1 Valley View Chapel November 14, 2010 Essentials, Part 8 The Holy Spirit... Introduction I believe in the Holy Spirit. With this statement, The Apostles Creed completes its affirmation of the Trinity. According to the orthodox Christian faith, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit comprise the Godhead. Thomas Arnold said, He who does not know God the Holy Spirit cannot know God at all. The Holy Spirit is the Person of the Trinity who makes it possible to know God. This message has to be limited in its scope. Today we ll look at the doctrine of the Holy Spirit from 30,000 feet. There is a lot that could be said About the Holy Spirit which will have to be left unsaid. But, hopefully, enough will be said to give us an understanding and appreciation of who the Holy Spirit is; what his role is in the world; and how we can tap into the power that is available to us through a relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity Christianity is Trinitarian. When R.C. Sproul stated that Orthodox Christianity asserts the incomprehensibility of God, he must have had the Trinity in mind. Nevertheless, Christians are Trinitarians because the Trinity is biblical. The first mention of the Trinity is seen in the fourth word in the English Bible: In the beginning, God... Genesis 1:1 (NIV) There are three ways of expressing numbers in Hebrew - singular, one; dual, two; and plural, more than two. The word for God in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim indicating plural, more than two. The plurality of persons in the Godhead is also seen in Genesis 1:26 when God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness... (NIV) The Trinity is described more specifically in the New Testament. In the Great Commission, recorded in Matthew 28:19, Jesus aid to his disciples: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (NIV) Paul s benediction at the close of his second letter to the Corinthians is a ringing proclamation of the Trinity: May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV)
2 The Holy Spirit Is God The Bible repeatedly testifies that the Holy Spirit is fully God. He is the Spirit of God in Genesis 1:2; the Spirit of the Lord in Luke 4:18 and the Spirit of the living God in II Corinthians 3:3. In Acts 5:3 Ananias and Sapphira were accused of lying to the Holy Spirit and in Acts 5:4 of lying to God. In I Corinthians 3:16 Paul called the church God s temple and three chapters later called us a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit possesses the attributes of God. One of God s attributes is his eternality. This is another way of saying that there never was a time when God did not exist. Hebrews 9:14 speaks of the eternal Spirit. Another attribute of God is omnipresence. The psalmist acknowledged this divine attribute in Psalm 139:7, Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? The third of God s attributes that belongs to the Holy Spirit is omniscience the ability to have perfect, infinite knowledge. Paul reminded the Corinthians of the omniscience of the Holy Spirit in the second chapter of his first epistle: 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. 2 Corinthians 2:10 (NIV) Everything God wants me to know, everything I need to know, can be communicated to me through the Holy Spirit. On the advice of Alexander Graham Bell, the parents of Helen Keller - who was blind, mute and deaf from birth - sent for a teacher from the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston, Massachusetts. Anne Sullivan, a 19-year-old orphan, was chosen for the task of instructing 6-year-old Helen. It was the beginning of a close and lifelong friendship between them. By means of a manual alphabet, Anne "spelled" into Helen's hand such words as doll or puppy. Two years later Helen was reading and writing Braille fluently. At 10 Helen learned different sounds by placing her fingers on her teacher's larynx and "hearing" the vibrations. Later Helen went to Radcliffe College (now part of Harvard University) where Anne spelled the lectures into Helen's hand. After graduating with honors, Helen decided to devote her life to helping the blind and deaf. As part of that endeavor, she wrote many books and articles and traveled around the world making speeches. Since Helen's speeches were not intelligible to some, Anne often translated them for her. Their nearly 50 years of companionship ended when Anne died in 1936. Helen wrote this tribute to her friend: My teacher is so near to me that I scarcely think of myself
3 apart from her. I feel that her being is inseparable from my own, and that the footsteps of my life are in hers. All the best of me belongs to her there is not a talent or an inspiration or a joy in me that has not been awakened by her loving touch. In an imperfect way, Anne Sullivan was to Helen Keller what the Holy Spirit is to the believer - our dearest friend, our faithful companion, our steadfast support. The Holy Spirit is also the spiritual life-giver. Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:5, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. The water is the Word of God and the Spirit is the Holy Spirit. When the Word of God and the Holy Spirit meet in a receptive and repentant heart, that person becomes spiritually born. No one can become a child of God unless the Holy Spirit creates spiritual life in response to the truth of the Gospel. To be born again means to have the life of God living within us. It means to be able to understand the Word of God and the will of God. It means to know that we have a personal relationship with a God of compassion, wisdom, and grace. In his book Born after Midnight, A.W. Tozer observed: Religious instruction, however sound, is not enough by itself. It brings light, but it cannot impart sight. The assumption that light and sight are synonymous has brought spiritual tragedy to millions. The Pharisees looked straight at the Light of the World for three years, but not one ray of light reached their inner beings. Light is not enough. The inward operation of the Holy Spirit is necessary to saving faith. The gospel is light but only the Spirit can give sight. The Holy Spirit Is a Person The Holy Spirit is God. But the Holy Spirit Is a Person Jesus himself consistently referred to the Holy Spirit as a person. He said to his disciples in John 15:26, "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. (NIV) In John 16:13-14, Jesus used the personal pronoun for the Holy Spirit seven times in two verses - But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. The Holy Spirit has characteristics that we associate with personhood.. He speaks. When the Church at Antioch was seeking the mind of the Lord concerning who from their local assembly should be sent forth as missionaries, the Holy Spirit spoke: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Acts 13:2 (NIV) How does the Spirit speak to people today?
