Holy Spirit - Part 21: Working in the Apostles & Prophets

The work of the Holy Spirit in the apostles and the prophets  is a distinct work in which he imparts to both a special gift for a special purpose.

1 Cor 12:4 (and following)

“Now there are diversities of gifts but the same Spirit. To one is given through the Spirit wisdom … to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit … to another gifts of healing, in the one Spirit … to another prophecy … but all these worketh the one and the same Spirit...”.

Exodus 31:1-11 is so clear on this matter when God reveals to Moses that He has called a man named Bezaleel, to lead the work on the Tabernacle, and God says He “... has filled His with the Spirit of God in wisdom … understanding … and knowledge … in craftsmanship”. The Lord provides the gifts necessary at the time necessary to do His will.

Truth that had been hidden for ages was revealed to the apostles and prophets, not by human reasoning but by the Spirit of God.

Eph 3:3-5

“How that by revelation He made known to me the mystery … whereby when ye read, ye may understand … which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, is now revealed unto His holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit”.

There is not one single doctrine taught in the Bible that was discovered by man outside of the teaching of the Spirit. The truths revealed to these original Christians were not from their own thoughts, but imparted upon them by the Holy Spirit.

1 Peter 1:12

“Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, … preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost, sent down from Heaven...”.

No word of any prophet was from the prophet's own will but each spoke from God.

2 Peter 1:21

“But the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God  spake, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost”.

So when we read and study these words given to us in the awesome gift of our Bible, inspired by God's spoken words to those He ordained to receive them, we are not listening to the voices of men, but we are actually hearing the voice of God.

Jesus Himself set the law of God, as given to Moses, against the traditions of the Pharisees in scripture for us to help us further understand this matter.

Mark 7:13

“Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition...”

He expressly says that the law given to Moses was the word of God.

2 Samuel 23:2

“The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was in my tongue”.

Here David, in his last words reveals that he spoke not his own words but the words of God.

1 Thess 2:13

“ … when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe”.

Here Paul declares that the word which he spoke, taught by the Spirit of God, was the very word of God.

Holy Spirit - Part 22: Works of the Spirit in the Life of Jesus

Jesus Christ is the one perfect example in history of the complete work of the Holy Spirit in the life of man.

Jesus was begotten of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 1:35

“The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the power of the highest shall overshadow thee ...”.

In regeneration the believer is begotten of God, but Jesus Christ was begotten of god in His original generation. He is the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son ...”.

It was entirely by the Spirit's power working in Mary that the Son of God was formed within her. The regenerated (soul saved) man has a carnal nature received from his earthly father and mother and a new nature imparted by God. Jesus Christ had only the one holy nature, that which in man is called the new nature.

Jesus led a holy and spotless life and offered Himself without spot to God through the working of the Holy Spirit.

Heb 9:14

“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God ...”.

Jesus was anointed and fitted for service by the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:38

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power …”.

We see this fact in prophecy in Isaiah in the OT.

Isaiah 61:1

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me ...”.

In the life of our Lord we see confirmation of this matter also.

 Luke 4:14

“Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee …”.

And three verses later Jesus quoted the prophecy of Isaiah 61.

Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit in His movements while on earth.

Luke 4:1

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness”.

Jesus was taught by the Spirit who rested upon Him and the Spirit was the source of His wisdom in the days of His flesh.

Isaiah 11:2

“And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and  understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord”.

The Holy Spirit, in all His fullness, abided with Jesus and the words Jesus spoke were the words of God.

John 3:34

“For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit in measure unto Him”.

He was given the Spirit in full, unlike every believer who came after Him that was (and is) given the Spirit in measure for guidance and teaching as God wills.

After His resurrection, Jesus gave commandments unto His Apostles whom He had chosen by the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:2

“Until the day in which he was taken up, after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen.

So we see Jesus working through the power of the Holy Spirit even after His resurrection from the dead. 

The miracles Jesus performed while in his earthly ministry were done in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:28

“But if I cast our devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you”.

It was by the awesome and unlimited power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was raised from the dead.

Roman 8:11

“But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you”.

The same Spirit that will quicken (make alive) our mortal bodies and raise us up in some future day, raised up Jesus.

