Rhapsody of Realities TeeVo ; Sunday, 14th July 2019 ;
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome DSc., DD ;
WHAT IS GOD’S APPEARANCE? ;
Don’t Represent God’s Spirit With Any Form!)
TO THE BIBLE Matthew 3:16-17 AMPC
“And when Jesus was baptized, He went up at once out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is My Son, My Beloved, in Whom I delight!”
LET’S TALK➡
Some Christians symbolize the Holy Spirit with a dove, and this stems from a lack of proper understanding of the verse above. Acts 17:30 (MSG) tells us that, “God overlooks it as long as you don’t know any better–but that time is past. The unknown is now known, and he’s calling for a radical life-change.” In other words, God wants you to know and live by the truth.
Now, understand that Matthew 3:16 is in no way describing the shape of the Holy Spirit when it says He descended on Jesus like a dove. The key phrase there is “like a dove,” and it means “in the manner of the descent of a dove.” The Holy Spirit alighted on Jesus just the way a dove would, not that He came on Jesus in the shape of a dove! Thus, we’re not supposed to represent Him with a dove or any other animal for that matter! (Deuteronomy 4:15-17, Acts 17:29).
Want to know what the Holy Spirit looks like? Here’s how: the Lord Jesus, talking about the Holy Spirit, said, “ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever” (John 14:16 NIV). “Another Comforter” (as rendered in the New King James version) is translated from the Greek words “Allos parakletos,” which means “another one who is exactly like Me.” That means the Holy Spirit looks exactly like Jesus, who looks like the Father (John 14:8-9).
GO DEEPER
Hebrews 1:3 AMPC
3 He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the [c]out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God’s] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high,
John 14:16-17 MSG
The Spirit of Truth
“If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!
PRAY?
Dear Father, I thank you for the precious gift of the Holy Spirit that you’ve given to live in and abide with me forever. He is the third Person of the Godhead, and is Himself, God, not to be represented with an image, shape, or form!
Daily Bible Reading
ONE YEAR
Acts 22:22-23:1-11, Job 36-39
TWO YEAR
Galatians 4:1-11, Isaiah 34
Act?
Share this truth with at least two people around you today.