THE HOLY GHOST: THE VICAR OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

THE POPE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IS NOT THE VICAR OF JESUS CHRIST, THE HOLY GHOST IS THE ONE AND ONLY SOVEREIGN VICAR. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is a grand theme in the Holy Scripture. His activity is evident in the first chapter of Genesis as He broods upon the chaotic emptiness. “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2) At that moment, as the Word was spoken, the world, as we know it, was created. What He did in the First Testament is greatly evident to us now, yet His person was hidden from the Jewish eye. Jesus clearly changed that in His ministry and promised a highly visible role for the Holy Spirit in the Second (New) Testament.

Our risen Lord had only ascended back to the Father ten days when that promised role of Spirit possession exploded in Jerusalem at the Feast of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was clearly the power of God birthing the visible church. He was that “rushing mighty wind” blowing upon one hundred and twenty awaiting vessels in the upper room. In such a humble place occupied by humble men and women, the kingdom of God had appeared. The Holy Spirit had moved His epicenter from the throne in heaven to the church body on earth. The world would never be the same.

The Holy Ghost did not come to represent Himself or to exalt His person in any form or fashion. Jesus Christ had clearly promised that the Holy Spirit would not speak of Himself, or for Himself, but totally for the one He came to represent. He was sent to be the “Vicar” of the crucified Lord in all His triumphant redemption and resurrection. The “Vicar” of Jesus Christ had come to possess the church with the same anointing that He had possessed Jesus Christ at John’s baptism. The Scripture teaches us that the Holy Spirit descended on Christ in the form of a dove and then led Him into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. The Lord Jesus then returned from the wilderness in the power of the Spirit and began His mighty works. Jesus was filled with the Holy Ghost without measure. He is the ultimate model of a Spirit-possessed life.

Let’s establish from Scripture that the Holy Spirit never speaks of Himself. As the Lord begins to teach about the Holy Spirit’s ministry, He starts with a promise, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” (John 14:16-21)

Notice these terms, “He shall give you another Comforter” followed by, “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you.” He is actually saying that the Holy Spirit’s baptism is Himself coming to you by the person of the Spirit. Then He says, “At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me and I in you.” In other words He would be at the Father’s right hand in triumphant power and in us by Holy Ghost power all at the same time. He ends this breathtaking passage by saying, “he that loveth me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to Him.” By the Holy Spirit He reveals or manifests Himself to us individually and to His body the church.

Again the Lord said in the great discourse on the Holy Spirit, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.” (John 15:26) In chapter 16, He enlarges that statement, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” (John 16:12-14)

The Holy Spirit: The Vicar Of Our Lord

Jesus is at the Father’s right hand. He said, “Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (Matthew 23:39) “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matthew 24:23-24) Our Lord was very careful to warn us of those that would claim that He had appeared or would appear as a confirmation of their genuineness. There is a growing interest in religious phenomena and many individuals are superstitiously attached to such events. The warning by our Lord that men would say, “Lo, here is Christ or there,” has never been needed as urgently as today. Any kind of esoteric appearance assumed to be Jesus is to be rejected without question. People are claiming healing and other spiritual results from a variety of special revelations, visions, and angelic manifestations, etc. The Bible warns us to beware of all such claims. Everything of a spiritual nature is to be judged by the plain sense of Holy Scripture.

The Holy Ghost, and He alone, is the Vicar of Jesus Christ. Not angels, not Marian appearances, nor special revelations or emotional physical manifestations; but the Holy Spirit is our teacher and our Doorkeeper into His marvelous fullness. Why should we ever assume to need anything beyond the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit? He is very God and the right arm of the Heavenly Father. He is present in the believer’s temple and in Christ’s Body, the church, to manifest every fullness of Jesus Christ and His redemptive graces.

The believer will have an exploding fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ when the Holy Spirit has the above kind of Sovereign right to rule. The flesh life has been put under the mastery of the Spirit life and He is manifesting the life of the resurrected Lord visibly to all. The Holy Spirit does not come to induce barking, roaring, twisting, and a multitude of other strange emotions. He comes to magnify Jesus Christ and He can only do that when we provide the skin-tent to His glory.

The Holy Ghost is the Vicar of Jesus Christ. He represents and reveals everything Jesus is in Himself into the life of the yielded believer. To allow Him to do less is to quench the Spirit. Apostle Paul warns us in I Thessalonians to, “Quench not the Spirit.” (I Thessalonians 5:19) To the Ephesians, he stated, “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30) It is evident that the Holy Spirit is a person who can be “quenched,” “grieved,” “resisted,” or otherwise hindered from doing what He by His very nature has come to do. Again, we have a confused idea of what grieving or quenching Him is all about. Our skin tent has become His tabernacle, His place to manifest the glory of Jesus Christ and if we refuse that revelation, we are guilty of resisting His very reason for dwelling in us.

