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God's choice of a king for Israel centred upon David. Samuel was divinely guided,
for when David as a youth was brought into his presence we read that "the Lord said,
Arise, anoint him: for this is he . . . . . and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from
that day forward" (I Sam. 16: 12, 13). Nor did the Holy Spirit leave him all through his
life, for, in spite of his failures, his heart was right with the Lord and this is the first thing
that comes under God's scrutiny as we have seen. David knew that he deserved to lose
the Spirit's influence, for, after his sin with Bath-sheba, he said "Take not Thy Holy
Spirit from me" (Psa. 51: 11). The Reformers, not realizing the change of dispensation,
brought this prayer over into the morning prayer of the Church of England and each
Sunday those who worship here ask God not to take the Holy Spirit from them. But, as
we shall see, this is what the Lord never does in this age of grace. "Right division" can
save us from many mistakes in doctrine. The Holy Spirit is now a permanent indweller
in the believer. The Lord Jesus said:
"I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide
with you for ever . . . . . for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (John 14: 16, 17).
This is one of the great differences between the O.T. dispensation and the present one.
The Holy Spirit in His relationship to the world.
The Lord Jesus dealt with that relationship in John 16: 7-11:
"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."
There are some who seek to restrict the meaning of elengcho (translated `reprove') to
the thought of enlightening, but this is misleading. Enlightening there certainly is with
regard to the Holy Spirit's work with the unsaved world, but it is enlightening regarding
their sinful condition and a conviction that this is so. The usage of this word in the N.T.
is decisive. It occurs 17 times (Matt. 18: 15; Luke 3: 19; John 3: 20; 8: 9, 46;
16: 8; I Cor. 14: 24; Eph. 5: 11, 13; I Tim. 5: 20; II Tim. 4: 2; Titus 1: 9, 13; 2: 15;
Heb. 12: 5; James 2: 9; Rev. 3: 19). Typical occurrences are Titus 1: 13 and 2: 15
where `enlighten' would be completely unsatisfactory as a translation.
The threefold work of the Spirit is described by the Lord as being connected with
(1) sin, (2) righteousness, and (3) judgment. Note that it is sin in the singular, not sins.
It goes to the root and deals with the parent sin of unbelief `of sin', the Saviour said,
"because they believe not on Me" (John 16: 9). This is the one sin that completely
alienates from God. In fact, it makes the God of truth a liar. "He that believeth not
God hath made Him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son"
(I John 5: 10-12). This is something that God will not tolerate. "He that cometh to God
must believe that He is (i.e. exists), and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek
Him", and earlier in the verse, "without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Heb. 11: 6).