THE HOLY SPIRIT - HIS PERSON AND PURPOSE

THE HOLY SPIRIT - HIS PERSON AND PURPOSE John 16:5-15 June 11, 2000 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] In the beginning, He was there. The first two verses of the Bible tell us so. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 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. There he was, in the primordial morning, existing before anything in creation existed in any recognizable form. Of course He was there. He was God. More specifically, He is one of the Persons of the Godhead-the only God who is one and is three. And what is the Spirit of God doing as the pages of pre-history are opened? What He always does-something mysterious, something wonderful, something we don't understand at all, but which we always benefit from. There in the early dawn of the creation he is"hovering over the waters." Whatever that means-everyone guesses, but no one has a clue. And He continues to serve as the creation continues, being called upon in His special agency to bring order (which we call creation) to the chaos (which we call nothingness). And on the most royal day of creation the Friday of God's week of speaking things into existence-on that most important, crowning day of that most important week-Father, Son and Spirit conferred with one another and said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule. Man is made, God warns, man sins, the creation suffers, as do man, woman and their seed-everything changes during that dark transitional period we call the Fall. Sin begins to reign, man is driven from the perfect garden, cursed to live beneath his original privilege. And we are still living by the proverbial sweat of our brow. But something else happened in that transition-Jesus and the Spirit of God went almost into hiding. Not much of is heard directly from them, biblically speaking; they're not gone for good, of course. And they make their appearances throughout history, particularly among the chosen people. Angelic appearances where suddenly the Son of God is recognized, sudden fillings of the Holy Spirit for patriarchs, judges and high priests on occasion. But for the most part, Old Testament history doesn't really highlight God's Son or God's Spirit. But these two persons of the Trinity are remembered, and their arrival on earth is predicted many times. In fact, much is made of the futuristic forecast of their arrival and the cosmic, history-changing difference it will make. There is no way a reader of the Old Testament could overlook the prophecies of the coming Messiah, but God added the almost inconceivable twist. The Messiah would be He, His Son, His own person humanly incarnated! The Son, the Creator, the One by whom and for whom all things were created, the One by whose word all things cohere-He was coming. He Himself would be the anointed One, who would first suffer and die as the Spiritual Deliverer and Suffering Servant of Israel, but then would return as reigning King of kings and Lord of lords. But what of the Holy Spirit? He, too, was prophesied to enter the realm of humanity. The prophets said clearly that God would put a new Spirit into those who would obey Him, that He would, in fact, pour out His Spirit on all flesh. The arrival of the Holy Spirit would be the mark of God's new covenant with men and women; His arrival would signify that God was now living among His people. Here again, God was about to bring a thrilling twist into the plot of the ages. God was not only going to complete His promise to "pour out" His Spirit on people; He was actually going to send His Spirit to come and live within them! This would be His crowning act of salvation history! And this was His plan all along. No wonder He said He could not live in Temples-He was planning to live in human hearts. No wonder He prophesied He would take away the hearts of stone from among His people and give them tender hearts of flesh; He said, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. (Ezekiel 36:26). His plan all along was to redeem for Himself a people whose hearts were to love and serve Him, and He would come and live within them, by His own Holy Spirit! And those beloved and redeemed people would know the tender nearness of God in ways those before them could only dream of. They could experience things that no eye had seen nor ear heard, and no mind had conceived (check out 1 Corinthians 2 again-that great passage is not about heaven, but about those who are experiencing the presence and revelation of the Spirit). They would have instant and direct help from God-comfort in their troubles, peace in the midst of anxiety, power and gifts for ministry, immediate help when they couldn't even pray, a realm of spiritual communion with God unheard of before the Spirit's arrival, assurance when doubting, direction in living for Jesus, a down payment of heaven, a guarantee of all that is yet to come. NOT TO MENTION-THE VERY PRESENCE OF GOD WITHIN THEM! Near the end of one of the most painful and difficult lessons Jesus ever shared with His disciples, Jesus announces how and when this awesome plan is going to be fulfilled for them and those who believe in Him through their message. The difficulty of this teaching in John 14-16 (often called the "Upper Room Discourse") is that this is the occasion when Jesus will make it clear to the disciples that He is going to die, then rise, but shortly thereafter, be taken from them to return to the Father. Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment; in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all 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. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. What a mouthful! There is so much key information in this short passage concerning the Holy Spirit that I considered this a great passage to begin our three-part study of the Spirit. So let's take the remainder of our time this morning and glean from this passage some vital insights about the Holy Spirit. He is personal Along with the references to the Holy Spirit, John uses pronouns and articles which are masculine and singular, thus referring clearly to the personal nature of the Spirit of God in the believer. The term that is translated in the NIV as "Counselor" and the KJV as "Comforter" is the Greek word PARAKLETOS, or, transliterated, "Paraclete." PARACLETOS was an ancient warrior's term. Greek soldiers went into battle in pairs so when the enemy attacked, they could draw together back-to-back, covering each other's blind side. One's battle partner was his paraclete. The Lord knew that we would be living in hostile territory among unbelievers, and that we could not fight the battles alone. We have a paraclete living within us who is the very presence of God, and who by Jesus' promise, never leaves us or forsakes us. The Bible also teaches that the Holy Spirit can be grieved and His influence can be quenched by careless and sinful behavior even in the life of one whom He indwells. You can sin against Him, and you can lie to Him like Ananias and Sapphira did. That's a personal Spirit living in us who can be grieved and lied to, and He wishes to establish with you and ongoing and growing personal relationship. He is divine The Spirit is God. He stands as one of the three persons of the one God, and He is divine. Never mind the cult teachers who split hairs and reconstruct scriptures to their liking, a simple reading of the entire Bible leaves the clear understanding that Father, Son and Spirit are deity, God. You may pick up a copy