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In keeping with the Gospel of the Kingdom, (the Gospel OF Jesus as opposed to the Gospel about Jesus), Jesus began by discussing the unseen world: "For it (the Kingdom of heaven) will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property" (verse 14). This man is an image of our Lord who after His suffering and death was prepared to leave His disciples, to be taken up into the glory of the Father. However, He promised not to leave His disciples behind as orphans, without being taken care of. "And while staying with them he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:4-5).
Jesus here mentions an experience which He knew Himself. After his baptism in Jordan Jesus was baptized in the Holy Spirit, for John "saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him" (Matt 3:16). After his ascension the Lord became for his people the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, just as John was the baptizer in water for the people of Israel. Jesus testified that all things, including the Holy Spirit, had been given Him by the Father. Concerning this baptism Peter said at Pentecost: "Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God (image of the Holy Spirit), and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit (that is the promise and the authority to baptize in the Holy Spirit), he has poured out this which you see and hear" (Acts 2:33). And He is the same, yesterday and today, and even in the new heaven and on the new earth He will fill the believers of the Old Covenant with this Spirit, that God may be everything in everyone.
At the first creation Adam received a human spirit of which James 4.5 says: "He yearns jealousy over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us". At the recreation, the last Adam beside his human spirit also received the Holy Spirit and according to their faith his spiritual offspring also receive this Spirit. Jesus did not receive His baptism in water in an automatic way, but from Galilee He traveled to Jordan to be baptized by John. Nor did He receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit in an automatic way, but when He was 'in prayer' the unseen world (heavens) was opened. When He was praying, that is, active in the Kingdom of heaven, He received the power of the Kingdom of God. Then the Father gave his Son his property, the Holy Spirit! By faith one has to appropriate the promise of the Father. Peter said: "Repent and be baptized every one of you (just as Jesus) in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you" (Acts 2:38-39). A promise can only be received and appropriated by faith!
The parable now says: "He called his servants and entrusted to them his property" So here there are slaves or servants, people who belong to their lord and serve him. They receive his property or his goods. "He is the high priest of the good things to come for all who expect him for their salvation." The word 'to come' must be put opposite the era of law and of shadows (see Hebrews 9:1 1 and 10:1).
Under the Old Covenant the human spirit was incapable of conquering the powers of darkness. At that time and place the faithful did not know a struggle in the unseen world. Therefore they were fighting a hopeless struggle against sin. They did not know God's and man's real enemy, but fought against natural enemies only. In the New Covenant these who belong to the Lord and ask for it in faithful prayer receive the Holy Spirit who helps the human spirit in his struggle against sin, sickness and bondage. In his battle against and victory over the evil spirits the Lord mentioned this property in these words: "But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you" (Matt 12:28). According to Romans 14:17 this Kingdom consists of 'righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit'. He who thinks this Kingdom for him will come in a different way is not on the road, shown to us by Jesus. Some Christians fill large books about victorious life, yet the methods of Jesus they pass by. These are well meaning writings, and piously they call people to extreme efforts, but notwithstanding this they preach a counterfeit of true deliverance, salvation, and life in the Kingdom of God.
The disciples understood the nature of the power that was theirs through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, for after their Master's order they had used it before. Matthew 10:1 tells us Jesus empowered them to cast out unclean spirits, to heal the sick and diseased. Power is a faculty of the Holy Spirit with which He wields authority in the unseen world. Through the baptism in the Holy Spirit a Christian receives the Holy Spirit to dwell in him and now he is able to be active as a co-operator of God. The Holy Spirit in him is the spiritual capital which he uses. That is the reason why Peter by faith in the Holy Spirit in him could tell the paralyzed man at the Beautiful gate: "Look at us . . . I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!" (Acts 3:4-6).
In order to live an earthly and natural human life we require a human spirit, To be a spiritual or heavenly man one needs to have the Holy Spirit. God's plan for man is to achieve perfection, that is, to be set free completely from evil powers, and to be restored, led, and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, equipped for every good work. Good works are the works Jesus did! Only when we have the Holy Spirit is realization possible of what we read in 2 Tim. 3.17: "That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." The Holy Spirit Jesus called the Comforter. What healing is for the body, comfort is for the suffering of the soul. The Comforter takes away the pain of an injured soul and restores it.
