“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3:17).
We know that every action of God is done in trinity, whether creation, redemption, resurrection or judgment. The scriptural order is — God the Father, the One who originates the purposes; God the Son, the One who carries them out; and God the Holy Spirit, the power by which they are fulfilled. This was true long before God in His triune character was fully known by man. More than this, it was the Spirit of God who acted from time to time on various individuals in the Old Testament, whether to give out the mind of God orally or to write the inspired Word. However, at no time prior to the day of Pentecost was the Spirit of God present on earth in an abiding way. Thus the dispensation of grace is unique, for it is characterized by the presence of the Spirit of God in this world. That Spirit indwells every true believer individually, and He also dwells collectively among believers as the house of God. This is a wonderful truth, for such a thing never occurred prior to the church period, nor will it occur again in God’s dealings with man on the earth. The implications of this are important for every believer to realize.
In the Old Testament man was given instructions from God as to his walk, whether directly from God’s speaking to man, or through His Word via prophets and other men of God. These instructions, particularly in the law, covered almost every aspect of life. In most cases, however, those who received these instructions had to carry them out without understanding the reasons for them. For the most part there was no room for personal exercise or consideration of God’s mind in a specific matter — strict obedience was all that was required. It is true that men like Abraham, Moses and David (to name a few) rose above the day in which they lived and walked closer to the Lord, so that the Spirit of God could say in Psalm 103:77He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. (Psalm 103:7), “He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel.” But most men did not know God in an intimate way.
When the Lord Jesus came to earth, He not only revealed the heart of God, but He revealed God in trinity for the first time. He spoke openly of His Father, and He also talked about the Spirit of God. Some of this was anticipatory, but the knowledge of the Father and the action of the Spirit of God were mentioned many times. Later in His ministry He foretold of the coming down of the Holy Spirit, that “He may abide with you forever” (John 14:1616And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; (John 14:16)). No longer would the Spirit come upon a prophet or other man of God, only to give him a message and then leave again. No, the Spirit would abide with believers forever.
On the day of Pentecost, we know that the Spirit came down, not only indwelling each true believer, but also baptizing them into one body (1 Cor. 12:13) and dwelling among them collectively as the house of God (1 Cor. 3:16). The wonderful truth is that the Spirit will remain resident in this world until the Lord comes! As long as He is here, He is the One who “restrains now until He be gone” (2 Thess. 2:7 JND). The Spirit of God in this world restrains the evil that otherwise would engulf this world in open sin, but when the Lord comes and takes His church home, then the Spirit of God will no longer be here in an abiding way. It is true that He will continue to work, for every time new life is imparted to a soul, it is the Spirit of God’s work. If souls are saved during the tribulation period through hearing the gospel of the kingdom, it will be by the Spirit’s using the Word (John 3:55Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)). But He will not be present in a permanent way as He is during this period of God’s grace.
The Spirit’s presence here on earth has tremendous implications for us, both positively and negatively. As someone has remarked, this precious truth is at once our greatest potential strength but also our greatest potential weakness. As we have seen, the Old Testament was characterized by minute instructions, but which often had to be carried out without intelligence as to the reasons for those instructions. The New Testament is a book of principles, written for willing hearts, and these principles must be applied in fellowship with the Lord. They must be interpreted by and carried out in the power of the Spirit of God.
When the believer walks with the Lord, the Spirit of God is free to bring Christ before him, to interpret the Word of God, and to give the needed guidance in every situation. Thus principles can be applied in various situations, where the Spirit of God can lead according to all the circumstances of the case. In Christianity we do not make rules, but we make decisions. The believer needs more than right principles—He needs God Himself. He does not go by precedents but rather lives in direct dependence on the Lord, guided by the Word of God.
On the other hand, if the believer gets away from the Lord, the Spirit in him is grieved (Eph. 4:3030And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)) and must occupy him with his sin until he deals with it in repentance and confession. In such a case he cannot go to the Lord for guidance, and the Spirit does not interpret the Word for him in the same way. Thus the believer finds out that he cannot attempt to get the mind of the Lord in a situation without bringing his state of soul into the picture. If he refuses to judge his sin, he finds himself floundering without guidance and without joy in his soul. In one sense he is weaker than the Old Testament saint who could at least follow God’s instructions.
May we appreciate more the position of nearness and blessing into which the grace of God has brought us and delight to walk with the Lord in the power of an ungrieved Spirit. In this way we will have constant joy in our souls and will easily find that, as to questions in our lives, the Lord’s words will be true of us: “I will guide thee with Mine eye” (Psa. 32:88I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. (Psalm 32:8)).
W. J. Prost