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Chapter 3
"Please Write a Course on the Holy Spirit"
It was 1942. The Second World War was raging, and servicemen were asking for more information on the Christian faith. Dr. R. E. Harlow, who with John Smart and me had fathered the Emmaus Bible School the,.. previous year in Toronto, Canada, felt that the wide acceptance given to a few previously written elementary correspondence courses might provide a good vehicle to bring help and encouragement to men in the service and their loved ones at home. He was concerned that teaching on the person and the work of the Holy Spirit was greatly needed.
There was at that time a tendency to leave this particular subject to the Pentecostals, who were regarded by some as specialists in the field. Other evangelicals were skittish about it, avoiding anything that smelt of I religious emotionalism.
I had already given lectures on this subject to our evening school. Now it appeared that I should commit this material to paper and release it to the growing list of Emmaus Correspondence Course students. The task was formidable in terms of time and research, and also because it would become the official position of the school. It must have the proper balance of theological depth and accuracy on the one hand, clarity and simplicity on the other.
After some consultations, we agreed that I would write the text for the twelve-lesson course. Dr. Harlow would prepare the companion tests.
Busy weeks followed. I lectured daily at the school, found time for our five children at home, and preached in several local Brethren assemblies as well. But the assignment proved exhilarating; days flew by swiftly.
The new course was built around two main pillars: the Spirit's person and His ministry .The title of the text eventually became "The Holy Spirit at Work." The text is still available from Emmaus Bible School in Oak Park, Ill.
I had long known and taught that the New Testament emphatically declares the full deity of the Comforter. He is God, and possesses all of the attributes of divine being-eternal existence, omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence. As "the eternal Spirit" (Hebrew 9:14), He ranks as equal of both Father and Son, for such an adjective as eternal could never be applied to a mere transient creature.
As omniscient He is all-knowing, the Spirit of Jehovah, wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, know ledge and the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2). He searches all things, yes, the deep things of God, things that are beyond the grasp of the most brilliant intellect. Not only does He search and research these divine depths, but He also communicates them to us-providing we are tuned in. True spirituality is the price-tag of divine wisdom and knowledge. The heavenly Teacher never shares His goodness with carnal Christians. To receive these spiritual luxuries we must be tuned to God's wavelength (I Corinthians 2:9- 16).
He is also omnipotent-all powerful. At the birth of planet earth He exerted His creative might, reducing chaos to cosmos, garnished the heavens and communicated life to man (Genesis 1:1-4; Job 26:13; 33:4; Psalm 104:30). His divine energies are also demonstrated in His miraculous transportation of Philip the evangelist from the Gaza desert to the City of Azotus (Acts 8:39, 40). But more astonishing was His raising of our Lord's body from death. Peter informs us that Jesus was made alive by the Spirit (I Peter 3:18).
And the great Comforter is omnipresent. He is everywhere. No geographical spot is off-limits to Him. "The seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth " (Revelation 5:6) are not numerically different but rather one person who moves within a sevenfold plenitude of operation, reaching into the most remote corners of earth.
Atheistic governments may expel the evangelical missionary, but no government can order out the Holy Ghost. The Psalmist exclaims: "Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Thy hand will lead me, And Thy right hand will lay hold of me. If, I say, 'Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,' Even the darkness is not dark to Thee, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to Thee" (Psalm 139:7-12).
But do the Scriptures ever actually refer to the Spirit as God? Indeed yes. In the sobering story of Ananias and Sapphira, Peter accuses the former of lying to the Holy Spirit, and then follows up with the charge, "You have not lied to men, but to God" (Acts 5:4,5).
As further evidence of His deity, He takes His place as an equal with the Father and the Son in the Christian baptismal formula, and in the well-known apostolic benediction (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
Just imagine the whopping shock if we were to read that Christ's disciples were to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and Isaiah! Or that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God were to be energized by the communion of Michael the archangel!
Would we not instantly shout our objection: "But this makes both Isaiah and Michael equal with the Father and the Son!" And we would be right. The fact that the Spirit is named with the other members of the Godhead proves His deity and equality.
Furthermore, He is a real person-just as complete a person as the Father and the Son. A person does not necessarily possess a human body. The existence of angels demonstrates this. Personality, whether divine or human, means the coordinated function of intellect, emotion, and will. By the intellect comes knowledge; by the emotions come feelings; and by the will come both decisions and actions. 32
Now apply this criteria to the Spirit, in light of I Corinthians 2:10-12: "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things; yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him. Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." Not only does the Spirit possess infinite intelligence, but He communicates some of this heavenly knowledge to us as we manifest the capacity to receive it.
