There are various features of the work of the Holy Spirit of which it is interesting and important to distinguish. We know that He is the active Agent of all God’s work. Thus, in connection with creation, we read that, “… the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1 :2). So, too, in God’s providential care and the administration of order upon the earth, no doubt, the Spirit is the Agent. But in speaking of that work which is connected with salvation, it is important to distinguish between what is common to all time and what is limited to the present dispensation.
1. NEW BIRTH. ” … Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).
Water is a type in Scripture of the Word of God, the instrumentality used by the Holy Spirit. In the same connection, our blessed Lord declares, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh … ” (John 3:6) or, as we read elsewhere, ” … they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). Thus, if one is ever saved, irrespective of what dispensation he may have lived in, new birth has necessarily taken place. One would be without the faculty of enjoying God – he could not endure His presence – unless he had a nature imparted by the Holy Spirit in new birth, capable of such a relationship. As birth brings one into the natural family, so new birth, by the Holy Spirit, brings one into the family of God, of which the saints in all ages and dispensations are members, by faith in the Word.
2. SEALING AND EARNEST. “…In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession … ” (Ephesians 1: 13-14).
This is a distinctive truth for the present dispensation alone. We never read of Old Testament saints being sealed with the Holy Spirit, for the simple reason that the Holy Spirit was not given until Jesus was glorified (John 7). The gift of the Spirit was bestowed at Pentecost, and, ever since, believers have received this divine sealing. Its meaning is very plain. A seal is a mark of ownership with which no one can interfere. No one dare disturb that which is marked as belonging to God. What a wondrous mark this is! A present, living, divine Being, the Holy Spirit! Each one who has believed, no matter how feebly, or how little his apprehension, has received this seal of the living God. It is a great mistake to confine this to those who have made special attainment in knowledge, or even have a full and distinct apprehension of all that the Gospel means. If there has been faith to touch ” … the border of His garment … ” (Luke 8:44), a single look of faith at Christ, God seals the soul; not according to its measure of apprehension, which would be incomplete in any of us, but according to His knowledge of the value of Christ and His work.
Closely connected with sealing is ” … the earnest of the Spirit … ” (2 Corinthians 1 :22). The “earnest” means a pledge and a foretaste. As the “sealing” is upon the ground of the finished work of Christ, so the “earnest” looks forward to the coming inheritance. It is thus a pledge that those who are marked as belonging to God shall be brought into the full fruition of redemption in glory; and during all this time the believer has the Spirit abiding in him, according to our Lord’s promise in John.
3. THE BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body … ” (1 Corinthians 12: 13).
When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, He took up His abode not only in the individual believer, but formed that assembly of God which is the body of Christ upon earth. He links each believer with Christ and unites them as members one of another, each in his appointed place in that body upon earth. The moment one believes, he is united to Christ and united to that one body which is the only true church, composed of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
4. THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT. “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:4).
The Spirit, who has put us into the body of Christ, endows each one of us with the special functions appropriate to our individual membership. As the body emphasizes the unity of the church of Christ, so the gifts declare the variety of individual activities in that body, ” … all members have not the same office” (Romans 12:4). As each member of the body has its own special function, so every single believer in the body of Christ has a function which none else can perform and which, if neglected by him, affects the entire body. The Spirit has qualified each one of us for just the work that is our privilege to perform. All that is needed is an ungrieved Spirit and abiding communion, and we will, by the very nature of our gift, make use of it.
5. THE ANOINTING OF THE SPIRIT. “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you … ” (1 John 2:27).
This is partly what is suggested by the anointing. It was the mark of induction into office in the Old Testament, whether priestly, kingly, or prophetic; but apart from its official significance, it was typical of the bestowal of power, enabling for the right fulfilment of official duties. Thus, in the anointing of the Spirit, we have no mere official designation of our position in the body of Christ, but rather that endowment of power which enables us for every true activity. This includes instruction in the Word of God and the power of testimony and indeed of the entire life.
6. THE FILLING WITH THE SPIRIT. “…but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5: 18).
This is in contrast with the mere stimulus of human energy, however given. We have the Spirit dwelling in us, but, alas, we may not be filled with the Spirit. Mind and heart may be occupied by other thoughts, so that practically the Spirit has not control in every department of the life. This is intensely practical. If one is to be used of God, if the anointing which we have received is to be practically manifested, it must be in a Spirit-filled life, the opposite of which is the allowance of anything which would grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
7. THE LONGINGS OF THE SPIRIT. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come … ” (Revelation 22: 17).
The blessed Spirit of God has come to glorify Christ. This is His one object in whatever form His activity may appear. Therefore, He forms in the heart of the Lord’s people the longing for His coming again. This has precedence over everything else. No attainment, growth in grace, service, nor Gospel testimony can usurp the mastering desire which the Spirit produces, when unhindered in the hearts of the saints, for the coming of the Lord Jesus. In proportion as He fills the heart and life, the cry will be, ” … Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). May this be true of us all!