Who Is The Holy Spirit
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Who is the Holy Spirit and What is he responsible for, what does He do?
Who is the Holy Spirit and What is he responsible for, what does He do?
Law of First Mention…to get a proper understanding of what a particular topic or doctrine means in Scripture, we have to go to it’s first occurance, it’s simplest form, the fundamental rule of what we understand the doctrine or topic to mean, and it carries this meaning with it throughout Scripture.
Today we are going to get a google earth view of scripture. We are not going to just focus on one particular passage and tear it apart, but we are going to define the Spirit and His roles from the entirety of Scripture, starting with Genesis and going all the way to Revelation.
He is God Himself: Genesis 1:1-2
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
So the very first instance in which we encounter the Holy Spirit is his role in creation. There he is hovering over the depths, waiting to intervene, waiting to do something new. I don’t know why but I get this vision in my head about a helicopter Mom. You know the one, the one who is watching over her child anticipating the moment she has to rush in and save the day, anticipating her next move…
But here is the Spirit of God, in the very beginning of the Word, and he was the agent of creation.
God the Father, spoke through his Word, Jesus and the Spirit made it happen.
What does He do?
He brings creativity, He brings newness
When the Spirit comes and moves, something new happens: new minitries begin, new songs are written, new paintings are painted. Creativity and newness are the marks of the Holy Spirit. I mean just look at the how God spoke and creation came into being!
He breaths life! Genesis 1:26 “Let us make man in our image”
Genesis 2:7 “Then the Lord God formed a man[c] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
Where the Spirit of God is there is life. AND YOU CAN SEE IT. You know when the Spirit of God is presence within someone. You can feel it when He is alive and active in a church. The breath of life is there. There are not just cold dead eyes with cold dead religion, there is a breath of life, newness and creativity.
The Holy Spirit empowers people for ministry.
- In the OT this happened to particular people at particular times for particular purposes.
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.
Bezalel
Judges 6:14-15 ; 34 Gideon
14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” 15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
34 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.
Judges 15:14 Samson
14 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands.
He empowered the prophets to speak through them. (slide)
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
But as we get closer to the NT, we see an increase in the Spirit’s activity, especially right before the Birth of Christ, it seems like everyone is getting filled with the Spirit… like something major is going to happen. Something new and creative, something this world has never seen before.
THIS IS BECAUSE:
God promised us unbridled access to the Holy Spirit. (slide)
- Ezekiel 36:26
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
- Joel 2:28-29
28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
So once we get to the NT, we see this explosion of people getting filled with the Holy Spirit. Let’s check it out.
Turn with me to Luke 1
15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
:15- John the baptist, who would go on to proclaim the messiah was coming
:35- Mary
:41- Elizabeth
:67- Zechariah
Once John started his ministry proclaiming the coming of the Messiah, he went on to say, in Luke 3:16 “John answered them all, “I baptize you with[b] water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire.”
And that’s exactly what Jesus promised his disciples, that they would have unbridled access to the Holy Spirit. the spirit of life, creativity and newness.
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit (slide)
John 14:26- The Advocate will teach you all things, and remind us of what Jesus has said to us.
John 15:26- The Advocate will testify about Jesus. This is why there are Muslims coming to faith in Christ because they are dreaming about him and seeking out Christians to tell them about the Jesus they see in their dreams.
This is why many of you have had differing experiences where you have felt the very presence of God even though you might never have known why…
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
The Spirit will Glorify Christ!
Luke 24:49- Jesus tells his followers to wait, to tarry in Jerusalem until they receive the promised Holy Spirit. Jesus said this, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Jesus Breathed out the Spirit on the Disciples.
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
And once we proclaim Christ as our Savior, as our Lord then we will receive the Spirit of God within our souls.
The Promised Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost.
So then we get to the book of Acts and we see the fruition, completion and answer to the promise. The DAY OF PENTECOST.
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Peter argues that this is the fulfillment of the prophesy in Joel that…
In the last days, God’s Spirit will bee poured out on all is children.
Regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, or status, on all his children
He will do something new, bring creativity, bring life
He will testify of Jesus
He will witness to Jesus
He will teach us
He will empower us
Next week we are going to be talking about being filled with the Spirit, but I want to ask you this question today.
If you life isn’t marked by newness, creativity and life, then do you know Jesus?
Peter’s answer was this…
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
And I told you we would be finishing with the last chapter of the last book of the bible today, and this is what it says…
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
If you are thirsty and want to experience a life marked by the presence of God himself then I want you to take a step of faith today and
Come. The Spirit and the Bride say “Come”