The Gospel Day; Or, the Light of Christianity

by Charles Ebert Orr

This teacher and guide is not a mere influence, such as love. The Scriptures in speaking of the Holy Spirit use the personal pronoun. The Holy Spirit as the third person in the trinity is the special gift of God unto his children: “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you.” Luke 24:49. God gave this promise by the mouth of his prophet Joel, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.” Joel 2:28. This promise was the gift of the Holy Spirit. See Acts 2:17, 18, 38.

Upon whom this gift is bestowed is a subject of more controversy perhaps than any other Bible theme. There need be no confusion upon this point if all would take the plain statements and examples in the New Testament. Jesus declares the world can not receive [pg 316] the Spirit, John 14:17. The disciples enjoyed the experience of regeneration all through the Lord's ministry. Some will take issue with us here, but we have the whole of the Word on our side, or rather we are on the side of the Word of God. They preached, they east out devils, they healed the sick, they rejoiced, they prayed, the Lord administered unto them the newly instituted ordinance of the Lord's Supper, and originated the precious ordinance of feet-washing. He told them their names were written in heaven. He said he had chosen them out of the world, and that they were not of the world, even as he was not of the world. He prayed God to keep them from the evils of the world, and said that the glory the Father gave him he had given them, and that he had kept them in his Father's name, and none of them was lost. What more proof do you require to convince you that they were not sinners? Some who endeavor to overthrow the doctrine of receiving the Holy Spirit as the sanctifier subsequent to regeneration, say that “the justification of the disciples was an Old Testament justification, and not a justification under the gospel, and Pentecost was the receiving of the New Testament justification.” Did you ever hear of a justification under the law spoken of as the experience of the disciples was spoken of by the Savior? They were not like the other Jews that kept the law. They were separated from them and persecuted by them. Jesus said, “Ye have followed me in the regeneration.” [pg 317] Mat. 19:28. It was not a justification under the law, but a regeneration in Christ.

In John, seventeenth chapter, after telling the Father that he had chosen them out of the world and kept them in his name, that none of them should be lost, he then prays for their sanctification. After saying in the sixteenth verse, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world,” in the next verse he prays the Father to sanctify them. In Mat. 9:2, Jesus says to the man sick of the palsy, “Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee.” Was not this a gospel justification or pardon? There was no offering of the blood of animals to secure a justification by the law. This is to prove that Christ did give his followers the experience of the “new birth” before his crucifixion. I do not doubt that this man was present and received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Another clear example set before us of the Christians in the morning of this gospel day receiving the Holy Spirit as the third person in the trinity after regeneration, is that of the brethren at Samaria, recorded in Acts, eighth chapter. Philip went down thither and preached Christ unto them, and they gave heed to the things he spake, ver. 5, 6. Do you not think this was a New Testament justification? The seventh verse says that unclean spirits were cast out and the palsied and lame were healed. Do you suppose that all this was done unto sinners? The fourteenth verse says they “received the word.” James [pg 318] says, “Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” Jas. 1:21. The sixteenth verse of the eighth chapter of Acts says they were baptized in the name of Jesus. The seventeenth verse speaks of their reception of the Holy Spirit. Some are at this point ready to say that Simon believed Philip's preaching and was baptized, and yet not saved. This is very true. He was a hypocrite. The remainder were not, you know full well. Because they were sincere they received an experience, and were made fit subjects to receive the Holy Spirit. Because he was not saved he could not receive him.

A similar instance of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the previously regenerated is that of Cornelius, recorded in the tenth chapter of Acts. We are often told that Cornelius was a devout man under the law like Moses, Isaiah, and other Old Testament prophets. This is only a supposition, and one without foundation. Cornelius was not a keeper of the law. He was a Gentile, a Roman centurion. He had heard of Jesus, ver. 36, 37. He had learned enough to believe on him for the salvation from sin, but wanted to be taught the way of God more perfectly. Under Peter's preaching they received the Holy Spirit. In the nineteenth chapter of Acts is preserved the experience of twelve men at Ephesus. They were disciples. The Jews under the law were never called disciples. A disciple is a follower or learner of Christ. Paul preached to them and laid hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

This is the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. As holy men were once led and spoken to by God directly, holy men are now led and spoken to by the Holy Spirit. The man who rejects the power, work and light of the Holy Spirit is like a blind man who does not believe the existence of a sun because he never saw the light. The Holy Spirit calls to the ministry. Acts 13:1-4. He leads them and directs them where to preach or labor. Acts 8:26, 29; 16:6, 7. He created the overseers. Acts 20:28. Men spake as moved by the Holy Spirit. They spake as the Spirit gave them utterance. God sets all the members in the body as pleases him. 1 Cor. 12:18. He does this through the agency of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 12:13. Apostles and prophets and teachers and gifts of healing and miracles and tongues are all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The whole work of God is now carried on by the Holy Spirit, the third person in the trinity.

Chapter XVI. Miscellaneous Subjects.

Woman's Freedom.

The Scriptural right for women to labor in the gospel as exhorters, teachers, preachers, etc., is questioned by many. To deny women such a privilege is contrary to the Christian spirit of equality, and a serious obstruction to pure gospel light. We (male and [pg 320] female) are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal. 3:28. In the kingdom of grace man and woman are on an equal footing so far as concerns the work of God. To explain some texts that seem to prohibit women from laboring in the gospel and to prove positively to you that women did so labor in the morning light of the church, we will transcribe an article written by Bro. Geo. Cole, and which appeared in the Gospel Trumpet.