Relying On The Hly Spirit Experience the jy-filled walk with Gd under the aninting f the Hly Spirit. Have yu ever seen a child stare in wide-eyed wnder as she listens t a new stry? That's the way many peple are when it cmes t the Hly Spirit. They dn't have a clue t His true identity r hw He wrks in the life f every Christian. The Hly Spirit is a mystery t them. Wide-eyed wnder is nt a bad respnse t have t the Hly Spirit. Certainly, the Hly Spirit shuld inspire ur awe, ur wnder, ur adratin. But the Hly Spirit des nt desire t be a puzzle. He desires t reveal Himself t us and t be knwn by us. Wh, then, is the Hly Spirit? That's the fcus f this lessn. The Hly Spirit Is a Persn persn. One f the keys t yur understanding abut the Hly Spirit lies in yur recgnitin that the Hly Spirit is nt an it ; He is a Have yu ever been asked, Are yu filled with the Hly Spirit? D yu have the Hly Spirit? There is nly ne set f answers: yes r n. Yu can't have a little bit f the Hly Spirit. Either yu have been filled by Him, r yu haven't. Yu can't have had Him nce, but nt have Him nw. Either yu have Him, r yu've never had Him. The errr tends t cme because we think f the Hly Spirit as a frce, a pwer, an event, an experience, a manifestatin. I nce had this view f the Hly Spirit. When I went t cllege t prepare fr the ministry, I was in a cnversatin early in my freshman year in which the subject f the Hly Spirit came up. I must have referred t the Hly Spirit as it, because at the end f that discussin, ne man in the grup asked me if I'd meet with him later in his drm rm. He was a graduate student in thelgy s I was hnred at the invitatin and I gladly accepted. When I went t his rm, I was amazed t find that the walls were lined entirely with bks. I felt that I was in the presence f a true schlar. He handed me a Greek New Testament, and I have t say, I was dismayed. I admitted t him that I had been at the cllege nly a cuple f weeks and I scarcely knew mre than a few wrds and phrases in Greek. That didn't deter him. He prceeded t g thrugh the New Testament with me, ne verse after anther, teaching me that the Hly Spirit is nt an it but a He - a persn, a member f the hly Trinity. My entire perspective changed. Have yu had an experience with the persn f the Hly Spirit? When yu begin t see the Hly Spirit as a persn - nt as a pwer r an experience - yu have a much different perspective n receiving r getting the Hly Spirit. Frm where des ur false understanding f the Hly Spirit as an it tend t arise? In many cases, frm Acts 2 where we read abut the cming f the Hly Spirit int the lives f the first Christians: When the Day f Pentecst had fully cme, they were all with ne accrd in ne place. And suddenly there came a sund frm heaven, as f a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whle huse where they were sitting. Then there appeared t them divided tngues, as
f fire, and ne sat upn each f them. And they were all filled with the Hly Spirit and began t speak with ther tngues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:1-4). Peple tend t cnfuse the sights and sunds present at the Hly Spirit's arrival with the Hly Spirit Himself. They read f a rushing windlike sund frm heaven. They read f a mass f fire that seems t divide int tngues that tuch each persn. They read f the peple speaking in languages they didn't learn with their minds. And they assume that the sund, the fire, and the unknwn tngues are the Hly Spirit. These are manifestatins f the Spirit's cming t the church n the day f Pentecst shrtly after Jesus' ascensin. They are nt the Hly Spirit Himself. The sund is as a rushing mighty wind. The glwing light seems as divided tngues f fire. The Hly Spirit is infinitely mre than any single manifestatin f His presence. The Characteristics f a Persn these: What makes a persn a persn - as ppsed t any f Gd's ther creatures? The three fremst qualities f persnhd are Knwledge - an ability t knw, understand, recgnize, and have meaning Will - an ability t make chices and decisins n the basis f what ne chses t d, nt as an instinctual respnse t external stimuli Emtin - an ability t feel, bth t have and express feelings and t be aware f them Let's take a lk at Scriptures that reveal these qualities assciated with the Hly Spirit. We read abut the knwing ability f the Hly Spirit: Fr what man knws the things f a man except the spirit f the man which is in him? Even s n ne knws the things f Gd except the Spirit f Gd (1 Crinthians 2:11). And we read abut the will f the Hly Spirit: But ne and the same Spirit wrks all these things, distributing t each ne individually as He wills (1 Crinthians 12:11). In Rmans 15:30, we read abut the lve f the Spirit, and in Ephesians 4:30, we read Paul's admnishment: D nt grieve the Hly Spirit f Gd. We can't grieve Smebdy wh desn't lve us. Because the Hly Spirit has an emtinal capacity, we can grieve Him. Yes, the Hly Spirit has emtins. persn. As yu read thrugh the verses belw, nte as part f yur recrding f insights that these are all the actins r functins f a And I will pray the Father, and He will give yu anther Helper, that He may abide with yu frever (Jhn 14:16). The Helper, the Hly Spirit, whm the Father will send in My name, He will teach yu all things, and bring t yur remembrance all things that I said t yu (Jhn 14:26). When the Helper cmes, whm I shall send t yu frm the Father, the Spirit f truth wh prceeds frm the Father, He will testify f Me (Jhn 15:26). And when He has cme, He will cnvict the wrld f sin, and f righteusness, and f judgment (Jhn 16:8). Helping, cmfrting, teaching, calling t remembrance, testifying, cnvicting - these are all actins f a persn. What new insights d yu have int the nature f the Hly Spirit?
