THE MYSTERY OF FAITH

A mystery generally means something that cannot be understood or apprehended. It is very easy for someone new to the faith or an unbeliever to question many aspects of Christianity. For example, how is it possible that a virgin will conceive without mating with a man? How is it possible that there are three persons in one God (father, son, Holy spirit) and the third person is a Spirit which cannot be seen but we say it’s a person? Or how come we believe in God whom we have not seen? At least for Jesus (the 2^nd person in the trinity), there are eye witness testimonies from people who saw and experienced his work while on earth. But the other two persons are a mystery. These questions are bound to occur in the minds of most people. Yes, It is a mystery and we cannot explain but it is real.  The best way to understand a mystery is to have a personal encounter so that it will be easy for you to understand with conviction and not need anyone try to explain things to you. The Holy spirit is the 3rd person in the trinity but once we understand the mystery and working of the Holy spirit, we will be able to fully understand  the other two people in the trinity (the father and the son).

Having an encounter with the Holy Spirit.

Having an encounter with the Holy spirit  means to understand the Holy spirit and allow him work in and through you. This is one of the mysteries of faith that I will like us to talk about a little bit. I have met many people who don’t believe in the working of the Holy spirit. There are others who believe in the working of the Holy spirit but don’t believe in the physical manifestations of the Holy spirit such as the mystery of speaking in tongues, falling under the anointing etc. Others believe in these mysteries but have not experienced it personally so they believe its not for everyone but just for a particular group of people. These are some essential tools for success in the Christian journey especially when dealing with the demons.

The first step to having an encounter with the Holy spirit is to have faith in God. Faith in God is a mystery because we cannot see God but we know He is there and He is real. In the Old Testament, He revealed himself to people in many ways. For example, he revealed himself to the Israelites in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to guide them while in the desert (Exodus 13:21-22), to Elijah he revealed himself through a still small voice (1 king 17:2-3), to Moses he revealed himself as a person “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14) and many other examples. The good news is that He still reveals himself to us today through His word (the Bible), through dreams, and even through his creation. To have faith in God begins by believing the mystery of God in your heart and confessing that he is Lord with your mouth. (Please read more on this in our previous post ( http://arisesister.com/index.php/2021/07/22/holy-spirit-companion/).

The second step to having an encounter with the Holy Spirit is by understanding that God and the Holy spirit cannot be separated. The Holy spirit is the Spirit of the Living God. We often hear some Christians say the Holy spirit spoke to me, while others say God spoke to me. Sometimes we may be tempted to think they are different. But we must understand that God works through His spirit so it is difficult to separate both. Reason why we have the Holy Spirit in the trinity.

The third step is to understand that the Holy spirit (which is the Spirit of God) can work in any body, at any time in different ways. It is also vital to note at this point that there are both inward and outward manifestations of the Holy spirit. So, if one person does not react in the same way as the other person, it does not mean that the Holy spirit is not in him/her or the Holy spirit is more in A than in B. This understanding will help us not to obstruct the work of the Holy spirit and to recognize when the Holy Spirit is at work in us.

After understanding these steps to having encounters with the Holy spirit, we will proceed to look at how to have an encounter with the Holy spirit and the various ways in which this Spirit manifests itself in our next article. My prayer is that the understanding of these things will make us firmly rooted in the knowledge of God and the faith we profess; then we will no longer be like infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming (Ephesians 4:14).

Remain blessed.