Foundations of the Faith
Lesson
4 The Holy Spirit
Introduction
Scripture clearly reveals the Holy Spirit is a Divine
Person, not an impersonal force or power. As J. Oswald Sanders wrote, If He is
merely a power or influence, our dominant aim would be , How may I obtain more
of His power and influence? But if He is a Divine Person, our consistent
attitude should be How can He more fully possess me so that I may become the
vehicle of His power and influence?
The Holy Spirit is God
Acts 5:3-4
But
Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy
Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained
unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under
your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You
have not lied to men but to God."
Third Person of the Trinity John 14:16-17
I
will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He
may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him
because He abides with you and will be in you.
In John 14:16, when Jesus calls the Spirit another
Helper, He means He is a helper of the same kind He has been - αllon
(another of the same kind of) Parαkleeton in the Greek. If the Spirit was of a
different kind, it would have been heteron (another of a different kind
of) Parαkleeton. The Spirit is of the same kind as Jesus He is God.
The Greek gives further evidence of the personhood of
the Holy Spirit.
The Greek for spirit = pneuma (neuter noun)
Pronoun for Holy Spirit should be neuter too
Biblical authors did not follow rules of grammar but
used masculine pronouns because they knew He is a Person not a thing. (For example,
John 15:26; 16:7-8, 13-14)
Romans 8:9
However,
you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of
God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
he does not belong to Him.
He has the attributes of God
He is omnipresent
Psalms 139:7-8 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or
where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I
make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
He is holy
Luke 1:35-36 The angel answered and said to her, The Holy
Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
He has the attributes of God
He is omniscient
1 Corinthians 2:10-11
For to us God revealed them
through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths
of God. For who among men knows the
thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the
thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
He has the attributes of God
He forgives sin
Hebrews 9:14 . . . how much more will the blood of
Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish
to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
He creates
Psalms 104:30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are
created; And You renew the face of the ground.
The Trinity
In the unity of
the Godhead, there are three persons, equal in divine perfection &
executing distinct but harmonious offices in the work of redemption.
The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke
1:35), led and filled by the Spirit (Luke 4:1), anointed by the Spirit (Luke
4:18), cast out demons by the Spirit (Matthew 12:28), was offered to God
through the Spirit (Hebrews 9:14), and was raised from the dead by the Spirit
(Romans 8:11).
John 16:8
And He, when He comes, will convict the world
concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; . . .
The Holy Spirit convicts man of his sin of
unbelief (John 16:9) and shows man through God's word that "there is
none righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10). He convicts man that Jesus is the
righteousness of God (John 16:10 and Romans 10:3-4). He convicts man that the power of Satan has
been broken. Satan has been judged (John
16:11).
At salvation, when a person admits his sin, repents,
and turns to God through faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit:
Regenerates the believer. He is born again of the Spirit of God.
John 3:5 Jesus
answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the
Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom
of God.
Titus 3:5 He
saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but
according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy
Spirit, . . .
At salvation, when a person admits his sin, repents,
and turns to God through faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit:
Indwells the believer. This is a one time experience occurring at
the point of salvation.
Acts 2:38 Peter
said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit.
Romans 8:11 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.
God through faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit:
Baptizes
the believer into the body of Christ.
I Corinthians 12:13
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or
Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
At salvation, when a person admits his sin, repents,
and turns to God through faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit:
Seals
the believer for God. Once saved,
the believer is sealed by the Holy Spirit, who is given as a pledge of our
inheritance.
Ephesians 1:13-14
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of
your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy
Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view
to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.
After salvation, the Holy Spirit:
Reveals
Gods ways to us
John 16:14-15
He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to
you. All things that the Father has are
Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.
After salvation, the Holy Spirit:
Empowers
us to live for Him
Romans 8:11 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.
After salvation, the Holy Spirit:
Witnesses
to us that we are His children
Romans 8:16 The
Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, . . .
Gives
us access to the Father
Ephesians 2:18 . . . for through Him we both have our
access in one Spirit to the Father.
After salvation, the Holy Spirit:
Empowers
us to witness
Acts 1:8 . . .
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you
shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria,
and even to the remotest part of the earth.
After salvation, the Holy Spirit:
Leads
us
Galatians 5:18
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
Guides us to all Truth
John 16:13 But
when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for
He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak;
and He will disclose to you what is to come.
After salvation, the Holy Spirit:
Gives
us gifts for the benefit the Church.
1 Corinthians 12:7-11
But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the
common good. For to one is given the
word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge
according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit,
and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting
of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of
spirits, to another various kinds of
tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same
Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just
as He wills.
After salvation, the Holy Spirit:
Helps
us know what God has given to us
1 Corinthians 2:11-12
For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the
man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit
of God. Now we have received, not the
spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the
things freely given to us by God, . . .
After salvation, the Holy Spirit:
Helps us put to death the deeds of the flesh
Romans 8:13 . .
. for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the
Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Our Response
We
must be filled with the Spirit
Ephesians 5:18
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be
filled with the Spirit, . . .
Outward
evidences of being Spirit-filled
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; . . .
Baptism vs. Filling
Baptism (1 Cor 12:13)
One time
Happened at
salvation
Union w/ Christ
Placed into body
of Christ
Positional act by
God at salvation
Never commanded
All Christians
have it
Filling (Eph. 5:18)
Repeated &
continuous
Happens in
present
Communion w/
Christ
Empowers members
of Christs body for service
Experiential act
by our submission & obedience
Commanded
continuously
All Christians
should be
Conclusion
The
Holy Spirit is God. He convicted us of
our need for salvation through Jesus Christ.
We have been born again of the Spirit to receive new life. We have been indwelt by the Spirit and sealed
unto God by the Spirit. We have been
baptized into the body of Christ and given power through the Spirit to live a
life pleasing to God. If we will submit
ourselves to be led by and filled with His Spirit, we can bear His fruit,
thereby experiencing the kingdom of God which is described as "righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit"
(Romans 14:17).