John 15:26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,He will testify about Me."
Introduction:
Yesterday's post featured Luke, the theologian of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. The reason we looked at Luke's Gospel and his accompanying volume of Acts was because of the numerous references to the Holy Spirit. In surveying Luke/Acts we discovered the following ministries of the Holy Spirit work as the Holy Ghost in both Jesus' life and the early church:
1. Filling
2. Conception/New Birth
3. Leading/prompting
4. Union with Christ (baptism of the Spirit)
5. Anointing
6. The offense of blasphemy of the Spirit
In today's post we want to take the first five of those categories and see if we can find them in the New Testament letters. Why the N.T letters or epistles? Because the N.T epistles detail the work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life. Like yesterday, I will simply give the headings and corresponding verses. May this post prove valuable to the Christian read wanting to grow in their faith.
1. New Birth/regeneration.
James 1:18 "In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures."
2. Filling of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18 "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but befilled with the Spirit."
3. Leading/prompting of the Spirit
1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it."
Philippians 3:15 "Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you."
4. Union with Christ by the Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:13 "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."
note: This is not water baptism, which follows and signifies the reality of this work of the Spirit already having occurred in conversion. Water baptism is a God ordained picture that re-enacts and illuminates the new believer to the truth of what happened to them at salvation. People don't get water baptized to get saved and spirit baptized, rather they are water baptized following their salvation. Water baptism logically connects the new Christian back to the reality of their prior spirit baptism, however it does not impart the salvation which it pictures or points. In the death, burial, resurrection sequence of believer's baptism by immersion, the Christian acts out in sign form the Spirit's uniting of them to Jesus Christ which occurred in His spiritual baptism or uniting of them to Christ at prior saving faith.
5. Anointing/power/illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit
1 John 2:20 "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know."
1 John 2:27 "As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him."
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