A SEVENFOLD VIEW OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
John 16:13 "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."
There is a sense in which the Holy Spirit has always been in the world. For instance the Holy Spirit was in and worked in the lives of the saints in the Old Testament. David said in Psalms 51:11, "Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me." According to the way David prayed here, the Holy Spirit would come and go at will. He did not permanently indwell those who were permanently saved. So David prays, “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.”
There when Jesus came and at the point where His public ministry began, He received the Holy Spirit without measure. John 3:34 says, “For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.” Matthew 3:16 says, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:”
I want us to get a sevenfold view of the Holy Spirit in this meditation.
THE SPIRIT OF LIFE
Romans 8:2 says, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."
The Holy Spirit is called “The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” And we are told what this means practically and eternally. We are made free from the law of sin and death. This is in Christ Jesus. Are you in Christ? I’m not talking about, are you in a Church? As important as church is in its proper place, the church cannot set one free from the law of sin and death. Only Jesus can do that. And the way He does that is first of all settle the penalty that was justly passed against us, i.e., death. This is the reason He came and died. He came and paid our sin debt in full. Next he sets us free from the law of sin and death by meeting the just demands of the law. The law no longer has a claim on us. Jesus has paid the penalty for us and the JUDGE has agreed that the payment He made for us satisfies His judgment against us. So, I am a sinner set free by grace as a gift to faith that will reach out and receive it as a gift.
THE SPIRIT OF SONSHIP
Romans 8:15, "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."
The words “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage. . .” translate “lambano” and means, “to take with the hand, lay hold of, any person or thing in order to use it.” It is an aorist tense verb which means a once-for-all act. Paul is saying that the gift of the Spirit was received at a time and place. The active voice means that a decision had to be made on their part. God forces salvation on no one. It is offered, and those receive salvation as a gift based on God’s promise, come immediately into possession of eternal life. Eternal life is the present possession of the believer.
When one is saved, he is indwelt from that time forward by the Holy Spirit which is the earnest of our salvation. The idea of the Spirit being the earnest of our salvation is for the purpose of assurance. How do I know I am saved? Because I already have the earnest of salvation and this earnest will never be taken away. Paul speaks of this in 2 Corinthians 1:22, “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” The earnest is the down payment on and our guarantee of the completion of the transaction. The Holy Spirit is just a part of the whole that will be finished at the coming of our Lord. By this we know that God will finish what He set out to do. He will glorify us and take us as His bride and establish us in His eternal kingdom.
