The first group of the Epistles is Romans through 2 Thessalonians, and the second group is 1 Timothy through Jude. All these Epistles reveal various aspects of the indwelling and life-imparting Spirit. First Thessalonians 1:5 and 6 say, “Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, even as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit.” These verses indicate that the preaching of the gospel must be in the Holy Spirit, and the receiving of the gospel must be also in the Holy Spirit.
Verse 8 of chapter 4 says, “Consequently, he who rejects, rejects not man but God, who also gives His Holy Spirit to you.” First, the gospel was preached to the Thessalonians in the Holy Spirit, and they received it by the Holy Spirit. Then God gave them the Holy Spirit. In 5:19 Paul says, “Do not quench the Spirit.” The Spirit causes our spirit to be burning (Rom. 12:11), and fanning into flame the gift of God is related to our spirit (2 Tim. 1:6-7). Hence, to quench the Spirit is related to the mingled spirit, the Holy Spirit mingled with our human spirit. Then in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul says, “We ought to thank God always concerning you, brothers beloved of the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” The foregoing are the verses in these two books that are related to the Spirit.
First Thessalonians 3:13 helps us to see the subject of these two Epistles. This verse says, “So that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” Here Paul says “saints,” not merely “believers.” The words holy, holiness, sanctification, and saints all come from the same root in Greek. The saints are those people who are holy. Then 4:3 and 4 say, “This is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor.” Verse 7 continues, “For God has not called us for uncleanness but in sanctification.” In chapter 5, verses 21 through 23 say, “Prove all things. Hold fast to what is good; abstain from every kind of evil. And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 26 continues, “Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.” Finally, 2Thessalonians 1:10a says, “He comes to be glorified in His saints.” All of these verses show us that the Spirit in 1 and 2Thessalonians is the sanctifying Spirit.
The Bible uses the different titles of the Holy Spirit in a very meaningful way. As we have seen, 1 Thessalonians 1 says that the gospel came to the Thessalonians not in word only but in the Holy Spirit, they received it in the Holy Spirit, and God gave them the Holy Spirit. The title Holy Spirit is not found in the Old Testament. In Psalm 51:11 David says, “Do not cast me from Your presence, / And do not take the Spirit of Your holiness away from me.” Similarly, Isaiah 63:10 and 11 say, “They rebelled and grieved / His Spirit of holiness; / Therefore He turned to become their enemy; / He fought against them. / Then He remembered the days of old, Moses and His people: / Where is He who brought them up out of the sea / With the shepherds of His flock? / Where is He who put in their midst / His Spirit of holiness.” In each of these verses, the Hebrew text uses the title Spirit of Your holiness, or His Spirit of holiness, not Holy Spirit as is translated in the King James Version.
The title Holy Spirit is first used in relation to the incarnation of the Lord Jesus. Luke 1:35 says, “The angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also the holy thing which is born will be called the Son of God.” This transpired at the time of the conception of the Lord Jesus in the womb of a human virgin. Similarly, Matthew 1:20 says, “While he pondered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife, for that which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit.” According to a principle in the Bible, the first mention of a name or item gives us the definition, meaning, and governing principle of that item. Accordingly, the title Holy Spirit is related to the incarnation.
The incarnation was greater than God’s work of creation. In creation God brought millions of items into existence, but in incarnation the Creator brought Himself, the holy One, into His creation. This was accomplished by the Holy Spirit. The last phrase of Luke 1:35 says, “The holy thing which is born will be called the Son of God.” This may be translated literally from the Greek as, “The thing which is born will be called Holy, the Son of God.” The One brought forth from Mary’s womb was called Holy, because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
In 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6 and 4:8, the title Holy Spirit is used in a strong way. It can also be translated literally from the Greek as “the Spirit, the Holy.” Just as we may say “the Eternal” or “the Divine,” referring to the eternal One or the divine One, “the Holy” refers to the holy One. This construction is similar to that in 1 John 1:2, in which the eternal life may be translated as “the life, the eternal,” indicating that the essence of eternity is the divine life. Just as without the divine life we can have nothing eternal, without the Spirit we cannot have holiness. This is the principle of the title Holy Spirit. The Spirit in whom the apostles brought the gospel and whom the Thessalonians received is the holy One, the Holy Spirit.