"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment. John 16:8.
As the Comforter shall come, and reprove you of sin, of righteousness, and of
judgment, be careful lest you resist the Spirit of God.... Be willing to discern what
it shall reveal to you. Yield up your self-will, the long idolized habits peculiar to
yourself, that you may receive the principles of truth.
At the cost of infinite sacrifice and suffering, Christ has provided for us every
essential to success in the Christian warfare. The Holy Spirit brings power
that enables man to overcome. It is through the agency of the Spirit that the
government of Satan is to be subdued. It is the Spirit that convinces of sin, and,
with the consent of the human being, expels sin from the heart. The mind is then
brought under a new law—the royal law of liberty.
The Lord Jesus acts through the Holy Spirit; for it is His representative.
Through it He infuses spiritual life into the soul, quickening its energies for
good, cleansing from moral defilement, and giving it a fitness for His kingdom.
Jesus has large blessings to bestow, rich gifts to distribute among men. He
is the wonderful Counselor, infinite in wisdom and strength; and if we will
acknowledge the power of His Spirit, and submit to be molded by it, we shall
stand complete in Him. What a thought is this! In Christ “dwelleth all the fulness
of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him.” Colossians 2:9, 10.
Never will the human heart know happiness until it is submitted to be molded
by the Spirit of God. The Spirit conforms the renewed soul to the model,
Jesus Christ. Through its influence, enmity against God is changed into faith
and love, and pride into humility. The soul perceives the beauty of truth, and
Christ is honored in excellence and perfection of character. As these changes
are effected, angels break out in rapturous song, and God and Christ rejoice over
souls fashioned after the divine similitude."
