Wed, Jan 23rd - 9:15PM

THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

"And I will pray to the Father and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may remain with you for ever;

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world can't receive, because it does not see Him, neither knows Him: but you know Him; for He dwells with you, and shall be in you (John 14:16-17)."

   Here Jesus Christ informs us that when He returned to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father we would not be left all alone in this hostile world ruled by Satan.  He declared that He would send another Comforter, even the Spirit of truth.  It is the Greek word parakletos, "one called alongside to help." that is then translated as "advocate" in I John 2:1.  Christ is our paraclete with the Father when we sin; the Holy Spirit is our indwelling paraclete to help our ignorance and infirmity, and to make intercession on our behalf (Romans 8:26-27). 

   We also see here that those who do not believe in Christ can't receive this Comforter because they do not see God nor know God.  They are blind and deaf spiritually.  Hardened hearts and stiffened necks prevent unbelievers from coming to know Christ Jesus.  As long as they remain in this condition they can't comprehend the power of God working in the lives of those who believe in Christ. 

"Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

Then Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:37-38)."

   These two verses are part of Peter's Pentecost sermon after the Holy Spirit had descended upon all who were present in that room.  Peter had preached to this gathering of men outside in the streets.  He had reviewed for them Jesus being Lord and Christ, Joel's prophesy having been fulfilled, the works of Jesus proving that He is Lord and Christ, king David's foretelling of the Messiah's kingship after His resurrection, the resurrection proving that Jesus is Lord and Christ, and finally summing up for them what they must do in response to these things having been revealed to them.  They asked openly what they could do.  Peter informed them that upon repenting of their unbelief/sin they would be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and would then receive the promised gift of the Holy Spirit.  God promises to give to each believer in Him the indwelling Spirit.  God's Spirit will come and reside within your heart.  The Spirit of truth will become your personal Advocate, defending you against the false accusations of Satan.  He will intercede on your behalf, presenting those requests that you can't even put into words to God the Father in heaven.  When you are in agony, suffering emotionally and mentally the Spirit will be right there groaning along with you, even as He provides you with power to endure the suffering.  The Holy Spirit is also able to teach you the truths found in the Bible, providing you with understanding.  He is also able to retrieve from within your memory scriptures that you have read often and have memorized, so that they can be shared with others at times of sudden need.  How important is it to understand these truths presented to us here?  Well, back then three thousand people repented of their sin and accepted Jesus Christ into their hearts and were subsequently baptized in His precious name.  I'd say it is extremely impotant to understand these things.

"Then Peter and the other apostles answerred and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.  The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a tree.

Him has God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.  And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is

also the Holy Ghost, whom God has given to them that obey Him (Acts 5:29-32)."

   The apostles all responded to the second persecution of believers by the high priest of the Sanhedrin by declaring unequivocably that believers were to obey God rather than any man on earth.  This truth remains valid today, beloved.  We are to obey God rather than men.  When people tell us to do things which run counter to what God has already commanded of us, then we have no choice but to obey God.  Whatever the consequences may turn out to be, we are to remain faithful and obedient to God in everything.  So, who is able to have the Holy Spirit abide with them?  Those who obey God rather than men.  I must repent of my sins, accept Jesus Christ, and remain obedient to God in order to have God's Holy Spirit abide in me always.  That is rather logical in nature.  If I refuse to obey God, refuse to believe in Him, refuse to accept Jesus Christ, and refuse to admit that I have sins or that sin even exists, then God's Holy Spirit of truth will not come to dwell within me.  The door is firmly closed, I remain living in spiritual darkness and can't comprehend what the Bible is actually all about.

   That is all for today my friends.  Grace and peace be with you all.  Drive carefully in those areas where snow is falling heavily.  Grace and peace be with you.

~Eric

Tue, Jan 8th - 8:21PM

THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

"You gave also Your good Spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold Your manna from them , and gave them water to quench their thirst (Nehemiah 9:20)."

   God's Holy Spirit is given to mankind to instruct us.  If we truly thirst to gain knowledge of God we can quench our thirst by learning from the Holy Spirit.  He is the Spirit of Truth. 

"You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive: You have received gifts for men; yes, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them (Psalm 68:18)."

   This verse reflects the giving of the Holy Spirit as part of the exaltation of Christ Jesus.  The Holy Spirit of God could not come to dwell within men and women until after the Messiah had come and redeemed people.  How could the Holy come and live within that which was unholy?  It could not.  Thus that which was unholy must first be made holy through the action of Christ Jesus so that then His Holy Spirit could come to be within them.  Christ must first be engrafted into a person before His Spirit may come to fill that person. 

"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, If any man thirst, let him come to Me, and drink.  He that believes on Me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this He spoke of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37-39))."

   Here we are taught that upon believing on Jesus Christ we will be filled with the living water, the Holy Spirit.  As is stated, the disciples had not yet received the Holy Spirit for Christ had not yet been glorified through His crucifixion and subsequent resurrection back to life.  A person must desire the Holy Spirit in order to be filled with Him.  One must be born again spiritually.  One must have repented of their sin.  One must have begun the process of spiritual transformation.  The Holy Spirit is to be our instructor, our teacher, as well as our Supplier of strength and nourishment.  To remain distant and separate from the Holy Spirit today is to be estranged from God and unable to be an effective Christian.

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him (Luke 11:13)?"

