What the Bible says about Holy Spirit, Symbolized by Oil
(From Forerunner Commentary)
An angel is explaining to Zechariah the work of the Spirit. God's Spirit, moving and producing works (or results, visible signs of God's inspiration and involvement in His servants' activities), is shown as flowing into the church. Here is a short quotation from Keil & Delitzsch.
Oil ... is used in the Scriptures as a symbol of the Spirit of God [notice this qualification], not in its transcendent essence. . . .
The Holy Spirit often appears in the Bible, not in is pure form (the essence of God's mind and power), not in its raw form, we could say. Here it appears as oil. Continuing:
. . . not in its transcendent essence, but so far as it works in the world, and is indwelling in the church.
The oil that is flowing through these pipes is not the raw Spirit of God, but it is His Spirit seen in its works, that is, in its manifestations. We are not seeing, necessarily, God's Spirit as God's Spirit. We are seeing God's Spirit as it manifests itself primarily in spoken and written words, but also in things like miracles, healings, casting out of demons, acts of faith, good works, etc.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Two Witnesses (Part Four)
While the foolish are busy trying to get their spiritual lives in order at the last minute, Christ comes to take the wise, and the doors to the marriage feast are shut (Matthew 25:10-13). Only those virgins who have a regular supply of oil and combine it with the lamp of God, the Bible, can hear the true voice of their Shepherd calling to them through His true ministers, including the Two Witnesses. The foolish virgins, representing many ministers too, will at first scoff at these two men and ignore their warnings. But when the Two Witnesses begin performing miracles, the foolish virgins will start to wake from their deep sleep; they will begin to repent and ask God for His Spirit.
God the Father has the authority and Jesus Christ has paid the price to enable us to have oil in our vessels. Everyone called by God must pay a price, obedience to God, to receive His Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32). This means we must repent and overcome sin on a daily basis.
Staff
Y2K: You-2-the-KingdomRelated Topics: Faithfulness | Faithlessness | Foolish Virgins | Foresight | Foresight, Lack of | God's Holy Spirit | Holy Spirit | Holy Spirit, Symbolized by Oil | Oil | Oil as Analogy | Oil as Metaphor | Oil as Symbol | Oil Imagery | Parable of the Ten Virgins | Perseverance | Preparedness | Procrastination | Repentance | Spiritual Lethargy | Spiritual Preparedness | Two Witnesses | Watchfulness