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In Ephesians, Paul said, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul says that there is one Spirit. According to Mathew 28:19, this one Spirit is a member of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit was present when the world was created (Genesis 1:1-2). His presence is eternal; according to (Hebrews 9:14). The writer of Hebrews said, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Throughout the Bible the Holy Spirit of God is referred to by many different names. He is known as the “Comforter” in (John 14:26), “the Spirit of truth” in (John 16:13), “the Spirit of grace” in (Hebrews 10:29), and “God” (Acts 5:3-4). He is referred to as the Spirit of Glory in (1 Peter 4:12), the Lord in (2 Corinthians 3:5), the Spirit of Glory in (1 Peter 4:14), and the Eternal Spirit in (Hebrews 9:14).
The Holy Spirit is and always been involved in the lives of men. We learn in (Hebrews 3:7-11), that the Holy Spirit continues to speak today. His method of speaking today is through the “Word of God,” the Bible. This Word of God is referred to by Paul as “the sword of the Spirit.” The people of God are commanded to listen to the Spirit as He speaks through the Word (Bible). We recall that in the letters sent to the seven churches in Asia (Revelation 2-3), Christians are given this admonition: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
The work of the Holy Spirit is invaluable, because in the Bible we learn that the Spirit provides special blessings to God’s people. One way he does so is to make intercession for Christians when they pray to God (Romans 8:26-27). He leads Christians in their daily walk with God according to (Romans 8:14), He gives Christians strength to complete that daily walk according to (Ephesians 3:16), and He is also a witness to Christians (Hebrews 10:15-17). But the question is how can one access this remarkable work of the Holy Spirit. We gain access to these blessings when we submit to the “one baptism.” In Acts 2:38 we read, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
While through the Holy Spirit we may gain great blessings it must be remembered that with these blessings come responsibilities. Through the Bible, God’s people are given a number of responsibilities that relate to the Spirit. As Christians we are responsible for being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), this cannot occur unless we are actively involved with God in obedience to His Word. When we are obedient to God, we then through the Holy Spirit are able to mortify the deeds of the body through the Spirit (Romans 8:13), we are able to properly glorify God in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:18-20), and we are able to correctly walk and live in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17, 25). We should also remember that it is through the Holy Spirit that we bear positive fruit known in the Bible as “Fruits of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23), It is through the Holy Spirit that we correctly sow to the Spirit (Galatians 6:7-8). That is, we live and do things that God asks of us, as a result the fruits we bear are noticeable and positive. There are also things that the Child of God must do in a negative sense. The Christian must avoid blaspheming the Spirit (Matthew 12:31), resisting the Spirit (Acts 7:51-54), grieving the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30), quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19), and doing despite to the Spirit which is insulting Him (Hebrews 10:29)
(Tony Hoss is minister at the Centerview Church of Christ in Elizabethton)