PREFACE

       A flood of books dealing with the Holy Spirit has been pouring from the presses. The emptiness of modern man, coupled with a sense of the futility of earthly existence in a nuclear age, has combined to promote a genuine interest in a Power that can transform life and provide hope of human relationship with the ultimate and infinite. As is true in every age of crisis, much of the appeal to the sensational and emotional is provided purely for the enrichment of the authors.

       But many good things of lasting value are being said and written. Further, it is time for men to seek a greater understanding of the will of God and to come to a closer walk with Him through the Spirit. In many respects this volume is different from other such books on this theme now on the market. It is not intended to encourage men to think of the Spirit as a gimmick or fad. It is not the result of a current wave of interest, but it was planned many years ago.

       The purpose of the book is to stimulate thought and promote a deeper study of the revealed will of God. I believe that God has spoken, and the revelation of what He has said is contained in the Bible. It is not my intention to be judgmental about the personal experiences to which men and women testify, but I hold that experiences must be judged in the light of the Scriptures, and not the reverse.

       The Holy Spirit is not the Word of God; He is the divine agent through whom that Word was conveyed to human agents. The Spirit did not simply deliver the Word and then retire from the scene, however. He took up His abode in the hearts of men to strengthen, aid, and comfort them, in the fulfillment of the divine purpose for their lives. Because of this, this book first identifies the Spirit and then details in practical fashion how He helps us harmonize our lives with the divine will.

       The final chapter makes use of material originally written for a journal. It appears in this volume to give it wider circulation and to induce a greater impact upon the lives of those who read it. But simply reading about the Spirit will not enable one to achieve the joy that should be the lot of the redeemed. One can starve to death while studying a cookbook. The Spirit must be allowed to motivate quicken, and stimulate.

       If this little volume leads you into a life of sharing with the Father and all the other members of His family--our brothers and sisters; if it brings freedom from fear of the present; and if it strengthens your faith, it will have achieved its goal and God will be praised.

       For the most part, Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, and © 1971, by the Division of Christian Education, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and used by permission. The following abbreviations are used when other abbreviations are used when other versions are quoted: KJV, King James Version; TNEB, The New English Bible.

--W. Carl Ketcherside