03.08. The Holy Spirit

THE HOLY SPIRIT The Holy Spirit is first mentioned in Genesis 1:2 : "And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." There we find He was a co-worker with the Father; and He has never worked apart from Him. When God created man He said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." The Holy Spirit has always been associated with every divine act, but His manifestations in the Old Testament were exceedingly different from His work today. In The Old Testament In the Old Testament He is specifically mentioned more than eighty times, and there are at least four operations ascribed to Him. The Old Testament gives examples of His filling men for a specific purpose. It speaks of His abiding or dwelling in men. It tells of His coming upon men. There are other passages in which the original language implies His coming mightily upon men. The Holy Spirit filled men. The Holy Spirit dwelt in men. The Holy Spirit came upon men. The Holy Spirit came mightily upon men. The Holy Spirit came upon men for a special occasion. or a specific purpose. It is interesting to note the times, the ways and the occasions in which these manifestations took place. The Holy Spirit Filled Men When the Tabernacle was being built, the Holy Spirit filled men for a specific purpose. In Exodus 31:3-5 we read: "I have filled him [Bezaleel] with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship."

Here we have an example which shows that the Holy Spirit filled a man in order that he m ght be a better blacksmith, a better stone mason, a better wood carver, a better carpenter, a better architect. Though we live in a later dispensation, it is still true that the filling of the Spirit equips a man for better workmanship in any walk of life. Let Him come into your heart. He will make you a better workman, a better salesman, a better executive.

He Dwelt In Men The Old Testament, in at least two instances, tells us that the Holy Spirit dwelt in men. In Genesis 41:38-39 we read that Pharaoh, king of Egypt, described Joseph as a man who was qualified as a ruler. He placed him over the affairs of his kingdom, and specifically stated that he did it because Joseph was indwelt by the Spirit of God, and was discreet and wise.

Again, in Numbers 27:18, we read that God appointed Joshua to succeed Moses as a leader of Israel. "The Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit," and commanded that he be placed over Israel.In both Joseph and Joshua the Holy Spirit developed qualifications for leadership.

However, His presence and power were manifested not in imperialism or totalitarianism, but in discretion, wisdom and gentleness.

These fruits of the Spirit revealed so long ago in the lives of Joseph and Joshua are evidenced today in the lives of all who yield themselves into His keeping.

He Came Upon Men In the Old Dispensation the Holy Spirit many times came upon men to qualify them for a particular task. In Judges 6:34 we are told, "The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him." This is an example of His coming upon a man to qualify him for leadership and victory. In 1 Chronicles 12:18 we read that the Holy Spirit came upon a man to prove to King David that Benjamin and Judah were loyal. "Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers. Then David received them." Here the Holy Spirit came upon a man to make him a messenger of peace. In 2 Chronicles 24:20 we learn of His coming upon Zechariah to enable him to protest against idolatry. "The Spirit of God came upon Zechariah . . . and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you." In each of these instances we are told that His coming upon these men meant that He clothed Himself with them. They did not put Him on. He, the Holy Spirit, put them on. The Holy Spirit put on Gideon like a garment, made him a leader in Israel and gave him victory over the Midianites. The Holy Spirit wrapped Himself with Amasai and convinced King David that Benjamin and Judah had not come to betray him, but that they were loyal and dependable. The Holy Spirit put on Zechariah like a coat, and gave him the will, the voice and the power to protest against idolatry, though he knew it would cost him his life.

Let me remind you that today when the Spirit comes to our hearts, we do not put Him on.

He puts us on. We do not use Him. He uses us. It is not our power. The power is His. "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.

He Came Mightily Upon Men

Dr. G. Campbell Morgan calls our attention to three passages in the Old Testament in which the original language implies that the Holy Spirit came mightily upon men.

We read in Judges 14:6 that a lion roared against Samson: "And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand."

Here the Spirit manifested Himself in great strength. A second passage is 1 Samuel 10:10, which tells us that the Spirit of God came upon Saul, the first king of Israel, and he prophesied. In 1 Samuel 16:13 we read that the Spirit of God came upon David for the governing of the people. "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward." The Original Thought The original thought in these Scripture passages is that of forcing forward or pushing. The literal thought is this: the Holy Spirit attacked these men. The Holy Spirit attacked Samson, forced him into a battle with a lion and gave him such physical strength that "he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand." The Holy Spirit attacked King Saul and wrung from his lips prophetic utterances which so stirred the people who heard him that they said one to another, "What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?" The Holy Spirit attacked David, forced him into the rulership of a great nation and made him the world’s greatest king.

