January 1931
7
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
The Work of the Holy Spirit and Our Work B y R oy T almage B rumbaugh * (Tacoma, Wash.)
“When he is come” (John 16:8). Literally, “And he having come.” ISTEN to Christ! Our Lord is speaking about the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. In the previous verse, •Christ tells the disciples that it is profitable for them that He' go away! They undoubtedly did not think so. He was their shepherd. Surely the sheep would be scattered if He were smitten. He was their leader. How could they continue their work without the presence arid inspiration of the Christ of God? However, if Christ
the sweet singer of Israel because the Holy Spirit came upon him. The prophets wrote concerning things to come because -the-Holy Spirit fell upon them. Now the Holy Spirit lives in all of us who believe. Before we moved into our present home, the family visited this house a number of times. We stayed a little while and then'departed. But moving day finally arrived. We now live here. In the same way, the Holy Spirit vis ited certain persons in the old dispensation; but at Pente cost He came to live in the church and to abide forever in the heart of every true believer. A P ersonality The Holy Spirit
had not gone, the Spirit would not be living in and work ing th rough all Christians a t a l l times. If Christ were still in the flesh, He would be limited by time and space. If He were preaching in Palestine, the peo ple o f A me r i c a would not have the joy of looking into His sweet face and of hearing His won derful words. Therefore, it was profitable to Chris tians that Christ go away. If He had not gone the way of the cross, we would
is not an ecstatic light, nor a vision beatific, nor a beau tiful dream, nor an apparition, nor an in fluence, nor an im personal power, but He is a person. “And he-’H I § l B l a s p h e m y against t h e Holy Spirit is the unpar donable sin. I read of a dinner given by a Press As sociation in London. It was the centenary of Thomas Huxley, the irifidel scientist, and the beginning of
still be in our sins. If He had not ascended on high, the Spirit would not have come. Thanks be unto God for the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, and for the descent of the Holy Spirit. H ere B efore “And he having come.” The Spirit, of course, was in the world before this. He was present in creation. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” God the Father was the architect, God the Son was the builder, and God the Holy Spirit was the decorator. The first heavens and the first earth became waste and empty, and “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” . ;. So, too, the Holy Spirit came upon men in the Old Testament age. Samson was weak in himself; but, when the Holy Spirit came upon him, he put to flight the armies of the aliens. He killed more of the uncircumcised in his death than in his life. In the wilderness, the Jews were about to build a tabernacle according to the pattern given to Moses on the mountain. The Spirit of God came upon the artisans, giving them skill to construct the building according to the divine instructions. David was * Pastor, First Presbyterian Church.
a campaign against Christianity and the church. The speaker of the evening bitterly denounced Christianity and Christian miriisters in particular. He made a joke of the statement that the light of the Holy Spirit had directed the church for nineteen centuries. He said that that light probably had the same effect upon the church that the light Paul saw on the way to Damascus had upon the apostle. It dazed him, the speaker declared, and Paul re mained dazed the rest of his life. His hearers laughed at this (alleged) witty remark. They applauded and proposed a toast in the speaker’s honor. Then the speaker suddenly collapsed. Laughter and cheers were replaced by silence, broken only by the strangled breathing of the speaker. He died before help could reach him. This may have been a mere coincidence, but it is also a warning. The Holy Spirit is a person. Do we recognize Him as living in us? We receive visitors into our homes hos pitably. Have we thus welcomed the Holy Spirit? C onviction The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. Having come into the world, He works. Christ said: “He will reprove the world of sin.” “Reprove” is translated elsewhere “con vince,” “convict.” It means to present evidence so over whelming that denial is impossible. The Spirit presents
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