The Comforter (Part 2)
John 16:13 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 show you things to come.
Providential guidance and our direction throughout our lives will be imparted to us through the agency of the Comforter. His purpose is to establish the Kingdom of Heaven in us and through us.
Romans 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
He is called the “Spirit of Truth” for he bears witness to the truth that is discovered through what has already been spoken and recorded for posterity in the scripture. In that the scripture comes alive through the illumination of the Comforter.
Ga 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Our inheritance is based upon the promises made to Abraham, one of the Prominent Patriarchs found in the New Testament letters to the Churches.
Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Through the mediation of the Comforter, the New Covenant (Testament) scriptures reveal the Fathers Eternal purposes with his elect. In the letters what was once only the domain of the descendants of Jacob is now open and available to every tribe and tongue on this planet.
Romans 15:9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.
Romans 15:16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.
Ephesians 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
Our future destiny is revealed, that just as Christ was resurrected, so to the Church (the elect) shall follow Christ through death, burial and resurrection followed by an ascension into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Romans 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Colossians 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
The Comforter reveals the ongoing fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham.
Genesis 26:4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
The Church becomes the Corporate Body of Christ. Christ has become as the Stars of Heaven, Just as we discover millions of stars in the universe, so to it is the purpose of God to multiply the Church Daily.
The One (Christ) becomes many and the many are one in the care and comfort of the Spirit of Truth.
Acts 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
The Comforter has come. The Seventh Angel has sounded. Jesus Christ has come again in the flesh. The Two Witnesses have finished the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 12:12 We are one body in Christ. Christ is our true identity just as it is for Jesus our Lord. We must put on Christ, become Christ, let that mind be in us that was also in Christ Jesus.
It is no more blasphemy to say that I am Carlton the Christ, or for others to say that they are Mary the Christ or George the Christ, we are all Christ. We are One in Christ Jesus.
This is a humbling recognition. I of mine own self can do nothing, it is the Father in me who doeth the work. Not my will but thine be done O God.
When we fully accept this fact and become it then the prophecy of Jesus will be fulfilled, that these things that he did, we will also do by the agency of Christ. When we “grow up” in the full stature of the Christ we were intended to be, then the “Tares among the Wheat” the fallen angels and their miscreations can at last be removed from the earth and we can move on in the glory of a golden age.
“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.”-Acts 2:4
Rich were the blessings of this day if all of us were filled with the Holy Ghost. The consequences of this sacred filling of the soul it would be impossible to overestimate. Life, comfort, light, purity, power, peace; and many other precious blessings are inseparable from the Spirit’s benign presence. As sacred oil, He anoints the head of the believer, sets him apart to the priesthood of saints, and gives him grace to execute his office aright. As the only truly purifying water He cleanses us from the power of sin and sanctifies us unto holiness, working in us to will and to do of the Lord’s good pleasure. As the light, He manifested to us at first our lost estate, and now He reveals the Lord Jesus to us and in us, and guides us in the way of righteousness. Enlightened by His pure celestial ray, we are no more darkness but light in the Lord. As fire, He both purges us from dross, and sets our consecrated nature on a blaze. He is the sacrificial flame by which we are enabled to offer our whole souls as a living sacrifice unto God. As heavenly dew, He removes our barrenness and fertilizes our lives. O that He would drop from above upon us at this early hour! Such morning dew would be a sweet commencement for the day. As the dove, with wings of peaceful love He broods over His Church and over the souls of believers, and as a Comforter He dispels the cares and doubts which mar the peace of His beloved. He descends upon the chosen as upon the Lord in Jordan, and bears witness to their sonship by working in them a filial spirit by which they cry Abba, Father. As the wind, He brings the breath of life to men; blowing where He listeth He performs the quickening operations by which the spiritual creation is animated and sustained. Would to God, that we might feel His presence this day and every day. (C H Spurgeon)