“How Vast the Resources of His Power …” No. 4

THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

From the inception of the Restoration Movement we have been a people somewhat like those that Paul encountered in Ephesus who had “not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Spirit.” Whether it is because of the complex nature of the subject or the radical views held by some of our religious neighbors, we have throughout our history been reluctant to say much about the Holy Spirit. Our vocabulary has always allowed such expressions as “by God’s providence” or “according to the word of God,” but we have avoided such terminology as “the leading of the Spirit.”

Alexander Campbell certainly believed in the personality of the Holy Spirit, and yet his teaching on this subject was so coldly intellectual that he was understood to make the Spirit virtually equivalent to God. His insistence that “whatever the Word does in us the Spirit does”, laid the Campbellites open to the charge that they believed that the Holy Spirit is nothing more than the Bible itself. And when he affirmed in the debate with Rice that “the Spirit of God operates on persons only through the Word,” he further strengthened the misconception that he equated the Spirit with the Word.

Robert Richardson, Campbell’s physician and biographer as well as fellow editor and teacher, is the one man among our pioneers who was unequivocally committed to the significant role of the Spirit in the life of the Christian. He urged Campbell not to argue in the Rice debate that the Spirit works only through the Word, and he and Campbell had some editorial skirmishes over his enthusiastic concern for the Holy Spirit. Campbell chided his physician for being “addicted to metaphors” when he spoke of the Spirit, while the doctor suggested that the senior editor had the light of the word without the heat of the Spirit, which was nothing better than moonshine!

Richardson insisted that it is only through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that love, joy and peace can be cultivated. He believed that as a child of God grows in knowledge he should likewise grow in warmth of feeling and fervor of devotion. This comes by being poured full of the Spirit, or being baptized with the Spirit, which he believed is for every saint of God. He was convinced that it is only through the spiritual baptism that man can become one in Christ. Because of this he wrote more about the Spirit’s mission of enlightenment in the life of the Christian than any of our pioneers, and if his influence had obtained the disciples might have been known as “the people of the Spirit” as well as “the people of the Book.”

Being influenced as much as he was by Lockean empiricism, Campbell could hardly appreciate Richardson’s concern for heart-felt religion, and especially the doctor’s contention that feelings are even more important in religion than knowledge. And yet it is true that Campbell at various times said enough about the Spirit that it all added up to about the same thing that Richardson was saying, a fact that the doctor would not let him forget. For example, one question came to Campbell’s office that asked: “You speak of the Holy Spirit after baptism. Do you mean by the Holy Spirit what is commonly called the Holy Spirit; or do you mean a holy temper of mind effected by the mere word, by obedience to its requirements?”

That question came from Robert Semple, a longtime antagonist of the Campbell movement, and it reflects the prevailing attitude toward the Campbellite doctrine of the Spirit. But notice how Campbell replied to it:

It is hard to say what is commonly meant by “the Holy Spirit.” But I mean, that not merely a holy temper of mind, but that Holy Spirit which dwelt in Jesus, that Spirit of God which animates the body of Christ, that promised Spirit which dwells in the church of the living God. This is the spirit of holiness which is received in consequence of our union with Christ, after we have put on Christ in immersion. (Mill. Harb. 1, p. 357)

Whatever we might quote from our pioneers it is evident that throughout our history we have not been known as a Spirit-filled people and our teaching on the Holy Spirit has been largely negative. We have been so preoccupied with proving that the Spirit does not operate in some mysterious way in the conversion of the sinner that we have failed to appreciate the spiritual resources of power in our own lives.

It is significant that when the gospel was first proclaimed at Pentecost the Holy Spirit was declared “the great promise” for both Jews and Gentiles.

“Peter told them, ‘You must repent and everyone of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that you may have your sins forgiven and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For this great promise is for you and your children—yes, and for all who are far away, for as many as the Lord our God shall call to himself:” (Acts 2:38-39, Phillips)

It is clear here that the Holy Spirit is bestowed as a heavenly gift upon all repentant and baptized souls. The Spirit is Himself the gift, the great promise that God had long intended for both Jews and Gentiles, so that all men might come into communion with God through Christ. This is the work of the Spirit in the life of the Christian, to bring him into communion with God. “The guarantee of our living in him and his living in us is the share of his own Spirit which he gives us.” (l John 4:13)

That the Holy Spirit is Himself given to the believer is clearly stated in several passages:

“And we are witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to them that obey him:’ (Acts 5:32)

“God has also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts:’ (2 Cor. 1:21)

“God has given us his Holy Spirit.” (l Thess. 4:8)

“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?” (Lk. 11:13)

Paul also speaks of the Holy Spirit as “the promise,” pointing out the purpose of the promise:

“And after you gave your confidence to him you were, so to speak, stamped with the promised Holy Spirit as a guarantee of purchase, until the day when God completes the redemption of what he has paid for as His own; and that will again be to the praise of his glory:’ (Eph. 1:1314, Phillips)

By “the redemption of what he has paid as His own” the apostle is referring to the Christian himself, who has been purchased by the death of the Christ. As Phillips translates 1 Cor. 6:20: “You have been bought, and at what a price!”

