Part 3, Chapter 3: The Things of Our Communion with the Holy Spirit
Of the things wherein we have communion with the Holy Ghost. He brings to remembrance the things spoken by Christ (John 14:26). The manner how he does it. The Spirit glorifies Christ in the hearts of believers (John 16:14), sheds abroad the love of God in them. The witness of the Spirit what it is (Romans 8:16). The sealing of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). The Spirit how an earnest, on the part of God, on the part of the saints. Difference between the earnest of the Spirit, and tasting of the powers of the world to come. Unction by the Spirit (Isaiah 11:2-3). The various teachings of the Holy Ghost. How the Spirit of adoption; and of supplication.
The things which in the foregoing chapters, I called effects of the Holy Ghost in us, or toward us, are the subject matter of our communion with him; or the things wherein we hold peculiar fellowship with him, as our comforter. These are now proposed to consideration.
1. The first and most general is that of John 14:26. He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, that I have spoken to you. There are two parts of this promise.
- 1. Of teaching, - 2. Of bringing to remembrance.
Of his teaching I shall speak afterwards, when I come to treat of his anointing us.
His bringing the things to remembrance that Christ spoke, is the first general promise of him as a comforter. [illegible], he shall make you mind all these things; now this also may be considered two ways:
1. Merely in respect of the things spoken themselves. So our Savior here promises his apostles, that the Holy Ghost should bring to their minds by an immediate efficacy, the things that he had spoken, that by his inspiration they might be enabled to write and preach them for the good and benefit of his Church. So Peter tells us (2 Peter 1:21), holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; that is, in writing the Scripture. [illegible]; borne up by him, carried beyond themselves, to speak his words, and what he indited to them. The apostles forgot much of what Christ had said to them, or might do so; and what they did retain in a natural way of remembrance, was not a sufficient foundation to them to write what they so remembered, for a rule of faith to the Church. For the word of prophecy, is not [illegible], from any man's proper impulse; it comes not from any private conception, understanding, or remembrance. Wherefore Christ promises that the Holy Ghost shall do this work, that they might infallibly give out what he had delivered to them. Hence that expression in Luke chapter 1.
3. [illegible], is better rendered, having obtained perfect knowledge of things from above; noting the rise and spring of his so understanding things, as to be able infallibly to give them out in a rule of faith to the Church, then the beginning of the things themselves spoken of; which the word itself, will not easily allow of.
2. In respect of the comfort of what he had spoken; which seems to be a great part of the intendment of this promise. He had been speaking to them things suited for their consolation; giving them precious promises of the supplies they should have from him in this life; of the love of the Father, of the glory he was providing for them; the sense and comfort whereof is unspeakable, and the joy arising from them, full of glory. But, says he, I know how unable you are to make use of these things for your own consolation; the Spirit therefore shall recover them upon your minds in their full strength and vigor for that end, for which I speak them. And this is one cause why it was expedient for believers that Christ's bodily absence, should be supplied by the presence of the Spirit. While he was with them, how little efficacy on their hearts had any of the heavenly promises he gave them? When the Spirit came, how full of joy did he make all things to them? That which was his peculiar work, which belonged to him by virtue of his office, that he also might be glorified, was reserved for him. And this is his work to the end of the world, to bring the promises of Christ to our minds and hearts, to give us the comfort of them, the joy and sweetness of them, much beyond that which the disciples found in them, when Christ in person spoke them to them; their gracious influence being then restrained, that, as was said, the dispensation of the Spirit might be glorified; so are the next words to this promise, verse 27. My peace I leave with you, peace I give to you. The comforter being sent to bring what Christ said, to remembrance, the consequent of it is peace, and freedom from trouble of heart: whatever peace, relief, comfort, joy, supportment, we have at any time received from any work, promise, or thing done by Christ, it all belongs to this dispensation of the comforter. In vain should we apply our natural abilities to remember, call to mind, consider the promises of Christ: without success would it be; it is so daily: but when the comforter does undertake the work, it is done to the purpose. How we have peculiar communion with him herein; in faith and obedience, in the consolation received, in and by the promises of him brought to mind, shall be afterwards declared. This in general is obtained. Our Savior Jesus Christ leaving the efficacy even of those promises, which in person he gave to his apostles in their great distress, as to their consolation, to the Holy Ghost, we may see the immediate spring of all the spiritual comfort we have in this world, and the fellowship which we have with the Holy Ghost therein.
Only here, as in all the particulars following the manner of the Spirit's working, this thing, is always to be borne in mind, and the interest of his power, will, and goodness in his working. He does this:
- 1. Powerfully, or effectually. - 2. Voluntarily. - 3. Freely.
First, powerfully. Therefore does comfort from the words and promises of Christ sometimes break in through all opposition into the saddest and darkest condition imaginable. It comes and makes men sing in a dungeon, rejoice in flames, glory in tribulation. It enters prisons and racks, through temptations and the greatest distresses imaginable. Whence is this? The Spirit works effectually; his power is in it. He will work, and none shall hinder him. If he will bring to our remembrance the promises of Christ for our consolation, neither Satan nor man, sin nor world, nor death shall interrupt our comfort. This the saints who have communion with the Holy Spirit know to their advantage. Sometimes the heavens are black over them and the earth trembles under them; public and personal calamities appear so full of horror and darkness that they are ready to faint. Hence is their great relief and the recovery of their spirits. Their consolation depends not on any outward condition nor inward frame of their own hearts, but on the powerful and effectual workings of the Holy Spirit, to which by faith they give themselves up.
Second, voluntarily — distributing to every one as he will. Therefore is this work done in so great variety both as to the same person and diverse persons. For the same person: full of joy sometimes in great distress, full of consolation, every promise bringing sweetness when pressures are great and heavy. At another time in the least trial, searching the promise for comfort and finding it far away. The reason is that the Spirit distributes as he will. So with diverse persons: to some each promise is full of life and comfort; others taste little all their days. Faith especially regards this in the whole matter of consolation: it depends on the sovereign will of the Holy Spirit and is not tied to any rules or course of procedure. Therefore faith exercises itself in waiting upon him for the seasonable accomplishment of the good pleasure of his will.
Third, freely. Much of the variety of the dispensation of consolation by promises depends on this freedom of the Spirit's operation. Hence it is that comfort is given unexpectedly, when the heart has every reason in the world to look for distress and sorrow. Thus sometimes it is the first means of recovering a backsliding soul that might justly have expected to be utterly cast off. These considerations are to be carried on in all the other effects and fruits of the Comforter. And in this first general effect or work of the Holy Spirit toward us we have communion and fellowship with him. The life and soul of all our comforts lie treasured up in the promises of Christ. They are the breasts of all our consolation. Who does not know how powerless they are in the bare letter, even when improved to the uttermost by our consideration of them and meditation on them — as also how unexpectedly they sometimes break in upon the soul with a conquering, endearing life and vigor? Here faith deals peculiarly with the Holy Spirit. It considers the promises themselves; looks up to him; waits for him; considers his appearances; in the word depended on, owns him in his work and efficacy. No sooner does the soul begin to feel the life of a promise warming his heart, relieving, cherishing, supporting, and delivering from fear, entanglements, or troubles — but he may and ought to know that the Holy Spirit is there. This will add to his joy and lead him into fellowship with him.
