When the Holy Ghost is Come | Page 6

upon the Crucified One and His work for
us, that we may walk in the steps of Him whose blood purchases our
pardon, and makes and keeps us clean.
"Great Paraclete! to Thee we cry: O highest Gift of God most high! O
Fount of life! O Fire of love! And sweet Anointing from above!
"Our senses touch with light and fire; Our hearts with tender love
inspire; And with endurance from on high The weakness of our flesh
supply.
"Far back our enemy repel, And let Thy peace within us dwell; So may
we, having Thee for Guide, Turn from each hurtful thing aside.
"Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow The Father and the Son to know,
And evermore to hold confessed Thyself of Each the Spirit blest."
"HAVE YE RECEIVED THE HOLY GHOST SINCE YE
BELIEVED?"

II.
PREPARING HIS HOUSE.
"Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you."
JESUS said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That
which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit." And Paul wrote to the Romans that, "If any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of His."
So it must be that every child of God, every truly converted person, has
the Holy Spirit in some gracious manner and measure, else he would
not be a child of God; for it is only "as many as are led by the Spirit of
God" that "are the sons of God."
It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin, who makes us feel how

good and righteous, and just and patient God is, and how guilty we are,
and how unfit for Heaven, and how near to Hell. It is the Holy Spirit
who leads us to true repentance and confession and amendment of life;
and when our repentance is complete, and our surrender is
unconditional, it is He who reasons with us, and calms our fears, and
soothes our troubled hearts, and banishes our darkness, and enables us
to look to Jesus, and believe on Him for the forgiveness of all our sins
and the salvation of our souls. And when we yield and trust, and are
accepted of the Lord, and are saved by grace, it is He who assures us of
the Father's favour, and notifies us that we are saved. "The Spirit
Himself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of
God." He is "the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."
"And His that gentle voice we hear, Soft as the breath of even; That
checks each thought, that calms each fear, And speaks of Heaven."
It is He who strengthens the new convert to fight against and overcome
sin, and it is He who "begets within him a hope of fuller righteousness
through faith in Christ."
"And every virtue we possess, And every victory won, And every
thought of holiness, Are His alone."
Blessed be God for this work of the Holy Spirit within the heart of
every true child of His!
But, great and gracious as is this work, it is not the fiery pentecostal
baptism with the Spirit which is promised; it is not the fullness of the
Holy Ghost to which we are exhorted. It is only the clear dawn of the
day, and not the rising of the day-star. This is only the initial work of
the Spirit. It is perfect of its kind, but it is preparatory to another and
fuller work, about which I wish to write.
Jesus said to His disciples, concerning the Holy Spirit, that "the world"
(the unsaved, unrepentant) "cannot receive" Him, "because it seeth Him
not, neither knoweth Him"; because they resist Him, and will not
permit Him to work in their hearts. And then Jesus added, "but ye know
Him; for He dwelleth with you...." He had begun His work in them, but
there was more to follow, for Jesus said, "and shall be in you."
When a man is building himself a house, he is in and out of it and
round about it. But we do not say he lives in it until it has been
completed. And it is in that sense that Jesus said, "He dwelleth with
you." But when the house is finished, the owner sweeps out all the

chips and saw-dust, scrubs the floor, lays down his carpets, hangs up
his pictures, arranges his furniture, and moves in with his family. Then
he is in the fullest sense within it. He abides there. Now, it is in that
sense that Jesus meant that the Holy Spirit should be