Joshua 17
Half tribe of Manasseh’s inheritance verse 1- 2
There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh
for he was the firstborn of Joseph
to wit – for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh
the father of Gilead
BECAUSE he was a man of war
therefore he had Gilead and Bashan
There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh
by their families for the children of
Abiezer – Helek – Asriel – Shechem – Hepher
Semida
these were the male children of Manasseh the son of
Joseph by their families
Zelophehad’s daughters receive an inheritance verse 3- 6
But Zelophehad – the son of Hepher – the son of Gilead the son of Machir
the son of Manasseh – had NO SONS – BUT daughters
and these are the names of his daughters
Mahlah – Noah – Hoglah – Milcah – Tirzah
And they came near before Eleazar the priest
before Joshua the son of Nun
and before the princes
saying
The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance
among our brethren
Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD
he gave them an inheritance among the
brethren of their father
And there fell ten portions to Manasseh
besides the land of Gilead and Bashan
which were on the other side Jordan
BECAUSE the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons
and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead
Bountaries of Manasseh’s inheritance verse 7- 10
And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah
that lie before Shechem
And the border went along on the right hand
to the inhabitants of En-tappuah
Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah
but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the
children of Ephraim
And the coast descended unto the river Kanah – southward of the river
these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh
the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river
and the outgoings of it were at the sea
southward it was Ephraim’s
northward it was Manasseh’s
and the sea is his border
and they met together in Asher on the north
and in Issachar on the east
Cities of Manasseh’s inheritance verse 11
And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth-shean and her towns
and Ibleam and her towns – and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns
and the inhabitants of En-dor and her towns
and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns
and the inhabitants of Megiddo
and her towns – even three countries
Manasseh didn’t drive out the Canaanites verse 12- 13
YET the children of Manasseh could NOT drive out the inhabitants of
those cities – BUT the Canaanites would dwell in that land
YET it came to pass – when the children of Israel were waxen strong
that they put the Canaanites to tribute
BUT did not utterly drive them out
Children of Joseph asks Joshua for more land verse 14
And the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua
saying
WHY have you given me but one lot and one portion to inherit
seeing I am a great people forasmuch as the LORD has
blessed me hitherto?
Joshua tells them where more land is verse 15
And Joshua ANSWERED them – IF you be a great people
THEN get you up to the wood country
and cut down for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites
and of the giants
IF mount Ephraim be too narrow for you
Joseph’s children complain verse 16
And the children of Joseph
said
The hill is not enough for us
and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley
have chariots of iron
both they who are of Beth-shean
and her towns – and they who are of the valley of Jezreel
Joshua encourages children of Joseph verse 17- 18
And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph
even to Ephraim and to Manasseh
saying
You are a great people – and have great power
you shall not have one lot only
BUT the mountain shall be yours – for it is a wood
and you shall cut it down
and the outgoings of it shall be yours
for you shall drive out the Canaanites
though they have iron chariots
and though they be strong
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph, to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan. (4421 “war” [milchamah] means battle, fight, warriors, hand-to-hand fighting, struggle, or the waging of armed conflict against an enemy)
DEVOTION: It is thought that because Machir was a great fighter that he needed more land on the other side of the Jordan. Manasseh inherited land on the east side of the Jordan while his six sons inherited land on the west side of the Jordan. Manasseh, himself, had land on one side of the Jordan River and his six sons had land on the other side.
Gilead had six sons that needed land. So they were given land on the west side of the Jordan. So there were representatives of the tribe on both sides of the Jordan. They fought to help win the battle in the Promised Land.
They were men of war that were needed to win the rest of the battles for the Promised Land. They were good in hand to hand fighting. They were ones who could get up close and fight with their enemies.
We need to be those types of fighters. We need to realize that we are in a battle, not for more land, but for the souls of those who are in our world. We need to pray for victory over the wiles of the devil in the lives of those who are around us as neighbors. We need to make sure that our neighbors know that we are there for them when they are fighting the battles in their lives.
Friendship is necessary in our world. We need to show our world that we are not a war with them but we are at war with the works of the devil in their lives. The only one who can give victory is the LORD Jesus Christ. HE only gives victory to those who are willing to yield their lives to HIM.
Life is a daily battle against an enemy but the enemy is not our neighbors but the one they follow without Christ. Sometimes they don’t realize that they are in danger of hell for eternity. We have to warn them in a loving manner. We need to help them to fight this battle.
CHALLENGE: We are not here to win land but to win souls for the LORD each day. The battle is real. Are we people of war against the wiles of the devil?
