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
Pneuma – a current of air, blast of breath, a strong breeze.
- The Holy Spirit is a person.
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.
- The Holy Spirit is the perfect gentleman.
Luke 11:13 | NKJV (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!”
Once we are Born Again, there is a ministry that the Holy Spirit that the world cannot receive but we CAN RECEIVE. Any gift God gives, God’s grace supplies it, but we must receive it.
Jesus Christ is God’s gift to the world, but the Holy Spirit is God’s gift to the believer.
Life and Power are the two main ministries of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Another way of saying this is the ministry of the Holy Spirit WITHIN us and UPON us.
John 14:16-17 | NKJV 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.
- The Holy Spirit convicts the world of their sin
- The Holy Spirit draws people to Jesus
The Holy Spirit Within Us
- The Holy Spirit causes us to be Born Again.
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 enables us to have God’s help.
John 14:16 | NKJV (16) And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
Helper (Greek: parakletos) – one called alongside to help and offer aid, one who comes forwards in behalf of and as the representative of another.
John 14:16 | AMPC (16) And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever–
- The Holy Spirit enables us to develop Christ-like character.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 | NLT (17) For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (18) So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord–who is the Spirit–makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.
Galatians 5:22-23 | NLT (22) But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
- The Holy Spirit wants to be our guide.
Romans 8:14 | NIV (14) For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
- The Holy Spirit wants to teach us.
John 14:26 | NKJV (26) But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
John 16:13 | NKJV (13) However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
The Holy Spirit Upon Us
- The Holy Spirit equips us with His power.
Acts 1:7-8 NKJV (7) And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. (8) But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
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 Holy Spirit wants to manifest Himself through us.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 | NKJV (4) There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. (5) There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. (6) And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. (7) But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: (8) for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, (9) to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, (10) to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. (11) But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.