God's Word reveals that the Holy Spirit is a persona sent by our Lord
to us as a helper, counselor, comforter, advocate and teacher.
The Holy Spirit is co-equal, part of God the Father and God the
Son. The Holy Spirit was sent to humankind so that we might learn
the truths of the bible and gain understanding of its teachings.
The Holy Spirit builds our faith in God Almighty and aids us in our
walk with God, in trying to lead a Christian spirit-filled life.
In order to overcome the pressures of daily life, the conflict between
our flesh and our spirit and to fight whatever the enemy may thrust at
us we need to walk in the Spirit in order to remain focused and
victorious. As Paul eloquently conveys In Romans 8:10: If Christ
is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is
alive because of righteousness. 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. 26 In the same way the Spirit
also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should,
but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for
words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of
the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the
will of God. (Romans 8:10-11, & 26,27)
According to the Bible the Holy Spirit is described as a “He”: He will
teach you all things (John 14:26). He is a person not an ‘it’,
for He
comforts us, teaches us, guides us, consoles us and acts as an
intermediary on our behalf to God. God’s Word also indicates that
the Holy Spirit can be grieved by what we do: But they rebelled and
grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as
an enemy, And He fought against them.
(Isaiah 63:10). In Ephesians 4:30 God
warns: And do not grieve the Holy
Spirit of God, by whom you were
sealed for the day of redemption.
The Holy Spirit is first mentioned in the Bible when He created the
universe and every creation as found in Genesis 1:2. The earth was
without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the
very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving over the face of the
waters. (The Amplified Bible) Also, God's holy spirit inspired
the
writings of the Holy Scriptures. The
Bible was not written by men but
by God's Holy Spirit. For no prophecy ever originated because some man
willed it (to do so-it never came by human impulse), but men spoke from
God who were borne along (moved and impelled) by the Holy Spirit.
(2
Peter 1:21)
Secondly, The Psalmist ascribes the Holy Spirit as a power imparted by
God on individuals, whom God approved and anointed. We read in Psalms
51:11 Cast me not away from Your
presence and take not Your Holy Spirit
from me. When David was anointed by God to become King of
Israel, as
King Saul's successor, we read in 1 Samuel 16:13, Then Samuel took the
horn of oil and anointed David in the midst of his brothers; and the
Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.
Later we read that David's complete faith in the Living God released
God's Holy Spirit, thus enabling David to defeat and kill the giant
Philistine Goliath with a sling shot.
Thirdly, Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as a persona. In John
14:16-17, And I will ask the Father,
and He will give you another
Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and
Standby), that He may remain with you forever (17) The Spirit of Truth,
Whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him or know and
recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you
and will be in you. Interestingly, Jesus teaches that the Holy Spirit
will actually teach people of God the truth and lead them to living a
life in harmony with God's Will. In John 14:26, Jesus states, But the
Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, He
will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall everything I
have told you.
We read that several bible
characters were filled with holy spirit in order to carry out God’s
mission such as preaching to others about Jesus as our savior and real
hope for eternal life.
In Acts Chapter 2, the apostle Paul wrote that at Pentecost, people
became filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different
languages. God had poured his Holy Spirit at once onto many people in
order to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel to others abroad. In Acts
2:4 And they were all filled with
the Holy Spirit and began to speak in
other languages, as the Spirit kept giving them clear and loud
expression (in each tongue in appropriate words). Later in Acts
6:7 we
read that the message of God kept on
spreading, and the number of
disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem: and a large number of the
priests were obedient to the faith (in Jesus as the Messiah, through
Whom is obtained eternal salvation in the Kingdom of God).
