THE HOLY SPIRIT
[p. 371] THE HOLY SPIRIT
Hebrews 3: 7; 1 Timothy 4: 1 - 8; Acts 13: 2 - 4; Revelation 22: 16, 17
The subject I have in mind, which no doubt you have observed from the scriptures read, is the Holy Spirit. A great place is accorded to Him in the divine record, as the scriptures show, and rightly, for He was employed as a Person in the Godhead from the outset.
His peculiar readiness in the divine service is marked out in the scriptures. By Him the heavens were garnished (Job 26: 13), and disaster having come about in that which God created — the details of which Scripture does not record — the Spirit of God is seen hovering over the face of the waters (Genesis 1: 2) and He is seen throughout, in the subsequent dealings of the ways of God with man, coming into peculiar view when “the Word became flesh”.
He had to do with the Lord Himself, and is seen particularly at His baptism. He descended, we are told, in a bodily form, and abode upon Him: that blessed One appearing in manhood — not only in flesh, but in manhood — in whom God found His delight and pleasure, “the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form on him”, we are told. There is nothing to disturb — He had been in uncongenial circumstances, as carrying out the service of God here, now He finds One in whom He can rest, and on whom He can abide. He “abode” upon Christ, and John bore witness to that: he says, “I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God”, John 1: 34. The Holy Spirit, in that way, marks off the Son of God. Such was the service of the blessed Spirit, and, in this way, the scriptures present Him to us. But what should touch our hearts in a very peculiar way, dear brethren, is that He has been here in relation to us — the assembly — these many centuries.
[p. 372] The Lord, foreseeing it, makes special reference to those who should sin against the Holy Spirit — pointing out that sin against Himself should be forgiven; but speaking against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven, neither in this age, nor in that to come; Matthew 12: 32.
The Lord, in that way, issued a solemn warning to all succeeding generations, as well as to the one to which He was speaking, that there should be no forgiveness to the one who sins against the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit has been here, since Christ went to heaven, in the most wonderful condescension and grace. He is indeed referred to as the “Spirit of grace”. There were some who, in the language of Scripture, “insulted the Spirit of grace”, Hebrews 10: 29. They insulted the Spirit of grace, yet He still remains here — but the insult remains. The insult to the Spirit of grace stands unforgiven, not only now, but alas to those of the generation immediately referred to, who were guilty of it. But others who have arisen, and stand by the insult now, will never be forgiven.
I speak in that way, dear brethren, so that the subject might be clearly before us — we are in the Spirit’s day, whose service is marked by the most exquisite patience, tenderness, and sensitiveness, so that God will not overlook any disregard of the Spirit, either by individuals, or by corporate bodies.
And now, having said so much, what I want to point out, first of all, is that He speaks today (Hebrews 3: 7) and what He would say is in regard to our hearts. Wherefore, as the Spirit says, “Harden not your hearts”. The hardening principle is, so to speak, in the heart. There is one who is called “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2: 2) and we come in contact with that; we are not taken out of the world, as the Lord says: “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil”, John 17: 15. We have not been taken out of the world, we have got to go through it — the will of God requires that we should go through it — but the Lord prays “that thou shouldest keep them from the evil”.
And so, beloved, God’s desire is to keep us from the evil, from that hardening — not to say wicked — feature of the world. Business commitments and activities all serve, in themselves, to harden. Family relationships, and all that goes with them in nature, in themselves, tend to harden. The word is needed now in the day in which we live — “Harden not your hearts”. There is a word in Proverbs which says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life” (chapter 4: 23); whilst it is impressionable — whilst it is unhardened — “keep it with all diligence”. So the word is today, “harden not your hearts”.
The Lord Jesus would write a letter on them, as by the Spirit of the living God; 2 Corinthians 3. Let us then, beloved, afford Him the material, and keep the material, so that it shall be available to Christ, that He may write on it.
I pass on to Timothy, and I wanted to show that the Holy Spirit speaks today into my heart, and into your heart, so that we may not be hardened. He speaks of the future. There are things, as He looks down into the future which cause Him to speak “expressly”. We have an express word from the Spirit — it is urgent. The time was coming when men should depart from the faith, there would be a drift of apostasy, marked by the forbidding of certain things. You may depend upon it that any prohibition of a creature of God is wrong. These men, as he says, were “giving their mind to deceiving spirits, and teachings of demons”, chapter 4: 1.