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 4 And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes saying, The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore, according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father. (251 “brethren” [‘ach] means one related by blood, kinship, same tribe, brother of same parents, half-brother, or brother)
DEVOTION: Going to the leadership if you have a problem or request is what is necessary to get a good decision. It is not right to just complain. So, we find these women going to the proper leadership and informing of the decision made by the LORD and Moses regarding their ability to inherit land.
God gave these daughters the land that their father would have normally received if he was still alive. They were just asking for what they thought was fair and the LORD thought they were right.
Too often we think that God treated women unfairly in both the Old and New Testament. This is not the case. When they had something, they wanted and they went through the right channels they received their request.
Women were not allowed to own country in America when it was first founded. It is true today that in many countries, women are not allowed to own property. This is not a command of the LORD but of men.
There are still areas that are not approved by the LORD for women in the local church. However, there are more than enough areas where humble women can serve the LORD.
Too often both men and women want to do things that the LORD has not allowed them to do because they are not qualified. This is not a put down but a fact. God has gifted both men and women to help the church move forward in its service to HIM.
HIS desire is for both genders to work together to cause the local church to move forward as a good witness to the world. If both genders are obedient to the Word of God the church will be the lighthouse the LORD expects it to be.
CHALLENGE: We have to be working with our fellow believers to defeat the enemy wherever he is found. They are our spiritual relatives.
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: 13 Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not utterly drive them out. (4522 “tribute” [mac] means forced labor, conscription, a group of people forced to work for a government and who are under government control, task-workers, or obligatory service)
DEVOTION: The sin of the children of Israel was present in all of the tribes. They gave up too soon in their conquest of the land. They were satisfied with partial obedience and settled for partial ownership of the land the LORD wanted them to full ownership of when HE gave them the promise.
The times when the children of Israel were strong were when they were obedient to the LORD. The times they were weak were when they were disobedient to the LORD.
This is true today just like it was true in the Old Testament times. The church is strong when it is obedient to the LORD. In times of strength we find that a church will have the moving of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the people of the church. There will be less fighting and more serving going on during those times. There will be less complaining and better ideas when these times are active.
Churches can’t move forward that are disobedient to the commands of the LORD. Obedience is the key throughout the history of the children of Israel and it is also the key during our times.
Could it be that a majority of churches are only thinking of survival instead of outreach? God work should never be in survival mode. Here we find the children of Israel in survival mode instead of a victory mode.
CHALLENGE: What mode do we find ourselves in regarding the spreading of the message of salvation to our friends and family and neighbors?
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 14 And the children of Joseph spoke unto Joshua, saying, Why, have you given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD has blessed me hitherto? (1288 “blessed” [barak] means filled with strength, adored, prospered by God, or bestowed with power to succeed)
DEVOTION: Here is a group of people from the same family complaining that they don’t have enough land to occupy all their people. They claim greatness but when given some suggestion about what they can do about their situation they complain again.
Joshua was offering suggestions about what they could do as a nation to occupy more land but they didn’t like his suggestion because it would mean more fighting for territory.
They said they were great because the LORD had prospered them in the area of large families. They counted number of children as a way the LORD had prospered them.
Today the opposite seems to be true. When a family has many children, the parents complain or just don’t take care of their children. Children don’t seem to be a blessing anymore to those who are outside belief in Jesus Christ. However, this is true even in some who claim Christ. The Bible says that children are a blessing from the LORD and that is the way they should be treated.
Raising children today is not easy. There seem to be more temptations to divide a family rather than bring it together. The world even thinks that parents are not the best ones to train their children.
Some atheists want all Christian parents to lose their children because they don’t think training in the Word of God is good. In fact, they think it is evil. The world thinks God is to narrow in HIS thinking. HE limits what people should do to each other. HE has standards that they don’t want to follow.
If Christian parents are not training their children wisely, they will not win the world to Christ but just the opposite will happen. There should be no complaining about children in the church of Jesus Christ. There should only be loving training given.
The children of Joseph wanted territory that was easy to conquer. They didn’t want to work for the new territory. The LORD doesn’t work that way. HE expects HIS followers to work for what they want within the framework of HIS strength and provision.
CHALLENGE: If we want the LORD to bless us, we need to realize that HE wants us to move forward only in HIS strength and not our own alone.
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: 17 And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, You, are a great people, and hast great power: you shall not have one lot only:
: 18 But the mountain shall be yours; for it is a wood, and you shall cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be yours: for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong. (3581 “power” [kowach] means to be firm, vigor, ability, able, force, strength, substance, or wealth)
DEVOTION: There were two spies who gave a good report of the Promised land. The two spies were Joshua and Caleb. Both of these men believed the LORD could defeat all the people of the Promised Land. Both men STILL believed that the LORD could defeat their enemies.