of a biblical study sheet on the back table (or write and request one). It is a good solid teaching on the trinity. One example begs to be cited. We just mentioned the story about Ananias and Sapphira the two hapless people who lied to the apostles about the gift they said they brought to them so they could inappropriately receive credit for something they really didn't do. In the same breath the apostle Peter says, Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit? And he then says, You have not lied to men but to God! He is the personal presence of God within the believers Jesus clearly implied that the HS would be a superior presence for disciples than even He. Jesus was time and space limited-the Spirit would be in all believers everywhere and at all times. Jesus even said that because of the Spirit the believers would do "greater works" than He did! (John 14:12) Jesus was referring to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who trust Him. If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be IN you! (John 14:15-17) He is the administrator of truth for the believers For the earliest disciples of Jesus this was very important. How were they going to go out and minister in His name and try to remember everything He taught? Have you ever been in a teaching or a workshop that was so great that you forgot to take notes? Then you thought as the program closed, "Oh, how am I ever going to remember all this to share it with those who couldn't be here?" What do you do? BUY THE TAPES-then you take them home and never listen to them, right? The disciples who were listening to Jesus' upper room discourse couldn't buy the tapes, and they certainly were not able to remember all that Jesus had taught them in the nearly three years He had been with them. How were they going to know all this truth so they could teach it? How would they be able to write the gospels? Jesus said that when the Spirit came to them (He calls Him the Spirit of truth several times in scripture) He would bring to mind all they would need. He said the Spirit would "lead them into all truth." In that way they would be delivered from error and false teaching. Did you know He serves that same function in your life as a believer? He is your protector against error, and He is your primary guide into truth. Have you ever feared that you might be hoodwinked by the Antichrist? Have you ever been worried about being duped by false teachers? Here is what 1 John 2:20 says, just after reminding the believers that antichrists have come into the world (which was apparently a scary thought for them as well as for you!): But you have an anointing from the Holy One and all of you know the truth. That passage refers to the Holy Spirit whom God places in every true believer in Jesus-and He protects them from error, and leads them into truth, using the Word, the people in the body of Christ (their gifts and wisdom) and His still small voice speaking to their hearts. Remember also 2 Corinthians 1:21: Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Here is the point of today's teaching: to remind you who are Christians that you have within you, living and thriving within you, the Holy Spirit of God. He is personal, divine, He is the very presence of God in your life and He leads you into truth. It is by the Spirit that we know the mind of God; it is by the Spirit we are led into deeper fellowship with God; it is by the Spirit we are empowered to work for the Lord in His strength. How do we receive the Holy Spirit, and how do we grow in Him? How do we release in and through our lives more and more of His influence and power? How does He become more of a comforter, gift-giver, power for evangelism, source of wisdom, more of a reassurance that we are the children of God, more of a secret intercessor in spirit prayer, more of a fruit-bearer, seal and deposit of our salvation, anointing of truth and felt presence of God? I hope to deal with these issues in the next two weeks, but I want to introduce the answer to these questions today and reinforce it in the coming weeks. The Holy Spirit arrives in the believer and He thrives in the believer in TWO DISTINCT WAYS: 1. When we pursue Him. That is, when we ask Him to come to us, speak to us, work through us, lead us, reassure us. Also part of this answer-when we let Him. 2. The second way the Spirit arrives in us and/or thrives in us is when God sends Him to us by His own sovereign will. In the first case, we are commanded to continually be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). The New Testament teaches that the Holy Spirit is given to "those who obey Him" (Acts 5:32). We are taught in the New Testament that we may ask the Holy Spirit who is the sovereign giver of spiritual gifts to give us gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31; 14:1). We are taught that when we determine to live by the Spirit and not gratify the desires of the flesh, we will bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. And we are instructed in the Word how not to grieve, lie to, blaspheme or quench the Spirit. In other words, much of how we receive and are filled with the Holy Spirit has to do with our devotion to God, our obedience and how hard we determine to pursue Him. But there is a second way in which the Spirit arrives and thrives in the believer. I this when God simply decides to overwhelm you with Him, for whatever reasons, in whatever way, at whatever time, just because He wants to. It is nothing you do, it is not because you're good enough or because you did just the right things. It is just because of the sovereign will of God. Such is the case when sudden revival breaks out in the Lord's church in some area. People often argue that it was because people were praying extra fervently-and that may be true. But the history of revivalism has taught us one thing for sure-you just never know who, when or how revival will hit! And I have known people who have prayed fervently with fasting for a long time seeking the Lord to visit them revival and powerful demonstrations of the Holy Spirit-and it never happened. And there are numerous accounts where the Holy Spirit began to overwhelm and work miracles among people who, by anyone's standards, were neither living holy lives, nor seeking the Lord's presence. I've spoken at length with people who describe experiences they have had in the Holy Spirit that they never expected. Many testify that God brought them a visitation and a very special experience of Himself when they least expected it. Others describe their experience like the biblical encounter of a baptism in the Holy Spirit, because they felt totally overwhelmed by God, or they experienced supernatural empowering, or received spiritual gifts or healing at the same time. And every one of the encounters is different and unique. But the one thing that these power encounters have in common is this: God does it and the people themselves have nothing to do with it. They may be asking God for a special visitation-or they may not be. They may be expecting it in faith-or not. While we may organize our thoughts into neat little bytes of information for processing, God's ways will never be figured out. He is not like that. But there is one thing which always pleases God-a believer who seeks to be filled with the Holy Spirit at all times, ready to grow and ready to serve Him. However He decides to bless that servant, He will do it. If you then who 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? (Luke 11:13)         [Back to Top]