Let us dwell for a moment on this awful condition which is not any longer future, it is present. “Teachings of demons” — men are actually lending an ear to seducing spirits. John says: “Little children, it is the last hour, and, according, as ye have heard that antichrist comes, even now there have come many antichrists, whence we know that it is the last hour”, 1 John 2: 18. One has observed at times the uprising of various anti-Christian features, even in one’s lifetime. They have arisen, coming under the head of the “many antichrists”; they do not dare to come out and say boldly that they deny the Lord Jesus Christ, but they are antichrists. The antichrist has his own distinctive features, so that no one shall be misled who is exercised: “He is the antichrist who denies the Father and the Son”, 1 John 2: 22. He absolutely denies the Father and the Son. Christianity is thrown away by the antichrist. Though the “many antichrists” are somewhat modified, they are no less opposed to Christ; we have to deal with those who are opposed to Christ, and they are “many”. John says: “Many false prophets are gone out into the world ... every spirit which does not confess Jesus Christ come in flesh is not of God”, 1 John 4: 1, 3. They do not deny Him wholly, and he says: “This is that power of the antichrist”.
Let us be on our guard as to what is going on — and so it says in Timothy: “Giving their mind to deceiving spirits, and teachings of demons”. The Spirit of God is speaking “expressly” about that, the apostle says, and then he tells us that “every creature of God is good”, and that which God hath created is to be received “with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth”. What we want in this respect is “the truth”. I have been impressed with it since I have been here this time — the importance of “the truth”. Persons receive a bit of light, and they are enrolled as converts to Christ. What about the truth, beloved? The Spirit is the truth. He is indeed the “Spirit of truth”, and He would [p. 375] turn you to nothing less than that. If we are to be in the enjoyment of the communion of the Spirit — of the love of the Spirit — there must be regard for the truth. The truth, as I apprehend it, is adjustment with God. God works in the light — wonderful things are done in the light — the Holy Spirit works in a man’s soul so that he is born anew, he is born in the light, not in the darkness. But then there is, not only the light, but the truth. Many have light who are not regulated by the truth. The Lord Jesus, in the synagogue of Nazareth, stood up and read from Isaiah, and He said: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears”, and they “wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth”, Luke 4: 21, 22. But then He says: “Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, ... but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet, and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian”, verse 25 - 27.
That was the truth — important truth for the moment — and what was the effect of the truth? The Lord Jesus wished them to know that God had in ancient times gone outside the limits of Israel to bless, and He will do it now. That is the truth. Can we stand the test of the truth? It says: “They were filled with wrath, and rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong”, Luke 4: 28, 29.
Such are our hearts — we admire Christ, we enjoy the grace of Christ, but in many cases the truth is refused. So the creatures of God are received “with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth”.
I pass on to the next scripture, Acts 13. You see, beloved, if the heart is kept right there is room for [p. 376] the truth. If there is adjustment by the truth, there will be room for levitical work amongst us, which is one of the most interesting subjects that one can touch upon, and the scripture in Acts 13 refers to it. The Holy Spirit says: “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them”. You see where there is adjustment there is room for the sovereign action of the Spirit, and one might challenge anyone, however much the name of Christ is connected with it, as to whether room is there for the sovereign action of the Spirit to select whom He will, and to send forth whom He will. If there is not, then the truth is not there. But if everyone is obeying from the heart that form of teaching that has been delivered to us, there is room for the Spirit.
“They ministered to the Lord, and fasted”. What a great triumph for the Gentile world. God said, in principle, if the truth of the Holy Spirit is developed, it will relieve your mind and conscience; but God has rights over our hearts, He claims our affections. His claim was recognised at Antioch: “They ministered to the Lord, and fasted”. They were in their right setting, and the Holy Spirit signalises it by saying as it were: ‘Conditions here are such as to enable Me to act sovereignly in regard to levitical work’. I believe the Holy Spirit would proceed on these lines, in making His own selection. He recognises the state of the saints. One coming into a locality — if one is spiritual, and seeking to serve the saints and serve the Lord — soon finds out where the saints are.
