THE HOLY SPIRIT

“WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?”

JOHN 16:7

Pastor Francis Chan has written a book entitled Forgotten God.  The sub-title is “Reversing Our Tragic Neglect Of The Holy Spirit”.  Now, as Francis says in his book, some may feel that calling the Holy Spirit, the Forgotten God, a bit extreme.

But is it?  How often do we teach/preach/talk about the HS in the church?  More often than not, we have ignored the Holy Spirit.  We preach God and we proclaim Christ.  But we don’t often mention the Holy Spirit.

And that is tragic on our part.  The HS is mentioned all throughout the Bible.  The HS inspired the writing of the Word of God.  And, as we read in the NT, the HS’s power is necessary for the church.  It’s like Francis Chan wrote in his book-“If I were Satan & my ultimate goal was to thwart God’s kingdom and purposes, one of my main strategies would be to get churchgoers to ignore the Holy Spirit.”

We aren’t going to do that.  Today, I begin a 9-part series on the HS.  Once we study what the Bible has to say about the HS, we’ll see why it is so very important to pay attention to the leading of the HS in our church & our individual lives as believers.

We’ll start out this morning by looking at what Jesus told his disciples about the HS in John 16:7:

“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate (HS) won’t come.  If I do go away, then I will send him to you.” – John 16:7

Stop and think about what Jesus was telling his disciples!  He told them that it was going to be best if he left them.  Now, what could be better than to physically have Jesus with them? The presence of the HS!  Jesus said it would be best for them if he left so the Holy Spirit could come. 

Now, if it was better for the HS to come to the disciples, the HS is just as important for us today.  The HS is someone we can’t ignore.  The Bible tells us that the HS leads us.  Therefore, we must understand his presence, his power and his working in our lives and in the life of the church.

Today, we will begin our series by answering this question- Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Pope had just been presented w/a brand new limousine.  He wanted to see how well his new car drove.  So, he convinced his chauffeur to let him drive.  The chauffeur hopped into the back seat & the Pope slid behind the wheel of his new wheels.

The Pope was having so much fun driving his new limo that he didn’t realize that he was speeding.  He also didn’t see the police officer sitting alongside the road.  The officer pulled the Pope over for speeding.  He walked up to the limo.  When the officer saw that he had just pulled over the Pope, he was quite shaken up.

He went back to his patrol car & radioed headquarters.  He told his sergeant, “Sarge, I just pulled someone over for speeding, but I don’t think I should give him a ticket.”  “Why not?” the Sergeant wanted to know.

“Well,” the officer said, “this man is an extremely important man.”  “Who is he?” “I don’t know.”  “Then how do you know that he is so important?”  “I don’t know who he is, but he has to be important because the Pope is his chauffer!”

Perhaps that is where you are at in your understanding of the Holy Spirit.  You know that he is a VIP spiritually, but you really don’t know who he is and you don’t know a whole lot about him.  I hope to help you understand more about the Holy Spirit in this series.

Let’s begin here as we answer the question, “Who is the Holy Spirit?”

1. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON

You may have noticed that I did not title this sermon, “What is the HS?”  Instead, I titled it, “Who is the HS?”  That’s because the HS is a person.

Now, as much as I love the poetry and overall accuracy of the KJV of the Bible, I don’t think it does us any favors when it comes to understanding the HS.  The KJV refers to the Holy Spirit as the Holy Ghost.  What’s that all about?  How do you relate to a ghost?  The Holy Spirit is not a ghost.

Neither is the Holy Spirit some type of impersonal force.  In the Star Wars movies, the characters refer to the source of their powers as THE FORCE.  The Holy Spirit is not some type of impersonal force.

The Holy Spirit is a person.  He is a real person.  The Bible speaks of the HS in personal terms.  When Jesus spoke of the HS, our Lord referred to the Spirit as “HE.”  We see from the Bible that the HS has an intellect, emotions and a will.

The Bible attributes to the HS, acts that we would expect of a person.  The HS speaks.  Rev. 2:7 says- “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirt SAYS to the churches.”  According to the Bible, the HS also intercedes, testifies, leads, commands, guides and appoints, all acts associated with a person.

The HS can be lied to like any other person.  In the Book of Acts, we read that Ananias lied about how much money he received for the sale of his land as he was donating a portion of the proceeds to the church.  He claimed that the donation was the entire profit from the sale of his land.  Peter confronted Ananias w/the fact that he had lied to the HOLY SPIRIT.  At that point, Ananias dropped dead right there on the spot.