Several things are clearly evident from our study time on the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus:

We see the perfect completeness of His humanity. He lived, and thought, and worked, and wept. He conquered sin and won victories for God in the power of that very same Spirit whom we have the privilege to live within us.

We see our own total dependence on the Holy Spirit. If it was the Holy Spirit who lead and assisted Jesus Himself in His life while here, how much more are we, as sinful and unworthy servants dependent upon that Spirit to lead, guide and teach us?

We see finally the wondrous world of privilege and blessing and victory open to each of us with that very same Spirit open to us for the conquest of our own sin and the removal of it from dominion over us. Just as the law was schoolmaster until the Messiah came, so is our life before the Spirit came into it. Jesus is our pattern because whatever He realized through the Holy Spirit is fully still evident and will work within all who are chosen and saved even in our world today.

1 John 2:6

“He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked”.

Romans 8:29

“For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren”.

WE ARE THAT MANY BRETHREN !!!!!!!

Holy Spirit - Part 23: The Arrival of/or Baptism in the Holy Spirit

We have a strong brother denomination in the Body of Christ known as the Pentecostal faith. This denomination is currently the fastest growing Christian denomination in the world, and has been for quite a while.

This church has a substantially different view than Baptists or other Protestant churches concerning the Holy Spirit. In their view, Christian believers are saved (regenerated) through the drawing of the Father and the convicting work of the Spirit and in these two areas we rest in agreement. However, they differ from us in that they believe that after the conversion experience, there exists FOR SOME but not for other believers a second spiritual moment they call the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The basis for this belief is that in the earliest church days, the Holy Spirit did not appear to arrive into the indwelling of the believer at the moment of conversion, but actually came later. This view is correct in scripture. A strong portion of their view is that they believe that after conversion, in some cases years after, some believers are gifted with the fruit of the Spirit of speaking in tongues.

This traditional Pentecostal view is explained in the following ways:

Jesus' disciples were born again believers long before the Holy Spirit was gifted at Pentecost, likely during the three year ministry of the Lord on earth, and most certainly before Jesus, AFTER His resurrection “breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit' “, which is most clearly described in John 20:22.

Even in spite of the first belief, Jesus commanded His disciples “... not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father...” (Acts 1:4). In the next verse he told them that before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:5). They obeyed the command and waited and were indeed later (after some days) given the gift of the Holy Spirit.

When the gifting moment arrived, tongues of fire came upon them and the other followers and they were filled with the Spirit and then (and only then) were able to speak in other tongues.

Our Pentecostal brethren believe this same powerful gift is evident today for those believers who diligently and sincerely seek it in prayer from the Father.

There are several more scriptural moments when such later arrival is shown.

In Acts 8 the Christian believers in Samaria believed in Christ through Philip but only received the Holy Spirit when Peter and John came from Jerusalem and prayed for them.

In Acts 19 Paul found believers in Ephesus, whom he called disciples, who were without the Holy Spirit and only received it when Paul laid hands on them and then (and only then) did they speak in tongues and prophecy (Acts 19:6).

Paul himself, who was violently converted on the Damascus road, was not given the Holy Spirit at the conversion moment but was blinded and told to go onward to Damascus and wait which he, in obedience, did. After three days of fasting and prayer, the Lord sent His messenger, Ananias, to Paul to restore his sight AND to bring him the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17).

Pentecostal people call this later arrival Baptism in the Holy Spirit and very carefully say that it is a second baptism (after water immersion) and since they believe that it is gifted only to some in the faith, they accept that there are always two different levels of Christians. There are those who are saved, but never baptized in the Spirit, and then there are those who are saved and later are so gifted.

There are other scriptures that point toward their interpretation. In Matthew 3:11, 

Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, & John 1:33 (all referring to the same moment) John the Baptist speaks of his own baptizing believers in water but another baptism to later arrive by one mightier that him by the Holy Spirit and by fire.

Jesus mentions the same moment to come in Acts 1:5 and later Peter refers back to the Jesus moment in Acts 11:16. 

We cannot escape the fact that in the earliest church days, the arrival of the Holy Spirit did not always accompany the conversion moment and was indeed gifted sometime later. That later gifting was with power, as Jesus promised, and the power was so great that in Peter's first sermon after the Holy Spirit arrived 3,000 souls were saved.

