The Person and Work of The Holy SpiritTorrey, R. A. (Reuben Archer)
Religion
The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit
Torrey, R. A. (Reuben Archer)
Holy Spirit
The subordination of the Spirit to the Son comes out again in the clearly
revealed fact that it is the work of the Holy Spirit not to glorify
Himself but to glorify Christ. Jesus says in John xvi. 14, “He shall
glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you.” In
a similar way, Christ sought not His own glory, but the glory of Him that
sent Him, that is the Father (John vii. 18).
From all these passages, it is evident that the Holy Spirit in His present
work, while possessed of all the attributes of Deity, is subordinated to
the Father and to the Son. On the other hand, we shall see later that in
His earthly life, Jesus lived and taught and worked in the power of the
Holy Spirit.
CHAPTER V. THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AS REVEALED IN HIS
NAMES.
At least twenty-five different names are used in the Old and New
Testaments in speaking of the Holy Spirit. There is the deepest
significance in these names. By the careful study of them, we find a
wonderful revelation of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit.
I. _The Spirit._
The simplest name by which the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Bible is
that which stands at the head of this paragraph—“_The Spirit_.” This name
is also used as the basis of other names, so we begin our study with this.
The Greek and Hebrew words so translated mean literally, “Breath” or
“Wind.” Both thoughts are in the name as applied to the Holy Spirit.
1. The thought of breath is brought out in John xx. 22 where we read, “And
when He had said this, _He breathed on them_, and saith unto them, Receive
ye the Holy Ghost.” It is also suggested in Gen. ii. 7, “And the LORD God
formed man of the dust of the ground, and _breathed_ into his nostrils the
breath of life; and man became a living soul.” This becomes more evident
when we compare with this Ps. civ. 30, “Thou sendest forth _Thy Spirit_,
they are created: and Thou renewest the face of the earth.” And Job
xxxiii. 4, “_The Spirit of God hath made me_, and _the breath_ of the
Almighty hath given me life.” What is the significance of this name from
the standpoint of these passages? It is that the Spirit is the
outbreathing of God, His inmost life going forth in a personal form to
quicken. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive the inmost life of
God Himself to dwell in a personal way in us. When we really grasp this
thought, it is overwhelming in its solemnity. Just stop and think what it
means to have the inmost life of that infinite and eternal Being whom we
call God, dwelling in a personal way in you. How solemn and how awful and
yet unspeakably glorious life becomes when we realize this.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account