Holy Spirit
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It is the Spirit that causes to shine into darkened minds the bright
beams of the Sun of Righteousness; that makes men’s hearts burn
within them with an awakened realization of the truths of eternity;
that presents before the mind the great standard of righteousness, and
convinces of sin; that inspires faith in Him who alone can save from
sin; that works to transform character by withdrawing the affections of
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men from those things which are temporal and perishable, and fixing
them upon the eternal inheritance. The Spirit recreates, refines, and
sanctifies human beings, fitting them to become members of the royal
family, children of the heavenly King.
Effect of Receiving the Spirit
When one is fully emptied of self, when every false god is cast
out of the soul, the vacuum is filled by the inflowing of the Spirit of
Christ. Such a one has the faith that purifies the soul from defilement.
He is conformed to the Spirit, and he minds the things of the Spirit.
He has no confidence in self. Christ is all and in all. He receives with
meekness the truth that is constantly being unfolded, and gives the
Lord all the glory, saying, “God hath revealed them unto us by His
Spirit.” “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the
spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely
given to us of God.” [
1 Corinthians 2:10, 12
.]
The Spirit that reveals, also works in him the fruits of righteousness.
Christ is in him, “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
[
John 4:14
.] He is a branch of the True Vine, and bears rich clusters of
fruit to the glory of God. What is the character of the fruit borne?—
The fruit of the Spirit is “love,” not hatred; “joy,” not discontent and
mourning; “peace,” not irritation, anxiety, and manufactured trials. It
is “long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.”
[
Galatians 5:22, 23
.]
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Those who have this Spirit are earnest workers together with God;
the heavenly intelligences co-operate with them, and they go weighted
with the spirit of the message that they bear. They speak words of
solid sense, and from the treasury of the heart bring forth pure, sacred
things, after the example of Christ.
The message that we have to bear is not one that we need cringe to
declare. Its advocates are not to seek to cover it, to conceal its origin