The HS can be insulted according to Hebrews 10:29 & he can be grieved.  Eph. 4:30 says:

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” – Ephesians 4:30

We grieve the HS when we sin.  When we are disobedient to God.  As we look at the verses surrounding Ephesians 4:30, we learn about some of the sins that bring grief to the Holy Spirit:

• Unwholesome talk
• Words that tear people down instead of building them up
• Bitterness, rage, anger,
• Animosity, resentment, strife, quarreling, backbiting, and fault-finding
• Slander and spite
• Lack of kindness
• Not caring about people
• An unforgiving spirit

It’s not just sinful actions that grieve the Spirit of God.  We can bring grief to the Holy Spirit by the negative words we speak and having a mean and hateful attitude toward other people.  Let’s move on:

Even the fruit that the HS produces in our lives attests to the fact that the HS is a person.  That’s because the fruit of the HS are things that are characteristic of a person:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control.

Yes, the HS is a person.  Not only is he a person……

2. THE HS IS A DIVINE PERSON

The HS is called the Spirit of God in the Bible.  The Bible describes the HS with attributes that are associated with God.

For example, we know that God is eternal.  In Hebrews 9:14, the HS is described as the ETERNAL Spirit.

Another attribute of God is that he is omnipotent or all-powerful.  Likewise, the HS is all-powerful.

His power is seen in creation.  The Bible indicates that the HS was involved in the creation process.  In Genesis 1:2, we read that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  The word for hovering carries with it the idea of brooding.  Just as a hen broods over her eggs for the purpose of hatching them and bringing forth new life, so the HS brooded over the creation of God for the purpose of filling creation with life in its various forms.

The Holy Spirit’s power was seen in the fact that Mary, a virgin, was pregnant with the Son of God.  The angel Gabriel explained to Mary how it was to happen:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.”

-Luke 1:35

So, it was the power of the HS that conceived the Son of God in Mary’s womb. 

We see the power of the HS displayed in the beginning of the church.  The HS came upon the church in a mighty and miraculous way on the Day of Pentecost.  The Spirit empowered Peter to preach the 1^st Gospel sermon & 3,000 believers were baptized.  The church was born by the power of the HS.

The HS’s power is also seen in that He is the author of the Bible.  Peter wrote about how the Bible came into existence:

“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.  For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” -2 Peter 1:20-21

The HS authored the Bible.  We call it inspiration.  The HS inspired and guided the thoughts of the human authors to lead them to accurately record the mind and message of God.

The Bible has stood the test of time.  It has proved to be credible and indestructible against all attacks and criticisms.  That’s because the Word of God was written by the HS.

Another attribute of God is that He is omnipresent; he is everywhere at the same time.  That is also true about the HS.  Listen to what David wrote about this:

“Where can I go from your SPRIT?  Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” -Psalm 139:7-8

We cannot escape the presence of the HS since he is everywhere at the same time.  Therefore, we learn, like Adam did in the Garden of Eden, after his sin, that, try as we may, to run from God, we cannot hide from God.  We cannot hide our sins from God.  Therefore, we need to confess them to receive forgiveness. 

Also, just like God, the HS is omniscient, or all-knowing.  The HS knows the mind and the thoughts of God according to what Paul wrote:

“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him?  In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” -1 Corinthinans 2:10-11

We see from all these characteristics associated with the HS that the HS possesses those attributes associated w/God.  The HS is the 3^rd person of what we refer to as the Trinity; that God eternally exists in 3 persons- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Now the Bible doesn’t try to explain the concept of the Trinity.  But for some reason, people have made their feeble attempts to try to explain or illustrate the concept of the Trinity. 

They use the egg illustration because an egg has 3 parts- the shell, the yoke and white.  Or they use the water illustration.  That water can be in 3 forms- liquid, solid and steam.  I have even heard of someone who tried to illustrate the concept of the Trinity by referring to Neapolitan ice cream because it has 3 flavors- vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.

Now, some people may think that they are clever in providing those analogies to illustrate the Trinity.  But they come up way short.  Like I said, the Bible never explains the concept of the Trinity.  It simply states it as fact & we accept it by faith: That there is one God who eternally exists in 3 persons- the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Now, here is the application that I want to make today about the HS, this Divine Person, God the HS.  It’s this….

