The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit — John Shaqi
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 Holy Spirit is called _the Spirit of His Son_ in Gal. iv. 6, “And
because ye are sons, God hath sent forth _the Spirit of His Son_ into your
hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” We see from the context (vs. 4, 5) that
this name is given to the Holy Spirit in special connection with His
testifying to the sonship of the believer. It is “_the Spirit of His Son_”
who testifies to our sonship. The thought is that the Holy Spirit is a
filial Spirit, a Spirit who produces a sense of sonship in us. If we
receive the Holy Spirit, we no longer think of God as if we were serving
under constraint and bondage but we are sons living in joyous liberty. We
do not fear God, we trust Him and rejoice in Him. When we receive the Holy
Spirit, we do not receive a Spirit of bondage again to fear but a Spirit
of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father (Rom. viii. 15). This name of the
Holy Spirit is one of the most suggestive of all. We do well to ponder it
long until we realize the glad fullness of its significance. We shall take
it up again when we come to study the work of the Holy Spirit.
X. _The Holy Spirit._
This name is of very frequent occurrence, and the name with which most of
us are most familiar. One of the most familiar passages in which the name
is used is Luke xi. 13, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give
_the Holy Spirit_ to them that ask Him?” This name emphasizes the
essential moral character of the Spirit. He is _holy_ in Himself. We are
so familiar with the name that we neglect to weigh its significance. Oh,
if we only realized more deeply and constantly that He is the _Holy_
Spirit. We would do well if we, as the seraphim in Isaiah’s vision, would
bow in His presence and cry, “Holy, holy, holy.” Yet how thoughtlessly
oftentimes we talk about Him and pray for Him. We pray for Him to come
into our churches and into our hearts but what would He find if He should
come there? Would He not find much that would be painful and agonizing to
Him? What would we think if vile women from the lowest den of iniquity in
a great city should go to the purest woman in the city and invite her to
come and live with them in their disgusting vileness with no intention of
changing their evil ways. But that would not be as shocking as for you and
me to ask the Holy Spirit to come and dwell in our hearts when we have no
thought of giving up our impurity, or our selfishness, or our worldliness,
or our sin. It would not be as shocking as it is for us to invite the Holy
Spirit to come into our churches when they are full of worldliness and
selfishness and contention and envy and pride, and all that is unholy. But
if the denizens of the lowest and vilest den of infamy should go to the
purest and most Christlike woman asking her to go and dwell with them with
the intention of putting away everything that was vile and evil and giving
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