The Sevenfold Inward Working of the Holy Spirit

We have already mentioned that in the Book of Revelation, the phrase “seven Spirits” is repeated several times: Rev, 1:4: 3:5: 4:5: Rev. 5:6. From these references we understand the meaning of the fulness of the Holy Spirit in our lives, by which God wants to bring us upon His throne. The whole message of the Book of Revelation can he summed up in one verse where God says: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God and he shall be my son’”-Rev. 21:7. All things of the new creation. The great and eternal purpose of our loving God in saving us is that we may inherit all things of the new creation. It is very hard to understand on this earth what our inheritance really is, but we accept it as God’s Word and believe it without any question or doubt.

In the beginning of the Book of Revelation our attention is drawn to the throne. At that time the apostle John was a prisoner on the island of Patmos. It is a very small island about sixty miles from Ephesus. We alf know how the Gospel was brought to Ephesus first of all by Apollos; then Paul went there, later on Timothy; and finally the apostle John laboured in that place. The Ephesian believers had the privilege of being deeply taught in the things of God and salvation, by these great servants of God. The time came, however, when there was great persecution against all the believers. Many were scattered and imprisoned and even killed. Many others lost their first love. and yet others were deceived by the enemy by wrong teaching. This was the condition in Ephesus at the time when the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to John the apostle on the isle of Patmos, and gave him the message we have in the Book of Revelation. Naturally there were all kinds of questions in the mind of the apostle as to what was going to be the future of the believers. It is quite natural for us to wonder what will happen next, when we see how the enemy slips in among the believers, when we find him very active around us, and the believers are being scattered and very few remaining true, The Lord Jesus answered all the questions that were in the mind of the apostle at that time, how He would defeat the enemy, and one day bring all of us to a very high position upon His throne, as He has promised.

In chapters I and 3 we find the word “throne”, and again in chapters 4 and 5 the same message - the throne. Note particularly Rev. 3:21, Thus the clear purpose of God is revealed that our Lord wants us to be upon His throne. And do not think that the message is meant only for the apostles and other leaders of God's people. The message is so simple, “to him that overcometh”, that is, any believer, if he is prepared to live an overcoming life. By the help of God and by His grace and strength you will also claim your share upon the throne of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord is saying so, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.’ Naturally we question how, we weak human beings, can ever rise so high as to come upon God’s throne, but by faith we can accept it easily for God is so merciful, and so gracious that He wants to forgive our sins, and that is why He has made a way of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Even those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ will tell you that they believe that He is a merciful God and Creator, and that He will forgive sins when we humble ourselves and repent. Even before my conversion I knew that God was merciful. But this, His throne, is far too high for our human wisdom. It becomes simple to us however, when we know that the honour is “to him that overcometh.” And further that those who overcome will inherit all things (Rev. 21:7). We are told how to overcome and for this reason our attention is being drawn in the beginning of this Book of Revelation to the seven Spirits.

We have already seen in Zechariah 4, that God’s people at that time had a very hard task before them. The city of Jerusalem had been completely burned in the days of king Nebuchadnezzar including the city walls, the houses, and even the temple. But according to the prophecy made by Jeremiah in chapter 25 the people were to return to Jerusalem after seventy years and the whole city would be rebuilt including the walls and the temple. Naturally they wondered how this could be. For the people were few in number, poor, without, money, captives and slaves, their houses burned down, and yet God’s Word was true.

God's Word came to Zechariah, “Not by might, not by power,” He was saying, “but by My Spirit; not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit.” God was saying, “It is by My Spirit that you will see all these prophecies made by Jeremiah and other prophets fulfilled”.

The same problem also arises when we say in our mind: “How can men like me rise so high as to sit upon God’s throne?’ The answer is the “seven Spirits”. The number seven speaks of perfection and completion; seven churches, seven angels, seven lamps of fire, a book with seven seals, seven stars; the number seven comes again and again. We can divide the work of the Holy Spirit into four groups of seven each, If we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us deeply, fully and freely, we are qualified automatically to sit on the throne of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not by human faculties, not by our cleverness, but by the Holy Spirit working in us daily, deeply, freely and fully. Firstly, as we have seen already, there are seven names of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. Secondly, the work of the Holy Spirit is going on inside us very quietly, Hike the roots of a tree underground spreading over a large area, going down deeply, but playing a very big and important part. These roots are often tiny, like threads, but they go on spreading and gathering the food necessary for the whole tree, the trunk, the leaves and the flowers. And that quiet hidden work cannot be seen by men outside. Similarly, the sevenfold work of the Holy Spirit is going on inside us very quietly. We know it, though others do not always see it. Thirdly, there is a work of the Holy Spirit that can be seen by our neighbours, friends, enemies and relations. So you can divide the work of the Holy Ghost into a sevenfold unseen work inside, and a sevenfold work of the Holy Spirit that can be scen by others. Fourthly, the sevenfold work of the Holy Spirit which is accomplished in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. IF you divide this work into these four groups you have the secret of the fullness of the Holy Spirit for all human beings whoever they may be.