You may come to the meetings in a formal way, but what does the Lord get out of it? The Lord said “My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season”, Numbers 28: 2. There was first the daily offering, every day of the week; there were the weekly offerings every Sabbath;
[p. 377] and at the beginning of each month, the new moon; and there were the set yearly offerings. Not one of those offerings displaced another. The daily offering went on every sabbath, in addition to the particular one for that day. God was not in any way robbed, and so He looks for offerings from us. “My bread for my sacrifices”, He says. There would not be anything if bread is not brought to God’s house. If there is bread in God’s house He will open “the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing”, Malachi 3: 10.
“They ministered to the Lord, and fasted”. That word ‘fasted’ is to be noted. The Lord said on one occasion, when the disciples could not cast the demon out of a boy — “this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting”, Matthew 17: 21. Prayer is your dependence upon God; fasting is in order that one’s vessel should be suitable for God. The two things go together; not only the faith that calls on God, but that care of the vessel so that it is holy. It is not hampered by fleshly desires, and there is power to give up what is legitimate, so that the vessel may be formed by prayer and fasting: “They ministered to the Lord, and fasted”. The more fasting the more room there is for the Spirit of God.
Fasting makes room, in the vessel, for the Spirit of God, and so the Holy Spirit signalises the state of the saints at Antioch by saying: “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them”. I would have you notice this. The Lord called Saul apart, He called him alone, but in sending him out, the Holy Spirit says as it were: I would not do it without the saints. How beautiful to be in such a state that the Holy Spirit is free to send us wherever He will. He says: “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them”. It is the work. It is for each of us to say: “Here am I”, whatever the call.
Do you think the Lord is going to give up His [p. 378] way? Do you think the Holy Spirit is going to give up His own way? I believe every brother should hold himself in readiness. A Levite was claimed from a month old; they were numbered for the service. Every brother and every sister ought to be ready for service. You have the dignity of being the firstborn, so that you may never be proud of your service. No one can serve who is not personally greater than his service, and he is personally greater than his service inasmuch as he is a firstborn. Every Levite is a firstborn. We are “the assembly of the firstborn”, Hebrews 12: 23. It is in the dignity of that holy and heavenly calling that you serve. Otherwise one will be proud of his service, and envious of those who may serve better.
The Holy Spirit would select us on those lines “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them”. They, “having been sent forth by the Holy Spirit”, went their way.
We have thus presented the true ground of service. The Spirit selected those men, and it is very beautiful to see how they worked and faithfully carried out their commission. They returned “to Antioch, whence they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled”, Acts 14: 26. They had fulfilled it. We should look for complete works. The enlightenment of a soul is not a complete work. The Lord says: “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work”, John 4: 34. Of Sardis He says: “I have not found thy works complete before my God”, Revelation 3: 2. Half done work is repudiated. God looks for a finished work — “the work which they had fulfilled”.
One word more. “I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star”. And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come”. The last word, as one might say, of the Spirit is “Come”. But, He says it in unison with the bride. What a complete work! How completely successful the Spirit is in bringing the bride into accord with Himself. The Spirit and the bride say, “Come”. It is joined in by them both. Those who love Christ today are saying, in unison with the Spirit, “Come”. And we can hear the Holy Spirit say that word ‘Come’.
“Today”, He says, “harden not your hearts”. He speaks “expressly” about current evil, and He speaks to chosen vessels to serve. He speaks to them blessedly; and He says, “Come” to Christ.
The Holy Spirit performs His activities in grace. He is here on behalf of Christ, as the Lord says “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you”, John 16: 14. He is doing this unceasing service to us taking of the things of Christ and showing them to us — but all with one end in view, that we might be prepared for Christ, so that as He announces Himself, the Spirit says, “Come”, and the bride says, “Come”. There is one word expressed in unison, by the Spirit and the bride; the bride is secured for Christ. The Spirit is seeking to secure the hearts of all the saints for Christ, so that there might be that unity of expression when the Lord announces Himself.
May God grant that our hearts may be kept by the Spirit, so that we may be ready for Christ, and say, “Come”.