The Holy Spirit
This article explores topics and excerpts from the newly released book Journey Through the Bible and Your Story, now available on Amazon.
In John 14:16-17 Jesus tells his followers prior to his death “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity, alongside God the Father and Jesus Christ. He is God present in the lives of believers, and He works in various ways.
Convicts the World of Sin
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:7-8).
Conviction is not the same as conversion. It is convincing or refuting an opponent so that he has the matter set before him in a clear light whether he accepts or rejects the evidence. Conviction, then, offers proof, but does not guarantee the truth will be accepted, which is necessary for conversion.
Gives New Life
The Holy Spirit gives us new life in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “No one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3). But how is someone born again? What does that mean? The Holy Spirit is the one who gives us a new birth and new life; it is a supernatural act. “He saved us, not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5). All we must do is accept the free gift of salvation by trusting and accepting Christ.
Dwells in All Believers Forever
The indwelling Spirit is a gift (not merit earned) from God to all believers, not just a select few (John 7:37-39: Acts 11:17; Romans 5:5; I Corinthians 2:12; 2 Corinthians 5:5) “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16) This indwelling is forever. (John 14:16)
Fills Believers
Ephesians 5:18 informs us, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit”. Being filled with the Spirit does not mean you have more or less of the Spirit who is a person who cannot be divided into parts. It means that you yield/surrender to the control of the Spirit in varying degrees.
It is like putting an Alka Seltzer in water. It permeates the water, and the water takes on the characteristics of the Alka Seltzer. Or like a glove playing the piano which is impossible until a skillful hand fills the glove.
Being drunk with wine controls our thoughts and actions which brings out our fleshly weakness, but God’s desire is that we be filled with the Spirit and let Him control our thoughts and actions which brings out His power.
It is obvious that all believers do not have the same degree of spirituality, or wisdom, or surrender to the Lord. The difference is related to the work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s heart. Every Christian is indwelt with the Holy Spirit, but every Christian does not follow the direction and instruction of the Holy Spirit. Accordingly, those who listen to the world rather than to the Holy Spirit are worldly, or fleshly, and those yielded to the control of the Holy Spirit can be spiritually minded and “Walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16)
In essence, being filled with the Spirit is not that we get more of God, but God gets more of us.
Teaches and Reminds
In John 14:26, Jesus told his disciples, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you”.
The Greek word “Parakletos” in this passage is translated as “Helper” in the English Standard Version, “Advocate” in the New International Version, and “Counselor” in the King James Version. The meaning of this word relates to “legal counsel.” The Holy Spirit provides wise counsel to Christ’s followers. Jesus knew He would be going away and that His followers would need the Holy Spirit as a helper and an advocate to remind them of His teachings.
What better teacher can you have than the person who inspired (God breathed) all the books of the Bible? “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16 “For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” 2 Peter 1:21 “When we tell you these things, not in words taught by human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given us by the Holy Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.” 1 Corinthians 2:13
Source of Power, Wisdom and Revelation
“These are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except for their own spirit within them? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10-11).
God gives His followers the Holy Spirit so we may know Him better. Since the Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit, He knows the thoughts of God and reveals those thoughts to believers. The Holy Spirit opens believers’ eyes to the hope of His calling, their inheritance and power in Christ.
Christians have access to power, wisdom, and revelation from the Holy Spirit, just as the Apostle Paul wrote to believers in Ephesus, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at his right hand in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1:17-20).
The Greek word, “dunamis”, is the English word “power” in “His incomparably great power” in this scripture. “Dunamis” is also used for dynamite. In essence, we have the dynamite of God available through the Holy Spirit who indwells us.
We all have lights, air conditioning, and electrical appliances that we use regularly in our normal daily lives. When the electrical power source goes off for whatever reason, it disrupts our temporal lives immensely. When we are not plugged into the power source of God, His Holy Spirit, it disrupts our spiritual lives immensely. We plug into God’s power source through FAITH which is believing and trusting God to be involved in every temporal or spiritual step we take in our life journey.
Guides to All Truth and Knowledge
The Holy Spirit is called the “Spirit of Truth” in John 16:13 because He guides believers into all truth. Jesus told his disciples the Holy Spirit would make known what He hears and would only speak what the Father speaks. “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the 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 glorify Me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from Me what He will make known to you” John 16:13-15.
Gives Spiritual Gifts to Believers
Someone once said that American football is a game in which 50,000 people desperately needing exercise sit in the bleachers and watch 22 men who are desperately needing rest. The same can be said for the church. The masses sit in the pews rooting for a struggling few who are up front trying to do God’s work. Obviously, this is not God’s plan. Instead, He has provided a way for every single Christian to be equipped to be a part of the “game”, to have a role in serving Him. The means is the spiritual gift (or gifts) which every Christian is given when he/she accepts Jesus Christ as his/her Savior.
The Holy Spirit sovereignly chooses (1 Corinthians 12:11) and gifts His attributes and characteristics in the lives of every believer (1 Corinthians 12:7). Nothing is left to mere human choice or judgement. The composite of these gifts in the church/body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27) manifest the total person of Jesus. A gift is a supernatural ability to serve the Lord by being His physical representative in serving others whereby God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 4:11). It is not for our personal glory. Your spiritual gift (or gifts) is not what God expects from you; it is what God wants to do through you. The gifts of the Spirit must always be exercised in love (1 Corinthians 13).
