THE HOLY SPIRIT: A PROMISED GIFT

THE HOLY SPIRIT A PROMISED GIFT
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 11:13 13If you then, though you are evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children, how
much more will your Father in heaven give the
Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Seventh Lesson. How Much More the Holy Spirit;
With Christ in the School of Prayer — Andrew Murray
How much more the Holy Spirit;
Or, The All-Comprehensive Gift.
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
how much more shall the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them
that ask Him?' -- Luke xi.13.
"IN the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord had already given utterance to
His wonderful HOW MUCH MORE? Here in Luke, where He repeats
the question, there is a difference. Instead of speaking, as then of giving
good gifts, He says, How much more shall the heavenly Father give THE
HOLY SPIRIT?' He thus teaches us that the chief and the best of these
gifts is the Holy Spirit, or rather, that in this gift all others are
comprised The Holy Spirit is the first of the Father's gifts, and the one
He delights most to bestow. The Holy Spirit is therefore the gift we
ought first and chiefly to seek.

The unspeakable worth of this gift we can easily understand. Jesus
spoke of the Spirit as the promise of the Father;' the one promise in
which God's Fatherhood revealed itself. The best gift a good and wise
father can bestow on a child on earth is his own spirit. This is the great
object of a father in education -- to reproduce in his child his own
disposition and character. If the child is to know and understand his
father; if, as he grows up, he is to enter into all his will and plans; if he is
to have his highest joy in the father, and the father in him, -- he must be
of one mind and spirit with him. And so it is impossible to conceive of
God bestowing any higher gift on His child than this, His own Spirit.
God is what He is through His Spirit; the Spirit is the very life of God.
Just think what it means -- God giving His own Spirit to His child on
earth.
Or was not this the glory of Jesus as a Son upon earth, that the Spirit of
the Father was in Him? At His baptism in Jordan the two things were
united, -- the voice, proclaiming Him the Beloved Son, and the Spirit,
descending upon Him. And so the apostle says of us, Because ye are
sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba,
Father.' A king seeks in the whole education of his son to call forth in
him a kingly spirit. Our Father in heaven desires to educate us as His
children for the holy, heavenly life in which He dwells, and for this gives
us, from the depths of His heart, His own Spirit. It was this which was
the whole aim of Jesus when, after having made atonement with His
own blood, He entered for us into God's presence, that He might obtain
for us, and send down to dwell in us, the Holy Spirit. As the Spirit of the
Father, and of the Son, the whole life and love of the Father and the Son
are in Him; and, coming down into us, He lifts us up into their
fellowship. As Spirit of the Father, He sheds abroad the Father's love,
with which He loved the Son, in our hearts, and teaches us to live in it.
As Spirit of the Son, He breathes in us the childlike liberty, and
devotion, and obedience in which the Son lived upon earth. The Father
can bestow no higher or more wonderful gift than this: His own Holy
Spirit, the Spirit of sonship.
This truth naturally suggests the thought that this first and chief gift of

God must be the first and chief object of all prayer. For every need of
the spiritual life this is the one thing needful, the Holy Spirit. All the
fulness is in Jesus; the fulness of grace and truth, out of which we
receive grace for grace. The Holy Spirit is the appointed conveyancer,
whose special work it is to make Jesus and all there is in Him for us ours
in personal appropriation, in blessed experience. He is the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus; as wonderful as the life is, so wonderful is the provision
by which such an agent is provided to communicate it to us. If we but
yield ourselves entirely to the disposal of the Spirit, and let Him have
His way with us, He will manifest the life of Christ within us. He will do
this with a Divine power, maintaining the life of Christ in us in
uninterrupted continuity. Surely, if there is one prayer that should draw
us to the Father's throne and keep us there, it is this: for the Holy Spirit,
whom we as children have received, to stream into us and out from us in
greater fulness.
In the variety of the gifts which the Spirit has to dispense, He meets the
believer's every need. Just think of the names He bears. The Spirit of
grace, to reveal and impart all of grace there is in Jesus. The Spirit of
faith, teaching us to begin and go on and increase in ever believing. The
Spirit of adoption and assurance, who witnesses that we are God's
children, and inspires the confiding and confident Abba, Father! The
Spirit of truth, to lead into all truth, to make each word of God ours in
deed and in truth. The Spirit of prayer, through whom we speak with
the Father; prayer that must be heard. The Spirit of judgment and
burning, to search the heart, and convince of sin. The Spirit of holiness,
manifesting and communicating the Father's holy presence within us.
The Spirit of power, through whom we are strong to testify boldly and
work effectually in the Father's service. The Spirit of glory, the pledge
of our inheritance, the preparation and the foretaste of the glory to
come. Surely the child of God needs but one thing to be able really to
live as a child: it is, to be filled with this Spirit.
And now, the lesson Jesus teaches us today in His school is this: That the
Father is just longing to give Him to us if we will but ask in the childlike
dependence on what He says: If ye know to give good gifts unto your

children, HOW MUCH MORE shall your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask Him.' In the words of God's promise, I will pour
out my Spirit abundantly;' and of His command, Be ye filled with the
Spirit' we have the measure of what God is ready to give, and what we
may obtain. As God's children, we have already received the Spirit. But
we still need to ask and pray for His special gifts and operations as we
require them. And not only this, but for Himself to take complete and
entire possession; for His unceasing momentary guidance. Just as the
branch, already filled with the sap of the vine, is ever crying for the
continued and increasing flow of that sap, that it may bring its fruit to
perfection, so the believer, rejoicing in the possession of the Spirit, ever
thirsts and cries for more. And what the great Teacher would have us
learn is, that nothing less than God's promise and God's command may
be the measure of our expectation and our prayer; we must be filled
abundantly. He would have us ask this in the assurance that the
wonderful HOW MUCH MORE of God's Father-love is the pledge that,
when we ask, we do most certainly receive.
Let us now believe this. As we pray to be filled with the Spirit, let us not
seek for the answer in our feelings. All spiritual blessings must be
received, that is, accepted or taken in faith.^1 Let me believe, the Father
gives the Holy Spirit to His praying child. Even now, while I pray, I
must say in faith: I have what I ask, the fulness of the Spirit is mine. Let
us continue stedfast in this faith. On the strength of God's Word we
know that we have what we ask. Let us, with thanksgiving that we have
been heard, with thanksgiving for what we have received and taken and
now hold as ours, continue stedfast in believing prayer that the blessing,
which has already been given us, and which we hold in faith, may break
through and fill our whole being. It is in such believing thanksgiving
and prayer, that our soul opens up for the Spirit to take entire and
undisturbed possession. It is such prayer that not only asks and hopes,
but takes and holds, that inherits the full blessing. In all our prayer let
us remember the lesson the Saviour would teach us this day, that, if
there is one thing on earth we can be sure of, it is this, that the Father
desires to have us filled with His Spirit, that He delights to give us His

Spirit.
And when once we have learned thus to believe for ourselves, and each
day to take out of the treasure we hold in heaven, what liberty and
power to pray for the outpouring of the Spirit on the Church of God, on
all flesh, on individuals, or on special efforts! He that has once learned
to know the Father in prayer for himself, learns to pray most
confidently for others too. The Father gives the Holy Spirit to them that
ask Him, not least, but most, when they ask for others.
LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY.'
-- -- 0 -- --
Father in heaven! Thou didst send Thy Son to reveal Thyself to us, Thy
Father-love, and all that that love has for us. And He has taught us, that
the gift above all gifts which Thou wouldst bestow in answer to prayer
is, the Holy Spirit.
O my Father! I come to Thee with this prayer; there is nothing I would
-- may I not say, I do -- desire so much as to be filled with the Spirit, the
Holy Spirit. The blessings He brings are so unspeakable, and just what I
need. He sheds abroad Thy love in the heart, and fills it with Thy self. I
long for this. He breathes the mind and life of Christ in me, so that I live
as He did, in and for the Father's love. I long for this. He endues with
power from on high for all my walk and work. I long for this. O Father!
I beseech Thee, give me this day the fulness of Thy Spirit.
Father! I ask this, resting on the words of my Lord: HOW MUCH
MORE THE HOLY SPIRIT.' I do believe that Thou hearest my prayer;
I receive now what I ask; Father! I claim and I take it: the fulness of
Thy Spirit is mine. I receive the gift this day again as a faith gift; in faith
I reckon my Father works through the Spirit all He has promised. The
Father delights to breathe His Spirit into His waiting child as He tarries
in fellowship with Himself. Amen.
^1The Greek word for receiving and taking is the same. When Jesus
said, Everyone that asketh receiveth,' He used the same verb as at the

Supper, Take, eat,' or on the resurrection morning, Receive,' accept,
take, the Holy Spirit.' Receiving not only implies God's bestowment, but
our acceptance."
JOHN MACARTHUR
This is an old rabbinical way to argue, an old Jewish way to argue, the
“how much more” argument, the “how much more” approach. “How
much more than you who are evil shallyour heavenly Father - ” implied,
who is not evil, who is perfectly holy “ - give?” I mean, if you who are at
heart evil give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your
heavenly Father who is holy give to His children? If you who can only
love imperfectly give good gifts to your children, how much more will
your heavenly Father who loves perfectly give to His children? If you
who are limited in your wisdom give to your children what you think is
best, how much more will your Father who is perfectly wise give the best
to His children?
The whole thing sets a huge gulf in our understanding. You can go to
God because He’s a loving Father. But He’s a loving Father far beyond
the most loving father in this world who is by nature evil and who does
his best to give good gifts out of a corrupt and fallen heart. How much
more will your heavenly Father love you with a perfect love? How
much more with perfect wisdom, and perfect compassion, and perfect
mercy and grace, and perfect understanding of your situation, and
perfect goodness give to you?
So when you go to God, and you go with boldness, and you go with
persistence, and you rush in and you unload what’s on your heart, and
first you ask, and then you start pleading, and then you start banging,
know this, that God is delighted with that - delighted with that - because
He, with His perfect love, and perfect wisdom, and perfect power, and
perfect provision is able to give the best to His children. In fact, Psalm
84:11 says, “He withholds no good thing from those who walk

uprightly,” His children. He holds nothing back. So how much more
shall your heavenly Father give than any earthly father?
You know, John 13:1, “Having loved His own which were in the world,
He loved them eis telos” it says of Jesus, “Having loved His own which
were in the world, He loved them eis telos,” to the max, to the end, to the
finish, completely, totally, limitlessly, infinitely. It’s out of that love, it’s
out of that wisdom, it’s out of those resources that God gives. Very
different than a concept of an earthly monarch or a false god.
But there’s this interesting point here. It says, “How much more should
our heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” That
doesn’t seem to make sense when you first read that. In fact, in the
parallel passage, Matthew 7:11, only parallel in teaching, although on a
different occasion, listen to Matthew 7:11. See if this doesn’t make
better sense. “If you then, being evil, - ” here Jesus taught the same
thing in the sermon on the mount. “If you then, being evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who
is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him?” Now that’s a
good parallel, isn’t it? You being evil know how to give good gifts, how
much more shall your heavenly Father give what is good to those who
ask Him?
But it doesn’t say that here. It says,“How much more shall your
Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit?” How did the Holy Spirit get in
here? And I read some commentators not too long ago who said there is
a narrowing here, there is a narrowing here. In Matthew it’s“that
which is good.” It’s broad, wide, limitless. Here it’s “the Holy Spirit.”
So He narrows it down to this specific thing.
When I read things like that and they don’t sort of sound right, it
doesn’t sound right that the Lord would narrow this promise. He would
make it as broad as possible in one place, anything that is good. And
then narrow it down to the Holy Spirit in another place. I sort of sit
back in my chair and go into my meditation mode, try to figure out
what may really be being said here.