In the equivalent parable of the pounds (Luke 19:11-27), a nobleman gave his ten slaves a pound each. In this picture the one pound: indicates that all hove received the same Holy Spirit: the nobleman's property. This parable also mentions "his citizens who hated him and sent an embassy after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us'." Only a few days after this prediction the fulfillment already was evident when the Romans put the following in inscription on the cross: "This is Jesus the King of the Jews", while the leaders of the people rejected Him in his quality of King.
Only a few proved faithful and these were the 'slaves' to whom He entrusted his property (the Holy Spirit) on Pentecost These people understood the true meaning of their Master's words: "My Kingdom is not of this world" and "My Kingdom is within you".
It is a remarkable fact that the unfaithful church not only despised Jesus while He was in its midst, but also afterwards. When the Lord leaves 'this country' to receive kingly power in a 'far country' that is when Jesus has ascended to heaven and seated Himself at the right hand of God, the apostate church, the great Babylon, persists in its rejection of Him as its king. They send an embassy after him carrying the same message: "We do not want this man to reign over us".
It is very remarkable that in many groups, notably in the 'maranatha' groups, the kingship of Jesus Christ is denied. He is recognized there as the church's bridegroom, but his kingship is connected with the natural people of Israel only. Where the bible says that Jesus is the born king of the Jews they take this in its most literal sense, not in the way Paul interprets it in Romans 2.28-29: "For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal.
His praise is not from men but from God." It is no wonder that these groups also oppose the baptism in the Holy Spirit. In this parable Jesus does not say that his 'citizens' receive a pound each, but his 'slaves', who had put themselves at his service. They might be expected to work for their Master with the gifts He gave them. It also is understandable that the promise of Acts 2 is not claimed by these people, but rather left to the Jewish people of the 'latter days' (compare the Scofield Bible). But it is the baptism with the Holy Spirit with which the Lord proves his Kingship in his people and reveals it to the world.
The traditional churches call Christ the King of his Church, but this Kingship is not experienced by his people as they confess they remain sinners until death (that is slaves of evil powers), nor manifested in the world. By singing "To be a sinner in one's own eyes", the church people accept the kingship of Satan and reject the reign of Christ.
The subjects of this man of noble birth can be divided into two groups: the citizens who despise his kingship and are averse from his being and works; and his slaves to whom he gives his property, expecting them to work with it and do commerce until his return. In the same way Christianity can be divided in two groups: those who accept that which we read in 1 Peter 2.21: "Christ .. leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps". They copy Jesus methods in his work of deliverance and healing and as He is they are equipped for this work by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The other group are the Christians who do not recognize, for themselves the endowment with 'power from on high'. They even despise and mock this royal gift. That is the reason why in actual fact these Christians are no further advanced than the faithful of the old covenant. Christ does not rule in and through them. In the same way as the Old Testament believers do they try to work out their salvation. In their ignorance they tend to subject themselves under the yoke of Sinai.
Many people in evangelical circles seek a revival, but they do so in the Old Testament way. Their itinerant evangelists travel through the country with their penitential sermons. They call the people up to nightly prayer meetings, fasts and retreats. They are looking for an Elijah or a John the Baptist. By doing so they testify to be living outside the Kingdom of God. Concerning these great men of the old covenant the Lord Himself said that the smallest in the Kingdom of God (through the baptism in the Holy Spirit) is more than these men of God (Matth.11:11). These people are living at a level below that of the new covenant.
The tragedy of this is that the best among them call up to repentance, at the same time proudly rejecting the 'high road' that could lead them to their goal.
Where in our days the Lord makes the light shine forth in the darkness, where He tells us, in our work for Him to use his own methods and ways, where He points out the way and gives the power to cast out and resist evil spirits in the same way He used, many Christians flatly reject this. They do not recognize his Kingship. They do not follow the steps set by Him and do not recognize that his way of ruling is the right and efficient one.
