We have arrived at that point in our study of the Holy Spirit where we can investigate His actions toward men and the effect of their attitudes upon those actions. Many questions arise in the minds of those who seriously ponder these matters. How has the Spirit acted toward the unsaved to bring them into covenant relationship with God? Can such persons resist the Spirit, or are they plastic in His grasp, and changed without their own consent? What about His actions toward those who have been reconciled to God, delivered from the domain of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son? Can they subdue and sublimate the Spirit, or render Him ineffective in their lives? In this last relationship we will learn that the Father has not abandoned us. We are not left simply to our own devices, but possess a divine Assistant, dwelling within our bodies and strengthening us in the warfare against evil. This is the basis of our hope.
When the apostle Paul was warning against immorality he predicated his solemn charge upon two grounds: the immoral man sins against his own body, and the Holy Spirit abides in that body. To sin against the body is to sin against the abode God has purchased and ordained for the Spirit. "Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).
The Greeks had two words for "temple." Both are used in the Scriptures, but a distinction is made between them. Hieron designated the whole sacred enclosure and its precincts, including the outer courts, porches, and subordinate buildings. The other word naos, the one here employed, referred only to the Holy Place and Holy of Holies, the heart of the hallowed complex, and the dwelling-place of the Most High. Jesus taught inside the hieron in Jerusalem, but never entered the naos. Access to this was restricted to members of the priesthood, the tribe of Levi.
The only sanctuary God has on earth today is the consecrated human heart. He does not dwell in temples made with hands, and when men speak of material buildings as sanctuaries they use language that is not a part of the New Covenant concept. The heart of a man, like the heart of the temple, is the naos where God meets with him, and where the Spirit abides. It is interesting to remember that the word hieron is not once used metaphorically to designate the present dwelling of God. It is not the surroundings, but the heart, which is sanctified.
The temple of old in Jerusalem was erected as a place in which God's glory was manifested. During its dedication, "the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God" (2 Chronicles 5:13, 14). That same glory floods the inner recesses of the bodies of the sanctified today, those who have been bought with a price, and they should glorify God in their bodies and spirits.
Under the first covenant, the worshiper had to go up to the house of the Lord. Now he is the house of the Lord. Then, each man had to take his offering to the priest, but now each man is a priest bringing an offering. Then, the Spirit was given to a select few to reveal God's will, now the Spirit is bestowed upon all those persons who have responded to that revelation.
That the Spirit sustains a personal relationship is indicated by the fact the He may be grieved. "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). Grief, a feeling or emotion, involves mental anguish, sorrow, or regret. That the Spirit can suffer from our offences or grieve because of our actions is proof of His personality. One cannot grieve a mere influence.
How can the Spirit be grieved? The context intimates that He may be offended by hurtful, vile, or filthy language. The preceding statement is, "Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear" (v. 29). The succeeding statement shows we may grieve Him by our attitude toward the other saints. "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice" (v. 31).
The Spirit dwells in every person who is a member of the one body, and one member's speaking evil of or insulting another constitutes an assault upon the abode of the Spirit. In view of the anger, clamor, and slander, so prevalent in our day in communities of the saved, it is apparent that the Spirit must be often and deeply grieved. To employ filthy and obscene speech is to bring sadness to the Spirit, one of whose purposes in our lives is to cleanse and purify the inner temple.
In addition to one's grieving the Spirit, it is possible to lie to Him. This is evident in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, and is attested to by the apostle Peter. The original congregation of saints in Jerusalem included many widows within its fold. All of the members were Jews, among whom the synagogues always cared for their widows with special concern. A voluntary arrangement was introduced among the saints whereby those who wanted to could sell their real estate and chattels and deposit the receipts with the apostles. The apostles then purchased and distributed a daily allotment of food, paid for from the fund that was created under this agreement.
There was no compulsion to sell, and even those who did so were not obligated to bring the price and deliver it to the apostles. Ananias and his wife perhaps motivated by a desire for praise, entered into a conspiracy. They would sell their land for a certain sum, retaining part of it for themselves while giving the remainder in such a way that it would create the impression it was the full amount (Acts 5:1-10). Ananias came into the place where the apostles were, only to be greeted by Peter with the question, "`Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land?'" (Acts 5:3). He then informed the culprit that he had not lied to men, but to God. When he heard this accusation, Ananias dropped to the floor dead.