The whole point of this is not that God’s going to narrowly give us some
prescribed things if we happen to hit the target. The whole idea is come
and ask for whatever’s on your heart and rush into God’s presence
whenever you want, of course with a measure of humility and reverence,
but still unbare your heart, speak boldly, be persistent, go over the top,
if you will, and you can expect that God who is generous will give you
whatever’s good. But how does the Holy Spirit fit in?
Let me just make it real simple, okay? It doesn't say you ask for the
Holy Spirit necessarily. It says“Give the Holy Spirit to those who ask
Him.” When you go to ask God for whatever you ask God for, whatever
it is, God gives you the Holy Spirit. Let me show you what I mean. You
ask for comfort, He gave you the Comforter, right? You ask for help,
He gave you the Helper. You ask for truth, He gave you the Truth
teacher. You ask for power, He gave you the Spirit of power. You ask
for wisdom, He gave you the Spirit of wisdom. You ask for guidance, He
gave you the Guide. You ask for love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, self-control and He gave you the Spirit whose fruit were
released in your life.
You see, this is the generosity of God. You ask for the gift, He gives the
giver. You ask for the effect, He gives the cause. You ask for the
product, He gives the source. Is that generosity? He gives you
according to His riches, not out of His riches. You ask God, as it were,
going to the bank, you ask for some money, He gives you the bank.
That’s the point. I’ll just give you the Holy Spirit, then you’ve got it all
because out of the Holy Spirit comes power.
Out of the Holy Spirit comes the anointing which teaches you all things.
Out of the Holy Spirit comes the giftedness, out of the Holy Spirit comes
the fruit, out of the Holy Spirit comes the direction and the guidance.
From the work of the Holy Spirit comes everything. Out of the Holy
Spirit comes intercession on your behalf so that all things work together
for good. I’ll just give you the Spirit.
Talk about generosity. You might go to God and you might say, “Lord, I

need comfort. Lord, I need some power to get through the
circumstance. I’m struggling here. I need some wisdom.” It would be
pretty brash to assume, let’s say if you were a disciple, or even for us if
we can sort of put ourselves in that position to go to God and say, “God,
I just - I don’t want - I don’t want grace for the moment. I don’t want
comfort for the moment. I don’t want guidance for the moment. Would
you just come down and live in me? Would you do that?” That would
be pretty bold, wouldn’t it?
I mean, that’s asking a lot for a holy God to take up residence in this
clay vessel, for a holy God to live in a fouled human. That is pushing
the envelope, wouldn’t you say that? “Okay, here I am, God. I don’t
want three flat loaves of bread. I don’t want three crackers here for my
friend. I’m telling You, would You please come down and live in Me
permanently?” Whoa. That is presumption beyond description.
But that’s exactly what happens. That is exactly what happens. How
generous is God? What else can He do? This isn’t the narrowing. This
is definition. He not only gives you the good gifts, but He plants in you
permanently the source of every one of them. You are, 1 Corinthians
6:19-20 says, “the temple of the Holy Spirit.” You are the temple of the
Holy Spirit. So it’s only a matter of being strengthened by His Spirit in
the inner man, right?
And then in Ephesians 3:20 it says, “Now unto Him that is able to do
exceeding abundantly above all he can ask or think, according to the
power that works - ” where? “ - in us.” God says, in effect, “They have
so many needs, they need so much power, so much wisdom, so much
guidance, so much help, I’ll just put My Spirit in them and then they
have the Giver, and the Source, and the Cause.”
I mean, the generosity of this is absolutely staggering. Giving us the
Holy Spirit specifically is not something less than good gifts, it is
something more than good gifts. The Lord is taking it a step further.
He said,“I’ll give you that which is good.” And now He says, “I’ll just
give you the good One, the third member of the Trinity, God of very

Gods, God the Spirit to come and live in your life.”
Now those disciples knew about the Holy Spirit. The Jews knew about
the Holy Spirit, they could actually say that phrase and the Apostle’s
Creed, “I believe in the Holy Ghost.” They read Genesis, and it was the
Spirit of God who moved on the waters, right? And brought creation
into form. Isaiah chapter 40 ascribed creation to the Holy Spirit. Job
33:4, Elihu gives testimony, “The Spirit of God has made me.” The
Spirit of God is the Creator. So they knew the Spirit of God’s work in
creation.
They also knew the Spirit of God came upon the judges in the Old
Testament and aided them in their leadership in Israel. They knew that
the Spirit of God came upon craftsmen who built the tabernacle and
built the temple, that the Spirit of God came upon leaders like King
David, and upon the prophets like Ezekiel and Micah, Zechariah. They
knew the Spirit of God came for power and for prophecy and for certain
works.
But they also knew - and this is really important - they also knew that
when the Messiah came, there would be a special outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. Isaiah 61 introduces the Messiah by saying, “The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the
poor.” You remember in Luke 4 Jesus came and said, “I have fulfilled
that.” So they knew that when the Messiah came, He would be
empowered by the Spirit, and the Messiah was.
He was born of a virgin who was impregnated by the Spirit. He was
anointed by the Spirit at His baptism. He was filled by the Holy Spirit
and led by the Holy Spirit in His temptation and His ministry. The
Spirit of God energized Him. You see it right through the gospel of
Luke as you move through all those elements of the life of Jesus. So
they knew that that was the way it should be, that’s what the Old
Testament said, the Messiah would be anointed by the Holy Spirit.
But they also knew that when the Messiah came, He would bring a
kingdom which would be dominated by the Holy Spirit. How did they

know that? Because in Joel 2:28-29 it says, “The Spirit of God would
come on all mankind.” There would be a release of the Holy Spirit, the
likes of which had never been before.
And you remember on the day of Pentecost Peter says, “What you’ve
seen in the day of Pentecost is a preview of what Joel said. The Holy
Spirit is going to come on all mankind and there will be prophecies, and
visions, and dreams.” That’s going to happen in the future kingdom
and there was a preview of it on the day of Pentecost.
So they associated the Holy Spirit with the coming of Messiah,
Messiah’s personal life and ministry, with the Messiah’s kingdom, as
well. But there’s a third element. They knew that the Holy Spirit was
going to come in fullness to believers who were a part of that kingdom.
How did they know that? Because of that key passage that all
knowledgeable Jews were aware of, Ezekiel chapter 36, that wonderful
new covenant passage which Nicodemus knew so well as a teacher in
Israel.
This is what the new covenant promises. I will sprinkle clean water on
you, you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness, all your
idols. I will give you a new heart, put a new spirit within you. I will
remove the heart of stone from your flesh, give you a heart of flesh. In
other words, I’m going to totally regenerate your soul, your inside.
Then this, “And I will put My Spirit within you and He will cause you to
walk in My statutes, and be careful to observe My ordinances.” So they
knew that the Holy Spirit was going to come, and come in them, and
enable them to walk obediently to the Word of God. They knew this
was in the promise of the new covenant. They knew what Paul said in 2
Corinthians 3 that “the letter kills, and the Spirit gives - ” what? “ -
gives life.”
So Jesus understands that they’re waiting for the Holy Spirit. They’re
waiting for the Holy Spirit. And they know that all fullness is going to
come in the Spirit, that when the Spirit comes and takes up residence in
them, they’re going to obey the Law of God, they’re going to walk in His

commandments. So Jesus knows this is in their heart, and so He says to
them, “If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more is your heavenly Father -” who is perfect and perfectly
good going to give you what you want most, and what you want most is
the Holy Spirit, because in having Him you have not just the supply, but
you have the source, right?
And you remember Jesus said in John 14 to the disciples, “He has been
with you - ” speaking of the Spirit “ - but He shall be in you, a new
fullness.” And Jesus said in John 7 that when the Spirit of God comes in
you, “out of your soul will flow rivers of living water.” You will become
a gushing fountain of divine blessing. The Spirit will lead you in all
truth, He’ll bring you into remembrance of things I’ve said. He’ll guide
you. He’ll direct you. He’ll convict you.
Do you understand that everything that has happened to you as a
believer is a product of the work of the Holy Spirit? And at this point
we could go into what’s called pneumatology, the study of the Spirit. As
a sinner, you were convicted by the Holy Spirit, John 16, that’s how you
came to understand your sin. When you confessed Jesus as Lord, you
did it because of the Holy Spirit. “No man confesses Jesus as Lord but
by the Holy Spirit,” 1 Corinthians 12:3. You received the knowledge of
God’s truth from the Holy Spirit because it’s only the Spirit that knows
the things of God, 1 Corinthians chapter 2. “The natural man doesn’t
understand them.”
You were given liberty from the law of sin, the law of death by the Holy
Spirit. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is - ” 2 Corinthians 3:17 says “ -
there is liberty.” You were sealed to eternal life by the Holy Spirit,
Ephesians 1. You walk in righteousness by the Spirit, Romans 8. You
were baptized into the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12, literally “immersed into
His life and power.” You are indwelt by the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:19-
20. You are filled with the Spirit, Ephesians 5:18. You are gifted by the
Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12.
You’re given godly virtues by the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians

