| The Berean Expositor Volume 50 - Page 51 of 185 Index | Zoom | |
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (Isa. 61: 1; Luke 4: 18; Acts 5: 9).
The Spirit of our God.
". . . . . . . ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God"
(I Cor. 6: 11).
The Spirit of grace.
Those who have "trodden under foot the Son of God . . . . . and hath done despite unto
the Spirit of grace" (Heb. 10: 29).
The Spirit of truth.
"He (the Father) shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you
forever; even the Spirit of truth . . . . ." (John 16: 16, 17).
The Comforter.
John 14: 16, 26; 15: 26; 16: 7 parakletos, comforter, helper. Note that the Lord
says "another Comforter", for He Himself was a comforter.
In I John 2: 1 parakletos is rendered `Advocate'. The English word is derived from
the Latin Advocatus and both words mean one called to the side of another for help or
counsel. The Companion Bible points out that the Rabbinical writings often refer to the
Messiah as M-nahem (Comforter) and speak of His days as the days of consolation. In
the context we see that the Lord with His love and care for the disciples could see their
continued need of a comforter and helper, so in view of His imminent departure, He
provides another One, the Holy Spirit, Who would abide with them continually.
In connection with the momentous event of the resurrection of Christ, which is the
basis of Christianity, we find the whole Godhead engaged. In John 10: 17, 18 we have
the astounding assertion by the Lord Jesus that He could and would not only lay down
His life when He chose to do so, but also take it again:
"No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down for Myself. I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again . . . . .".
He likewise said "destroy this temple (His body), and in three days I will raise it up"
(John 2: 19). Obviously, these words could never have been made by mortal man or by
any created being. They are another proof that He combined (mysteriously and
seemingly impossibly to us) humanity and deity. No wonder Paul says "great is the
secret of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh" (I Tim. 3: 16), God took upon
Himself a human body. Then in Gal. 1: 1 we have the statement that Christ was raised
by the Father, and in I Pet. 3: 18:
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring
us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened (made alive) by the Spirit . . . . .".
So we can say with truth that Father, Son and Holy Spirit combine to conquer death in
the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, and we hear His thrilling words in Rev. 1: 18:
"I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore", and as He
said to His disciples, "Because I live, ye shall live also".
In I Cor. 2: 9-11 we read: