it made it such for one thing. We read that “there came a _sound_ as of
a rushing, mighty wind.” We are not told that there _was_ a wind on this
occasion; but only that the sound which attended the coming of the Spirit
was _like_ that of a mighty wind. The Spirit might have come to the
disciples on this occasion as “the still, small voice” of God came to the
prophet Elijah, on Mount Horeb. But it was not so. On the contrary, he
chose that his coming should be attended with a loud noise. We read that
“it,” that is the sound, “filled all the house where they were sitting.”
We are not told what this sounding noise was for. It may have been to
arouse the attention of the disciples and make them fully awake to the
important event that was then taking place. And, no doubt, another reason
why this rushing sound attended the Spirit’s coming was to indicate to
them what great power would attend the Spirit in the work he was to carry
on in the church and in the world. The wind, when it goes rushing on, in
the form of a tempest, is one of the most powerful agents that we know
of. It can lash the ocean into foam and fury. It can dash to pieces the
noblest works of men, whether on the land, or on the sea. It can tear
up the giant oak by its roots and lay it prostrate on the ground. And
the sound of that “rushing, mighty wind” with which the Spirit came was
intended, it may be, to make the disciples feel how great was the power
he was able to give them in the important work they had to do. “The
sound, as of a rushing, mighty wind,” seemed to tell of this.
But again, we are always startled by that which is _unusual_. And there
were several things about this coming of the Holy Spirit which were
unusual, and so calculated to startle the waiting disciples. There
was, for instance, the _direction_ of this sound. It came “_down from
heaven_.” The winds, with whose sound we are familiar, never act in this
direction. From whatever point of the compass they come, they always
blow around, or over the earth. A wind blowing “_down from heaven_,”
directly towards the earth, as was the case with that sound which the
disciples heard, was something unusual, and so calculated to startle them.
Another unusual thing about this sound was, that it was a sound _like_
that of a wind, but yet without any wind at all. They heard that sound.
It reminded them of the wind. But there was no motion there, such as the
wind produces when it blows. Nothing stirred in that upper chamber. A
feather would not have been moved. So far as motion was concerned—all was
calm, and still there. And yet there was that mighty sound. How startling
this must have been!
And then, what accompanied this sound was startling, as well as the sound
itself. There were those “cloven tongues, like as of fire.” Little long
pieces of flame were seen in the air of that chamber. There were about
a hundred and twenty persons present there. And a hundred and twenty of
these fiery tongues were seen. How strange it must have been to look on
such a number of these marvellous appearances, and to see one of them
come down and rest on the head of each person present! But, the Holy
Spirit was come; and these things must have made it a startling coming.
And then it was—an _abiding_ coming. When the Holy Spirit came down
upon the Church of Christ, on the day of Pentecost, he did not come to
remain for a little while, and then go back to heaven. No! but he came to
_stay_. When Jesus spoke to the disciples about the coming of the Holy
Ghost, he used these words: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall
give you another Comforter, that he may _abide with you forever_.” St.
John xiv: 16.
It was not for the help and comfort of the apostles and early Christians
only that the Holy Spirit came. No; but it was for the help and comfort
of all the people of Christ, down to the end of the world. The coming of
the Spirit, which took place on the day of Pentecost was intended to be
an abiding coming. He has never left the church from that day. But he may
be present, without putting forth his power and making his presence felt.
What we need to pray for is not that the Holy Spirit may _come_ into our
churches; for he is there; but that he may make his power and presence
felt. What we want above all things, in our hearts, in our homes, in our
Sunday Schools, and in our churches, is to feel the power and presence of
that Spirit, who came on the day of Pentecost, and whose coming was to be
an abiding coming.
And so, when we would show the manner of the Spirit’s coming to the early
church, we may say that it was an _expected_ coming—a _sudden_ coming—a
_startling_ coming—and an _abiding_ coming.
And now, the only other thing to notice, is—_The—PURPOSE—of the Spirit’s
coming._
And if we wish to understand clearly the meaning of this part of the
subject, there are these two things for us to consider; viz., _what the
Holy Spirit is; and what the Holy Spirit does_.