5. You’re empowered by the Spirit for evangelism, Acts 1:8. You are
constantly prayed for by the Spirit, Romans 8, who makes groanings
which cannot be uttered interceding for you. You are sanctified by the
Spirit, 2 Thessalonians 2. You are made like Christ by the Spirit from
one level of glory to the next, more and more like Christ, 2 Corinthians
3:18. You have hope in the Spirit, Romans 8:23. The Spirit is the
arrabn, the guarantee, the down payment, the engagement ring of your
future eternal glory.
In summary, when the Lord gave you the Holy Spirit, He gave you
everything, absolutely everything. By His presence, by His power, by
His grace we are permanently the possessors of everything we need and
so much more that “He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all
we can - ” what? “ - ask or think.” You have more resource in the Holy
Spirit than you can even imagine.
It’s all over the top, the whole passage. God gives you more in giving
you the Holy Spirit, then you could ever possibly understand. That’s
why the prayer also of Paul was that God would give us the Spirit of
wisdom and knowledge that we would understand what we have. And
it’s to those who ask. You ask and He doesn’t give you what is the
Spirit’s, He gives you the Spirit.
God is not like that neighbor, is He? Who was bothered and said, “Go
away,” but finally relented. God is so generous. He gives us more than
we could even imagine because since we can’t comprehend God, or His
power, or His wisdom, or His resources, we can’t comprehend the Spirit,
even though He lives in us. That’s why He’s able to do
exceeding,“abundantly above all we can ask or think.” Don’t dishonor
God by doubting His generosity. Go to Him in the middle of your night
and know you couldn’t interrupt Him. He delights that you’re there.
And hold Him to His promises and be persistent and demand that He
listen and give you what is best. Does this help you to see prayer in a
different way? Good.
This is all so overwhelming to us, Father. We are so undeserving and so

utterly unworthy. And yet You have just given us way beyond what we
could ever comprehend. We ask for a gift and You gave us the Giver.
We can only say, “Thank You,” and we will come, and we will plead, and
we will pray, we will ask, we will seek, we will knock, because You’ve
told us that that’s how we will receive and find, and the floodgates will
be opened to us.
We love You and we thank You for being the generous One that You are,
so magnanimous. We could never be so bold as to ask You to live in us,
and yet that’s what You’ve done. We thank You for that. And we thank
You that the Spirit is there to strengthen us, to teach us, to guide us, to
comfort us, to help us, to intercede for us, and to keep us, seal us until
eternal glory. For this we thank You in Christ’s name.
PRECEPT AUSTIN
Evil (wicked, bad) (4190)(poneros from poneo = work or toil) means evil
(as used here by Jesus referring to men's evil, malignant character),
pernicious, that which is morally or socially worthless. Poneros
describes determined, aggressive, and fervent evil that actively opposes
what is good. So it should not surprise you that poneros is used to
describe Satan himself as the evil one (e.g., 1 Jn 5:18-19-note). Poneros
is not just bad in character (like kakos), but bad in effect (injurious)!
MacArthur explains "Whenever you see what we call “the milk of
human kindness,” whenever you see people who don’t know God parent
well, love their children, show kindness, give their children what they
need, be philanthropic; you’re seeing the residual of the image of God,
so warped and scarred in the fall, but still there. And so He says, “You,
being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children." (Sermon)
Know (1492)(eido) means in general to know by perception and is
distinguished from ginosko because ginosko generally refers to
knowledge obtained by experience. Eido/oida is a perception, a being
aware of, an understanding, an intuitive knowledge which in the case of
believers can only be given by the Holy Spirit. However in this context

Jesus refers to that knowledge is available to all men. And so all men
have an "absolute knowledge" (that which is without a doubt) of how to
give good gifts to their children.
Good (18)(agathos) means intrinsically good, inherently good in quality
and also conveying the sense of good which is profitable, useful,
beneficial or benevolent (marked by or disposed to doing good). As an
aside, as father of 4 children, I wonder how often my gifts to them have
truly been agathos? I fear too often I indulged them, which was not
good!
How much more - This is an old rabbinical way to argue. This lesser to
greater argument is a variant of an a fortiori argument which is an line
of reasoning which draws upon existing confidence in a proposition to
argue in favor of a second proposition that is held to be implicit in the
first and in this case even greater than the first.
How much more - This exact phrase in the NAS 20x in 20v -
Deut. 31:27; 1 Sam. 14:30; 1 Sam. 23:3; 2 Sam. 4:11; 2 Sam. 16:11; Job
15:16; Prov. 15:11; Prov. 19:7; Prov. 21:27; Ezek. 14:21; Matt. 7:11;
Matt. 10:25; Lk. 11:13; Lk. 12:24; Lk. 12:28; Rom. 11:12; Rom. 11:24; 1
Co. 6:3; Phlm. 1:16; Heb. 9:14
How much more will your heavenly Father - This phrase in effect
introduces a contrast. If it is true of the lesser, how much more of the
greater. God is our Father (pater), our Abba, our Dear Father! Think of
sinful earthly fathers at their very best and multiply that by infinity, and
you have it (Dads, are you as convicted as I am?) As fathers, few of us
are perfect, but even the most imperfect of us are usually able to love
our children. But there is a perfect Father in heaven Who is perfect love
and so is a much greater Father than we are. His heart is pure and good
and His love knows no bounds. It follows that His answers to His
children's prayers are supremely good.
MacArthur - If you who (Ed: are sinners) can only love imperfectly give
good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father

who loves perfectly give to His children? If you who are limited in your
wisdom give to your children what you think is best, how much more
will your Father who is perfectly wise give the best to His
children?...You can go to God because He’s a loving Father. But He’s a
loving Father far beyond the most loving father in this world who is by
nature evil and who does his best to give good gifts out of a corrupt and
fallen heart. How much more will your heavenly Father love you with a
perfect love? How much more with perfect wisdom, and perfect
compassion, and perfect mercy and grace, and perfect understanding of
your situation, and perfect goodness give to you? So when you go to
God, and you go with boldness, and you go with persistence, and you
rush in and you unload what’s on your heart, and first you ask, and
then you start pleading (Ed: seeking), and then you start banging (Ed:
knocking), know this, that God is delighted with that because He, with
His perfect love, and perfect wisdom, and perfect power, and perfect
provision is able to give the best to His children. (Sermon)
The psalmist testifies to God's ability to give of good gifts
“No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Ps.
84:11, cf. Ps 34:9-10; Mt 6:33; Php 4:19).
James adds
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming
down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation or
shifting shadow. (James 1:17-note)
To reiterate, the phrase how much more is not just a comparison but a
contrast and is the key to the Lord’s point. Reasoning from the lesser to
the greater, if human fathers who are evil lovingly provide for their
children, how much more will the perfect God Who loves perfectly not
also give what is best to His children (cf those who are His children in Jn
1:12-note) who ask Him.
Brian Bell comments on the phrase how much more - Jesus doesn’t tell
us how much more, He just lets our imagination run loose for awhile.

When we ask for bread, maybe we’re thinking about a little dinner roll.
When actually he’s baking up some fresh cinnamon pull apart bread.
Believe me, we are not wringing gifts from an unwilling God, but going
to One who knows our needs better than we know them ourselves, and
whose heart towards us is the heart of generous love. "If persistence
conquered selfishness, what will not pity do?" (Griffith Thomas) God is
the Greatest Giver, gives highest gift, and shows largest generosity!
(Teaching of the Rabbis, Taanit, 8a) “Only that man’s prayer is
answered who lifts his hands w/his heart in them!” "When we rely upon
organization, we get what organization can do; When we rely upon
education, we get what education can do; When we rely upon eloquence,
we get what eloquence can do; When we rely upon prayer, we get what
God can do." [A. C. Dixon] The greatest blessing of prayer is not in
receiving the answer, but in being the kind of person God can trust with
the answer! The most important part of our lives is the part that only
God sees. The hidden life of prayer is the secret of an open life of
victory! When You Pray, Remember…The Love of God that wants the
best for us. The Wisdom of God that knows what is best for us. The
Power of God that can accomplish it. (Luke:11:5-13 Someone’s
Knocking at the Door)
D A Carson states that in this section "What is fundamentally at stake is
man's picture of God. God must not be thought of as a reluctant
stranger who can be cajoled or bullied into bestowing his gifts, as a
malicious tyrant who takes vicious glee in the tricks he plays, or even as
an indulgent grandfather who provides everything requested of him. He
is the heavenly Father, the God of the kingdom, Who graciously and
willingly bestows the good gifts of the kingdom in answer to prayer."
(Reference) Remember John Newton's great advice regarding prayer
(click link for full hymn)...
Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring;
THE GOOD GIFT OF