This outcry for repentance, reflection, humiliation, and confession does not help Christianity. Even, now the Lord says: "These you ought to do, without neglecting the others". The prophets of the old covenant were unable to lead the people to renewal. In the same way the 'penetrating preaching' in the churches, and modern revival methods and attempts at fraternization by the revival groups are unable to do this. Repentance means a changed mind. To follow Jesus means to be renewed in the mind. We should stop blowing Old Testament trumpets: the righteous lives by faith. In faith he accepts the forgiveness of sin and in faith he seeks the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
By faith he receives knowledge and insight of the Kingdom of heaven, the unseen world. By faith he regards things from his high position: he knows he was transplanted from darkness into the Kingdom of the Son of God's love. With Christ he was raised and received a place in the heavenly realm. The pledge and security of his future inheritance (the cities of the parable) is the Holy Spirit whom he received.
At his birth man possesses a human spirit. Isaiah 42:5 says: "Who gives breath to the people, upon the earth and spirit to those who walk in it". This spirit is like a seed that has to grow and develop, for all qualities and properties are incorporated in it. This development can be hindered or stopped, but can also be helped. For that reason -in the natural world- the gardener pulls out the weeds and kills the pests. He also manures and waters the plant, creating the conditions necessary for its untroubled development. This process of development sets the 'elemental' or human spirits apart from the angels, who were complete, individually and collectively, at the moment of their creation.
In the new covenant Jesus Christ gives his Holy Spirit to all who ask Him for this. The Holy Spirit unites Himself with the human spirit. The qualities of this Spirit are similar to those of the human spirit, except that they are richer, more powerful and glorious. The guidance of the Holy Spirit enables man to live in a different dimension, in a higher atmosphere. Man gathers knowledge concerning the natural things and his spirit knows what is in him. The Holy Spirit, however, gives knowledge of the unseen world and even searches God's deepest thoughts (1Cor 2:10). He even has knowledge of all things and under his guidance we are called up to set our minds on 'the things that are above'. This Spirit enables us to follow Jesus' example, for we are able to think exactly as He did. Of this renewal of the mind the Lord says: "He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" John 8:12).
The human spirit is able to discern and select other spirits. Those who are called to lead have an especial need of this gift. The Holy Spirit also has the gift of discernment, but in his case directly in the heavenly places. Jesus Himself used this gift when he said about Nathanael: "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" (John 1:48). He also used it when he called the Pharisees a 'broad of vipers' and said to them: "You are of your father the devil!" (John 8.44). Paul used this gift when he, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at Elymas the magician and said: "You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy' (Acts 13:10).
By nature man has the gift of faith which makes him accept things that he did not perceive by the senses. But the Holy Spirit also has this gift, without limits. Because He has knowledge of everything, even that which is in the unseen world, He can accept more, and so exercise more faith.
There is human wisdom, such as Solomon's, and there is 'wisdom from above' (James 3:75). This wisdom is needed to use the keys of the Kingdom of heaven.
We note that evil spirits also have spiritual gifts, although they use them in lawless ways. James 2:19 tells us the evil spirits believe that God is one. They also have knowledge and discernment of spirits. In Acts 19:15 an evil spirit replies to the sons of Sceva: "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" In the synagogue at Capernaum the unclean spirit calls out to Jesus: "I know who you are, the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24). In natural life man can make his predictions. The Holy Spirit unveils for us the future (John 16:13). There also are soothsaying spirits, spirits of divination who cause their medium to predict future events. At the natural level man has the gift of healing. At the spiritual level the Holy Spirit has this gift, Evil spirits manifest themselves in paranormal healers (mesmerizers, etc.).
If the human spirit has such a rich variety of gifts it is very dogmatic and limited to attributing only nine gifts to the Holy Spirit. No, the Spirit of God is infinitely richer and more varied than the human spirit. His gifts are not limited to nine. The fact that in I Corinthians 12:8-10 Paul mentions nine manifestations of the Holy Spirit does not mean there are no more. In Romans 12:6-8 there is a list of other gifts, and even this does not exhaust the number.
For a spirit the ability to express himself in a language is very important. Thus there are languages of angels and of men (1Cor 13:1). As long as a child is little his spirit is undeveloped. Without thought he picks up words from his parents, not knowing their meaning. At the baptism with the Holy Spirit the child of God picks up the words from the Holy Spirit without understanding them: "For no one understands him , but he utters mysteries in the Spirit'' (1Cor 14:2).