And in order to understand satisfactorily what the Holy Spirit is—we
must find out what the scriptures call him; and how the scriptures speak
of him. Here are some of the titles given to the Holy Spirit in the
scriptures, or the names by which he is called.
The great names, Jehovah, Lord, and God are all given to the Spirit.
He is called—the Most High—the Holy Spirit—the Holy Ghost—the Free
Spirit—the Good Spirit—the Spirit of Life—the Spirit of Truth—the Spirit
of Grace—the Spirit of Adoption—the Spirit of Wisdom—the Spirit of
Counsel—the Spirit of Might—the Spirit of Knowledge—the Spirit of the
fear of the Lord—the Spirit of Promise—the Eternal Spirit—the Power of
the Highest—the Comforter—the Guide—the Teacher.
And the giving of such names as these to the Holy Spirit proves two
things about him, one is that he is a real person; and the other is that
he is God. He is a divine person, equal to God the Father and to God the
Son.
And this is proved, not only by the names given to him, but also by _the
way in which the scriptures speak of him_. Let us look at one or two
illustrations of the way in which they do this. When the prophet Isaiah
is speaking of Christ, the Messiah, he represents him, as saying of
himself—“And now, the Lord God and his Spirit hath sent me.” Is. xlviii:
16. Here we see the three persons of the Holy Trinity—God the Father—God
the Son—and God the Holy Spirit are spoken of as all working together.
God the Son is sent, and God the Father and God the Spirit are the ones
who send him.
We see them uniting together again, in the same way, on the occasion of
our Saviour’s baptism. Thus we read, “And Jesus, when he was baptized,
went up straightway out of the water, and lo, the heavens were opened
unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and
lighting upon him; And lo, a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased.” St. Matt. iii: 16, 17. Here we see
the three Persons of the blessed Trinity acting together. God the Son
has taken our nature upon him, and is baptized, as a man, in the river
Jordan. God the Spirit comes down from heaven in the form of a dove, and
rests upon him; while God the Father speaks from heaven, in a voice that
was heard by those who were attending that baptism. This proves to us
that there are three Persons, in the One God whom we worship; and that
the Holy Spirit, who came down upon the church on the day of Pentecost,
is the third Person in this Trinity. He is a divine Person, equal to the
Father and the Son. It is impossible to explain, satisfactorily, what
took place at the baptism of our Saviour in any other way. And in this
way, we get a clear view of the first thing, important for us to know, in
order to understand the meaning of the Spirit’s coming. We see now _what
the Holy Spirit is_. He is a divine Person—united with the Father and
the Son in the great work of our salvation, and equal to them both.
And then there is another thing that we must understand clearly, if we
would know the purpose of the Spirit’s coming on the day of Pentecost—and
that is—_what the Spirit does_. This refers to the work which the Holy
Spirit has to do in the Church of Christ. It takes in both what he had to
do in the church when he first came and also what he has to do now. The
work which the Spirit has to do for the souls of men is the same now that
it was then. There were, indeed, works of wonder, great miracles, to be
performed in the early church which are not done now.
But, apart from this, there is no difference. The work of the Holy Spirit
has always been the same. How important his work was to the church at
first, we see in the fact that nothing was done till the Spirit came.
After Jesus had ascended to heaven there was, as we have already said, a
long pause before anything else was done. This pause lasted for ten days.
Jesus had left a great work for his disciples to carry on in the world;
but during those days nobody moved a step or lifted a finger towards
doing that work. Everything stood still. And the reason for this long
pause was that nothing could be properly done in carrying on this work
till the Spirit came. The disciples had been distinctly told to wait for
his coming. They waited till the day of Pentecost. Then, this Spirit
came. Then the work began—the work of saving souls from death. The work
has never ceased. It has been going on to the present day; and it will
continue to go on till Jesus comes again.
