God's Greatest Gift

“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Lu 11:13 AV)

 

A thought came to mind as I was reading this morning.  It was an odd thought.  It was a thought I have never heard anyone express before.  It is a thought that makes so much sense that we wonder why we have never thought of it before.  If we note the context, our Savior is making a comparison between gifts a father may give his children with the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  We often look at the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as a necessity for spiritual growth and comfort.  We look at it as a mandatory part walk with God.  What we rarely consider is the fact the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a gift.  Like gifts at Christmas time, some are necessities.  Socks or ties come to mind.  The most memorable gifts are the ones that are not necessarily essential, but rather, those that serve a purpose but at the same time, have an emotional quality to them.  Regardless, when we receive gifts, we are generally thankful for them and express our gratitude towards the one giving those gifts.  This is the odd thought that came into my mind.  When is the last time I thanked the LORD for the precious gift of the Holy Spirit?  When did I stop and take inventory of what He means to me and what He does for me?  When did I stop and consider just how much I appreciate the ever-abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in every moment of every day?

According to R.A. Torry, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to communicate joy to the saints (Rom 14:17), edifies the Church (Acts 9:31), imparts the love of God (Rom 5:3-5), testifies of Christ (John 15:26), imparts hope (Rom 15:13), teaches the saints (John 14:26), dwells with and in the saints (John 14:17), abides forever with the saints (John 14:16), and is known by the saints (John 14:17).  His ministry goes beyond what Bro Torry lists.  The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin.  The Holy Spirit empowers us with spiritual gifts for the purpose of serving the LORD.  The Holy Spirit convicts the lost as we witness for Christ.  The Holy Spirit comforts, calms, and encourages the saint.  Most of all, the Holy Spirit is our seal for salvation until the day of our glorification.  He is that seal for eternal life which can never be lost.  The Holy Spirit is a person.  He is just a much a person as the Father and the Son.  He is just as much God as the Father and Son.  He possesses all divine attributes to the same extent as the other two persons of the trinity.  The Holy Spirit is that person of the trinity who has humbled Himself to dwell with and in the saved saint.

When we stop to think all the Holy Spirit does for us, in us, and through us, it is a wonder we do not appreciate Him specifically for His ministry to us.  We thank the Father for His divine providence in the affairs of men and our lived individually.  We thank the LORD Jesus Christ for humbling Himself to die on a cruel cross that we might have eternal life.  We thank the Father for His watch care, provision, and mercy.  We thank the Son for His Lordship, authority, and instruction.  But when was the last time we truly took time to meditate upon all the Holy Spirit does and thank the Father and the Son for the wonderful gift of the Godhead Himself – the Holy Spirit?  I don’t know about you, but I thank God for the dispensation in which I live.  The Old Testament saint, by and large, did not have the same ministry of the Holy Spirit which we enjoy today.  Unless the Old Testament saint had some special function that required the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, he was vacant of such a privilege.  When the duties which demanded the indwelling of the Spirit were accomplished, the Spirit departed.  We don’t have such a challenge today.  The Holy Spirit is a permanent inhabitant of our hearts who will never depart until we graduate into glory.  There are no words that can truly express how blessed we are to have Him in our hearts and my prayer is you and I will spend a bit of time today thanking God for the wonderful gift of His Spirit!