Who is the Holy Spirit?
Genesis 1:2 | NKJV (2) The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Ruwach – a wind, breath, a blast of breath.
John 6:63 | NIV (63) The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you–they are full of the Spirit and life.
Pneuma – a current of air, blast of breath, a strong breeze.
- The Holy Spirit is a person.
He is not an “it”.
John 14:16-17 | NKJV (16) And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever– (17) the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
- He is the Third Person in the Trinity.
Matthew 28:19 | NKJV (19) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Matthew 3:16-17 | NKJV (16) When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. (17) And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
- The Holy Spirit is the perfect gentleman.
The Holy Spirit will not force Himself upon anyone. He must be received. He will never override anyone’s will or power of choice.
Luke 11:11-13 | NKJV (11) If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? (12) Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? (13) If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Life and Power are the two main ministries of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Luke 10:25-37 | NKJV (25) And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (26) He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” (27) So he answered and said, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND,’ and ‘YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'” (28) And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” (29) But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (30) Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. (31) Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. (32) Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. (33) But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. (34) So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. (35) On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ (36) So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” (37) And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Of course, we are taught that this parable was intended to teach us to live in a way that is nice and helpful to our neighbor.
Religion has hijacked this parable and said that being good to people is how you get into Heaven, but the Word of God teaches that the only way to Heaven is through faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is actually giving us a parable that shows the fall of man.
A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho – literally a downhill walk and fell among thieves. When Adam fell, he turned everything over to the main thief and thieves with him being Satan and his kingdom.
Jesus said the thieves did three things to the man:
- They stripped him of his raiment
- They wounded him
- They left him half dead
This is the curse of the law: poverty, sickness and spiritual death.
The first two people that came by, the priest and Levite, both represented the law. But the law cannot help us. The law can only expose the condition that we are in and condemn us.
The Good Samaritan then came by which is a type of Jesus. Why a Good Samaritan? Samaritans were outcasts of Jewish Society and so was Jesus.
So, the Samaritan went to him. Jesus came to us.
Jesus bandaged up our wounds and then he poured in two elements: oil and wine, types of the Holy Spirit.
The first thing he poured in was oil which is a type of the Holy Spirit in the New Birth, and then he poured in wine which is a type of the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
- The Holy Spirit causes us to be Born Again and gives us eternal life.
John 3:3-6 | NKJV (3) Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (4) Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (5) Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
- The Holy Spirit equips us with His power.
Acts 1:8 | AMPC (8) But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.
The types of the Holy Spirit:
- Oil and wine
- The Animal
- The host of the inn
He put the man on his donkey and carried him to the inn. The animal is the burden bearer (the Holy Spirit) and the inn is a type of the church.
The innkeeper is a type of the Holy Spirit. When the Samaritan left, he turned the care of the man over to the innkeeper who would take care of the man just like the Samaritan would.
The Samaritan took out two pennies which represented two days wages and said, “…when I come back…I will settle up”.
Acts 1:9-11 | NKJV (9) Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. (10) And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, (11) who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”