We have studied the seven names given in the Bible to the Holy Spirit. We will now see in detail the sevenfold work of the Holy Spirit which goes on in us so very quietly. by which work we are being prepared by our loving Saviour for our position with Him upon His throne. That work is inside, and you cannot see it. When the Lord Jesus comes back the second time and we see Him face to face, we shall know fully how that work has been going on.

Let us look, first of all at John 3:6 and Titus 3:5, The work of regeneration is the first inward work of the Holy Spirit. By it we are made new in our spirit. In other words we are born again. “God is a Spirit’? John 4:24), If we want to know and hear God, if we want to touch Him and feel Him, it is only in our spirit that we can know Him. God gave me eyes to see, cars to hear, a mouth with which to speak and to eat, hands and fingers to feel. lungs for air, intestines for food. Similarly, He gave me a spirit for spiritual things. God tells us so clearly in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” God can be seen but not by natural sight. Similarly, in Isaiah 30:21, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.” We can hear God's voice, though not often with our natural ears.

In Psalms 16:11 we read “..... in thy presence is fulness of joy.” Yes, we can feel God’s presence, not in the body, but inwardly and spiritually. Unless we are inwardly renewed by the Holy Spirit in our spirit we cannot see God, touch God, know God, or tee God. And because people do not know how to be born again they are deceived. To know the full meaning of the new birth we must first know what our human personality is. 1 Thess. 5:23 speaks of the “whole spirit, and soul, and body.” In Gen. 2:7 God first made a body of dust, and it was by His own breath, that the human spirit entered that body, and man became a living soul. Every human being is composed of three parts - we have a body, a soul and a spirit. When God comes into me or into you He can only come in through the spirit. He does not come in through bones, or muscles, or brain. I cannot touch Him, hear Him or feel Him. I am conscious of His life coming into me, and He answers my call, How is this? It is by His Spirit. Why is it that we cannot see Him clearly even in the spirit? Because of sin. God told Adam that if he sinned against Him he would dic. Because of sin, man has undergone a threefold downward change. He now has a dead spirit. for death has entered into his spirit. If I want to commit a sin of any kind, I must kill my conscience. If my mouth tells lies my conscience pricks me, saying: “Now don’t tell lies”, “Don’t be angry”, “Don’t hate so-and-so.” But I say, “You keep quiet! You keep quiet”. In other words I am killing my conscience. Before I commit any sin, whether it be hatred, enmity. jealousy, greed. impurity, or hypocrisy, I must kill my conscience. In other words we bring death into our spirit because conscience is a part of the spirit.

As sinners we have a threefold condition: a dead spirit, a darkened soul and a defiled body; we are dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). As sinners we have brought death into our spirit; our souls are darkened and blinded (2 Cor. 4:4), and our body is defiled (1 Cor.3:16, 17). This is the threefold condition of every sinner before God, and because of this we cannot touch God, know Him or feel Him. God is a Spirit; so unless a new life and spirit come into my spirit I cannot know Him, and for that purpose we have to be renewed or regenerated by the Holy Spirit. When I humble myself and confess my sins the Spirit of God comes into my spirit and makes me a new person.

Again we undergo a threefold change by receiving into us the Holy Spirit. Our dead spirit becomes a quickened spirit, our darkened soul becomes an enlightened soul, and our defiled body, becomes a cleansed body. We better know what is body, what is soul and what is spirit. There are three components in the body. Muscles, bones and blood are the three main parts of the human body. Similarly, there are three components in the soul, intellect to think, emotion to love your children, and parents: and if you are older your companions, and thirdly willpower, you can say yes or can say no. God will not force you. You can refuse to see, to eat, and to walk, Every human being is given willpower. Intellect, emotion and will power make the human soul. Similarly, there are three components in the spirit. Firstly, the conscience, that inward faculty which tells us this is right, this is wrong. Secondly, worship, longing to know the Unseen. Who is my Creator? Where is He? How can I find Him? Where can I find Him? That desire comes to all of us at different times. Some want to find God in nature, some in buildings, temples, some want to find Him by rituals and ceremonies. God cannot be found that way, but only by the spirit. The third component of the spirit is instinct or intuition. Suddenly a thought comes, “Let me go and see my friends”. “Let me go for a walk”. “Let me write to someone”. That comes by instinct or intuition. Because we are under the threefold bondage of sin, death, and defilement, unless we receive into our spirits the lite of God we can never see God, touch Him or feel Him. That is the first work of the Holy Spirit: To renew me completely that I may receive into me the Holy Spirit.