The Holy Spirit is the Vicar or Representative. If you will do the following things, He will come in power into your life. Cast yourself wholly upon the Words of God. Devour the Scripture with the appetite of a dying man; believe and obey its every word liberally and with delight. Make Jesus Christ the Lord of all your will and desires. Seek Him. Do not seek the Holy Spirit, seek Jesus Christ. Hunger and thirst after the Word and after Jesus, forsaking all sin by the cleansing of His Blood and walk after Him with a true heart.

12 thoughts on “THE HOLY GHOST: THE VICAR OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST”

  1. Travis

    BEAUTIFUL ARTICLE!! Pastor Chambers always proclaiming the infallible truths of Holy Scripture. What a blessing! This is Liberty! Where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. Amen.

  3. David

    The Bible is the unwavering word of God! The fascination and exaltation of a man that the Catholic Church proclaims as Holy? Only Jesus himself should be exalted! What is with the flash, the gallantry, the worship of the pope…he is a man not God? It’s all so silly to me! Christ was none of those things!

  4. Keith Black

    IS THERE ANOTHER CHRIST? FALSE RELIGIOUS LEADERS

    Dear Joe Chambers,

    The Popes that cliam to be VICAR OF CHRIST, are STEALING HIS PLACE. The word ANTI-CHRIST means ANOTHER CHRIST. One that takes the place of Jesus and steals his identity. There is a small comic book by Chick Publications called “IS THERE ANOTHER CHRIST? http://www.chick.com The direct link is this. http://www.chick.com.reading/tracts/0047/0047_01.asp Not only does the Pope steal the place of Chrsit, so do the local Catholic Priests. Then the CRACKER-GOD (Eucharist) that the use in the Mass: The priest claim that the CRACKER that he give you in communion (mass) is the BODY OF CHRIST. Did you know that the EARLY PROTESTANTS BELEIVED THAT THE POPE WAS THE ANTI-CHRIST? There was even a statement in the front of the KING JAMES BIBLE THAT REFERRED TO THE POPE AS THE MAN OF SIN. That was the British DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FROM THE VATICAN. That statement was later removed from bibles. The KING JAMES BIBLE IS THE BEST ONE EVER PRODUCED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. The nest best one is the GENEVA BIBLE. The Popes still claim to be “Christ On Earth”. Obama also claims to be the Messiah. AN ANTI-CHRIST is simply one that STEALS THE PLACE OF CHRIST OR STEALS HIS IDENTITY. You are ight; the Pope of Rome is not the Vicar Of Chrsit. Jesus authorized only the Holy Spirit to be his representative.

    What do you think, Joe?

    SIncerely,

    Keith Black

  5. Sheree D. Price

    Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him,
    and given him a name which is above every name:
    That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things
    under the earth; and that every tongue should confess
    that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
    Father. Phil 2:9-11

    Wow, what a day that’s gonna be! Every single soul
    since time began, will bow their knee to our glorious
    Lord and Savior, our precious Jesus! Awesome!!!!!

    May God continue to bless you and yours Pastor
    Chambers. May our Sovereign God abundantly give
    you an ever increasing revelation of our wonderful
    Lord, as The Holy Spirit continues to make Jesus
    known and make Him real to you as you seek His face!
    Love in Christ, Mrs Sheree Price

  6. RJ

    I have a question & welcome Holy Spirit led answers! My husband was raised Catholic (he is the ONLY one who’s come out of it ~ all the rest are staunchly still Catholic & most likely will remain that way ~ unless the Lord shakes ’em up some way, some how {rapture!…. which MAY get their attention? OR they’ll be further deluded…})

    Anyway, it was by choice that I (though I greatly wrestled with my decision, I felt it was right) I did not attend my husband’s step father’s funeral 2 years ago. I simply did not want to step into the RCC!!! I have before & you hear SO MUCH error!! They say they do not worship Mary & yet pictures everywhere show people bowing down to her. I could go on & on with a big ol’ long list of all they do that God says not to do; all they don’t do that God says to do….

    Naturally, by not showing support to the family by not attending his funeral, I was pretty much blacklisted from the family — I mean, first time I saw them after that, they STARED DAGGERS AT ME!!!!!!! Pure hatred!!

    My mother-in-law has already cut me out of her will! But I say that’s okay b/c we’ve got our own life insurance, but more than that, I can lean on the Lord Himself! Have plenty of times before.

    All my husband told them at the time was that I’m “not into funerals” ~ as he didn’t want to get into the whole big thing….. naturally he himself went; he chose to not participate in eurachrist, etc. but he did go attend for his mother’s sake.