This gift of God's Spirit started its work on the day of Pentecost, and they said: "They began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance". We know that prayer is: being active in the heavenly places. He who prays in a tongue therefore is active in a very special way in the Kingdom of God. Then the human spirit takes over the language of the Holy Spirit and speaks this language. This creates a special manifestation of being in the heavenly places and of having contact with the Spirit of God. That is the reason why it can be said: the speaking in tongues is a sign for the unbelievers (1Cor 14:22). They are caused to note that the man who speaks in tongues is active in the heavenly places. In the interpretation of tongues the contents of the tongues are understood and handed on to the congregation. Because the apostle often was active in the heavenly places he was able to state: "I thank God that I speak in tongues more than you all" (1Cor 14:18). Probably he then spoke of mysteries and 'things that cannot be told', which he received from the Holy Spirit. These were not to be interpreted: 'which man may not utter (in an understandable language)' (2Cor 12:4)
'To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. The he went away. (Verse 15). When a person is baptized in the Holy Spirit the results are not in the manner of a wave with the wand. This is not the way of the Kingdom of God, In the person the Holy Spirit must receive the opportunity to develop Himself and the person must learn to obey His guidance. In this there also is a 'growing in grace'. The apostle admonishes: 'Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation' (1Peter 2:2). 'In Him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit' (Eph 2:21-22. It is nonsense to tell a person who has newly been baptized with the Holy Spirit to launch out in faith because in him all the gifts of the Spirit are present and active. By comparison, it also is impossible to require of a school child the achievements which he will be able to turn out at a more mature age. He who has been baptized with the Spirit of God must 'earnestly desire the spiritual gifts' (1Cor 14:1), that is, he has to develop them. The command is: 'Trade with these till I come'. This means: direct your life at the Holy Spirit and allow Him to develop Himself with his powers and abilities in you.
The Holy Spirit is able to develop his talents in proportion with the talents of the receiving person: his character and nature. For the human spirit is neither put under pressure nor ruled out by the Holy Spirit. Evil spirits do not count with a person's own spirit. They compel him to do things he does not want nor wish things which he even loathes (Rom 7:15). They oppress the human spirit, they overpower and injure him. The Holy Spirit, however, puts the human spirit at a higher level. He seeks to become one with our spirit in a kind of spiritual marriage, as it says: 'He who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him' (1Cor 6:17). It sometimes happens in a marriage that the man is the domineering partner who compels his wife to obey him. He is the boss and she has to accept his moods and ideas. This kind of marriage is an image of the relationship between the human spirit and an evil spirit. Paul warns the man for this attitude with these words: 'Be not harsh with her' (Col 3-19). 1Peter 3:7 adds this admonition: 'Likewise you husbands, live considerately with your wives, bestowing honor on the woman as the weaker sex'. He who does not know these things in natural life has no idea of the relationship between the Spirit of God and a human spirit. In this context Jesus would have said: 'If I have told you earthly things and you don't believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? (John 3:12).
A prayer like the hymn which is used in certain circles: 'Lord, break me completely' has been inspired by evil spirits who aim at man's humiliation. God's Spirit restores the human spirit, He takes away the injuries and lifts up man's spirit. The demon-inspired line: 'Break me completely', must be answered thus: 'Get behind me Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of (pious) men'. For this prayer asks God to ruin the human spirit, soul and body. In my ears this prayer sounds like the well-known swear word, which also makes people 'pray' for the same thing. The Lord however does not make human wrecks, but He gave his Son to destroy the works of the evil one and to restore man. The Holy Spirit seeks to live in harmony with our spirit and therefore adapts Himself to our spirit and certainly does not render it inactive.
But how can the Lord bestow upon us the gifts of knowledge and wisdom if our spirit does not Yearn to gain insight into, the unseen world and to put this knowledge to wise practical use? If there is no longing even to learn his Word, as is the case with many Christians? If we do not long to help a brother or sister, how can the Spirit develop in us the ability to serve, for this, too, is a charisma, as is says: We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: ... if service, in our serving' (Rom 12:6-7), Jews had this gat to a special degree for He says of Himself 'I am among you as one who serves' (Luke 22-27). In the same way a special grace and wisdom is required to admonish a fellow brother or sister, the charisma: 'He who exhorts, in his exhortation' (Rom 12:6-8).
