The Holy Spirit
by Glen on 2002-12-22 00:01:47
Holy
Spirit
“But you shall receive
power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to
the end of the earth . . . And suddenly there came a sound from
heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house
where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided
tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were
all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance . . . For the promise is
to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as
the Lord our God will call.” (Acts1:8, 2:2-4, 39)
And we are those who are “afar
off.” We have the same promise as the 120 disciples who were
in that upper room after they had watched Jesus ascend into heaven!
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
(Heb. 13:8) That means that His promises are for all who believe in
Him and accept Him as their personal Savior.
In John 14:116, 17, 26 and 15:26 Jesus spoke of the Spirit in
association with the Father and with Himself, and referred to Him by
three names: ‘the Comforter’, ‘the Spirit of Truth’
and ‘the Holy spirit’, which in themselves are indicative
of the Spirit’s attributes and mission. ‘Comforter’
is an inadequate English translation of the Greek word Parakletos,
which is a title given also to the Son (1 John 2:1), where the
English translation is ‘Advocate.’ The literal meaning
of the Greek word is ‘One called alongside to help.’1
The Holy Spirit will draw all men to Christ, Who reconciles all men to
the Father. He will help those who claim Christ as their Savior to
live the way that Christ lived: committed to doing the will of the
Father.
1The
Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine. (1969) Campfield Press, St.
Albans, Herts. p 65