    Anyway, this brings us to my question for you: In late June, Gene’s sister will be married (2nd marriage, first one was absolved)….. in the RCC. Once again, for a wedding or a funeral ~ for any reason at all…… I just really, really do not want to step into the RCC!!! Being the cult that it is that makes God s i c k!!!!!!

    I know it’s the “nice” thing to do (so people tell me) to go…. just to “show support” for my SIL.
    But how is being in the building of one of the world’s largest cults ~ is that showing support for my Lord?

    So if we have any former RC’s here — how would you best have accepted this fact that I choose to not attend?? I mean, obviously I want to be loving about it — and yet at the same time, tell them the truth — so they’ll know not to expect me. Or, should I conveniently arrange to have something else I need to tend to that day? Either way, they’ll be steaming mad.

    Any ideas? Is there a way I can present the truth in a very loving manner?

    (‘course, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all to hear the rapture trumpet BEFORE this wedding!!)

  7. Ed Wood

    From 1 Corinthians: {13:9} For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. {13:10} But when
    that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. {13:11} When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. {13:12} For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:
    now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. {13:13} And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity.

    When Paul wrote the letter from which these verses come to the church at Corinth, it was clear it was having some major problems about morality, worship, and theology. Paul supplied all sound answers to them, and I invite you to read the whole letter to see for yourself.

    But even with his close walk with Jesus and the continuing inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul admitted his own vision was imperfect; that there was no way in this life to be able to ever completely understand God or have all the answers. Now this is not at all meant to imply what Paul had to tell them – or us – is without value, only that NO ONE has the whole picture while in the flesh.

    Since this is so, how can ANY CHURCH, large or small, declare itself or its leader, no matter how knowledgeable, to be the “last word” when it comes to interpreting the Bible flawlessly as it creates its doctrinal beliefs? Plainly they can’t, if the Bible is to be believed! Compared to God, NO ONE is righteous – or by extension, infallible, except, of course, Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 5:20-21):

    From Paul’s letter to the Romans:
    {3:10} As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: {3:11} There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. {3:12}They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

    Now there are no doubt those who will be offended that someone with no formal theological pedigree such as myself would dare to challenge the authority of those institutions which have done just that. Believe me, I’m not just picking on one church or denomination because MANY have made this mistake all through history, right up into the present.

    We have what Paul himself admitted, that he saw only darkly, that his prophecy was imperfect with the clear message here being we are ALL as human beings subject to this limitation. And this is from a man who saw Jesus face to face!

    Who am I to argue with that?

  8. jaimie

    Dear Pastor

    Very well said! We should not quench the Holy Spirit.

    Dear RJ Pray to the Lord Jesus to reveal what you should do. Remember Jesus went out to the sinners and the lost of this world, i am glad he found me, did my catechism and got out of the RC church when i was 13. After i accepted Jesus formally at 19 i still went back for a while until years ago real Christians had a chance to speak to me and upon a factual (KJV)bible based warning i did not go back. There are many RC’s who still need salavation, even if it is over coffee at the reception.

    P.S. I always new there was something wrong with the RC church and the Jesuits quite frankly scared the heck out of me.

    God Bless
    jaimie

  10. Joan Rogers

    RJ, God told us not to eat of the foods offered to idols, which in this respect, I see it as not listening to false doctrines/teachings of the catholic religion. I too, refused to go there when my daughter and her catholic husband had my grand daughter baptized. BUT, I did go to the wedding they later had at the catholic church.
    See, I didn’t have to hear any false teachings, nor see anybody bowing to mary (another god)just the wedding. then we were out of there.
    I think it is ok to attend occasions as long as it does not include any of their religious rituals, or false teachings. The baptism is a ritual babies can’t be baptized.
    I admire in you your love of our Holy & Righteous God.
    Going to a wedding will not be sinning against our Lord….adding here, the husband was saved in the assembly of God church I was going to !! The granddaughter, age 12 accepted Christ also and was baptized.
    the Lord has told us, He will not lose one the Father has given to Him nor can the devil snatch one out of the Father’s hand.
    I pray that you feel more secure in Our Lord, and have no fear . Attend the wedding, or not. That is up to you, but do not be afraid. I told my family and their family right out, I will not go to a catholic church to see them baptize my granddaughter into a religion. I love God so much I never fear what others think of me!!God Bless you RJ and may He keep you always in His hands. Joan

  11. Enda Schmiege

    You’re so awesome! I do not think I have read through anything like this before. So nice to find somebody with some unique thoughts on this subject. Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This website is something that is needed on the internet, someone with a little originality!