THE HOLY SPIRIT
Your heavenly Father (will) give the Holy Spirit - In a sense this is a
fulfillment of the prophecies in Ezekeil
“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;
and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a
heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in
My statutes (God's Provision), and you will be careful to observe My
ordinances (Man's Responsibility).(Ezekiel 36:26, 27-note, cf Joel 2:29,
29, 32).
Spurgeon on the gift of the Holy Spirit - If you have the Holy Spirit, you
virtually have all good gifts, for the Spirit is the earnest of God’s love,
the pledge of joys to come; and he brings with him all things that are
necessary and good for you.
Brian Bell says "The Holy Spirit is the best and highest gift for
humanity, for regeneration and for all its life.In receiving Him, receiving
the filling/refilling/overflowing of the Spirit; the gifts of the Spirit, the
fruit of the spirit.Oh how we need the Spirit to help us: build
character,guide our conduct, and empower us for service! Of course you
should pray for material things, health, finances, but this isn’t the
highest form of praying. We must not stay on that level! Graduate to the
highest level of praying, asking for the blessings of the Spirit of God that
result in Christian Character & conduct that glorify the Lord.
Examples from Paul: (Phil.1:9-11; Eph.1:15-23; 3:14-21; Col.1:9-12) He
prays about love, discernment, maturity, obedience, faith, power…these
are all blessings that only the Holy Spirit can produce. (Luke:11:5-13
Someone’s Knocking at the Door)
A T Robertson calls the Holy Spirit "the great gift (the summum
bonum)."
Wiersbe - Note that the lesson closes with an emphasis on God as Father
(Luke 11:11-13). Because He knows us and loves us, we never need to be
afraid of the answers that He gives. Again, Jesus argued from the lesser

to the greater: if an earthly father gives what is best to his children,
surely the Father in heaven will do even more. This even includes "the
good things of the Holy Spirit" (compare Luke 11:13 with Matt. 7:11),
blessings that in the Old Testament were reserved only for a special few.
Give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him - Note that parallel passage
in the Sermon on the Mount
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to
those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:11-note)
So in Mt 7:11 "good" is used in the same context as the Holy Spirit.
Comparing these two passages leads to the clear conclusion that the
greatest good God could give us is His precious Spirit.
Steven Cole writes "Whatever our needs, our greatest need is to be filled
continually with God’s Spirit (Eph 5:18-note). So Jesus instructs us to
come as needy children and ask the Father to pour out His Spirit upon
us. Jesus’ specifying the Holy Spirit shows that He is not promising to
meet our every whim for material things or for earthly benefits. But He
is promising that if something is for our spiritual good and we come as
trusting children and ask, the loving Father will give it to us."
In his sermon MacArthur explains that "The whole idea is come and
ask for whatever’s on your heart and rush into God’s presence
whenever you want, of course with a measure of humility and reverence,
but still unbare your heart, speak boldly, be persistent, go over the top,
if you will, and you can expect that God who is generous will give you
whatever’s good. But how does the Holy Spirit fit in? Let me just make
it real simple, okay? It doesn't say you ask for the Holy Spirit
necessarily. It says “Give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” When
you go to ask God for whatever you ask God for, whatever it is, God
gives you the Holy Spirit. Let me show you what I mean. You ask for
comfort, He gave you the Comforter, right? You ask for help, He gave
you the Helper. You ask for truth, He gave you the Truth teacher. You
ask for power, He gave you the Spirit of power. You ask for wisdom, He

gave you the Spirit of wisdom. You ask for guidance, He gave you the
Guide. You ask for love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, self-control and He gave you the Spirit whose fruit were
released in your life.You see, this is the generosity of God. You ask for
the gift, He gives the giver. You ask for the effect, He gives the cause.
You ask for the product, He gives the source. Is that generosity? He
gives you according to His riches, not out of His riches. You ask God, as
it were, going to the bank, you ask for some money, He gives you the
bank. That’s the point. I’ll just give you the Holy Spirit, then you’ve
got it all because out of the Holy Spirit comes power. Out of the Holy
Spirit comes the anointing which teaches you all things. Out of the Holy
Spirit comes the giftedness, out of the Holy Spirit comes the fruit, out of
the Holy Spirit comes the direction and the guidance. From the work of
the Holy Spirit comes everything. Out of the Holy Spirit comes
intercession on your behalf so that all things work together for good.
I’ll just give you the Spirit....Giving us the Holy Spirit specifically is not
something less than good gifts, it is something more than good gifts. The
Lord is taking it a step further. He said, “I’ll give you that which is
good.” And now He says, “I’ll just give you the good One, the third
member of the Trinity, God of very Gods, God the Spirit to come and
live in your life...In summary, when the Lord gave you the Holy Spirit,
He gave you everything, absolutely everything. By His presence, by His
power, by His grace we are permanently the possessors of everything we
need and so much more that “He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly
above all we can - ” what? “ - ask or think.” You have more resource in
the Holy Spirit than you can even imagine....God is not like that
neighbor, is He? Who was bothered and said, “Go away,” but finally
relented. God is so generous. He gives us more than we could even
imagine because since we can’t comprehend God, or His power, or His
wisdom, or His resources, we can’t comprehend the Spirit, even though
He lives in us. That’s why He’s able to do exceeding, “abundantly above
all we can ask or think.” Don’t dishonor God by doubting His
generosity. Go to Him in the middle of your "night" and know you are
not interrupting Him (Ed: Ps 121:4 "He who keeps Israel Will neither
slumber nor sleep"). He delights that you’re there (Ed: "The sacrifice

of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the
upright is His delight." [Lxx = dektos = means to be met with approval
in someone's company, welcome in His Throne Room! Meditate on that
truth today and then pray without ceasing!] - Pr 15:8, cf Ps 37:23, Pr
3:12, 11:20, 12:22). And hold Him to His promises and be persistent and
demand that He listen and give you what is best. Does this help you to
see prayer in a different way? Good.” (Sermon)
MacArthur sums it up in his commentary - This is an intriguing
statement, which differs from the Lord’s teaching of this same truth on
a different occasion, as recorded in Matthew 7:11. There He spoke of the
Father giving what is good; here He expanded that and spoke of God’s
giving the Spirit, who is the source of all goodness and blessing, to live
within every believer. To those who ask for a gift, He gives the Giver; to
those who ask for an effect, He gives the Cause; to those who ask for a
product He gives the Source; to those seeking comfort He gives the
Comforter (Acts 9:31); to those seeking power He gives the Source of
power (Acts 1:8); to those seeking help He gives the Helper (John
14:26); to those seeking truth He gives the Spirit of truth (John 16:13);
to those seeking “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23) He gives the
Producer of all those things. The indwelling Holy Spirit (Ro 8:9, 11; 1
Cor. 6:19; 2 Ti 1:14) is the Source of every good thing in the Christian’s
life (Eph. 3:20-note Ed: "the power which works [energeo - present
tense = continually] within us" - Who is the power continually
energizing us? The Holy Spirit!). (MacArthur New Testament
Commentary)
In a word, we ask for a gift and our Father graciously gave us the Giver,
the Spirit of Jesus Christ! Praise Him, Praise Him...
Praise Him! praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, ye saints! His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! hail Him! mightiest angels in glory;

Strength and honor give to His holy name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will feed His people,
In His arms He carries them all day long;
O ye saints that live in the light of His presence,
Praise Him! praise Him! ever in joyful song!
James Rosscup adds - Jesus climaxes the prayer motivation with God
giving “the Holy Spirit,” not “good gifts” as in Matt. 7. Jesus could use
both in the different situations of ministry. Of all good gifts in prayer,
the Holy Spirit is the source, the believer’s great benefactor in prayer
according to God’s will (cf. Rom. 8:26–27). If one has Him, he has in the
Spirit all the riches of God, whether power, guidance, gifts of ability for
service, fruit He supplies, or any boon. (An Exposition of Prayer in the
Bible - Matthew - Acts)
Rosscup goes on to summarize principles on prayer which he gleans
from Luke 11:1-13 - The request (Lk 11:1), sample of prayer (Lk 11:2–
4), story of prayer (Lk 11:5–8) and summary on prayer (Lk 11:9–13) has
its vital principles.
First, the one who will be an example in prayer for God’s glory must be
found faithful in it.
Second, the disciple shows us the principle of respecting a person’s
praying and waiting until it is finished to talk with him.
Third, it is wise to seek tutoring in prayer from the One who models it
the best. Today we have this help in the things the gospel accounts teach
us.
Fourth, prayer as Jesus gives a pattern for it puts praise in glorifying
God in prominence.
Fifth, the friend in bed, although only human and evil (cf. Lk 11:13) and

unlike God in that he is unwilling at first, still rebounds to be like God
in his zeal to show himself in a good light. If he does this, “how much
more” God!
Sixth, the friend who answers the request gives all that is needed, as
God is adequate or even gives above all we ask or think (Eph. 3:20).
Seventh, when a son asks a human father for what is good, the father
usually gives it, God even more so with His sons. (An Exposition of
Prayer in the Bible - Matthew - Acts)
ESV Study Bible - Fish and eggs were common foods in Palestine, while
serpents and scorpions were regular hazards. A far more important gift
than material blessings is the powerful anointing and guidance of the
Holy Spirit in a believer’s life (see Mt. 12:28; Lk 4:1, 14; Acts 1:8; Ro
8:13–14, 26; 1 Cor. 12:11; Gal 5:18).
John Martin on the Holy Spirit - Believers today are not to pray for the
Holy Spirit because this prayer of the disciples (for the Holy Spirit) was
answered at Pentecost (cf. Rom. 8:9). (The Bible Knowledge
Commentary)
NET Note on the Holy Spirit - The provision of the Holy Spirit is
probably a reference to the wisdom and guidance supplied in response
to repeated requests. Some apply it to the general provision of the Spirit,
but this would seem to look only at one request in a context that speaks
of repeated asking. The teaching as a whole stresses not that God gives
everything his children want, but that God gives the good that they
need.
The Gospel of Luke has been called the Gospel of the Holy Spirit,
because He is named more in this Gospel than in Matthew and Mark
combine and even more than in John's Gospel. Luke also shows a
marked emphasis on Jesus’ dependence on the Spirit. Thus Luke shows
us Jesus as the Savior Who was fully human, but Who triumphed as
Man through dependence on prayer and the Holy Spirit, leaving us the
Perfect Example to follow in His steps (1 Pe 2:21-note, 1 Jn 2:6-note).

