The Holy Spirit & the Local Church 6

Understanding the Holy Spirit's Caring Correction
by Pastor John Hamel

“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” 

“Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” (Hebrews 12:5-11)

We are still studying the Holy Spirit and the Local Church.  

In our last lesson we saw what the Holy Spirit expects from each and every member of the Local Church.  We closed that study by looking at how the Pastor and the Local Church together are to handle rebellious members who insist on living in sin.  The Holy Spirit requires that we cooperate with His form of Biblical government and discipline, marking and denying fellowship to deliberate offenders. 

For the remaining three studies in this series we are going to learn how to receive discipline and correction when the Holy Spirit sends it.  Correction and discipline are good things.  We should be glad that our Father God does not allow His children to live unsupervised and to grow up out of control spiritually.  

Following are some things that everyone needs to understand about the Holy Spirit’s caring correction and discipline.

Correction & Discipline Are Not Punishment

“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, DESPISE NOT THOU THE CHASTENING OF THE LORD, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:” (Verse 5)

The Greek word for “chastening” in this verse is “paideia.”  It means “instruction and child training.”  God does not punish us when we are wrong like some Earthly parents do.  Punishment comes from a principle of revenge, which manifests itself through anger, severity and cruelty. 

The Bible says that God not only has love for us but God is love. (1John 4:8)  If God is love then He would never manifest Himself through cruelty.  The correction that the Holy Spirit is referring to in this verse comes from a principle of loving concern.  

The word “chastening” is actually the same word Paul used to the Ephesians when he instructed them (us) to raise our children in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord.

“And, ye fathers, PROVOKE NOT your children TO WRATH: but bring them up in the NURTURE and the admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4)

The Greek word for “nurture” in this verse is the identical Greek word “paideia” used for “chastening” in Hebrews 12:5.  It means “instruction and child training.” 

Paul is talking about bending our children towards Godly living and doing so in a spirit of love.  Not love that allows the child to get away with anything and everything because “after all, I don’t want to damage their psyche.”  That is a bunch of secular, humanistic garbage.  

Neither is Paul talking about raising children with such severity and cruelty that they end up just another statistic in the American penal system.  Cruel and severe parents frequently produce the most rebellious children of all. 

One of the reasons we have so many school and drive by shootings in America is because young people have been so provoked to wrath by the severity of their parents that all they want to do is make someone hurt as badly as they are hurting   

Another reason is because we have parents who just do not bother expressing any kind of love or concern for their children that these children, too, just want to see someone else suffer as they do. The Holy Spirit forbids parents to ever be so severe with their children that this would happen to them.

Paul is talking about firm, protective love but he is not talking about cruelty or severity.  Paul is talking to parents about the kind of correction that is from the principle of loving concern.  

In Hebrews 12:5 he is talking to adults, also, about the same kind of correction from the principle of God’s loving concern.  

Paul tells us that God instructs and trains us in the same way that we are to instruct and train our children, from a principle of loving concern.

The Holy Spirit Corrects Us because He Cherishes Us 

“For WHOM THE LORD LOVETH HE CHASTENETH, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” (Verse 6)

I will be the first one to admit that my relationship with the Trinity has been one of correction and discipline.  I know that God loves me and that He just wants the best for me.  I know from the Scriptures that He is not being unjustifiably hard on me when He firmly corrects me.  He corrects me because He loves me.  He corrects me because He delights in me.  That is what the word “receiveth” means, “to delight in someone or something.”  

God corrects everyone He delights in.  I can promise you, I am acquainted with His delight.

Let me just say here that God never uses sickness, disease or poverty to correct His children.  These are all curses of the law and Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. (Deuteronomy 28:1-68; Galatians 3:13,14)  

In our next lesson we will study all the ways God corrects and you will discover that sickness, disease and poverty do not even make the list.  If you insist that God is using sickness to correct and discipline you for something, why not just admit the sin that you claim He is correcting you for so He can stop “chastening” you with sickness?  This is an ignorant and unscriptural argument.

The Holy Spirit Corrects Us because We Are His Family 

“IF YE ENDURE CHASTENING, GOD DEALETH WITH YOU AS WITH SONS; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” (Verses 7,8)

Correction is not rejection.  Correction is acceptance in action.  It is just the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit taking care of family business.  The Apostle Paul said if we do not allow God to correct us that we are “bastards” or “illegitimate children.”  He said if we go without correction then someone other than God is our father.  Who’s your Daddy? 

There are only three powers in the Universe.  The power of God is the benevolent power.  It is the power of good.  The power of Satan is the malevolent power.  It is the power of evil.  The power of man is the neutral power.  Man is either yielding to the power of God, or he is yielding to the power of Satan.  There is no neutral ground.  