In John 3:6 the first “S” is a capital, the Holy Spirit; and the second ‘s’ is a small one, the human spirit. God is Spirit and only my spirit can be renewed, my body cannot be renewed; the body shall remain body. We cannot have a steel body after we are born again; we remain as we are. We have to eat, we have to work, we get tired and weary; we remain ordinary human beings. This body will never become steel. But in my spirit I can be renewed, and become a new person with new faculties: but it is only possible when, first of all, I am purified inwardly. In Hebrews 9:14 we read, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Before the Holy Spirit can come into our spirit all the guilty stains caused by sinful thoughts, words and deeds must be washed and taken away. God has put a tape-recorder in our hearts and every word we speak, every single thought we think, and every thing we do is being recorded quietly in the conscience. That is God’s tape-recorder. That is why on their death-beds, men arc often troubled by a guilty conscience. I have seen people in terror. I have read of men like Voltaire, the famous agnostic of France, who used to make fun of God and ridicule Him in the many books he wrote against Him. He gave many lectures against God but on his death-bed he trembled in terror, and cried out in fear. So terrible was his fear that no nurse could nurse him for more than one night. This was because he was being troubled by a guilty conscience. I have seen many people on their death-beds, who are not ready to die. “Please do something, do something” they plead. Some give charity, so that mercy may be granted to them. Others, like the heathen, want ceremonies because of the tear of death. In fact every human being who does not know God is troubled by his guilty conscience on his death-bed and there is no peace on his face, only fear and terror and darkness. But on the face of a believer there is a perfectly peaceful expression, like that of a sleeping child.

God says in Jeremiah 17:1, “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars.” The deep mark is there, so before the Holy Spirit can renew my spirit, my guilty conscience has to be purged, cleansed, washed, and purified completely of all the guilty stains only carved by my thoughts, words and deeds. That is only possible by my Lord, by His precious Blood.

Are vou troubled by guilty conscience? Are you afraid to come near God? Are you unhappy to come into God’s presence? That is why many people do not like to attend meetings, for in the presence of God their sin is uncovered. They will go to a football match for hours together, or to a concert, but they cannot bear to come to a meeting because God’s Word uncovers their sins. “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved” (John 3:20). I remember many years ago, in India, a mother came to me and said, “Will you please come to our house for a visit?” I went and their young daughter was there, who never came to the meetings. I said: “Sister, why do you not come for the meetings?” She said, “I am very busy, I have to study very hard and I am not yet through.” I said, “You are one of those referred to in John 3:20’. She said, “What is that”? “Read the Bible for yourself”, I told her. So she brought the Bible and read it very boldly, then she read it a second time and a third time. And at last she got very angry, and said to her mother: “Why did you tell him about me?” I said, “She never said a word to me about you. I tell you from God's Word, that you do not come to the meeting, because you are afraid that God’s Word may uncover your sins.” After two days I got a letter: “Brother, you were quite right! But now i have repented. Thank God.”

Indeed many people are afraid to come to the meetings, lest the Holy Spirit, by God’s Word, uncover their sins. Don’t be afraid! When God uncovers sins He uncovers them to forgive us, not to shame us. But when men uncover our sins they do so to humiliate us. That is man’s nature. God is a God of love. First of all, He has to cleanse me inside: He must purge my conscience because conscience is a part of my spirit. When I am inwardly cleansed and purged by God in the blood of Christ, then the Holy Spirit comes into me to make me a new person. That is called regeneration and is the first great work of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). All your inward spiritual faculties will become new, and your conscience once dead will become sensitive. The proof is, if you tell one lie it will be visible. You will be miserable, and at night you will not be able to sleep. Formerly you were very happy to tell ties, thinking, “I am so clever”, but now you cannot do it. Even a small sin will make you restless till you confess it and set things right. Otherwise there will be no sleep, and no appetite. The Holy Spirit, coming into your spirit after your sins are forgiven will automatically make you entirely new. New thoughts will come into your brain, and evil thoughts will be driven way. New desires, new affections will come in, a new hunger for God’s Word, and a new longing to know about the things of eternity. A threefold change occurs automatically; a quickened spirit, an enlightened soul, and a cleansed body. The work begins in the spirit, the Holy Spirit coming into my spirit must make me a new person- “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away.” Now all things are of God.

