What the Bible says about the Threefold Relationship of the Holy Spirit with Men, pt. 7

THE BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE

The Sending Of The Holy Spirit

The Apostle John records the words of Jesus for us in John 14:16-17, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” Jesus was going away. He was to be crucified and then after 40 days (Acts 1:3), ascend into heaven (Acts 1:9-11). The Holy Spirit was sent by the Father in response to the prayer of Jesus. Instead of Christ being limited to one location, He now is able to be in everyone who believes by the Holy Spirit. So He can be with the Church here in the United States as well as with the Church all over the world at the same time.

Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “another comforter.” The Greek word for comforter is parakletos, and it is literally, called to one's side, i. e., to one's aid and suggests the capability or adaptability for giving aid. It was used in a court of justice to denote a legal assistant, counsel for the defense, an advocate; then, generally, one who pleads another’s cause, an intercessor, advocate. In the widest sense, it signifies a comforter. Christ was this to His disciples, by the implication of His word another (allos, another of the same sort, not heteros, different) Comforter, when speaking of the Holy Spirit. It is used only five times in the New Testament, in John 14:16, 14:26; 15:26; 16:7, and in I John 2:1 (where Jesus is referred to as our advocate).

In Acts 2:1-4 we see the Holy Spirit coming, just as Jesus prayed He would, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 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.” Peter stood up and declared that this was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel (Joel 2:28-29) spoken some 600 years before the birth of Christ, "And it shall come to pass afterward, That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”

Up to this time, the Holy Spirit only rested on a select few men. We remember the story of Saul, the first king of Israel, how that Samuel said of him that “…the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.” (I Samuel 10:6). Also of David, after his sin with Bathseba, when he declared, “Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psalms 51:11).

Again we read of Moses, and the burden of judging the children of Israel, “So the LORD said to Moses: "Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.” (Numbers 11:16-18). And so we read in Numbers 11:25-29, “Then the LORD came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again. But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, ‘Moses my lord, forbid them!’ Then Moses said to him, ‘Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!’”

Moses saw the wisdom in the Holy Spirit being in the life of every child of God. He realized that if every man had the Spirit of God in him, his job would be so much easier. He realized the potential of the Holy Spirit guiding and directing every believer in the truth of the Word of God. He realized that if every man walked in accordance with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, the result would be the end of every conflict between believers. Peace would prevail and God would be glorified.

The Holy Spirit has been poured out upon all flesh as we read in the book of Acts. He is with every man, in every believer, and desires to fill every believer with power and strength. And yet, as we look around in the Church today, we see that this is not the case with every believer.