All other Protestant faiths (including Baptists) have come to believe that these incidents were in a transition period from the Old Testament in which the Spirit came upon some, empowered them for a time, and then left them, to the New Testament church, which began in Acts. It is accepted that the power needed to grow the early church was given by these later arrivals of the Spirit. It is thought that the Lord reserved these arrival moments, separate from earlier conversion moments, to clearly display the power granted His chosen ones who preached and taught to explode the early church into the world.

After that early period, it has become accepted doctrine in our faith that the conversion of a believer and the arrival of the holy Spirit to indwell that believer are simultaneous happenings.

Paul himself brings us to this accepted teaching which has stood the test of over 2,000 years of faith and he explained it clearly and carefully in his letter to the church believers at Corinth.

1 Cor 12:3 & 13

“ … no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”

“For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have all been made to drink into one Spirit”.

Paul who was taken away by the Lord for three years after conversion to be taught and inspired by Him, is strongly teaching us here that none can proclaim Jesus as their Savior except they have the Spirit in them, and that ALL, not some, are baptized into one body, which is the Body of Christ, His true and professing church.

We should not overlook the teaching of our Old Testament we have the clear view that the Holy Spirit came upon only some, generally those who were given the power of ministry.

Numbers 11:16-17

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel … and I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bearest it not thyself alone”.

And later Moses himself speaks of the matter.

Numbers 11:29

“... would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His spirit upon them”!

In the Old Covenant, Israel was the dwelling place of God. In the New Covenant there is created a new “dwelling place of God” which is the church, which unites both Jews and Gentiles into one body of Christ. Now, as the Lord said through His prophet Jeremiah,

“... I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts...”.

He kept this promise in the creation of the New Testament church and in the new relation between Himself and each and every believer who received His Holy Spirit which remains with the believer until mortal death.

Holy Spirit - Part 24: God’s Two Gifts

After the fall in the original garden, where mankind lived in closeness to God without shame nor sin, the human race from that moment onward lived lives with two great needs. One need was for forgiveness and the other need was for goodness. 

We must never overlook the fact that our original relation with our Creator was damaged by our original sin, our disobedience. Mankind has not and cannot overcome that disobedience alone. Mankind has not and cannot walk the path of goodness in life on our own power. Evidence of these facts still surrounds us as we exist in a lost and darkening world.

Our Father knew these things would occur from the foundation of the world.

He arranged through His indescribable love, two gifts for His creation in order that man may come to understand that love and that man may come to meet those two longings while still in mortal flesh.

His first gift was promised in Genesis 3:15, called the “Protoevangelism”, meaning the first promise of deliverance. That gift is our promised redeemer, granted when Jesus came to dwell among us in the likeness of our flesh. The seed of the woman was promised to bruise the head of the serpent. That evil one was indeed conquered at the moment of the resurrection. Only through His sacrifice and death and resurrection, His perfection given for our sin, are we able to gain finally that constant and ancient longing satisfied. Forgiveness is found ONLY by grace, gifted through faith, and it rests ONLY in His righteousness, not ours. For among us none is righteous, no not one.

His second gift was promised by the first. To the great gift of forgiveness God added the great gift of the Holy Spirit. He is the solution to our need to gain goodness and to escape the misery of weakness that grips us in this life. Jesus, our Holy Redeemer, promised us this solution and the promise was filled with the gifting of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

In order to live as we should within this world corrupted by our own disobedience, we need this double gift which is the work of the Son for us and the work of the Spirit within us.

The first gift is the ONLY path to eternal life and the second is the ONLY path to walk in internal life to reach that promised eternity. Peter taught in Acts 2:38 that we receive the second gift by accepting the forgiveness granted in the first. 

Holy Spirit - Part 25: The Spirit in the Old Testament

A fine definition of the work of the Holy Spirit is to display and implement the active presence of God in the world. This definition leads us quickly to the understanding that it is the Holy Spirit that most often is present among us to do God's work. This presence is particularly true in the New Testament. In the Old testament the presence of God was most seen in the glory displays and in the several appearances of the Lord to man.

In the Old Testament it was predicted that the presence of the Holy Spirit would bring abundant blessings from God. Isaiah predicted a time when the Spirit would bring great renewal.