Second, the next general work seems to be that of John 16:14: the Comforter shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it to you. The work of the Spirit is to glorify Christ. By this we may see how far that spirit is from being the Comforter who sets himself up in the place of Christ — who says he is all, and as for the one who suffered at Jerusalem, we need not trouble ourselves about him. This is not the Comforter; his work is to glorify Christ, him who sends him. This is an evident sign of a false spirit: whatever its pretense may be, if it glorifies not that Christ who was now speaking to his apostles — such are many that have gone abroad into the world. What shall this Spirit do that Christ may be glorified? He shall take of mine. What these things are is declared in the next verse: all things that the Father has are mine, therefore I said he shall take of mine. It is not of the essence and essential properties of the Father and Son that our Savior speaks, but of the grace communicated to us by them. This Christ calls his things, being the fruit of his purchase and mediation. On this account he says all his Father's things are his — that is, the things that the Father in his eternal love has provided to be dispensed in the blood of his Son, all the fruits of election. These the Comforter shall receive — that is, they shall be committed to him to dispose for our good and advantage. It follows: he shall show or declare and make them known to you. Thus is he a Comforter. He reveals to the souls of believers the good things of the covenant of grace which the Father has provided and the Son purchased. He shows to us mercy, grace, forgiveness, righteousness, acceptation with God. He lets us know that these are the things of Christ which he has procured for us. He shows them to us for our comfort and establishment. These things he effectually declares to the souls of believers and makes them know them for their own good — know them as originally the things of the Father, prepared from eternity in his love and goodwill; as purchased for them by Christ and laid up in store in the covenant of grace for their use. Then is Christ magnified and glorified in their hearts; then they know what a Savior and Redeemer he is. A soul never glorifies or honors Christ upon a discovery or sense of the eternal redemption he has purchased for it, but it is in him a peculiar effect of the Holy Spirit as our Comforter. No man can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12:3.
3. He sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts (Romans 5:5). That it is the love of God to us, not our love to God, which is here intended, the context is so clear, as nothing can be added thereunto: now the love of God is either of ordination or of acceptation: the love of his purpose to do us good, or the love of acceptation, and approbation with him, both these are called the love of God frequently in Scripture, as I have declared. Now how can these be shed abroad in our hearts? Not in themselves, but in a sense of them; in a spiritual apprehension of them; is shed abroad, the same word that is used concerning the Comforter being given us (Titus 2:6). God sheds him abundantly, or pours him on us; so He sheds abroad, or pours out the love of God in our hearts. Not to insist on the expression, which is metaphorical; the business is, that the Comforter gives a sweet and plentiful evidence and persuasion of the love of God to us, such as the soul is taken, delighted, satiated with. This is his work, and he does it effectually. To give a poor sinful soul a comfortable persuasion, affecting it throughout, in all its faculties and affections, that God in Jesus Christ loves him, delights in him, is well pleased with him, has thoughts of tenderness and kindness towards him; to give, I say, a soul an overflowing sense hereof, is an inexpressible mercy.
This we have in a peculiar manner by the Holy Ghost; it is his proper work: as all his works, are works of love and kindness, so this of communicating a sense of the love of the Father, mixes itself with all the particulars of his actings. And as we have herein peculiar communion with himself; so by him we have communion with the Father; even in his love, which is thus shed abroad in our hearts: so not only do we rejoice in, and glorify the Holy Ghost which does this work, but in him also whose love it is. Thus is it also in respect of the Son; in his taking of his, and showing of it unto us, as was declared. What we have of heaven in this world, lies herein: and the manner of our fellowship with the Holy Ghost on this account, falls in with what was spoken before.
4. Another effect we have of his (Romans 8:16). The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirits, that we are the children of God. You know whose children we are by nature; children of Satan, and of the curse, or of wrath. By the Spirit we are put into another capacity, and are adopted to be the children of God, inasmuch as by receiving the Spirit of our Father, we become the children of our Father. Thence is he called (verse 15) the Spirit of adoption. Now sometimes the soul, because it has somewhat remaining in it, of the principle that it had in its old condition, is put to question, whether it be a child of God or no, and thereupon as in a thing of the greatest importance, puts in its claim, with all the evidences that it has, to make good its title. The Spirit comes and bears witness in this case. An allusion it is to judicial proceedings in point of titles and evidences. The judge being set, the person concerned lays his claim, produces his evidences and pleads them; his adversaries endeavoring all that in them lies, to invalidate them, and disannul his plea, and to cast him in his claim: in the midst of the trial, a person of known and approved integrity comes into the court, and gives testimony fully and directly on the behalf of the claimer, which stops the mouths of all his adversaries, and fills the man that pleaded, with joy and satisfaction. So is it in this case. The soul by the power of its own conscience, is brought before the law of God: there a man puts in his plea, that he is a child of God, that he belongs to God's family, and for this end produces all his evidences, everything, whereby faith gives him an interest in God. Satan in the meantime opposes with all his might; sin and law assist him: many flaws are found in his evidences; the truth of them all is questioned, and the soul hangs in suspense as to the issue. In the midst of the plea and contest, the Comforter comes; and by a word of promise; or otherwise, overpowers the heart with a comfortable persuasion, (and bears down all objections) that his plea is good and that he is a child of God. And therefore it is said of him: when our spirits are pleading their right and title, he comes in and bears witness on our side: at the same time, enabling us to put forth acts of filial obedience; kind and childlike, which is called crying Abba Father (Galatians 4:6). Remember still the manner of the Spirit's working before mentioned; that he does it effectually, voluntarily, and freely. Hence sometimes the dispute hangs long; the cause is pleading many years: the law seems sometimes to prevail; sin and Satan to rejoice; and the poor soul is filled with dread about its inheritance, perhaps its own witness, from its faith, sanctification, former experience, keeps up the plea with some life and comfort; but the work is not done, the conquest is not fully obtained, until the Spirit who works freely and effectually, when and how he will, comes in with his testimony also: clothing his power with a word of promise, he makes all parties concerned to attend unto him, and puts an end to the controversy.
Herein he gives us holy communion with himself. The soul knows his voice when he speaks: *nec hominem sonat*. There is something too great in it, to be the effect of a created power. When the Lord Jesus Christ, at one word stilled the raging of the sea and wind, all that were with him, knew there was divine power at hand (Matthew 4:39). And when the Holy Ghost by one word stills the tumults and storms that are raised in the soul, giving it an immediate calm and security, it knows his divine power, and rejoices in his presence.
5. He seals us. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13), and grieve not the Holy Spirit whereby you are sealed to the day of redemption (chapter 4:30). I am not very clear in the certain peculiar intent of this metaphor, what I am persuaded of the mind of God in it, I shall briefly impart. In a seal two things are considered,
- 1. The nature of it. - 2. The use of it.