As for the emotional element, we need refer only to His love, His grievings, His yearnings, or His disapprovals (Romans 5:5; 15:30; Ephesians 4:30; Acts 16:6, 7; Hebrews 10:29). Furthermore, His will is evidenced by the fact that He leads (Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:18), makes alive (Romans 8:11), teaches (John 14:26), sanctifies (I Corinthians 6:11), and sometimes even smites (Acts 5:4, 5).
As I poured over the Scriptures in my study I was overwhelmed at the variety of ministries of the Holy Spirit. I decided to concentrate on the four that dominate: His ministry to Christ, to the world, to the Church, and to you and me as individual Christians.
HIS MINISTRY TO CHRIST
We all have seen brilliant floodlights on a prominent building or monument at night. Cleverly concealed in the lawn, the powerful electric lamps throw their beams so that our attention is focused upon the object lighted rather than upon the source of the light. In fact, we are usually not at all interested in where the light is coming from. We merely look at the lighted object. 33
In relation to Jesus, the Holy Spirit is the greatest of all witnesses, for He focuses His powerful spotlight on Him in order to attract attention to His beauty and glory.
In that intimate Upper Room ministry (John 13-17) our Lord allayed the rising fears of His beloved followers by promising not to leave them orphans, but to come to them (John 14:18). Minutes earlier He had promised to return for them (verse 3); now He promises to return to them. The listeners at that time probably did not fully understand. But we who live on this side of the cross and resurrection readily recognize that Jesus Christ did come again in the person of the descending Spirit at Pentecost, henceforth to live in and operate through them, His church and body. "When the Helper comes...that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of me. ...He shall glorify Me; for he shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you" (John 15:26; 16:14).
Just as the Lord Jesus witnessed to and magnified the Father, the Spirit now bears testimony to and glorifies Jesus by displaying His worth and work through us. The Spirit would draw attention to neither Himself nor us. The channels are not important; Jesus Christ alone is to be honored.
HIS MINISTRY TO THE WORLD
John records the details of the Lord's Upper Room ministry .Given only hours before His execution, His Gospel contains more vital data on the Holy Spirit's ministry than the other three put together. This suggests how urgent the subject was to Him, how supremely important for His disciples to know as much as possible about their new Guide. Not only would the Spirit assure the disciples of their continuing relation- ship with the risen Jesus, but He would also speak in stern conviction to a Christ-hating' world through them. .
Our Lord's announcement of these things must have fallen on their ears like a thunderclap.
"It is expedient for you," said Jesus, "that I go away" (John 16:7 KJV).
We probably would have shouted out. "No, Lord, don't..."
But wait, He hasn't finished. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged."
The last two words of verse seven, "unto you," show that the Spirit would not reprove sinners by shouting Bible texts from the clouds, but would speak through flesh-and-blood. Men and women would be His tools to bring conviction of guilt. This is still His method. He uses believers in the preparatory work of saving the lost.
The word reprove (v. 8) is used in John 3:20 in the sense of "discovered." "For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." In Ephesians, the same word is translated "exposed" (chapter 5:11 NASB). Re- proof, conviction, discovery, and exposure, therefore, are the Spirit's means of showing the sinner his need.
Clearly, it appeared to me, just as the seamstress's needle pierces the cloth to draw through the thread, just as the surgeon's scalpel makes the incision, just as the plow breaks the hard soil-so the heavenly Convictor initiates the work of repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and He does it through us. But we must be yielded and available, for He does not coerce. He impels but does not compel.
The more I pondered these great truths the more excited I became as I realized afresh that God the Spirit wants to speak through us today-through both our lives and our lips! Would we let Him?
Individual Attainment or Corporate Accomplishment?
After looking at the Spirit's ministry to Christ and to the world, I began to study and write of it in relation to the Body of Christ.
HIS MINISTRY TO THE CHURCH
I saw plainly that the true Church of Jesus Christ is the aggregate of all true believers.
First, is that the baptism is an individual experience to be sought by every Christian who would have God's best. Second, the baptism is a corporate action that occurred at the outset of Christianity and which resulted in the formation of the Church.
I determined to consider these views separately.
