Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

I would say that the presence of the Holy Spirit at such times as Jesus was referring to is not necessarily characterized by any particular eloquence or other characteristic that draws attention to the speaker. (In other words, that is not the Spirit's intent in giving the words, although others may find the speaker's words to be persuasive or convicting.) Instead, the Spirit is manifested by a clear witness to those listening of the person's faith. The primary interest of the Holy Spirit is the glorification of the Father and the Son, and this is done by the testimony of Christians as to what they believe and why they believe it.

Jesus' words may seem to some to contain a promise of physical or temporal safety from following the Spirit's leading, but that is not necessarily the case. Individuals such as Stephen and Paul made defenses of themselves that would be considered eloquent (even by human standards), and that undoubtedly reflected the Holy Spirit's influence (Acts 7:2-53; Acts 22:6-21; Acts 24:10-21; Acts 26:2-29). However, despite this, they both died martyrs' deaths. And yet, their words survive to the present day as a witness that still causes people to place their faith in Christ.

September 01 2017 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report