I am sure we have all heard this phrase before, "The holy Spirit was really present today" or something akin to it. I thought of this because of a phrase Spugeon used in the devotion for today. Is there a sence in which the presence of the HS is different at some times than others? What are your thought and what Scripture would you use to back up your thoughts?

Hi Chris,
My thoughts are that the trinitarian idea rests in all aspects. In other words, God is onipresent, so then is the HS. These scenario's that we see in scripture do not necessarily show that certain people or events warrant additional blessings (Outside of the examples of theocratic anointings of the OT). Matt 13 talks about bearing fruit 30/60/100; but thats not speaking of the HS.

We are exhorted to "be filled".............Hence, there must be something to it.

Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

Act 9:17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

Luk 6:21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

Luk 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

[Edited on 4-24-2004 by Scott Bushey]

Presence in conviction.
Presence in comfort.

I think that on certain occasions we can feel the presence of the Spirit tangibly. For me its like a heavy weight on my shoulders... and I want to get down on the ground to relieve myself or something. (which is entirely biblical when God communions intimately.)

The phrase is horribly abused. And I don't think that it would be correct to say that the Spirit is more present than another time, because we have no way of knowing. Except those times he does manifest himself to his saints in a special way: the inner testimony of the Spirit.

Rembrandt

[Edited on 4-24-2004 by rembrandt]

[quote:a0c6cd885e][i:a0c6cd885e]Originally posted by rembrandt[/i:a0c6cd885e]
I think that on certain occasions we can feel the presence of the Spirit tangibly. For me its like a heavy weight on my shoulders... and I want to get down on the ground to relieve myself or something. (which is entirely biblical when God communions intimately.)

The phrase is horribly abused. And I don't think that it would be correct to say that the Spirit is more present than another time, because we have no way of knowing. Except those times he does manifest himself to his saints in a special way: the inner testimony of the Spirit.

Rembrandt

[Edited on 4-24-2004 by rembrandt] [/quote:a0c6cd885e]


Rem writes:
Not that I can't relate, but if Gods spirit is consistantly w/ us, is it possible that his spirit is felt more tangibly when we "draw close to Him"?

Jam 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you....


Rem adds:
"Except those times he does manifest himself to his saints in a special way: the inner testimony of the Spirit."

Can you give an example please?

The Holy Spirit, eternal God, is omnipresent. Hence there is no place at which He is not present, nor can He be contained.

Hence, it can be argued that the Holy Spirit is present among the heathen nations, or even in unbelievers. (else, if He were not present in unbelievers, then His presence is restricted and hence He would not be omnipresent).

When Jesus said that He would pray the Father to give His disciples "[i:793e53d5be]another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; the Spirit of truth (Jn 14:16,17)[/i:793e53d5be]" it was not that the Holy Spirit was not already with them, nor was not abiding with them already; nor that He was not already in them. Only it means that the presence of the Holy Spirit would be more greatly manifested to be with them than He had been manifested to that point.

[quote:793e53d5be]
I am sure we have all heard this phrase before, "The holy Spirit was really present today" or something akin to it.
[/quote:793e53d5be]

It appears that this is something that has been popularized through the Charismatic movement. Many "pentecostals" hold (at least those who were in my mother's circle of churches) that the Spirit can be "felt" as some warm fuzzy feeling, and hence they may say, "I can really feel the presence of the Spirit in this place". I do not believe that this is at all what the scriptures mean by being filled with the Spirit or by a greater manifestation of His presence.


We can see how this gnosticism has flooded into the mainstream as many today speak of "waiting on the Lord to manifest Himself in such a way that I may find out what His special will for my life is". -This is hogwash.

[quote:d8c3fc67de]16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven" (Gen. 28:16-17)[/quote:d8c3fc67de]

Does God still give revelation to the saints? Yes. Don't shoot me: hear what I have to say. He gives revelation by the written word effectually applied to hearts. The revelation is two fold. Part of it is the written word, the other is God's actively revealing or illuminating these things to us through the inner teaching of the Spirit. Which is exactly Calvin's doctrine of revelation.

NT Worship is essentially out entering into heaven, with all the saints from all of eternity, the same sanctuary in which Jesus Christ is in as High Priest. It is essentially a meeting with the most Holy God!

Listen to the Prophets when they had an encounter with the great "I AM."
[quote:d8c3fc67de]1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"[/quote:d8c3fc67de]

Listen to Sproul speak on the presence of God. He says that the one thing that it is not is that it is not boring. People have different feelings when God is making himself known to his people. Dread is probably the most popular.

[quote:d8c3fc67de]Many "pentecostals" hold (at least those who were in my mother's circle of churches) that the Spirit can be "felt" as some warm fuzzy feeling, and hence they may say, "I can really feel the presence of the Spirit in this place".[/quote:d8c3fc67de]

If one has never "felt" the Holy Spirit I might be a little worried.

Rembrandt

[quote:e577121466]We can see how this gnosticism has flooded into the mainstream as many today speak of "waiting on the Lord to manifest Himself in such a way that I may find out what His special will for my life is". -This is hogwash.[/quote:e577121466]

I agree.