word for guest. This is exactly Who He is, the Holy Guest. He is one of the three Persons in the Godhead, all three of equal rank and dignity, possessing the essential attributes of Deity. He is the One Who enters the believing sinner's body to take up His residence. He will seek admittance to every heart unbidden, but He will not enter where He is not wanted. He comes as the Holy Guest, waiting for each individual to re ceive Him. But a present tragedy lies in the fact that even in the lives of Christians who have received Him, the Holy Spirit goes unrecognized. The shabby treat ment we sometimes render the Holy Guest in our hearts we would not inflict upon even unholy guests whom we invite into our homes. Some time ago a minister said that he believed the programs in many local evangelical churches could continue as they are now, even if the Holy Spirit did not exist. Whether that be exactly so or not, he has brought to light an existing condition of which many Christians are com pletely oblivious, namely, the neglect of the Holy Spirit. Like the twelve disciples at Ephesus, many in our churches must confess, “We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost” (Acts 19:2). Yet there are few subjects more important and more necessary to the Christian than the biblical subject of the Holy Spirit. Now there is not the remotest thought in my mind that I shall have much to say about the blessed Holy Spirit in this brief series of messages. No finite mind will ever run the gamut of scriptural truth on the sub ject of the Infinite. What I have done is to arrange eight texts, each containing a verb beginning with the letter “s,” to present eight steps in the Holy Spirit's ministry. “And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” (Gen. 6:3). Here we learn two lessons. The first is that the Holy Spirit does carry on a ministry of contention and conviction against sinful men. The second is that God will not indefinitely continue this ministry. These are MARCH, 1970
solemn thoughts. Let us consider them one at a time. Ever since the fall of our first parents in the Garden of Eden, God the Holy Spirit has been striv ing with the sinner against his sin. He is “Holy" as His name states, and therefore He is sensitive to sin. The dove is a well-known symbol of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:16, 17; Luke 3:22; John 1:32). Among the fowl family, the dove is known for its purity. Solomon, speaking of his bride, says, “My dove, my undefiled” (Song of Solomon 5:2). According to nat uralists, the dove is known for its cleanliness. It was one of the animals acceptable as a sacrifice to the Lord. The mother of Jesus, after the days of her puri fication, went to offer a sacrifice according to the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtle-doves” (Luke 2:24 cf. Lev. 12). When our Lord found men in the temple prostituting holy things for their own personal gain, He “overthrew the seats of them that sold doves” (Matt. 21:12; Mark 11:15). John records that the Lord Jesus spoke directly to them that sold doves (John 2:16). Thus the Holy Dove is sensitive to all uncleanness and righteousness and therefore He strives against it. The ministry of the Holy Spirit, in the antedilu vian world that was plunging to its doom, is seen in His striving with the sinful people of that day. He acted to throw restraint about their wickedness as they moved toward Divine judgment. As we shall see a little later on in our study, the Spirit’s striving against sin is sometimes resisted by the sinner, and therefore the conviction does not result in salvation. The instrumentalities used by the Holy Spirit to con vict of sin were the promise of the woman's seed (Gen. 3:15); the witness of death (Gen. 5); the faith ful preaching of Enoch (Jude 14, 15), and the preach ing of Noah (Heb. 11:7; II Peter 2:5). The first work of the Holy Spirit, which is effec tual for salvation, is the conviction of sin. Jesus said, “And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment” (John 16:8). Before a person can be regenerated, his heart must be prepared to receive salvation. This prepara- ii
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