“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes.” (Psalm 133:1-2) “When He (the Messiah our Lord Jesus) ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.” (Ephesians 4:8)
In the Word of God, the Bible, Aaron the High Priest was a type of our Great High Priest the Lord Jesus. The High Priests in Israel were all anointed with oil signifying the anointing with the Holy Spirit. When the anointing oil was poured out upon the head of Aaron it flowed down over his beard and onto his robes down to the very edge of his garments. The oil did not touch his flesh. Now the Lord Jesus is our Great High Priest who has passed into the heavens and is now interceding for us individually and corporately as the head of His Body His faithful Assembly (Church) on earth. (Hebrews 4:14-16) (Hebrews 7:25-26) (1 John 2:1-2)
On the day of Pentecost, the anointing of the Holy Spirit that had been on the Lord Jesus when He ministered on earth, He now poured out and down upon His Body the faithful assembly of believers gathered in Jerusalem. (Acts 2:4) (Acts 2:33) (Acts 4:31) The Holy Spirit not only brought them power to witness and to work for the Lord Jesus but unified them as one in heart and mind. (Acts 4:32) They had the mind of the Spirit and knew what He wanted them to do. (Romans 8:14) They were also unified in their doctrine being the apostles teaching and gave themselves to the teaching which we have today in the gospels and the epistles. (Acts 2:42) Back then of course the Old Testament was the Bible of the early Church.
Now we also know that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, not error. He will never endorse unbiblical doctrines or practices. Today we have Ecumenism and denominational structures but in the early Church there was only the apostle’s doctrine which was the benchmark for all of the Assemblies of believers. (1 Corinthians 4:17; 7:17; 11:16) The way of salvation was clear cut. One repented, believed in the Lord Jesus for salvation and was born again by the Spirit, was baptised by immersion in water and received the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower them for witness and service for the Lord Jesus. (Acts 2:38-39) (Acts 1:8)
Sadly today there are multitudes of ‘Churches’ that claim to have the Holy Spirit at work among them while entertaining unbiblical doctrines and practices. This is a subject in itself. The Unity of the Holy Spirit is based solely on the truth of God’s Word. He is the Spirit of truth and will never do anything that is not written in the Bible. He will lead us into all truth and that as revealed in the Word of God. (John 16:13) We are told in the Bible that the Sum (the whole) of God’s Word is truth. (Psalm 119:160)
Only when the local assembly of believers corporately is under the authority of the Head, being our Lord Jesus, will the anointing of the Holy Spirit flow down upon them corporately bringing about true unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. It is interesting that the oil flowing down from off of the head of Aaron only touched his robes but not his flesh. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is a sovereign act of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit Himself cannot be manipulated by man. Many today claim to have the power of the Holy Spirit but are quite slack when it comes to understanding the Word of God. The Lord Jesus is the Baptiser with the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:11) (Luke 3:16)
With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit the gifts or the manifestations of the Spirit will be released in abundance. In the Old Testament we see gifts of the Spirit operating in individuals but not within a corporate gathering of believers as we see in the New Testament. In Ephesians we are told that when our Lord Jesus ascended to heaven after His resurrection that He did two things.
Firstly; “He led captive a host of captives.” Before our Lord Jesus went to the cross, died, was resurrected and went back to heaven, no man had ever gone to heaven before He did. The Lord Jesus affirmed this fact. He said; “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.” (John 3:13) Those who died in faith went to Sheol or to the place where all the spirits of those who had died went to. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus we find that after they had died that Lazarus was resting and at peace in Abraham’s lap while the rich unsaved man was in a place of torment and a gulf separated them from each other.
The word for this place of departed spirits is the word “Sheol.” In the New Testament it is called “Hades” from which we get the English word “Hell.” Before the Lord Jesus had completed His perfect atoning work on the cross for sin, both the saved and the unsaved remained in Sheol after they had died. When we read in the Bible about the Lord Jesus descending into Hell He went to that place. However, He did not go to that place of torment where the rich man and all of the unsaved were confined, but He went to join Lazarus and all of those who had believed in God and had been waiting for the revelation of their Messiah.
Now the Lord Jesus was not tortured in hell for three days and nights. His torture was at the cross when He experienced a separation from fellowship with His Father. He cried out as fully man yet also as fully God the Son; “My God, My God, what have You forsaken Me?” This was Hell for our Lord Jesus. His separation from fellowship with God occurred at the cross. As He was about to die He said to the repentant thief crucified alongside of Him; “Today you will be with Me in paradise.” In other words the Lord Jesus went to Sheol to join Lazarus and Abraham and all of the spirits of those who had died in faith and took with Him the redeemed spirit of that thief. They were together in paradise, not in torment!
As for the torment of the soul of the Lord Jesus this had happened at the cross and it was at the cross that He completed the work of salvation when He cried out; “It is finished!” The curtain separating the Holy place from the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem was torn from top to bottom making it now possible for any man, woman, boy or girl to come into the very throne room of God in heaven after they had repented and believed on the Lord Jesus for salvation.
Now after the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, when He ascended to the Father in heaven He took with Him all those who had been confined in that compartment in Sheol where those who had believed previously had been confined. As for the rich man and all those who did not believe they were still there. They were still confined under the earth and in that place of torment and not able to get out. It was for them the holding cell keeping them locked up for their final destiny in the lake of fire. (Revelation 14:9-11; 21:8) The Lord Jesus also called this place “Gehenna” or the place of continual burning and torment. He had in mind the rubbish dump outside of the walls of the City of Jerusalem where the fires were kept burning day and night continuously. Never let anyone tell you that Hell is not a real place. Now let’s continue.
Secondly, “He gave gifts to men.” After our Lord Jesus had ascended to His father in heaven with all who had physically died in faith going with Him He also gave gifts to men. In other words after He had ascended, He not only poured out upon His followers the power of the Holy Spirit who had rested on Him, but with this outpouring the blessed Holy Spirit released His gifts for leadership, evangelism and for the mutual edification and spiritual growth of believers corporately. (Ephesians 4:11-13) In the Book of Acts when the Holy Spirit fell in power He primarily fell on groups rather than on individuals.
Many traditional churches today need the mighty Baptism with the Holy Spirit. Without this mighty baptism and outpouring they will be like soldiers enlisted into the army who may even be trained but who do not have the weapons and armour needed to fight the battles that lay ahead. This is why as believers individually and corporately we need to not only be baptised with the Holy Spirit for witness and Christian service, but also to put on the spiritual armour of God everyday undergirded by prayer in the Holy Spirit. Only by doing this daily will we have the spiritual power to drive out the works of the flesh, the world and the devil, and to demolish spiritual strongholds in our own lives and in the lives of others. (Ephesians 6:10-18) (2 Corinthians 10:4) (Jude 1:20-21) As for the genuine gifts of the Spirit Biblically exercised, they are desperately needed today in the wider Body of the Messiah, the faithful Assembly of believers corporately.
These gifts are given according to the will of the Spirit and will vary. (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) (Romans 12:6) They are given to edify the local assemblies when they meet together for worship. (1 Corinthians 12:12-31) All spiritual ability and power can only come through the ministry of the blessed Holy Spirit in any local assembly of believers where they are totally submitted under their head our Lord Jesus, then, and only then, will the blessed Holy Spirit be poured out and come down upon that local body of believers to lead them into all truth, and to impart to them the gifts needed to edify each other, and to bring a true unity in the Spirit so that each member, using the gift given by the Spirit, can use it to build up others in their faith until that fellowship comes into the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and to a place of spiritual maturity in the Messiah. (Ephesians 4:1-13) The anointing of the Spirit comes from our High Priest in the heavens and flows down over His body but does not touch the flesh! It is the work of God and not man! This is the great need of the hour in the wider Body of the Messiah today!
