August 17, 2003
WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT
Part I
I know of no Biblical teaching that is more needed in the Christian church today than is the teaching regarding the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. Many called the 20th century the century of the Holy Spirit. Three facts give rise to this label:
1. The awareness for the need for world evangelism through the church and para-church organizations. With this awareness comes the recognition of the need for the Holy Spirit’s power to accomplish this task.
2. The rise and prominence of the local church concept and the great stress upon the various spiritual gifts and ministries that are needed to accomplish this work.
3. The phenomenal rise and spread of Pentecostalism with its unique emphasis on the gifts of the Spirit.
While this great attention on the work of the
Holy Spirit has been a good thing for the most part, it has not always been
Scripturally guided. First of all -
The trend in history has been for the cults
and liberals to deny the personality of the Holy Spirit (Monarchanism,
Arianism, Socianism, and today the liberals and the cults). He becomes to them a mere representative of
good or of power in the world.
• In John 16:5-15 Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as a person – “He,
Him, Helper,” etc.
• The Holy Spirit relates to people in the same ministering capacity
that Jesus did. I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may
bide with you forever – even the Spirit of Truth . . . John 14:16, 17a. “The Helper” – one who gives help or aid to
another – a person!
• In Acts 15:28 The Spirit relates to the apostles in a way that
reveals personality ,“For it seemed
good to the Holy Spirt to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these
necessary things.”
• The Spirit is a person among and equal to the other personalities
of the Trinity. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19.
• The Holy Spirit is a person as Jesus is a person. In John 14:16 the word “another” means
“another of the same kind.”
Another mark of personality is having responsibility. Animals are not held responsible for their actions – a person is!
• The Holy Spirit has the responsibility to testify. For testimony to be valid, there must be the
possession of facts and the ability to impress the truth of those facts upon
the hearts and minds of others so as to produce a settled conviction. The Holy Spirit testifies to the unsaved
that they are not the children of God (John 16:11) and to the saved that
they are the children of God (Romans 8:15,16).
• The Holy Spirit has the responsibility to teach and teaching
necessitates the ability to categorize information in order to effectively
communicate it. The Holy Spirit
possesses an intrinsic capacity to communicate from the level of infinitude to the
level of finitude. Man can communicate
on his own level – from man to man. The
Spirit of God has adapted Himself to man’s method of communication in order to
communicate divine truth to a human level.
Another personality trait is having intelligent reaction. The Holy Spirit is a person who indwells each one of God’s people. He reacts to sin in our lives in two ways:
And how about us? Do we hurt or hinder the work of the Holy Spirit? Or do we let Him empower us to live a victorious life that glorifies God and leads others to Him. God bless.
Love to you all,