The Holy Spirit

The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire
Ps. 29:7
This verse from Ps. 29 immediately brings to mind the words of Acts 2:3:
There appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire and sat upon each of them.
We are reminded of the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came and the New Testament church was inaugurated. Jesus had of course promised this outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:8 which would give His disciples power and make them His witnesses (see Lk. 24:48,49).
It is clear that without the Holy Spirit there could be no New Testament church nor would the followers of Jesus have the ability to be His witnesses. We can say that the greatest purpose and supreme function of the church is to be a witness to the Lord Jesus Christ, this witness is to be made to all the nations of the world (Acts 1:8); it is also a witness to the principalities and powers, satanic and demonic forces (Eph.3:10). For this reason the church is attacked by Satan and his demonic hosts, he does not want the church to send out the gospel nor does he want to be reminded of his defeat by the Lord Jesus and the actual existence of the church is proof that Jesus triumphed over the powers of evil (cf. Col. 2:14,15).

Every true believer in Jesus who has repented receives the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38 - where water baptism is also mentioned as a prerequisite for receiving the Holy Spirit, though later scriptures do not support this as essential - for instance, the members of Cornelius' household received the Spirit before baptism, Acts 10:44-48). Every born again believer who has received the Holy Spirit is a member of the true church of God:

For by one Spirit we were all baptised into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free and all have been made to drink into one Spirit.
1Cor. 12:13
It is the work of the Holy Spirit to join together people from every race and walk of life so that they form the body of Christ, which is the ekklesia, the Church of God. Now, therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom also you are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Eph. 2:19-22 From this some very important points emerge: There is no church without the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit is the agent whereby the church was created. He fills repentant believers and baptises them into the body of Christ - He makes people members of the church. He further equips, calls and gifts people to fulfill their particular functions in the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is creator and sustainer of the true church of Jesus Christ, without Him there can be no church.
Church is not the work of man, man did not think it up, man cannot make people members of it, from start to finish it is a divine work.

The Fellowship of the Spirit

As we saw the Holy Spirit brings together people to create the body of Christ, He unites them into a special fellowship which is totally unlike anything the world has. This is what Paul calls the "fellowship of the Holy Spirit" (2Cor. 13:14); the "fellowship of the Spirit (Phil. 2:1) and the "fellowhip of His Son" (1Cor. 1:9). This fellowship has its own characteristics such as affection, mercy, love, unity, humility and sacrificial service to one another (read Phil. 2:1-4). Each of these characteristics is worthy of a study in its own right, here I want to look at just one, unity.
The unity, oneness and single mindednes of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is perhaps its greatest characteristic, it should be evident to all. Look at Ps. 133:
Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the LORD commanded the blessing - life forevermore.
Some aspects of that unity
In Eph. 3:3 Paul exhorts us to endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, that he feels it necessary to make such a statement tells us that this unity is not something that comes easily. Satan does all he can to break this unity, bringing in division, moanings, unforgiveness, disrespect, etc., and we all have to be aware of those things which can disrupt the unity of our fellowships. In vv. 4-6 Paul mentions 7 areas in which we should be united:

1. One body - read 1Cor. 12:12-27 - Here Paul talks about how we are all members of the one body of Christ and how each member has its part to play in the function of the body, some are toes, some are hands, etc. Every part is essential to the whole. Christ is the head of the body, it director and controller, every part should therefore be working to the same ends, caring for each other and free from schism, in agreement in every way. It is an interesting point that in Col. 1:19 Paul says that false teachers are "not holding fast to the Head" - and false ministers bring disunity to the body of Christ!

2. One Spirit - read Rom. 8:14-16 - There is only one Holy Spirit, he indwells the believer and "bears witness to our Spirit that we are children of God." The Holy Spirit cannot possibly be in disagreement/disharmony with Himself, when we meet another believer there is a wonderful witness in our spirit to the presence of the Holy Spirit within us. Sometimes when we meet another believer for the first time we sense that they are a christian even before we speak about it, this is the One Spirit witnessing in our own hearts bringing that feeling of harmony and oneness, we cannot not feel the same with any other spirit.

3. One hope of your calling - read 1Pet.1:3-5 - All believers share the same great and ultimate hope. That one day Jesus will return and we will be with Him and each other forever in God's eternal kingdom. Peter calls this a "living hope", it is not something we are hoping for in vain but has been put in our hearts and made real by the Holy Spirit and we have no doubt that it will come to pass.

4. One Lord - read Rom. 15:5,6 - We should with "one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Jesus is our Lord, we should aim to serve Him and do His will, just as the Holy Spirit cannot disagree with Himself, nor can Jesus. He will direct all His people according to His will and purpose and to the end that God is glorified.

5. One faith - read 1Cor. 12:3 - Faith here means our confession of faith, in the early church this was simply "Jesus is Lord." To say "Jesus is Lord" means to live under His Lordship in complete trust and obedience. We are not multi-faith, our beliefs should all be the same, there are some areas where can differ slightly without breaking fellowship, but on the essential doctrines all true believers are in agreement. We are called to "contend earnestly for the faith" (Jude 3), we need to boldly make a stand for doctrinal truth, this is becoming more difficult in these days of liberalism and multi-faith. Eceumencism and the churches together movement promotes a false unity, the unity found in the fellowship of the Spirit is not one built on compromise of scriptural truths but one where the members are bound by their love for the truth of God's word and their determination to live, preach and teach according to that truth. Do not be deceived by the false promises of unity and blessing promoted by the multi-faith and church together movements.

6. One baptism - read Gal. 3:26-18 - Water baptism is in mind here and the symbolism it provides of the believer's union with Christ. All believers are baptised into Christ and become members of His body and "all are one in Christ." Our unity in Christ is further emphasised here, through Him we have become sons of God, members of God's great family.

7. One God and Father of us all - read Eph. 2:19-21 - The thought of family is prominent here. God is our Father, we are members of His household, fitted together and growing together. Children inherit the characteristics of the parents, as members of God's family we share His characteristics, His holy character is manifested in the lives of His children. The Holy Spirit dwelling in our midst makes us feel that family oneness with our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

These 7 points give us the doctrinal basis for the unity we have in the fellowship of the Spirit, there are practical outworkings to this. Read through Acts 2:42-47 and see how the early church enjoyed that oneness and unity, note how they were "all together" and of "one accord". They found expression for that unity in meeting togther for Bible study, communion, prayer, worship, eating meals and in the sharing of their possessions. They were happy, praising God and the Lord was adding to them daily.
These first followers of the Lord Jesus met together because they shared the same beliefs and had experienced His wonderful salvation and received the Holy Spirit, that brought them into a wonderful fellowship of unity in the Spirit which was a great and effective witness to the people of the world around them.

A Witness to the world

The fellowship of the Spirit functioning according to Biblical principles is a great testimony to the world of the truth of the gospel which we preach. Two scriptures bring this out clearly:
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.
Jn. 13:34,35
I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
Jn. 17:20-23
How important this unity was to the Lord Jesus, He commanded it, He prayed for it, He wants the world to see it that though it the world may believe in Him and receive His salvation. No wonder then that Paul tells us to work hard in keeping the unity of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3). Are we all doing our part in loving and caring for the brethren? Are our fellowships exhibiting this wonderful fellowship and partaking of its privileges?

The fellowship of the Holy Spirit is a wonderful creation - we should enjoy it, increase in it and expect God to use it to reach the lost.