Picture
taken east of Aspen, Co., early fall, 2007
By What Spirit?
2/2/2008
"And
hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given
us." 1John 3:24
Jesus
promised to baptize those who believe on Him with the Holy Spirit. "I will
send you another Comforter..." He said. What are the attributes of this
Holy Spirit? Besides all the attributes that apply to the Godhead, Scripture
assigns these to Him:
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of adoption. He assures us that we are the
children of God: reject any word that would cast doubt upon this.
He is the Spirit of holiness: We are sanctified by the offering of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all: it is the Spirit that separates us unto God and unto
holiness of life.
He is the Spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind. The Holy Spirit works
effectively in us to love God and our neighbor and to think clearly in terms of
God’s revelation.
He is the Spirit of Christ and the Father: The work of the Trinity is One and
never in contradiction to the work of the Father and the Son. He calls those
predestined by the Father and redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the Spirit who inspired the prophets and gave us the Holy Scriptures. Holy men of old spake as they were moved
by the Holy Spirit. It is impossible that the Holy Spirit’s work in the
believer would be in conflict with the Scriptures. He is the Spirit of power,
love, and soundness of mind. He brings order into our lives, families, and
churches just as He did in Creation, moving upon the faces of the waters.
He is the same Spirit who works in all the people of God. There is one Lord,
one faith, one baptism. He is not the spirit that works in the disobedient, the
rebellious, the disorderly, and the ignorant. His works are longsuffering,
temperance, patience, mercy, grace, and peace. The Lord’s people hear in the
Spirit the voice of the Good Shepherd and will not follow another voice.
What Spirit moves you?