The nature of sealing consists in the imparting of the image or character of the seal to the thing sealed. In this sense, the effectual communication of the image of God to us is our sealing. The Spirit, in really communicating to believers the image of God in righteousness and true holiness, seals us. To have this stamp of the Holy Spirit as an evidence to the soul that it is accepted with God is to be sealed by the Spirit. In this sense our Savior is said to be sealed of God, John 6:27 — from that impression of the power, wisdom, and majesty of God upon him in the discharge of his office.
The ends of sealing are twofold. First, to confirm or ratify any grant or conveyance made in writing — in such cases men set their seals to make good and confirm their grants, and when this is done they are irrevocable. Or second, to confirm the testimony that is given of the truth of any matter. Such was the manner among the Jews: when any one had given true witness to any thing and it was received by the judges, they set their seals to it to confirm it in judgment. Hence it is said that he who receives the testimony of Christ sets to his seal that God is true, John 3:33. The promise is the great grant and conveyance of life and salvation in Christ to the souls of believers. That we may have full assurance of the truth and irrevocableness of the promise, God gives us the Spirit to satisfy our hearts of it, and hence is he said to seal us — assuring our hearts of those promises and their stability. But though many expositors go this way, I do not see how this can consist with the very meaning of the word: it is not said that the promise is sealed, but that we are sealed — and when we seal a deed or grant to any one, we do not say the man is sealed, but the deed or grant.
Second, to appropriate, distinguish, or keep safe. This is the end of sealing — men set their seals on what they appropriate and desire to keep safe for themselves. So evidently in this sense the servants of God are said to be sealed, Revelation 7:4 — marked with God's mark as his peculiar ones. This sealing answers to the setting of a mark in Ezekiel 9. Believers are sealed when they are marked for God, to be heirs of the purchased inheritance and to be preserved to the day of redemption. If this is the sealing intended, it denotes not an act of sense in the heart but of security to the person.
If asked which of these senses is chiefly intended in our being sealed by the Holy Spirit, I answer the first, not excluding the other. We are sealed to the day of redemption when, from the stamp, image, and character of the Spirit upon our souls, we have a fresh sense of the love of God given to us with a comfortable persuasion of our acceptation with him.
Thus the Holy Spirit communicates to us his own likeness, which is also the image of the Father and the Son. We are changed into this image by the Lord the Spirit, 2 Corinthians 3:18. Herein he brings us into fellowship with himself. Our likeness to him gives us boldness with him. His work we look for, his fruits we pray for. When any effect of grace, any discovery of the image of Christ implanted in us, gives us a persuasion of being separated and set apart for God, we have communion with him therein.
Sixth, he is an earnest to us. 2 Corinthians 1:22: he has given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. 2 Corinthians 5:5: who also has given us the earnest of the Spirit. Ephesians 1:13-14: you are sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance. In the first two places we are said to have the earnest of the Spirit; in the latter the Spirit is said to be our earnest. The Spirit is our earnest, as expressed in the last place. The consideration of what is meant by the Spirit here and what is meant by an earnest will give some insight into this privilege which we receive by the Comforter.
As to what gift of the Spirit is intended by this earnest, it is the Spirit himself personally considered who is said to be this earnest. 2 Corinthians 1:22: it is God who has given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts — an expression directly answering Galatians 4:6: God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. That is the person of the Spirit, for nothing else can be called the Spirit of his Son. And Ephesians 1:14: he has given the Spirit — the one promised — which is that earnest. The Spirit of promise himself is this earnest. In giving us this Spirit he gives us this earnest.
An earnest — the Greek word is neither properly Greek nor Latin but the Hebrew herabon, which as some conceive came among the Greeks through Tyrian merchants, being a word of trade. The Latins made words from it: arrha and arrabo. It is by some rendered in Latin as pignus, a pledge; but this cannot be what is here intended. A pledge is that which one gives or leaves in the custody of another to assure him that he will give or pay some other thing — in the nature of what we call a pawn. The thing here intended is a part of that which is to come, and but a part of it — according to the trade use of the word from which the metaphor is taken. Hence it is excellently rendered in our language an earnest: part of the price of any thing, or part of any grant, given beforehand to assure the person to whom it is given that at the appointed season he shall receive the whole that is promised him.
For a thing to be an earnest, two things are required. First, that it be part of the whole, of the same kind and nature with it — as we give so much money in earnest to pay so much more. Second, that it be a confirmation of a promise and appointment — first the whole is promised, then the earnest is given for the good and true performance of that promise.
Thus the Spirit is this earnest. God gives us the promise of eternal life. To confirm this to us, he gives us his Spirit, which is as the first part of the promise, to secure us of the whole. Hence he is said to be the earnest of the inheritance that is promised and purchased. We may consider how he is an earnest on the part of God who gives him, and on the part of believers who receive him.
First, he is an earnest on the part of God, in that God gives him as a choice part of the inheritance itself — and of the same kind with the whole, as an earnest ought to be. The full inheritance promised is the fullness of the Spirit in the enjoyment of God. When that Spirit who is given us in this world shall have perfectly taken away all sin and sorrow and made us able to enjoy the glory of God in his presence, that is the full inheritance promised. So the Spirit given us for fitting us for the enjoyment of God in some measure while we are here is the earnest of the whole.
Second, God does this to assure and secure us of the inheritance. Having given us so many securities without us — his word, promises, covenant, oath, the revelation of his faithfulness and immutability in them all — he is pleased also graciously to give us one within us, Isaiah 59:21, Hebrews 6:17-18. What more can be done? He has given us of the Holy Spirit — in him the first fruits of glory, the utmost pledge of his love, the earnest of all.
Second, on the part of believers, he is an earnest in that he gives them an acquaintance with the love of God and their acceptation with him. He makes known to them their favor in his sight: that he is their Father and will deal with them as with children, and consequently that the inheritance shall be theirs. He sends his Spirit into our hearts crying Abba Father, Galatians 4:6. And what is the inference of believers from hence, verse 7: then we are not servants but sons, and if sons then heirs of God. The same apostle, Romans 8:17: if children, then heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. On that persuasion of the Spirit that we are children, the inference is: then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. We have then a right to an inheritance and an assurance of it. This is the use we have of it: the Spirit persuading us of our sonship and acceptation with God our Father. And 1 John 3:24: hereby we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given us. The Spirit acquaints us with it — not that we always have such an acquaintance, but that the argument is good and conclusive in itself; we have of the Spirit, therefore he dwells in us and we in him.
The Spirit being given as an earnest acquaints believers with their inheritance, 1 Corinthians 2:9-10. As an earnest, being part of the whole, gives knowledge of it, so does the Spirit.
So is he in all respects completely an earnest: given of God, received by us, as the beginning of our inheritance and the assurance of its future fullness. So much as we have of the Spirit, so much we have of heaven in present enjoyment, and so much evidence of its future fullness. Under this apprehension of him in the dispensation of grace do believers receive him and rejoice in him. Every gracious, self-evidencing act of his in their hearts they rejoice in as a drop from heaven, and long for the ocean of it.
There remains only that a difference be briefly assigned between believers receiving the Spirit as an earnest of the whole inheritance, and hypocrites tasting of the powers of the age to come, Hebrews 6:5. A tasting of the powers of the age to come seems at first to be the same as the earnest of the inheritance.
