PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit
Torrey, R. A. (Reuben Archer), 1856-1928 · 73,614 words · 102 reading sections
Part 61
II. _The Holy Spirit inspires the believer and guides him in thanksgiving_ as well as in prayer. We read in Eph. v. 18-20, R. V., “And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit; speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to t…
628 wordsSECTION 62CHAPTER XVIII. THE HOLY SPIRIT SENDING MEN FORTH TO DEFINITE LINES OF WORK.
We read in Acts xiii. 2-4, “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, _the Holy Ghost said, Separate Me_ Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being _sent forth by the Holy Ghost_, departed into Sel…
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The Holy Spirit not only calls men and sends them forth into definite lines of work, but He also _guides in __ the details of daily life and service as to where to go and where not to go, what to do and what not to do_. We read in Acts viii. 27-29, R. V., “And he (Philip) arose and went: and behold, a man of Ethiopia, …
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2. _We must really desire to know God’s way and be willing at any cost to do God’s will._ This is implied in the word “_ask_.” The asking must be sincere, and if we are not willing to do God’s will, whatever it may be, at any cost, the asking is not sincere. This is a point of fundamental importance. There is nothing t…
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Many who have given themselves up to the leading of the Holy Spirit get into a place of great bondage and are tortured because they have leadings which they fear may be from God but of which they are not sure. If they do not obey these leadings, they are fearful they have disobeyed God and sometimes fancy that they hav…
661 wordsSECTION 66CHAPTER XIX. THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE BELIEVER’S BODY.
The Holy Spirit does a work for our bodies as well as for our minds and hearts. We read in Rom. viii. 11, R. V., “But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, He that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead _shall quicken also your mortal bodies through His Spirit_ that dwelleth in you.” _…
541 wordsSECTION 67CHAPTER XX. THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.
One of the most deeply significant phrases used in connection with the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures is “baptized with the Holy Ghost.” John the Baptist was the first to use this phrase. In speaking of himself and the coming One he said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is m…
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In the first place _the baptism with the Holy Spirit is a definite experience of which one may and ought to know __ whether he has received it or not_. This is evident from our Lord’s command to His disciples in Luke xxiv. 49 and in Acts i. 4, that they should not depart from Jerusalem to undertake the work which He ha…
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In the second place it is evident that _the baptism with the Holy Spirit is an operation of the Holy Spirit distinct from and additional to His regenerating work_. This is evident from Acts i. 5, “For John truly baptized with water; but ye _shall be_ baptized with the Holy Ghost _not many days hence_.” It is clear then…
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As we have already seen every true believer has the Holy Spirit (Rom. viii. 9), but not every believer has the baptism with the Holy Spirit (though every believer may have as we have just seen). It is one thing to have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, perhaps dwelling within us way back in some hidden sanctuary of o…
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Our Lord in speaking of this baptism which they were so soon to receive in Luke xxiv. 49 said, “And behold I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be _endued with power from on high_.” And again He said in Acts i. 5, 8, “For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall …
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The purpose of the baptism with the Holy Spirit is not primarily to make believers individually holy. I do not say that it is not the work of the Holy Spirit to make believers holy, for as we have already seen, He is “the Spirit of Holiness,” and the only way we shall ever attain unto holiness is by His power. I do not…
274 wordsSECTION 73WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?
1. _The specific manifestations of the baptism with the Holy Spirit are not precisely the same in all persons._ This appears very clearly from 1 Cor. xii. 4-13, “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operati…
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(2) The second evil is graver still, namely, the evil of presumption. A man whom God has not called to the work of an evangelist or a minister oftentimes rushes into it because he has received, or imagines he has received, the baptism with the Holy Spirit. He thinks all a man needs to become a preacher is the baptism w…
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3. _It is the Holy Spirit who decides how the baptism with the Spirit shall manifest itself in any given case._ As we read in 1 Cor. xii. 11, “But all these worketh the one and the selfsame Spirit dividing to each one severally, _even as He will_.” The Holy Spirit is absolutely sovereign in deciding how, that is, in wh…
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I shall not soon forget a minister whom I met some years ago at a State Convention of the Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavour at New Britain, Conn. I was speaking upon the subject of personal work and as I drew the address to a close, I said that in order to do effective personal work, we must be baptized wit…
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5. Another result of the baptism with the Holy Spirit will be _boldness in testimony and service_. We read in Acts iv. 31, “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they _spake the word of God with boldness_.” The baptism with t…
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6. _The baptism with the Holy Spirit causes the one who receives it to be occupied with God and Christ and spiritual things._ In the record of the day of Pentecost, we read, “They were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And they were all amazed and ma…
616 wordsSECTION 79THE NECESSITY OF THE BAPTISM WITH THE SPIRIT.
The New Testament has much to say about the necessity for the baptism with the Holy Spirit. When our Lord was about to leave His disciples to go to be with the Father, He said, “And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but _tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high_” (L…
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But this is not all. In Acts x. 38 we read, “How _God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power_; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.” To what does this refer in the recorded life of Jesus Christ? If we will turn to Luke iii. 21, 22, and Luke…
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But this is not all even yet. We read in Acts vii. 14-16, “Now when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they were come down, _prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost_ (for as yet He was fallen upon none of th…
868 wordsSECTION 82WHO CAN BE BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?