His wife, Sapphira, came in three hours later not having been informed of the death of her husband. She was asked if the sum contributed was the full payment received for the land. She declared that it was, whereupon Peter asked, "`How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?'" (Acts 5:9). Peter did not accuse them of lying about the Spirit, but to the Spirit. In so doing they tempted, or tried, the Spirit, and paid for it with their lives. If one can grieve, falsify to, and try the patience and knowledge of the Spirit, surely the Spirit is a divine personality.
The Holy Spirit can be resisted as He strives through the testimony revealed to men of God to bring the hearers into subjection to the divine will. This is clearly shown in the situation surrounding the death of Stephen, the first martyr to the Christian faith. The story is recorded in Acts 6 and 7. Stephen was a Hellenist, described as a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. He did great wonders and miracles in Jerusalem in confirmation of his message concerning the Messiah. His effectiveness in making converts aroused the bitter ire of other foreign-born Jews living in the city and maintaining their synagogues. Their public disputes with him ended in a debacle for their cause and served only to impress the hearers with his wisdom and power. Unable to vanquish him in a debate, they resorted to other means, hiring men to accuse him of blasphemy against Moses and God. This crime was punishable by death, until Rome removed the right to execute from Palestinian nationals. In the tension then existing, however, a mob was formed, which surrounded and captured Stephen and hustled him away to the place where the Sanhedrin met, under the presidency of the high priest. False witnesses were paid to make accusation to the effect that they had heard him constantly blaspheme the holy city and the law. In support of this it was alleged that Stephen had distinctly announced more than once that Jesus of Nazareth would destroy the place and alter the law Moses had given. In accordance with the legal procedure of the council, the high priest asked the accused man, "Are these allegations true?"
Stephen made a masterful speech in defense. In reply to the first charge he affirmed that wherever God met with man it was a holy place, in proof of which he cited numerous cases to show that the greatest events in Jewish history took place outside of Palestine and Jerusalem. God appeared to Abraham in Chaldea, and to Joseph in Egypt. He called Moses at the burning bush in Midian, and distinctly told him to remove his shoes because the place was holy ground. The law itself was given at Sinai in the wilderness, not in Jerusalem.
Stephen further reminded them that when Solomon dedicated the temple he declared, "Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with hands" (Acts 7:48). The Lord had asserted, "Heaven is my throne, and earth my footstool" (v. 49). So the universe was hallowed, and one spot was no more sacred than another except as the lives of men made it so.
In answering the charge that he had blasphemed the law, Stephen recalled that even while Moses was up in the mount to receive the law, their fathers made a calf and offered sacrifices to it, rejoicing in the works of their hands (v. 41). He accused those present of receiving a law by the disposition of angels which they had never kept and were even then disobeying.
The climax of the address was reached in the impassioned words, "`You stiffnecked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you'" (Acts 7:51). To enforce the truth of this charge he demanded that they name one prophet who had not been persecuted by their ancestors. He declared that the fathers had killed those who had predicted the coming of the Messiah, and the very ones now sitting before him had betrayed and murdered that Messiah when He came.
The sequel is well known. Members of what ordinarily was a stately gathering completely lost their composure. Screaming to drown out any further words from the speaker, and placing their hands over their ears, they converged upon him to silence him. Shoving him along, they hastened him outside the city limits, and, temporarily forgetting the ban on killing imposed by their Roman overlords, they stoned him to death.
It is apparent that stubborn disregard for the words spoken by the ambassadors of the Spirit constitutes resistance to the Spirit. This was true in ancient times when God's men spoke as the Holy Spirit motivated them. "In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets" (Hebrews 1:1). This same God had also revealed to his "holy apostles and prophets" the mystery of Christ (Ephesians 3:5). To resist this message with unconsecrated heart and ears is to resist the Holy Spirit.
Some students of the Scriptures have suggested that the book we call "Acts of the Apostles" should have been named "Acts of the Holy Spirit." True, it does not contain all the acts of all the apostles, nor even all the acts of some of the apostles. It does record some of the acts of some of the apostles, but these men acted under the guidance and supervision of the Spirit. The direct assistance of the Spirit was not limited to the twelve. A good example is the case of Philip. He was one of the seven selected to relieve the apostles of daily distributing food to the many widows in the community of saints in Jerusalem. When violent persecution broke out against the church after the death of Stephen, it became necessary for the disciples to flee for safety to the country districts of Judea and Samaria, where they proclaimed with zeal the good news.
Philip entered into one of the cities of Samaria and announced the news of the Messiah with such accompanying demonstrations of power that the crowds listened eagerly to what Philip said, and there was great joy in that city (Acts 8:5-8). Under normal human arrangements Philip would have remained there to consolidate his remarkable success, but God had other plans for him.