J C Ryle - There are few promises in the Bible so broad and unqualified
as those contained in this wonderful passage. The last in particular
deserves especial notice. The Holy Spirit is beyond doubt the greatest
gift which God can bestow upon man. Having this gift, we have all
things, life, light, hope and heaven. Having this gift we have God the
Father’s boundless love, God the Son’s atoning blood, and full
communion with all three Persons of the blessed Trinity. Having this
gift, we have grace and peace in the world that now is, glory and honor
in the world to come. And yet this mighty gift is held out by our Lord
Jesus Christ as a gift to be obtained by prayer! “Your heavenly Father
shall give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.”....If we do pray, let it
be a settled rule with us, never to leave off the habit of praying, and
never to shorten our prayers. A man’s state before God may always be
measured by his prayers. Whenever we begin to feel careless about our
private prayers, we may depend upon it, there is something very wrong
in the condition of our souls. There are breakers ahead. We are in
imminent danger of a shipwreck.
Luke 11:13 - The application: Then Jesus drives home the application:
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask Him?” In the parallel in Matthew 7:11, Jesus is more general in
saying that God will give what is good to those who ask Him. But here
He specifies the Holy Spirit Who, being God, is the greatest good we
could imagine. While all who truly believe in Christ receive the Holy
Spirit at the moment of salvation (Ro 8:9-note), we all need to know
more and more of the Spirit’s fullness in our daily walk. Whatever our
needs, our greatest need is to be filled continually with God’s Spirit. So
Jesus instructs us to come as needy children and ask the Father to pour
out His Spirit upon us. Jesus’ specifying the Holy Spirit shows that He is
not promising to meet our every whim for material things or for earthly
benefits. But He is promising that if something is for our spiritual good
and we come as trusting children and ask, the loving Father will give it
to us. He may delay the blessing because He knows that I am not ready

to receive it yet. He may have purposes of training me in faith and
prayer that require His withholding the request for the present time. He
may know what I do not know, that my request is not for my ultimate
good, and so He will deny my request because He has something better
for me. But Jesus is teaching that we should approach God with trust, as
a child would come to a loving father, and if my request is for my
spiritual good, the Father will give it to me. Andrew Murray (p. 37) puts
it, “Fatherlike giving is the Divine response to childlike living.”
So verse 13 brings us back full circle to where Jesus’ instruction on
prayer began (11:2), that we must come to know God as our heavenly
Father. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (p. 202) states,
This is one of our main troubles, is it not? If you should ask me to state
in one phrase what I regard as the greatest defect in most Christian lives
I would say that it is our failure to know God as our Father as we should
know Him.... Ah yes, we say; we do know that and believe it. But do we
know it in our daily life and living? Is it something of which we are
always conscious? If only we got hold of this, we could smile in the face
of every possibility and eventuality that lies ahead of us.
One of Satan’s original ploys was to get Eve to doubt that God is good.
His commandment was keeping something good from her. He still uses
that ploy to cause Christians to fall and to keep unbelievers from God:
If your God is good, why does He allow such pain and suffering in the
world? Why does a good God allow a little child in a war-torn land to
get his legs blown off by a land mine? Why does a good God allow a
sweet little toddler to die a slow, painful death from cancer? Why does a
good God allow His servants who are dedicated to doing His work to be
killed by evil men? The difficult questions could go on forever.
The Bible doesn’t gloss over these problems or pretend that they do not
exist. The Book of Job shows us that a partial answer centers on our
finiteness and sinfulness and God’s infinite holiness. We as sinful
creatures dare not challenge the Almighty Holy One. He is perfectly just
to allow the most righteous man on the earth to suffer terrible things,

because not even that man has a claim on God. Furthermore, Scripture
shows that the final resolution to the problem of suffering and evil lies in
eternity, not in this life, when God will reward the righteous and punish
the wicked.
But the existence of pain and evil in this world does not undermine the
goodness of God or His fatherly love for His children. Even when we do
not understand why God allows the trials we are suffering, we must
come to Him in faith and ask for a fuller measure of His Holy Spirit.
Keep on asking and seeking and knocking. Jesus promises that we will
not be sent away empty-handed. Approach God with bold persistence,
knowing that as a loving Father,
He will give you what is for your spiritual good. It is impossible for Him
to do anything evil toward us.
Conclusion
A dad with a three-year-old son had just gone through the bedtime
routine of reading a story, listening to his prayers, answering a dozen
questions, giving him a hug, and saying good-night four or five times
before slipping out of the room. Finally, after a long, hard day, he could
relax.
He sat down in his easy chair and it was quiet for about five minutes
before he heard, “Daddy, can I have a drink of water?” He said, “No,
son, be quiet and go to sleep.” It was quiet for a couple of minutes
before, louder than before, he heard, “Daddy, can I have a drink of
water?” “Son, I said to be quiet and go to sleep!” There was silence
again, but it didn’t last long. “Daddy, please can I have a drink of
water?” The dad could see that he wasn’t getting anywhere, so he said,
“Son, if I hear one more sound out of that room, I’m going to spank
you!” You could hear a pin drop. The silence was thick for about one
minute. Then he heard, “Daddy, when you come in here to spank me,
would you bring me a drink of water?” Now the dad knew that his son
really was thirsty! Why? Because he was boldly persistent in his request.

We all have friends who drop in on us at midnight. We don’t have in
ourselves what they need. But we have a Friend and Father in heaven
who has plenty to meet their needs. He invites us to disturb Him at any
hour and to keep on knocking until we obtain what our friends need.
Discussion Questions
1. How do we know when (if at all) to stop persisting in prayer when
God doesn’t answer?
2. How would you answer a critic who brought up cases of horrible
suffering as evidence that God is not good? Why is it crucial to affirm
God’s goodness even when we suffer?
3. Why does God delay to answer prayers that seemingly would be for
His glory to answer now?
4. Is it a cop-out to pray, “If Your will be done?” Can we know God’s
will for a specific situation in advance?
BIBLEHUB.
The Argument From The Human Fatherhood To The Divine
Luke 11:11-13
W. Clarkson
Jesus Christ revealed the Father to men, and he revealed him as the
Father of men. He taught us to address him as such (ver. 2), and to feel
toward him.as such. He would have us realize that God sustains to us a
relationship very closely indeed corresponding to that which a human
father sustains to his child. In the text he teaches us that this analogy is
so close and so real that we may draw practical inferences from the
lower to the higher one. The particular conclusion which our Lord
draws is -
I. FROM OUR GIVING TO HIS. No human father would give his son a

stone when appeal was made to him for bread, etc.; would put him off
with a response which would only be a bitter disappointment. Such a
one would be not only an exception to his kind, but would be guilty of an
act that would be simply monstrous in general regard. If, then, we,
"being evil," cannot withhold "good gifts" from our children, how
much less will the heavenly Father deny his blessings to us, his sons and
daughters! What we, with our finite and limited love, could not refuse, it
is certain that he, in his infinite goodness and boundless pity, will readily
bestow. There are two blessings which we particularly want of God our
heavenly Father. - provision for our temporal well-being, and succor for
our soul. We cannot live without these. Our bodily nature craves the
one, our spiritual nature needs the other. Bread we must have, and all
that "bread" stands for, that we may live happily and serviceably as
those that tread the path of mortal life. But "man cannot live on bread
alone;" he needs those higher and holier gifts which nourish the soul,
which feed the flame of piety and zeal, which strengthen him for
spiritual conflict, and give him the victory over his worst enemies. For
these two great blessings we may confidently ask God, and he will
assuredly grant them. It is much more certain that God our Father will
provide for our real necessities, and will strengthen our souls with all
needful Divine influences, than it is certain that the kindest human
father will not mock his beloved children when they appeal for his
bounty. With holy boldness, then, may we go to the throne of grace, and
pray for all those things that are requisite alike for the body as for the
soul. But we may carry this argument with which our Lord has supplied
us into other spheres, and may thus "assure our hearts" concerning
him.
II. FROM OUR FORGING TO HIS. We may have a difficulty in
realizing the great truth that God is willing to forgive us all our sin and
to reinstate us fully in his favor. But if as sons we have been forgiven by
our parents, or if as parents we have forgiven our children and taken
them back into the fullness of our favor, we may argue safely from the
human fatherhood to the Divine. If we, "being evil," with such small
and scanty magnanimity as we possess, can forgive freely, how much

more can he - he whose ways of mercy are as much higher than ours as
the heaven is higher than the earth!
III. FROM OUR GUIDANCE TO HIS. How impossible it is for any of
us that is a father to refuse guidance to one of our children when he
comes to ask it of us! Only the most heartless, the most unfatherly, could
think of declining it. And since that is so with us, in all our human
imperfection, how positive it is that the Divine Father will guide us by
the shaping of his providence, or by the prompting of his Spirit, when
we see not our way, but make known our request unto him to "lead us
all our journey through"!
IV. FROM OUR SOLICITUDE TO HIS. One of the very greatest
questions we propose to ourselves is this - Does God care enough for
each one of us to renew our life in another realm when we leave this
world? Jesus Christ's declaration is the answer to this question (John
5:24-29). But we find strong, reassuring help here. How much do we
care for the continuance of the life of our children? How much do we
not care? What words will express our parental solicitude that death
should not strike them down, that they should live, and that their life
should be large, free, blessed? If that is our concern for them, what will
not God our Father desire for us? What will he not care that we do not
perish in the arms of death, but have everlasting life in the embrace of
his own heavenly love? - C.
The efficacy of prayer for obtaining the Holy Spirit
Archbishop Tillotson.
The force of which argument depends upon a double comparison, of the
quality of the persons giving, and of the nature of the gift.
I. I shall show what is comprehended in this gift of the Holy Spirit, and

how great a blessing and benefit it is. St. Matthew expresseth this
somewhat differently: "How much more shall your Father which is in
heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" (Matthew 7:11). Which,
compared with the expression here in St. Luke, doth intimate to us, that
the Spirit of God is the chief of blessings, or rather the sum of all good
things.
II. We shall in the next place consider what kind of asking, in order to
the obtaining of this great blessing, is here required by our Saviour,
when He says, "God will give His Holy Spirit to them that ask Him." It
must have these three qualifications:
1. It must be hearty and sincere, in opposition to formal and
hypocritical asking.
2. It must be earnest and fervent, and importunate, in opposition to
cold, and faint, and careless asking.
3. It must be in faith, and a confident assurance that God will hear us, in
opposition to doubting and distrust.
III. To confirm and illustrate the truth of this proposition, that God is
very ready to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.
1. From God's free promise and declaration. And besides that here in
the text, I might produce several others, but I shall mention only one,
which is very plain and express, and conceived in terms as large and
universal as can well be devised (James 1:5).
2. From the comparison here used.It is a plain and undeniable
argument, fitted to all capacities, because it proceeds upon two
suppositions which every man must acknowledge to be true.
1. That earthly parents have generally such a natural affection for their
children, as does strongly incline them to give them such good things as
are necessary and convenient for them, and which will not suffer them,
instead of good things, to give them such things as either are no wise
useful, or any wise hurtful to them. This is a matter of common, and

certain, and sensible experience, which no man can deny.
2. The other supposition, which is as evident in reason as the former is
in experience, is this: that God is better than men, and that there is
infinitely more goodness in Him than in the best man in the world;
because goodness in its most exalted degree and highest perfection is
essential to that notion which all men have of God; and this being a
common principle, in which men are universally agreed, no man can
gainsay it.But, for the farther illustration of this argument, we will
consider a little more particularly the terms of the comparison which
our Saviour here useth; our earthly and our heavenly Father; temporal
and spiritual good things.
1. Our earthly and our heavenly Father; in which terms the givers are
compared together. Now there are three considerations in a giver, which
makes him capable of being bountiful, and dispose him to it.(1) That he
have where. withal to be liberal, and can part with it without damage
and prejudice to himself.(2) That he be good-natured, and have a mind
to give.(3) That he be related to those to whom he gives, and be
concerned in their welfare. Now all these considerations are more
eminently in God, and with far greater advantage, than in any father
upon earth.
2. Let us compare likewise temporal and spiritual good things; in which
terms you have the gifts compared together. So that the whole force of
the argument comes to this: that if we believe that earthly parents have
any good inclinations towards their children, and are willing to bestow
upon them the necessaries of life, we have much more reason to believe
that God our heavenly Father is much more ready "to give His Holy
Spirit to them that ask Him"; whether we consider the quality of the
giver, or the nature of the gift.Application:
1. This is a matter of great encouragement to us under the sense of our
own weakness and impotency.
2. Let us earnestly beg of God His Holy Spirit, seeing it is so necessary
to us, and God is so ready to bestow this best of gifts upon us.