The second inward work of the Holy Spirit is to baptise me, or unite me, or put me into the body of Christ, to make me a member of the heavenly family, to bring me under the Headship of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to help me to feet perfectly equal and one with every child of God. It is a miracle that takes place (Gal. 3:27, 28). That is the meaning of our oneness which is not by effort, but by the Spirit. I can say truthfully and very boldly that the very day the Lord Jesus Christ came into my life I began to feel perfectly one with Americans,Canadians, English, Europeans, Chinese, Japanese, Africans. everyone. This put a joy into my heart, as I thought:

“We all are one.” No question of white or black, rich or poor, high or low. Why? Because the Scripture says: “By one Spirit all we are baptised into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13), which has many members, We will fect perfectly one with anyone, no greed, no pride, no covetousness! But this will never come by personal effort. We will be conscious of the same Spirit flowing through us constantly and giving us whatever ministry He chooses.

“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12: 4). Automatically we are given some job to do, just as in the body we have feet and legs and hands, and every member of the body is necessary. For example, behind the ear there are some tiny glands, very small and without shape, but if they are diseased, there may be serious malfunction. It is the same with other small glands in the body here and there. They are necessary and play a big part. The hair in your nose are never washed but the hairs on the head are washed very often. Yet both are necessary. Without the hairs in your nose you might get I.B. What an important function they have! So I see by the Holy Spirit, that I can no longer take pride in my nationality or education or wealth or position, for I am only one member in the Body of Christ in which every member is necessary. I know my job. What you can do I cannot do. What I can do you cannot do. And all of us put together make a healthy Body. That’s why we feel perfectly one with every child of God, and there is joy in our fellowship wherever we go. When I go round the world I don’t ask any question about who or what you are. I am not concerned with the nationality or the family of a Christian. “Are you a child of God?” I ask them. “Are you born again?” “Yes, brother. Praise the Lord!” Answers like that make one so happy. There is a peculiar joy in knowing that he belongs to the same family that I belong to. We believe in the same verses; I am also a believer, praise God. I have met many believers throughout the world. Sometimes when I happen to see 2 person, I think, he must be a believer for his shining face tells me so. That is the second work of the Holy Spirit. Inwardly we are joined in oneness with afl believers of every country.

The third inward work of the Holy Spirit is the sealing for safety (Ephesians 1:11-13). When you want to send a letter by registered post, you put a seal on the outside, that means: “Don’t dare to touch it.” The seal is there and only the person whose name is on the envelope can open the letter. The seal in the Bible speaks of safety. The Lord Jesus Christ has sealed me and I belong to Him John 10:27). If you have become His sheep you are safe, for God has put a seal upon you, and the Devil can never take you away. The Lord says so clearly, “and they shall never perish, neither shaft any man pluck them out of my hand’ John 10:28,29). The Lord knows us. 2 Timothy 2:19 and 2 Cor. 1:22. The third work of the Holy Spirit then is to seal me, to make me the purchased possession of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Devil may come, but he wilt not succeed in plucking me trom the Lord’s hand because my Lord’s seal is there, and I am safe in Him. I belong to Him.

Among all the animals sheep is the most helpless animal. Other animals like donkeys, horses, cows, buffaloes, pigs, dogs and cats find their own way. If you put your cat in a dilly bag and leave it outside or even very far away, it will come back to you, or if you leave your dog many miles away, it will come back to you. Even bullocks or horses or pigs can find the way, but not sheep. The sheep may be lost only a few yards away, but it cannot find the way. The shepherd must go and find it. In Isaiah 53:6 we read, “All we like sheep have gone astray,” and the Lord has come to find us. He says: “My sheep hear my voice.” In Palestine you find four or five shepherds keeping their sheep in one sheepfold. Then at night they keep watch one by one to protect their sheep from wild beasts. In the early morning the first shepherd comes, and he hus his own whistle, and when he starts whistling his sheep will follow him very quickly, and he goes ahead to lead them. Then comes the second shepherd: he too has his own whistle, and his sheep follow him. God says they will not follow strangers. Even though they are so stupid otherwise, in that matter they are very clever John 10:5).

