- Overcomer Literature Trust
- Swindon
- Wiltshire
OUR HELPER.
By A G Lee
No word has been more abused in human thought than the word “power”. It is a difficult word to define, and in trying to make it understandable it has been thought of as meaning “force”. But the power of God is something infinitely greater, richer and more delicate than “force”. It works in an amazing variety of ways, from the highest to the lowest situations.
How does this power act in the Christian life? If we look in the histories of the Early Church, the power of the Holy One is much mentioned, but what exactly did it mean? What does the power of the Holy Spirit do? Let us investigate this, before we proceed any further.
In the first place, the Holy Spirit enables the believer to understand the truth. Jesus Christ said in John 3, verse 3, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again of the Spirit. Others cannot see this Kingdom and it is a mystery to them. “I have much more to say to you”, Jesus once told His disciples, “more than you can now bear”, but they did not understand. He added “when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16 v12-13).
What did our Lord mean by such statements? He did not mean that we needed the aid of the Spirit to learn about the historical events recorded in the Bible. He did not mean that we needed the Spirit to enable us to grasp the doctrines of Christianity. We can come to a correct intellectual understanding of all the general doctrines without the aid of the Spirit. He did not mean that we need the Spirit for us to accept the principles of Christian living. Many people hold Christian principles and live more or less up to them, yet they know nothing of the help and the influence of Holy Spirit. So what did Christ mean? He meant that our knowledge of Divine things can never become perfect and can never become real to us unless the Spirit of God enlightens us. There are three reasons for this.
The first reason is that without the aid of the Holy Spirit spiritual truth belongs to a realm which none of our five senses touches in any way, therefore without some supernatural intervention, we cannot truly know these truths. As well as this, we can never come to perfect knowledge without the Spirit. Christ said to His disciples, “the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables” (Luke 8 v10). This was necessary because we can only speak in pictures of heavenly things. Even the words we use are not truth, but only symbols for ideas of truth which lie behind. Without understanding in our heart, words alone cannot pass on truth from the heart to the soul. “Believe Me," cried the Lord, when trying to explain heavenly truth in earthly terms, He also made clear that when the Holy Spirit comes we will “know Him” (John 14 v11-17). Later John tells us, “you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth” (1 John 2 v20).
There is a head knowledge, which some people have, but there is also a knowledge by experience. Belief is second-hand knowledge, which we accept after weighing the evidence. Experience is first-hand knowledge, which is now the Christian’s privilege. “These things have I spoken to you in proverbs," said our Lord before leaving His disciples, “a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly” (John 16 v25). Plainly, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced," said Paul the Apostle (2 Timothy 1 v12). You cannot argue with these truths when the soul has been enlightened by the Spirit. “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no mind has conceived — the things God has prepared for those who love Him”. From the context we see that the Apostle is referring to this present life when he says, “these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2 v9-10).
A Second reason for us needing the Spirit is found in the stubbornness and resistance of the human mind. We all know how difficult it often is to see things from a new angle. We laugh at a person when we use a puzzle or riddle that is easy to us but they themselves cannot see this. Their mind has been working in another direction, and they cannot change the thought patterns. Now, for the mind to be turned into an environment of faith there has to be a readjustment, which is impossible without the influence of the Spirit. We need a new mind because an individual can only understand their own thoughts and ways. “For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2 v11). For example, the only way a horse could see life as a human sees it is if miraculously it was given a human mind. Then all would be changed and all things would become new. So, the only way a human can come to know the thoughts of God, is by receiving the implanted mind of God. “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2 v14). It is interesting to note the Apostle’s thought in 1 Corinthians 2. He starts with the subject of Christ crucified, and instead of explaining this doctrine he goes on to his great passage on the work of the Spirit in revealing spiritual truth to us. Paul understood the weaknesses and the blindness of the fallen human mind.
And a third reason why we cannot recognise spiritual truth, apart from the influence of Holy Spirit, lies in the stubborn nature of the human heart. If humanity naturally did good then there might be some hope of leading them into the light. But the fact is that, all over the world, humanity inclines toward evil. They find pleasure in living selfish lives. They may listen to the truth sometimes, but they are unwilling to understand and they resist the truth. Jesus Christ said to His weary disciples about the Holy Spirit, “when He comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16 v8). Only by the influence of Holy Spirit is it possible to understand spiritual truth. Even the language of the New Testament can never be understood, without the help of God’s Spirit. “He will teach you all things” (John 14 v 26).
Another area of life, where the power of the Spirit helps us, is in service. The Holy Spirit enables us to witness for Christ effectively. Christ said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses" (Acts 1 v8). This is linked with our first point, for it is essential when witnessing for God to have the mind enlightened by the Spirit. The word “witness” has its origins in the Old English word meaning “to know”. We must know, or we will be blind leaders of the blind (Matthew 15 v14). As well as this, Christ purposely chose to use the word “Advocate” when speaking of the Holy Spirit. An advocate is called in to help someone to plead their cause. And this is precisely what the Spirit does, He convinces humans of their sin. It is possible to prove most of the truths of Christianity philosophically, but even after this we still have not advanced much. Only the Holy Spirit can make these truths take hold of our souls. The Spirit helps us by enabling us to speak with heaven’s authority. Then others see that the things of God are real to us and that they fill our whole personality.
In life it is us rather than our words that influence people. God’s magnet, so to speak, is someone energised by the Spirit of God. Preachers when proclaiming the Gospel stand in both heaven and earth, and others see this. They are witnesses from a heavenly world and so command attention. God speaks through them and the listeners are reverenced in the Spirit’s presence.
The Spirit enables us to preach the truths needed. Most people preach the Gospel like a useless doctor who has one pill for all diseases. But a good doctor will diagnose each case carefully, and apply the remedy accordingly. He can do this in dealing with the body, because it is visible and can be studied. But how can we know how to treat a sinful soul? How can we apply the remedy of the Gospel to make them whole? This is a task that lies outside of human wisdom alone. It is easy to instruct and teach people, but it is very different to bring souls into fellowship with God. We have no insight into the condition of souls and we do not know what exactly to say. Therefore, we need the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Without this Divine wisdom, we are helpless.
From ‘The Christian, 10th November 1921’.