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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
August, 1936
The Intercessory MINISTRY ofthe HOLY SPIRIT B y CHARLES HENRY HEATON» New Castle, Pennsylvania
P rayer is incomparably the greatest privilege o f man. Anything conceivable or inconceivable may happen when one prays. Both Scripture and experience unite in telling us that the most wonderful things do occur when men pray. In answer to prayer there are droughts and rainfalls (Jas. 5 :17, 18) ; prison doors are opened (Acts 12:5 -10 ); the sick are healed (Acts 9 :3 4 ); the dead are brought to life (Acts 9 :4 0 ); missionaries are sent forth to the uttermost parts o f the earth (Acts 13:2, 3) ; in fact, every benefit and benefaction in human experience has been known to occur. , Intercessory prayer is the constant employment both o f the Son o f God and of the Spirit of God. (“ Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7 :25). “ It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand o f God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Rom . 8 :34 ). “ The Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh interces sion for us with groanings which cannot be uttered . . . he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Rom. 8 :26, 27, R. V .) . M eaning of T erms In a proper consideration o f the intercessory ministry o f the Holy Spirit, one should begin with definitions. What is meant by intercession? by ministry? by the Holy Spirit? Take these terms in their reverse order. “ God is revealed to us a Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes, but without division o f essence, nature or being” is the Southern Baptist Theo logical Seminary’s definition o f the Trinity. The Father is
o f the stature o f the fulness o f Christ” (Eph. 4 :13 ). The Spirit came to inaugurate His age-mission on the day o f the great Pentecost (Acts 2 ), and He will ascend when that mission is finished, with the translation of the saints (2 Thess. 2 :7; 1 Thess. 4:13-16). By the term “ ministry,” as used here, is meant the work which one is given to do in behalf o f others. It is the serv ice which one performs and by which others are benefited and blest. Intercession is a form o f prayer. It is that form o f prayer which is most selfless and unselfish. The interces sor is the one who stands between the Giver and the re ceiver o f divine blessings. He approaches God in the inter est o f God’s glory and the welfare o f men. Like the attor- ney-at-law, he presents the case o f his client. Intercession is prayer for others. P rayer T hat I s in H armony with the W ill of G od With these definitions before us, we have sufficient clar ity to proceed to the consideration o f a proposition: The intercessory ministry o f the Holy Spirit is a perfect coun terpart on earth o f the intercessory ministry o f the Lord Jesus in heaven. The Spirit o f God is doing in us exactly what the Son o f God is doing for us. Take a statement from Romans 8:26 and add to it one from Romans 8:34, and this proposition becomes very apparent: “ The Spirit himself maketh intercession for us . . . . It is Christ . . . . who also maketh intercession for us” (R .V .). In his The Ministry o f the Spirit, A. J. Gordon throws together Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:26, 27, and Romans 8:34, and then adds, “ These passages, read together, clearly show the Spirit doing the same thing in us which Christ in heaven is doing for us.” There is a keynote to all true intercession : to get the ear of God, prayer must be in harmony with the will o f God. There is one Person in heaven who knows that will per fectly, and there is one Person on earth who knows it equally well. And this consideration contains the true in wardness o f a passage that is all too little understood. Matthew 18:19 says: “ If two o f you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them o f my Father which is in heaven.” By its deriva tion, that word “ agree” means “ to symphonize,” and that is a musical term. Two variant tones symphonize, or agree in sound, when each is in harmony with a third. This is somewhat different from the geometric law which says that two things equal to the same thing are equal to each other. In this case the two tones do not need to be equal; they only need to be in harmony with the same tone. This third tone is the keynote. If two other notes agree with the key note, they symphonize. N ow the keynote o f intercession is the will o f God. If two persons are inspired by the one Person who knows the will o f God to ask for any thing, that thing will be granted. O f this we may be absolutely certain. Now the Lord Jesus is making intercession for us ac cording to the will of God, and the Holy Spirit is making intercession in us according to the will o f God. These two always agree. It is our unspeakable privilege, therefore, to pray under the guidance o f the Holy Spirit. This truth brings us to the question of the qualifications of the inter- cessor.
the a b so lu te God, whom no man has ever seen, infinite, in telligent, personal, all- w i s e, all - powerful, everywhere present, eternal, and inex pressibly glorious. The Son is God manifest in the flesh in the per son o f Jesus Christ according to the rec ord o f the New Testa ment. The Spirit is the blessed Paraclete s e n t d o w n from heaven to indwell the disciples o f Christ and, through them, to carry on the work of Christ until “ we all come in the unity of the faith, and o f the knowledge of the Son o f God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure * Pastor, First Baptist Church.
There is a keynote to all true intercession: to' get the ear of God, prayer must be in harmony with the will of God . . . Two variant tones symphonize, or agree in sound, when each is in harmony with a third. This third tone is the keynote. If two other notes agree with the key note, they symphonize. Now the keynote of intercession is the will of God.
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