Once you become a sheep of the Lord Jesus Christ by hearing His voice, no power can pluck you from God’s hand. You are safe unto eternity. But many are not His sheep and they do not know His voice; they do not know how and when He speaks, for they cannot recognise His voice. Our Lord knows where his own sheep are and they are safe in Him. He knows our condition, our dangers and difficulties, and He comforts us and saves us. I have experienced this again and again. In the beginning, I remember very clearly, I had just begun reading the Bible and had no idea whatsoever of wrong teaching. I did not know who false teachers were. Because I was the only Indian in Winnipeg, Canada, many would come to me with wrong teaching and false doctrine, hoping to draw me to their side. But I heard a voice in my spirit saying: “Don’t trust them. Even though they are so nice and good, so kind and gentle, don’t trust them!” Thus the Lord saved me from many wrong teachings. Not by argument but by inward conviction, When we are sealed by the Holy Spirit we have the assurance that our Lord knows us and will protect us from every possible danger around us.

The fourth inward work of the Holy Spirit is that He is the earnest of our inheritance (Eph. 1:14 and 2 Cor. 1:22). Suppose you want to buy a property; you would go down to the city, look at the property and if you like it, you agree to buy it, for may be Rs. 80,000 or more. Because you agree to buy it, straightway you pay down a deposit. It may take you a month or two to pay the balance and get the property registered in your name, but you can say. “I have paid a deposit of Rs. 5000 for that land and house, and now they belong to me.” That is the earnest.

Now we see in the Scriptures that the Lord Jesus Christ has called us for a great heavenly inheritance (1 Peter 1:4). He wants you and me to be ready for our share of the heavenly inheritance. The proof is the earnest of the Holy Spirit. The very fact that the Holy Spirit has come into me to teach me and show me all things is a proof to me of the earnest of my heavenly inheritance, and that clears every doubt. I want that inheritance and now I have no longing and no desire for worldly possessions. My Lord has prepared for me a great spiritual, undefiled, incorruptible, glorious, heavenly inheritance. The more you allow the Holy Ghost to work in you, the more proof you have of the earnest; it is a foretaste of the heavenly inheritance. It tells you again and again not 10 be deceived by worldly glitter and glamour, which is only a passing show. Do not be deceived by worldly wealth, for it will all go away, and nothing will go with you. Rather, long for your share in the heavenly inheritance, and be ready for it.

The spirit of revelation is the fifth inward work of the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:16-20). Paul was praying that God would give to His people the spirit of revelation and wisdom.

Why? “that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead.” The very same power by which the Lord Jesus Christ rose again and was highly exalted far above all powers and principalities has now come into you. The Holy Ghost is given to me that I may know how to use that wonderful power of resurrection for all my needs. For the very same purpose God did not give a child to Abraham for 25 years. He promised in Genesis 12, when he was 75 years old, that he would give him a son, After waiting for 25 years he was given a child. Why did he have to wait? He had become old, his wife had become old. He was now 100 years old and she was 90 years old. They both had passed the age of child- bearing. So unless God put a new life in their bodies they could not have a child. God wanted to show Abraham that there was power available to him, death-conquering power, called the power of resurrection. It was by that power that God was able to say to Abraham: “You will see My city which hath foundations, and there you have a heavenly inheritance.”

Now many people want power but they want the wrong power, Paul prayed in Philippians 3:10, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection.” By that power of resurrection you can overcome every barrier, temptation, and obstacle. That power will never be exhausted because we are planted together both in the death and in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 6:5, “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.” They goa together, Now the Holy Spirit has come into me to reveal to me the secret of receiving into me daily the power of resurrection for my work and my walk, my temptations and my problems. It is there! By the very same power of resurrection the Holy Spirit gives us wisdom to know the hope of our calling and to understand why God hus chosen us and what is our particular place in the Church of God.

The sixth inward work of the Holy Spirit is seen in Eph. 3:16. “...be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man”. That work is going on inside the believer. Our inner man, the new man, will be strengthened even though we still remain human beings. We require new life, new strength, new power day by day, that we might eventually be filled with God's fulness. Upon the earth we have a foretaste. Whenever you feel weak spiritually and find it hard to fully believe the Bible, or even to intercede, say: “Now Lord, strengthen me in the inner man. I feel helpless, empty, barren. Lord, have mercy upon me. Give me new strength that I may enjoy Thy Word, and speak with Thee and spend time in Thy presence.” He will give it to you.