'He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants, came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.' And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to, me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, 1 will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.'
The command is: 'Trade until I come'. This requirement, is an inexorable one. Not losing anything is not the same as making profit. In the days of the great flood the question was asked: What has man done with his spirit? The answer was that through misbehavior he had become solely carnal. At nightfall, when the spiritual hosts of wickedness will flood the earth in a deluge of fire, this question is asked of all 'who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come (Heb 6:4-5): what have these people done with the gift of the Holy Spirit? There is a dividing line, also in the so-called Pentecostal movement. Then the sons of God will be manifested who have made the most of the spiritual gifts that had been entrusted to them. In that time these words will apply to the seed that has been sown in the good soil: 'It grew and yielded a hundredfold' (Luke 8:8)
At that time many in the Pentecostal movement will have to confess that they hid their talent in the ground. They quenched the Spirit (1Thess 5:19).
When a child is born it possesses a spirit which is inconspicuous in every sense. How different is this when he has grown up to be a man rich in talents and prominent in the world of culture or technology. When a child of God is baptized in the Holy Spirit this does not show in an outward way. He speaks a few unintelligible words, in most cases with a lot of trouble, but he has not by far been conformed to the image of Christ. At the baptism with the Holy Spirit man receives the seed from which will develop the man of God who is equipped for every good work. Concerning this Paul says: 'In him you also, who have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of our inheritance' (Eph 1:13-14). This inheritance is the full salvation, the fullness of that which God wishes to give us: the glory and the sitting on his throne.
In the same way as a Christian believes in forgiveness of his sins so he also must believe that he has received the Holy Spirit by faith. From this belief that the Creator of heaven and earth is dwelling in him through his Spirit he derives, the ability to speak and act as Jesus did. This assuredness makes him victorious in all situations of life, for He who, dwells in him is stronger and more powerful than his adversaries.
The spiritual gifts are developed in the faithful servants, but they also mean blessing for others: they are exercised in the midst of the congregation. The knowledge and wisdom given by the Spirit they give to others; and thus these others also receive insight into the things of the Kingdom of God. The gifts of healing are multiplied in all who are healed. Through their steadfast prayer of faith the elders of the congregation minister on behalf of those who are weak or ill. The gift of prophecy increases in proportion with the degree of belief that the Lord dwells in the hearts and that we may utter the thoughts of God in simple trust.
The time has arrived that the children of God seek for the spiritual gifts and use these in their 'trade'. By means of these abilities they are able to put their feet on the necks of the enemies of God and man. Without these spiritual gifts the church can never reach perfection and will never arrive at the goal. We must not wait, but it is the Lord who waits until we start to, obey his command. Of Him it says: 'Then to wait until his enemies be made a stool for his feet' (Heb 10:13). The Kingdom of God cannot develop if the servants become disobedient to the command to desire the gifts of the Spirit. Even in our days the words are valid: 'But if it is by the Spirit of God (who dwells in my people) that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you' (Matt 12:28). "Being in the Mesh the sons of God complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body" (Col 12:4). By means of the gifts of the Spirit they give restoration, healing, deliverance, and thus they act in the whole world, just as our Lord did in the Jewish country.
The Lord said: 'Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal' (Matt 6:19-20. Do we exaggerate when we draw the conclusion that our Lord wishes his people to use the same methods of deliverance He used? Is it extreme if we wish to follow his command and, in doing so, use the abilities of the Holy Spirit which He gave to us?
The message of the full gospel is glorious because it is similar to the life and deeds of Jesus Christ. That is the reason why true Pentecostals are joyful people. They are like people invited to a feast. For them the feast continues when they enter into the banquet hall, into the joy of their Master. Nobody can enter in there who does not have the wedding garment. The Kingdom of God is inside them, that is, it's joy and peace, and the righteousness covers them as a garment of white linen. One of the climaxes of this feast is the fulfillment of these words: 'Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed' (Rev 20:4). They are the royal priesthood which God will put over all the works of His hands.
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