The Hly Spirit Is Part f the Trinity The Hly Spirit is the third member f the triune Gdhead: Gd the Father, Gd the Sn, and Gd the Hly Spirit. He is inseparable frm the Father and the Sn; He is f ne nature, character, and identity with them. At the same time, He is a unique persn; He has a specific identity and functin in ur lives, just as Jesus has a specific identity and functin and the Father has a specific identity and functin. The Hly Spirit is present anytime the Father and the Sn are present, and they in turn, are present anytime the Hly Spirit is present. The Hly Spirit was present at creatin: The earth was withut frm, and vid; and darkness was n the face f the deep. And the Spirit f Gd was hvering ver the face f the waters (Genesis 1:2). And He was vital in the creatin f humankind: Then Gd said, Let Us make man in Our image, accrding t Our likeness; let them have dminin ver the fish f the sea, ver the birds f the air, and ver the cattle, ver all the earth and ver every creeping thing that creeps n the earth. S Gd created man in His wn image; in the image f Gd He created him; male and female He created them (Genesis 1:26-27). Nte the wrd Our. We have been created in the full image f Gd the Father, Gd the Sn, and Gd the Hly Spirit. Nw what des it mean t be created in Gd's image? T be created in Gd's image means that He has given us His qualities f persnhd: we have an ability t knw things and remember them, we have an ability t feel emtins and t respnd t life with a full range f feelings, and we have an ability t make chices and decisins, t slve prblems, t have dminin r authrity ver creatin. We als have Gd's ability t help, t teach, t testify, t call t remembrance, t give cnvincing, cnvicting arguments. Gd has created us with the full capacity t be peple. As part f ur creatin, Gd breathed Himself int us. He imparted the capacity fr His very nature t us. We have the specific ability t knw Gd, t sense Gd at wrk in us, and t respnd t Gd. He made us with the capacity t be His children and t invite Him int ur lives. Yu may ask, Are yu saying that the Hly Spirit is the Spirit f Gd? That's exactly what I'm saying. We are wise t refer t Him in just that way: The Hly Spirit f Gd almighty The Hly Spirit f Christ Jesus - the same Spirit wh indwelled Christ The Hly Spirit wh indwells us tday All are ne and the same Hly Spirit! His rle in the Trinity is t fill, t energize, t empwer, t cause t act, t cmpel behavir, t prduce qualities f character, t wrk in and thrugh Gd's creatin. He is nt the Creatr, but there was and is n creatin withut Him. He is nt the Father, but there is n understanding f ur need fr relatinship r cnfirmatin f ur relatinship with the Father withut Him. He is nt Gd almighty, but there is n expressin f r cnvictin abut Gd's will apart frm Him. He is nt the Sn, but there are n awareness f sin and n cming t a saving knwledge f Jesus Christ as Savir apart frm Him. He is nt Jesus, but Jesus did nt d anything apart frm the Hly Spirit's empwerment. The Hly Spirit is inseparable frm Christ Jesus and frm Gd the Father. What new insights d yu have int the nature f the Hly Spirit?
