Wednesday January 18
Divine Work of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit performs certain works, which the Bible ascribes only to God. He is active in the divine work of the creation, and He is just as active in God's re-creation of sinners.
Amen! Actually, He is much more active in the re-creation of sinners than when creating humanity in the first place. It was easy to create Adam and Eve, but it is not so easy to re-create man in His image after Adam sinned. The fallen nature we have does not want to be "re-created." Sin has a hold on man and the greatest battle man and God will fight is in restoring His image in fallen man. Many have been called, but few will choose to be re-created. It is a shame since they have been given the opportunity to be re-created, to be set free from sin, and to live with Jesus in a perfect world free from sin and sinners.....for eternity. What an offer!! What love is seen in this great Gift!
Read Titus 3:4-6.
3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
How does Paul describe the involvement of the Holy Spirit in the process of re-creation?
The Holy Spirit is mentioned side by side with "God our Savior" (Titus 3:4) in the context of the washing of regeneration (baptism) and our spiritual renewal (Titus 3:5). He is the agent of our new birth. He renews our hearts. He awakens our desire to follow Christ. He is the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2). He is the One who sanctifies sinners and transforms their character. He helps us to be obedient to Jesus Christ, who saved us. Only a divine being is capable of such wonderful things.
Amen! And yes, baptism represents this washing of regeneration, but the washing and regeneration has taken place prior to the baptism. The heart has been made new, been cleansed from sin. This needs to be made clear, for this is where Satan has injected the great deception which allows church members to remain in a lost (Laodicean) condition believing they are converted, when they are not. Jesus pleads with the church that as a people, we "repent".
Compare Isaiah 6:8-10 with Acts 28:25-27.
6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here [am] I; send me.
6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
28:25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
28:26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
28:27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Whom do the biblical writers attribute the divine speaking to?
I don't know of any Seventh-day Adventists who do not understand the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the Bible. Neither do we find many Christians in other denomination that do not understand the Holy Spirit inspired the Bible writers.
There are several biblical passages in which, on the one hand, God is said to be speaking and in which other biblical writers state that the Holy Spirit is said to be speaking. It is the Holy Spirit who supernaturally imparted the Holy Scriptures to us (2 Pet. 1:21), something that elsewhere is described as God's inspiration (2 Tim. 3:16). Giving the Scriptures is another divine work of the Spirit.
What does Romans 8:11 teach us about the divinity of the Holy Spirit?
But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.
The Bible states that the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead and will also raise us. Only God has the power to raise people from the dead. Hence the Holy Spirit is God.
And, it will bless many to understand from this verse that it is because one was converted when He died, that the Holy Spirit was in possession of the heart, therefore, since the Holy Spirit "dwelleth in you" then our mortal bodies shall be quicken by that same Spirit that is in us. This is the important truth we need to understand. When the Bible says "abide in me and I in you," it is through the Holy Spirit that Christ abides in us. He is Christ's representative. Christ cannot be in every converted Christian. He is bound by His humanity and can only be in one place at a time. He gave up His omnipresence to become one with us, our King and Brother.
Let us see more clearly what happens at conversion from the prophet Ezekiel:
36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
36:27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
It is the Holy Spirit that brings power to keep the law of God, that cleanses the heart from sin at conversion. Re-read these verses without prejudice asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth. The Laodicean does not understand these verses correctly. They have been twisted to allow from the professing Christian to believe his heart has not been cleansed from sin, that he does not have to keep the law of God, that he may sin and retain his justification (salvation).
What are changes you can make that would cause you to be more open to the leading of the Holy Spirit? That is, what practices might be keeping you from clearly discerning His leading in your life?.
Sin separates from God and keeps us from discerning the truth. But, we may ask for the Holy Spirit to make us willing to be made willing to not only understand truth, but to walk in the light of God's love and grace. When we are converted, then we walk in the light given to us. It is when we wander away from Christ, that the Holy Spirit will not dwell in our hearts.
What changes can one make that will cause him to follow God, to be able to hear the still small voice of God, the Holy Spirit? We must be converted and abiding in Christ. We must have Jesus, through the Holy Spirit in our hearts if we want to clearly discern God's leading in our lives. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. We must have the mind of Christ. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is a very straight message that many will refuse to accept, but it is the truth. We read from 1 Corinthians:
2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
The "divine work of the Holy Spirit" is actively speaking to God's people. He is seeking entrance into our hearts. Is He speaking to you right now? What is He saying? Even the unrepentant sinner may hear the voice of the Holy Spirit convicting of sin. And, after we hear that, He then points us to Jesus as our only hope. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." John 16:7,8.
And, He, the Holy Spirit will continue to work after we are converted. There will be times when we wander away from Jesus. Where is the Spirit then, and what is He doing? He is Christ's representative, so He stands at the door of the heart wanting back in. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Rev. 3:20.