Yes, we have indeed been purchased, and so we are not our own; but we have not yet been redeemed, at least not in the fullest sense. Thus Paul says in Rom. 8:23: “And it is plain, too, that we who have a foretaste of the Spirit are in a state of painful tension, while we wait for that redemption of our bodies which will mean that at last we have realized our full sonship in him.” (Phillips)

The gift of the Holy Spirit is thus related to “the day of redemption.” “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Eph. 4:30)

These verses tell us that our bodies have been purchased, but not redeemed, and that the Holy Spirit is given as an assurance or guarantee that redemption (receiving of an immortal body) will indeed come. So Paul says in 2 Cor. 1:22: “God has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

So we can see that there are important reasons for the gift of the Holy Spirit. And these reasons go beyond the fact that the Spirit serves as a down payment on eternal glory. While we can think of “the fortaste of the Spirit” in all its preciousness, there are other vital functions of the Spirit that have to do with the warp and woof of everyday life.

One of these functions is consolation. The Spirit, who dwells within the believer, is an ever-present helper in our weakness. Notice Rom. 8:26-27: “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

Surely we can believe that the apostle, who spoke of being “afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed,” found the strength to endure by the great resource of power that was his by the indwelling Spirit. The Spirit not only spoke to Paul, both encouraging him and instructing him; but He also spoke to the Father in behalf of the apostle. Paul, like ourselves, had that experience of not knowing how to pray as we ought. This may be the case all the time, since our efforts to communicate with the Ruler of the Universe can hardly be anything but weak, but it is certainly the case when we are burdened with grief and worry, when life’s problems stack up on us in such a way that all seems lost.

It seems too good to be true that there is a heavenly Guest who is our constant companion, dwelling within us, who knows the language of heaven and the angels, and who intercedes for us “on those agonizing longings which never find words.” What a thrill to think of the Comforter praying for us in a heavenly language that only God can understand. Phillips gives it this way: “And God who knows the heart’s secrets understands, of course, the Spirit’s intention as he prays for those who love God.”

This frees us from the superficial view that the Holy Spirit is some kind of hazy, mystical “it” that emanates from God in some fashion wholly unrelated to our busy lives. We see Him here as a heavenly Guest, living within us and praying for us in time of trouble, and helping us in our weakness.

The indwelling Spirit also serves to illumine our minds and inspire our imagination. The psalmists prayer, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law,” can mean much to us in Bible study as we yield ourselves to the guidance of the Spirit. In Eph. 1:15-18 the apostle refers to “spiritual wisdom and the insight to know more of him” and to the “inner illumination of the spirit.” It is not too much to say that our inner eyes (our mind or spirit) become enlightened by the Spirit’s influence. Otherwise spiritual wisdom would have little meaning. One might know many scriptures by memory and yet be void of inner illumination.

In this connection notice 1 Cor. 2:12: “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.” It is remarkable how Paul says we receive the Holy Spirit so that we might understand. He goes on to say in verse 14: “The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” Is this not plainly saying that if a man does not have the Holy Spirit as a helper he cannot understand the things of God?

Paul refers more than once to our “walking according to the Spirit,” and it may be a mistake for us to say this simply means to find out what the Bible says and do it. The churches to whom the apostle addressed such instruction did not have the New Testament scriptures as we have. But they did have the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which would be the “inner illumination” that might come in numerous ways: by the study of what few scriptures they did have, especially the Old Testament literature; but also by apostolic letters and instructions and their own conversations with each other, or simply by what we call intuition. As we pray for light some things might “come to us” intuitively. It might be in poetry (see Acts 17:28) or in the reading of history that the Spirit would speak to us, or He might speak to us through a friend or even an enemy, or perhaps in nature. David found such inspiration as he watched the stars (Psalms 8).

If we do enjoy the Spirit as a heavenly Guest within us, and if we walk by Him and are led by Him, we are indeed the sons of God, and we wear the family likeness. The Spirit thus bears fruit in our lives, dwelling within us as He does. Paul lists these in Gal. 5:33 as being “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self -control.” These are not our works but the Spirit’s fruit. As we become Spirit-filled and Spirit-led, and as we “pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph, 6:18) the harvest of love, joy and peace are as natural as it is for a fig tree to yield figs.

Beyond this we could speak of special gifts of the Spirit, which would include the gifts of wisdom, healing, working of miracles, tongues, and other things mentioned in 1 Cor. 12 and elsewhere, which have certainly had an important function in the life of the church, and may still have. But we will not pursue this part of the subject any further in this study, except to emphasize that we consider these gifts as special gifts for particular purposes, while the gift of the Spirit Himself is for all Christians.

The blessed Lord has therefore fulfilled His promise to the disciples: “I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you.” (John 14:18) He has come to us in the Holy Spirit. And so Paul could say: “The Lord is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:17)

We must not therefore behave as if we were alone in this world. He is with us. He dwells within us and we dwell within Him. What a vast resource of power this is that God has made available to us. —the Editor

This is one of a series of lessons on “Resources of Power.” At the end of this year all ten issues of this journal will be bound in an attractive book with dust jacket with the title Resources of Power. The price will be moderate. You should reserve your copy now by writing to us.