The apostle Paul wrote in Hebrews 2:4 God,
Who showed His approval of
it by signs and wonders and various miraculous manifestations of His
power and by imparting the gifts of the Holy Spirit (to the believers)
according to His own will. Jesus spoke of a baptism with Holy Spirit
and fire. In Acts 1:5 it is written: For John baptized with water, but
not many days from now you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
What does it mean to be baptized with Holy Spirit? Vine's Complete
Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words indicates that the
invisible power of the Holy Spirit is manifested by the fruits of the
Spirit; namely, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, meekness, temperance. According to God's Word, the seed
of righteousness is sown in peace and bears fruit such that a harvest
of righteousness is reaped within an individual's life. Again, Vine's
points out that metaphorically deeds, are described as " fruits are the
visible expression of power working inwardly and invisibly, the
character of the fruit being evidence of the character of the power
producing it." Jesus illustrated this eloquently in Matthew 7:16.
Carrying this thought further, such fruitage of the Spirit indicates
the union of a Christian with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. John
16:13 reveals, But when He, the
Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide
you into all the Truth, For He will not speak His own message but He
will tell whatever He hears (from the Father), and He will announce and
declare to you the things that are to come.
The Bible indicates that ordinary human beings are capable of doing
extraordinary things by the power and infusion
of God's Holy
Spirit. According to the apostle Paul, All these [gifts, achievements,
abilities] are inspired and brought to pass by one and the same [Holy]
Spirit, Who apportions to each person individually [exactly] as He
chooses. (1 Corinthians 12:11). Also, Paul teaches how people's
lifestyles can be led by Holy Spirit: But
you are not living the life
of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy]
Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls
you] 11But if Christ lives in you, your [natural] body is dead by
reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of the
righteousness [that He imputes to you]. (Romans 8:10 & 11)
Paul
also describes the Holy Spirit as an intercessor pleading for our
petitions on our behalf to God: So
too the Holy Spirit comes to our aid
and bears up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer
nor to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to
meet our supplication and pleads on our behalf (Romans 8:26)
When considering the Holy Spirit the Christian's spiritual rebirth is
necessary in order to inherit God's Kingdom: Truly...I say to you, unless one is born
of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John3:5) Secondly,
God anoints the individual with the Holy Spirit in order for him/her to
carry out His purposes. The individual is thereby imparted with God's
power, Holy Spirit, and given spiritual gifts (gifts of healing,
prophesying) as were Jesus and His disciples. Thirdly, God also
provides the Holy Spirit as a teacher, so that an individual can gain a
clear understanding of the Bible. Moreover, the Holy Spirit is our
Helper who provides comfort and advocacy, as the need arises, on our
behalf.
In Matthew 25: 1-11, Jesus related a parable concerning 10 virgins with
oil in their lamps. Five of the virgins were wise in that they had
carried sufficient oil for their lamps to meet their bridegroom when he
arrived. The other five were foolish in that they had not filled their
lamps with sufficient oil to meet the bridegroom, representing Jesus,
when he arrived. The oil in their lamps symbolizes the Holy Spirit.
This parable illustrates that Christians who do not have sufficient
Holy Spirit and whose lamp is consequently extinguished will not last
the distance. The question is are we determined to imitate the five
wise virgins who carried sufficient [oil] Holy Spirit to light their
lamps for the duration of their journey, until Jesus arrives?
The Holy Spirit can be seen as our lifeline critical to our very
existence. In order to endure to the end we need to be filled with the
Holy Spirit as He dwells within us. The Holy Spirit imparts power,
knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual gifts thereby enabling humans to
accomplish beyond what is normal. The Holy Spirit enables men and women
of God to display the fruits of the Spirit. The anointed are given Holy
Spirit in order to carry out God's Will. Finally, the Holy Spirit is a
helper providing comfort in times of distress and is an intercessor,
advocating on our behalf to God. The figurative oil in our lamps, God's
Holy Spirit, is a guiding light shining on our roadway until we are
able to greet the bridegroom, Christ Jesus, when He returns. At
Christ's arrival we will then be able to demonstrate that we have led a
successful spiritual life and that we, finally, are ready to receive
our reward from our Lord as we go out to meet Him.