But (1.) that by the powers of the world to come in that place, is intended the joys of heaven, there is indeed no ground to imagine: they are nowhere so called; nor does it suitably express the glory that shall be revealed, which we shall be made partakers of. It is doubtless the powerful ministry of the ordinances and dispensations of the times of the gospel (there, called to the Hebrews according their own idiom) the powers or great effectual things of the world to come; that is intended: but
2. Suppose that by the powers of the world to come the glory of heaven is intended; there is a wide difference between taking a vanishing taste of it ourselves, and receiving an abiding earnest from God: To take a taste of the things of heaven, and to have them assured of God, as from his love differ greatly. A hypocrite may have his thoughts raised to a great deal of joy and contentment in the consideration of the good things of the kingdom of God for a season, considering the things in themselves, but the Spirit as he is an earnest gives us a pledge of them as provided for us in the love of God and purchase of his Son Jesus Christ. This by the way.
7. The Spirit anoints believers. We are anointed by the Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:21). We have an unction from the holy one, and we know all things (1 John 2:20), and verse 27. I cannot intend to run this expression up into its rise and original. Also I have done it elsewhere. The use of unctions in the Jewish church, the meaning and intent of the types attended therewith. The offices that men were consecrated unto thereby, are at the bottom of this expression; nearer the unction of Jesus Christ, from where he is called Messiah, and the Christ, the whole performance of his office of mediatorship, being called also his anointing (Daniel 9) as to his furnishment for it, concurs hereunto. Christ is said to be anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows (Hebrews 1:9), which is the same with that of John 3:34. God giveth him not the Spirit by measure. We who have the Spirit by measure, are anointed with the oil of gladness: Christ has the fullness of the Spirit, from where our measure is communicated; so he is anointed above us; that in all things he may have the preeminence. How Christ was anointed with the Spirit to his threefold office, of King, Priest, and Prophet, how by virtue of an unction with the same Spirit dwelling in him, and us, we become to be interested in these offices of his, and are made also kings, priests, and prophets to God, is known, and would be matter of a long discourse to handle, and my design is only to communicate the things treated of.
I shall only therefore fix on one place, where the communications of the Spirit in this unction of Christ are enumerated, of which in our measure from him, and with him, by this unction, we are made partakers: and that is Isaiah 11:2-3. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord, etc. Many of the endowments of Christ, from the Spirit with which he was abundantly anointed, are here recounted. Principally those of wisdom, counsel, and understanding, are insisted on: on the account of which, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are said to be in him (Colossians 2:3), and though this be but some part of the furniture of Jesus Christ, for the discharge of his office, yet it is such, as where our anointing to the same purpose is mentioned, it is said peculiarly on the effecting of such qualifications as these; so John 2:22 and 27, the work of the anointing, is to teach us. The Spirit therein, is a Spirit of wisdom and understanding of counsel, knowledge and quick understanding in the fear of the Lord. So was the great promise of the Comforter, that he should teach us (John 14:26), that he should guide us into all truth (chapter 16:13). This of teaching us the mind and will of God, in the manner in which we are taught it by the Spirit, our Comforter, is an eminent part of our unction by him, which only I shall instance in. Give me leave to say there is a threefold teaching by the Spirit.
1. A teaching by the Spirit of conviction and illumination; so the Spirit teaches the world, that is, many in it, by the preaching of the word, as he is promised to do (John 16:8).
2. A teaching by the Spirit of sanctification, opening blind eyes, giving a new understanding shining into our hearts, to give us a knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ, enabling us to receive spiritual things in a spiritual light (1 Corinthians 2:8), giving a saving knowledge of the mystery of the gospel; and this in several degrees is common to all believers.
3. A teaching by the Spirit of consolation, making sweet, useful, and joyful to the soul the discoveries that are made of the mind and will of God in the light of the Spirit of sanctification. Here the oil of the Spirit, is called the oil of gladness that which brings joy and gladness with it; and the name of Christ hereby discovered, is a sweet ointment poured forth, that causes souls to run after him with joy and delight (Song of Solomon 1:2). We see it by daily experience, that very many have little taste and sweetness and relish in their souls of those truths, which yet they savingly know and believe: But when we are taught by this unction, oh how sweet is every thing we know of God? As we may see in the place of John, where mention is made of the teaching of this unction, it respects peculiarly, the Spirit teaching of us the love of God in Christ, the shining of his countenance, which as David speaks, puts gladness into our hearts (Psalm 4:6-7).
We have this then by the Spirit, he teaches us of the love of God in Christ, he makes every gospel truth as wine well refined to our souls, and the good things of it, to be a feast of fat things: gives us joy and gladness of heart with all that we know of God, which is the great preservative of the soul to keep it close to truth. The apostle speaks of our teaching by this unction, as the means whereby we are preserved from seduction. Indeed to know any truth in the power, sweetness, joy, and gladness of it, is that great security of the soul's constancy in the preservation and retaining of it. They will readily change truth for error, who find no more sweetness in the one than in the other. I must crave the reader's pardon, for my brief passing over these great things of the gospel: my present design is rather to enumerate, than to unfold them. This one work of the Holy Ghost might it be pursued, would require a fuller discourse than I can allot unto the whole matter in hand. All the privileges we enjoy, all the dignity and honor we are invested with, our whole dedication unto God, our nobility and royalty, our interest in all church advantages, and approaches to God in worship, our separation from the world, the name whereby we are called, the liberty we enjoy, all flow from this head, are all branches of this effect of the Holy Ghost. I have mentioned only our teaching by this unction: a teaching that brings joy and gladness with it, by giving the heart a sense of the truth wherein we are instructed. When we find any of the good truths of the gospel come home to our souls, with life, vigor, and power; giving us gladness of heart, transforming us into the image and likeness of it, the Holy Ghost is then at his work; is pouring out of his oil.
We have adoption also by the Spirit, hence he is called the Spirit of adoption: that is either, he who is given to adopted ones, to secure them of it, to beget in their hearts a sense and persuasion of the Father's adopting love; or else to give them the privilege itself, as is intimated (John 1:12). Neither is that opposite hereunto which we have (Galatians 4:6), for God may send the spirit of supplication into our hearts, because we are sons, and yet adopted by his Spirit. But of this elsewhere.
He is also called the Spirit of supplication, under which notion he is promised (Zechariah 12:10), and how he affects that in us, is declared (Romans 8:26-27 and Galatians 4:6), and we are thence said to pray in the Holy Ghost. Our prayers may be considered.
1. Two ways. First as a spiritual duty required of us by God; and so they are wrought in us by the Spirit of sanctification, which helps us to perform all our duties, by exalting all the faculties of the soul for the spiritual discharge of their respective offices in them.