If you refuse to yield to the power of God, allowing Him to correct and discipline you, you are yielding wholly to the power of Satan.  This is why the Scripture says that when we reject correction we are not sons. 

Notice also that correction and discipline are not judgment.  As a Pastor the Holy Spirit has occasionally led me to gently correct someone who stepped out of line Scripturally.  In more than one of these instances I was told through tears by the one in need of correction, “You’re judging me.  You’re just judging me.”  I responded, “No, I am not judging you.  God judged you at Calvary.  Because that’s been settled, God now has the right to correct you and discipline you.  He sent me to you because He loves you.” 

Not only that, but the Pastor has the right to judge sin as sin.  None of us are to judge the people in the world.  However, each of us is called to judge sin as sin when we confront it in the Body. (1Corinthians 5:12,13)  To top that off, the Bible also says that judgment is indeed one of the ways that God uses to instruct us in righteousness. (Isaiah 29:6)  

The Body of Christ simply needs to stop whining, “You’re judging me” when legitimate, deserved correction is at hand.  It is love in action.

We will study more about how to handle correction when it comes, but let me just say this.  The last thing you want to do is to begin to find fault with the one that God sends to correct you.  Why not just make it easy on yourself and just listen to what God wants you to hear.  One way or another, whether through gentle admonition or out back at the woodshed, so to speak, God will get His message through to you. (Galatians 6:7,8)  

It is up to you to decide the route He will take. 

The Holy Spirit Is Seeking to Develop Character in Us All

“Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; BUT HE FOR OUR PROFIT, THAT WE MIGHT BE PARTAKERS OF HIS HOLINESS.” (Verses 9,10)

Paul referred to our Earthly fathers correcting us.  He then referred to our giving them reverence for doing so.  I believe that one thing Paul was referring to here is that we ultimately grow up to thank them for not spoiling us through a lack of correction.  Spoiled, undisciplined, selfish children encounter ten thousand woes as they go out into a world that simply will not accept them.  

We are no good to ourselves, to God or anyone else when we are spoiled, characterless children.  Character development is the goal of all caring correction. 

I grew up in the “hippie generation” of the 60’s and 70’s, and we were probably some of the most rebellious people in human history.  I believe America is in the state that it is today, civilly, spiritually and politically, because the rebels that I grew up with are now ruling our Nation.  I thank God regularly that Jesus got a hold of me as a young hippie boy with no direction in life. 

I also believe former “hippies” make the best Gospel Preachers because before God roped us in, we had already cast every social care to the wind.  We just do not care what anybody thinks but Jesus now!  If God needs to give me a spiritual spanking to develop character in me and to make me a “more fit” vessel, far be it from me to hide a book in the back of my pants to lessen the effect.  I want to just get it over with and grow up so He will trust me more.  (Proverbs 9:8)

Correction & Discipline Never Were Intended to Be Fun

“Now NO CHASTENING FOR THE PRESENT SEEMETH TO BE JOYOUS, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” (Verse 11)

There is no doubt about it; correction and discipline can be extremely uncomfortable.  You do not even have to be a Prophet to figure that out.  God is not concerned with your happiness above all else.  God is concerned with your obedience above all else.  This is because He knows that you are never going to experience joy in life until you first learn how to obey Him.  There are no blessings in life for the disobedient and God wants to bless you. 

Nobody likes to be restrained, rebuked or corrected.  Human beings resist change.  Correction and discipline demand change.  However, this is how obedient men and women of God are produced.  There simply is no other way.  

The Bible says that all human children come with foolishness as standard equipment and they don’t just grow out of it.  “Foolishness” means “evil, silliness and perverseness of body and soul.”  That foolishness needs to be driven out in order for the human being to become a fit and a powerful vessel for God. (Proverbs 22:15)

In our next lesson we are going to look at the ways God sends correction.  I pray that God will open your heart before then to the areas where you are in need of correction.  Maybe you are about to marry an unbeliever or to enter a wrong business relationship.  The Bible says to be not unevenly yoked with unbelievers. (2Corinthians 6:14)  

Possibly the Holy Spirit is trying to talk to you through the Bible, your conscience, family members, friends or your Pastor about an area where you are off base.  Are you listening maturely? 

We encourage you to study these lessons with an open mind, ready to receive.  The Bible says that correction goes deeper into a wise man than one hundred blows into a fool. (Proverbs 17:10)  

We believe you are reading these studies because you are one of God’s wise children.

Be Blessed … John and Barbara Hamel

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