THE DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. (Part 1)
It is essential that believers recognize the importance for the Holy Spirit in God’s redemptive purpose. Many Christians have no idea what difference it would make if there were no Holy Spirit in the world. Without the Holy Spirit there would be no Bible, NT or OT, “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” II Peter 1:20-21, no power to proclaim the gospel, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”” Acts 1:8
Without the Holy Spirit, there would be no faith, no new birth, no holiness, no Christians at all. Throughout Scripture, the Spirit is revealed as having an individuality of His own, “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 by the Spirit of the Lord.” II Cor 3:18 The Spirit is Divine like the Father and the Son.
Thus we must not think of the Spirit as a mere influence or power. He is God, yet He has personal characteristics, for He thinks, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” Rom 8:26-27 He feels and wills, “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”1 Cor 12:11, and has the capacity to love and to enjoy fellowship.
These things are said of the Holy Spirit: We can grieve Him, lie to Him, blasphemy against Him, quench His fire, accept or reject His counsel. He is the agent of salvation, convicting us of guilt, revealing to us the truth about Jesus, giving us new birth and incorporating us into the body. At conversion, we receive the Spirit and become participants in the divine nature. The Spirit was sent by the Father to bring believers into the intimate presence and fellowship of Jesus.
We should treat the Spirit with awe and respect and regard Him as the infinite loving God within our hearts, worthy of worship, love and surrender. It was through the high cost of the shed blood of Christ that God sent the Comforter, therefore we should regard the Spirit with the utmost respect and honor. “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.””Acts 5:3-4 NKJV
If you say you are a believer, but have not been made holy (cleansed from all sin and loving a clean life before the Lord) then you have not born again of the Holy Spirit. You can be trained to be kind, generous, loving, caring, compassionate, and serving, and many are these things; but you cannot be trained to be holy. Only the Holy Spirit can make you holy, “therefore you must be born again”. For without holiness, no man shall see God. Next week’s daily: the Holy Spirit is the agent of sanctification- He cleanses, leads and motivates us into holy lives. #runyourrace
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