Accordingly, the angel of the Lord instructed Philip to leave the city and travel southward to the road that led from Jerusalem toward Gaza. This former Philistine stronghold had long since been deserted. When he arrived at the highway junction, Philip caught sight of an Ethiopian reading from a scroll while riding in his chariot. At this point the Holy Spirit entered the picture by instructing Philip to "Go and join this chariot." Philip did so, and was used of the Spirit to clarify Scriptural matters that the Ethiopian government official did not understand.
When the man was satisfied that Jesus was the Messiah of whom the prophets had spoken, he asked what was to prevent him from being baptized. He ordered the chariot to stop, the two of them went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. The record is explicit at this point. "When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught up Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more" (Acts 8:39). One cannot help wondering about the reaction of the man when his recent companion disappeared, but he recovered and went happily on his way.
This indicates that the Spirit, who knows the hearts of men, operated to bring together one who knew the message and the other who needed it, was ready for it, and was honest enough to accept it. When the task was accomplished in a certain place or with a certain person, the messenger was removed. Philip, snatched away suddenly from the presence of the Ethiopian royal treasurer, appeared next in Azotus, passing through and preaching in all the cities until he reached Caesarea (Acts 8:40).
An even more interesting account of the direct activity of the Spirit in bringing together one who knew the good news and those who were eager to hear it is recorded in Acts 10. One cannot fully appreciate this account unless he remembers that until this time the good news has been shared with Jews and proselytes only. Even the Samaritans, although they were generally despised by the orthodox Jews, were circumcised, and they revered the Pentateuch, the writings of Moses.
Now the time had come to fulfill the divine goal of uniting Jews and Gentiles in one body through the Spirit. The first non-Jew chosen was Cornelius, a Roman centurion in the Italian cohort. We are told that Cornelius was a religious man, acknowledged as good and just by the whole Jewish nation (Acts 10:22). The Jew chosen to take the message was Simon Peter, a strict adherent of kosher regulations throughout his life.
After thorough investigation of the details, the story is exceptionally interesting. Cornelius, stationed at Caesarea, the headquarters for the Roman occupational forces, prayed regularly. One afternoon, while engaged in private devotions, he saw an angel who informed him that his prayers and acts of charity were recognized by God. He was told to send to Joppa for a man named Simon, who was also called Peter.
As soon as the angel vanished, Cornelius began to carry out the order. He summoned two household servants and a military orderly and sent them to Joppa to bring Peter back with them.
At noontime the next day, while the three men were entering the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry, and while the household staff was preparing food he fell into a trance. In these words Luke describes what Peter envisioned: He saw "heaven opened, and something descending, like a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him, `Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' But Peter said, `No, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean'" (Acts 10:11-14).
The voice came twice more and Peter made the same protest. Then the whole thing was taken up again into the sky. Immediately Peter came out of the trance, bewildered about the implications of the vision. At this very time, the three messengers, who had been inquiring about the location of the house came to the front entrance and called out to ask if Simon Peter was there. The Holy Spirit told Peter to arise from where he was sitting and trying to figure out the vision, and go down to the ground floor. He further told Peter to accompany the three men who were asking for him, and to go without reluctance. He said, "I have sent them." In this instance the Spirit specifically sent messengers to locate a man with the message, then dispatched him with the messengers.
This did not end the direct involvement of the Spirit in the case of Cornelius. When Peter arrived at the home of Cornelius, he found relatives and friends of Cornelius awaiting him. After proper introduction Peter began to speak to them and now Peter recognized the meaning of the vision on the housetop. He knew now that it indicated that God was no respecter of persons, that national and ethnic differences no longer had any relevance. As Peter began to speak about Jesus of Nazareth, and reached the point where he said, "Whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins" (v. 43; KJV), the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard.
Peter brought with him six Jewish brethren, who were utterly astonished when they heard the Gentiles begin to speak in tongues and to praise and glorify God. They realized that the Holy Spirit had been present and poured out upon the Gentiles as a gift. Peter asked, "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?" (v. 47; KJV). He commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Henceforth, there would be one body, composed of both Jews and Gentiles.
It is indicated by what we have thus far studied that the Spirit personally directed how and when men should act in the formative stage of the community of the redeemed. He sometimes directed an envoy to contact one who was ready for the saving truth, and other occasions sent men to find a proclaimer of the good news. At other times He barred the way into certain localities for those who had planned to infiltrate those places with the message.
