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THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (I)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
John 16:1-14

Ephesians 5:1-11

 

“…when he, the Spirit of truth,
is come, he will guide you

into all truth…”

 

THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (I)
 
Jesus prepared His disciples for the sufferings ahead. They would be excommunicated (“They shall put you out of the synagogues”) and executed (“whosoever killeth you will think he doeth God service,” eg. Saul in Acts 8:1-3, 22:3-4) because they belonged to Him. They were to remember His words of prediction so that such persecution and tribulation would not take them by surprise. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
 
Jesus assured them that after His departure, the Paraclete (the Holy Spirit Himself) would come to help them in their Christian faith and living (cf. John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26). The Church needs the Holy Spirit in the ministry of the Gospel for it is He who will both convict and convince the world of (1) Sin — This refers to the sinful state man is in. Man stands condemned if he refuses to believe in Christ (John 3:18); (2) Righteousness — This refers to the righteousness found in Christ. Man can be righteous only in Christ (Phil 3:9); and (3) Judgment — This refers to the end-time judgment of the Great White Throne. The finally impenitent together with Satan and the demons shall be thrown into the lake of fire to suffer eternal conscious torment (Heb 2:14; Rev 20:11-15).
 
The Holy Spirit would also superintend the Apostles as they wrote the New Testament. The Holy Spirit “shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26), and “will guide you into all truth… and he will shew you things to come” (John 16:13 cf. 2 Pet 1:21). The Apostles were to be the divinely appointed and inspired interpreters of the words and works of Christ, and all the prophecies concerning Him. By virtue of this special anointing of the Holy Spirit in their lives, the Apostles of Christ had an infallible ministry of preaching (1 Thess 2:13) and writing (Eph 2:20; 2 Pet 1:21) the Holy Scriptures. The Gospel writers need not depend on one another for the facts of Christ’s life. They only needed the Holy Spirit who is the infallible source of all truths about Christ whom He has come to glorify (John 16:14).
 
THOUGHT: “The Spirit of God acts the part of a judge within us.” (Calvin)

PRAYER: “Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.”

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