SSLS 2017-01-19
2017 1st Quarter
Lesson 3, January 14-20, The Divinity of the Holy Spirit
Thursday, January 19
“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” KJV, Romans 8:11, emphasis added.
“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.” KJV, 1 Peter 1:2, emphasis added.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” KJV, 2 Corinthians 13:14, emphasis added.
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” KJV, Matthew 28:18-20.
“To those who in faith claimed this promise it was speedily fulfilled. After Christ’s ascension the disciples were gathered together of one accord in one place. Ten days they spent in heart-searching and self-examination, each taking his own case in hand; for it had to be an individual work. As the disciples made humble supplication to God, their differences were swept away. They became of one mind. Then the way was prepared for the Holy Spirit to enter the cleansed, consecrated soul-temples. Every heart was filled with the Spirit, whose influence came with copiousness and power, as if it had been held in restraint for ages. What was the result? Thousands were converted in a day. The sword of the Spirit seemed new-edged with power, piercing to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow. The idolatry that had been mingled with the worship of the people was overthrown. New territory was added to the church of God. Places that had been barren and desolate sounded forth His praise.” (Ellen White, Australasian Union Conference Record, June 1, 1900, emphasis added.)
“The office of the Holy Spirit is to work the man; it is not our place to work the Holy Spirit….
“We hope that this house will be a place where the honour of God shall dwell. Let every one who comes to worship here surrender himself to God, with all the affections and desires. Satan will try to work upon human hearts to cause dissension among brethren, to weaken faith. Faith! of course we want it. Faith and works go together, and faith is made perfect by works. We want the faith that works, that works by love, by the love we have for Jesus Christ. If our hearts are all aglow with love for Him as our personal Saviour, we shall do the work of God. Dissensions will not enter here; for you will be one as Christ is one with His Father. Your old passions will be put away, the soul temple will be cleansed by the work of the Holy Spirit, and Christ will abide in the heart, and through Him we shall be able to do all things. Standing under the broad shield of Omnipotence, we do not feel that we are in the minority; God is a majority. Wherever we may go, we shall remember those who worship here, and shall pray that others may unite with you. We are to consider that Christ has set us to be a light amid the moral darkness of the world. We are not to misinterpret the character of God, we are not to be fretful, to speak out what we think, to blame and criticise and censure others; but we are to let the Holy Spirit fashion the character after the similitude of Christ.” (Ellen White, Bible Echo, October 8, 1894, emphasis added.)