LESSON FORTY-THREE

THE EXPERIENCE AND ENJOYMENT OF THE SPIRIT AS THE CONSUMMATION OF THE DIVINE TRINITY IN THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE TRIUNE GOD

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OUTLINE

2. Working in us, on us, and for us:
   17. Comforting us.
   18. Giving us joy.
   19. Empowering us to abound in hope.
   20. Giving us love.
   21. Pouring out God’s love in our hearts.
   22. Mingling with our spirit in our faith.
   23. As the means for God the Father to strengthen us into our inner man.
   24. By Him we live and walk.
   25. Fighting for us against the flesh.
   26. Bearing the fruit of life in many aspects in our life.
   27. Longing within us to envy for God against worldliness.

TEXT

In this lesson we will continue to speak concerning the Spirit’s work in us.

17. Comforting Us

Acts 9:31 says, “The church throughout the whole of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it was multiplied.” This indicates that the church was suffering affliction through the persecutions, in which she feared the Lord and enjoyed the comfort of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s work in comforting us is a matter of the divine dispensing. When we live in the fellowship of the Triune God, He dispenses Himself into us that we may be comforted and encouraged by the Spirit.

18. Giving Us Joy

Romans 14:17 says, “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” First Thessalonians 1:6 also tells us that the believers “received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit.” These two verses show that the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of joy. Our inward, genuine love comes from the indwelling Spirit. The overcoming life that we live in the church today is the kingdom life, which is constituted of the joy of the Holy Spirit with righteousness and peace. If we are righteous and right toward others and toward God, we will have a peaceful relationship with others and with God. Thus, we will have joy in the Holy Spirit, proving that we are living in the reality of God’s kingdom and are under God’s rule and thereby have the practical church life. In Matthew 5, 6, and 7, in the decree of the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens and the portrayal of the nature of the people of the kingdom of the heavens (5:1-12), the Lord Jesus concluded with this word: “Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens.” This tells us that joy is an evidence of our living in the reality of the kingdom.

We need to rejoice, but it does not mean that we wait for some pleasant things to happen for us to rejoice. The indwelling Lord is the cause of our rejoicing, and the Holy Spirit who moves within us is the motivation of our constant rejoicing. If we live in the fellowship of the Triune God and experience and enjoy the Spirit, we will have the joy that is brought to us by the Spirit.
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