A l t h o u g h the ministries of the Holy Spirit are varied, none of them can be ignored or neglected without the possibility of falling into serious error, the loss of spiritual blessing and power, and a life of fruitless service. Certain operations of the Spirit on behalf of believers are of inestimable importance, and need to be carefully presented and understood for proper cooperation with Him for a life of joy and service. The ministries co be treated here are the leading, teaching, and filling of the Spirit. THE LEADING OF THE SPIRIT Because all men have inherited a fallen nature from Adam, it is not native to them to know and discern the will of God. I t should be man’s highest desire to follow the plan of his Creator. It is even more to be expected that man, once he has been redeemed by the work of Christ and regenerated through the work of the Holy Spirit, would be able to follow the will of his Father. But the Word of God and experience reveal how far short man falls in these matters. It was Jeremiah (10:23) who voiced his concern in prayer regarding his need: “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” Such is the condition of fallen men, whether saved or un saved. God has not endowed man with certain poten tials, so that he can without the enablement of the Lord direct his life. The saints of the Old Testament repeatedly made known their heart longing to foe guided of God. Among numerous passages one may be chosen from the prayers of David (Psa. 31:3 ASV): “For thou art my rock
Dr. Femberg, in his study, goes over manuscripts. and my fortress; Therefore for thy name’s sake lead me and guide me.” Moreover, the path of blessing was made known also. Solomon exhorted the godly: “Trust in Jeho vah with all thy heart, And lean not upon thine own understanding: In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he will direct thy paths” (Prov. 3:5, 6 ASV). With the added revelation of the New Testament and the clearer light in which the ministries of the Spirit are cast, the believer may now view the leading of the Spirit in its several facets and phases. First, he is in structed that the infinite Son of God relied on the leading of the Spirit. Matthew 4:1 reads: “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit .into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.” The historian Luke is explicit that it was the lead ing of the Spirit which inaugurated the great missionary (continued on next page)
by Charles Lee Feinberg, Th.D., Ph.D. Dean, Talbot Theological Seminary
AUGUST, 1963
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