Great leaders know how to lead. Joshua was a great leader. He was confronted by the children of Joseph concerning their need for more land. He gave them an answer but they said it was the wrong answer.
Joshua challenges the children of Manasseh to go out and defeat their enemies. They claimed to be a large tribe. They wanted more land. They asked Joshua for more land.
Joshua said to them “Go get it.” Joshua gave them the mountain with the giants because they wanted more. They said that the giants are there. Joshua told them that they have the strength to defeat them. They complained that they had iron chariots. Remember that they had defeated the great army and broken their chariots. The tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim could do the same when they just conquered a little army.
Joshua told them that they were a great people and they had great ability. He wanted them to stretch them. They didn’t seem to want to be stretched. Too often people want their leader to do everything and they want to watch. Here the two tribes were given an opportunity to trust the LORD to help them defeat their enemy. They lacked TRUST.
If we ask for more, we should expect more problems. It is never easy to stretch ourselves. We like to depend on others to help us with things we could do ourselves with the LORD’S help.
The promise to remember is that if God is with us, we can defeat any enemy. Christ faced many enemies on a daily basis. HE defeated every one. We face many enemies and we are promised strength from the LORD to defeat them. Are we ready to claim a mountain of giants in our world? Go get it!!!!
As servants of the LORD, we need to TRUST the LORD to help us with our daily battles. If we want to make more of an impression on our world we have to move out into new territory. If it is of the LORD, HE will give victory.
CHALLENGE: Do you believe this??? Joshua seemed to give that impression to the children of Joseph.)
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Eleazar the priest verse 4
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Commandment verse 4
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD (Jehovah) verse 4, 14
Commandment of the LORD verse 4
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Canaanites verse 12, 16, 18
Giants verse 15
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Not driving out the Canaanites verse 12, 13
Taking tribute from Canaanites verse 13
Afraid of chariots of iron verse 16
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Inheritance verse 4, 6
Strength verse 13, 18
Blessed verse 14
Great power verse 17
Drive out Canaanites verse 18
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Tribe of Manasseh: firstborn of Joseph verse 1- 18
Machir – firstborn of Manasseh
Father of Gilead
Man of war
Located on both sides of Jordan
Six sons of Machir on west side of Jordan
Inhabitants of En-dor
Did not drive out inhabitants
I am a great people
Blessed of the LORD
Zelophehad –grandson of Manasseh verse 3
Only had daughters
Eleazar the priest verse 4
Joshua verse 4, 14- 18
Told Manasseh to take wood country
Land of Perizzites – giants
Told children of Joseph to drive out
Canaanites from mountain
Princes verse 4
Moses verse 4
Daughters of Manasseh verse 6
Children of Ephraim verse 8- 10, 17
Children of Asher verse 10, 11
Children of Issachar verse 10, 11
Children of Israel verse 13
Waxed strong- Canaanites
Paid tribute
Did not utterly drive them out
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
15 The Joseph tribes based their request on their great numbers. Joshua turned this around to challenge them to occupy the area already assigned to them. “The hill country of Ephraim” is the central mountainous region. The “Rephaites,” like the Anakites, were a people of unusually large stature (cf. 12:4). As Caleb defeated the Anakites, so, with God’s help, a great tribe like Ephraim should be able to conquer the Rephaites. (Madvig, D. H. (1992). Joshua. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, p. 338). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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Josh. 17:15. Joshua therefore sent them back with their petition, and said, “If thou art a strong people, go up into the wood and cut it away,” i.e., make room for houses, fields, and meadows, by clearing the forests, “in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaim, if the mountain of Ephraim is too narrow for thee.” The name “mountain of Ephraim” is used here in a certain sense proleptically, to signify the mountain which received its name from the tribe of Ephraim, to which it had only just been allotted. This mountain, which is also called the mountain of Israel (Josh. 11:16, 21), was a limestone range running from Kirjath-jearim, where the mountains of Judah terminate (see at Josh. 11:21), to the plain of Jezreel, and therefore embracing the greater part of the tribe-territory of Benjamin. The wood, which is distinguished from the mountain of Ephraim, and is also described in v. 18 as a mountainous land, is either the mountainous region extending to the north of Yasir as far as the mountains at Gilboa, and lying to the west of Beisan, a region which has not yet been thoroughly explored, or else, as Knobel supposes, “the broad range of woody heights or low woody hills, by which the mountains of Samaria are connected with Carmel on the north-west (Rob. iii. p. 189), between Taanath and Megiddo on the east, and Caesarea and Dor on the west.” Possibly both may be intended, as the children of Joseph were afraid of the Canaanites in Beisan and in the plain of Jezreel (v. 16). The Rephaim were dwelling there, a tribe of gigantic stature (see at Gen. 14:5), also the Perizzites (see at Gen. 13:7).( Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (1996). Commentary on the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 133). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.)