2. As a means of retaining communion with God, whereby we sweetly ease our hearts in the bosom of the Father, and receive in refreshing tastes of his love. The soul is never more raised with the love of God, than when by the Spirit taken into intimate communion with him, in the discharge of this duty: and therein it belongs to the Spirit of consolation, to the Spirit promised as a Comforter. And this is the next thing to be considered in our communion with the Holy Ghost: namely what are the peculiar effects which he works in us, and towards us, being so bestowed on us, as was declared, and working in the way and manner insisted on. Now these are, his bringing the promises of Christ to remembrance, glorifying him in our hearts, shedding abroad the love of God in us, witnessing with us, as to our spiritual estate and condition, sealing us to the day of redemption; being the earnest of our inheritance, anointing us with privileges as to their consolation, confirming our adoption, and being present with us in our supplications. Here is the wisdom of faith; to find out, and meet with the Comforter in all these things: not to lose their sweetness, by lying in the dark to their author; nor coming short of the returns which are required of us.
This chapter concerns the things in which we hold communion with the Holy Spirit. He brings to mind the things Christ spoke (John 14:26). How He does this. The Spirit glorifies Christ in the hearts of believers (John 16:14) and pours out God's love in them. What the witness of the Spirit is (Romans 8:16). The sealing of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). How the Spirit is an earnest — on God's part and on the saints' part. The difference between the earnest of the Spirit and tasting the powers of the age to come. The anointing of the Spirit (Isaiah 11:2-3). The various ways the Holy Spirit teaches. How the Spirit is a Spirit of adoption and a Spirit of prayer.
The things I referred to in the previous chapters as effects of the Holy Spirit in us and toward us are the substance of our communion with Him — the specific ways in which we hold fellowship with Him as our Comforter. These are now set out for consideration.
1. The first and most general is from John 14:26. 'But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.' There are two parts to this promise.
1. Teaching. 2. Bringing to remembrance.
His teaching I will address later when I come to treat of His anointing us.
His bringing to remembrance the things Christ spoke is the first general promise of Him as Comforter. He will call all these things to your mind — and this too may be understood in two ways:
1. Simply with regard to the content of the things spoken. In this sense, the Savior here promises His apostles that the Holy Spirit would by direct influence bring to their minds what He had said, so that through His inspiration they would be able to write and preach those things for the good and benefit of His church. As Peter tells us: 'Men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God' (2 Peter 1:21) — that is, in writing Scripture. They were carried along by Him, lifted beyond themselves to speak His words and what He placed in them. The apostles had forgotten much of what Christ had said, or might forget; and what they did retain through natural memory was not a sufficient basis for writing what they remembered as a rule of faith for the church. For the word of prophecy does not come from any human impulse; it does not arise from any person's own conception, understanding, or memory. Therefore Christ promises that the Holy Spirit would do this work so that they could infallibly deliver what He had given them. Hence that expression in Luke chapter 1 —
Luke's preface is best understood as saying he had obtained complete and sure knowledge of these things from above — pointing to the source and ground of his ability to give them out infallibly as a rule of faith for the church, rather than indicating when the events themselves took place, which the word itself does not easily allow.
2. With regard to the comfort of what Christ had spoken — which seems to be a major part of the intent of this promise. He had been speaking to them things suited to bring them comfort: precious promises of the supply they would have from Him in this life, of the Father's love, of the glory He was preparing for them — the sense and comfort of which is beyond words, and the joy arising from them full of glory. But He says: I know how incapable you are of making these things work for your own consolation; therefore the Spirit will bring them back to your minds with their full power and effect, for the very purpose for which I spoke them. This is one reason why it was better for believers that Christ's bodily presence be replaced by the presence of the Spirit. While He was with them, how little effect did His heavenly promises have on their hearts? When the Spirit came, how full of joy did He make everything for them? What was the Spirit's specific work — belonging to Him by virtue of His office, so that He too might be glorified — was reserved for Him. And this is His work to the end of the world: to bring the promises of Christ to our minds and hearts, giving us the comfort, joy, and sweetness of them — far beyond what the disciples found in those same words when Christ spoke them in person. Their full influence was restrained at that time so that the Spirit's dispensation might be glorified, as the next words of this promise confirm (verse 27): 'Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you.' The Comforter being sent to bring what Christ said to remembrance, the result is peace and freedom from troubled hearts. All the peace, relief, comfort, joy, and strength we receive at any time from any work, promise, or act of Christ — it all belongs to this ministry of the Comforter. It is futile to apply our natural ability to remembering and meditating on Christ's promises; daily experience proves it is not enough. But when the Comforter undertakes the work, it is accomplished. How we hold distinct communion with Him in this — through faith and obedience, in the consolation received through the promises He brings to mind — will be addressed later. This much is established in general: our Savior Jesus Christ leaving even the power of the promises He personally gave His apostles in their great distress — in regard to consolation — to the Holy Spirit shows us the immediate source of all the spiritual comfort we have in this world, and the fellowship we hold with the Holy Spirit in it.
In this, as in all the effects that follow, the manner of the Spirit's working must always be kept in mind — His power, His will, and His goodness in it. He does this:
1. Powerfully, or effectually. 2. Voluntarily. 3. Freely.
First, powerfully. This is why comfort drawn from the words and promises of Christ sometimes breaks through all opposition into the saddest and darkest condition imaginable. It comes and makes people sing in a prison cell, rejoice in flames, glory in suffering. It enters dungeons and places of torture, through temptations and the worst distress imaginable. Where does this come from? The Spirit works with power; His power is in it. He will work, and no one will stop Him. If He chooses to bring Christ's promises to our remembrance for our consolation, neither Satan nor man, sin nor world, nor death itself will interrupt our comfort. The saints who hold communion with the Holy Spirit know this for their benefit. Sometimes the sky over them is dark and the ground beneath them shakes; public and personal disasters appear so full of dread and darkness that they are ready to give up. And then comes their great relief — their spirits are restored. Their consolation does not depend on any outward circumstance or on the state of their own hearts, but on the powerful and effective working of the Holy Spirit, to whom by faith they yield themselves.
Second, voluntarily — distributing to each one as He wills. This is why this work is done in such great variety, both in the same person at different times and in different people. For the same person: sometimes full of joy in great distress, full of consolation, every promise bringing sweetness when pressures are heavy. At another time, in a comparatively minor trial, searching the promises for comfort and finding them distant. The reason is that the Spirit distributes as He wills. So also with different people: to some every promise is full of life and comfort; others taste little all their days. Faith especially takes this to heart in the whole matter of consolation — it depends on the sovereign will of the Holy Spirit and is not tied to fixed rules or predictable patterns. Therefore faith exercises itself in waiting on Him for the fulfillment of His good pleasure in His own time.
Third, freely. Much of the variety in the Spirit's dispensing of consolation through promises depends on this freedom of His working. This is why comfort sometimes comes unexpectedly, when the heart has every reason in the world to anticipate distress and sorrow. Sometimes it is the very first means of restoring a soul that had wandered, and who might justly have expected to be entirely cast off. These observations carry through to all the other effects and fruits of the Comforter. In this first general effect — the Holy Spirit's work toward us — we hold communion and fellowship with Him. The life and soul of all our comforts are stored up in Christ's promises. They are the fountainhead of all our consolation. Who does not know how powerless they can be in the bare letter, even when we have done our best to think about them and meditate on them — and yet how unexpectedly they sometimes break in on the soul with a conquering, endearing life and energy? Here faith deals distinctly with the Holy Spirit. It examines the promises; looks up to Him; waits for Him; notices His movements; and in the word it rests upon, acknowledges Him in His working. No sooner does the soul begin to feel the life of a promise warming its heart — bringing relief, nurturing it, sustaining it, freeing it from fear and trouble — than it may and should recognize that the Holy Spirit is there. This will add to its joy and lead it into fellowship with Him.