We come now to the question of first importance, namely, Who can be baptized with the Holy Spirit? At a convention some years ago, a very intelligent Christian woman, a well-known worker in educational as well as Sunday-school work, sent me this question, “You have told us of the necessity of the baptism with the Holy …
1,944 wordsSECTION 83WE MUST BE BAPTISED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Even after one has been baptized with the Holy Spirit, no matter how definite that baptism may be, he needs to be filled again and again with the Spirit. This is the clear teaching of the New Testament. We read in Acts ii. 4, “_They were all filled_ with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spiri…
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1. The first step is that we _accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord_. We read in Acts ii. 38, R. V., “Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Is not this statement as positive as that which we made ab…
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The same thought is taught elsewhere in the Bible, for example in Gal. iii. 2. Here Paul asks of the believers in Galatia, “Received ye the Holy Spirit by the works of the law, or _by the hearing of faith_?” Just what did he mean? On one occasion when Paul was passing through Galatia, he was detained there by some phys…
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2. The second step in the path that leads into the blessing of being baptized with the Holy Spirit is _renunciation of sin_. Repentance as we have seen is a change of mind about sin as well as a change of mind about Christ; a change of mind from that attitude of mind that loves sin and indulges sin to that attitude of …
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If there is anything that always comes up when you get nearest to God, that is the thing to deal with. Some years ago at a convention in a Southern state, the presiding officer, a minister in the Baptist Church, called my attention to a man and said, “That man is the pope of our denomination in ——; everything he says g…
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4. The fourth step is _absolute surrender to God_. This comes out in what has been already said, namely, that we _must accept Jesus as Lord_ as well as Saviour. It is stated explicitly in Acts v. 32, “And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also _the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him_.” …
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5. The fifth step is _an intense desire for the baptism with the Holy Spirit_. Jesus says in John vii. 37-39, “If any man _thirst_, let him come unto Me and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that be…
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6. The sixth step _is definite prayer for the baptism with the Holy Spirit_. Jesus says in Luke xi. 13, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit _to them that ask Him_.” This is very explicit. Jesus teaches us that the Holy Sp…
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7. The seventh and last step is _faith_. We read in Mark xi. 24, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, _believe that ye receive them_ and ye shall have them.” No matter how definite God’s promises are, we only realize these promises experimentally when we believe. For example we read in…
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The seven steps given above lead with absolute certainty into the blessing. But several questions arise: 1. _Must we not wait until we know we have received the baptism with the Holy Spirit before we take up Christian work?_ Yes, but how shall we know? There are two ways of knowing anything in the Christian life. Firs…
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2. The second question that some will ask is, “_Will there be no manifestation of the baptism with the Spirit which we receive?_ Will everything be just as it was before, and if it will, where is the reality and use of the baptism?” Yes, there will be manifestation, very definite manifestation, but bear in mind _what t…
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3. The third question that will arise with some is, _May we not have to wait for the baptism with the Holy __ Spirit?_ Did not the Apostles have to wait ten days, and may we not have to wait ten days or even more? No, there is no necessity that we wait. We are told distinctly in the Bible why the Apostles had to wait t…
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There is an afternoon that I shall never forget. It was the eighth day of July, 1894. It was at the Northfield Students’ Convention. I had spoken that morning in the church on How to Receive the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. As I drew to a close, I took out my watch and noticed that it was exactly twelve o’clock. Mr. M…
486 wordsSECTION 96CHAPTER XXI. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PROPHETS AND APOSTLES.
_The work of the Holy Spirit in apostles and prophets is an entirely distinctive work. He imparts to apostles and prophets an especial gift for an especial purpose._ We read in 1 Cor. xii. 4, 8-11, 28, 29, R. V., “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.... For to one is given through the Spirit wisdom…
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We read in Eph. iii. 3-5, R. V., “_By revelation_ was made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, _as it hath now been revealed unto His holy Apostles …
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We read again in Acts xxviii. 25, R. V., “And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken the word, ‘_Well spake the Holy Ghost_ by Isaiah the prophet unto your fathers saying, etc.’ ” Still again we read in 2 Sam. xxiii. 2, R. V., “The _Spirit of the Lord spake by me_, and _His wor…
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6. _The Holy Spirit in the Apostle taught not only the thought (or __“__concept__”__) but the words in which the thought was to he expressed._ We read in 1 Cor. ii. 13, A. R. V., “Which things also we speak not _in words_ which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth combining spiritual things with _spirit…
810 wordsSECTION 100CHAPTER XXII. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN JESUS CHRIST.
Jesus Christ Himself is the one perfect manifestation in history of the complete work of the Holy Spirit in man. 1. _Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Spirit._ We read in Luke i. 35, R. V., “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee; and the power of the Most High shall overshad…
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7. _After His resurrection, Jesus Christ gave commandment unto His Apostles whom He had chosen through the Holy Spirit._ We read in Acts i. 2, “Until the day in which He was taken up, after that He _through the Holy Ghost had given commandment_ unto the Apostles whom He had chosen.” This relates to the time after His r…
540 wordsSECTION 102FOOTNOTES
1 Both the translators of the Authorized Version and the Revised Version, and even the translators of the American Revision, seem to have lost sight of the context, for while they spell “Spirit” in the third verse with a capital, in the sixth verse, in all three versions it is spelled with a small “s.” 2 The ministry …
125 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.