Isaiah 32:14-18

“... the palaces shall be forsaken … Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on  high … the work of righteousness shall be peace … and assurance forever … my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation ...”.

But we must also remember that the departure of the Holy Spirit from the Lord's people removed the blessing.

Isaiah 63:10

“... they rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit: therefore He was turned to be their enemy. And he fought against them”.

But greater fullness was promised in other prophecies when God would make a new covenant with his people, as shown in Ezekiel 36 & 37 & 39 and Joel 2. The most promising is Jeremiah 31 where the promise is given of the Lord acknowledging that His people broke His covenant and a new one would appear in which His Word would be written in their hearts instead of on stone tablets or paper. This promise was filled when the Word came in the likeness of human flesh and came to dwell among us.

Overall we know by scriptures teaching that the Holy Spirit reveals God to us and gives stronger or weaker evidence of the presence and blessing of God, according to our response to Him. However, in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit seemed to focus His work on empowering those chosen for specific purpose and service.

He empowered Joshua with leadership skills and wisdom.

Numbers 27:18

“And the Lord said unto Moses, take thee Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thine hand upon him”.

Deut 34:9

“And Joshua was full of the Spirit of wisdom...”.

The Lord empowered the judges to deliver the people seven different times from their rebellions and backsliding ways.

The Holy Spirit came in might upon Saul to arouse him to battle the enemies of Israel.

1 Sam 11:6

“And the Spirit of God came upon Saul … and his anger was kindled greatly”.

When David was anointed king, he received the Spirit in a great way.

1 Sam 16:13

“... the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward...”.

In the next verse we are told that the Spirit departed from Saul and also that in its place, an evil spirit was placed upon him. When Saul was attempting to capture David by force the Holy Spirit came upon Saul's messengers and Saul himself and these fell to the ground and began to prophecy defeating Saul's purpose and humiliating him.

1 Sam 19:20

“... the Spirit of God was upon the messengers...”.

When Ezekiel was speaking the Lord's word to the people there were enemies of God speaking against him and in one case the Spirit brought immediate judgment upon one of those men named Peletiah, and he dropped dead.

Ezekiel 11:13

“And it came to pass when I prophesied, that Peletiah died...”

In many cases the Holy Spirit came upon men, holy men, to reveal God's word so that scripture may be recorded, inspired by God, as shown clearly in Numbers 24 & Ezekiel 11 & Zechariah 12. Peter was clear in this teaching in 2 Peter 1:21 when he taught that 

“... the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost”.

Holy Spirit - Part 26: Worthy of Honor and Worship

When we consider all that we have learned about the work and position of the Holy Spirit in the creation, the Old Testament, the Incarnation of the Messiah, the new and precious gift of His indwelling all believers since Pentecost, we must be willing to humbly give the Holy Spirit proper praise for His grace and goodness to us.

We build our faith on His providence over His chosen believers, His power to remove us forever from the dominion of sin and death, and His faithfulness and goodness all of which shine forth over His elect.

There is no verse in Holy Scripture which warns us against rendering to the blessed Holy Spirit that recognition and honor to which He is fully entitled. It seems we must conclude from our study that this special third person of the Trinity who has done so much for us is surely worthy of our worship, just as is the Father and the Son. Since we fully accept and believe in the one true and living God, and we have seen in our study that He is indeed one and only one, manifested in three persons but existing in one essence, our worship of the Holy Spirit is honorable and due.

Deut 6:13

“Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve Him, and shalt swear by His name.”

Jesus spoke of this very matter when He confronted Satan face to face.

Matt 4:10

“Then saith Jesus unto him, get thee hence Satan: for it is written, thou shalt  worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

The Lord our God is a unity within the Trinity (the Godhead) always being in three persons all of whom are equally glorious and equally worthy of our praise and love. In this respect we may take a lesson from the most holy moment given to Isaiah, and granted to us to understand from chapter six of his book of prophecy. Here the seraphim gives a direct teaching by repeating his praise THREE times, “holy, holy, holy” and God Himself then speaking an even stronger lesson by His question “Who will go for US...”

making it clear for us that the persons of the Godhead are indeed plural.

