Hello Church! I’ve been working my way through Spurgeon’s teachings on the Holy Spirit. This book is a collection of twenty-nine or so sermons that he preached on diverse topics concerning the Holy Spirit. My initial plan was to read the book and then make some observations, however, as the book is some 380 pages, I decided that it would be best to comment along the way. I can tell you that I do not agree with everything that Spurgeon wrote and taught about the Holy Spirit, however, I have been thoroughly blessed having read through about one-third of the book. I will not make comments on every sermon, but on key points from various sermons that stood out to me as most important.
An important teaching that Spurgeon repeats in multiple of these sermons is how desperately we need the Holy Spirit. In a sermon titled The Personality of the Holy Spirit, Spurgeon suggests that because of who the Holy Spirit is, we should “be in earnest prayer to the Holy Spirit and for the Holy Spirit – that we should cry earnestly for Him – because He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all you can ask or think.” Later in his sermon titled The Superlative Excellence of the Holy Spirit, Spurgeon again calls us to cry aloud for the Holy Spirit. He writes, “Cry aloud and spare not! Give Him (God) no rest till He sends forth His Spirit once again to stir the waters and to brood over this dark world till light and life shall come.”
I am challenged by these exhortations. While I would never overtly discredit or belittle the necessity of the Holy Spirit, and would affirm what Spurgeon encourages, I find that I am deficient in crying out for the Spirit as Spurgeon implores. It is too easy to take for granted the Holy Spirit. I’m afraid that I have been guilty of giving lip-service to our need for the Spirit. O, may God give grace to actively seek and depend on the Holy Spirit.
A second, related, theme that I find in Spurgeon’s teachings revolves around our need for the Spirit in all of life. In a sermon titled The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Spurgeon highlights the need for the Spirit when it comes to evangelism and soul winning. He writes, “if the progress of the Christian religion depended upon the voluntary assent of mankind it would never go an inch further – but because the Christian religion has within an omnipotent influence, constraining me to believe it, it is therefore what it is and must be triumphant.”
Spurgeon also understands the necessity of the Holy Spirit when it comes to our growth in Christ. In his sermon on The Power of the Holy Spirit, Spurgeon notes that is the Spirit’s role “to perfect us in holiness.” In his sermon titled “The Holy Spirit Glorifying Christ (Part 2), Spurgeon rightly notes that we need the Spirit to understand and embrace God’s words. In his sermon titled, The Teaching of the Holy Spirit, Spurgeon states that “The Holy Spirit is the great Teacher of the Father’s children,” suggesting that the Spirit trains us and becomes our great educator,” and shows us the nature and character of God. In the same sermon, Spurgeon says that the “Holy Spirit teaches us what is acceptable to the Father and what is profitable for us.”
I appreciate Spurgeon’s focus on this. In 1 Corinthians, Paul makes it clear that the natural man, the person who has not the Spirit of God, cannot understand spiritual things. Not only can we not comprehend things about God, but we also cannot understand the things that are profitable for us. We are ignorant to God’s Truth and how important embracing and applying such Truth to our own lives leads to peace and joy. Praise God that the Spirit teaches us these things.
While there are many other important themes and profound statements to explore in these sermons, this blog is already too long. I’ll close with just one more observation. Spurgeon notes that one of the main functions of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Christ. In his sermon on The Holy Spirit Glorifying Christ (Part 2), Spurgeon states: “The Holy Spirit’s objective is to make Christ appear to be great and glorious to you and to me. The Lord Jesus Christ is infinitely glorious and even the Holy Spirit cannot make Him glorious except to our apprehension – but His desire is that we may see and know more of Christ – that we may honor Him more and glorify Him more.” How does the Holy Spirit accomplish this? I’m sure in many ways, but in this sermon, Spurgeon notes that the Spirit glorifies Christ by showing Him to sinners. Therefore, Spurgeon implores us to do the same. In other words, if we want to glorify Christ, one of the chief ways that we can do this is by talking much of Christ to others. Of course, we glorify God when we sing His praises, when we follow His ways, and when we love one another, but an area that we can all grow in when it comes to glorifying God is by actively proclaiming Christ to lost people – telling sinners of Christ’s excellencies and the hope that is found only in Him.