4 He speaks through His Word, the Bible. As a matter of fact, the Holy Spirit will never give an answer that contradicts a stated or implied Scriptural principle. Psalm 119:105 states that Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. (NLT) He speaks through prayer. As we acknowledge our need before him, the still small voice of the Spirit makes known the will of God. God himself encouraged his people to pray to him for help: They will call to me, and I will answer them. I will be with them in trouble; I will rescue them and honor them. Psalm 91:15 (NCV) He speaks through circumstances. God opens and closes doors. This principle is clearly demonstrated in Acts 16:6-7, And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. (ESV) He speaks through Christian friends and counselors. Sometimes a trusted friend will confirm what we already sense to be the will of God. At other times, a godly counselor will give a new slant on things which we will have to take back to the Lord in prayer. Proverbs 11:14 offers helpful counsel: Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety. (NKJV) Because he is a Person, the Holy Spirit is relational. So how does the Holy Spirit relate to us? First, He fills us with His Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 commands every Christian to be filled with the Holy Spirit Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit. (NLT) The Holy Spirit wants to have a personal relationship of intimacy with everyone who acknowledges Jesus as Savior and Lord. The Holy Spirit wants to be included in every thought, every conversation, every activity, and every priority. To be filled with the Holy Spirit means to make a fresh and current surrender to the control of the Holy Spirit. Second, he gives us his fruit. Fruit is another word for his characteristics. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is listed in Galatians 5:22-23, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (NIV) That s just a portrait of Jesus. The Holy Spirit wants to produce the characteristics of Jesus in our lives. In her memoirs, Ilyasah Shabazz, the third daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz, talked about the effect of attending church as a little girl. Betty Shabazz took the girls regularly to the mosque. But when they were visiting their grandparents in Philadelphia, they went to Friendship Baptist, a church Ilyasah says she loved the praying and testifying and the singing of gospel music. "I loved the singing that went on," she recalled. "I wanted to feel whatever powerful force was causing all of these people to sing and clap so heartily. I never did catch the spirit, but I always kept the hope." What
5 made the biggest impression on her? She saw the fruit of the Spirit because the people of Friendship Baptist church in Philadelphia looked like Jesus! Third, he gives us spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are supernatural abilities for spiritual service. That s what Paul meant when he told the Corinthians that The Holy Spirit displays God's power through each of us as a means of helping the entire church. 1 Corinthians 12:7 (TLB) The Holy Spirit has given to all believers a spiritual gift or several gifts that are meant to be used for the encouragement and strengthening of the Church. If you are a Christian, then you are gifted. The Holy Spirit has given you a unique ability and place of service in the church. How do you find out what it is? The best way is try your hand at several different ministries. See which one gives you a sense of satisfaction and joy. When believers exercise their spiritual gifts in the context of the church, the body of Christ becomes effective in her witness and God is made to look good not only in the church itself but in the community. We are not a team of superstars. We are ordinary people using our time, talents, treasure and spiritual gifts for the good of the kingdom of God. Your spiritual gift - your unique contribution as a member of the body of Christ - is indispensable for the fruitful operation of the church for the glory of God. I believe in the Holy Spirit... Conclusion If we know the Holy Spirit, we know God! May we be passionately committed to knowing the God we profess to worship and claim to adore. May we grow in our knowledge and in our experience of the Holy Spirit. He who does not know the Holy Spirit cannot know God at all.
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