- The Lord has these powerful effects on those who believe in him.The 149
Lord has the powerful effects meant by the sending of the Holy Spirit on
those who believe in him; that is, these are the people he reforms, regen-
erates, renews, brings to life, sanctifies, justifies, purifies from evils, and
finally saves. This is clear from all the passages in the Word that establish
that salvation and eternal life come to those who believe in the Lord (see
the passages quoted in § 107 above). The following passage makes the
same point:
Jesus said, “Any who believe in me—as Scripture says, rivers of living
water will flow out of their bellies.” This he said of the Spiritthat those
who believe in himare going to receive. (John 7 : 38 , 39 )Also this passage:
The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.(Revelation 19 : 10 )The “spirit of prophecy” means a true doctrinal perspective from the
Word. “Prophecy” has no other meaning except a doctrinal perspective.
To prophesy means to teach that perspective. The testimony of Jesus
means confessing faith in him. The testimony of Jesus also has this mean-
ing in the following passage:
Michael’s angels conquered the dragon using the blood of the Lamb
and the Word of his testimony.The dragon went away to make war on
the rest of his seed, who were keeping God’s commandments and who
have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12 : 11 , 17 )
The people who are going to receive the powerful spiritual effects 150
listed above [§ 142 ] are those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is
salvation and eternal life. He is salvation because he is the Savior—this
is the meaning of his name, Jesus. He is eternal life because those in
whom he is and who are in him have eternal life. He is even called “eter-
nal life” in 1 John 5 : 20.
Now, because the Lord is salvation and eternal life, it follows that he
is also everything that enables us to gain salvation and eternal life. There-
fore he is every part of reforming, regenerating, renewing, bringing to
life, sanctifying, justifying, purifying from evils, and finally saving. The
Lord is carrying out these processes in all of us, meaning that he is trying
to have these effects on us; and when we adapt and modify ourselves to
receive them, he actually carries them out in us. (Even the acts of adapt-
ing and modifying ourselves are actually from the Lord.) If we do not
§150 the holy spirit & divine action 211