Doctrine
"...he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever."
John 14:16
Of the three Persons of the Godhead, none is more misunderstood than the Holy Ghost. Some speak of Him as though He were a vague force or a feeling, an "it" rather than a "He." But the Bible reveals the Holy Ghost as a divine Person — God Himself — who convicts sinners, gives the new birth, and comes to dwell within every believer forever. To know Him rightly is a great comfort to the soul.
The Holy Ghost is not an impersonal power, like electricity, that a man might tap into. He is a Person, with a mind, a will, and affections. He speaks; He teaches; He leads; He can be grieved; He can even be lied to — none of which could be said of a mere force.
"As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." (Acts 13:2)
Notice: the Holy Ghost said, and the Holy Ghost calls men to a work of His own choosing. A force does not speak or choose; a Person does. He is grieved when His people sin, as only a Person with love can be grieved.
"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30)
He is not merely a Person; He is a divine Person — the third Person of the one true God, equal with the Father and the Son. When Ananias lied to the Holy Ghost, the apostle Peter declared that he had lied to God Himself:
"Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost... thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." (Acts 5:3-4)
To lie to the Holy Ghost is to lie to God, for the Holy Ghost is God. This is why the Lord Jesus Christ joined Him with the Father and the Son under one name in the great commission — the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, one God in three Persons.
No sinner would ever come to Christ if left to himself, for the natural man loves his sin and is blind to his danger. It is the Holy Ghost who awakens the conscience, presses the truth home, and convinces a man that he is lost and needs a Saviour. Every soul that is troubled about its sin is feeling the gracious work of the Holy Ghost.
"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." (John 16:8)
If you feel the weight of your sin even now, do not silence that voice. It is the Spirit of God drawing you to the Lord Jesus Christ.
When a sinner trusts the Lord Jesus Christ, it is the Holy Ghost who gives him a new life from above — the new birth. This is not something a man does for himself; it is the work of the Spirit of God, making the dead sinner alive.
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:6)
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." (Titus 3:5)
Here is one of the most precious truths in all the Bible. The moment a person is saved, the Holy Ghost comes to live inside him. The believer's very body becomes a temple of the Holy Ghost. God does not merely visit His people; He takes up permanent residence within them.
"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19)
Indeed, to have the Spirit of God dwelling in you is the very mark of belonging to Christ. The one who does not have Him is not saved at all:
"Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (Romans 8:9)
And He comes to stay. The Lord Jesus Christ promised that the Comforter would abide with His people not for a season, but for ever:
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." (John 14:16)
When you trusted the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost placed God's own seal upon you — a mark of ownership and a guarantee that you belong to God and will be kept safe until the day He takes you home. He is the earnest, the down-payment, God's pledge that He will finish what He began.
"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession." (Ephesians 1:13-14)
What a comfort this is! Your salvation is sealed by God the Holy Ghost Himself, and a seal that God sets, no man can break.
The Holy Ghost is called the Comforter, and He is the believer's indwelling Teacher and Guide. He opens the Scriptures to the humble heart, leads the child of God in the way of truth, and comforts him in every sorrow.
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14:26)
"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." (John 16:13)
The Bible itself is the work of the Holy Ghost. Holy men of God did not write their own opinions; they wrote as they were moved and carried along by the Holy Ghost, so that every word is the very Word of God.
"For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (2 Peter 1:21)
The same Spirit who inspired the Word has preserved it and now opens it to the believing heart. This is why the child of God can hold the King James Bible with confidence and say, "Thus saith the LORD."
Here is the surest test of the Holy Ghost's true working: He never draws attention to Himself, but always glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. Wherever the Spirit of God is truly at work, Christ is exalted, the Word is honoured, and sinners are drawn to the Saviour.
"He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." (John 16:14)
And it is the Spirit, together with the church, who to this very hour calls lost sinners to come to the Saviour:
"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)
If you have never trusted the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost may be striving with you even now, pressing this truth upon your heart. Do not resist Him. Turn from your sin, trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and in that very moment the Holy Ghost will come to dwell within you, sealing you as a child of God forever. And if you already know the Saviour, then rejoice — the living God Himself abides in you, and will never leave.
"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"1 Corinthians 6:19