3. THE HOLY SPIRIT DWELLS IN US

Jesus was God with us.  The Holy Spirit is God in us.  The eternal God, the Holy Spirit, dwells inside each of us as believers.

READ ROMANS 8:9-11

According to this, all of us as believers have the Spirit of God living inside each of us.  Paul reiterates the same thing in 1 Cor. 6:  “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?  You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.  So you must honor God with your body.” -1 Corinthians 6:19-20

The HS makes his home in our bodies.  We are the place where he dwells.  That means two very important things as far as the difference the Holy Spirit makes in our lives. The first of which deals with how we live our daily lives and can be remembered with the word:

1. POWER.

Should there not be a HUGE difference between the person who has the Spirit of God living inside of him or her and the person who does not?

Let’s say I told you that I had an encounter with God where he gave me a supernatural ability to play basketball, better than LeBron James!  Wouldn’t you expect to see an amazing improvement in my jump shot and my ability to dunk a basketball?  Trust me, it would take a God-given supernatural ability for me to dunk a basketball!  But if you saw no change in my athleticism, wouldn’t you question the validity of my “encounter” with God?

Through the indwelling presence of the HS, God has given us the supernatural ability to follow Christ, to put sin to death and serve the church.  Others should see the difference in our lives.  We should see the difference in ourselves.

Do you ever wonder what a caterpillar thinks about, especially after it becomes a butterfly?  For all its caterpillar life, it crawls around a small patch of dirt & up & down a few plants.  Then one day it takes a nap.  A long nap.  Then one day it wakes up to discover it can fly!  It must wonder about what happened to its dirty, plump little worm body.  What does it think when it sees its tiny new body and gorgeous wings?  It must be amazed!

As believers, we should have the same kind of astonishment when the HS enters us.  We ought to be stunned over becoming a new creation in Christ!  As the caterpillar finds it has a new ability to fly, we should be thrilled over our Holy Spirit empowered ability to live differently; faithfully for Jesus!

Let’s stop and think about this for a moment: It is an astounding truth that the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you and me.  God’s Holy Spirit power is in each of us.  This means that we don’t have to live defeated lives, continually dominated by brokenness and sin.  We can do better than that.  We can be better than that.  We can live daily in victory over sin, selfishness, and shame.  The Holy Spirit empowers us to a higher calling in our lives; one that reflects Christ in both speech and action.

  I, for one, don’t want to live in a way that looks exactly like people who do not have the Holy Spirit living in them.  And I hope that is your desire as well!  I want to consistently live with a daily awareness of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in my life.  Now, if that is not our daily experience, that means that we have quenched or negated the Spirit’s influence in our lives.  We’ll look at how we can overcome that when we look at how to be filled with the Holy Spirit in a few weeks.

But Jesus said that it is better for us that the Spirit came.  I want to experience the HS’s power in my life.  I don’t want to keep crawling when I have the ability to fly.

The 2^nd difference that the HS living in each of us makes can be remembered by this word:

  b. HOPE

The HS living in us gives us hope in the face of death.  In speaking about the HS raising Jesus from the dead, Paul proclaims that this same Spirit will give life to our mortal bodies.

One day our bodies will cease to live.  Our lungs will no longer inhale air, our hearts will no longer beat & our brains will cease to function.  A funeral will be held for each of us and people will say nice things about us.  Our bodies will be committed to an earthly resting place.  But our graves will not be a final resting place.  The grave is only a temporary resting place. You actually don’t buy a cemetery plot.  You only rent one.  One day, when Jesus returns, the HS will give life to our mortal bodies.  Our bodies will be resurrected from their graves.  We will have victory over death.  We will receive a brand-new body that we will live in forever.

Therefore, we need not fear death.  Death is just a transition.  It’s not the end.  Therefore, the doctor’s diagnosis need not alarm you and death itself does not need to frighten you.  We can face death with confidence just like David wrote:

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” -Psalm 23:4

The Lord will guide you through the transition of passing on to heaven and you will live in the house of the Lord forever. That is something to look forward to; to anticipate with a God-given, Holy Spirit-inspired confidence.

That hope is for every person who is a Christian.  If you desire to become a Christian and have this hope, we invite you to believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, repent of your sins, confess your faith in Christ & be baptized into Christ.  The Bible tells us that when we are baptized into Christ, that our sins are forgiven and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  If you are already a Christian, but you need a church home, we invite you to come forward to place your membership and join our church family.