I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which pro ceeded! from the Father, he shall testify of (or concerning) me.” From these words a primary responsibility of the Holy Spirit may be learned. Consider several of the means by which He has been and is accomplishing this task. (1) His activity in connection with the Written Word. The Bible, as it has come to us, must be attributed to some one Other than a human being, be cause of the many indisputable proofs of a supernatural origin. With this conclusion agrees the testimony of itself. “ For no prophecy ever came by the will of man; but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit” II Peter 1:21 (A. S. V.). This verse involves a comparison with a ship’s being borne along to its destination by the wind. In a like manner the writers of Scripture were empowered for their task by this Divine Person. In the light of the Spirit’s respon sibility in relation to the person of Christ, it is not surprising to find that the central theme of the whole Bible is the person and work of the Lord Je sus. No matter to what page in the Bible one may turn, he will find the truth that “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:7). This feature of the Holy Word of God is the result of the activ ity of the Holy Spirit of God. (2) His activity in connection with the Incarnate Word. The Holy Spirit was the agent of the conception of Je sus of Nazareth, the Incarnate Word of God. The child Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment of conception. At the baptism of Jesus a new phase of the Spirit’s ministry to Him was begun. From this point forward the Lord’s ministry was char acterized by preaching and the per formance of miracles through the pow er of the Spirit. It is easily seen from these observa tions that the Holy Spirit played a vi tal role in the preparation of the spot less Lamb of God who was to take away the sin of the world.
(3) His activity in the unsaved world. The Spirit’s interest in testifying of Christ is nowhere more in evidence than in His ministry in the midst of unsaved humanity. Jesus Christ Him self predicted this particular activity before His crucifixion and before the coming of the Spirit: “When he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judg ment” (John 16:8). His reproving or convicting ministry relates to a per son’s failure to believe in Christ, his lack of righteousness which can only be remedied through the imputed righteousness of Christ, and his pre carious position because of the judg ment which is to come upon all sin ners, which judgment has already fal len on Satan, the originator of sin. This is the activity through which men come to realize their own inad equacy to satisfy the righteous de mands of God. The Spirit of God points them to Jesus who is the only one who is able to provide deliverance. (4) His activity in the saved world. The Holy Spirit initiates a number of new ministries in the life of the new Christian. He brings this individual into the family of God by regenera tion or the new birth. The saved per son becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus, and a partaker of the divine nature. Another part of the Spirit’s work, which is vital to the Christian, is His ministry in indwelling every single child of God. The believer in Christ is “the temple of the Holy Spirit” (I Cor. 6:19), and is expected to conduct him self in the holy manner which is con sistent with this fact. When he does so, the Spirit is free to control his life, and empower him for effective service. James writes, “The Spirit whom he made to dwell in us longs over us jealously” (Greek text of James 4:5). The Spirit has taken up His residence in the individual, and is now making demands upon the person’s complete devotion. The question is, What will be our response to the claims of the Holy Spirit upon our beings? 19
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