"Receiving the baptism " is a common phrase used by thousands to describe the believer's initial encounter with the Spirit of God. Sometimes this encounter is emotional though unspectacular. At other times it is followed by speaking in other languages or "tongues" or prophecy. Some circles urge believers to pursue this experience. Until it is attained, the believer is deficient in spiritual privilege and power. He may be baptized in water, but still unbaptized in the Spirit.
I was troubled. Would this position bear the scrutiny of the New Testament, I wondered.
The answer did not appear difficult, for the Bible contains only seven references to this ministry (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5; 11:15,16; and I Corinthians 12:13).
It was clear to me that the first four of these were predictions by John the Baptist, the fifth by the risen Lord, the sixth by Peter, and the seventh by Paul.
Furthermore, the first five all point to the future, "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire" (KJV). The last two point backward into the past. (In the I Corinthians 12:13 passage the NASB and others translate, "we were all baptized.") From this I could only conclude that the baptism in or by the Holy Spirit occurred on the day of Pentecost for Jewish believers. Later, Gentile converts experienced the same mighty outpouring in the house of Cornelius (Acts 10). Wasn't it significant that of these seven references, only one really explains what this baptism actually is? The other six speak of it, but do not explain it. I Corinthians 12:13 alone does so. "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."
But I also noted that not one of these Corinthians was a Christian at the time of that first memorable Pentecost. Yet Paul says that all of them had been baptized with or in the Holy Spirit, and that in spite of their notorious carnalities!
Now the question arose as to just when that took place? Was it when each individual Corinthian believer sought and found an experience with the Spirit, and was this encounter ratified by tongues-speaking? If so, then it is difficult to understand Paul's desire that they all speak with tongues (1 Corinthians 14:5).
I had already seen in this same epistle that Paul, states: "Our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses" (I Corinthians 10:1, 2). To whom do these "fathers" refer? Who were they? Surely they were those Israeli patriarchs who came out of Egypt. How- ever, hundreds of years later Isaiah referred to their descendants as "our fathers" (Acts 28:25, 26). A late Old Testament prophet declared to the people of his day, "It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, and I led you in the wilderness forty years " (Amos 2:10).
But these people had never been in Egypt or the wilderness! Yet they all shared in both experiences. The simple explanation, of course, appeared to be in the racial continuity and identity between them. In this identity they all shared in those historical experiences.
Could this same principle of spiritual identity explain how the Corinthians had already been baptized by the Spirit into Christ's Body?
If I were to assume that we Americans received our independence from the British Crown in 1776, I would be assuming a fact. No one seriously believes that because he was not alive in 1776, he is still a British subject.
The three great ethnic groups invaded by Christianity at and following the first historic Pentecost were Jews, Samaritans and Gentiles. Acts 2 records the Jewish visitation, Acts 8 the Samaritan, and Acts 10 the Gentile. Each group in turn received salvation, water baptism and the Holy Spirit. By the Spirit's baptism, these three rival and hostile communities were corporately immersed into one organic whole. In later days, when individuals were saved, they were spiritually incorporated into that one Body which had already become a functioning reality. "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body."
I realize, of course, that many Christians hold to not one but two spiritual baptisms, the first administered by Jesus, and the second by the Spirit. According to this view, John the Baptist declared that Jesus Christ would be the baptizer; whereas the Corinthian passage indicates the Spirit as the baptizer. And because both persons cannot function in this role, there must be two spiritual baptisms: the first being an immersion by Jesus into the Spirit (the element), and the second an immersion into the Body of Christ (also the element) by the Spirit of God. Hence the claim that the former is an individual, post-conversion experience, while the latter is corporate and historical.
But I asked myself, "Is this necessarily conclusive?" I could not see it. I became convinced-and am still convinced-that there is one and only one baptism of the Holy Spirit. That great corporate and spiritual immersion occurred at the time of the Church's birth at Pentecost, and the subsequent outpourings at Samaria (Acts 8) and Caesarea (Acts 10) were extensions of this.
However, I had to face up to the honest objection raised by those who held the two-baptism position.
Are believers today baptized by Jesus into the Spirit as well as into the Body by the Spirit? Is the first an individual action to be desired and sought, and the second a fixed position into which all are introduced at salvation? And who does the baptizing-the Lord Jesus or the Holy Ghost? Or both? And what is the element-the Spirit of God or the mystical Body of Christ?
