master. Using this physical example, the writer of the Hebrews letter reminds his consumers of their status in the spiritual realm. A believer’s life changed dramatically when he came to believe Jesus was the Son of God and accept Him as his Savior. When that event occurred, the Christian was catapulted even above the rights of a free man to the status of a family member; a priest of the most powerful master in the universe – Creator God. Because of their status, Christians have not only the right, but also confidence to approach God the Father at any time and speak freely and boldly with Him – God desires this. Within Judaism, only the high priest approached the understood dwelling place of God (the temple) and only once per year. After Jesus’ sacrifice, this practice changed radically. Sin was removed, and the dividing curtain was torn top to bottom. When a sinner accepts Jesus as his or her savior, they are cleansed – all the existing sins are washed away and the person begins a new life, sinless and with immeasurable status. This new status also provides very close communion with God – the Holy Spirit lives within them and provides direct communication with the Father and guidance for those who will open themselves to Him. It is helpful to remember that when the New Testament writings were created, most of the people in this part of the world had been made subservient to the Roman government. The Romans supported polytheism, or many co-existing gods, many times focusing on the different parts of nature. People of captured nations could usually continue to worship their existing gods, as long as the Roman god (the emperor) was considered the highest, most important god. To consider another god higher was considered an act of treason, punishable by death. This was a struggle that believers in Jehovah, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit needed to endure. It was a war on two levels, primarily spiritual, but played out in both spiritual and physical arenas. Luke provides great insight into the advance of God’s Kingdom for curious people wanting to seek more understanding of the Holy Spirit’s activities.

Whether you are an unbeliever, a curious Bible student, an initial believer, or a seasoned Christian, my desire for you, and therefore the One goal of this exploration, is that through Bible study and honest reflection you will become the person God wants you to be.