Who Is The Holy Spirit? Part 3

Jesus is our model of the Spirit-filled, Spirit-empowered life (Acts 10:38). The activity of the Holy Spirit is evident at every phase of the life and ministry of Jesus. It was by the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb (Matthew 1:18, 20). Before Jesus began His public ministry, He was filled with the Spirit of God (Matthew 3:16), and followed the Spirit’s leading into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil as further preparation for His messianic role (Matthew 4:1). The power of the Holy Spirit enabled Jesus to heal (Matthew 12:15-21) and cast out demons (Matthew 12:28). Additionally, the Holy Spirit is found in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). Disciples are commanded to go and make disciples of all nations, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). In other words, we are to baptize them into the name – the authority – of the triune God. As we obey this commission, His Holy Spirit assures us of His ongoing presence with us. Likewise, the Bible declares to all generations, “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18) for “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14).

“And with that He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22).

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, the One who draws us to Christ, convicts of sin, enables us to accept Christ as our personal Savior, assures us of salvation, enables us to live the victorious life, opens our eyes to the truth contained in the Bible, prays alongside us according to God’s will for us, empowers us in our witness, worship and warfare, and enables us to build lasting interpersonal relationships with others as God desires.

We become Christians through the work of the Holy Spirit. He brings new life; even our faith to believe is a gift from Him (“gift” in the Greek is charisma [khar-is-mah] used also in Romans 1:11; 6:23; 12:6; 1 Corinthians 1:7; 12:4; 12:9; 12:28; 12:30, 31; 2 Corinthians 1:11; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6; 1 Peter 4:10).

The Holy Spirit instructs, guides, leads, and gives us power. He ends our bondage to evil desires, and He creates in us love, joy, peace, and many other wonderful changes.

When we choose to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, He produces His fruit in us. Just as we are saved by faith, not deeds, we also grow by faith. By believing and choosing to obey Christ by following the Holy Spirit’s leading, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit within us, helping us to live for Christ.

Our salvation – when we accepted Jesus as Lord, Master and Savior of our lives – is based on the acceptance of God’s unmerited grace and we then continue to become individually unique expressions of Christ, not as the result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or acts of service on our part. In truth, we received “the promise of the Spirit” (Acts 2:38, 39) in the exact same manner and at the same moment we received our initial salvation through Christ Jesus.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that our Christian lives, which began with faith in Christ and Him crucified and were certified by the gift of the Holy Spirit, are altogether apart from the Law. The point is clear; we began our Christian life by the Holy Spirit (salvation), we continue to be changed by the Holy Spirit (sanctification), and we will be glorified by the Holy Spirit (glorification). The same Spirit who regenerated us causes our new life to grow. It is only by the Holy Spirit, when we consciously and deliberately choose to submit to His control and actively walk in Him, who enables us to die to the flesh (Galatians 5:16, 17), delivers us from the tyranny of the Law (Galatians 5:18), and causes the fruit of holiness to grow in our lives (Galatians 5:22, 23).

You are a Christian if the Holy Spirit of God is living in you. If you have sincerely trusted Christ for your salvation and acknowledged Him as Lord, the Holy Spirit has come into your life, and you are a Christian. You won’t know that the Holy Spirit has come if you are waiting for a certain feeling; you will know He has come because Jesus promised He would. When the Holy Spirit is working within you, you will believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and that eternal life comes through Him (1John 5:5); you will begin to act as Christ directs (Romans 8:5; Galatians 5:22, 23); you will find help in your daily problems and in your praying (Romans 8:26, 27); you will be empowered to serve God and do His will (Acts 1:8; Romans 12:6); and you will become part of God’s plan to build up His church (Ephesians 4:12, 13).

As the Holy Spirit leads you, He produces His fruit in you. We are obeying Christ only as we follow the Holy Spirit’s leading and this is a deliberate, conscious, moment-by-moment decision we must make.

The Bible reveals that the Person of the Holy Spirit has been the primary agent in the entire ministry of the Word from the very beginning. The Apostle John demonstrated that the Spirit’s role encompasses every part of our lives. He is the One who convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8-11). The experience of being “born of the Spirit” is descriptive of New Birth (John 3:6). Because God is Spirit, those who worship Him must do so spiritually as directed and motivated by the Holy Spirit (John 4:24). Additionally, it is the Spirit who is the divine enabler for all true, authoritative ministries (John 20:21-23).

The Holy Spirit does not draw attention to Himself nor does He speak in His own authority. His mission is to glorify Jesus and to declare Christ’s teaching to His disciples (John 16:14). The Bible teaches that the function of the Holy Spirit is to continue the work Jesus began, to lead believers into an understanding of the meanings, implications, and imperatives of the gospel, and enable us to do even “greater works” than those done by Jesus (John 14:12).

The Holy Spirit-filled and empowered life is not our trying to live like Christ, it is not our trying to be Christ-like, and it is not Christ giving us the power to live a life like His. It is simply Christ indwelling us, living His life again through us by His Holy Spirit. That life was designed to be lived out in our everyday, normal, seemingly unspiritual lives.

Our Christian journey will never make any sense if we do not realize that what God began in the Holy Spirit, we can no less finish without Him. It is only through His Holy Spirit that we can understand and apply God’s Word and purpose to become more effective, intimate, and authoritative in our witness, worship, and warfare. Walking in God’s Spirit is never a burden.

Each day we must consciously choose to center our lives on God, walking and practicing His presence. We must use the Bible to discover God’s guidelines, and then follow them. In every situation we should ask ourselves, "What would Jesus want me to do?” Then, when the Holy Spirit points out the direction, we should do it joyfully.

The Bible encourages us not to live according to the flesh, but to put to death the deeds of the body. Being "led by the Spirit of God” involves a daily, progressive putting to death of the sinful desires of our fleshly nature. Now, while all Christians are in some ways being “led by the Spirit of God” there are various levels or stages of being led. Regardless of how long you have walked with God, there is always room for growth. As you are more fully surrendered and agree to be led by the Holy Spirit, the more completely you will be obedient to God and become conformed to His holy standard. You don’t have to be mature to enter into the Kingdom of God or make sound choices, but you do have to be mature if you are to experience all of God’s blessings for you now.

What The Holy Spirit Is Like:
a. The Holy Spirit Is A Person
The Holy Spirit has been given as a gift to the church to assure that the continued ministry of the resurrected Christ is expressed and verified. The Holy Spirit has all the characteristics of a person:

He possesses the attributes of mind (Romans 8:27), will (1 Corinthians 12:11), and feeling (Ephesians 4:30).

He engages in such activities as revealing (2 Peter 1:21), teaching (John 14:26), witnessing (Hebrews 10:15), interceding (Romans 8:26), speaking (Revelation 2:7), commanding (Acts 16:6, 7), and testifying (John 15:26).

He has a relationship with human persons: He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30), lied to (Acts 5:3), and blasphemed (Matthew 12:32, 32).

The Holy Spirit possesses the divine attributes of the Godhead: He is eternal (Hebrews 9:14), omnipresent or “present everywhere” (Psalm 139:7-10), omnipotent or "all powerful” (Luke 1:35), and omniscient or “all knowing” (1 Corinthians 2:10, 11).

He is referred to by such names as the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit of promise, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of grace, the Spirit of life, the Spirit of adoption, and the Spirit of holiness.

He is illustrated with such symbols as fire (Acts 2:1, 2), wind (Acts 2:1, 2), water (John 7:37-39), a seal (Ephesians 1:13), oil (Acts 10:38), and a dove (John 1:32).

b. Nothing To Be Fearful About
Being Spirit-filled and empowered is not some mysterious, abstract experience. There is however a difference between being filled with God’s Holy Spirit and being filled with some other kind of spirit. Jesus highlighted this when he said:

“If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? (Luke 11:11-13)

The abundantly clear promise of Jesus is that anyone who asks to be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit will not come up with something hard and dry (stone), something destructive (scorpion), or satanic (snake). We must see the Holy Spirit for who He is, entirely and beautifully different from those from the realm of darkness and confusion.

c. Who the Holy Spirit Is Like
The Holy Spirit is just like Jesus. To help His disciples prepare for His departure and the Holy Spirit’s coming, Jesus said:

“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, for He lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16, 17)

Jesus says, “I will send another Comforter.” The word “another” in the Greek means one of the exact same kind. By saying this, He was saying that the Holy Spirit would help them and be to them precisely as He did and was.

d. The Holy Spirit Is Our Teacher
As a teacher, the Holy Spirit’s assistance is not so much academic as one of inward instruction. He teaches us what to do and say at important times. He helps us keep our life (conduct and standards) in accordance with what Jesus wants. He helps us understand and keeps us consistent with our Father’s heart and purpose.

“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26)

e. The Holy Spirit is Our Helper
Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to help us in the task of touching the world with God’s love. He strengthens us within and stabilizes us to withstand circumstances and moves us forward in power.

“When the Counselor comes, whom will I send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15:26, 27)

f. The Holy Spirit Is Our Convincer
No one can remain passive when the Holy Spirit is at work. He convinces people that sin separates them from God; that Jesus is God, and that this is the focal point of salvation; and that this world system is headed toward destruction. He does what we could never do: He convinces people that God is right, that man needs a Savior. Our role is not to attempt to convict or condemn others by zeal, argument, guilt, or ability. Our work is to bear witness to others of Jesus Christ, pray, and let the Holy Spirit accomplish the task that only He can perform.

The Holy Spirit Convicts/Convinces: Often times, our tendency is to attempt the work of the Holy Spirit. We can never accomplish what He has been sent forth to do. Have confidence in His abilities to convict and convince.

The Holy Spirit Convicts/Convinces People: The Holy Spirit is fully capable of breaking through every barrier in the soul of man. We are called to sow seed and to water. Ours is to witness in the power of the Holy Spirit and pray, believing it is God who will accomplish the bringing forth of harvest. Prayer “energizes” the Holy Spirit. As said, manipulation, intimidation, and domination in any form are never characteristics of those led by the Spirit of God.

“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.” (John 16:7-11)

g. The Holy Spirit Brings Glory To God
One of the evidences of the Holy Spirit’s presence in a believer’s life is that Jesus will be praised. Jesus will be honored. Jesus will be worshipped as God’s Son. Jesus will be announced as Lord and King.

There is much confusion regarding the evidence of whether or not a believer has in fact been “filled” with the Holy Spirit. Lord Jesus said “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).

The absolute test or evidence of first having received, and walking (continuously) in the Holy Spirit, is less controversial, less popular, less “showy”, and even more Biblically sound than the “evidences” most suggest; it is an increasing measure of Christ-likeness as evidenced by the “fruit” of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. According to John 15:1-8, the fruit is godliness - Christ-likeness is what our Father looks for in His people (Galatians 5:22, 23).

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22, 23)

Jesus said that people will know when we are empowered by the Holy Spirit: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)

One thing seems very apparent; Satan will not glorify the Son of God. The Holy Spirit’s ministry of making Jesus real – glorifying Him – is His highest desire.

“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.” (John 16:14, 15)

Continue this series:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8