3. Let us take heed of "grieving the Spirit of God," and provoking Him
to withdraw Himself from us.
4. God's readiness to afford the grace and assistance of His Holy Spirit
to us, to enable us to the performance of our duty, and the obedience of
His laws, makes all wilful sin and disobedience inexcusable.
(Archbishop Tillotson.)
Right replies to right requests
C. H. Spurgeon.
In this chapter there is an evident progress. It opens by the disciples
asking the Lord to teach them to pray. To that He gave a full and
sufficient reply; He prepared them an outline of what complete prayer
should be. Then the chapter proceeds a little further to answer a
question: we are shown how to pray, but will God really answer us? Is
prayer only meant to do good to the suppliant? Does it end with the
benefit which it works in us, or does it really affect the heart of God?
The answer is given by our Lord with great clearness. We have a
parable to show that as importunity does evidently affect men, so
importunity will also gain an answer from God, that He will be pleased
to give us what we need if we do but know how, with incessant
earnestness, to come again and again to Him in prayer. We are assured
that asking is attended with receiving, that seeking is attended with
finding, that knocking will lead to opening, that it is not a vain thing to
pray. The truth here taught is not that God will refuse us evil things if in
our mistake we ask for them; that is a truth, but it is not alluded to
here; the one statement of this verse is, that prayers for good things will
be answered, and that they will not be answered with gifts wearing the
mere appearance of good, but with the actual good things desired. That
simple thought I shall endeavour to enlarge upon in this morning's
discourse.
I. RIGHT PRAYERS, RIGHT ANSWERS. The child asks bread, his

father does not give him a stone. We shall have when we pray for
needful things, the really needful things themselves, not the imitation of
them, but the actual blessings. And if our faith grows a little stronger,
and having obtained bread we ask for fish, not absolutely a necessary,
but a comfort and a relish; if we make bold to ask for spiritual comforts,
consoling gifts and ennobling graces, something over and above what is
absolutely needful to save us, our heavenly Father will not mock us by
giving us superficial comforts which might be injurious as a serpent; He
will give us so much of comfort as we can bear; and it shall be pure,
holy, healthy comfort. And if, gathering more confidence still, we ask for
an egg, which I take it was in Christ's day a rarer luxury, we shall not be
deluded by its counterfeit. That is our first point — prayer for good
things meets a good answer.
II. Then the question will arise in every heart: "It seems then that I have
only to ascertain that my prayer is for a really good thing, and I shall
have it?" Just so, and hence, secondly, THE PRAYER FOR THE BEST
THING IS SUREST OF AN ANSWER, for, saith the text, "How much
more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
Him?"
1. There is no doubt about the Holy Spirit being a good thing; when we
therefore ask for Him, for His Divine presence and influence, we may
rest assured that God will give it. Make that our first point under this
head — God will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask for Him.
2. From the connection in which the text stands, I gather the following
remark, namely, that it will truly be the Holy Spirit. Go back again to
that first thought. The child asks bread, and does not get a stone; you
ask the Holy Spirit, and you shall receive the Holy Spirit.
3. But it appears plainly enough from the text that this Holy Spirit is to
be given in answer to prayer. He will give you the real Spirit: no
enthusiasm that might mislead you, no fanaticism that might injure you,
no self-conceit that might become like a deadly scorpion to you, but His
own gentle, truthful, infallible, Holy Spirit He will give to them that ask

Him.
III. Now for our last point. THE BEST OF PRAYERS, WHICH IS
SURE TO BE HEARD, IS ALSO A MOST COMPREHENSIVE ONE.
Turn to the parallel passage in the gospel of Matthew (Matthew 7:11).
Now what does our text say, "How much more shall your heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" Is it not clear then
that the Holy Spirit is the equivalent for "good things," and that, in fact,
when the Lord gives us the Holy Spirit He gives us all "good things"?
What a comprehensive prayer then is the prayer for the Spirit of God.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The good gift
J. Jowett, M. D.
I. THE FACT HERE TAKEN FOR GRANTED — that earthly parents,
though evil, know how to give good gifts unto their children. It is not
said that parents know how to choose always what is best for their
children. Neither would our Lord assert that parental affection is never
overpowered by other principles. Long misbehaviour has sometimes
induced a father to disinherit his son. Such, and so strong, is natural
affection: a principle, necessary indeed for the preservation of the
species; and so deeply implanted by our all-wise Creator, that it still
survives the wreck of everything else that once was good in man.
II. THE DOCTRINE, FOR THE ILLUSTRATION OF WHICH THIS
FACT IS ALLUDED TO. The doctrine is, that your heavenly Father is
much more likely to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him. Now, by
following up the comparison which our Lord makes in the text, we shall
see abundant reason for concluding, that God is not only as affectionate,
but infinitely more so, than any human benefactor. For I may ask, in the
first place, with Moses —
1. "Is not He thy Father, that hath bought thee? hath He not made thee

and established thee?" Has not Creation made you His children? and
did He make you to destroy you? "But you think of your sins!" You do
well; but think also of the unfathomable mines of love, which those sins
have brought to light.
2. What can this heavenly Father bestow on His children more worthy
the name of a "good gift" than His Holy Spirit? He has given His Son;
yet even that gift avails us not, till the Spirit be added.
3. Is the spiritual bounty of our heavenly Father limited, like the
affection of earthly parents, to those who can prove that they are His
children? No — it is far more wide and expansive. It is offered to all that
are His children by Creation; without stopping to consider whether they
are such by regeneration or no. For here again our Lord makes a
change in His language. It is not — "How much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to His children"; but — "to them
that ask Him."
(J. Jowett, M. D.)
The best gift
E. Blencowe, M. A.
I. The Holy Spirit is spoken of, in the text, as the best gift which God in
His rich bounty can bestow on man. And, if we consider who the Holy
Spirit is, and what He does for those who truly believe in Christ, we
need not wonder that our Lord should thus speak of this unspeakable
gift. He is our Guide, our Comforter, our Sanctifier.
II. It is a plain and easy way which God has appointed for us, to obtain
this precious gift: He will "give His Holy Spirit to them that ask Him."
We are told "in everything by prayer" to "let" our "requests be made
known mite God."
(E. Blencowe, M. A.)

The gift of the Holy Spirit
Theological Sketch-book.
I. OUR PRIVILEGE as the followers of Christ.
1. What is meant by the Holy Spirit.
2. The Holy Ghost is enjoyed by all real Christians.
3. For what purposes He is received by them.
(1)As a Spirit of penitence and prayer.
(2)As a Spirit of power.
(3)As a Spirit of comfort.
(4)As a Spirit of purity.
(5)As a Spirit of wisdom.
(6)As a Spirit of fruitfulness.
II. OUR DUTY. To ask as God requires.
1. Sincerely.
2. Evangelically.
3. Importunately.
4. Believingly.
III. These words also ENCOURAGE OUR HOPE. Application:
1. Recollect your privilege with suitable acts of piety. Such as — self-
examination. Do you enjoy this gift as a Spirit of penitence, &c. (2
Corinthians 12:5). Humiliation: on account of your enjoying no more of
it (James 4:2, 8-10). Holy care: to cherish and improve what Divine
influence you enjoy. By obeying Christ (Revelation 3:2); and imitating
St. Paul (Philippians 3:13, 14).

