THE MINISTRY OF THE SPIRIT

Adoniram Judson Gordon wrote this book of 143 pages in the years just before his death in 1895 at the age of 59. It was re-published in 1985, nearly a hundred years after his death, by Bethany House Publishers, 6820 Auto Club Road, Minneapolis, MN 55438.

A. J. Gordon was a Baptist minister, educator, and author who founded a school for training missionaries for home ands foreign service and for pastor's assistants, from which came Gordon College and its divinity school.

Many have called this "a classic on the subject of the work of the Holy Spirit in this age." This book blends a deeply devotional examination of the scriptural teaching with a powerful challenge for the church: restoring the Holy Spirit to His rightful place as seen in the New Testament church. Gordon wrote, "The voice of the Lord must be heard in His church, and to the Holy Spirit alone has been committed the prerogative of communicating that voice." He has characterized the Spirit as the one through whom direction and inspiration and power would flow into the church.

Gordon writes this comment in the preface: "We have sought to emphasize and magnify the great truth that the Paraclete - the Holy Spirit - is now present in the church, that He has been poured out with all the unspeakable blessing for the church and for the world that this economy provides. As we speak of the ministry of Christ as a service with defined limits, so we now speak of the ministry of the Spirit as the work of the Comforter extending from Pentecost to the end of this dispensation."

The Ministry of the Spirit calls Christians to a life of complete dependence upon the Holy Spirit. As Gordon's close friend F. B. Meyer wrote in his introduction to this book, "I cannot recall a treatise on the Holy Spirit that is so lucid, so Scriptural, so deeply spiritual as this."

Looking at the table of contents gives us a strong clue about Gordon's opinion of the work of the Holy Spirit.

Chapter 5 is titled "The Enduement of the Spirit." He then lists three sub-titles: "The Sealing of the Spirit"; "The Filling of the Spirit"; and "The Anointing of the Spirit."

He titled Chapter 6 "The Communion of the Spirit." He again provides us with three more sub-titles: "The Spirit of Life - Our Regeneration"; "The Spirit of Holiness - Our Sanctification"; and "The Spirit of Glory - Our Transformation."

There is also a title with three sub-titles in Chapter 7. "The Administration of the Spirit"; "In the ministry and Government of the Church"; "In the Worship and Service of the Church"; and "In Missionary Enterprise of the Church."

And finally, in Chapter 9 he again uses a title with three more sub-titles. "The Conviction of the Spirit": "Of Sin"; "Of Righteousness"; and "Of Judgment."

This book provides vital information for us to be able to hear, and be "led of the Spirit" as Scripture commands. After reading this book, keep it near because you will often want to re-read portions of it from time to time.