The more I thought and prayed and studied the question, the more it appeared to me that confusion could be resolved by viewing the Baptizer as the risen Christ who acts through His divine Representative and Agent. This Agent, in turn, immersed believing Jews and Gentiles into the one Body of Christ.
For instance, take the first two verses of John's Gospel, chapter four. In verse one Jesus is said to have made and baptized disciples. However, the next verse explains that the Lord did not baptize a single one of them. His close associates administered the rite. In other words, Jesus did it instrumentally.
In the same way He could have administered, from heaven, the great promised baptism at Pentecost, where the Spirit served as His Agent. Thus the Church, the Body of Christ, became a vital reality on earth. Not only is the Holy Spirit the great Uniter, but He is also the one who has animated, vitalized, and empowered this vast spiritual community through the centuries. He has made the Church the very dwelling place of the living God. "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow-citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:19-22).
In fact, I came to believe that the experience often described as "the baptism" is actually the filling of the Spirit. Clearly Pentecost fulfilled the prediction of the risen Lord Jesus when He said, "You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:5). Yet Luke's account of the phenomena that followed does not identify this as the baptism, but rather describes it as a filling. His words are, "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:4). And several years later, Peter referred to the same event as the baptism (Acts 11:15,16).
This mighty visitation, therefore, combined both of these spiritual ministries-ministries which occurred simultaneously at Pentecost, as well as later at Caesarea (Acts 10:44-46; 11:15, 16). But because they both occurred at the same time, it does not follow that they are identical in their nature. Baptism and filling are not synonyms. The event was one; the resulting experience twofold. They were all collectively baptized, or immersed, into that new vital organism, the Body, but each was also filled individually.
For example, at my conversion I was born again , received eternal life, had my sins forgiven, and was saved by grace. This all happened at one time-when I received the Lord Jesus as personal Savior. Nevertheless, these four eternal benefits are not identical in their essence; each one has its own particular significance, though all occurred at the same time.
Now, some encounters with the Holy Spirit in apostolic times were dramatic, even spectacular. Luke's eyewitness reporting proves it. His use of the verb fell repeatedly underscores the point. The Spirit fell at Pentecost (Acts 11:15), fell again in Samaria (8:16,17), and again in Caesarea, fell upon all those who were listening to the message (10:44). Other descriptive words are also employed, such as poured out (10:45), came on (19:6) and shed abundantly on (Titus 3:6, KJV). The New International Version renders the latter; poured out on us generously. Such vivid language conveys the dramatic suddenness of an almost overwhelming embrace, an accolade of power.
But the Spirit's reception and filling were not always dramatic and spectacular. Take the case of the Galatians. Paul asks them, "Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith ?" (3:2). This is no dramatic, emotional description.
Furthermore, the text indicates that the reception of the Spirit followed immediately their exercise of faith in Christ. Nor can we forget the immediacy of Paul's words to the Ephesians, that upon believing the Gospel they were sealed (1:13).
5 All Believers Have These Benefits
After considering the Holy Spirit's relation to Christ, to the world, and to the Church, I now faced the challenge of considering the Holy Spirit's relationship to individual believers.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND ME
I have already noted that before He returned to heaven, the Lord Jesus assured His nervous disciples that He would not leave them orphans. They would not be abandoned as helpless hitch-hikers on the highway to heaven. On the contrary, He Himself would come to them (John 14:18). This promise was fulfilled at Pentecost when He returned in the person of His Spirit to take up residence in the physical bodies of His own.
As I pursued this study, I felt a growing excitement.
As a Christian, I was certainly no orphan. My heavenly Father had poured upon me a veritable cloud- burst of spiritual benefits. "Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might be- come partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust" (2 Peter 1:3,4).
"Everything pertaining to life" is apparently the provision found in the Comforter Himself.
Pondering further on this personal relationship, it became clear to me that some of the Spirit's operations were "invariables"-they apply equally to every child of God. Others are variables and do not apply to each. Some are fixed and permanent; others are fluid and changing.
Several ministries flow directly out of the experience of salvation, while others are dependent upon faith and obedience. All believers enjoy some, but only a few enjoy all.
Among these ministries are the indwelling, the sealing, the earnest, the anointing, and the Spirit's sanctification. Then there are others, such as the walk, the joy, the fruit, the filling, the power, and the guidance.
