The Spirit and the Word Part 5

(2) _He testifies._ "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me" (John 15: 26).

(3) _He teaches and quickens the mind._ "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).

(4) _He guides._ "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye can not bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth" (John 16: 12, 13).

(5) _He leads and forbids._ "And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden of the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and when they were come over against Mysia, they a.s.sayed to go into Bithynia; and the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not" (Acts 16:6, 7).

(6) _He searches._ "But unto us G.o.d revealed them through the Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of G.o.d" (1 Cor. 2:10).

In the above pa.s.sages the Holy Spirit is said to speak, to testify, to quicken, to teach, to guide disciples, to lead, to forbid and to search.

All these things unite in showing the Holy Spirit to be a person, for nothing but a person can do them.

2. HE HAS THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A PERSON.

We will mention a few of them:

(1) _Mind._ "And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the _mind of the Spirit_" (Rom. 8:27).

(2) _Knowledge._ "Even so the things of G.o.d none knoweth, save the Spirit of G.o.d" (1 Cor. 2:11).

(3) _Affection._ "Now I beseech you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the _love of the Spirit_, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to G.o.d for me" (Rom. 15:30).

(4) _Will._ "But all these worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally even _as he will_" (1 Cor. 12:11).

(5) _Goodness._ "Thou gavest also thy _good Spirit_ to instruct them"

(Neh. 9:20). Goodness, will, affection, knowledge and mind are all characteristics of a person. By no stretch of the imagination can they be ascribed to a mere impersonal influence or principle. These five characteristics form the fingers in the hand of certainty by which we grasp the personality of the Holy Spirit.

3. HE SUFFERS SLIGHTS AND INJURIES THAT CAN ONLY BE ASCRIBED TO A PERSONALITY.

(1) _He can be grieved and vexed._ "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of G.o.d, in whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30).

"But they rebelled, and grieved his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them" (Isa. 63:10).

(2) _He can be despited._ "Of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of G.o.d, and hath counted the blood of the covenant where-with he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath _done despite_ unto the Spirit of grace" (Heb.

10:29).

(3) _He can be blasphemed_. "Therefore I say unto you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come" (Matt. 12:31, 32).

(4) _He can be resisted_. "Ye stiff-necked and uncirc.u.mcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit" (Acts 7:51).

(5) _He can be lied unto_. "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?" (Acts 5:3).

A mere principle can not sustain any of the above slights. Nothing but a personality can be blasphemed, lied to, resisted or grieved.

4. HE IS A DIVINE PERSONALITY. This will be seen from the following attributes, which are the attributes of G.o.d:

(1) _Eternity_. "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the _eternal_ Spirit offered himself without blemish unto G.o.d, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living G.o.d?" (Heb. 9:14).

"Jehovah is great in Zion; And he is high above all the peoples" (Ps.

99:2).

(2) _Omniscience_. "But unto us G.o.d revealed them through the Spirit: for the Spirit _searcheth all things_, yea, the deep things of G.o.d. For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man, which is in him? even so the things of G.o.d none knoweth, save the Spirit of G.o.d" (1 Cor. 2:10, 11).

(3) _Omnipotence_. "But as for me, I am full of power _by the Spirit_ of Jehovah, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin" (Mic. 3:8).

(4) _Omnipresence_. "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?... Even there shall thy hand lead me, And thy right hand shall hold me" (Ps. 139:7, 10). "Can any hide himself in secret places so that I shall not see him? saith Jehovah. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith Jehovah" (Jer. 23:24).

5. THE WORKS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT MANIFEST DIVINITY.

(1) The work of _creation_. "And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of G.o.d moved upon the face of the waters" (Gen. 1:2). "By his Spirit the heavens are garnished; his hand hath pierced the swift serpent" (Job 26:13). "By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (Ps. 33:6). "The Spirit of G.o.d hath made me, And the breath of the Almighty giveth me life" (Job 33:4).

(2) The work of _providence_. "Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the ground" (Ps. 104:30).

(3) The work of _regeneration_ and resurrection. "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of G.o.d" (John 3:5). "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom. 8:11).

(4) He is the source of the _miraculous._ "But if I by the Spirit of G.o.d cast out demons, then is the kingdom of G.o.d come upon you" (Matt.

12:28). "To another faith, in the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healing, in the one Spirit; ... but all these worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally even as he will" (1 Cor.

12:9, 11).

Thus in his works, his characteristics, the things he suffers, his attributes and his achievements, we have a fivefold cord of testimony that clearly demonstrates the Spirit's personality and divinity.

IV

THE SPIRIT AND JOHN THE BAPTIST

The first mention of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament is in connection with John the Baptist: "There was in the days of Herod, king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah: and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before G.o.d, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless" (Luke 1:5, 6).

This Zacharias was taking his turn in the temple service, and an angel appeared unto him and announced that in answer to his prayer his wife Elisabeth should bear a son whose name should be called John; that he should be great, and should drink no wine nor strong drink, and (Luke 1:15) "he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb"; and "his father Zacharias was _filled with the Holy Spirit_, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord, the G.o.d of Israel; for he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people" (Luke 1:67, 68).

And the child John grew and "waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel" (Luke 1:80). His private life was spent in the desert solitudes, where he was being strengthened in spirit for the great work G.o.d had prepared for him. This work had been foretold by the Holy Spirit. It spake through Isaiah the prophet (40:3), saying: "The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our G.o.d. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the rough places a plain: and the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." Again, Malachi (3:1) says: "Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me."

In fulfillment of these predictions of the Spirit came John the Baptist in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Great mult.i.tudes flocked to his preaching and baptism. Among others came Jesus of Nazareth, and "on the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of G.o.d, that taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). "This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man who is become before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing in water.

And John bare witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize in water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizeth in the Holy Spirit. And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of G.o.d" (John 1:30-34).

The next mention of the Holy Spirit by John the Baptist is in reference to the baptism in the Holy Spirit and in fire. In order that the reader may have a clear understanding of this disputed and difficult subject, I shall present the testimonies of the four Evangelists in parallel columns [paragraphs]:

MATT. 3:10-12.

And even now the axe lieth at the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance: but he that after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his thres.h.i.+ng-floor; and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.

MARK 1:7, 8.

And he preached, saying There cometh after me he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

I baptize you in water; but he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit.