The Holy Spirit
A. The Personality of the Holy Spirit.
1. He is always
referred to through the use of personal pronouns, He, Him, and His.
(This fact is contrary
to the rules of Greek grammar wherein the word spirit is always neuter in
gender, not masculine) Examples – Jn.16:13-14; Ro.8:26.
2. He has a will – 1Cor.
12:11.
3. He has a mind and
He Knows – Ro.8:27; 1 Cor.2:10-11.
4. He has feelings, He
can be grieved – Eph.4:30.
B. The Deity of the Holy Spirit. (This
subject is a study unto itself; much more could be said concerning the deity of
the Holy Spirit; these few examples are but representative of some of what the
Bible has to say concerning this topic)
1. He is called “The
Spirit of God” – 1 Cor.6:11.
2. He is co-equal with
the Father and the Son – Ro.8:9-11; Acts 16:7; Mt.28:19.
3. He shares the
attributes of God – Acts 5:3-4.
a. Omniscience
– 1 Cor.2:11-12.
b.
Omnipresence – Ps.139:7.
c.
Omnipotence – Ps.104:24-30.
C. Pictures, Types and
Representations of the Holy Spirit in Scripture.
1. Breath, Wind – Jn.3:8;
Acts 2:2. Invisible yet evident; sovereign; heavenly; powerful.
2. Clothing – Lk.24:39.
– Supernatural protection and power.
3. Dove – Mat.3:16.
– Peace, holiness (innocence), purity (white) and heavenly origin.
4. Earnest, Down
Payment, Pledge – II Cor.1:22; Eph.1:14. The promise of the
coming harvest as in the feast of First fruits.
5. Fire – Acts 2:3.
The presence (Ex.3:2) and purifying power (Lev.10:2; Is.6:1-8) of
the Lord.
Fire speaks 1st
of the immediate fulfillment at Pentecost (the tongues of fire),
2nd of the ongoing sanctifying work
of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer,
and 3rd of
the coming purifying work of God’s righteous judgment at the end of the age.
6. Oil – Lk.4:18;
Acts 10:38; II Cor.1:21; 1 Jn.2:20. Anointing and the
source of light.
7. Seal – II
Cor.1:22; Eph.1:13; 4:30. Redemption, security and ownership by God.
8. Servant – Gen.24.
His job is to present the Bridegroom to the bride. Jn.16:13.
9. Water – Jn.4:14;
7:38-39. Life, abundance, cleansing and purity.
D. The Activity of the
Holy Spirit.
1. In Creation. (All
three Persons of the Holy Trinity were active in creation)
a. Gen.1:1-2 (hovered = participated
in and protected the work of creation.
Compare Deut.32:11 – same Hebrew
word)
b. Ps.104:24-30 – By Thy Spirit all
things are created.
c. Is.40:12-13 – The Spirit of the
Lord created the heavens, the earth and the seas.
2. In Revelation,
Inspiration and Illumination.
a. II Tim.3:16 – God breathed – “Theopneustos” (Spiration).
b. II Pet.1:21 – Men were “moved
along” (impelled) by the Holy Spirit.
c. Jn.14:26 – Illumination.
3. In the Old
Testament.
a. The Spirit indwelt
certain people selectively, but not all believers universally.
1) Joseph
– Gen.41:38.
2) Joshua
– Num.27:18.
3) Daniel
– Dan.1:17; 2:19-23; 4:8.
b. He came upon
people for a time and a purpose.
1) Judges
3; 9-10; 6:34; 11:29; 16:28-30.
c. He filled some
for His purpose, to accomplish a work.
1) Ex.31:3;
35:31.
4. In relation to
Jesus Christ.
a. The Holy Spirit was the Agent of the
virgin birth – Mat.1:20; Lk.1:35.
b. Jesus Christ was Anointed by the Holy Spirit – Lk.4:18; Acts
10:38; Heb.1:9.
c.
Jesus was Filled with the Spirit – Lk.4:1;
Jn.3:34.
d. Jesus was Sealed with
the Spirit – Jn.6:27.
e. Jesus was Led by
the Spirit – Lk.4:1; Jn.8:29.
f. Jesus Rejoiced in
the Spirit – Lk.10:21.
g. Jesus was Empowered by
the Spirit – Mt.12:28; Lk.4:14-15.
h. The Holy Spirit was active
in the resurrection of Christ – Ro.8:11.
E. The Work of the Holy
Spirit in the Church.
1. The Baptism:
Notice the prepositions; of, by, into and with, they are simultaneous.
a. The
Baptism of the Holy Spirit:
The baptism of the
Holy Spirit is the beginning of the Christian life. This takes place at the
moment one is born again. It is what defines a Christian.
John
3:5-7- Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is
flesh; and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee,
“Ye must be born
again.”
The second birth, the birth from above (anothen in
the Greek), is a spiritual
birth.
It takes place immediately at
conversion.
There are no visible physical
outward signs, the birth is internal.
The new birth may or may not
be accompanied by outward manifestations of the presence and power of the Holy
Spirit.
Lk.3:16 – John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I
baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not
fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit
and fire.” (The “fire” was a prophecy concerning what happened at Pentecost; in
a broader general sense it speaks of sanctification and cleansing).
Once one receives the
baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit now lives within the Christian.
The Christian’s
natural human spirit is now in a new and living, dynamic relationship with God
through union with the Spirit of God. The Christian is now alive to God and to
the things of God (in communion with God and in communication with God).
Along with the
indwelling Holy Spirit comes the power of life that can never die; He imparts
the gift of eternal life.
It is the same power
that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, because it is the same Spirit.
Ro.8:11 – 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.
The believer even
after conversion is said to be “living in a dead body”; not a zombie, but in
plain language, positionaly dead, i.e. still subject to and destined to the
physical death of the mortal body;
But alive in the
spirit (currently living in eternal life) dead and alive at the same time.
Ro.8:10 – If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of
sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
Both of these are
current truths positionaly and will become actual physical truths in the
future. The old mortal body will be done away with and a new immortal body will
be given.
1 Cor.15:53-54 – For the perishable must clothe itself with the
imperishable and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been
clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying
that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
The
Spiritual
birth, the new birth, is the occasion of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
whereby the repentant believer is born into the family of God, an act performed
by God alone.
Titus 3:5 – “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to
his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit.”
The
washing of
regeneration is the new birth. It is symbolized by the ritualistic bath of water baptism. The renewing of the Holy Ghost is the newness of life that accompanies
The
baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is the new birth into the family of God unto
eternal life.
Rom.
6:3-4 –
“Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized
into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death (portrayed by going under
the water) in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory of the Father, we too (as portrayed by the coming up out of
the water) may live a new life.”
The Baptism
of the
Holy Spirit is not a second experiential blessing.
It is in fact technically non-experiential (not experienced by the senses).
As we said, it need not be accompanied by any
supernatural outward experience. It is an inward work of God on the heart,
mind, soul and spirit of the believer. It is the exclusive work of God. We know
that it has taken place by many experiences that follow, but the baptism itself
is not based upon of derived from any experience. It is based upon what the
word of God says and on that alone.
There should be no confusion between the Baptism of the Holy Spirit,
which is an act of God and is internal, and believer’s water baptism, which is
an act of the individual and is external. The later is to demonstrate the fact
that an inward transformation, regeneration and new birth have taken place in
the spiritual.
Water baptism is initiated by and performed by
the believer and the church, in obedience to the command of the Lord (Mt.28: 19).
It is done in the flesh, in the natural world.
It does not regenerate or give new life.
Holy Spirit Baptism is initiated and performed
by God alone. It is supernatural and takes place in the spiritual realm. It
brings new life and regeneration with it.
Both the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and water baptism are the biblical norm for the
Christian. See Acts
8: 34-38 and 10: 44-48.
b. Baptism by
the Holy Spirit: 1 Cor 12:12-14 – “For by one Spirit
are we all
baptized
into one body.”
The “one body” is the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the active agent of
the Baptism. He does the baptizing. It
is universal among believers in this age. (Aorist tense)
c. Baptism into
the Holy Spirit: 1 Cor 12:13 – “and (we)
have been all made to drink into
one Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit is the unifying agent of the Baptism. He is
what makes the
body
one. It is the Spirit in each of us that connects us together. We are no longer
in the
flesh;
we are now in the Spirit Ro.8:9-10. Just as we are in
Christ Ro.8:1.
d. Baptism with
the Holy Spirit: Matt 3:11 – “I indeed baptize you with
water unto
repentance:
but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy
to
bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire.” The Holy Spirit is the
substance, as it were, of the
Baptism. The believer is immersed in His person and His
presence.
Acts
11:16 –
“but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
2. The
Anointing: The anointing of the Holy Spirit is God’s
special work of confirmation,
Illumination and empowerment for service in the Church
and in His kingdom.
a. 1 John 2:20, 27 - “But you have
an anointing
from the Holy One,
and you know all things.”
“His anointing teaches you.” This is for all Christians, all have
been
anointed.
2
Cor. 1:21 – “Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ,
and hath
anointed us, is God;”
The word stablisheth in the Greek is a very powerful word, bebaioo,
that is to say, confirmed or established.
Paul is speaking in terms of a present
experience. The word stablisheth is in the present tense, see its use in Mark 16:20
and Col.
2:7. The concept is that the Anointing of the Holy Spirit will bring with it a confirmation of
present assurance to the believer. An assurance that God’s hand is upon them
and that they are firmly established and secure as a child of God Ro.8:16.
And God will equip them for His work. The story of the anointing of David is a beautiful picture of this truth. David was anointed when he was still a youth. God
then carried him along for many years through trials and tribulations,
developing him and teaching him to depend completely upon God in all
situations. The result was that David had complete confidence in God and he
became Israel’s
greatest king, not to mention that he became the author of so many of the
beautiful Psalms.
b. The verb, translated anointed,
in the Greek is chrio. The name
Christ, Christos, “The
Anointed
One” comes from the same root. In fact, most of the references to the anointing
of
the Holy Spirit in the New Testament refer to Jesus. See Lk.4:18; Acts 4:27; 10:38; Heb.1:9.
c. Acts 1:4-8
- Just before Jesus departed in the ascension He told His disciples to wait in
Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. When
He (the Spirit) did, He would
Baptize them and “clothe them with power from on high” (Lk.
24:49). He told them that this
promise
was from God the Father and that He, Jesus, would not leave them alone Jn.14:16-
18. He promised that when He (the Spirit) came
that He would be with them and in them.
When
the day of Pentecost came and the promise was fulfilled the disciples were
filled
with
confidence and confirmation. When the Spirit comes upon the believer at the
moment
of the
new birth, both the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Anointing of the Holy
Spirit
take
place simultaneously. Each action of God is distinct and provides its own
unique
blessings.
d. The
transforming power of the Holy Spirit is the story of the birth
and growth of
the Church. The Apostles and first disciples
went from
doubting, fearful and confused to bold and confident, filled with
knowledge
and power, and certain of their calling and mission.
The Holy Spirit is “poured out upon
the believer”
like the holy anointing oil in the Old Testament was poured out on
individuals designated for
service as prophets, priests and
kings and such.
All of the Old Testament anointing foreshadows
the Holy Spirit anointing of the priesthood of
believers in the Church.
It is an act of confirmation and empowerment within the heart of a
believer
that God has appointed him into His service.
Every Christian
receives an anointing at the moment he is born
again.
It is when a Christian yields
to the leading of the Holy Spirit and develops his Spirit given gifts that his
anointing becomes evident. We are all anointed for some kind of service; it is
when we let the Spirit direct our work that His anointing shines forth in our lives
and in our ministries. We need not seek what we already have; a special or a
new anointing; we simply need to allow the Spirit’s anointing to manifest
through our submission to His will for us and by our cooperation with God’s
calling on our life.
3. The Indwelling: The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the unique
privilege of the Christian in this age.
If the Holy Spirit does not
live with in you then you are not a Christian.
1 Cor.3:16; 6:19 – You are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
a. If the Spirit of
Christ dwells in you – Ro.8:9-11
b. He will be with you
and in
you. - Jn.14:16-18:
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall
give
you another Comforter, that he may abide
with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth;
whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye
know
him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
I will
not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
c. He even lives in carnal and
sinning Christians
– 1Cor.3:1-15;
5:1-13 -
“And I, brethren, could
not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal,
as to babes in
Christ. I fed you
with milk and not with solid food;
for until now you were not able to receive
it, and even
now you are still not able;
for you are
still carnal.”
“It is actually reported that there is sexual
immorality among you,
and such
sexual immorality as is not even named among the
Gentiles
that a man has his father's wife!”
4.
The Sealing: The Sealing of the Holy Spirit
is God’s Stamp of ownership upon the believer. It is the guarantee of successful delivery
to the prescribed destination
a. 2 Cor 1:22 - “Who hath also sealed
us, and given the earnest
of the Spirit in our hearts.”
b. 2 Cor 5:1-5 – “Now we know that
if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed,
we have a building from God, an eternal house in
heaven, not built by human
hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our
heavenly dwelling,
because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in
this tent, we groan and
are burdened, because we do not wish to be
unclothed
but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be
swallowed up by life. Now it is God who
has made us for this very purpose
and has given
us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
c. I know whom I have believed – 2
Tim.1:12 and He knows His own –
2 Tim.2:19
d. Kept by the power of God – 1
Pet.1:2-9 – He holds us, we do not hold Him.
We are saved by grace through faith Eph.2:8-9.
Our faith is not works;
it is our initial acceptance of His gift of grace. He takes
it from there.
Indeed, He took it from before the foundation of the world in His foreknowledge
1 Pet.1:2; Rev.13:8; 17:8.
e. Nothing can separate us from the love of
God in Christ Jesus. – Ro.8:37-39.