The supernatural regeneration, described as the new birth, is accomplished by the Spirit of God as the agent and the Word of God as the instrument. Jesus declared,
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:5,6). (Water is a well-known symbol of God's Word-I Peter 1:23 and Titus 3:5, 6.) ,
At this point, the divine Comforter moves both as the Quickener and as the Indweller. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the sole condition. "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him " (Romans 8:9). "Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing with faith?" (Galatians 3:2). "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" (I Corinthians 6:19).
THE ANOINTING, SEALING, AND EARNEST
"Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge" (2 Corinthians 1:22, 23). Here is a cluster of glorious legacies which are the common property of every believer. Even the carnal Corinthians possessed them.
The anointing of the Spirit heads the list, and is presented as accomplished fact. In the Old Testament, three classes received this "oil of gladness:" prophets, priests and kings. The ceremony of anointing with oil marked their inauguration to office.
In like manner each believer has received the divine anointing at the reception of his new life in Christ. Notice the words, "anointed us." This is confirmed by John's emphatic word directed to the newly born, whom he calls "children," or new converts. "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. ...And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things. ...and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him" (1 John 2:20,27).
The anointing refers to the Holy Spirit's gift of discernment. The Holy Spirit within provides us with a discerning heart and mind, enabling us to distinguish the spurious from the genuine. Jesus said of His true 'sheep, " A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers" (John 10:5).
This calls for a dependent and teachable attitude on our part. It is possible to put away faith and a good conscience and thus to make shipwreck (1 Timothy 1:19). Moreover, the young believer is said to "know all things." This refers to his capacity for all the truth of God. If I say, "1 can see everything," I do not mean, of course, that every object on earth is now within the range of my vision, but rather that I have ability to see such if and when they do come into range. It is for this latter purpose that the same Spirit gives instruction through His own gifted teachers (1 Corinthians 12:7,9, 28; Ephesians 4:11,12).
Although the initial anointing occurs at new birth, there are available to us countless after-anointings, or renewals, which we all need to appropriate (Psalm 92: 10; 25:5). We are urged also to anoint our eyes that we may see (Revelation 3:18). It is the application of the oil that releases the benefits. So it is only as the Spirit is released and applied that His power and blessing are realized in our lives. .48
The sealing of the Spirit is another of the legacies that belongs to every believer. This is mentioned only three times in the New Testament. We are assured that we were sealed upon believing the Gospel and that this sealing extends unto the redemption of our bodies at the Lord's return. "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise. ...And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption " (Ephesians 1 :13; 4:30).
When I arrived at this point three questions emerged : Who is it? Why is it? When is it?
The Sealer is God Himself, but He accomplishes this by His Spirit. The action is His-the Father's. The reason is found in the concepts of security and identity.
The sealing of Daniel in the lion's den (Daniel 6:17), or of our Savior's tomb (Matthew 26:66), as well as the letter of King Ahasuerus (Esther 8:8), all indicate the idea of the absolute security of that which is sealed. Furthermore, the seal declares ownership or title.
The story recorded in Jeremiah 32 is a delightful illustration. The imprisoned prophet was divinely instructed to purchase from his cousin a parcel of real estate. Shortly after this revelation, the cousin arrived and made the offer. Jeremiah paid the money and "signed and sealed the deed " in the presence of witnesses. Evidently the deed was furnished in duplicate: "the sealed copy," and "the open copy." Both of these documents were retained by Jeremiah's friend, Baruch. That deed was authority for legal ownership of that property. In the same manner our possession of the Holy Spirit is God's "deed" that every blood purchased believer legally belongs to Him. This is abundantly confirmed by I Corinthians 6:19, 20.
But there is one further question: when is the Christian sealed? Is it at or following salvation? Ephesians 1:13 states: "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of Promise." This mighty transaction is consummated the moment one believes the Gospel of his salvation.
Finally, "the earnest of the Spirit," like the sealing, also is mentioned only three times in Scripture, in 2 Corinthians 1:22,5:5, and Ephesians 1:14. According to W .E. Vine, the Greek word arrabon (earnest) originally meant earnest-money deposited by the purchaser and forfeited if the purchase was not completed. In general usage it came to denote a pledge or earnest of any sort. In the New Testament it is used only of that which is assured by God to believers. In modern Greek arrabona is an engagement ring.
Rebekah received jewels and garments from Abraham's servant in anticipation of her marriage to Isaac (Genesis 24:53). Jacob received wagonloads of goodies from Joseph in Egypt in anticipation of seeing him again (Genesis 45:21-28). So the earnest of the Spirit brings to the Christian a joyous foretaste of the glories that await his arrival in the Father's house.
