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The Holy Spirit (Part
2)
The Holy Spirit jointly with God and Christ form the
Godhead. He must be of the same nature and essence as God and Christ, and
since they are divine personages, the Holy Spirit must be so considered.
The Holy Spirit is not a glorified "it". The Bible does not teach
us to pray to God to send "it" or to ask that when "it"
comes "it" will bring blessings to God's people. Neither is the
Holy Spirit merely "an influence". The Holy Spirit is not the
Bible, the New Testament, or Word of God. The Holy Spirit vitalizes truth
and make it "sharper than any two-edged sword". While on the
earth Christ frequently spoke of the Holy Spirit. He said to his disciples,
"But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send
in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance
all that I said unto you" John 14: 26. Again, he said to his apostles,
"Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you
into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what soever
he shall hear, these shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you the
things that are to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall take of mine,
and shall declare it unto you" John 16: 13,14.
After the Lord was raised from the grave, he gave to
his apostles his commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel.
They were to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came. He came a few
days after the Lord Jesus left the apostles and ascended to heaven. We
read in Acts 2: 1-4, "And when the day of Pentecost was now come,
they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven
a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house
where they were sitting. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit,
and began to speak with tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance".
As they went forth preaching the gospel they were guided by the Holy Spirit.
Peter tells us in I Peter 1: 12, by the Holy Spirit sent forth that the
apostles "preached the gospel ... by the Holy Spirit sent forth from
heaven". The Holy Spirit enabled the apost les to speak with other
tongues, that is, tongues other than their native tongue, and to work miracles,
to confirm the word which they spoke as the word of God. In the Book of
Acts we have the question asked and answered by the Holy Spirit, as he
guided the apostles in their preaching, what one must do to be saved, or
to become a Christian. The Holy Spirit is crystal clear in answering this
question. He did not want anyone to be in doubt as to the terms of salvation.
He also taught Christians how to be faithful in the service of Christ,
as he guided the apostles in preaching the gospel. The Holy Spirit, therefore,
speaks to man today through the gospel as it was preached by the apostles
by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven. We read in Romans 8: 14, "For
as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God".
Today the Holy Spirit leads man through the word of God
as preached by the apostles. The Holy Spirit dwells in the Christian as
the word of God dwells in him. Paul said, "Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly" Col. 3: 16. They receive the Spirit as they receive
the word of God into the heart as the seed of the kingdom, and as it permeates,
guides, and directs the thoughts, feelings, and desires of the person.
By receiving and cherishing the word in the heart, the Spirit enters and
abounds more and more in the person, making him like Jesus in his thoughts,
feelings, and works. In this way the Spirit causes us to walk by the Spirit
that was in Christ, to do the will of God as he did it, and to be willing
to deny ourselves and save others as Jesus died to save us.
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