The Hly Spirit Is the Prmise f Gd t the Believer The Hly Spirit has a unique relatinship with believers. Let the verses f Scripture belw speak t yu directly and persnally. Keep in mind that Paul is writing in bth cases t peple wh have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savir and wh are fllwing Him as the Lrd f their lives. In Him yu als trusted, after yu heard the wrd f truth, the gspel f yur salvatin; in whm als, having believed, yu were sealed with the Hly Spirit f prmise, wh is the guarantee f ur inheritance until the redemptin f the purchased pssessin, t the praise f His glry (Ephesians 1:13-14). But yu are nt in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit f Gd dwells in yu. Nw if anyne des nt have the Spirit f Christ, he is nt His. And if Christ is in yu, the bdy is dead because f sin, but the Spirit is life because f righteusness. But if the Spirit f Him wh raised Jesus frm the dead dwells in yu, He wh raised Christ frm the dead will als give life t yur mrtal bdies thrugh His Spirit wh dwells in yu (Rmans 8:9-11). These verses say plainly that if yu have Christ, yu have the Hly Spirit f Gd. He is the seal f yur cmmitment t Jesus Christ. In ther wrds, when yu accept Jesus Christ as the substitutinary, sacrificial, all-sufficient atnement fr yur sins - as an act f yur cnfessin and will - the Hly Spirit autmatically seals that decisin befre the Father in heaven. Yu belng t Gd frever. There is n unsealing f what the Hly Spirit seals, nt by yur actins r by the actins f any ther persn. Cnversely, if yu d nt have the Hly Spirit resident in yu, as Gd's seal and guarantee n yur life - in ther wrds, as Gd's claim that yu belng t Him - yu haven't received Jesus Christ as yur Savir. Can yu be a Christian and nt have the Hly Spirit? N. Sme peple ask, Have yu received the Hly Spirit since yu became a Christian? The questin they ask is an impssibility. Yu received the Hly Spirit as part f yur receiving Christ. Yu can't receive just ne part f the Trinity. When yu became a Christian - when yu cnfessed yur sins and repented f them, when yu asked fr and received Gd's frgiveness - yu received the Hly Spirit. The Spirit f Gd came and indwelled yur spirit and claimed yu as His wn. He has put yu int full relatinship with the Father and the Sn, because He is inseparable frm the Father and the Sn. He nw seeks t live His life - the same quality f life that Jesus Christ lived - in yu and thrugh yu. Have yu accepted Jesus Christ as yur Savir? The Prmise t Every Believer Jesus prmised the Hly Spirit t His disciples, and that prmise extends t us as His disciples tday. Recall that Jesus said, But the Helper, the Hly Spirit, whm the Father will send in My name, He will teach yu all things (Jhn 14:26). Jesus said the Father will send the Spirit. At the time f Jesus' ascensin, He said t His disciples, Behld, I send the Prmise f My Father upn yu; but tarry in the city f Jerusalem until yu are endued with pwer frm n high (Luke 24:49). It was the prmise that Jesus had made t them n the night f the Last Supper - the prmise f the Hly Spirit's cming t them t help and cmfrt them in His absence. In Acts 1:8, we find these additinal wrds at the time f Jesus' ascensin: Yu shall receive pwer when the Hly Spirit has cme upn yu; and yu shall be witnesses t Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and t the end f the earth (emphasis added). There was n dubt in His mind that it wuld happen fr thse wh desired t fllw Him.
Read Peter's descriptin f the events n the day f Pentecst: This Jesus Gd has raised up, f which we are all witnesses. Therefre being exalted t the right hand f Gd, and having received frm the Father the prmise f the Hly Spirit, He pured ut this which yu nw see and hear (Acts 2:32-33). Peter was saying, We received the One wh was prmised. Yu witnessed the manifestatin f His presence cming int ur lives with yur wn eyes and ears. The Hly Spirit is Gd's prmise t yu as His child tday. If yu are a believer and fllwer f the Lrd Jesus Christ, yu have the Hly Spirit resident in yu. The Hly Spirit Is the Pwer f the Believer Why did Jesus prmise the Hly Spirit t thse wh fllwed Him? Because He knew that they wuld need t have the Hly Spirit in them if they were t be faithful, steadfast, and effective in their walk with Gd. The Hly Spirit enables peple t live the Christian life. The Gd f ur Lrd Jesus Christ, the Father f glry, may give t yu the spirit f wisdm and revelatin in the knwledge f Him... that yu may knw... what is the exceeding greatness f His pwer tward us wh believe, accrding t the wrking f His mighty pwer which He wrked in Christ when He raised Him frm the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far abve all principality and pwer and might and dminin, and every name that is named, nt nly in this age but als in that which is t cme. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him t be head ver all things t the church (Ephesians 1:17-22). Nw t Him wh is able t d exceedingly abundantly abve all that we ask r think, accrding t the pwer that wrks in us, t Him be glry in the church by Christ Jesus t all generatins, frever and ever (Ephesians 3:20). Paul wanted the believers t knw that they had full resurrectin pwer in their lives. They had the same pwer that raised Christ Jesus frm the dead. Certainly, such pwer was able t raise them frm their sins. Nt nly that, but the pwer is abve all ther principality, pwer, dminin, r might. Nthing is mre pwerful than the Hly Spirit resident in yu. Hw d yu feel abut the fact that if yu are a believer in Christ Jesus, yu have the pwer f the Hly Spirit in yu? In what ways is the Lrd challenging yu in yur spiritual walk with Him? Cngratulatins! Yu have finished a study n relying n the Hly Spirit. This material is a chapter frm ne f Dr. Stanley's study guide series. The cmplete 105-page study guide frm Thmas Nelsn Publishers may be purchased thrugh In Tuch Ministries. Als available is a six-tape audi album Our Divine Helper - The Hly Spirit t cmplement the cntent f the study guide. Cpyright 1996, Thmas Nelsn, Inc. Used with permissin. The Bible versin used is The New King James Versin. Cpyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thmas Nelsn, Inc., Publishers