Second, the next general work appears to be that of John 16:14: 'He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.' The work of the Spirit is to glorify Christ. By this we can see how far from being the Comforter is any spirit that sets itself up in Christ's place — that says it is everything, and that as for the One who suffered in Jerusalem, we need not concern ourselves with Him. That is not the Comforter; the Comforter's work is to glorify Christ, the One who sent Him. This is a clear mark of a false spirit: whatever its claims may be, if it does not glorify the Christ who was now speaking to His apostles — and many such spirits have gone out into the world. What will this Spirit do to glorify Christ? He will take of what is Mine. What those things are is stated in the following verse: 'All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.' Our Savior is not speaking of the essence and essential attributes of the Father and Son, but of the grace communicated to us by them. Christ calls these 'His things,' since they are the fruit of His purchase and mediation. On this basis He says all the Father's things are His — that is, the things the Father in His eternal love has provided to be given out through the blood of His Son, all the fruits of election. These the Comforter will receive — meaning they will be committed to Him to dispense for our good. It follows: He will show and declare and make them known to you. This is how He is a Comforter. He reveals to the souls of believers the good things of the covenant of grace that the Father has provided and the Son purchased. He shows us mercy, grace, forgiveness, righteousness, and acceptance with God. He makes us know that these are Christ's things, secured for us by Him. He shows them to us for our comfort and assurance. He effectively declares these things to the souls of believers, making them know them as originally the Father's things, prepared from eternity in His love and goodwill; purchased by Christ and stored up in the covenant of grace for their use. At that point Christ is magnified and glorified in their hearts; they know what a Savior and Redeemer He is. Whenever a soul glorifies and honors Christ through a sense and discovery of the eternal redemption He purchased for it, that is a specific effect of the Holy Spirit as Comforter. 'No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit' (1 Corinthians 12:3).
3. He pours out the love of God in our hearts (Romans 5:5). The context makes completely clear that this is God's love toward us, not our love toward God. Now the love of God is either the love of His purpose — His purpose to do us good — or the love of His acceptance and approval of us. Both of these are frequently called the love of God in Scripture, as I have shown. How can these be poured out in our hearts? Not in themselves, but in a sense of them, in a spiritual awareness of them. The same word used for the Spirit being given to us (Titus 3:6) — God pours Him out abundantly — is used here: He pours out the love of God in our hearts. Setting aside the figure, the point is this: the Comforter gives the soul a sweet and abundant awareness and assurance of God's love toward it — one that captivates, delights, and satisfies the soul. This is His work, and He does it with power. To give a poor, sinful soul a comforting persuasion — affecting it throughout, in all its faculties and affections — that God in Jesus Christ loves it, delights in it, is pleased with it, and has thoughts of tenderness and kindness toward it: to give a soul an overflowing sense of this is a mercy beyond words.
We have this in a distinctive way through the Holy Spirit; it is His specific work. As all His works are works of love and kindness, so this work of communicating a sense of the Father's love weaves itself into everything else He does. In this we hold distinct communion with the Spirit Himself; and through Him we have communion with the Father in His love, which is thus poured out in our hearts. So we rejoice in and glorify not only the Holy Spirit who does this work, but also the One whose love it is. The same is true in relation to the Son, in His taking what is His and showing it to us, as was described. All the foretaste of heaven we have in this world is contained in this — and the manner of our fellowship with the Holy Spirit in this respect lines up with what was said before.
4. Another effect is described in Romans 8:16: 'The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.' You know what family we belong to by nature: children of Satan, and of the curse, children of wrath. By the Spirit we are brought into a different standing and adopted as children of God, since by receiving the Spirit of our Father we become children of our Father. This is why He is called the Spirit of adoption in verse 15. Now sometimes the soul — because it still has within it something of the old principle it had in its former condition — is brought to question whether it is a child of God, and on a matter of such supreme importance, it presents its claim with all the evidence it has to establish its title. The Spirit comes and bears witness in this situation. The picture is drawn from legal proceedings in cases involving titles and evidence. The judge is seated; the person concerned lays out his claim, produces his evidence, and pleads it; his opponents are doing everything in their power to invalidate his evidence and overturn his plea. In the middle of the hearing, a person of known and unimpeachable integrity comes into the court and gives clear and full testimony on behalf of the claimant — silencing all his opponents and filling the man with joy and relief. So it is in this case. The soul, under the pressure of its own conscience, stands before the law of God. There it presents its plea: that it is a child of God, that it belongs to God's family, and to support this claim it brings forward all its evidence — everything by which faith gives it a stake in God. Satan meanwhile opposes with all his strength; sin and the law assist him. Many flaws are found in the evidence; the truth of everything is challenged; the soul hangs in suspense about the outcome. In the middle of this contest, the Comforter comes — and by a word of promise, or by some other means, overpowers the heart with a comforting assurance, sweeping away all objections, that the plea is sound and that the person is indeed a child of God. Therefore it is said of Him: when our spirits are pleading their right and title, He comes and bears witness on our side — and at the same time enabling us to act in the manner of a child, with a filial spirit, which is called crying 'Abba, Father!' (Galatians 4:6). Always remember the manner of the Spirit's working described earlier: He does it with power, freely, and according to His will. Therefore sometimes the dispute drags on for a long time; the case is being pleaded for years. The law seems sometimes to be winning; sin and Satan appear to rejoice. The poor soul is filled with dread about its inheritance. Perhaps its own witness from faith, sanctification, and past experience keeps the plea alive with some life and comfort — but the work is not done and the victory is not fully won until the Spirit, who works freely and effectively when and how He wills, adds His testimony as well. Clothing His power in a word of promise, He commands the attention of all parties and brings the dispute to an end.
In this He gives us holy communion with Himself. The soul recognizes His voice when He speaks — it does not sound like a human voice. There is something too great in it to be the effect of a created power. When the Lord Jesus Christ stilled the raging sea and wind with a single word, all who were with Him knew that divine power was at work (Matthew 8:26). And when the Holy Spirit with a single word stills the turmoil and storms that have been raised in the soul — bringing immediate calm and peace — the soul recognizes His divine power and rejoices in His presence.
5. He seals us. 'You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise' (Ephesians 1:13); 'do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption' (Ephesians 4:30). I am not entirely certain about the precise intent of this figure, but I will briefly share what I believe Scripture means by it. In a seal two things are considered:
1. The nature of it. 2. The use of it.
The nature of sealing consists in the imparting of the image or character of the seal to the thing sealed. In this sense, the effective communication of God's image to us is our sealing. By genuinely communicating to believers the image of God in righteousness and true holiness, the Spirit seals us. To have this impression of the Holy Spirit as evidence to the soul that it is accepted by God is to be sealed by the Spirit. In this sense our Savior is said to be sealed by God (John 6:27) — from the stamp of God's power, wisdom, and majesty upon Him in the carrying out of His office.
