"Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you."
JESUS said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom
of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which
is born of the Spirit is spirit." And Paul wrote to the Romans
that, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of
His."
So it must be that every child of God, every truly converted
person, has the Holy Spirit in some gracious manner and measure,
else he would not be a child of God; for it is only "as many as
are led by the Spirit of God" that "are the sons of God."
It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin, who makes us feel
how good and righteous, and just and patient God is, and how
guilty we are, and how unfit for Heaven, and how near to Hell. It
is the Holy Spirit who leads us to true repentance and confession
and amendment of life; and when our repentance is complete, and
our surrender is unconditional, it is He who reasons with us, and
calms our fears, and soothes our troubled hearts, and banishes
our darkness, and enables us to look to Jesus, and believe on Him
for the forgiveness of all our sins and the salvation of our
souls. And when we yield and trust, and are accepted of the Lord,
and are saved by grace, it is He who assures us of the Father's
favour, and notifies us that we are saved. "The Spirit Himself
beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God."
He is "the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."
"And His that gentle voice we hear,
Soft as the breath of even;
That checks each thought, that calms each fear,
And speaks of Heaven."
It is He who strengthens the new convert
to fight against and overcome sin, and it is
He who "begets within him a hope of fuller
righteousness through faith in Christ."
"And every virtue we possess,
And every victory won,
And every thought of holiness,
Are His alone."
Blessed be God for this work of the Holy Spirit within the heart
of every true child of His!
But, great and gracious as is this work, it is not the fiery
pentecostal baptism with the Spirit which is promised; it is not
the fullness of the Holy Ghost to which we are exhorted. It is
only the clear dawn of the day, and not the rising of the day-star.
This is only the initial work of the Spirit. It is perfect of
its kind, but it is preparatory to another and fuller work,
about which I wish to write.
Jesus said to His disciples, concerning the Holy Spirit, that
"the world" (the unsaved, unrepentant) "cannot receive" Him,
"because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him"; because they
resist Him, and will not permit Him to work in their hearts. And
then Jesus added, "but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you...."
He had begun His work in them, but there was more to follow, for
Jesus said, "and shall be in you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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