[Illustration: The Incredulity and Confession of Thomas
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with
them: _then_ came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst,
and said, Peace _be_ unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy
finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust _it_
into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered
and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas,
because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed _are_ they that
have not seen, and _yet_ have believed.—_St. John xx: 26-29._
_NOTE BY THE ARTIST_
_Five times during that memorable Easter Day did Jesus manifest himself
to his followers, and it was not until the eighth day at even, that the
sixth appearance is recorded as having taken place; this time for the
special purpose of confirming the belief of one of the eleven who still
doubted. Ten manifestations in all are specifically mentioned, but it
would appear (Acts i:3) that Jesus also revealed himself to his chosen
apostles on many other occasions, speaking of the things pertaining to
the building up of that church, of which he was himself at once the
Foundation and the Corner-stone._
77]
Now there are four things that must be done for every soul that is to be
saved through Jesus Christ. And none but the Holy Spirit can do these
things.
_The first thing that the Holy Spirit has to do for every soul is
to—CONVERT—it._
He began this work at once when he came. He set the apostles to preaching
Jesus Christ, and the result of the first day’s preaching was—that _three
thousand souls_ were converted.
The conversion of the soul refers to the great change which takes place
when a person becomes a Christian. The word conversion is only one of
several words applied to this subject in the Scriptures. Sometimes it is
called being quickened, or made alive; and at other times it is called
being “born again.” This was the way in which our Saviour spoke of the
great change we are now considering, in his interesting conversation with
Nicodemus. And he spoke of the Holy Spirit as the One who is to work out
this change in every case when he said—“_Except a man be born of water
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God._” St. John
iii: 5. To be “born of the Spirit,” is the same as to be converted, or to
have the heart changed, and to be made a new creature in Christ Jesus.
Good people differ much in their opinions about what our Saviour means
by “water” here. Some think it means the truth of God’s word, which is
spoken of as the means employed in the conversion of souls; while others
think that the word “water” here refers to baptism; but we cannot stop to
argue the point now.
Some souls are converted, or born again, before they are old enough to
understand the truth that God has taught us in his holy word. We have two
cases of this kind mentioned in the Bible. One is the prophet Jeremiah,
chap. i: 5, and the other John the Baptist, St. Luke i: 15. When it says
of one of these that he was “sanctified;” and of the other that he was
“filled with the Holy Ghost” from the time he was born, it means that the
great change, of which we are now speaking, was made in them both, by the
Holy Spirit, at that early time. And so it may be now with children, even
while they are very young, especially if they have Christian parents to
pray for them. But, if they are not converted, or born again, till they
grow up to be boys and girls, or men and women, then the word or truth
of God is that which the Holy Spirit makes use of in causing them to be
converted, or born again. Here is an illustration of one, out of many
ways, in which the Spirit does this:
“How a Christmas Card Saved a Soul.” There was a merchant in one of our
large cities who had failed in business. He had lost everything that he
had. He was not a Christian, and did not know where to go for comfort.
His troubles and disappointments made him gloomy and sad. He saw no way
in which he could get out of his troubles; and after thinking over them
a long time, he finally made up his mind to go to the river and drown
himself. He was not married, and had no family of his own; but there were
a number of children in the house where he lived.
This happened on a Christmas day. The children had just come home from
their Sunday-school festival. In passing through the entry, one of them
dropped a beautifully illuminated card, with a text of scripture on it.
As the poor man was going out on his sad errand, his eye rested on this
card, lying on the entry floor. He stooped down and picked it up, and
read on it these sweet words—“Casting all your care on him, for he careth
for you.” I. Peter v: 7. Reading these words had a strange effect upon
him. Instead of going out to drown himself, he went back to his room,
got his Bible, found the passage there, and meditated on it. He thought
of the great sin he had just been going to commit in taking away his own
life. Then he thought of all his other sins. This filled him with great
distress. The burden of his sins soon grew to be heavier than the burden
of his losses and cares. He kneeled to pray. With many tears and cries he
asked for the pardon of his sins and for grace to make him a Christian.
His prayer was heard. His sins were pardoned. His burdens were lifted
off. He became a Christian. He was converted by God’s blessing on that
text of scripture. And it might truly be said of him that he was “born of
water and of the Spirit.”
One part of the work which the Holy Spirit has to do for men is to
convert them. And this is a fair illustration of one of the ways in which
he does it.
_But another part of the Spirit’s work is to—TEACH—men, as well as to
convert them._
When Jesus was speaking to the disciples of the Spirit whom he promised
to send, he said, “He shall _teach you all things_.” St. John xiv: 26.
