There are so many misinterpretations of identities regarding the spirits and the person of the Holy Spirit. Over the years, I’ve seen and heard so many preachers and teachers of the word saying the same thing about the spirits and the Holy Spirit over and over again.
This I’ve come to realize is a result of several preachers, teachers and pastors listening to one person they called father in the Lord even when Jesus Christ warned us never to call anyone a father in Matt 23:9-10 saying; “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.” And whatever misleading teachings the person passes to them they ignorantly spread the same to everyone under their leadership and the whole system becomes a thing of the blind leading the blind as Jesus Christ clearly stated in Matt 15:13-14 said; “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
The state of the church and Christianity, in general, is what it is today because of the babies dictating what the adults should be doing in the church. When the unlearned become the teacher to the learned then you can imagine what the results will be; catastrophe.
Before we begin to dig deep into this matter, let me establish first the fact that there are no good spirits, bad spirits or evil spirits. Spirits are neither good nor evil. Spirits are neutral. They only metamorphose into what God needed them to do at the time and this is evidenced in 1 Kings 22:20-22; “And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The Lord said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, *‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’”
The majority of us were at one time or the other told that the evil spirit is of the Devil or Satan. Well, that is not true. We were even told that Satan is the Devil and Lucifer. This is not true either. Let’s clear this one after the other.
SATAN
I’m sure the majority of us have heard or read .2 Chronicles 16:9 where it was said; “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” The eyes of the Lord that run to and fro throughout the whole earth are Satan. He is as much a son of God as Jesus is and he must check the earth for those whose hearts are loyal to God.
Whom Satan is and what his duty is was clearly stated in Job 1:6-12 where it was stated that; “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person. “So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
To truly confirm that Satan is the son of God and he is the eyes of the Lord that run to and fro throughout the whole earth, in Job 2:1-6 it was said that; “Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still, he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.”
Now, to further prove that Satan is a heart tester he must see out those whose heart is loyal to God and that he is not working alone. Remember, it was God who called Satan’s attention to Job. Satan did not go to God to report Job. In like manner, in Matt 4:1 it was said that; “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Even though the writer used the word “Devil” here, it was not the “Devil”, it was Satan. The Devil does not tempt, it is not his duty. Satan tempts and Satan is not permitted to tempt anyone unless the Lord gives him access to the person just in the case of Job and now Jesus when God led Jesus Christ to the wilderness to be tempted.
Satan is a son of God and he is the eyes of the Lord that run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show God strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to God.
What then is it to have loyalty to God? In Heb 10:22-25 it was said; “Let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith (by that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water. So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word. And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities, not forsaking or neglecting to assemble [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.”
DEVIL
Satan is not the Devil and the Devil is not Satan. Satan is one entity, the Devil is many and they must possess not to tempt. Devil or Devils were nowhere to be found in the Old Testament of the Bible. If you read the King James Version of the Bible, Devils was referred to as Idols. In Lev 17:7 Moses said; “And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute forever unto them throughout their generations. He repeated the same in Deut 32:17, “They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.” But the Devils are not Idols. Devils are Devils and Idols are Idols, they are not the same.
The Devil and the Devils came to an extent in the New Testament. The reason why Satan was referred to as the Devil in in Matt 4:1 was because the real identity of the Devil was not known yet. And since Apostle Matthew cannot differentiate between tempting and possessing, he just called Satan the Devil. But later on, when the encounter between Jesus and Satan was about to end, Jesus did not call him Devil because He knew who he was, instead, He called him Satan in Matt 4:10 saying; “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'” But Apostle Matthew was still using the word Devil as he concluded that scenario in verse 11 saying; “Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”
The Devil is many and their main characteristic is to possess. This was made clear in Matt 8:16 where it was said that “When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick…”
Not just that, the Devil or Devils also sow tares in people’s lives and this was made known in Matt 13:38-39 where Jesus Christ said; “…the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil…” If there are any discomforts in your life, if there are any traces of tares in your life, the entity to direct your prayers to is the Devil, not Satan. And your action should not be to rebuke but to cast out of your situation. You rebuke Satan and cast out the Devil or Devils; Jesus made this clear in Mark 16:17 saying; “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils…”
Devil is a person, meaning the Devil always look for the individual to possess and this was made clear in John 6:70 where Jesus Christ said; “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” and in John 13:2 it was said that; “And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him…”
The good thing is, that a person possessed by the Devil or Devils can be healed and this was made clear in Acts 10:38 where it was said; “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” The bad thing is, you cannot heal a person possessed by the Devil or Devils unless the Lord grant you the enabling grace to do that.
