3. He is God’s Gift
When we receive a present, we are happy, not because of the present itself but because we can feel the love of the person who gave the present. But the value of presents in this world will decrease as time goes by no matter how valuable that present is. It is because their value is not eternal.
Now, there is a present that can be cherished forever, and what is it? It is the gift given by God, who is eternal and full of love. It cannot be compared to anything valuable or anything given by any person in this world.
Acts 2:38 says, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” God gave us Jesus Christ and let us gain salvation and eternal life through faith. Jesus took the sufferings of cross and made the way for salvation and He gave us a gift through His resurrection and ascension.
It is the ‘Holy Spirit.’ Why, then, does God call the Holy Spirit a gift?
When God created man, He made him with a spirit that was made in God’s image and was able to communicate with God. He gave man a soul that was controlled by the spirit and had thoughts according to God’s will.
And he also gave him an imperishable body that is like a container for the spirit and soul. God then let man enjoy the authority of God’s child. Man could communicate with God and live according to God’s will. God made all the necessary environmental provisions for man and let him rule over all things with utmost freedom and abundance.
But due to the sin of disobedience committed by Adam, death came to man, and the spirit, which is the master of man, died.
From then on, man lost communication with God
as well as the authority as God’s child.
Man came to live under the rule of the enemy devil in this cursed world of sorrow, pain, disease, poverty, and death.
Since the master of man, the spirit, died; the life of man, who now had a dead spirit, became miserable. Because the body no longer had eternal life, it had to die and return to dust. He could not eat without toil; he could have children only through an increased pain of labor. He could not see God any more.
Furthermore, the descendants of Adam, who also had a spirit, were born with dead spirits. They could not enjoy the blessings of God’s children. Nobody could escape from all the curses unless their dead spirit was revived.
That is why John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” And John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” It means only Holy Spirit can revive the dead spirit of man, namely, our dead spirit can revive only when we give birth to spirit through the Holy Spirit. Not the greatest man or any other method can revive the dead spirit of man and set him free from the cursed life.
The Holy Spirit, however, can give birth to the spirit, so if we receive the Holy Spirit, our dead spirit will revive.
We can recover all the blessings as God’s children that we lost due to Adam’s disobedience. Receiving the Holy Spirit can put an end to our cursed lives.
Anyone who realizes this truth should desire to receive the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is of great value and very precious to mankind because He has the power to solve all the problems of life on this earth at the root. God does not discriminate against anybody.
He gives the gift of the Holy Spirit to anybody who accepts Jesus Christ and receives the forgiveness of sins.
He lets a person recover the lost authority as a child of God. It is like getting back a lost child, so God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit with joy and blesses us to grow up as God’s children.
Therefore, God lets us know that the Holy Spirit is the gift from God in the Bible. Acts 5:32 says, “… the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him” Acts 10:45,
11:17, 15:8 say that the Holy Spirit is given even to the Gentiles. In Acts 8:17-20, Peter rebukes the one who thought he could buy the Holy Spirit with money.
The Holy Spirit is one with God and comes as a gift to God’s children who accepted Jesus Christ and received the forgiveness of their sins.
He is such a precious one who leads us to truth as the Helper. Therefore, we should accept the Holy Spirit in our heart to gain the right of God’s children and eternal life. We should enjoy the blessing as God’s children; we will enjoy health and everything will go well with us as our soul prospers by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.