Gracious Name: Holy Spirit

There is a command of God that keeps popping up in various ways throughout the Bible.  In its clearest form it first appears in Leviticus and last appears in I Peter.  But in reworded form it is on page after page of the Scriptures.  What is this command?  Be ye holy for I am holy. 

How are we going to do that?  We are not holy.  We are sinful.  Our heart’s desire at birth is to choose our own way.  The desire of the flesh, even after we are saved, is still to go its own way.  God is certainly holy.  That is His nature. But it is certainly not ours, so how can He say to us, “Be ye holy”?

The key hope for the believer is that we don’t have to do it alone.  God has sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us.  He has sent His Holy Spirit to convict and teach us.  He has sent His Holy Spirit to empower and enable us.  He has sent into our hearts His gracious Spirit who is Holy.  That is His name.  That is our hope and strength.

Holy Spirit be my guide, my intemperate will o’er ride,

Guide my eyes God’s grace to see, guide my feet sin’s call to flee,

Show me ways of righteousness, Teach me to my Savior bless,

Reach into my sinful soul, make it pure and make me whole. 

(Tune: Jesus, Lover of My Soul)

By God’s great blessing we are not left alone in this world.  We are not abandoned by the Father, Son or Holy Ghost.  Everything that God calls upon us to do, we are enabled to do by the grace of His presence.  The Father is there to hear our prayer.  We can climb up in His lap and cry into His ear, Abba, Father.  The God who is There will hear.  The Son is there as we are called upon to bear fruit for Him.  The True Vine, by whom alone we can bear any fruit, is ever present to enable us to produce fruit that remains.  His power and authority which encompass earth and heaven will enable us to do the work He left us to do.  The Holy Spirit is there.  He is God’s seal of redemption on us.  He is the Keeper of the flock who have entered by the Door of Christ.  He is the enabler of the Church to walk in holiness with the Father.  God’s call upon us to be holy can be fulfilled in us by the presence of His Holy Spirit.  What a blessing of assurance and help we have in that great Name. 

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