Later this same lesson is given again in Acts 28:25-26 where the Apostle relates that in this special moment, it was the Holy Spirit speaking. If then the angels of the highest order give glory and worship to the Holy Spirit, should we, who have been chosen and regenerated by Him, do any less?

While we have seen the Holy Spirit was given to glorify Christ, and we have no teaching that allows us that this is ALL of his mission. We have learned that His first

work is to direct the attention of all sinners to God, convicting them of rebellion against the Creator, Ruler, and Judge of all things.

Jesus places this third person on equal footing with both Himself and with His Father by the terms of His Great Commission.

Matt 28:19

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”

(THREE PERSONS / ONE NAME)

To receive the Holy Spirit into our hearts is the first act of worship toward Him. We 

fully praise and honor the Son with our whole hearts and we must praise and honor this Holy Spirit in the same reverence for what He has formed within us.

Finally, we should keep in mind that each and every verse in the Bible which teaches us to “praise the Lord” or to “fear God” or to “pray without ceasing” is also in full reference to the Holy Spirit as well, for He is indeed God.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus sustained the proper position as Lord on earth and after His ascension back to the right hand of the Father, the Holy Spirit was provided to occupy that position. Scripture shows proof of this position and power clearly.

Acts 13:2

“As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereto I have called them.”

Acts 20:28

“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers... .”

It is the Holy Spirit who appoints the laborers, equips them, assigns their work, and blesses their efforts. We are taught this understanding early in our spiritual lives when we sing the ancient hymn we call the Doxology:

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise him all creatures here below, Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost”

Holy Spirit - Part 27: The Holy Spirit & Prayer

We must keep in mind that the only way we have to grow and renew daily our relationship with the Lord is our prayer life. 

One major truth that we seem at times to neglect is that the object of prayer is NOT to get our will done in heaven, but rather to get God's will done on earth through us. This simple fact is the ultimate purpose of our life and it is the way in which we glorify our Lord. Jesus clearly taught us this fact when he taught His disciples to pray.

Luke 11:2 “... Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.”

The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives after conversion is dedicated toward this goal and there are several ways the Spirit helps us (guides us) in our prayer life to be always moving toward this effort.

HE BRINGS US THE SPIRIT OF THE FATHER

The Holy Spirit has the same Spirit as the Father (for they are one) and since He resides in us, he will convey us that Spirit, which will help in prayer.

He will show us the mind of the Father for our lives and will reveal over time the wonderful mercies the Lord has planned for us from the foundation of the world. Because he reveals the Father's Spirit to us, we are enabled to pray within His will.

HE BRINGS US THE SPIRIT OF THE SON

The Holy Spirit forms the indwelling Christ in our hearts and minds. Paul made this matter clear when he told the Ephesians in his letter to them (3:14-21) that is what he prayed for them, that God would grant them to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man so that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith.

As we become Sons of God our spirits should grow in humble devotion and obedience properly reflecting the attitude a mature son should show his father.

HE OPENS ACCESS TO GOD AND MAKES OUR PRAYERS ACCEPTABLE

Romans 8:16 “The Spirit beareth witness with our spirit...”

By this assistance He gives us confidence in our approach in prayer and intercedes for us to assure our prayers reach the Lord and are received in sweetness when they arrive.

Romans 8:26 “The Spirit maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered...”

HE MAKES OUR PRAYERS EFFECTIVE

By His intercession and assistance he makes our prayers have effect, keeps our prayers within the Lord's will, and works within us to be patient and hear the answers in the Lord's time, not our time.

We must be reminded that there are three possible answers to each prayer:

YES / NO / WAIT

Baptists consistently seem to dislike the last two.

HE BURDENS US

He provides us not only with a desire to pray, but goes further and instills in those chosen and saved a burden to pray. This gifted burden is helpful as it puts life and feeling into our prayers so that we are not praying out of habit but through God given inspiration to commune without repetitive form. Our hearts are filled and we grow deeper into our loving relation and we gladly receive and treasure this burden, given in Holy Love.

HE GUIDES US

Without Him, we are lost and weak (remember that Jesus himself said in John 15:5 that without Him we can do nothing). The Holy Spirit guides us both in how to pray and what we should offer to our Lord as our requests, and that our requests are proper and Holy, inspired and directed through us toward heaven.

