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Readings for the Week of Prayer

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 22, 1906

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 83, No. 47.

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Readings for the Week of Prayer

By Arthur G. Daniells

To Be Read in all the Churches in the United States
December 15-22, 1906

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

A. G. DANIELLS
(Reading for Sabbath, December 15)
“God so loved the world, that he gave only his begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
It was this wonderful love for suffering, sorrowing sinners that brought the Son of God to this world. The life of Christ on earth was the greatest event among men since the creation of the world. He was Emmanuel—“God with us.” Here, in personal contact with men, he sympathized with the sorrowing, ministered to the needy, forgave the penitent, and died for all.
Having fulfilled his mission on earth, Christ returned to heaven, to make actual in us by his ministry what he had made possible for us by his death. But before leaving, he said: “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth.” Later, when he was about to depart, he said: “Behold, I send the promise of my Father [the Holy Spirit] upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.”
These statements show very clearly that the Holy Spirit was to take Christ’s place in the church here on earth. This divine Spirit was to be the Saviour’s successor and representative in the world, to do for men what Christ would have done had he remained here. This wonderful and gracious provision for the church is beautifully presented by the spirit of prophecy, in these words:—
“Before offering himself as the sacrificial victim, Christ sought for the most essential and complete gift to bestow upon his followers, a gift that would bring within their reach the boundless resources of grace. ‘I will pray the Father,’ he said, ‘and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth.’ . . .”
“The Holy Spirit is Christ’s representative, but divested of the personality of humanity, and independent thereof. Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally. Therefore it was for their interest that he should go to the Father, and send the Spirit to be his successor on earth.”
“The Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that he could solicit from his Father for the exaltation of his people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. . . .”
“Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the third person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fulness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world’s Redeemer.”
“This promised blessing, claimed by faith, brings all other blessings in its train.”—Desire of Ages, Trade Edition, pages 799, 802, 803, 804.
A GATHERING OF BELIEVERS IN OUR MEETING ROOM IN BUCHAREST, CAPITAL OF RUMANIA
A GATHERING OF BELIEVERS IN OUR MEETING ROOM IN BUCHAREST, CAPITAL OF RUMANIA
These statements reveal to us the exalted position the Holy Spirit holds in heaven, and the glorious work committed to him in behalf of the church. He is “the third person of the Godhead.” He is Christ’s representative on earth, and the presiding officer in the church.
As Christ’s representative among men, the Holy Spirit is to do all that can be done by divine power to lead sinners to accept the salvation provided by the death of Christ.
The one thing which the church needs more than all else is a baptism of the Holy Spirit. We have the truth, the very message of heaven for these last days. But to have the theory alone, is not enough. We must have the vitalizing power of the Spirit of God, to give life. This heavenly, divine agent which brings all other blessings in his train, is our greatest need to-day.
When once the channel is opened, and the life-giving current of the Holy Spirit flows into the soul, under its ministrations we shall witness marvelous changes in churches and conferences. A new order of things will set in, a wonderful transformation will take place everywhere. No church should allow this week of prayer to close until individually that change is experienced which the bestowal of the Holy Spirit alone can give. Enter into the closet, and upon your knees make a new covenant with God. Continue to draw near to him by confession and putting away of sin, and do not give up the struggle until the promised blessing comes.
The ministration of the Holy Spirit in the life of the individual is a most blessed experience. Its first work is to convict us of sin. “When he is come, he will reprove [“convince,” margin] . . . of sin.” John 16:8. The hard heart is quickened; the dead conscience is revived, and becomes tender, and it more readily discerns right from wrong. We at once become more careful in regard to the proper observance of the Sabbath, paying of tithes, etc. This unseen, though potent power, leads to a complete repentance of all known sin,works the death of self, and converts the heart through and through.
In the terrible struggle with the evil passions of the heart, which none but ourselves and God can ever know, the Holy Spirit does not leave us to fight alone. He comes with heavenly power to our rescue. “They [Christians] are to contend with supernatural forces, but they are assured of supernatural help. All the intelligences of heaven are in this army. And more than angels are in the ranks. The Holy Spirit, the representative of the Captain of the Lord’s host, comes down to direct the battle.”—Desire of Ages, page 411.