2. Recollect your duty with perseverance in it (Colossians 4:2).
3. Recollect your encouragement with steadfast hope — of receiving the
Holy Spirit in all His influences; as a Spirit of prayer, penitence, power,
&c.
(Theological Sketch-book.)
The availability of the Holy Spirit
S. D. Burchard, D. D.
For every moral virtue, for the first germ of spiritual life, for growth,
development, usefulness and increase we are dependent on the Holy
Spirit. The great want of the times.
I. Is THE HOLY SPIRIT AVAILABLE? Can His presence be secured?
Surely.
1. If we consider the character of God, His universal beneficence, His
desire to make His sentient and intelligent creatures happy, we need
have no doubt.
2. This argument gains force in the light of God's great love in giving
His Son for the reclamation of His lost race. If willing to make the
greater sacrifice, will He not be willing to make the less?
3. Our argument as to the availability of the Holy Spirit becomes
absolutely conclusive when we consider that He is the promised and
special gift both of the Father and of the Son.
II. HOW SHALL WE CONSCIOUSLY REALIZE THE PRESENCE
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?
1. Common interest and sympathy, and united prayer.
2. Avoidance of all known sins.
3. A sense of need, of dependence, of meekness, of unworthiness, of

penitence, and an earnest heart-cry for help.
(S. D. Burchard, D. D.)
The gift of the Spirit
H. L. Thompson.
Four central principles underlie this passage — in fact, underlie the
Bible and all religion in the world.
1. Man has a capacity for God as truly as the stomach for food. God is
as imperative a necessity to our spiritual nature as is bread for the body.
2. Man has a distinct need of God impressed upon him. The body is
disquiet, if food be withheld. The soul is restless without God.
3. The Fatherhood of God is a pledge and guarantee that these deepest
yearnings of man's nature will be gratified. A judicious parent prefers
for his son character rather than fame, genius, or wealth. God also
desires, above all things, our sanctification.
4. God gives the Holy Spirit to the eager, ardent, persistent, importunate
soul. Do you really want it? Honestly and earnestly asking, you shall
receive. You must long for the Holy Spirit more than the hungry and
thirsty long for food and water; more anxiously than the storm-tossed
sailor longs for the port. With this spirit you may be sure of an answer,
and as much more sure as God is better than the best human parent.
(H. L. Thompson.)
How God feels towards mankind
A. K. H. Boyd, D. D.
Here is what the Redeemer says to you, and me; and all: If you want to
know how God feels towards you, and how ready God is to give you

everything that is really good: here is something to go by. You know how
much you would do for your children: you know how anxious you are to
care for them in every way. You know how a father will work, and how a
mother will watch, all for the good of their little ones. You know how
much of the work that is done by men in this world, and how much of
the care that is felt, is not for themselves at all, but for their children: all
for them. After the dream of fame is past — after ambition is outgrown
— the man toils on as steadfastly and earnestly as in his most hopeful
and most aspiring days, that he may provide for his little ones; that he
may see them in comfort and happiness; that he may push them on (as
he trusts and prays) to be far better and happier than ever he was
himself. The human heart is always the same: you do that now, my
friends; and so you may be sure that people did that long ago, in the
days when Christ was here. Well, says Christ you know all that. You
know all that, says His blessed voice: and now hear Me and believe Me
when I tell you, that the great Father above is just like that; only a
thousand-fold better. If even you, sinful and evil, would wear your
fingers to the bone, would lose your rest, would cut off every selfish
indulgence, that you might see your children's wants supplied, that you
might see the little things happy and good — then take this blessed truth
to your heart, that in all you feel toward your children, you have a faint
and far reflection of how the great God above feels toward you. He feels
for us just like that: cares for us, loves us, wishes us well, works for us.
(A. K. H. Boyd, D. D.)
Prayer for the Spirit answered
Anon.
1. Our privilege here exhibited.
2. Our duty prescribed.
3. our hope encouraged.

(Anon.)
God's care for His children far greater than man's
A. K. H. Boyd, D. D.
Let us now consider the truth that God differs from an earthly father by
being far kinder, wiser, and better. O brethren, there is an immense deal
suggested by that "how much more!" It would be an unspeakable
comfort to us — it would be a glorious and comfortable truth — that
God was just as willing to give us all we need as you kind-hearted people
are to give what is needful to your little child. I think I know men and
women who have hearts so good and kind; who are so ready to do what
they can to make their own children happy, or to add to the happiness of
any little child; that I should feel safe enough and sure enough in going,
sinful, weary, to Almighty God, to ask for His mercy and His Blessed
Spirit, even if I knew no more than this, that I should find such a
welcome at His throne of grace as these good men and women would
give to any suffering, helpless child, even if it were not their own. But
"how much more!" What a silent reference to an inconceivable depth of
love and pity in the heart of God! It is as if Christ had said to those
whom He addressed, You cannot understand the difference — words
cannot explain the difference — here is the kind of thing, in yourselves;
but in God "how much more!" Yet not a different kind of thing — the
same kind of feeling you bear towards your children — only heightened
up to a pitch you can never know.
1. God knows what is good for us, as no human parent can know what is
good for his child. With the kindest intentions, we all know how
injudicious parents often are; how often they err on the side of over-
severity or of over-tenderness; how completely they sometimes mistake
what is to conduce to the true good or happiness of their children;
indeed it is not too much to say that a very great proportion of all the
sorrow that is in this world arises from the mismanagement of parents
in youth, or from the consequences of that mismanagement in after

years. Now God knows us; knows what we are, and what we can do;
knows what we are fit for, and how things affect us; knows all our
peculiarities of temperament and disposition. He knows what we really
need; He knows when to give us what we wish, and when to deny it; He
knows how to make "all things work together for good" to such as love
Him.
2. Another point in which appears the superiority of the great Father to
whom Christ points us above all earthly parents, is His power. He is able
to do all He wishes. He has all power to give us all good things; to help
and save. You know how different it is with us; how well we often know
what we should like to do for our children, to make them wise and good
and happy; yet how very little we can do.
3. Then God is always kind. There are unnatural parents — let us hope,
very few. There are people who repel their children's confidence; who
from mistaken principle or from a bad heart do all they can to make
their children miserable; who point out with pride in the misery of a
child, that things have come just as they said they would; who so act as
to make us wonder that a trace of natural affection should be left in
their children's heart. I shall not dwell on a subject so miserable, save to
remind you that our heavenly Father has anticipated such a case —
"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have
compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not
forget thee!"
4. And now the last matter I shall name, as to which our heavenly
Father excels the best earthly one, is that He is always near. Always
within hearing; always within reach; never leaving, never forsaking;
Father of the fatherless, Friend of the friendless; yea, "When father and
mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up!" O Father of
mercies, remember this word unto Thy servants, upon which Thou hast
caused us to hope!
(A. K. H. Boyd, D. D.)

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(13) How much more shall your heavenly Father . . .?—We note a
change here also, the one highest gift of the “Holy Spirit” taking the
place of the wider and less definite “good things” in Matthew 7:11. The
variation is significant, as belonging to a later stage of our Lord’s
teaching, and especially as spoken probably to some of the Seventy, who
were thus taught to ask boldly for the Spirit which was to make them in
very deed a company of prophets. (See Note on Luke 10:1.)
Benson Commentary
Luke 11:13. If ye then, being evil — If ye, who are, at least,
comparatively evil, and perhaps inclined to a penurious and morose
temper, yet know how to give good gifts to your children — And find
your hearts disposed to relieve their returning necessities, by a variety
of daily provisions; — if earthly parents, though evil, be yet so kind; if
they, though weak, be yet so knowing, that they give with discretion,
give what is best, in the best manner and time; much more shall your
heavenly Father — Who has wrought these dispositions in you, and who
infinitely excels the fathers of our flesh, as in power, so also in wisdom
and goodness, be ready to bestow every necessary good, and even to give
the best and most excellent gift of all, his Holy Spirit, to them that
sincerely and earnestly ask him; a gift, inclusive of, or followed by, all
the good things we ought to pray for; more than which, with its effects
and consequences, we do not need, to make us wise, holy, happy, and
useful; the Holy Spirit being the source of spiritual life to and in us here,
and the earnest of eternal life hereafter; a gift which, therefore, it
concerns us all earnestly, constantly, and perseveringly to pray for.
Observe well, then, reader, both that it is our indispensable duty to ask
this gift, and that we have all possible encouragement to believe that, if
we ask aright, we shall not ask in vain. For as certainly as God’s power

enables him, so certainly does his goodness incline him, and his promise
bind him, to give it, and that to all those that ask as they are here
directed.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
11:5-13 Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must
come for what we need, as a man does to his neighbour or friend, who is
kind to him. We must come for bread; for that which is needful. If God
does not answer our prayers speedily, yet he will in due time, if we
continue to pray. Observe what to pray for; we must ask for the Holy
Spirit, not only as necessary in order to our praying well, but as all
spiritual blessings are included in that one. For by the influences of the
Holy Spirit we are brought to know God and ourselves, to repent,
believe in, and love Christ, and so are made comfortable in this world,
and meet for happiness in the next. All these blessings our heavenly
Father is more ready to bestow on every one that asks for them, than an
indulgent parent is to give food to a hungry child. And this is the
advantage of the prayer of faith, that it quiets and establishes the heart
in God.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
"A scorpion" See the notes at Luke 10:19. Dr. Thomson (The Land and
the Book, vol. i. p. 379) says: "There is no imaginable likeness between
an egg and the ordinary black scorpion of this country, neither in color
nor size, nor, when the tail is extended, in shape; but old writers speak
of a "white" scorpion, and such a one, with the tail folded up, as in
specimens of fossil trilobites, would not look unlike a small egg. Perhaps
the contrast, however, refers only to the different properties of the egg
and the scorpion, which is sufficiently emphatic."
Pliny ("N. H.," xi. 25) says that in Judea the scorpions are about the size
of an egg, and not unlike one in shape.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13. the Holy Spirit—in Matthew (Mt 7:11), "good gifts"; the former, the

Gift of gifts descending on the Church through Christ, and
comprehending the latter.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on "Luke 11:11"
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children,....
See Gill on Matthew 7:11.
How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them
that ask him? instead of the Holy Spirit here, the Vulgate Latin version
reads, "good Spirit", and so two copies of Beza's; and the Ethiopic
version, "the good gift of the Holy Spirit"; and doubtless intends the
gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, in distinction from, and as preferable
to the good things given by earthly parents, to their children.
Geneva Study Bible
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children:
how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them
that ask him?
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 11:13. [Πόσ μ λλον, how much more) Since the readiness inῳ ᾶ
freely giving is so great on the part of GOD: how great, I ask, must be
thought to be the torpor which lurks beneath on the part of men, even
though offering prayer, seeing that so few things are obtained by
prayer!—V. g.]— Πατ ρ ξ ο ρανο , the Father who is of heaven)ὁ ὴ ὁ ἐ ὐ ῦ
who is supremely good.—Πνε μα γιον,[107] the Holy Spirit) the bestῦ Ἅ
of all good gifts, and with it all things: ch. Luke 24:49. The Holy Spirit is
a spirit good and joyous: τ Πνε μά σου τ γαθόν, Psalm 143:10, inὸ ῦ ὸ ἀ
LXX. It is the Holy Spirit Himself that works in man the first beginning
of the desire for Himself. He is moreover more necessary to the soul

than food is to the body.
[107] The Germ. Vers. prefers the reading γαθ ν, which is consideredἀ ὸ
an inferior reading in the margin of both Editions.—E. B. AB and Rec.
Text read πνε μα γιον. Dbcd (datum), Orig. 1,213c; 3,650d. readῦ ἅ
γαθ ν δόμα. L and Vulg. read πνε μα γαθόν. The λαθ ν and δόμαἀ ὸ ῦ ἀ ἀ ὸ
have both probably crept in here, through the harmonies, from
Matthew 7:11.—ED. and TRANSL.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 13. - How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him? In St. Matthew we find the last portion of
this teaching related as having taken place at a much earlier period of
the Lord's ministry. It is more than probable that much of Jesus
Christ's general instruction was repeated on more than one occasion.
There is an important difference between the words reported by the two
evangelists. St. Matthew, instead of the "Holy Spirit," has the more
general expression, "good things." In both accounts, however, is the
Master's assurance that prayer, if persisted in, would ever be heard and
granted, and there is the all-important limitation that the thing prayed
for must be something" good" in the eyes of the heavenly Father. How
many requests are made by us, poor, shortsighted, often selfish men,
which, if granted, would be harmful rather than a blessing to the asker!
Here the Lord, the Reader of hearts, having taken notice of some of the
deep earnest longings, perhaps scarcely crystallized into prayer, of his
own disciples, of a John or a James, pictures the case of one who
deserves a special deepening of the spiritual life, and prays some prayer
for the presence of the Holy Spirit. Such a prayer, says Christ, must be
granted.
Vincent's Word Studies

