Holy S p irit, the T h ird Person in the Godhead. It is the Word th a t q u ic k ens fa ith , fo r “ Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by th e Word o f God” (Rom. 10:17 ). Even th is qu icken ing o f fa ith is a ttrib u te d to the S p irit. Faith is a g ift o f the S p irit (I Cor. 12:4, 9 ). Men like Stephen and Barnabas, who were fu ll o f the Holy Ghost, were lik e wise fu ll o f fa ith (Acts 6 :5 ; 11 :24 ). Paul rem inded the Galatians th a t the y received th e H o ly S p i r i t th rough fa ith th a t was quickened by the S p irit H im se lf (Gal. 3 :2 , 3 ). And we all need to be rem inded th a t fa ith “ is the g ift o f God” (Eph. 2 :8). When a be liev ing s in ne r acknow l edges fo r the fir s t tim e th e Lord- ship o f Ch rist, th a t confession is born o f th e Holy S p irit, fo r Paul wrote, “ Wherefore I give you to understand . . . th a t no man can say th a t Jesus is the Lord, bu t by the Holy G host" (I Cor. 12:3). The S p irit’s work in salvation produces a “ new m an” (Eph. 2 :15 ), “ a new c re a tio n ” (II Cor. 5 :17 R.V.), because o f the im pa rta tion o f the new nature which is the “ D ivine n a tu re " (II Peter 1:4). Sal vation is not an a ttem p t to improve th e old nature. Jesus said to Nico- demus, “ Except a man be born o f water [th e word, cf. Ephesians 5: 26; I Peter 1 :2 3 ] and o f the S p irit, he cannot e n te r in to th e kingdom o f God. . . . Marvel not th a t I said unto thee, Ye m ust be born aga in ” (John 3 :5 , 7). This new b irth , called regeneration o r salvation, is the specialized m in is try o f the Holy S p irit. No man can cause h im se lf to experience the New B irth , nor can one person tra n sm it th is ex perience to another. The B i b l e
The SPIRIT
**i Vot by works of righteousness which we have done, but accord ing to His merey He saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost” ( T i t u s 3 : 5 ) .
by Lehman Strauss
T he purpose o f th e S p irit’s s triv ing is to save. Paul w ro te in his Epistle to T itus, “ Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the wash ing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (T itu s 3 :5 ). Ob serve the words, “ He saved us, by the . . . renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Salvation is God's desire fo r a ll men. He “ w ill have all men to be saved, and to come un to the know ledge o f the tr u th ” (I Tim . 2 :4 ), and it is by the regenerating power o f th e Holy S p irit th a t His saving work is accomplished. Now we know th a t all men w ill not be saved, bu t those who become saved do so by expe riencing th is saving w o rk o f the S p irit. The plan o f salvation could not be accomplished w ith ou t th e a ton ing w o rk o f C h ris t on the Cross
and His bod ily resurrection from death and the grave. But the mere fa c t th a t Jesus died and rose is not s u ffic ie n t to save any one. The w o rk o f redemption m u s t be ap plied to each ind ividua l sinner. Th is is the S p irit's m in is try . He commences th is wo rk by b rin g ing conviction. And when the heart re sponds in fa ith to the Word o f God, th e Holy S p irit a t once regenerates. The wo rk o f both the Son and the S p irit in salvation is prophesied in the Old Testament. The Son’s work is predicted in such passages as Isaiah 53. The S p irit’s m in is try ap pears in passages like Joel 2 :28 -32 cf. Acts 2:17 -21 . Salvation is the resu lt o f the supe rna tural act o f the Holy S p irit. It is a radical change which takes place in stan tly, not gradua lly. The s inne r fir s t hears th e Word o f God, which is in re a lity th e Word o f the
26
TH E K ING ’S BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker