The Work of the Holy Spirit.

The great object of the advent of the Holy Spirit is distinctly specified by Christ. "When he is come," he said, "he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." This light has been kept before our people for years. The power of the Holy Spirit has been largely manifested at Battle Creek, the great heart of the work, to be communicated to those in the highways and hedges, that the mass of human beings under Satan's sway of sin and death might be reformed and renovated by the Spirit's power. But when light has come to those at the center of the work, they have not known how to treat it. The testimonies God has given his people are in harmony with his word. {SpTA10 35.2}

When Christ spoke these words, he was standing in the shadow of the shameful cross, the symbol of the guilt which made the sacrifice of Christ necessary in order to save the world from complete ruin. Christ looked forward to the time when the Holy Spirit, as his representative, should come to do a wonderful work in and through his merits; and he felt privileged to communicate his relief to his disciples. {SpTA10 35.3}

The Son of God himself descended from heaven in the garb of humanity, that he might give power to man, enabling him to be a partaker of the divine nature, and to escape the corruption which is in the world through lust. His long, human arm encircled the race, while with his divine arm he grasped the throne of the Infinite. By living, not to please himself, but to please his Heavenly Father, by spending his life in work for others, by doing good, and seeking to save suffering humanity, Christ gave practical lessons of self-denial and self-sacrifice. {SpTA10 35.4}

But Satan, working through disobedient elements, was counterworking the work of God. By one desperate act he determined to cut off every ray of light that was shining amid the moral darkness of the world, and thus cut off the communication coming from the throne of God. He determined to defy God the Father, who sent his Son into the world. "This is the heir," said the wicked husbandman; "come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours." And they crucified the Lord of life and glory. {SpTA10 36.1}

Before he offered himself as the sacrificial victim, Christ sought for the most essential and complete gift to bestow upon the world, which would act in his place, and bring the boundless resources of grace within the reach of his followers. "I will pray the Father," he said, "and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." {SpTA10 36.2}

The striking feature of divine operations is the accomplishment of the greatest work that can be done in our world, by very simple means. It is God's plan that every part of his government shall depend on every other part, the whole as a wheel within a wheel, working with entire harmony. He moves upon human forces, causing his Spirit to touch invisible chords, and the vibration rings to the extremity of the universe. {SpTA10 36.3}

The prince of the power of evil can only be held in check by the power of God in the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. {SpTA10 37.1}