One example of this will suffice. When Paul and Silas traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the congregations, they crossed over the Taurus Range, into the plains of Asia Minor. It was their intent, having labored in Phrygia and Galatia, to enter the province designated as Asia, but Luke records that they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to do so (Acts 16:6). In view of this they skirted the area and started northward expecting to go into Bithynia, a region where a number of Diasporan Jews were to be found. Again they were thwarted because the Holy Spirit would not permit them to enter (Acts 16:7).
We can only surmise the reason for the circumvention of these plans. We do know that they came to Troas, where Paul had a vision in which a European citizen appeared and asked him to come into Macedonia and help them. A new continent was thus opened to the apostolic proclamation. The whole Grecian peninsula heard the message, and men and women rejoiced in the hope of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.
While we are thinking in terms of the action of the Spirit and the result of the attitudes of people toward such action, we should give attention to two other matters: quenching and blaspheming the Spirit. The second of these is in a category requiring special attention and will be reserved for the next chapter. We will conclude this segment of our study with a few observations about quenching the Holy Spirit.
The pointed admonition, "Do not quench the Spirit," occurs in 1 Thessalonians 5:19. The context may indicate that it relates to an attempt to restrain or inhibit those who possess special gifts of the Spirit. It may likewise refer to quelling the Spirit within oneself, not allowing Him free rein or control. The statement occurs just before another in the same vein which says, "Despise not prophesyings." Prophecy was one of the special gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:10.
The word "quench" is ordinarily employed to signify smothering or extinguishing a fire. It is an appropriate term in view of the fact that the Spirit is sometimes spoken of as a flame or fire, and, paradoxically, as water. Thus the Spirit may be both kindled and poured out, depending upon the metaphor used at the time. A good example is found in 2 Timothy 1:6 where the young evangelist is told to stir up the gift of God which he possessed. The verb, in common use in the days of Paul, meant to rekindle, or renew a blaze, by poking and rearranging coals.
A fire may be quenched by any one of several methods. One may pour water upon it until it turns into dead coals and no longer flames up. Few of us need to be reminded of the occasions when we have seen someone, with intensity of purpose and zeal, completely squelched by constant rejection of his ideas and proposals. Many young Christians, and not a few older ones, have been driven to indifference by the constant reminder, "It will not work."
Again, a fire may be quenched by smothering it with noncombustible materials. In the parable of the sower, Jesus speaks of the seed falling among thorns. The quality of the seed was as high as that upon good ground, but the problem was that the thorns sprang up and choked it. The thorns are identified as the anxieties and pressures of the age in which we live the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things. It has often been assumed that the thicket of briers represented what is sometimes referred to as "the pleasures of life." It is true that one may become obsessed with recreation and sports, and we even use the word "fan," which is an abbreviation for fanatic, to describe such a person. But Jesus did not have this in mind at all.
Many of His hearers were hard pressed to survive in a land occupied by their Roman military masters. Few indeed had time to play or indulge in idle pastime. The "cares of this world" refer to the over-anxiety for food and clothing, and for the security mistakenly thought to reside in things. A subtile form of doubt besets those who think they have faith, when their faith is a trust in their own power and ability to become a success by piling up treasures on earth. Jesus condemned this lack of real faith. Nothing else tends to stifle the Spirit in one's life as does the attitude of those who would be rich in this world's goods.
A third way to quench a fire is simply to neglect it. One does not expect a fireplace to flame up, glow, and send forth heat from the fuel supplied it a week ago. There must be constant replenishment or else the fire will go out. One of the chief causes of failure is the "neglect of so great salvation," as the writer of Hebrews refers to it. Unless we regularly read the Word of God and pray, we will fail to survive. Yesterday's worship is like yesterday's warmth. It was welcome and stimulating at the time, but it will not warm the heart today.
A man who had once been a faithful follower of Jesus, but who had lapsed into unconcern and indifference, said, "I did not really deny the faith. I simply allowed it to slip away from me." The Badlands National Monument is an example of what can happen through erosion. Gradually through the centuries, land that once sustained an abundance of animal life by its growth in rich topsoil, began to erode until now it is a startling monument of waste and unproductiveness. So it is with many lives that once strengthened others, but are now badlands of apathy and ungodliness.
To quench the Spirit is to allow the purpose and meaning of life to burn low within. The personality becomes cold and hardened, and only the ashes remain to remind the world of a once warm spiritual being.