6d What do you Mean by the Holy Spirit?
Before we continue with our topic on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, it would be more understandable if we stopped and looked at the Christian Foundation’s view of ‘Who is the Holy Spirit?’ We have covered the Creator, Father God and Jesus the Christ. We now want to lay the Christian Foundation for the teaching on the Person and work of the third part of the union – the Holy Spirit.
As we begin “Pneumatology”, or the study of the Holy Spirit, remember that God so wanted relationship with mankind, that He became flesh and lived as that ‘Ant’ (Jesus) among us ‘ants’ (humans). Jesus then needed to send the Holy Spirit to be with us when He left our physical Earth to be with Father God. Knowing about the Holy Spirit’s task will help us understand more about the ‘Greatest Story Ever Told’.
A. JESUS SENT THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER, THE HOLY SPIRIT
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised to send the Comforter, John 16:7. While Jesus was here on Earth, He could only be in one place at one time. However, when the Holy Spirit came, the Spirit could be with all people, at all places and at all times. Jesus knew the presence of the Holy Spirit intimately and so He promised His followers this same life changing presence, to comfort and guide them.
B. THE SPIRIT’S DIVINE NATURE
1. The Holy Spirit is the third Person in ‘the Trinity’
A proper understanding of the Holy Spirit must begin with the acceptance of Him as part of the Triune Godhead, 1 John 5:7. He is co-equal with the Father and Son, the ‘Executive’ of the Godhead, carrying out the instructions of the Father.
2. The Holy Spirit is a Person.
Like the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is a full and distinct personality. He is not an impersonal force or a being without a body form. He has a mind, Acts 13:2, 1Timothy 4:1, a will, 1 Corinthians 12:11 and feelings. He is referred to as ‘He’ in the scriptures, even by Jesus, using the male gender when referring to the Holy Spirit.
3. He is Co-Creator with Jehovah God – Genesis 1:1-3.
4. The Holy Spirit has all the Attributes of God the Father
He is also Omnipotent (all-powerful), Luke 1:35. He is called God, Acts 5:3-4, 1 Cor. 3:16. As we call the Father, ‘Creator’, the Son the ‘Redeemer’, so the Holy Spirit is the ‘Energiser’, the ‘Sanctifier’, the One who accomplishes the work given to the Body of Christ today.
5. His Names Reveal His Purposes
Revelations 1:4, 4:5 and 5:6 speak of “ …the Sevenfold Spirits of God”. We could debate whether this refers to God having seven actual parts to His Spirit or whether seven (being the number of perfection in Scripture) signifies that the Holy Spirit is perfect.
As the Spirit of Grace, Ephesians 2:8-9, He brings God’s ‘unearned blessings’ into our life. As the Spirit of Life, Genesis 1:2, He begins all life but also brings new Life at our conversion, 2 Corinthians 5:17. He gives us a new confidence that we are now the Father’s children, Romans 8:15, 28. In Galatians 4:7, He is called the Spirit of Adoption. He is the Spirit of Truth, John 14:6, with the power of the Truth to set us free.
He is also known as the Spirit of Holiness, Romans 1:4 helping us be the examples of holy living we need to demonstrate. As the Spirit of Supplication, Romans 8:26, He continues to intercede for Christians according to God’s word, searches God’s heart and makes known God’s will to us. The Spirit of Glory refers to His coming glory as well as the believer’s progress “…from glory to glory”, Romans 8:18, 1 Peter 4:14.
6. Symbols which show the work of the Holy Spirit:
| Dove | patience and recognition |
| Oil | for anointing and healing |
| Rain | for refreshing |
| Dew | fertility and refreshment |
| River | abundance and prosperity |
| Fire | for purification and refining |
| Wind | invisible and strength |
| Water | cleansing and purifying |
Just as the human body as various parts and functions, so too the Spirit has different names, yet He is One Spirit doing the work of One God.
C. THE FOUR ASPECTS OF THE SPIRIT’S WORK IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is seen to be active in external works, which demonstrated the character of Jehovah. There are three references to the “Holy” Spirit in the OT, while the New Testament records this title some 86 times.
1. The Spirit’s work is seen in Creation
The Holy Spirit “brooded” over the primeval water, carrying out the spoken word of our Creator, Genesis 1:2, 1:26. He is the sustaining source of divine energy and power as the “breath”, or wind of God that worked in creating the worlds and Adam and Eve, Genesis 2:7. He sustains animal life, Psalm. 104:30, Job 26:7. He renews the face of the Earth, Psalm 104:30.
2. The Holy Spirit is seen in Equipping the Old Testament People for Service
In the OT, God’s Spirit was mainly limited to working with Israel. God selected certain people for special tasks and gave them the ability to do their task without prior training or experience, Exodus 31:2 onward.
3. He led in building the Tabernacle of Moses.
Other people were given the Holy Spirit to help lead the people, such as the priests and kings, Judges 3:10, 6:34, Zechariah 4:6. Others were given physical strength when needed as with Samson’s defeat of the Philistines; others were given the ability to interpret dreams and visions, like Daniel and Joseph.
4. He led and Directed Israel Physically and Morally
One part of the work of the Spirit was to bring a moral standard to the people. The wilderness wanderings and the Law resulted in a new awareness of God’s holiness. His presence brought a “broken and contrite heart” for David and the renewal of worship in the temple.
| He lived among the people – Haggai 2:5, 44:3, 61:1-3 He Guided God’s people – Isaiah 63:11-13 He Gave instructions – Nehemiah 9:20
He Led in the right way – Psalm 143:10 He Inspired them to right – Psalm 51:10 He Admonished people – Nehemiah 9:30 |
5. He inspired the Prophets to Speak and Write the books of the Bible
a. To foretell the coming of the Messiah: The Holy Spirit inspired various writers to foretell and write down prophecies concerning the coming of Jesus, Isaiah 11:1-3.
b. He inspired the written documents that comprise the Old Testament. The writers had little awareness of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the Old Testament, so most of their writings were either a longing for past glories in Jehovah’s presence or forward looking to better days ahead, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Timothy 3:16.
Little is spoken about in the OT that the Holy Spirit changed people’s hearts through repentance. In the NT, the Holy Spirit is given for all believers, everywhere, to help change our hearts.
As you may begin to realise, the Person of the Holy Spirit is very important to any Jesus Follower. In our next post, we shall continue with this study to see the work of the Holy Spirit in the Life of Jesus, in the followers of Jesus and in building His church. So join us next post on ‘The Work of the Holy Spirit in our life today’.
Susanne Fengler, Blog Author
www.Christianfoundations.jesus-treeoflife.info
Tags: Holy Spirit
Filed under: Foundations of our Faith
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