We find I difficult to enjoy the power of resurrection because we do not know how to be strengthened in the inner man by the Holy Spirit. Paul was praying for the Ephesians, that they might be strengthened with might in the inner man, that they might enjoy fully His love, that Christ might dwell in their hearts, that they might be rooted and grounded in love and also might be able to comprehend with the saints what is the breadth and length, and depth and height; and know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that they might be filled with the fullness of God. So the more we are strengthened in the inner man, the more we are qualified to be filled with God's fullness. Try whenever you feel spiritually empty, barren, helpless and weak. Go upon your knees and say: “Lord, I feel so weak, I have nothing. I don’t know what to do, what to say; I can’t even pray properly. Lord, I won’t leave You, it is my privilege and right, for I have no one else to go to; will You please strengthen me in the inner man and pour Your Spirit into me?” Then wait for a while by faith. I have tried it again and again, and it works.

Finally, the seventh inward work of the Holy Spirit within us is Sanctification. (1 Peter 1:2) “through sanctification of the spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” Sanctification helps me to obey God’s Word. Sometimes God speaks to us and we find it very hard to obey. We say in our hearts, “How can I obey?” But the Holy Spirit by sanctifying me gives me extra courage, till I say: “I do not care what people say, I will obey my Lord. He has called me for His service, I will obey Him. If He wants me to go there, I will go. What He says, I will do; what He demands I will give.” That is true sanctification because I know all that I have is only for Him.

Sometimes we keep a vessel that is meant only for some special guests and not to be used ordinarily. A coffee-set or tea-set, is kept in the cupboard for a guest of honour. When he comes the beautiful set is brought out and put back in the same place; it is only ever meant for this special use. Similarly my body, my faculties are wholly and solely for the Lord Jesus Christ. They cannot be given to anyone else. That is sanctification, and with that sanctification I am able to obey my Lord. “Now, Lord You ask and I will give You. Alf my money is Yours, my time is Yours, my energy is Yours. You ask and I will give joyfully.”

Sanctification is also unto “the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” We are being constantly defiled by evil thoughts by looking at a picture, or by hearing something filthy. Just as our eyelids start winking to take away dirt from our eyes, so whenever I become dirty by sinful thoughts, the Holy Spirit works in me straightway and brings the precious blood to cleanse me. God's Word says in Matthew 15:19: “out of the heart proceed evil thoughts.” No one is free from them. The only remedy is the blood. There is no need to wait till Sunday or Easter Sunday. The very second I am defiled I cry out: “Lord, I am defiled, please wash me straightway” and He washes me straightway. The work of the Holy Spirit is to bing into me the sprinkling of the precious blood to keep me perfectly clean every second, every moment, every hour and not only once in a while. Some people take a bath only once a week and they are quite happy. Some take bath once a month, and they are also very happy. Some take bath once in three months, and some people do not take bath for many months. There are some Christians of the same type who confess their sins only on Christmas Day, or Easter Day, or same other big day. They have no concern, no guilty conscience. But as a believer I must be kept clean, pure, unspotted, washed thoroughly every second. I find the Holy Spirit coming to me again and again. If you are defiled, He prompts: “Be washed, you are defiled: be washed even though you are defiled.” Many times a day the Holy Spirit is there constantly washing and that gives me a pure heart. Then I can talk with God freely, and enjoy His abiding presence. It is not by my own effort, but by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, These go together. So in 1 Peter 1:2 we see, “Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.” That is the result of being kept clean and pure by the precious blood. By the Holy Spirit I enjoy God’s grace in advance. I have perfect peace multiplied within me like a river. When I find my peace becoming less, to me it is a signal: “You are defiled, your peace has become less, now go upon your knees again.” When I pray, “Lord, cleanse me, wash me thoroughly” then peace comes again.

Summary:

The first work of the Holy Spirit is Regeneration; the second work is to baptize us into one body to feel perfectly one with every child of God; the third work is to seal us for our safety; the fourth work is to show our future heavenly inheritance as the earnest; the fifth work as the Spirit of revelation is to show unto me my heavenly calling and the privilege of receiving into me the power of resurrection for all my needs; the sixth work is to be strengthened by might in the inner man to enjoy His love, fullness and also be rooted into Him; and the seventh work is sanctification unto obedience and constant cleansing. Amen.