Who is Holy Spirit? (2)

Intro

Invisible, perhaps, but real. The Holy Spirit is probably the least understood person of the Trinity.

Among the myths and the mistaken concepts that are shared, He has been described as a force, a ghost, and a second-class or replacement god.

He is confused with the manifestations themselves, and has even been presented as an incidental figure that appears momentarily.

Nothing could be further from the truth. It is vital for the church to know the Spirit, learn to relate to Him, and understand how He manifests Himself.

5 things we need to know about Holy Spirit

1. Holy Spirit is a person.

A. Being a person, the Holy Spirit has feelings.

He can become sad or angry, and others can insult Him and blaspheme against Him

Isaiah 63:10 NASB95

But they rebelled And grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.

Acts 7:51 NASB95

“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.

Ephesians 4:30 NASB95

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Matthew 12:31 NASB95

“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

Hebrews 10:29 NASB95

How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

B. He has intentions, shows willfulness and discretion, loves, communicates, testifies, teaches, and prays

These are qualities that distinguish Him as a person.

Nehemiah 9:20 NASB95

“You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth, And You gave them water for their thirst.

John 15:26 NASB95

“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,

Acts 13:2 NASB95

While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Romans 8:26–27 NASB95

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Romans 15:30 NASB95

Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,

1 Corinthians 12:11 NASB95

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

2. Holy Spirit is Eternal

Holy Spirit was around at the beginning of creation

Genesis 1:1–2 NASB95

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 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.

Holy Spirit is evident throughout the Old Testament

Isaiah 59:21 NASB95

“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”

Genesis 6:3 NASB95

Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

Holy Spirit was present during each stage of Christ’s life.

Conception

Luke 1:35 NASB95

The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

Baptism

Later on, at the baptism of Jesus, which marked the beginning of His public ministry, the Holy Spirit was present and, on this occasion, could be seen in material form.

Matthew 3:16 NASB95

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,

Ministry

During His ministry, Jesus taught about the Holy Spirit and had a relationship with Him.

Furthermore, He urged His disciples to receive Him in their lives.

Acts 1:8 NASB95

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Holy Spirit is present at the End of the World

Revelation 22:17 NASB95

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

3. Holy Spirit works in the lives of believers.

Jesus put a lot of emphasis on the Holy Spirit. He was the subject of intense prayer:

Helper

John 14:16–17 NASB95

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

The Lord mentions two points: the Holy Spirit was already real and He was about to come and fill His disciples

At that time, the Spirit dwelled with the disciples, but they lacked having Him in them.

If the Spirit of God was so important to the life of Jesus, how much more so for the lives of the believers!

A gospel with no emphasis on the Holy Spirit is flat. In certain moments, when there was a special manifestation of God, the New Testament emphatically states that the partakers were filled with the Holy Spirit.

This was the experience of many:

John the Baptist was full of the Spirit in his mother’s womb (Lk 1:15)

Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, when he prophesied (Lk 1:67)

Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, was led by the same Spirit into the desert (Lk 4:1).

The disciples were filled with the Spirit in the upper room, and Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, stood up to preach on the day of Pentecost (Ac 2:14).

The young Stephen, full of the Spirit, saw the glory of God when he was stoned (Ac 7:55-56);

Paul, inspired by the Spirit, rebuked a sorcerer (Ac 13:9-11).

Without a life full of the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to build the body of Christ, and we end up limiting God’s work in our lives.

4. Holy Spirit works in the world

Referring to the Holy Spirit, Jesus affirmed in

John 16:8 NASB95

“And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;

Acts 1:7–8 NASB95

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

2 Thessalonians 2:6–7 NASB95

And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

you may feel there is alot of evil in the world now, but just imagine wht it will be like when the restrainer of evil is removed.

5. God expects us to seek the baptism (filling) of the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 5:17–18 NASB95

So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

Luke 11:13 NASB95

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Baptism is subsequent to salvation

To be clear, there is an important difference between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the filling of the Holy Spirit.

All believers in Jesus Christ have God's Spirit living within them, or dwelling within them

John 14:16 NASB95

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

Ephesians 1:13 NASB95

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,

2 Corinthians 1:22 NASB95

who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

Ephesians 4:30 NASB95

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

but not all believers live filled or controlled by the Spirit's power.

Some Christians describe this distinction by saying believers have all of the Holy Spirit but the Holy Spirit may not have all of them.

We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at the time of our salvation but we are filled by Him when we submit to Him.

Galatians 3:2 NASB95

This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

We experience salvation freely; there is no reason to relate to God differently in our experience with the Holy Spirit.

It is also a grace-based experience.

In the same way that we receive Christ without doubting whether He will enter our lives or not, we should receive the Holy Spirit by faith and believe that He will respond to our requests without delay.

Next week we will get into How you can be filled/baptised in the Holy Spirit