The purposes of sealing are twofold. First, to confirm or ratify a grant or conveyance put in writing — in such cases people set their seals to validate and confirm their grants, and once this is done they are irrevocable. Second, to confirm testimony given about the truth of any matter. This was the Jewish practice: when someone had given true witness to something and the judges accepted it, they set their seal to it to confirm it as valid. Hence it is said that whoever receives the testimony of Christ sets his seal that God is true (John 3:33). The promise is the great grant and conveyance of life and salvation in Christ to the souls of believers. So that we may have full assurance of the truth and permanence of the promise, God gives us the Spirit to satisfy our hearts of it — and therefore He is said to seal us, assuring our hearts of those promises and their dependability. However, though many commentators take this approach, I do not see how it fits the actual meaning of the word: it says not that the promise is sealed but that we are sealed — and when we seal a deed to someone, we say the deed is sealed, not the person.
Second, to mark out, distinguish, and keep safe. This is the purpose of sealing: people set their seals on what they claim and wish to preserve for themselves. Clearly in this sense the servants of God are said to be sealed (Revelation 7:4) — marked with God's mark as His own. This sealing corresponds to the setting of a mark in Ezekiel 9. Believers are sealed when they are marked for God, as heirs of the purchased inheritance, to be preserved until the day of redemption. If this is the intended meaning of sealing, it denotes not an experience of assurance in the heart but a security granted to the person.
If asked which of these is the primary meaning of our being sealed by the Holy Spirit, I answer: the first, without excluding the second. We are sealed until the day of redemption when, from the stamp, image, and character of the Spirit upon our souls, we are given a fresh sense of God's love and a comforting assurance of our acceptance with Him.
In this way the Holy Spirit communicates to us His own likeness, which is also the image of the Father and the Son. 'We all are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit' (2 Corinthians 3:18). In this He draws us into fellowship with Himself. Our likeness to Him gives us confidence in approaching Him. We look for His work; we pray for His fruit. When any expression of grace — any discovery of the image of Christ planted in us — gives us a sense of being set apart and marked out for God, we hold communion with Him in that.
Sixth, He is an earnest to us. 'He who also gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge' (2 Corinthians 1:22). 'Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge' (2 Corinthians 5:5). 'You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance' (Ephesians 1:13-14). In the first two passages we are said to have the pledge of the Spirit; in the last, the Spirit is said to be our pledge. The Spirit is our earnest or pledge, as the last passage states. Understanding what is meant by 'the Spirit' here, and what is meant by an 'earnest,' will shed light on this privilege we receive from the Comforter.
As to which gift of the Spirit is meant by this earnest: it is the Spirit Himself, personally considered, who is said to be this earnest. 'It is God who has given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts' (2 Corinthians 1:22) — an expression that directly parallels Galatians 4:6: 'God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts.' That is the person of the Spirit, for nothing else can be called the Spirit of His Son. And Ephesians 1:14: He has given the Spirit — the one promised — who is that earnest. The promised Spirit Himself is this earnest. In giving us this Spirit, He gives us this pledge.
An earnest — the Greek word is neither originally Greek nor Latin, but comes from the Hebrew word meaning 'pledge,' which, as some scholars believe, entered the Greek language through Phoenician merchants, being a commercial term. The Latin borrowed from it: arrha and arrabo. Some render it in Latin as pignus, meaning a pledge, but that cannot be what is intended here. A pledge is something a person gives into another's keeping to assure him that he will deliver or pay something else — like what we would call a deposit. What is intended here is a part of the very thing that is coming — a portion of it — in keeping with the commercial use of the word from which the image is drawn. Therefore it is well rendered in English as an 'earnest': a portion of the price of something, or a part of any grant, given in advance to assure the recipient that at the appointed time he will receive the whole that was promised.
For something to function as an earnest, two things are required. First, it must be part of the whole — of the same kind and nature as what is to come — as when we give some money as a deposit toward paying a larger amount. Second, it must be a confirmation of a promise and agreement — first the whole is promised, then the earnest is given to guarantee that the promise will be kept.
The Spirit is this earnest. God gives us the promise of eternal life. To confirm it to us, He gives us His Spirit as the first installment of the promise, to secure us of the whole. Hence He is said to be the earnest of the inheritance that is promised and purchased. We may consider how He is an earnest on the part of God who gives Him, and on the part of believers who receive Him.
First, He is an earnest on God's part in that God gives Him as a choice portion of the inheritance itself — of the same kind as the whole, as an earnest should be. The full inheritance promised is the fullness of the Spirit in the enjoyment of God. When the Spirit who is given to us in this world has perfectly removed all sin and sorrow and made us fully able to enjoy the glory of God in His presence, that is the full inheritance promised. So the Spirit given to us now, for enabling us to enjoy God in some measure while we are here, is the earnest of the whole.
Second, God does this to assure and secure us of the inheritance. Having given us so many guarantees outside ourselves — His word, promises, covenant, oath, and the revelation of His faithfulness and unchangeableness through all of them — He is also pleased to graciously give us one within us (Isaiah 59:21; Hebrews 6:17-18). What more could be done? He has given us the Holy Spirit — in Him the firstfruits of glory, the supreme pledge of His love, the earnest of all.
Second, on the believers' part, He is an earnest in that He gives them an awareness of God's love and their acceptance with Him. He makes known to them their standing in His sight: that He is their Father and will treat them as children, and therefore the inheritance will be theirs. He sends His Spirit into our hearts, crying "Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:6). And what do believers conclude from this (verse 7)? That we are no longer servants but sons, and if sons, then heirs of God. The same apostle says in Romans 8:17: "If children, then heirs — heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ." From the Spirit's assurance that we are children, the conclusion follows: then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. We therefore have both a right to the inheritance and an assurance of it. This is what we gain from the Spirit as earnest: He persuades us of our sonship and acceptance with God our Father. And 1 John 3:24 says: "By this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us." The Spirit makes us aware of it — not that we always have this awareness clearly, but the argument is solid and valid in itself: we have the Spirit, therefore He dwells in us and we in Him.
The Spirit, being given as an earnest, acquaints believers with their inheritance (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). As an earnest, being part of the whole, gives knowledge of what the whole will be, so does the Spirit.
So the Spirit is in every respect a complete earnest: given by God, received by us, as the beginning of our inheritance and the assurance of its future fullness. As much as we have of the Spirit, so much we have of heaven in present enjoyment, and so much evidence of its future fullness. Under this understanding of Him in the arrangement of grace, believers receive Him and rejoice in Him. Every gracious, self-evidencing act of His in their hearts they receive with joy as a drop from heaven, longing for the ocean of it.
It remains only to briefly note the difference between believers receiving the Spirit as an earnest of the full inheritance and hypocrites tasting the powers of the age to come (Hebrews 6:5). At first glance, tasting the powers of the age to come seems to be the same as receiving the earnest of the inheritance.
