Holy Spirit

Themes in the Story of the Bible

Important One, Sometimes Complicated One:

The Holy Spirit

We See the Holy Spirit from New Creation to Renewed Creation

Who/What is the Holy Spirit?

What Does He Do?

Is He Important to Christians Today?

Hebrew = rûaḥ - Greek = pneuma

“Spirit”

“Wind”

“Breath”

The Spirit is the Invisible, Powerful Force Who Does the Will of God…

And Who Empowers Others to Do the Will of God

Like the Wind is an Invisible Force of Great Power

Like Breath, When Taken into Our Bodies Empowers Us to Live

Genesis 1:2 (NASB95)

The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

In the Beginning of God’s Creation, the Earth was a “Dark, Empty Wasteland”

No Light, No Order, No Life

Only Darkness, Chaos, and Lifelessness

But Then We See the Spirit Moving Over the Waters

Then Light, Order, and Life Begin to Appear

The Spirit has Always Been in the Business of:

Creating Light/Good Where There was Darkness/Bad

Bringing Order Where There was Chaos

Bringing Life to Lifeless Places

Examples:

He would Often Empower Chosen People…

To Bring Light/Goodness and Order…

Into Dark/Wicked and Chaotic Places/Times

Judges, David, Prophets

Mary had a Lifeless/Barren Womb

The Holy Spirit Put Life in Her Womb and She had Jesus

We could Go on and on

In Short, The Holy Spirit is an Active, Powerful Force…

Whose Primary Goal is to Bring About God’s Will

In the Adult Class, I Did an In-Depth Study on the Holy Spirit…

And it Lasted From May - November

We’ve Got Like 30 Minutes in Here…

So I Just Want to Cover Some Important Points for Us Today

Matthew 3:16–17 (NAS)

After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

In Creation, the Spirit of God Hovered Over the Water

In New Creation After the Flood, the Spirit of God Moved Over the Water

Now, in Jesus’ Baptism, the Spirit of God is Descending Upon Him While He’s in the Water

Jesus is the First of the New Creation that We All Begin to Become in Baptism

Throughout the OT…

The Holy Spirit would Come Upon People…

To Signify the Beginning of Their Mission From God

This is What We See in Jesus

He is Anointed as the Son of God/Messianic King By the Holy Spirit…

And He is Immediately Going to Begin His Mission and Ministry

We Often Think of Baptism as Simply Washing Our Sins a Way

That’s an Important Part of it, But Not the Only Important Part

Just Like Jesus, We Receive the Holy Spirit at Baptism

And Just Like Jesus, His Presence in Us…

Signifies the Beginning of Our Mission/Ministry as a Christian

Acts 2:38 (NASB95)

38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit Living Within Us Means a Lot of Things:

He Empowers Us to Live Obediently to God

He Doesn’t Make Us, He Helps Us

He Produces Fruit Within Us

Galatians 5:22–23 (NASB95)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

If Our Focus/Desire is to Please God…

The Holy Spirit Helps Us to Do So

We are Adopted into God’s Family

Galatians 4:1-7 Talks About that

We are Anointed By God

We are Sealed By God

The Spirit is Our Pledge

2 Corinthians 1:21–22 (NASB95)

21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God,22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

To Be Anointed is to Be Specially Chosen for a Purpose

We are Anointed with the Spirit at Baptism

We Become God’s Specially Chosen People to Do His Will

We are Also Sealed with the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 1:13–14 (NASB95)

13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Seals in the Ancient World Represented Ownership, Authority, and Protection

When We are Sealed By God with the Holy Spirit…

God is Placing His Ownership, Authority, and Protection Over Us

As Long as We Remain Faithful to God…

His Holy Spirit will Continue to Live in Us

Which Means His Ownership, Authority, Spiritual Protection Remain with Us

“Pledge” is a Partial Payment in Advance, a Down Payment

It’s the First Installment as a Promise of More to Come

The Holy Spirit is Given to Us as a “Pledge of Our Inheritance”

What is Our Inheritance?

Resurrection to Eternal Life

The Holy Spirit Who Lives Within Us…

Is God’s Down Payment on Our Full Inheritance

He is the First Installment of New Creation

He Renews Us Inwardly

He Cleanses, Transforms, and Renews Our Spirits

But Inward Renewal is Only the First Installment

We Still Await the Full Payment of Our Full Inheritance

This is When the Holy Spirit, Who Lives Within Our Bodies…

Will Resurrect Our Bodies to Be Glorious, Incorruptible, Immortal Bodies

Romans 8:11 (NASB95)

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Just as the Spirit Raised Jesus’ Body From the Dead

He Will Also Raise Our Bodies From the Dead

He Will Transform Our Mortal Bodies into Immortal Bodies

Just as Jesus Now Has a Body Empowered and Animated By the Life-Giving Spirit…

So Will We Who Currently Have the Spirit Living Within Us in this Life

This is One of the Most Important Aspects of the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

Without the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit…

We Can’t Experience the Resurrection to Eternal Life

At Our Baptism, We Received the Holy Spirit and He Gave Our Spirits Life

He Purified and Prepared Our Spirits for the Age to Come

But We Still Wait for the Day When He Will Do the Same for Our Bodies

That is Why Baptism into Jesus is So Important

There We Receive the Spirit Who Renews Our Spirit Now…

And in the Future Will Resurrect Our Bodies

The Holy Spirit has Always Brought:

Light, Order, Life…

Into Dark, Chaotic, Lifeless Places

This is What He Does for Us

He Helps Us to Live Obediently…

By Changing Our Dark Hearts and Renewing Our Broken Spirits

He Anoints Us for Our Purpose

He Seals Us Under God’s Ownership, Authority, Protection

He is Our Pledge of Resurrection to Eternal Life

There’s Probably a Lot More that could Be Said

But the Main Point is:

We Need the Holy Spirit