(3) Spirit of truth will complete it
It is obvious to every reader of the Bible that
the doctrine of the Holy Spirit follows, in common with every other
doctrine, the law of progressive development. In Scripture nothing is
completely told at once. "First the blade, then the ear; after that the
full corn in the ear," is ever the divine method of revelation. If we
seek for the natural divisions in this progressive unfolding of the truth
concerning the Spirit, we shall find them so broadly marked of as to be
unmistakable. These divisions are:
1. The Holy Spirit before the Incarnation of
Christ.
2. The Holy Spirit in relation to the Person and
ministry of Christ from the Incarnation to Pentecost.
3. The Holy Spirit from Pentecost to the opening
of the door to the Gentiles.
4. The Holy Spirit in His present offices and
relationships as defined in the Epistles.
5. The Holy Spirit (prophetically) in the future
kingdom age.
The purpose of this Paper is briefly to sketch the
development of the doctrine in the first four aspects of its fivefold
order, and to note the distinctions which may save us from confusion of
thought.
First: the Holy Spirit
before the Incarnation.
In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit is revealed,
as we have seen in the preceding Paper, as a divine Person. As such He is
associated in the work of creation
(Genesis 1:2;
Job 26:13,
Job 27:3
Job 33:4,
Psalm 104:30);
strives with sinful man
(Genesis 6:3);
enlightens the spirit of man
(Job 32:8;
Proverbs 20:27);
gives skill of hand
(Exodus 31:2-5);
bestows physical strength
(Judges 14:6);
and qualifies the servants of God for a various ministry
(Exodus 28:3;
Exodus 35:21,31;
Numbers 11:25-29;
Judges 11:29-31;
1 Samuel 16:14;
2 Samuel 23:2).
To this should be added that operation of the Spirit
by which the men of faith in the Old Testament ages were regenerated. While
this doctrine is not explicitly taught in the Old Testament (except
prophetically), our Lord's words in
John 3:5, and
Luke 13:28,
leave no doubt as to the fact
itself. Since the new birth is essential to seeing and entering the
kingdom of God, and since the Old Testament saints are in that kingdom, it
follows necessarily that they were born of the Spirit. But, since that was
the period of nonage, as Paul explains, (Galatians 3-Galatians 4), they had
not the indwelling Spirit of sonship. They were minors, "under tutors and
governors."
It should be remembered, also, that to the Old
Testament saint no way was revealed by which he might receive the Holy
Spirit. He sent His Spirit upon whosoever He would. That the Spirit came
upon an individual did not by any means prove him to be in salvation. Even
a sincere believer had no assurance that the Spirit might not forsake him;
(Psalm 51:11)
whereas the believer of this
dispensation has an express promise of the abiding of the Spirit.
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Secondly: The Holy Spirit in relation to the Person
and ministry of Christ from His conception to Pentecost.
The Four Gospels present the Spirit in connection
with the person and ministry of Christ. Our Lord is conceived by the Holy
Spirit, filled with the Holy Spirit, baptized, and led by Him. In His
power Christ casts out demons, and performs His astonishing works.
luke 1:15,
luke 1:35,
luke 3:21,22,
luke 4:1,
luke 4:18,21,
Matthew 12:28.
He is pointed out by John as the Baptizer with
the Holy Ghost, and this testimony Christ confirms in His last discourse.
Matthew 3:11,
Acts 1:4-5.
Furthermore, our Lord taught His personal
disciples how they, too, might have the Spirit. "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?"
Luke 11:13.
So familiar are we with this passage that we
little think with what astonishment our Lord's words must have fallen
upon the ears of His disciples. Doubtless they were acquainted with the
prophecy of Joel*, but what pointed to a
sovereign act of God wholly without reference to prayer or any other
human condition. Up to that time as we have seen, no means had been made
known by the use of which any and every man of faith might obtain the
Spirit. In Old Testament times the Spirit came upon some men as God's
service required, but these cases were rare, occasional and exceptional.
All was purely within the sovereign will of God. But now to the whole body
of disciples came the astonishing statement that any one of them, simply
by asking, might receive the Spirit! The privilege was too great for their
faith. Not only is there not the smallest evidence that any of those
disciples asked and obtained that the gift of the Spirit, but there is the
most conclusive evidence that none of them did so ask and obtain.
At the close of His earth-ministry our Lord
defined the person, relationships and offices of the coming
Spirit.
(1) Since they had not prayed
the Father for the Spirit, He would. "I will pray the Father, and he
shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever."
John 14:16.
"But when the Comforter is come,
whom I will send unto you from the Father," "but if I depart, I will send
him unto you."
John 15:26,
John 16:7.
(2) The coming One should stand
related to believers in a threefold way. "He dwelleth with you, and
shall be in you."
John 14:17.
"Behold I send the promise of my Father upon you."
Luke 24:49.
The coming One should be "with" men, convicting,
converting, regenerating; "within" men, as a fountain of living water,
cleansing, renewing, satisfying; "upon" men, bestowing gifts and power for
service. He should be Comforter, Guide, Teacher, Revealer.
(3) Himself leaving the body of
revealed truth incomplete, Christ promised that the Spirit of truth should
complete it.
John 16:13.
Then He went to the cross.
Beginning, on the very day of His resurrection, His
new ministry, He fulfilled, for his disciples, the promise, "He shall be
in you."
John 14:17,
John 20:22.
On the evening of His resurrection, our Lord "breathed on
them, and saith unto them, receive ye the Holy Ghost." They had not, then,
already received Him. Nor, let it be observed, did they then receive Him
by claiming the promise, "much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the
Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Luke 11:13.
Christ shewing His hands and His side, the proof that redemption was fully
accomplished, as "first-fruits"
Romans 8:23 and "seal"
Ephesians 1:13
of that redemption,
imparted the indwelling Spirit to the men who believed on Him. It was their
privilage, as believers, now that the blood of atonement had been shed,
without other condition, to receive the Spirit. He was the "earnest of
their inheritance."
Ephesians 1:14.
Absolutely the only condition in them was faith on the Lord Jesus
Christ. That impartation of the Spirit as indwelling the believer simply
and only because he was a believer, marked the tremendous transition from
the age of law to the age of Grace.
But there was yet another relationship of the
Spirit, the baptism, or the "upon" relationship, for which these disciples
who had received the Spirit as indwelling, were commanded to wait. "Behold
I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of
Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."
Luke 24:49.
"For John truly baptized with water;
but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. But ye
shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
Acts 1:5,8.
Then he was parted from them; and the "tarrying"
began.
* For clarification these
are the verses referred to:
Joel 2:28,29
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