LUCIFER
Lucifer is another entity we have been told several times that he is Satan and the Devil. This is not true either. Lucifer is not Satan neither is Lucifer the Devil. Lucifer is Lucifer and he is the spirit of destruction according to Isaiah 14:12-17 which says; “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners?’
Just as Satan, the Devil and the Lucifer are three different entities, so also the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit and the Spirit are three different entities.
THE SPIRIT OF GOD
The Spirit of God is the creative ability of God. It is not the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit the Lord released to some individual to carry out something spectacular for the Kingdom of God.
The Spirit of God was first mentioned in Gen 1:2 where it was said that “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” And in verses 3-5 the same Spirit set to work and it was recorded that; “Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”
The same Spirit manifested in Joseph in Gen 41:37-38. It was so evident to the point that it was said of him that; “So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”
The same Spirit of God came into manifestation in the life of Bezalel in Ex 31:1-5 where it was said that; “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.”
With Balaam, the Spirit of God is a blessing Spirit and this was made clear in Num 24:2-9 where it was said that; “the Spirit of God came upon him. Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, the utterance of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls, with eyes wide open: “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, like gardens by the riverside, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. He shall pour water from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. “His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. ”God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox;
He shall consume the nations, his enemies; he shall break their bones and pierce them with his arrows. ‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him?’ “Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you.”
The Spirit of God is a creative spirit. Never forget that.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is the working partner with God, the wisdom of God and the teacher of those who surrender themselves to God. The Holy Spirit was said to be the Spirit of Wisdom.
One of the reasons why it is difficult for people to differentiate between the Spirit of God and the Holy Spirit which is the Spirit of Wisdom is because wherever you see the Spirit of God, you see the Holy Spirit which is the Spirit of Wisdom. The two are in-separatable and in Isaiah 11:2 it was said of Jesus Christ that; “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord”. These are all the attributes of the Holy Spirit.
Now, over the fears, we were made to believe that the Holy Spirit is a he, but studying the book of Proverbs it was made clear that the Holy Spirit which is the Spirit of Wisdom is a She and not a He. Her true identity was made known in Proverbs 1:20-21 saying; “Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the chief concourses, at the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words.” I’m not surprised to discover this hidden truth. One of the things I learnt early in life is the fact that a Six-year-old girl is wiser than a Sixty-year-old Man. That is as true today as it was years back.
Not just that; every woman knows the heart and mind of her husband good or bad. So also, every good mother points their children to what they need to do to make their father happy towards them just as it was recorded in Gen 27:1-17, 25-29; “Now it came to pass when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he answered him, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. Now, therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. And make me savoury food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, ‘Bring me the game and make savoury food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ Now, therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savoury food from them for your father, such as he loves. Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”
And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau, my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him, and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.” But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savoury food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck. Then she gave the savoury food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate, and he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: “Surely, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed. Therefore may God give you the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!”
What took place between Isaac, Rebekah and Jacob was a type and shadow of the things that are happening between God, the Holy Spirit and Human begins. I know you expect me to say us believers or Christians. Well, God is a God of all not the God of some. This was made clear in Jeremiah 32:26-27 where it was said; “Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh”. So, if you are still of the opinion that God is only for the Christians, believers or Born Again, you deceive yourself.
So, just as every woman knows what is in the heart of their husband for the children, also, the Holy Spirit knows what is in the heart of God for us Human beings and she is willing and ready to take all the risks just as Rebekah did to get it for us; and this Apostle Paul made clear in Romans 8:26-28 saying; “And in the same way — by our faith — the Holy Spirit helps us with our daily problems and in our praying. We don’t even know what we should pray for nor how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with such a feeling that it cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows, of course, what the Spirit is saying as he pleads for us in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans.”
The Holy Spirit must help us access what is in the mind of God for us.
THE SPIRITS
The Spirits are the agents of God saddled with different responsibilities and assignments for God. Their duties are different from those of the angels and their acts can be seen in 1 Samuel 16:14 where it was said “Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.”
A spirit sees you from the content of your heart and your thoughts (both good and evil).
The Spirit works through every word we say good or bad. If we speak death the demons are set to work, and angels are incapacitated, that is why the Spirit of Wisdom said in Prov 6:1-2 saying; “My son, if you become surety for your friend, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, you are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth.” If you speak life, angels get to work and the demons are disarmed, and if you are not speaking then nothing happens; this is the reason why Jesus said in John 6:63; “It Is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
The Spirits can metamorphose into anything God wants to see happening to a person. The responsibilities, assignments and duties could be anything including lying about your mission in a place as it was recorded in 1 Samuel 16:1-2; “Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.”
Until you know and understand the workings of the spirit, you cannot win the battles of life.