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17:14–15. The descendants of Joseph registered a belligerent complaint with Joshua, claiming that their allotment was too small in light of their large population. With tact and firmness Joshua challenged them first to clear the trees and settle in the forested hill country (v. 15). He suggested that they combine their energies to drive out the Canaanites (v. 18). (Campbell, D. K. (1985). Joshua. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 360). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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17:12–18 sons of Manasseh. Tribesmen of Manasseh complained that Joshua did not allot them land sufficient to their numbers and that the Canaanites were too tough for them to drive out altogether. He permitted them extra land in forested hills that they could clear. Joshua told them that they could drive out the Canaanites for God had promised to be with them in victory against chariots (Dt 20:1). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Jos 17:12–18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Joshua had a problem with the children of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh), who complained because the Lord didn’t give them enough room! (Josh. 17:14–18) You can detect their pride as they told Joshua what a “great people” they were. After all, didn’t Jacob personally adopt and especially bless them? And hadn’t they multiplied in a great way? And wasn’t Joshua from the tribe of Ephraim? (Num. 13:8) They were a special people who deserved special treatment.
If you compare the statistics given in 1:32–35 and 26:34 and 37, you learn that the descendants of Joseph had increased from 72,700 to 85,200, although Ephraim had 8,000 fewer people. But six other tribes had increased their number since the last census. Thus the children of Joseph weren’t the only ones who were fruitful.
Joshua told his brethren that, if they were such a great people, now was their opportunity to prove it! Let them do what Caleb did and defeat the giants and claim the mountains! It’s worth noting that the people of Ephraim and Manasseh seemed to be given to criticism and pride. They not only created problems for Joshua but also for Gideon (Jud. 8:1–3), Jephthah (12:1–7), and even David (2 Sam. 20:1–5). “For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there” (James 3:16, NKJV).
Lesson #6. It’s not your boasting but your believing that gives you the victory and gains you new territory. Sometimes those who talk the most accomplish the least. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Strong (p. 127). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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Ver. 15. And Joshua answered them, &c.] By retorting their own argument upon them: if thou be a great people; which he does not deny, as they were for numbers and power: then get thee up to the wood-country; which was near them, and within their borders, and lay on hills and mountains, perhaps the mountains of Gilboa, and therefore are bid to go up: and cut down for thyself there; cut down the trees of the wood, clear the ground of them, and so make it habitable, and by that means enlarge the places of their habitation: in the land of the Perizzites, and of the giants; or Rephaim; the former of these were one of the seven nations of the Canaanites, who from their name seem to have dwelt not in the cities, and walled towns, but in villages, and scattered houses, in desert places, and among the woods, where also the giants had retired and dwelt after Joshua had driven them out of the cities; and by driving these out of their present habitations, they would gain more room to dwell in, and would find their lot sufficient for them: if Mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee; either meaning all Ephraim, and even the whole lot of the sons of Joseph, or rather the mount particularly so called; for the words may be rendered, for Mount Ephraim hastens for thee; was clear or open for thee; ready to be delivered to thee, and thou mayest possess it at once. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 247). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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The complaint of the children of Joseph shows dissatisfaction with their Jot; it was selfishness. Joshua takes them by their word. His answer reminds us of the divine command given in Chapter 1:3. “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.” Yonder were the stately forests the wooded hills and mountains, inhabited still by the Perizzites and the giants. All they needed to do was to go there and drive them out and they would possess a larger portion. But this answer but brings out their unbelief and failure. They plead weakness: it was nothing less than unbelief, for they looked to the iron chariots the Canaanites possessed, instead of looking to the Lord and trusting His power. They refused to meet the enemy and have their borders enlarged under these conditions. What a contrast with bold and humble Caleb! And yet Joshua encourages them. He urges them to go forward and possess the forest and cut it down. It was his challenge to their faith. Faith does not reckon with chariots, with difficulties. (Gaebelein, A. C. (2009). The annotated Bible: Joshua to Second Chronicles (Vol. 2, p. 45). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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NO GOD BUT GOD: Breaking with the Idols of Our Age by Os Guiiness & John Seel
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Idols are not just on pagan altars, but in well-educated human hearts and minds (Ezekiel 14). The apostle Paul associates the dynamics of human greed, lust, craving, and coveting with idolatry (Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5). The Bible does not allow us to marginalize idolatry to the fringes of life. All too often it is found on center stage. (p. 31)
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This train of thought was continued by G.K. Chesterton, who said that when we “cease to worship God, we do not worship nothing, we worship anything.” (p. 32)
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An idol is something within creation that is inflated to function as a substitute for God. (p. 32)
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Family, an institution of God Himself, can become an idol if one is so pre-occupied with the family that no one outside of one’s own family is cared for. (p. 33)
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To summarize, idols will inevitably involve self-centeredness, self-inflation, and self-deception. (p. 33)
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The first murder: Cain kills his brother Abel, and is condemned to wander the earth.
