SPIRIT OF THE CHURCH vs. SPIRIT OF THE WORLD

SPIRIT OF THE CHURCH vs. SPIRIT OF THE WORLD

We live in a world full of spirits, some are good and some are bad. The spirits come in many forms and with different purposes. Some are for our protection while others try to cause us harm. We will look into the two main spirits that are in the world today and see which spirit we should be following.
John said in John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” When we read what John said based on who God is and how we must worship Him, we are able to see how God operates in this world. He only will receive true worship when it is done in the true Spirit (His Spirit). Any other form of worship is carnal and fleshly, and God will not receive it.
When I look at the Church and what her position is in the world, I am reminded of her stand for truth. It is the only possible means for being acceptable to God. Praise God! “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29). That is the cry of the Church as it was also the cry of Jesus. Standing for His truth, preaching His Word, teaching the truth, making known to others so they will know the truth of God’s Word will bring glory to God and He will in turn pour out His Spirit on the Church. Because she only does those things that please Christ, He in return blesses her.

If we want to see the Spirit of the Church manifested in the Church then we are to stand for the truth! God will always bless the Church when she pleases him in her standing against sin. The preaching about, and against, sin will ultimately cause the spirit of God to shine on the Church.
“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). This was God’s way of showing how pleased He was in His Son. I have heard of multiple occasions where the Church has been in session during an Annual General Assembly and reports of a white dove would be seen flying in the tabernacle. What an awesome view to behold as God sends down His Spirit in the form of a dove to show how pleased He is with His bride. No doubt it would be a sight to witness this again and I pray that God will visit the Church with a heavenly visitation and let the dove fly into the midst of the congregation. But it will only come about when we as the Church have one purpose in our hearts, and that is to please Him by standing for the truth.
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come” (John 16:13). Our ministry must stand, our laity must stand, and our lives must stand. Stand for the truth with our families, stand for the truth in our homes, stand on our jobs and stand in our churches. Everywhere we are we must stand for the truth. Above everything we are to stand for Christ because He hung on a cross for us! “...and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore…” (Eph. 6:13, 14).

To make welcome the Spirit of God in the Church is simple. JUST STAND! Just stand for God with our hands clean, our hearts pure, our message clear and our minds fixed on pleasing God in everything we do. “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2 Cor. 6:17).

The spirit of the world is, by far, a different spirit and has no resemblance to the Spirit of God. It is controlled by Satan and comes across as totally sweet and innocent in form but has no ability to cleanse one from sin. It rather desires that one continue in sin that it may entrap a person into not truly serving God. Paul said to the Corinthian church concerning the spirit of Satan, “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light “ (2 Cor. 11:14).

One would think we need not worry about this spirit, but it can, and has, become very detrimental to millions upon millions of lives. The most prominent deception of this spirit is to think that one is saved when he is truly lost. The spirit of the world has no bounds and no ability to stop one from committing sin. It actually loves to commit sin in any way it can. Its acceptance of sin is so powerful that one will find himself changing what was once believed and understood to be sin and allow such conduct in himself. This spirit is cunning and crafty in every form and can even make a mockery of the Church and her stand against sin.

I have known people who once believed in the truth of God’s Word be entangled with the spirit of the world and even call it holy when the very sin is totally against God’s Holy Word! If we are not careful we too can become entangled with this spirit of acceptance that we will cuddle this spirit right into our homes. It is dangerous to allow this spirit of the world in our lives and oh so dangerous to allow it in the Church.

The Church is predestinated. “... upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). But you and I are not. We must guard against the spirit of this world and not let it filter in to our lives, our homes, our families and especially our churches. Guilty by association can become the verdict even when we had nothing to do with the sinful party and their actions. Remember, the trap is not the sin but rather thinking that sin is not sin.

God spoke light and darkness into existence but separated them and called the light day and the darkness night. “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night...” (Gen. 1:5). These two could not be together or they would not be called light and dark. This too has a significant meaning with the Spirit of the Church vs. the spirit of the world. They must be separate or you would not know the one from the other. Dusk and dawn are where light and darkness are intermingled together. If you didn’t know the time of day, then you would think it was either morning or evening but you would not know the difference. The spirit of the world can also damage the Church’s message when our light becomes intermingled with darkness.

The Church’s message is clear and comes with power because the Holy Ghost backs it. The Church is not to look like the world, she is not to dress like the world, she is not to talk like the world and especially the belief of God’s Word should never be intermingled with the belief of the world. Our philosophy and intellectual capacity can destroy our message. No need to Google “How to win the lost” when God has already given the Church His Word! Let’s not be guilty of knowing the Church’s message then mingling it with darkness.

Let the Spirit of God be alive in The Church of God! He indeed will push back the darkness (the spirit of the world).
Craig Barber
Wilmington, NC