5. The Filling: It is a fresh infilling
that Christians are to seek, not a second baptism,
Christians are already
baptized in the Holy Spirit, as we have seen.
a. Eph. 5:18-21 – “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled
with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving
thanks always for all
things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Submitting
yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”
b. The filling of the Spirit is different
from the indwelling of the Spirit in that once
the Spirit indwells a believer, He never leaves. The
filling comes and goes.
“Be continually being filled”
6. The Fruit:
All Christians should manifest the fruit of the Spirit, and it should be
increasing.
a. Gal.5:22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there
is no law.
7. The Gifting:
It is the gifts of the Spirit, especially the higher gifts
(1 Cor.12:31; 14:1) that a
Christian is to pray for, not the anointing of the Spirit,
all Christians are
already anointed by the Spirit, as we have seen.
a. Ro.12:6-8 – “Having then gifts
differing according to the grace that is
given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in
proportion to
our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches,
in
teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives,
with liberality; he who leads, with
diligence; he who shows mercy,
with cheerfulness.”
b. 1
Cor.12:8-10, 28-30 – “There are diversities of gifts, but the same
Spirit.
There are differences of ministries, but the same
Lord. And there are
diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit
of all: for to one is given
the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another
the word of knowledge through the same
Spirit, to another faith by the
same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same
Spirit, to another
the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits,
to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
But one and
the same Spirit works all these things,
distributing to each one individually as He
wills.”
c. Eph.4:11 - “And He Himself gave
some to be apostles, some prophets,
some evangelists, and some pastors and
teachers.”
8. The Quenching:
We are warned to not Grieve, Resist, Suppress or Quench the Spirit.
a. 1 Thess. 5:16-22
– “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks;
for this
is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not
despise prophecies.
Test all things; hold fast what is good.
Abstain from every form of evil.”
9. The
Leading:
a. Gal. 5:18-21 – “But if you are led of the Spirit,
you are not under the law.
Now the works
of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lewdness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath,
selfish
ambitions, dissensions,
heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries,
and the like; of which I tell you
beforehand, just as I also told you in time past,
that those who practice such
things will not
inherit the kingdom
of God.”
b. Gal 5:16, 25
– “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill
the lust of the
flesh.” – “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
10. The
Witnessing: The internal self authenticating
witness of the Holy Spirit in the heart.
a. Rom. 8:14-17 – “For as many as are led by the Spirit
of God, they
are the sons of
God.
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the
Spirit
of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself beareth witness
with
our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then
heirs; heirs of God, and
joint-heirs
with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified
together.”
b. Gal. 4:5-7 – “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his
Son into
our hearts, the Spirit
who calls out, "Abba, Father." So
you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son,
God has made you also an heir.”
c. The Christian enjoys an intimate family
relationship with the Father because he is a joint
heir with Jesus.
Mark 14:36 - "Abba, Father," he said,
"Everything is possible for you. Take this cup from Me.
Yet not what I will, but what you
will."
d. Rom. 8:26-27 – “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our
weakness. We do not know
what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit
himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot
express. And He who searches our hearts knows
the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit
intercedes for the saints in accordance with
God's will.”
The
Church of Jesus Christ enjoys a very
special, precious, and unique relationship with the Holy Spirit today and for ever.
No other group of people at
any time in history has ever enjoyed this same intimate, internal and permanent
relationship with the Third Person of the Holy Trinity that we as Christians
now enjoy in this dispensation.
It is this special
relationship with the living Spirit of God that defines the Church and sets it
apart from all other people groups in redemptive history.
Along with this great
privilege comes great responsibility. Let us never take for granted the awesome
gift that God has granted to the Body of Christ here on earth, in the middle of
a lost and dying world.
May we endeavor to be worthy
of this great honor by yielding to the Spirit’s leading in our lives on a daily
basis.
In summary:
We are born into the family
of God by His doing. As a result of the new birth we have become joint heirs
with Jesus Christ. We will inherit and share in the blessings that God has
provided for His beloved Son. He is our “Abba Father!”
At the moment that we
believed and we were born again; God poured out the Holy Spirit upon us, into
us, and around us; imparting to each child of God; the Baptism of the Holy
Spirit, the Anointing of the Holy Spirit, the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit,
the Sealing of the Holy Spirit, and the Gifting of the Holy Spirit; all
attested to by the internal Witness of the Holy Spirit to assure us in our
hearts that we are a child of God!
In addition we now have
access to the Infilling of the Holy Spirit, the manifestations and increase of
the Fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and we may enjoy the limitless
blessings of the Leading of the Holy Spirit in every area of our lives as we
yield to him, as we seek Him, and as we obey and follow Him.