INSIGHT
“Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain asks. God’s answer is unequivocal: Yes. God intended for His people to be social beings — to love, care for, and protect each other.
The mark of any society is how well it cares for those who cannot care for themselves. Elevated societies do well with this; debased societies do not.The mark of a selfish society is that it cares well for those it likes and does not care well for those it does not like. This kind of thinking leads to brutality.
The Christian is called to have the mind of Christ in this matter. We are to do good to all people, regardless of race, gender, or social position. Indeed, we are our brother’s keeper.
(Quiet Walk)
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Moving at the Speed of Jesus
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
John 11:21
Recently, my car needed work. The mechanic’s shop was close, a mile from my home. So I decided to just walk home. But as I shuffled along next to a bustling thoroughfare, I noticed something: Everyone else was moving so fast.
This isn’t rocket science. Cars go faster than pedestrians. Zip, zip, zip! As I ambled home, I had a realization: We’re so used to moving fast. All the time. Then, another realization: I often expect God to move just as quickly. I want His plans to fit my speedy timetable.
When Jesus lived on earth, His seemingly slow pace sometimes disappointed His friends. In John 11, Mary and Martha sent word that their brother, Lazarus, was sick. They knew Jesus could help (vv. 1-3). But He arrived some four days later (v. 17), after Lazarus had died. “ ‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died’ ” (v. 21). Translation: Jesus didn’t move fast enough. But He had bigger plans: raising Lazarus from the dead (vv. 38-44).
Can you relate to Martha’s desperation? I can. Sometimes, I long for Jesus to move more quickly to answer a prayer. Sometimes, it seems like He’s late. But Jesus’ sovereign schedule is different from ours. He accomplishes His saving work on His timetable, not ours. And the ultimate outcome displays His glory and goodness in ways that are so much greater than our plans. (By Adam R. Holz, Our Daily Bread)
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THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost…. 2 Corinthians 13:14
The Holy Spirit is identified with the Father and the Son, in such away, as to indicate personality. There are two great arguments here. The first is the baptismal formula: “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). Here He is associated with the Father and the Son in a way that of necessity points to His personality.
The second argument is based on the apostolic benediction in 2 Corinthians 13:14: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost….” Obviously, the Holy Spirit is a person in line with the person of the Father and of the Son.
A most interesting way we can prove the personality of the Spirit is by showing that He is identified with us, with Christians, in a way that indicates that He is a person. In Acts 15:28 we read, “For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things.” This was a decision arrived at by members of the early church, and as they were persons, so He must be a person. You cannot say, “It seemed good to a power and to us,” because the power would be working in us. But here is someone outside us— “It seemed good to him and to us.”
Personal qualities are ascribed to the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures. He is said, for example, to have knowledge. Paul argues, “For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? “Even so the things of God, knows no man, but the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:11).
A Thought to Ponder: The Spirit is identified with us, with Christians, in a way that indicates that He is a person.
(From God the Holy Spirit, pp. 10-11., by Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones)
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Salvation in the Spirit
“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)
Nicodemus was confused the night when Jesus first spoke of the necessity of the new birth and then equated it with the symbol of baptism. Christ then indicated that the reality in both was the supernatural work of God, the Holy Spirit. “Except a man be born of water [that is, the Spirit], he cannot enter into the kingdom of God [with ‘and’ understood as ‘even’].”
The miracle of regeneration is thus a work of the Spirit, and just as “the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). It is not some soul-winning methodology but the Holy Spirit who does the work, and He (like the invisible wind) may work in a great variety of different ways.
This work of the Holy Spirit in bringing salvation to the unsaved is so great and so complex that it must be described in a variety of figures to convey the whole reality. In the first place, He must bring conviction of sin and the need of salvation. “When he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8).
Then, as the sinner repents and believes on Christ, the Spirit baptizes him into Christ. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13). As a member of Christ’s body, he is made a partaker of His resurrection life. Simultaneously, “after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13), and “the Spirit of God dwelleth in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16). All of this becomes the mighty miracle of spiritual birth. “According to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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