But, when our Lord spoke of the Spirit teaching us “_all_ things,” he did
not mean those things which we can find out ourselves by diligence in
study. We do not need the help of the Holy Spirit to teach us spelling,
or reading, or history, or geography. He meant “all things” about himself
and the work he has done for our salvation. Sin has closed the eyes of
our souls. It has made us blind to spiritual things. One part of the
Spirit’s work is to open our eyes so that we may see. David was seeking
the Spirit’s help in this matter when he offered the prayer, “Open thou
mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” We may be
very learned in the things that are taught in our schools and colleges.
We may know a great deal about different languages; about botany, and
chemistry, and mathematics, and astronomy, and other studies of that
kind. But all this will not help us to understand the things taught in
the Bible about Christ, and the way to heaven. The knowledge of other
things is sometimes a _hindrance_, rather than a help, in trying to
understand the Bible. In learning what is here taught, none but the
Spirit of God can help us.
Suppose we take a blind man into a large gallery, filled with fine
paintings and beautiful statuary. It is a clear day. The sun is shining
through the windows, and there is plenty of light there. But that is no
help to our blind friend. We point to one after another of the beautiful
paintings before us, and describe them to him. But still he cannot see
one of them. And then, suppose that we had the power to open the blind
man’s eyes, so that he could see them all for himself; what a wonderful
change that would make to him! And this is what the Holy Spirit does for
us. The Bible is like a great gallery. It is full of beautiful pictures,
such as none but God can make. But our eyes are blinded, and we cannot
see them. The Spirit’s work is to open these blind eyes so that we may
see.
And the great end of all the Spirit’s teaching is to help us to see
Jesus, as our Saviour, and the one in whom we must trust for everything
necessary to our salvation. Here is an illustration of what I mean. We
may call it:
“Jesus Only.” A lady had been trying for some time to be a Christian, but
she could find no comfort. The minister of the church which she attended
called to see her. Finding that though she went regularly to church, and
read her Bible at home, and prayed every day, she yet found no peace; he
said to her, “My friend, do you expect to be saved because you are doing
these things?”
“Certainly I do,” was the answer.
“Well this is your mistake. You are putting these in the place of Jesus.
There is no peace, or comfort, or salvation anywhere but in Jesus only.
Now let me give you one verse to think about, and act upon. Jesus
said—‘Come unto me—_and I will give you rest_.’ Have you gone to Jesus
only for rest and peace and salvation?”
She looked amazed. She thought awhile of what had been said to her, and
then burst into tears. New light shone in upon her. It was like opening
the eyes that had been blind. She saw that it was Jesus, and _Jesus
only_, that she needed. She came to him; that is she trusted or believed
in him, and here she found rest and peace and salvation.
When Jesus was speaking to his disciples about the coming of the Holy
Spirit, he said—“he shall _testify to me_.” This was what the Spirit did
in the case just mentioned. And this is what he is doing all the time.
The end of all his teaching is to show us that “Jesus only” can give rest
and peace and salvation to poor lost sinners.
_Another part of the Spirit’s work is to—SANCTIFY—or make holy—all the
people of Christ._
He is called—the _Holy_ Spirit—not only because he is holy himself, but
because his work is to make his people holy. And this is what we all need
to make us fit for heaven. The great law of that blessed world, the law
that is written, as it were, over the gate of heaven, is this—“_without
holiness no man shall see the Lord_.” And Jesus pointed out the way
in which this holiness or sanctification is to be secured when he was
praying for his disciples, and said, “Sanctify them through thy truth.”
The truth here spoken of, means “the truth as it is in Jesus”; or the
things that the Bible tells us about him. This truth is the instrument,
or means, which the Spirit employs in making us holy. The best
definition of holiness is to say that it means being made _like Jesus_.
He is the example, or model, we have set before us, which we must try to
imitate. We must ask ourselves what would Jesus think, or feel, or say,
or do, if he were in our position? and then we must try to think, and
feel, and speak, and act as much like him as possible. And so you see how
important it is for us to know “the truth,” or what the Bible teaches us
about him, because it is only in this way that we can ever hope to become
like him, or to be made holy.
