And then there is another thing that we must understand clearly, if we would know the purpose of the Spirit’s coming on the day of Pentecost—and that is—what the Spirit does. This refers to the work which the Holy Spirit has to do in the Church of Christ. It takes in both what he had to do in the church when he first came and also what he has to do now. The work which the Spirit has to do for the souls of men is the same now that it was then. There were, indeed, works of wonder, great miracles, to be performed in the early church which are not done now.
But, apart from this, there is no difference. The work of the Holy Spirit has always been the same. How important his work was to the church at first, we see in the fact that nothing was done till the Spirit came. After Jesus had ascended to heaven there was, as we have already said, a long pause before anything else was done. This pause lasted for ten days. Jesus had left a great work for his disciples to carry on in the world; but during those days nobody moved a step or lifted a finger towards doing that work. Everything stood still. And the reason for this long pause was that nothing could be properly done in carrying on this work till the Spirit came. The disciples had been distinctly told to wait for his coming. They waited till the day of Pentecost. Then, this Spirit came. Then the work began—the work of saving souls from death. The work has never ceased. It has been going on to the present day; and it will continue to go on till Jesus comes again.
The Incredulity and Confession of Thomas
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.—St. John xx: 26-29.
NOTE BY THE ARTIST
Five times during that memorable Easter Day did Jesus manifest himself to his followers, and it was not until the eighth day at even, that the sixth appearance is recorded as having taken place; this time for the special purpose of confirming the belief of one of the eleven who still doubted. Ten manifestations in all are specifically mentioned, but it would appear (Acts i:3) that Jesus also revealed himself to his chosen apostles on many other occasions, speaking of the things pertaining to the building up of that church, of which he was himself at once the Foundation and the Corner-stone.
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Now there are four things that must be done for every soul that is to be saved through Jesus Christ. And none but the Holy Spirit can do these things.
The first thing that the Holy Spirit has to do for every soul is to—convert—it.