But first, there is no real basis for thinking that "the powers of the age to come" in that passage refers to the joys of heaven. They are nowhere described in such terms, and the phrase does not suitably express the glory that will be revealed, in which we will share. Without doubt the phrase, addressed to Hebrews in their own manner of speaking, refers to the powerful ministry of the ordinances and arrangements of the gospel era — the great and effective things of the age to come. But:
2. Even if by "the powers of the age to come" we granted that the glory of heaven is meant, there is a great difference between briefly tasting something yourself and receiving an enduring pledge of it from God. To get a passing taste of heavenly things and to have those things assured to you by God out of His love are very different things. A hypocrite may for a time have his thoughts lifted to great joy and satisfaction when contemplating the blessings of God's kingdom, considering those things in themselves. But the Spirit as earnest gives us a pledge of those blessings as things provided specifically for us in the love of God and the purchase of His Son Jesus Christ. This by the way.
7. The Spirit anoints believers. "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God" (2 Corinthians 1:21). "You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know" (1 John 2:20; and verse 27). I will not trace this expression back to its full origin and background — I have done that elsewhere. The use of anointings in the Jewish church, the meaning and purpose of the types associated with them, and the offices to which people were consecrated by anointing form the background of this expression. Closer to it is the anointing of Jesus Christ Himself, from which He is called the Messiah and the Christ. The whole carrying out of His mediatorial office is called His anointing (Daniel 9), as it relates to His being equipped for it. Christ is said to be "anointed with the oil of gladness above His companions" (Hebrews 1:9), which corresponds to John 3:34: God gives Him the Spirit without measure. We who have the Spirit in measure are anointed with the oil of gladness. Christ has the fullness of the Spirit, from which our measure is drawn, so He is anointed above us, that in all things He might have first place. How Christ was anointed with the Spirit for His threefold office of King, Priest, and Prophet, and how through an anointing with the same Spirit who dwells both in Him and in us we come to share in those offices and are made kings, priests, and prophets to God — all this is known and would require a long discussion to treat fully. My purpose here is only to communicate the matters at hand.
I will therefore focus on one passage where the gifts of the Spirit in Christ's anointing are listed — gifts in which, in our measure from Him and with Him through this anointing, we are made partakers: Isaiah 11:2-3. "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord." Many of Christ's endowments from the Spirit, with which He was abundantly anointed, are listed here. Chief among them are wisdom, counsel, and understanding — on account of which all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are said to be in Him (Colossians 2:3). Though this is only part of Christ's equipment for carrying out His office, it is what is particularly emphasized when our anointing for the same purpose is mentioned. As we see in 1 John 2:22 and 27, the work of this anointing is to teach us. The Spirit in it is a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel, knowledge, and sharp perception in the fear of the Lord. So was the great promise of the Comforter: that He would teach us (John 14:26) and guide us into all truth (John 16:13). This teaching us the mind and will of God, in the manner in which the Comforter teaches us, is an important part of our anointing by Him — and the only aspect I will single out here. Allow me to say there is a threefold teaching by the Spirit.
1. A teaching by the Spirit of conviction and illumination: in this way the Spirit teaches the world — that is, many within it — through the preaching of the word, as He is promised to do (John 16:8).
2. A teaching by the Spirit of sanctification: opening blind eyes, giving a renewed understanding, shining into our hearts to give us the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, enabling us to receive spiritual things in a spiritual light (1 Corinthians 2:8) — giving a saving knowledge of the mystery of the gospel. This, in various degrees, is common to all believers.
3. A teaching by the Spirit of consolation: making the discoveries of God's mind and will — known through the light of the Spirit of sanctification — sweet, useful, and joyful to the soul. Here the oil of the Spirit is called the oil of gladness, because it brings joy and delight with it. And the name of Christ revealed through it is like fragrant perfume poured out, causing souls to run after Him with joy and delight (Song of Solomon 1:2). Daily experience shows that many people have little taste, sweetness, or satisfaction in their souls for truths they genuinely know and believe. But when we are taught by this anointing — how sweet is everything we know of God! As we see in the passage from 1 John where this anointing's teaching is mentioned, it has to do specifically with the Spirit teaching us the love of God in Christ, the shining of His face — which, as David says, "puts gladness in my heart" (Psalm 4:6-7).
This is what we receive through the Spirit: He teaches us the love of God in Christ. He makes every gospel truth like fine wine to our souls, and its good things like a rich feast. He gives us joy and gladness of heart in everything we know of God, which is the great safeguard that keeps the soul close to truth. The apostle speaks of our teaching by this anointing as the means by which we are preserved from being led astray. Indeed, to know any truth with a sense of its power, sweetness, joy, and delight is the great protection of the soul's faithfulness in holding and keeping it. Those who find no more sweetness in truth than in error will readily exchange one for the other. I must ask the reader's patience for passing so briefly over these great matters of the gospel — my present aim is to list them rather than fully develop them. This one work of the Holy Spirit, if fully pursued, would require a longer treatment than I can give to the whole subject at hand. All the privileges we enjoy, all the dignity and honor we are invested with, our whole dedication to God, our nobility and royalty, our share in all the advantages of the church, our approaches to God in worship, our separation from the world, the name by which we are called, the freedom we enjoy — all of these flow from this source and are all branches of this work of the Holy Spirit. I have mentioned only our teaching by this anointing: a teaching that brings joy and gladness with it by giving the heart a living sense of the truths it learns. When we find any of the good truths of the gospel coming home to our souls with life, energy, and power — filling our hearts with gladness, transforming us into the image and likeness of that truth — the Holy Spirit is then at His work, pouring out His oil.
We also receive adoption through the Spirit, which is why He is called the Spirit of adoption. This means either that He is given to adopted ones to assure them of their adoption and to produce in their hearts a sense and conviction of the Father's adopting love, or that He grants the privilege of adoption itself, as is suggested in John 1:12. Galatians 4:6 does not contradict this, since God may send the Spirit of prayer into our hearts because we are sons while at the same time adopting us by His Spirit. But more on this elsewhere.
He is also called the Spirit of prayer, under which title He is promised in Zechariah 12:10. How He produces this in us is described in Romans 8:26-27 and Galatians 4:6, which is why we are said to pray in the Holy Spirit. Our prayers may be considered:
1. In two ways. First, as a spiritual duty required of us by God. In this case, they are produced in us by the Spirit of sanctification, who helps us carry out all our duties by elevating all the faculties of the soul for their spiritual function in each one.
2. Prayers are also a means of retaining communion with God — a way we pour out our hearts in the Father's presence and receive refreshing tastes of His love. The soul is never more lifted by the love of God than when the Spirit draws it into intimate fellowship with God through this duty. This belongs to the Spirit of consolation — the Spirit promised as Comforter. This brings us to the next thing to consider in our communion with the Holy Spirit: what are the particular effects He produces in us and toward us, given that He has been bestowed on us in the way described and works in the manner explained? These effects are: bringing Christ's promises to our remembrance, glorifying Him in our hearts, pouring the love of God into us, bearing witness to our spiritual condition, sealing us until the day of redemption, serving as the earnest of our inheritance, anointing us with the consolation of our privileges, confirming our adoption, and being present with us in our prayers. Here is the wisdom of faith: to seek out and meet the Comforter in all these things — not to miss their sweetness by being unaware of who their author is, nor to fall short of the response He calls for from us.