There was a famous artist in Italy many years ago, whose name was Michael
Angelo. He was a great painter and a great sculptor. And when he was
occupied on any work he always took the greatest pains to finish it as
finely as possible. He was once engaged in making the statue of an angel
out of a block of white marble. At last it was nearly done; but still, he
lingered over it, trying to improve it in every possible way. He was a
firm believer in the old proverb, that “whatever is worth doing, is worth
doing well.” A person who had been in his studio and had seen him at work
upon this statue came back, several days after, and found him busy with
it still. “Why,” said he, “I don’t see that you have done anything since
I was here before.”
“O, yes, I have,” said the great artist. “It was too full here, and I
have reduced it somewhat. I have brought that muscle out better. I have
rounded off this arm. I have improved the lip here; and the chin there,
and I have put more expression into the face.”
“Well, but these are mere trifles,” said the visitor.
“They help to make my work perfect; and _perfection is no trifle_,” was
the great man’s wise reply.
And this shows us exactly what the Spirit’s work is in making us holy.
It is trying to make us more and more like the model of perfection we
have set before us in Jesus. But there is one point of difference between
Michael Angelo’s work on his marble statue and the Spirit’s work upon
us. That block of marble was a dead stone. It could do nothing at all to
help the sculptor in his work upon it. But we are living stones, in the
hands of the heavenly Artist. We can and must take hold, and help in the
great work which the Holy Spirit is carrying on, in trying to make us
more holy, or more like Jesus. And as we yield ourselves to the blessed
influences of the Spirit, we should be lifting up our hearts to Jesus in
the prayer:
“Make us, by transforming grace,
Dear Saviour, _daily more like thee_!”
_And then there is one other thing the Holy Spirit has to do in carrying
on his great work, and that is to—HELP AND COMFORT—us._
The work we have to do, as the followers of Christ, is what we never can
do of ourselves. We need the help of the Holy Spirit here all the time.
It is only he who can, in the language of one of our beautiful Collects,
help us to “_think_ those things that are good, and then enable us to
_perform_ the same.” But he can, as another of the Collects says, both
“put into our hearts good desires, and give us grace to bring the same to
good effect.” The Spirit is given for this purpose. And if we seek and
secure his help, we shall not only be able to do all that God requires,
but we shall find comfort in doing it. The work of the Spirit is to give
help and comfort to those who are trying to serve the blessed Saviour.
And it is because he does this that he is so often called the Comforter.
How many illustrations we find of the way in which the Spirit does this
part of his work! But we have only room for one.
“Blind Robert.” Robert’s mother was a poor widow. She had a large family
of children. Robert was the youngest. His mother took in washing. His
brothers and sisters all helped to support the family by working in one
way or other. But poor blind Robert could not work. The only way in which
he could help his mother was by carrying home the clothes for her when
the washing and ironing were over. And it was a touching sight to see
him with a large basket on his arm, full of clothes, and groping his way
slowly and carefully along. But Robert had been taught by the Spirit to
know and love the Saviour; and what help and comfort he found in him
appears in the following conversation, between him and a gentleman who
met him on the road one day.
After talking with him for a while about his mother and family, the
gentleman asked him if it did not make him unhappy to think of being
blind. For a moment, he looked sad; then he smiled, and said: “Sometimes
I think it hard to have to creep about so. I should so like to look at
the bright sun that warms me; and the sweet birds that sing for me; and
the beautiful flowers that feel so soft as I touch them. But God made
me blind, and I know that it is best for me. I am glad that he did not
make me deaf and dumb, too. I am glad that he gave me such a good mother.
But, above all, I am so glad that he has taught me to know and love the
blessed Saviour; for I find it such a help and comfort to think about
him.”
“And how does the Saviour help you?”
“Oh, sir, I pray to him; and then I seem to hear him say, ‘I forgive you
Robert; I love you, poor, blind boy! I will take away your evil heart and
give you a new one!’ And then I feel so happy; it seems to me as if I
could almost hear the angels singing up in heaven.”
“I am glad to hear this, Robert. And do you ever expect to see the
angels?”