“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
Luke 11:13
There are many calls of God to man in the Bible, most of which are first of all to get the attention of man. Beyond that “attention,” or consciousness of God’s presence by the call, is the revealed purpose of God. It is so that man might know that He IS God, and that He is the Rewarder of those who truly, earnestly seek Him. God calls an individual first of all he might know his Maker who is Life, Love, and Light. His call is that means by which man is given the possibility to respond in faith, in order to receive that which God desires to give. For the unbeliever who is lost in sin, blinded by the god of this world, and in whom there is nothing good, nor can he do anything good in the sight of God, comes the call of God to “look and live.” With that glimpse of God in Christ by the Spirit, mercy is extended, and grace is given so that one can repent, trust in Christ, and be saved. For the believer, the call of God is to come up higher, to behold God the Father on the throne, and Christ seated at His right hand. It is a call to know Christ more, and to live in the realm of the “much more” of God. So, how does God enlarge our hearts for Him, appealing to His child to stretch for the cords and strengthen the stakes? It begins in understanding something of the call of God, and then, by the grace of God, believing Him for its realization in the life.
In Luke’s gospel, we come upon a passage that is such a calling by God to the believer. The Lord begins with revealing how far below man is from God, even declaring that the old sinful nature of man is “evil.” The comparison is made between evil men and the good, and perfectly gracious and holy God. The Lord Jesus then goes on to say, that, we, who are evil by nature, know how to give good gifts to our children, but God, who is Holy and perfectly good is not only able to give that which is good, but that which is His very life and power by the Spirit. The call of the Father is for His child to pray that the Father would GIVE the Spirit in His fulness and blessing, in the “much more” of God’s purpose and will. How can this be applied, since the believer already HAS the Holy Spirit?
First of all, we discover that the Apostle Paul prayed, according to Jesus’ words, that “…the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” (Eph.1:17) Why is he praying for the Spirit when the believers in Ephesus already have the Spirit. The issue is one of specific appropriation of Christ by the Spirit, and this with regard to specific needs of the heart and soul.
Secondly, when the Spirit of God came upon Christ at His baptism, it was, according to Isaiah, “…the Spirit of wisdom, and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” (11:2) Christ the Messiah had need of the Spirit’s ministry to Him as a man in very specific ways, the Father providing for Him perfectly. With regard to Christ’s mission and its fulfillment, Christ would declare: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” (Is.61:1,2) The Father’s will is for His children to pray believing for the Holy Spirit.
Dear Father, Give us Thy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.