THE SANCTIFICATION
Writing to his newly converted friends, Peter reminds them that they were "chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood" (I Peter 1:2). Paul also rejoices over his converts when he writes, "But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
Remember the verb "to sanctify" simply means "to set apart for a special purpose." This too is a common possession of every believer in Christ. But how should we understand the appearance of the phrase "set apart" before the phrase "belief in the truth"? The answer lies in the convicting work of the Spirit which led the way to their repentance and regeneration. He had sanctified them in advance by initiating the entire work. Then, upon their conversion, He again had set them apart by giving them a righteous standing before God, based on the death and resurrection of Christ.
Writing to the Corinthians, Paul declares, "Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of God " (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
Notice especially the order of the verbs in verse eleven-washed, sanctified, justified-three glorious absolutes, fixed and unchanging, which describe our position before God.
The other side of that coin concerns the believer's condition before men. We all need to be progressively sanctified by the Word and Spirit of God day by day. "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory , just as from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Thus it appears that every true believer on Jesus Christ is indwelt, sealed, enjoys the earnest, is anointed, sanctified, and baptized by the Spirit into the Body on the sole ground of his saving relationship with God. These are invariables possessed by all Christians. They accompany our regeneration and assure us of our position as the children of God.
6 Only Some Enjoy the Added Benefits
My library is small, less than fifteen hundred books. But occasionally when friends step into my study they will turn to me with that embarrassing question, "How many of these have you read?"
Those books are available to me at all times. But to take advantage of their wisdom I must exert myself to open and read them. Likewise there are ministries of the Holy Spirit that become ours only as we lay hold on them. To these we now turn with the hope that we shall really possess our possessions.
In his letter to the Philippians Paul urges us to approve the things that are excellent (1:10). The marginal reading in the NASB provides an alternate rendering, "distinguish between the things which differ." The New English Bible translates this as "the gift of true discrimination."
The more I study the Holy Scripture, the more conscious I am that we need this gift of discrimination in order to understand the delicate balance between truths which may appear contradictory and paradoxical, but when rightly viewed become complementary and explanatory. This certainly is true with the multiple ministries of the Holy Spirit.
For example, though each Christian is indwelt, he is commanded to be filled. Each is sealed, though he is warned not to grieve the Spirit. Each is anointed, yet he is urged to pray in the Holy Ghost. Each is regenerated and renewed, and yet he is commanded to walk in the Spirit. The joy, power, guidance, and the nine fold fruit are also glorious possibilities that beckon us onward to a Christ-filled maturity.
GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT
During the forty years of Israel's desert pilgrimage God led them by the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. Their eyes were fixed upon a physical object as they trekked to their promised land.
Today, however, we are led by a spiritual Guide to a spiritual homeland. In fact, God has given us two guides: His Word and His Spirit. These are complementary; not the Spirit or the Word, but the Spirit and the Word. The Holy Spirit always leads us in the will of God as revealed in the principles of Scripture.
Does the Holy Spirit guide us today? Most certainly- providing we are guidable!
Hear our Lord's promise: "When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth: for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you" (John 16:13,14). Note the phrases, "He will guide," "He will disclose," "He shall glorify ." How the Spirit delights in revealing to our minds and hearts the supreme excellencies of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He also guides us in life's daily routines, so that our decisions, attitudes, and walk might be under His benign control, and subject to the good, acceptable and perfect will of God. "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law" (Galatians 5:18). On the contrary, He will not lead us into lawlessness, but into the light and easy yoke of Christ. "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God " (Romans 8:14).
The story in Genesis 24 is a beautiful illustration. Rebekah, the bride-to-be, mounts a camel and sets out to meet her bridegroom-lover, Isaac. She follows behind the servant of Abraham. Rebekah personally knows neither the length of the trip nor the route to travel. But she knows the guide, and that is enough.
We know our Guide, too. He will not mislead us! He knows the route to our heavenly Isaac. Hallelujah! "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." And if we "walk by the Spirit you will not carry out the desire of the flesh" (Galatians 5:25, 16). The walk refers to our daily deportment-the joys, sorrows, duties, and pressures. If we grapple with these in the energy of the flesh, by our own puny strength, we will surely collapse in defeat. But if we face them in the strength that flows from the abundant power of God's Spirit, we will be more than conquerors through Him who loved us. His resources are available to us by faith.
THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT
When the risen Jesus breathed on His followers on that first Easter Sunday, He later also charged them to "stay put" until Pentecost. "And behold," He said, "1 am sending forth the promise of my Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." And then, some forty days later, just moments before His ascension, He gathered them together, commanded them to wait, and repeated the promise, adding instructions for world evangelization. "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my wit- nesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4,8).
The people who heard these words were a small, nervous crowd in an intensely religious city. Government authorities had executed their leader only days earlier, and they, figuring to be next on the list, had gone under- ground for a full month. Not one held the slightest promise of missionary potential. Any missionary recruiter would have awarded them all a cold zero! As representatives of their Master, they were pitiful failures.
As I reread and pondered those amazing early chapters of Acts, I was freshly seized by the conviction that some mighty power had descended upon these same men and women-a supernatural dynamic that transformed them from timid sheep into courageous lions. Instead of hiding, they are now boldly witnessing. No longer running away, they are now firmly standing. No longer timidly whispering, they are now shouting their message from the center of town square! Whatever has happened to them?
They have been clothed! The Lord 's promise of Luke 24:49 has been fulfilled. The word endued means "to put on, to clothe," and is the same Greek verb to describe John's being clothed with camel's hair (Mark 1:6), and Herod's being arrayed in royal apparel (Acts 12:21). But notice that the verb is passive. They were not told to clothe themselves, but to wait until they were clothed with power from on high.
The opposite of being dressed is nakedness. This may explain the difference between their pre- and post- Pentecost spiritual condition. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. ... in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit" (Romans 15:13,19). "And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1 Corinthians 2:4). "For our Gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 1 :5).
Even our Lord Jesus, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, did not embark upon His public ministry until He was anointed and energized by that same Spirit thirty years later. Only then, when full of the Spirit, was He also led and empowered to launch His mighty service to God and man (See Luke 4:1,14). The same sequence applied to His followers. Although their regeneration had occurred earlier (John 13:10,11), they were not ready to embark upon their missionary service until they had received the Spirit in fulness and power.
What about you and me today? Isn't much of our "church work" little more than huffing and puffing of religious flesh? Have we fallen into the deception of ignorantly identifying our feverish activity with genuine Christian service? Like the old maverick Jehu, do we call attention to ourselves by yelling, "Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord," and then invite friends to join us for a furious ride on our religious chariots (See II Kings 10)?
Perhaps God would have us soberly re-evaluate our motivation, dynamic, methods, and goals. Flesh is flesh, even when it is pious flesh; "it profiteth nothing." The true dynamic of all. God-pleasing worship and ser- vice resides in the indwelling Holy Spirit; the true goal is the glory of God. In the Spirit we discover "the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe." Here only we face up "to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us" (Ephesians 1:19; 3:20).
It is shocking but true that multitudes of today's Christians, as far as experience is concerned, are living on this side of Calvary but on the other side of Pentecost!
Since I first wrote the Emmaus correspondence course, The Holy Spirit at Work, I have regretted my inadequate treatment of the "filling of the Spirit." My understanding was unsure at that time. I did not make clear how to be filled, and thus to obey the command. I would like to think that the Lord has given me more light during the last thirty years.
Take the instruction to the believers in the church at Ephesus. " And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ" (Ephesians 5:18-21).
We have noticed already that every believer is in-dwelt, but not every believer is filled with the Comforter. Otherwise this command would be pointless. These very Ephesians who had received and been sealed by the Spirit are now urged to be filled (Acts 19: 1-7; Ephesians 1:13). They are prohibited from drunkenness and exhorted to be filled and to demonstrate the filling by speaking, giving thanks, and submitting.
Drunkenness of course is an effect, not a cause. The boozer thirsts, imbibes and becomes intoxicated; then the alcohol takes control. The parallel holds good in the process of spiritual fulness.
There must be thirst, for apart from this there will be no filling whatever. We must cry with David, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?" (Psalm 42:1, 2).
Centuries later our Lord Jesus answered this deep longing, and the echoes of His shout are still resounding. "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, "From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water ." , But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (John 7:37-39).
The recipe for the Spirit's fulness is beautifully simple; it is still available today. Christ in glory is the inexhaustible reservoir at which we drink; the indwelling Spirit is the river by which we flow. The drinking brings the fulness, and the fulness brings the flow.
