THE MISSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
By Mike Scott
I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever;
even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive,because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16-17).
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me” (John 15:26).“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: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment because the prince of this world is judged” (John 16:7–11). “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you” (John 16:13–15).
“And What you have just read was what Apostle John recorded the Lord saying concerning the Holy Spirit’s ministry when He arrived in the earth. Man made religions and denominationalisms say the Holy Spirit does everything, but what did the Lord say the Holy Spirit would do? Some men teach that it is the Holy Spirit within us that is the life that has been given unto us. I would like for just one person to show where the Scriptures say the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is life eternal. I have read that Christ Jesus is the life (John 14:6; 11:25). I have read that the believer who has the Son living in him has eternal life (1 John 5:12–13). A lot of true fellowship is lost because believers have received from men erroneous teachings concerning the grace of God. Some good, religious people misuse the Holy Spirit. They rely on the Holy Spirit to do everything except the one thing the Lord said the Holy Spirit would do. Many even teach that He is life eternal, but He is not. Christ, the Son of God, is life.As the Scripture reads, the Holy Spirit is given only to those who have received Christ Jesus as their personal Lord.
The Holy Spirit is given to abide in us forever (John 14:16). To abide means to take up residence within us. Where does the Holy Spirit abide in the born-again believer? The Holy Spirit abides . To better understand that statement, go with me into God’s Word, Acts of the Apostles, chapters 1 and 2. Notice what you can read there. All the believers that followed the Lord were assembled in the upper room where the Last Supper with the disciples took
place (Acts 1:1–15).Notice that there were 120 souls there when Peter began to talk about replacing Judas Iscariot. In chapter 2, we read that the cloven tongues of fire sat upon each of them. This may be speculation on my part, but bear with me. As they were seated, the Holy Spirit sat on each of them (Acts 2:3). I can see a large fire that was like the fire of the burning bush Moses saw. A fire that was large enough to cover completely the person that was seated. It was during that precise time that the Holy Spirit placed the incorruptible seed of God in their spirit (1 Peter 1:23). This was the new birth that Jesus told Nicodemus about. Look closely at Acts 2:4. Notice that both the Holy Ghost and the Spirit are mentioned.
Many have taught that the Holy Ghost and the Spirit are the same in that verse, but they are not the same person. One is the Holy Ghost and the Spirit is the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9). They were filled with the Holy Ghost in their minds, and the Spirit of Christ within them gave them the utterance. Read the sermon that Peter preached to devout Jews. He didn’preach to Gentiles until later (Acts 10).The Holy Spirit still resides in our minds, but people don’t acknowledge this. Take a good look at the Scriptures that opened this reading.Notice much the Holy Spirit deals with the mind? He shall teach,bring things to remembrance, testify of Christ Jesus, reprove the world, guide, speak, reveal things and glorify the Lord. The Holy Spirit does other things, but this is his mission. He is the Comforter, and
where are souls comforted? They are comforted in their minds, by what they think.
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