The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit

"He shall glorify Me; for He shall receive of Mine, and show it unto you" (John 16:14)

Our Lord, in the last night that He was with His disciples, promised to send the Holy Spirit as a Comforter. Although His bodily presence was removed, they would realize His presence in them and with them in a wonderful way. The Holy Spirit as God would so reveal Christ in their hearts that they would experience His presence with them continually. The Spirit would glorify Christ and would reveal the glorified Christ in heavenly love and power.

How little do Christians understand and believe and experience this glorious truth. We would fail in our duty as ministers if, in a little book like this or in our preaching, we encouraged Christians to love the Lord Jesus without at the same time warning them that it is not a duty they can perform in their own strength. No, that is impossible; it is God, the Holy Spirit alone, who will shed abroad His love in our hearts and teach us to love Him fervently. Through the Holy Spirit we may experience the love and abiding presence of the Lord Jesus all the day.

But let us remember that the Spirit as God must have entire possession of us. He claims our whole heart and life. He will strengthen us with might in the inner man, so that we have fellowship with Christ and keep His commandments and abide in His love.

When once we have grasped this truth, we will begin to feel our deep dependence on the Holy Spirit and pray the Father to send Him in power into our hearts. The Spirit will teach us to love the Word, to meditate on it, and to keep it. He will reveal the love of Christ to us, that we may love Him with a pure heart fervently.

Dear Lord Jesus, help us begin to see that a life in the love of Christ in the midst of our daily life and distractions is a glorious possibility and a blessed reality. Amen

~Andrew Murray~
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Christ's Love to Us

"Even as the Father hath loved Me, I also have loved you: abide ye in My love" (John 15:9)

In communion between friends and relations everything depends on their love to each other. Of what value is abundance of riches if love is lacking between husband and wife or parents and children? And in our religion, of what value is all knowledge and zeal in God's work without the knowledge and experience of Christ's love? (1 Corinthians 13:1-3) O Christians, the one thing needful in the inner chamber is to know by experience how much Christ loves you and to learn how you may abide and continue in that love.

Think of what Christ says: "As the Father hath loved Me" - what a Divine, everlasting, wonderful love! "Even so have I loved you." It was the same love with which He had loved the Father and that He always bore in His heart which He now gave into the hearts of His disciples. He yearns that this everlasting love should rest upon us and work within us, that we may abide in it day by day. What a blessed life! Christ desires every disciple to live in the power of the self-same love of God that He Himself experienced. My brothers and sisters, do you realize that in your fellowship with Christ, in secret or in public, you are surrounded by and kept in this heavenly love? Let your desire reach out to this everlasting love. The Christ with whom you desire fellowship longs unspeakably to fill you with His love.

Read from time to time what God's Word says about the love of Christ. Meditate on the words, and let them sink into your heart. Sooner or later you will begin to realize: The greatest happiness of my life is that I am loved by the Lord Jesus. I may live in fellowship with Him all the day long.

Dear Lord Jesus, my heart continually says: Thy love to me is unspeakable, Thou wilt keep me abiding in Thy love. Amen

~Andrew Murray~