Each Did A Specific Work

It is interesting to note that each of these men did a specific thing. Samson slew a lion. Saul prophesied. David ruled a nation. Yet each was under the compulsion of the same Spirit. The Spirit Is Everywhere The hand of the Holy Spirit is seen throughout the Old Dispensation. As someone has said, "He was the Spirit of conviction while sin worked itself out from the fall to the Flood.

"He was the Spirit of detailed service while the people of God were being organized into a nation.

"He was the Spirit of strength while they were fighting for the land and casting out the opposers of God and His cause."He was the Spirit of hope during the days of wandering and was continually going about among them, speaking to everyone who would listen, and pointing ahead for those who would see, and reminding them, by type and by shadow that there were better days to come. The Old Dispensation Manifestation Of The Spirit

However, few in the Old Dispensation, with all its manifestations of the Holy Spirit, knew Him as we know Him today, as the Sanctifier of individual lives in the sense of cleansing and keeping. These marvelous manifestations of His power were reserved for a later dispensation. It is our privilege to live in this later dispensation and to have the Spirit in all His wonderful power and blessing. In the Old Dispensation He seemed at times to come upon men irrespective of character. When He needed a man He chose one, filled him and put him on like a garment; or He attacked him, forced him into the gap and accomplished great things with him. The Old Has Passed The Old Dispensation has passed and the New Dispensation has come, but the Spirit is the same.

It is the same Holy Spirit that moved upon the face of the water.

It is the same Holy Spirit to whom the Father referred when He said, "Let us make man in our image and after our likeness."

It is the same Holy Spirit that filled Bezaleel with wisdom and knowledge and all manner of workmanship.

It is the same Holy Spirit that clothed Himself with Gideon and defeated the Midianites.

It is the same Holy Spirit that put on Zechariah like a garment and protested against the idolatry of Israel. No longer does He come upon men irrespective of their characters or regardless of their wills. Today the Holy Spirit comes upon men who are tired of sin and willing to forsake it He regenerates them, blots out their transgressions, forgives their iniquities and adopts them into the family of God. No Longer Compulsion In the Old Dispensation the Holy Spirit compelled men to do His bidding. He forced Samson to do battle with a lion. He wrung from the lips of Saul prophetic utterances. He forced David into the kingship of a nation.In this New Dispensation the Holy Spirit forces no man; but to every believer who will fully consecrate his life, placing his all upon Jesus Christ, the Christian’s altar, the Holy Spirit will come upon him with His burning, purging, cleansing power. The Spirit will so burn, so purge, so cleanse, so renovate and fill his soul that it will not be necessary to force him to do God’s bidding. The natural cry of his cleansed heart will be, "I delight to do thy will, O my God."

Pentecost The Holy Ghost Dispensation was ushered in on the day of Pentecost. It was the coming into the world of a new temple -- not a temple of wood and stone, of brass and iron, but a temple of human beings indwelt by the Spirit of God.

Centuries before, when two young men were prophesying in the camps of Israel, Joshua tried to get Moses to stop them and Moses said, "Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!" On the day of Pentecost, Moses’ prayer was answered. The Spirit came upon all the people of God. We are still living in that glorious dispensation. Today every man may have the Spirit in all His wonderful manifestations.

Pentecost was the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophesy of Joel, "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit."

Simon Peter, having received the fullness of the Spirit, took up the message, looked across the centuries to the people of every generation of every race, and said, "The promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." The Fruit And The Work

Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." This is the fruit that springs from a Spirit-filled heart.

There is also a definite work of the Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit is to regenerate, to cleanse, to abide, to teach, to remind and to comfort.

He Comes To Abide

Jesus said, "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever."

Perhaps the disciples said, "Master, you have been with us three years. Now you are going away, but You have promised to send us another. How long will He stay? Will He die? Will He be crucified?" Possibly Jesus answered, "No, do not look for death. He will never die. Do not talk about departure. He will never leave you. When He comes He will abide forever."Friends in a certain city took me to see a beautiful mansion which was deteriorating. It was situated in the center of a plot of ground the size of a city block and was completely surrounded by beautiful trees. The house needed to be repaired. The grounds were unkempt and covered with weeds.

