TOPIC:“The Heavenly Service of the Holy Spirit”
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:John 16:7-15
“And when He is come, He will…” (John 16:8)
Do we Christians really have a grasp of what the Bible teaches about the past and present work of the Holy Spirit? The answer to that question, whether we realize it or not, will depend on how much of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as found upon the pages of the Bible we understand. Frankly, I believe, we have scores of believers who are uninformed as to the Holy Spirit's mission in the Old Testament as well as His ministry in the New Testament.
Let us once and for all understand that the Holy Spirit completes the work of the Trinity. Without the divine Comforter the service of God would be incomplete. Nothing was ever accomplished in the past nor in the future without the service of the Spirit of God. And remember this: In all of the Holy Spirit's work He seeks to glorify Christ in everything He does. Consider the words that follow our text in verse 14: “He shall glorify Me; for He shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you.”
In studying this beautiful aspect of the Holy Spirit, there are two important points that I shall seek to develop. One is the MISSION of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and the MINISTRY of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Let's begin our study.
I.
Consider, to begin with, the MISSION of the Holy Spirit as we find it upon the pages of the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit was present in the world with a service to perform before the coming of Pentecost. The Old Testament sets forth very clearly how the Spirit of God worked in the hearts of men, using them as His instruments in the performing of special services. We read in Zechariah these important words: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (4:6). This is how God works - “by His Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament indwelt, filled, and came upon certain men with supernatural power in order for them to accomplish a special work. Let's think about this for a few moments. Before Pentecost the Holy Spirit never permanently indwelt people. That He INDWELT people is evidenced by these words: “Joshua…a man in whom is the Spirit.” The indwelling of the Spirit of God in the Old Testament was only temporary and could be lost if a person sinned. That is why David prayed in Psalms 51: “And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (v. 11, NKJV) and why we read of King Saul these words: “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul” (I Samuel 16:14), and of Samson these words: “And he knew not that the Lord . . .