Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 104, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 May 1913 — The Holy Spirit [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Holy Spirit

Br REV. JAMES M. GRAY, D. D.

Don of trie Mood? KUe butitut* Cliois*

TEXT—"Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed T’ Acts XIX, 2.

Paul met contain disciples In Ephesus whom at first be supposed to be Christian disciples, but in whose testimony there was tbah which led to the Inquiry, “Have y« received the Holy Ghoet since yd believed?” It if evldenL therefore, from these Words and from the sequel that it Is one thing to he a disciple, and another

thing to “receive the Holy Ghost-" This brings up the whole question as to the relation of the Holy Spirit to the disciple, or the believer in Christ

1/ The personality of the Holy Spirit. We should keep in mind that the Holy Spirit is a divine person. Personality consists in self-conscious-ness and free will, and that the Holy Bpirit possesses personality in this tense is evident from three things: (a) He has the attributes of personality; (b) He does the works of a personality; (c) He has the names of a personality. Speaking of his attributes, there is one which, more than any other, helps to a realization of his personality. His attribute of love, which is referred to only in Romans 15:30. Do you know that the •Holy Spirit loves you, as a believer in Christ, with a love in some sense distinct from that either of the Father or tiie Son? How marvelously near that brings him to our hearts! The Father’s love manifested itself in the giving of his Son; the Son’s love in the offering of himself upon the cross, and the Holy SpiHt’s love in talking up his abode in us. 2. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This brings us to the second thought, viz., the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That indwelling was promised in John 14:16-17. He had dwelt “with" the disciples therefore, but he was to dwell “in them” by and by. He had been as a power acting on them from without, but thereafter he was to influence them from within. The promise was renewed again in Acts 1:4-5, where the indwelling wan spoken of as the "baptism” of tlitt Holy Spirit. The realization came on> the day of Pentecost, when the disciples were indwelt, baptized and infilled with the Holy Spirit at one andi the same time. This transaction, however, as far as the first two terms are concerned, was not limited to the church ad-' sembled on that day, but applies to the whole church since. Such would seem to be suggested by 1. Corinthians, 12:12-14, where 20 years after Pentecost we are taught that aa believers "we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body.” What “body” is means if not the body of Christ, the church? And what “baptism” if not that "one baptism” on the day of Pentecost? 3. The filing of the Holy Spirit. But while the first two terms of that transaction On the day of Pentecost, the indwelling and the baptism (which are one) were for the whole church potentially, and for ail time, yet the same does not apply to the third, the filling of the Holy SplriL There la but one indwelling, but many fillings. We gather this from Acts 5:31, where the same persons who were “filled" on the day of Pentecost were refilled on a subsequent occasion. And Again, In Acts 6, when men are to be choeen to tbe office of deacon It must be by those who are “full of the Holy Spirit,” as if some were thus spiritually equipped while others were not. It is something corresponding to this, therefore, which Paul has in mind in our text, when he said: ”Have ye received the Holy Ghoet since ye believed?” The reception of the Holy Ghost on their part resulted in an enduement of power, but in other placea of the Acts, notably the fourth chapter, it is seen to have resulted not only in the spirit of power, but of unity and love. It Is this that we ministers, evangelists and Christian workers need and that the whole church needs In order to accomplish her mi» slon for Jesus Christ on earth. How may the fillings of the Holy Spirit be received by the believer on the Lord Jesus Christ? Prayer, obedience and faith seem to be the only conditions, if they may be called conditions. Speaking of faith, there is a sense In which the gift of the Holy SplriL L e., the filling of the Holy SplriL should be received by as definite an act on our part as that by which we laid hold of , salvation through Jesus Christ; but this faith Is not likely to be experienced where obedience is not presenL “God giveth the Holy Ghost to them that obey him,” Pter says (Acts V.), and this agrees perfectly with the teaching of the Old Testament in Proverbs I.: “Turn ye at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you." Nor is this obedience merely occasional with some great thing, but it Is to be usual and common in the little things.