Luke 11:11-13 ASKING FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish,
will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for
an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then,
though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to
your children, how much more will your Father in
heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask
him!"
The point is, the Holy Spirit is available to all
God's children who will ask for Him. He is a gift
the Father is willing to give for whatever need His
children have, Many needs can only be met by the
power and leading of the Holy Spirit. It is our
responsibility to ask our heavenly Father for this
gift instead of trying to do everything in our own
power. He is our Helper, and we need to humbly
accept His help rather than being independent
and self-sufficient.
JACK HYLES
ASKING FOR THE SPIRIT

Luke 11:8, 13, "I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him,
because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and
give him as many as he needeth. If ye then, being evil, know how to give
good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your Heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?"
When a middle-easterner received guests into his home, it was the
custom to set food before them. If the first thirteen verses of Luke 11, we
have a guest arriving at midnight. The embarrassed host had no bread
to feet him so he went to his friend at midnight and ask him if he would
let him borrow three loaves of bread. The friend and his family were all
asleep; consequently, he refused to be bothered. The embarrassed host,
however, was unwilling to take "no" for an answer and continued to
plead for bread. Though his friend would not give him the bread simply
because of their friendship, verse 8 reveals that he did give him bread
because of his importunity. The word "importunity" means "much
begging." What he could not get just because of friendship, he could get
by continuing to beg. Verse 13 teaches us that this represents the
Christian begging for the power of the Holy Spirit. "If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more
shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?"
Note the work "ask" in verse 13. This is durative action. It means
"continue to ask."
Notice verses 9 and 10, "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given
you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. For
every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him
that knocketh it shall be opened." The words "ask," "seek," and
"knock" are also durative action, which means that we are continually
to ask for the power of the Holy Spirit!
Some would say that the power of the Holy Spirit is obtained as
salvation is obtained, simply by faith. There is a basic truth that needs
to be examined concerning which of the workings of the Holy Spirit are
obtained instantaneously by faith and which are obtained by sincere
supplication. The answer is determined by whether a certain work of

the Spirit is TO us and FOR us or whether it is His working
THROUGH us FOR others. Those works of His that are primarily FOR
us such as salvation are given to us in response to our faith. However,
when the Holy Spirit decides to work THROUGH us and to let us
become partners with Him in working for others, it is a different
matter! For these things He insists upon such sincerity that we
demonstrate to Him our intense desire by paying a higher price than
that of faith only.
If a person would come to the First Baptist Church of Hammond to be
ministered TO, he simply walks in and we minister to him. If that same
person is being considered for a staff position whereby he MINISTERS
TO OTHERS, we would take extra care by investigating his past
record; we would want references concerning his credit, his service for
God, his character, etc. When we minister TO him, he simply presents
himself; when we minister WITH him, he must pay a price and be the
object of our intense scrutiny. When the Holy Spirit ministers TO us (as
in salvation) we must simply come to Him in faith. When He ministers
TO us by teaching the Word, by leading us, by comforting us, etc., we
simply come to Him by faith. If, however, we would desire to be used as
an instrument OF His, there is a price that we must pay. This price, of
course, includes personal separation and purity. It includes, among
other things, a complete surrender to Christ. It also includes
supplication, or begging for His power.
It is one thing for a son to ask his dad to drive him somewhere in the
family car; it is another thing for that son to ask to USE the family car!
In the model prayer, known as the Lord's Prayer, there are several
things for which e are to ask. First, we are to ask for daily bread. The
very fact that it is DAILY bread teaches that we simply ask for it and
receive it. Then there is the prayer for forgiveness. God offers
forgiveness to us by sincere request in faith. Then, we are to ask
protection from temptation and deliverance from evil. This is received
in response to our earnest request.

The lesson on prayer, however, does not end there with Luke 14:1-4. It
goes on to the discussion of the aforementioned host who was
embarrassed because he had no bread when his friend came to him at
midnight. When one receives bread for himself, he may simply ask his
father. When he works in the bakery, he must pay a great price of
cleanliness, purity and supplication. God will not allow us to enter into
His very work and He will not impart to us the fulness off His Holy
Spirit for the winning of others until we have proved our purity and our
sincerity.
When our son David was a teenager he could receive his food at the
table by simply saying, "Dad, pass the meat, please. Pass the bread,
please." One day, however, he said to me, "dad, could I have $20? I
want to take my girlfriend out and buy her a steak." Now he got the
$20, but not as easily as he got the meat and bread when he said, "Pass
the food."
I said, "Twenty dollars? What are you going to do-buy that girlfriend a
cow?" He said, "Oh, come on, Dad. This is something special. Please let
me have $20 so I can take my girlfriend out to eat and buy a steak." I
said, "When are you going? Where are you going? Why are you going?
With whom are you going???" I then replied, "I've got to think about
this, son." He kept begging and kept on pleading. Finally I realized how
important it was to him, and I gave him the $20. It was simple for him
to get bread for himself, but when I gave him that which he needed to
feed another, it was another matter.
When we employ somebody to work on the staff of the First Baptist
Church of Hammond, he is required to be clean. He is required to be
faithful. He must share our beliefs. He must convince me of his intense
desire to work with me and for me.
When God employs someone to work in His work, He also requires that
one be clean, that he be faithful, that he agree with the true doctrines of
the faith and that he be in agreement with what God has written in His
book.

This is why yielding and praying for His power is constantly necessary.
When the Holy Spirit was ministering TO you, He did it in response to
your simple faith. When He ministers WITH you, He requires that you
pay a great price in your personal life in your supplication.
HURT
Luke 11:11 "Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will
not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?
KJV Luke 11:11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give
him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? (Dark blue not
in most modern manuscripts, but in the Textus Receptus used for translating the
KJV).
one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish Isa 49:15; Mt 7:9
Luke 11 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 11:11-13 God's Generous Response to Boldness in Prayer - John MacArthur
Matthew's version
“Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a
stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? (Mt 7:9-10)
Luke 11:11-13 invokes a lesser (giving by earthly fathers to their sons when they
ask) to a greater (giving by our heavenly father when we ask) argument. Since Lk
11:11-12 are true for earthly fathers, how much more true for our heavenly Father.
Brian Bell says "Now, I do have one friend who put his glass eye in his son’s cereal
bowl!" No father is going to give a small child a sharp knife or a loaded gun, no
matter how much the child begs. No mother is going to give her pre-teen the keys to
the car for a joyride, or her toddler freedom to pay in the medicine cabinet. Thus,
God will not put some things in our hands, until he 1st prepares our hearts. Our
heavenly Father knows how to give far better than we know how to ask! We might
think, “I asked God for something, & He did not give it to me.” We should rather
say, “I wanted something I did not need, so my Father knew best not to give it to
me.” (Luke:11:5-13 Someone’s Knocking at the Door)

Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish - Children naturally
ask their fathers for what they need (and in America too often more than they need).
And why do they ask? They know their fathers love them, having experienced their
care in many ways. And so they have confidence to petition their papa's!
He will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? - Clearly the answer is "No!"
No father would give his son something that would at best mock his request or at
worst would even harm him.
MacArthur - The obvious answer to Christ’s questions is no, because of the
principle that fathers take care of their children and meet their needs. Knowing
their heavenly Father’s care for them and commitment to meet their needs, believers
can confidently ask Him for all that they need. Unlike the false gods of pagan
religions, God is loving, approachable, and generous. (MacArthur New Testament
Commentary)
If your child asks for a stone or a snake, will you give it to him? No, no matter how
much he begs. Children often ask for foolish things, which are withheld. The same is
true with our heavenly Father. As ignorant, willful children we often ask for things
that to us seem like fish or bread but which God knows will have the effect
(figuratively of course) of a stone or a snake in our lives. Our Heavenly Father says
no, not because He hates us but because he loves us. God's "No" is a sure sign of His
wisdom and His love for us. If a five-year-old asks to play with a sharp knife, most
reasonable fathers would respond with a definitive "No" and even let him cry and
pout. His tears only show his immaturity. And frankly, if the father does give him
the knife, it shows he doesn't really love him at all. In the same way, as God's
children, believers often ask for things that might bring us harm, including even
things we think are good, like a new job, a better salary, a new house, etc. But God
Who Alone knows the beginning from the end, sees through to the end and knows
that what we have asked for would harm us more than help us. So in His omniscient,
loving wisdom He says "No".
Spurgeon - The point is, not only that God gives, but that He knows how to give. If
He were always to give according to our prayers, it might be very injurious to us. He
might give us that with which we could do hurt, as when a father should put a stone
into a boy's hand; or he might give us that which might do us hurt, as if a father
were to give his child a serpent. He will do neither of these things; but He will
answer us in discretion, and with prudence will He fulfill our desires. You know how
to give to your children; How much more shall your infinitely-wise Father, Who
from heaven sees all the surroundings of men, give good things to them that ask

THE HOLY SPIRIT: A PROMISED GIFT

THE HOLY SPIRIT: A PROMISED GIFT

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