God has chosen in love and grace to reveal Himself to His creature, man. We discover He is One God, yet manifest in three divine persons, being a Father, a Son and a Holy Spirit. We speak most reverently of the First, the Second and the Third Persons of the Godhead. This is not by any means an order of priority, nor the order of history, but the order of aspect. We might illustrate this by grammar: First Person, “I,” Second Person, “Thou,” and Third Person, “He,” co-equal, co-eternal, and co-existent.
In His great revelation to humanity, God has marshalled every resource of language to bring to us the knowledge of Himself and His ways. He has used parables and allegories, types, emblems and symbols, and statements of plain language.
The Son returned to God the Father–yet being ever omnipresent–and prayed the Father to send the Holy Spirit to reside on earth and in the lives of all who would believe on Him. This coming of the Spirit took place at Pentecost. He is now engaged in a continuing ministry on behalf of the people of God.
God the Father and the Son are ascribed many wondrous personal names. Not so the Holy Spirit, save the name of God and the Lord. Instead, He is known by certain great titles. Of these, there are three that seem to rise up majestically before us and to which all the other titles would seem to subscribe. He is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Life.
As the Spirit of God, we discover what He is, and we see His deity. As the Spirit of Christ, we discover who He is, and we see His personality. As the Spirit of Life we learn why He is on the earth, and we see His agency.
The emblems of the Holy Spirit present a fundamental principle of instruction. We learn what we have not known before by reviewing what we already know. The emblems of the Spirit are things with which we are all familiar and by these we can learn aspects of the gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit. There are eight major, or better known, emblems relating to the Holy Spirit. Each presents a different aspect of His Person and Work. There is the Oil; the Water; the Fire; the Dove; the Earnest; the Wind; the Seal; and the Servant. Space prevents a study of each of these, but let us consider the first. By this symbol a fourfold aspect of the ministry of the Spirit is presented.
Oil for Consolation
The well-known verse in Psalm 23 declares, “Thou anointest my head with oil.” What a comfort for a weary sheep, led to the rich pasture by the waters of quietness. Here the Spirit is seen as the Comforter. How wonderfully He ministers to the weary minds of God’s people today.
The Holy Spirit came as Another Comforter in answer to the prayer of the Lord Jesus (John 14:16). There is a great need in our day for this ministry of comfort. See how the Holy Spirit carries out His comforting work.
He comforts in times of loneliness, by assuring His abiding presence. The Lord prayed that “He may abide with you forever.” The Holy Spirit will never abandon one single believer, but takes up residence within, forever.
He comforts in times of conflict, by asserting His resident power. “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). We are no match for the wiles or the wickedness of the enemy, but God the Holy Spirit is infinitely greater and mightier.
He comforts in times of uncertainty, by assisting with His mighty prayers. “We know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Rom. 8:26). How wonderful to know, when in doubt about God’s path or purpose, that the Holy Spirit has already taken up the matter “according to God” (v. 27).
In this mighty ministry of consolation to the saints, He uses different means:
The comfort of the Scriptures (Rom. 15:4): The sacred Scriptures are saturated with the balm of heavenly comfort for our souls. How often has the Spirit brought a text to mind in a special time of need. There is comfort in the Books of Moses: “The eternal God is thy Refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut. 33:27). There is comfort in the Historical Books: “The Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Josh. 1:9). There is comfort in the Psalms, on almost every page, as we consider the Lord and His care of us: “In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul” (Psalm 94:19). There is comfort in the Prophets. Isaiah records the Lord’s word to His people, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God” (Isa. 43:2-3).
There is comfort in the Gospels: “Let not your heart be troubled . . . peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you . . .” (Jn. 14:1, 27). There is comfort in the Epistles: “Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:18). There is comfort in the Apocalypse: “Fear not; I am the First and the Last” (Rev. 1:17). From cover to cover, the Holy Scriptures are redolent with the sacred oil of the Spirit’s consolation.
The Comfort of the Saints: Naturally speaking, the saints are just ordinary people, not anything special to look at, but with all their failures and limitations, they are absolutely the beautiful of the earth, God’s beloved people. Just find yourself in sorrow and they are there to weep with you, or in weakness, and they are there to sustain you in prayer. In 2 Corinthians 7:5-6 Paul expresses this, “. . . God that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus.”
Oil for Illumination
In the tabernacle, there was “oil for the light” (Ex. 25: 6). Here is a picture of the Spirit as the Revealer. Paul writes to Corinth and says, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit” (1 Cor. 2: 9-10). Everything that was illumined by the light of the lamp in the holy place speaks to us of Christ. So is the ministry of the Holy Spirit today, that of revealing Christ, “He shall glorify Me” said the Lord Jesus (John 16:14). A believer that is filled with the Spirit is not self-conscious nor Spirit-conscious but Christ-conscious.
Oil for Consecration
This presents a picture of the Spirit as the Sanctifier. Peter speaks of this holy ministry, setting apart God’s elect to the path of obedience and to the enabling power of the blood applied (1 Pet. 1:2). He is the Holy Spirit and we are called to be “holy in all manner of conversation.” Holiness for us in the present is not sinlessness. That day will come. It is separation unto God, and “if” (not “when”) any man sin, we have the comforting presence of our Advocate before the Father. Sin is not to be assumed as “normal” but abnormal for the believer, “hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude v. 23). Conversely, it is “when” we pray, not “if,” because communion with God is assumed to be the norm in the believer’s life. To that end the Spirit ministers.
Oil for Unification
This presents the Spirit as the Unifier. In Exodus 30:22-33, we see the instructions concerning the anointing oil for the consecration of the priests and the anointing of the furniture and vessels in the tabernacle. The oil was compounded from four sweet spices. As the apothecary blended these four together, they could still be seen distinct from each other. When the fifth and final ingredient, olive oil, was added, it blended all together, “an holy anointing oil.” The oil unified the ingredients.
Paul wrote to Ephesus and exhorted the saints there to endeavor “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). The ecumenical and denominational systems that would organize “church unions” in the name of “unity” is a lubricating oil, but it is not a holy oil. Union is man’s work. Man can organize a union, but only God can form an actual unity, and that by the Spirit.
To the eye of God, the Church cannot be more one than He has made it. One day that unity will be displayed before the eyes of all. In the meantime, we are to “endeavor,” that is, to be zealous and diligent to keep (watch over, preserve) the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We must resist every device and system that would seek to create artificial and carnal unions where the “bond” is organizational or financial or some other carnal device. These do not unify, but in fact cause divisions and distress. They are certainly not bonded in peace.
This lovely emblem is, as are the others, most expressive of the gracious person and ministry of God the Holy Spirit.