Tuesday, April 18, 2017

The Intercession Of The Holy Spirit

           "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God." (Romans 8:26-27)

          We do not know what kind of prayer that we should utter before God or how those prayers should be said. The disciples themselves asked Christ to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). The Spirit of God searches the depths of our soul and goes on our behalf before God with needs that we cannot even begin to express with words.

          The searching of the human soul is something that only God Himself can do (1 Samuel 16:7; Proverbs 20:27; Jeremiah 17:10). To affirm that the Holy Spirit can do the same thing indirectly indicates He is God. He knows the limitations of our being. He understands the wide range of human emotions.

          Jesus Christ told the twelve apostles that He needed to depart from the world so that the Advocate can come, who is identified as the Holy Spirit (John 16:6-8). If Jesus never left this earth physically, then the Spirit could not come to fulfill His designated purposes.

           What did the Holy Spirit do for the apostles? He guided the twelve disciples to all truth (John 16:13). The Spirit of God gave first century Christians necessary revelation for learning about God's general will for us (John 14:16; 26).

           Today, the Holy Spirit continues to fulfill the same tasks that He was originally appointed for. He leads searching people to truth. He is a source spiritual nourishment and comfort in our infirmities (i.e. temptations and persecutions).

           The Lord Jesus Christ is eternally present in His divinity along with the Holy Spirit. Both members of the Holy Trinity intercede on our behalf in prayer. The Father and Son come to and dwell with believers in the Holy Spirit. Christ ascended into heaven to pour out the Spirit on the body of the redeemed.

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