Acts 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. 6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. 7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things.
This passage of scripture reveals to us that The Holy Ghost is an intelligent Person, and being fully God, is able to make decisions in different circumstances, not being bound by what is, or is not written. God is above all law, for laws are made for finite created beings, therefore we must understand that The Holy Spirit is not a doctrine or a mere influence, He is the intelligent Third Person of the God-head, orchestrating and managing in behalf of Christ, all of God's will and operations upon the earth.
In the passage given above, we see where there was a pretty lively debate, which became heated over the issue of circumcision, which the newly baptized gentiles were not being made subject to, as is clearly stated in the law of Moses. When the rite of circumcision was given by God to Abraham and His descendants, it was given in such serious language that no Hebrew male in their right mind would even dare to think about evading the sacred requirement, for the penalty for doing so was death. Let's read:
Genesis 17:9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. 14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
What is most worthy of note is that there is not a single verse in scripture which says or even predicted that the requirement of circumcision would come to an end abruptly at the cross, so when Peter and Paul began baptizing the gentiles into the newly formed Christian church, without the God-ordained requirement being adhered to, a heated debate arose as to why they were going against what was clearly written in the word of God. The strange thing about this matter is that the instructions to do so were given to Peter and Paul before the assembly of Acts chapter 15 was called, and so the question is, why would The Holy Ghost lead them to do what was not written anywhere in the word of God?
The answer to this disturbing question lies in the fact that The Holy Spirit is an Intelligent person of the God-head, and as such is fully authorized and capable of making decisions that are in line with His correct interpretation of the scriptures, whether it is written or not. We must be careful of clinging tenaciously to requirements in the Bible that are not directly linked to our soul's salvation, or are not salvific in value, for God has often moved in ways that surprised the human agent, since He is not bound by theories and instructions as we are, and therefore, if He institutes a change in the modus-operandi, we should as Christians be willing and ready to follow where He leads the way. This is of critical importance as we move forward, for God will soon make it evident that He is not dependent on theories and written instructions to finish the work of the gospel, and will therefore use any and whatever means necessary to accomplish His own purposes.
Let us therefore make allowances for any changes God may see fit to institute, for the work and the church is His, and all who desire to work in harmony with His plans will be duly instructed in the way they should go. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which sums it all up for us, and let's always remember that The Holy Ghost is not a doctrine, but a Person. Let's read:
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!