1 Corinthians 12:1 | NKJV (1) Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:
The word “gifts” was added by the translators. This verse actually says,
1 Corinthians 12:1 | BBE (1) But about the things of the spirit, my brothers, it is not right for you to be without teaching.
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!”
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.
John 14:16 | AMP (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—
John 14:26a | NKJV (26) But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name…
- 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.
Romans 8:14 | TPT (14) The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit.
- 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 1:8 | AMP (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.
The Spirit Within and the Spirit Upon
Jesus told us there are two distinct works of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. One is in the New Birth where He works in us, and the other is in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit when the Spirit comes upon us.
John 4:13-14 NKJV (13) Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, (14) but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
John 7:37-39 | NKJV (37) On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. (38) He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (39) But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Notice Jesus likened the work of the Holy Spirit to water in a well (New Birth) and water flowing like a river (the baptism of the Holy Spirit).
- The water in the well is for the believer’s benefit.
- The river flowing out of us is for the benefit of others.
Acts 1:1-11 NKJV The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, (2) until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, (3) to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. (4) And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; (5) for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (6) Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (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.” (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.”
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is an additional dimension of the work that He does in our lives.
But it is the same Holy Spirit that came in us when we got Born Again.
What About Speaking in Tongues?
- The initial evidence of receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, is speaking in other tongues.
Acts 2:1-4 | NKJV (1) When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. (2) And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. (3) Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. (4) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 10:44-46 | NKJV (44) While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. (45) And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. (46) For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered,
Acts 19:6 | NKJV (6) And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
Benefits of Praying In Tongues
- Tongues is primarily for a believer’s own personal, spiritual edification.
1 Corinthians 14:4 | NKJV (4) He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
Jude 1:20 | NKJV (20) But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
- You can’t edify people unless you have first been edified.
- God has given us this divine means by which we can speak directly to Him supernaturally.
1 Corinthians 14:2 | AMP (2) For one who speaks in an [unknown] tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because in the [Holy] Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things [not obvious to the understanding].
- Praying in other tongues is praying in line with God’s perfect will.
Romans 8:26-27 NKJV (26) Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (27) Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Underline or circle “helps” and “intercession”.
Helps – (Greek: sunantilambano) – three separate words which mean: The Holy Ghost in conjunction and partnership with us, becomes so enraged against whatever is causing us difficulties, He takes it personally upon Himself.
What – (Greek: ti) – the very little thing. It underscores that we don’t even know how to necessarily pray for the small things not to mention the larger issues in life. We are so limited in our view but He can see it ALL.
Ought (Greek: dei)– as the new situation requires and dictates, as the new problem demands.
Intercession – (Greek: huperentugchano) – this is the only time that this word is used in the entire New Testament.
This word paints the picture of someone who has come upon someone who has fallen into some kind of quandary. It would be as if someone has fallen into a deep cavern and is stuck. There is someone who immediately swings into action to rescue and deliver the one who is in trouble. It conveys the idea of a full scale rescue operation.
When we do not know how we should pray for that situation, the Holy Spirit swings into a full-scale rescue operation. But in order to do this, He falls into that place with you. Now you are no longer facing that situation alone, for the Holy Spirit has stepped into your dilemma and is initiating a rescue plan to get you out of that mess!
The Holy Spirit feels everything that you feel. He understands the complete inadequacy you are experiencing. He willingly joins you in your circumstances sharing your emotions and frustrations. Then He begins to put a supernatural plan of rescue into operation to get you out of that problem.
Romans 8:26-27 | TPT (26) And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness. For example, at times we don’t even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super-intercede on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs too deep for words. (27) God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings, yet he also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny.
- Your weaknesses do not disqualify you from His help, they qualify you for His help.