Understanding the Holy Spirit

John 16 vs 13-14 -Vs 13, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will tell you all things to come.” Vs 14, “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is mine and declare it to you.”

John 16 vs 13-14 -Vs 13, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will tell you all things to come.” Vs 14, “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is mine and declare it to you.”

l Acts 1 vs 8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

l Acts 2 vs 1-4 -Vs 1, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Vs 2, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” Vs 3, “Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire. Vs 4, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

The Holy Spirit

l Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is probably the least known member of the God head. There is a sad lack of knowledge about Him in the body of Christ. Reasons why we should know about Him.

l The Holy Spirit is God

As the third member of the God head, He is equal with God the Father and God the Son. It is fitting therefore, that equal reverence, respect and honour should be ascribed to Him. We should never treat Him as some inferior person. The Holy Spirit is a divine being. He is God.

l The Bible calls Him God

Acts 5 vs 3-4, “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? . . . Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.”

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l He possesses the characteristics that God alone has.

i. He has an eternal nature “..eternal spirit” {Hebrews 9 vs 14}. Psalm 139 vs 7-10, He is capable of being everywhere at one time. Vs 7, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” Vs 8, “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” Vs 9, “If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,” Vs 10, “Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.” ii. He is omnipresent (everywhere). iii. He is omniscient (all knowing).

1 Cor 2 vs 10 – 11.

(He knows all things). Vs 10, “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” Vs 11, “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” iv. He is omnipotent (all powerful). Luke 1 vs 35, “And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’” He has the power to do anything.

l The Holy Spirit is a person.

Many Christians seem to feel that the Holy Spirit is merely an impersonal power or influence. Therefore, they switch Him on and off at will. The Holy Spirit is a person who possesses great authority and power, but He is much more than the power which He possesses. A. The personal pronoun is used for Him. John 16 vs 13-14 -Vs 13, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will tell you things to come.” Vs 14, “He will glorify me, for He will take of what is mine and declare it to you.” B. He possesses the basic characteristics of personality. i. Intellect — the ability to think and reason. ii. Sensitivity — the ability to feel things. iii. Will — the capacity of choice and decision.

For example in Ephesians 4 vs 30, we are exhorted not to “grieve” the Holy Spirit. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

In Acts 5 vs 3-4, Ananias and Sapphira “lied against the Holy Spirit…” but unsuccessfully. Vs 3, “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? Vs 4, “While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control?

Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God’.”

Now a power cannot be grieved. Neither can you lie to a power. But you can do both to a person. Notice some expressions of personality attributed to the Holy Spirit.

a. He can feel, Ephesians 4 vs 30, “. . . do not grieve the Holy Spirit…” b. He can comfort, Acts 9 vs 31, “. . . walking in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.” c. He can think, Romans 8 vs 6, “spiritually minded.” d. He can speak, Acts 13 vs 2,“… the Holy Spirit said…” e. He can pray, Romans 8 vs 26, “. . . likewise the Holy Spirit helps us.” f. He can teach, John 14 vs 26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name . . .” g. He can exercise His will, 1 Cor 12 vs 11, “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” h. He can forbid, Acts 16 vs 6, “How when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.” i. He can work miracles, Acts 19 vs 6, “And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”

All these things are expressions of personality, which an impersonal power does not have.

Reasons why some people regard Him as merely a power or force

The names ascribed to Him in scripture to symbolise His ministry confuse people. He is called the: 1. Wind, 2. Rain, 3. Oil, 4. Cloud, 5. Fire, 6. Storm, 7. Clothing (mantle). These are His manifestations and not who He is.

3. This is the age of the Holy Spirit

He is the “other” comforter, who has taken the place of Jesus. John 14 vs 16, “And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever…” This present period of history is the time of the latter rain. Zechariah 10 vs 1, “Ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain. The Lord will make floating clouds, He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone.”

It’s the time of the greatest activity of the Holy Spirit that the church has ever known. Therefore we need to know as much as possible about the Holy Spirit.

Don’t miss next week’s edition of Understanding the Holy Spirit Part 2…