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
Spiritual fruit is not so much "doing" as it is "being." The works of the flesh-immorality, idolatry, sorcery, murders-are abominable activities of depraved minds and bodies. But the fruit of God's Spirit is the godly attitude of a redeemed heart. Fruit, of course, is the visible evidence of invisible life. The nature of the fruit depends upon the character and power which produces it. In John 15:1-10 our Lord declares, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abideth in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in my love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." And Paul completes the picture in Galatians 5:22,23. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Roots are the source of fruit. In the spiritual life, the source is the indwelling Spirit of God. Fruit is not the result of the Christian's self-efforts. It derives from the divine Indweller. The secret flows out of our Lord's declaration that demands our cleansing (John 15:2), abiding (vs. 4-7) and obeying (v. 10). The substance, or production, is found in the nine fold fruit- fruit which transcends all natural morality. This fruit so abundantly marked our Lord Jesus during His entire ministry, but especially during those tense hours preceding His death. In that Jerusalem upper room, within hours of His cross, He referred to the first three of this rich cluster: "My love" (John 15:9), "My joy" (15:11) and "My peace" (14:27). Despite the impending agonies, there was no panic; everything was in the Father's hand and under His control. And the other six virtues were richly manifested throughout His entire life by the power of the Holy Spirit who filled Him. How exciting to realize that as we abide in fellowship with Christ, the Holy Spirit will form Christ's own character in us.
THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT
Just as there are nine fruits, so there are also nine spiritual gifts. These are mentioned in I Corinthians 12:4-11. "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestations of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills."
All the fruits are available to all believers, but the gifts are distributed to particular individuals according to God's sovereign choice. And all of these divine enablements are still available today.
Moreover, this list in 1 Corinthians is not an exhaustive inventory, for other spiritual gifts surface in the twelfth chapter of Romans and in the fourth chapter of Ephesians. But it is of prime importance to note that these are all present in the Body of Christ-the whole catholic Christian community-though not necessarily in every local church. Doubtless, however, each local assembly has some of them; but not all. Thus the universal church is the depository of all the Spirit's gifts, true unity being expressed in diversity.
The most obscure Christian is not overlooked, as Peter insists when he writes, "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God, whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies: so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion for ever and ever" (1 Peter 4:10, 11).
PRAYING AND WORSHIPING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Every Christian is obliged to engage in the holy exercises of prayer and worship, but "he that is spiritual" will aim to live his entire life in such an atmosphere. Jude urges us to pray "in the Holy Spirit" (v. 20). Writing to the Romans, Paul declares an astonishing truth; "And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should; but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God " (Romans 8:26,27).
Later, he directs the Ephesians to "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).
Both Jude and Paul are talking about a special form of prayer-"in the Spirit." As mere men, we are ignorant, knowing not what we ought to request, and weak as well. In both areas we desperately need the all- knowing and all-powerful Spirit to inspire, empower, and direct our prayers. He who indwells us knows our deepest needs, and makes His own intense intercession directly to the great Searcher of hearts on our behalf. 63
Moreover, in the believer's struggle with those behind-the-scenes powers of darkness-those sinister and malevolent fallen spirits who would plot his spiritual overthrow-his feeble prayers require the mighty adrenalin of God's Spirit. Only when these prayers intensify into supplications and become the very pleadings of the Spirit Himself do they cease to be infantile cryings and become the potent commands of Omnipotence. How assuring to know our two unfailing Intercessors: the Lord Jesus at the right hand of God the Father, and the Comforter who lives within our hearts!
Worship, too, must be "in spirit and in truth." Otherwise we play the role of modem Nadabs and Abihus by offering strange fire on Jehovah's altar. (Read afresh this solemn account in Leviticus 10:1-5.) The New American Standard rendering of Philippians 3:3 is an enlightening improvement over the King James translation, "For we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh." True worship is not the product of mere religious stimulation. It flows upward spontaneously from the indwelling Spirit Himself.
In an allied passage, Paul indicates that such praises at times may even by-pass the intellect. "I shall pray with the spirit," he exults, "and I shall pray with the mind also; I shall sing with the spirit and I shall sing with the mind also. Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the' Amen' at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified " (1 Corinthians 14:15-17). 64
Here are two wavelengths-one from the mind, the other from the depths of the human spirit. The latter was doubtless communicated in tongues. But if the vocalizing were in tongues only, with no interpretation, the hearer could not be edified. But the thanksgivings were acceptable to God for He understood perfectly. So this kind of worship should be limited to private exercise.
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