The Conditions

Like all other proffered blessings of the gospel, there are conditions to be complied with, in order to receive and retain the Holy Spirit in all its fulness. These conditions are clearly expressed in the Scriptures. Note the following:—
OBEDIENCE.— In his defense before the Jewish council, the apostle Peter said: “We are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” Acts 5:32, American Standard Revision. Obedience is, therefore, a condition upon which the Holy Spirit is given. This is the first, the most comprehensive, and all-inclusive condition. Taken in its fullest and broadest sense, it might be said to be the only one, though the emphasis given to some of the varied phases of obedience seems to place them before us as separate and specific requisites. There can be no baptism of the Holy Spirit when obedience to known duty is refused.
RIGHTEOUSNESS.— That Spirit, which is holy, must have a holy dwelling-place. He can not, and will not, abide in a sin-polluted heart. “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God?” “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy.” 1 Cor. 6:19; 3:17. In order to be filled with the Spirit, the heart must be emptied of sin. It is the glory of the religion of Christ that it provides complete and continued victory over sin. The believer in Jesus must know that each day he is washed from his sins. One sin cherished will hinder the Holy Spirit in his operations, and ultimately exclude him from the heart. Because Christ loved righteousness and hated iniquity as no one else did, he was anointed with the Holy Spirit above all his fellows. Heb. 1:9. To him the Spirit was given without measure.
THE DENIAL AND CRUCIFIXION OF SELF.— Perhaps the most searching and testing of all the requisites to a Spirit-filled church is the denial and crucifixion of self. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Matt. 16:24. “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Gal. 5:24.
Self and the flesh are the same thing. As another has pointed out, the “flesh” is “self” spelled backward, with the letter “h” added. Self must be denied, the flesh must be crucified, “that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin” (Rom. 6:6, R. V.); and this “because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Rom. 8:7. The fact that self, the flesh, the carnal mind, is at enmity with God, and can not be brought into subjection to his law, is the reason why it must be surrendered, denied, crucified. The “old man” must die.
GRIEVE HIM NOT.— The Holy Spirit does not come as a sovereign, but in the humble form of a helper, to teach, guide, remind, prompt, and assist. The Spirit does not take his rightful place by force, but by hearty, cheerful invitation. If the Spirit is to be retained as a constant, abiding helper, the blessed presence of that Spirit must be recognized and cherished constantly. Every day we must ask anew his presence in our hearts. His divine teaching must be received, his safe guidance followed, his most tender promptings obeyed, and his proffered help made use of by earnest co-operation.
Unless this is done, to what purpose is his presence? Of what service can he be? Why should he remain? This is a vital consideration. It is just here that many professed Christians grieve the Holy Spirit, and lose his abiding presence. When the Spirit’s kindly, gentle help in the way of teaching, guiding, prompting, and serving is either not appreciated or is positively disregarded, he quietly departs. Then come blindness, confusion, a seared conscience, and bondage to sin.
CONSECRATION TO SERVICE.— One of the highest and most important purposes of the church of Christ is service. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” “I will bless thee, . . . and thou shalt be a blessing.” Gen. 12:2. “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10. Saved to serve is the divine arrangement. It is thus that the church is “the light of the world” “the salt of the earth.”
It is the Holy Spirit that enables Christ’s followers to render effectual service. He first gives them victory over their sins. He then uses them as witnesses for Christ to those who have not experienced what they have. No other phase of the Spirit’s ministry in the church is made so prominent in the Word as this. In his parting instruction to the church, Jesus said: “Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses.” Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:8, R. V.
Nothing could be plainer than that a most essential requisite to a Spirit-filled church is the consecration by the church of its time, talents, and means to the service of God for the redemption of a lost world. It is idle for the church to pray to be filled with the Spirit if she declines, or even neglects, to make this consecration. The Spirit is Christ’s invisible ambassador to this world to finish his work. The church is the Spirit’s visible medium through which he is to bear witness for Christ to all men to win them to him.