   I am here once again in Luke.  If we all know how to give good things to our children, how much more will God give of us His Holy Spirit if we would just ask Him to?  That is the thing though.  We must ask Him.  We must go to Him and tell Him that we desire this.  He knows we need His Holy Spirit, He simply wants us to become used to asking Him for what we need.  Remember back in school?  The teacher always asked if anyone had any questions on the homework assignment?  How many hands would go up?  I can remember sitting there and not putting my hand up for fear of others snickering at my ignorance.  How many others sat there in silence, afraid to ask?  How many of us remain afraid to ask for help today?  Too many quite frankly.  We all need to go before God and ask Him for help, for knowledge, for wisdom, for mercy, for grace, for love, for patience, etc.

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love to all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our LORD Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Ephesians 1:15-17):"

   The apostle Paul prayed for others that they would be given the Holy Spirit.  It was something that was with him at all times.  Those whose faith was made known to him from afar became part of his daily prayers.  Paul would ask God to provide them with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.  I ask God to provide all of you with this exact same Spirit of God.  I must also point out here that if we read verses 13-14 of Ephesians chapter one, then we learn that the Holy Spirit is that of promise.  God stated that He would send a Comforter to be with us always.  The Word of truth spoke this to us, which is the gospel of our salvation.  It states that we were "sealed" with the Holy Spirit of promise.  What token do I have that I am saved, that I have an inheritance waiting for me in heaven?  My earnest is the Holy Spirit Who has sealed me forever.  Why is this necessary?  Because I have become a purchased possession of Jesus Christ.  He paid the blood sacrifice to purchase me from sin.  I am sealed by His Spirit until the day when He redeems me, which will be when He calls me home with the trumpet.  Another paradox?  Sure.  I am saved now.  I am sealed with the Holy Spirit now.  I am the purchased possession of Christ now.  But the full, completed redemption is still a future event.  I am not perfect today, I am still a work in progress.  Corruption continues to wage battle daily in my body with my spiritual nature in Christ.  I am forced to "weed" my spiritual garden each and every day to keep sin out of my new "crops."  This will not stop until either He returns again to take me home, or else I physically die. 

   I will continue this study next time by looking at the gift of the Spirit through the intercession of Christ, for the comforting of saints, and given to those who repent and believe.  Grace and peace be yours this day! 

~Eric

Tue, Jan 1st - 10:00AM

THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him (Luke 11:13)?"

   I begin a new study aimed at the Holy Spirit of God.  Beginning in Luke we see that our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, if we ask Him.  He is a gift from God to us as believers in Christ Jesus.  Looking back to the Old Testament it can be found that God "gave" His Spirit to certain people for certain times.  "You gave also Your good Spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold Your manna from their mouths, and gave them water when they were thirsty (Nehemiah 9:20)."  In the Old Testament God gave of His Spirit broadly to His people.  The Hebrews understood this on a cultural level, a national level.  But now, the Messiah came and instructed them that the gift of the Holy Spirit was an individual promise from God.  It was a new and obviously staggering thing to an orthodox Jew that, in advance of the fulfillment of Joel 2:28-29, all might receive the Spirit.  Mary of Bethany alone of the disciples understood Christ Jesus' repeated declaration concerning His own imminent death and resurrection(John 12:3-7).  Outside of Mary, only Peter in his great confession (Matthew 16:16) showed a spark of spiritual intelligence until after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the subsequent giving of the Holy Spirit.  To remain waiting for the promise of Luke 11:13 is to completely ignore Pentecost and to ignore the truth that every believer has the indwelling Spirit.  I shall cover these points as we proceed in this study.

"For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God: for God does not give the Spirit by measure to Him.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand (John 3:34-35)."

   God did not give part of His Holy Spirit to Jesus, He gave Him everything.  The Father gifted the Son with all that He has.  The Son gifts the believer with all that He has.  The Son asked the Father, and He received.  It is up to the believer to ask the Son for everything in order to receive it. "You have not because you ask not!"  Those words ring in my ears and force me to asknowledge the hard fact that I fail to ask God frequently enough for what I lack.  I could also drift off along a completely different tangent from these verses to study out how Jesus Christ must be God in the flesh since the Father gave the Son ALL things that He had.  But, I will not.

"And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the Holy Ghost: Whose sins you remit, they are remitted to them; and whose sins you retain, they are retained (John 20:22-23)."

   "Remit" means to release from; to send back; to submit to another person or authority.  These two words, "remit" and "retain" cause much discussion and debate among people all over the world.  I believe the Catholics take this to mean that their priesthood has the ability, and authority, to forgive sins of others.  I am unsure that these two verses instruct us of that.  It would appear that Jesus enabled all of the disciples here to judge the sins of others.  They did not receive authority to pass sentence, or execute judgment, simply to judge others' sins.  It is not within the realm of my study here to delve into what it truly being taught.  I merely point this out to you.  What I do want to point out more forcefully to you is that Jesus gave them some measure of His Holy Spirit at this time by breathing upon them.  Full measure was not to be received until the Day of Pentecost some days away.

   This gets us underway, gives us a starting point in considering the Holy Spirit of God as a gift given to believers in Jesus Christ.  A new year has begun today, a new bible study begins as well.  My resolution this year is to go into more studies and to do so as deeply as possible.  I hope and pray that none of you become lost along the way.  May this day be a delight to you and your family!  It is the day that our Lord has made, so let us be glad and rejoice in it! 

~Eric