D r. J a c k T r i e b e r

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2 D r. J a c k T r i e b e r

3 C o n t e n t s Foreword... vii 1. The Person of the Holy Spirit The Purpose of the Holy Spirit The Power of the Holy Spirit The Pain to the Holy Spirit - Part I The Comforter Has Come Published by North Valley Publications 3530 De La Cruz Blvd. Santa Clara, CA (408) nvpublications.org ISBN Dr. Jack Trieber All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. 5. The Pain to the Holy Spirit - Part II The Program of the Holy Spirit The Pouring of the Holy Spirit - Part I The Pouring of the Holy Spirit - Part II The Pity of the Holy Spirit The Patience of the Holy Spirit The Polluting of the Holy Spirit The Position of the Holy Spirit The Proof of the Holy Spirit The Purity of the Holy Spirit Prayer and the Holy Spirit...255

4 Foreword The Holy Spirit is often the neglected person in the Godhead. This neglect is particularly prevalent in our independent, fundamental, Baptist churches. We must not be shy about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God. He is not merely a force, idea, or agent; He is God. We need to know what the Bible says about Him. Between December 2006 and April 2007, I preached a series of lessons on the Holy Spirit to the North Valley Baptist Church. This text is an outgrowth of those lessons. God has blessed me with talented and hardworking staff. I am grateful for the editorial assistance of Kevin Boruff, Joy Flint, Aimee Willand, Sarah Uson, Angie Zachary, and Dr. Mike Zachary; and I am proud to acknowledge the excellent design and layout work of Mike Moyer and Janelle Esteban. Jack Trieber Santa Clara, California August 2007

5 [ CHAPTER 1 ] The Person of the Holy Spirit

6 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. I John 5:7 Christians often overlook the Holy Spirit, but He does not overlook us; He dwells within us. Christians often forget the Holy Spirit, but He does not forget us; He comforts, teaches, and guides us. He is the quiet member of the Trinity, but Christians need to recognize His urging and obey His will. Studying the Holy Spirit Pneumatology is the study of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. It comes from two Greek words: the word pneuma, which means spirit, air, wind, or breath, and the suffix logia, which means study of. Pneumatology is a vital part of theology, or the study of God. In Acts 19, the Bible records a conversation that the Apostle Paul had with some people he met in Ephesus. These people had been to Israel and had heard John the Baptist preach about the repentance of sin and the anticipation of the

7 Dr. Jack Trieber Savior. After they relocated to Ephesus, these people never heard anything else about the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of the Son of God. When Paul questioned them about their beliefs, he discovered that they did not know about the Holy Spirit. And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost (Acts 19:2). Many Christians find themselves in a situation not much better than these uninformed people at Ephesus. Many Christians have heard of the Holy Spirit, but they do not know much about Him. These fifteen lessons are designed for those who want to know more about the quiet member of the Trinity. Discovering the Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is God. We know that He is God because the Bible declares it. Acts chapter five begins with the tragic story of Ananias and Sapphira. This couple wanted the apostles and members of their church to think that they were selfless, sacrificial, and generous. They wanted to receive the recognition for giving without paying the price of the gift. The only way they could do The Comforter Has Come that was to lie. The Apostle Peter rebuked Ananias for lying to the Holy Ghost, which was the same thing as lying to God. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. Acts 5:3, 4 We know that the Holy Spirit is God because all of the attributes, or features, of God can be seen in the Holy Spirit. Here are just a few of these attributes: God is eternal. The Holy Spirit is also eternal; the Bible says, How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14). God is omnipresent. God is in every place at every time. The Holy Spirit is also omnipresent;

8 Dr. Jack Trieber the Bible says, Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me (Psalm 139:7-10). 3. God is omniscient. God knows everything. The Holy Spirit is also omniscient; the Bible says, But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God (I Corinthians 2:10, 11). 4. God is a God of truth. The words God of truth appear four times in the Old Testament, once each in Deuteronomy 32:4 and Psalm 31:5, and twice in Isaiah 65:16. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth four times in the New Testament (John 14:17; John 15:26; John 16:13; and I John 4:6). There are many names assigned to God in the Bible. The Bible also includes many names for the The Comforter Has Come Holy Spirit of God, the most popular of which is the Holy Ghost. Today, the word ghost is more associated with Halloween than with spiritual matters. When the King James Version of the Bible was written four hundred years ago, the word ghost was a common synonym for spirit. We can still see this meaning of ghost in the word ghostwriter, which is not referring to an author of ghost stories but to an author that captures the spirit, or essence, of the person to whom a book is attributed. Examining the Trinit y Much of the difficulty in understanding the person of the Holy Spirit is in comprehending what we call the Trinity and what the Bible calls the Godhead. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. Romans 1:20