Years before the place had been advertised for sale. A stranger came to the city, saw the mansion and after some investigation purchased it. He hired workmen who cleaned the grounds and repainted and redecorated the building inside and out. Then he furnished it elaborately. One day, however, he was seen to leave the building, enter his car and drive away. He never returned. No one has heard of him since. The building has fallen into decay. The Holy Spirit does not renew, cleanse, furnish the heart, and then abandon it. He comes to abide.

He abides, He abides, The Spirit now abides with me.

He’ll not leave me on the way, He’ll be with me every day, For He’s promised to abide with me. The Home Of The Spirit

I once said to a carpenter, who was taking great pains with a house which he was building, "Why are you taking such pains?" He replied, "I am not building this place to sell or to rent. I am building it for my home. I am going to live here." The Spirit of God does not purchase the heart of man to build, cleanse, polish and furnish in order that He may sell it or make of it a rooming house or tourist camp for the Devil. He purchases the heart of man to make it His home. "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?" He comes in to abide.

He Comes As A Teacher The Holy Spirit comes into our hearts as a Teacher. Jesus said, "He shall teach you all things." He is the Author of the Scriptures: "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

It is a great privilege to sit at the feet of a Spirit-filled Bible teacher and listen to him expound and explain the Word of the Lord, but no teacher, however holy or well trained, can take the place of the Holy Spirit as a Teacher in the heart. The Bible will not move you or thrill you until you know the Author and have His presence in your soul. The Holy Spirit teaches us that true honor is to serve God.

He teaches us that true nobility is to be born of God.He teaches us that true riches are to be found in the grace of God.

He teaches us that true happiness is the peace of God.

He teaches us that true life is to know God.

He teaches us that the only true security is to be hidden with Christ in God.

He teaches us how rightly to divide the Word of Truth.

He teaches us the difference between right and wrong.

He teaches us the true value of spiritual things.

He teaches us that "the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable."

He teaches us that "denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world."

He Comes As A Reminder

"He shall . . . bring all things to your remembrance," said the Master regarding the Holy Spirit. In no other work has the Holy Spirit been more faithful than in this task of reminding.

He reminds us of our duties and privileges in Jesus Christ. He reminds us of promises and vows we have made to our Maker.

He reminds us of helpful promises from the Bible just when we need them most.

He reminds us that we are pilgrims and strangers in a strange land.

He reminds us that here we have no continuing city. He reminds us that we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus, and equal heirs with Christ our Lord.

He reminds us "that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."

He Is A Comforter

Jesus said, "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, l will send him unto you." The long, long night is past, The morning breaks at last; The Holy Ghost from heav’n, The Father’s promise giv’n;O spread the tidings round, Wherever man is found The Comforter has come!

We are told that the word "Comforter" as used in the Bible does not mean the same as it does today. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit is a Comforter in the fullest sense in which we use the word.

He comforts us with the assurance that our sins have been forgiven. Though we may yet have to reap some of the harvest of the wild oats we have sown, all the past is under the blood.

He comforts us with the knowledge that our hearts have been cleansed from sin, and our hateful dogs of temper can no longer break their leash and spring upon our friends. They have been taken away and crucified with Jesus Christ.

He comforts us in the hour of temptation. When it seems that we can hold out no longer, He whispers, "You do not have to yield, for ’there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’

He comforts us in the time of sorrow. When there is a crepe on the door and grief in the heart of man, He stands beside the heartbroken one, points to the Man of Sorrows and says, "[Cast] all your care upon him; for he careth for you. In Battle

He comforts us in the hour of death. When the voices of hell surround you, when the submarines of the pit are rising beneath you, when the bombers of perdition are roaring above you, when the cohorts of destruction are strafing you, the Holy Spirit will rush to your side, O warring saint, and shout, "Fight on! Fight on! Fight on! The greatest harm that men and devils Can do to you is to take life from your body. I guarantee the safety of your soul." In Death

He comforts us in the hour of death. When the voices of friends recede, when our eyes grow dim and the sights of the world disappear, He reminds us of the Psalmist’s wonderful assurance: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." In our last hour on earth the Spirit will sweetly whisper, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

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