“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.” John 14:16-17 Dr. Daniel Steele (1824-1914) served his Lord and the Methodist Church as a pastor, evangelist, college president (two colleges), professor (including Boston University), and as a writer to the church at large. He was the founding president of Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York. Steele served on the committee assigned to create a charter for Syracuse, which was designed to be a Methodist-affiliated school. Upon reading the charter’s first draft, he remarked later, it “would have suited a Muslim … Continue reading “The Spirit of Orthodoxy”
Tag: Holy Spirit
The Spirit of Truth
Introduction The Third Person of the Triune God has been given a variety of titles in the sacred Scriptures. He is called the Holy Spirit, Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, Helper, Spirit of grace, Spirit of glory, and many more names, descriptive of his multifaceted ministries. One name the Lord Jesus used in reference to the Spirit was the “Spirit of truth.” Three times during his Farewell Discourse (John 14 -17), Jesus calls the Holy Spirit by this name. In preparing his disciples for his imminent departure and the promised descent of the Spirit, Jesus announced, “And I … Continue reading “The Spirit of Truth”
The God-Thirsty
Thirst and hunger are two appetites and drives that are natural to the human condition. Man was created by God with the need to drink and eat in order to sustain his earthly, biological life and existence. Without either food or water over a prescribed period of time, death is certain. In satisfying our appetite for food and water under normal circumstances, rarely do we consciously process what we are doing when we take a bite of food or lift a cup to our lips. The acts of eating and drinking are so ingrained in our daily rituals, that they … Continue reading “The God-Thirsty”
When God Comes Near (Part 2)
As mentioned in the previous article of this two-part study, God is not only omnipresent in his creation, he is also present in a special way among those whom we might call God-seekers. We saw that one of the spiritual principles of the kingdom of God is that whenever God comes near—i.e., manifests himself through his Holy Spirit to a God-seeker—one of the results will be conviction of sin in the life of the sinner as well as in the life of a failing Christian. The outshining of God’s perfect holiness awakens in both the sinner and the Christian the awareness … Continue reading “When God Comes Near (Part 2)”
When God Comes Near (Part 1)
The Bible teaches us that God is everywhere present in his creation. The psalmist affirmed this truth when he prayed, “You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways” (Psa. 139:2-3).1 Expanding further on this subject, he inquired of the Lord in verses 7-8, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are … Continue reading “When God Comes Near (Part 1)”
Praying for Power & Fullness (Part 4)
We now come to Paul’s final words in his passionate pleas for these Ephesian believers. In verses 16-19, the apostle asks God to grant these first century believers a mighty inner strengthening of the Holy Spirit. He prays that this Spirit-enduement would result in Christ abiding in their hearts by faith and establishing them in love. Paul expresses in his prayer an intense desire for these sincere followers of the Lord Jesus Christ to become experientially acquainted with Christ’s very own love, in order that they be “filled up to all the fullness of God.” What a prayer! and what … Continue reading “Praying for Power & Fullness (Part 4)”
Praying for Power & Fullness (Part 3)
Writing a century and a half ago, the saintly Scottish pastor, Robert Murray M’Cheyne, wrote: “What a man is alone on his knees before God, that he is, and no more.”1 Writing almost two millennia ago, a praying apostle was on his knees interceding for a group of followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul’s intense, comprehensive prayer burden for these weak believers was: that they would receive a powerful inner strengthening of the Spirit; that this strengthening would result in Christ Himself making their hearts His home; that such a definitive strengthening would establish these believers in divine love … Continue reading “Praying for Power & Fullness (Part 3)”