In our last point we said that the Holy Spirit works to regenerate the soul of the sinner. Christ, after being put to death was also quickened or made alive again by the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” So, the soul of the sinner, through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit is brought to life.
Now learn that He Abides in Us; John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” We are made alive; Romans 8:10 , “And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness.” We are given hope of the future; Romans 15:13, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” We are given inner joy and peace; Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
The Holy Spirit Teaches the Child of God; John 14:26 “But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 16:13 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
Truth is an absolute that has never changed because it cannot change. Were the apostles the only ones who were taught all things, or led into all truth? As for the apostles: they were led into all truth necessary both for themselves and to instruct churches though they were not infallible in all their works. The fact is, every believer is led into all truth necessary for his or her own happiness and service. Nevertheless, we are responsible to search the Scriptures that we may know how to serve and how to live; we must fill our own brains with the knowledge of God. Some know a lot, others know some, but most know little of what the word of God really teaches for their lives.
He Testifies of Christ; John 15:26, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:” The emphases of the Lord’s churches should not be on the Holy Spirit, but on Christ the head of the church. 1 John 5:6, “This is he that came by water and blood, [even] Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.” I think this passage has nothing to do with baptism. In the physical, He came forth by the birth water as all do; He came into the world as a man and as a man had blood running through His veins; albeit not the same as human blood. In the spiritual, the Lord came as the sacrifice to make an atonement for the sins of His people, fulfilling the ceremonial law, both in the offering and in the Priest in Himself. 1 John 5:7-8, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” Read, read, read; study, study, study. E-mail, johnpruitt@frontiernet.net
The Preeminence of Christ In the Work of the Holy Spirit (cont.)