Through the Holy Spirit we grow and mature and are better able to discern the Lord's will and He teaches us the great value of prayer when our motives are pure.

HE STRENGTHENS US IN PRAYER

Our first moment of prayer should be that our weakness, both in flesh and at times in soul not hinder our quiet communion. If we come in that humility we will be heard and rewarded just as Jesus instructed Paul that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Paul learned this lesson well (as should we) and from then onward actually rejoiced in his infirmities, realizing that in them Jesus only is our strength.

We may find help to arrange our prayer life to be pleasing to God, assisted by this gift of His Spirit, if we remember a word phrase that reminds us how we should be structuring our prayers so that they are pleasing in proper order to the Lord.

Just as the apostles gained much power through the granting of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts, and learned that the power of the Most High resides within this one who comes to indwell, so we gain power through our communion in prayer with our Heavenly Father by using the word ACTS to remind us of these things as we pray.

• A Adoration

• C Confession

• T Thanksgiving

• S Supplication

First we are to adore Him and His Son, our given Savior, and His gifted Spirit.

Second we are to confess our sins with humble and open hearts.

Third we give thanks for the blessings he has bestowed on us daily.

Fourth we close in supplication which is prayer for others who are in need.

Holy Spirit - Part 28: Conclusions

Matt 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their's is the kingdom of heaven.”

These are the first words Jesus spoke as he began the Sermon on the Mount. In His Holy mind and teaching, these words were His first priority in the greatest sermon He preached while he was on the earth.

We must understand that there is no spiritual life outside the love of Christ. We have a spiritual life only because we are loved by Him. The spiritual life consists in receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit because the sacred heart of Jesus has willed in His love that we should live by His Spirit. This is the same Spirit that proceeds from the Word and from the Father.

If we accept how great is the love that Jesus has for us, we will never be afraid to go to Him in all our poverty of spirit, all our weakness, all our spiritual wretchedness, and infirmities of heart. Indeed, when we understand the true nature of His love for us, we will prefer to come to Him poor and helpless, not ashamed of our humility. Our humble coming to Him is to our advantage for we can only hope to seek His mercy upon us. Here we are assured that it is in our weakness of spirit is displayed His strength.

We are blessed in our own poverty of spirit because Jesus spoke of it as primary in His thoughts on that mountain. It is so primary to Him that he went to His cross to present our poverty of spirit to His Father in perfect obedience, which brought into our lives a few days later His Holy Spirit, not only to be among us but to dwell within us.

The great gift of the Holy Spirit was given because of our need to be led and guided as believers to seek constantly His forgiveness.  This need is never ending as sin still seems to surround us, and test us without end. This we all know as we remain in spiritual warfare which is lifelong.

Each of us who seek to follow the Lord Jesus is engaged daily in spiritual warfare.

In any war, ground is taken and ground is given.

Guilt is the holy ground we  have lost to the enemy through our own disobedience  in sin. (Guilt is a consequence of sin unconfessed). 

This ground is only regained through confession with a poorly humble heart holding only contrition and repentance.

These are the weapons of victory given to us, His holy warriors, in this warfare of the spirit.

The Old Testament sounded out the hope for a Messiah to come. The Gospels record the incarnation of that Messiah and His earthly ministry. Acts relates His continuing work through the Holy Spirit and the Epistles interpret His person and work.

Revelation proclaims His final triumph and glory.

As we finish our study, we should take a moment to recall the aspects  of the work of this holiest messenger we know as the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Spirit revealed God's will to men, inspiring chosen ones to write scripture and then illuminates our minds to understand it.,

He enabled the disciples to understand and communicate the full significance of the redemption work of Jesus.

He convicts lost people of their sin, showing them the righteousness God demands and reveals to them the judgment of those who reject His Christ, enabling lost sinners to turn to Christ in faith and then he seals and sanctifies them.

He dwells in believers, filling them for service, gifting them with their individual means to show evidence of their salvation.

He provides the strength needed for each believer who is a unique member of God's elect to witness to those yet unsaved in order that they may see the love of Jesus Christ in our lives and hear the love of Jesus Christ in the words of our lips.

PRAISE BE TO GOD FOR THIS WONDERFUL HOLY SPIRIT