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With a perversity as pathetic as it is impoverishing, we have become preoccupied today with the extraordinary, sporadic, non-universal ministries of the Spirit to the neglect of the ordinary, general ones. Knowing God (The Love of God, 130)
Today the doctrine of the Holy Spirit's personal divinity is seldom given much attention. Books about him tend to gloss over who he is and concentrate almost entirely on what he does. This is a pity, because the works of the Holy Spirit cannot be understood unless his divine personhood is acknowledged.God Has Spoken (725)
The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them. Answers to Prayer (11)
A sheep may fall into a ditch, but it is the swine that wallows in it.
He who is his own teacher, is sure to have a fool for his master!
Your flesh is a square peg, and the Spirit is a round hole. The two don't go together!
The Christian must always be at war. If he has peace with sin, he is at war with God.
If you allow your love of creature comforts — or even your pleasure in family and loved ones — to outrun your love for the Lord, you cannot be a victorious soldier for Christ.The Christian in Complete Armour, 1:72
The layman has a large field in which he may minister to his fellow man, even if he is not called to full time ministry.Christian in Complete Armour 1:300
Hypocrisy in religion springs from the bitter root of some carnal affection unmortified…. God is in the hypocrite's mouth, but the world is in his heart, which he expects to gain through his good reputation.
It is sincere faith that is the strong faith, sincere love that is the mighty love. Hypocrisy is to grace as the worm is to the oak, the rust to the iron—it weakens them because it corrupts them.
The Christian, by his sorrow, shows himself a conqueror of that sin which even now overcame him, while the hypocrite, by his pride, shows himself a slave to a worse lust than that he resists. While the Christian commits a sin, he hates it, whereas the other loves it while he forbears it.
Humility is a necessary veil to all other graces.
Can a bird fly when one of its wings is broken? Faith and a good conscience are hope's two wings; if, therefore, thou hast wounded thy conscience by any sin, renew thy repentance, that so thou mayest exercise faith for the pardon of it and redeem thy hope.
Hope is a prying grace; it is able to look beyond the exterior transactions of providence. It can, by the help of the promise, peep into the very bosom of God and read what thoughts and purposes are written there concerning the Christian's particular estate, and this it imparts to him, bidding him not to be at all troubled to hear God speaking roughly to him in the language of His providence. "For," saith hope, "I can assure thee He means thee well, whatever He saith that sounds otherwise."
Hope is a supernatural grace of God whereby the believer, through Christ, expects and waits for all those good things of the promise which at present he hath not fully received.
Hope is the handkerchief that God puts into His people's hands to wipe the tears from their eyes, which their present troubles and long stay of expected mercies draw from them
The operation of the Spirit in believers, the communion of the Holy Ghost, is a great mystery. He works more on them than they feel and know; and they feel more than they can express in words; and they express more than any that have not received "the same spirit of faith" (2 Cor. 4:13) can understand. But this we know, that whenever the Spirit of Christ applies His grace and power to the heart of a sinner, there is something wrought that day which shall last to eternity. There is, by this finger of God, that impression made upon the soul and that mark left upon it that shall never wear out and that sin and Satan shall never be able to blot out again, but it shall remain and grow and be seen at the coming of Christ at the last day (Phil. 1:6).
The Holy Spirit who is given to work grace in us, He is also given to witness grace unto us and to make us "know the things that are freely given to us of God" (1 Cor. 2:12). He is a free and sovereign agent indeed, and He works and witnesses in them in whom He worketh as He pleases. He giveth assurance of peace with God as much as He pleases and as soon, and no more and no sooner, than He pleases (1 Cor. 12:11).
But how shall I know the witness of the Spirit from a delusion? Answer: The Spirit of God always witnesses according to the word, as the echo answers the voice. Enthusiasts speak much of the Spirit, but they leave the word. That inspiration which is either without the word or against it is an imposture. The Spirit of God did indite the word (2 Peter 1:21). Now if the Spirit should witness otherwise than according to the word, the Spirit should be divided against itself; it should be a spirit of contradiction, witnessing one thing for a truth in the word and another thing different from it in a man's conscience.
If we desire the Spirit, we must wait in the way of duty, as the apostles waited many days before the Comforter came. We must also empty our souls of self-love and the love of the world and willingly entertain those crosses that bring our souls out of love with it. The children of Israel in the wilderness had not the manna till they had spent their onions and garlic; so this world must be out of request with us before we can be truly spiritual. Through grace, labor to see the excellency of spiritual things. How despicable then must all the glory of the world appear! These things, duly considered, will raise our desires more and more toward spiritual and heavenly objects.
If we cannot endure the Spirit going up and down with a candle and lantern to search our hearts, how can we abide the day of Christ's coming and stand when the Sun of Righteousness shall appear, for He is like refiner's fire and like fuller's soap? Justice, humility, repentance, though now they be but poor and low things with man, yet when the judge shall take the bench more visibly, how high will they be with God? Sincerity, though it be a silent grace at this time and dwells in obscurity, ere long, I hope, will carry the day and bear away the bell.
The Spirit exactly knows the heart of God to the creature, with all His counsels and purposes concerning Him: the Spirit searches all things, the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10). And what are those deep things of God the apostle means but the counsels of love which lie deep in His heart, till the Spirit draws them forth and acquaints the creature with them, as appears by verse 9? And also He knows the whole frame of man's heart. It were strange if He that made the cabinet should not know every secret box in it.
All the doctrine of the Scriptures may be briefly referred to these two heads: first, how we may be prepared to receive the Spirit of God; secondly, how the Spirit may be retained when we have once received it.
Pray not only against the power of sin but for the power of holiness. A wicked man may pray against his sins not out of any inward enmity to them or love to holiness but because they are troublesome guests to his conscience. His zeal is false that seems hot against sin but is cold to holiness. A city is rebellious that keeps its rightful prince out, though it receives not his enemy in.
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2. Charles Spurgeon (135)
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