Let's start by introducing an ancient character.
Cao Cao, a shrewd but cunning politician in the Han Dynasty, has established his northern kingdom and promoted his famous political ideology " the absolute power of the king reigns above all". However, his ideology was later proven too extreme and disastrous in contrast to Confucius' values which was mostly used throughout the history of China.
Unfortunately, we have found out Christians in the modern church also carry the same traits as Cao Cao, though their "political ideology" carries the name of the "Holy Spirit" instead of Cao Cao's upfront and authoritative slogan. Recently, the phenomenon of misusing or abusing the name of the Holy Spirit is not uncommon in the Church. Some believers tend to use it to defend their wrongdoings whenever disagreements arise in the ministry. As such, the Holy Spirit has wrongly become their authoritative tool, instead of God-given help and power, to manipulate others into conforming to their own likings.
1. How to differentiate the authenticity of a spirit-led life?
First, we should understand the nature of the experience wheen one is moved by the Holy Spirit.
Oftentimes, the experience is felt by the congregation instead of an individual alone, especially in the process of church building, spreading the Gospel and the ordination of leaders. In the Book of Acts, the disciples prayed together with the congregation for guidance in ordaining the next disciple to serve as the replacement of Judah. (See Acts 1:1-26) Similarly, the Holy Spirit tends to work in the hearts of a group instead of an individual to align the church's vision in the advancement of a common mission.
Secondly, Holy Spirit will never contradict with the word in Bible. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit from God, which provides the ultimate standard for Christian living. As such, it's inevitable that we should continue deepening our Bible knowledge in order to defend ourselves against false spirits.
Last but not the least, the gift of the Holy Spirt always serves to glorify God instead of boosting one's self-ego. Jesus once said, "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you." (John 16:13-14)
2. The Consequences of Abusing the Name of the Holy Spirit
2.1 Misusing the name of the Holy Spirit in advancement of one's own agenda would lay disrespect to God's holy sovereignty and blasphemy to the true spirit.
2.2 Misusing the name of the Holy Spirit would bring disasters to the church.
When two brothers get into a heated dispute, they may both insist that the Holy Spirit was at their sides while being firm about not giving in to the other party. Because of their stance, their conflicts would scratch a painful scar onto their ministry and fellow believers will feel hurt by their conflicts.
2.3 Misusing the name of the Holy Spirit becomes the breeding bed for Christian Cult Groups
In late Qing Dynasty, Yang Xiuqing, the leader of Tai Ping Heavenly Kingdom, proclaimed himself as the incarnation of Heavenly Father on earth. By misusing God's name, Yang managed to rationalize his own craving for power at the expense of the lives of innocent civilians. Moreover, Yang's extremely hostility towards Chinese traditions has caused Chinese intellectuals to live in a long period of irreversible misunderstandings with Christianity, thus creating a roadblock for future advancement of the Gospel in China.
Though the era of Qing Dynasty has long gone pass, we still often see Yang Qingxiu-like believers around us. Their claims of beholding the truth or carrying the anointing of the Holy Spirit seem to have deceived many believers.
Therefore, we need to be extremely aware of false prophets or those who claim to have "the Holy Spirit" speaking to them personally. We should always remember this verse," Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world."(1 John 4:1-3)
Translated By: Maggie Li
