The Holy Spirit

Steve Kissell

Introduction:

A. Romans 8: 9  “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”

B. There are few Biblical doctrines more intriguing, yet more misunderstood, than the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.

C. There will, of course, be questions about the Holy Spirit that we cannot answer. However, there is much that the Scriptures teach us. It is important that we learn what God has revealed. In this study we will consider:

1. The personality of the Holy Spirit.

2. The deity of the Holy Spirit

3. The gift/indwelling of the Holy Spirit

4. The gifts of the Holy Spirit

5. The baptism/outpouring of the Holy Spirit

D. In looking at these matters, we want to try to answer such questions as:

1. What does the Holy Spirit do today?

2. Is the Holy Spirit God?

3. Does the indwelling of the Holy Spirit endow miraculous power?

4. Does the Spirit “lead” the Christian, and if so, how?

I. The Holy Spirit is a Person.

A. There are some who deny the personality of the Holy Spirit:
The Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, teach: “Holy Spirit is God’s Active Force, Not a Person.”  (Make Sure of All Things, p.487, 1965).

B.  There is no place in either the Old or New Testament where Holy Spirit is ever said to BE a “power,” or “force.”   God HAS power (Lk. 1:35) and the Holy Spirit HAS power (Micah 3:8; Luke 4:14).  However, the Holy Spirit is always distinguished from power (Acts 10:38,  1 Thess. 1:

C.  The Holy Spirit is a person, just like each of us is a person.

            1. The Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit as though He were a person.

a. The personal pronoun “He” is used repeatedly: John 14:16-17; 15: 46;16: 13-14

b. The Holy Spirit is said to do things that only a person could do.  Luke 12:12; John    14: 26; Acts 16:6

c. The Holy Spirit has a will.   I Cor. 12:11

d. The Holy Spirit has a mind.  Romans 8:27  

e. The Holy Spirit has emotions and affections.  Romans 15:30; Eph. 4:30  

f. The Holy Spirit has moral sense.  Acts 15:28

g.  The Holy Spirit can be lied to.  Acts 5: 3 

h.  The Holy Spirit speaks.   Acts 8:29; Acts 10:19; 1 Tim 4:1 

D. There is no scriptural statement that explicitly states that the Holy Spirit is not a person. We must accept, then, that all these statements clearly reflect the reality of His personhood.

 II.  The Holy Spirit is God.

       A. God is (are?) three Persons

 1. There is only one God.  Deut. 4: 35, 39; 32: 39; Isa.43: 10; 44: 6-8

 2. Although there is only one true God, the Bible never says that God is one person.   “God,” it  seems, conveys a plural idea, much like the words family or team. God is a team.

 a. At least four times God speaks of or to Himself using plural pronouns:

• Gen. 1: 26

• Gen. 3: 22

• Gen. 11: 7

• Isa. 6: 8

 b. The most common Hebrew word translated God is Elohim, which is the plural form of the word. It literally means gods.          

      B. The Holy Spirit is God

1.  He possess the attributes of God. 

• a.  Eternal   Heb. 9:14

• b.  Omniscient   1Cor. 2: 10-11

• c.  Omnipotent   Rom. 15:19; Micah 3:8

• d.  Omnipresent  Psa. 139: 7-10

2.  He does the work of God.

• a.  Creation   Psa. 104:24-30  (Gen. 1:1-2, 26)

• b.  Salvation   Jn. 3: 3-5  (1Cor. 12:13)

• c.  Resurrection   Rom. 8:11

• d.  Miracles  1 Cor 12:4-11   (Mt. 12:28)

3.  He is a member of the Godhead/Deity

• a.  Acts 17:29

• b.  Rom. 1:20

• c.   Col. 2:9

III.  Revelation, Inspiration, and the Holy Spirit

      A. Definitions:

1. Revelation: the disclosure of information not formally revealed.

• a.  Luke 2: 26

• b. 1 Cor. 2: 9-10

• c.  Eph. 3: 1-7

2. Inspiration: the influence of the Holy Spirit exerted upon the prophets of God and  writers of Scripture to insure the accuracy of their message.

• a. Matt. 10:19-20

• b. Jn. 14: 26

• c. 2 Tim. 3: 16

• d. 2 Pet. 1: 20-21

• e. Eph. 6: 17

 IV. The Gift of the Holy Spirit

A. The Holy Spirit is the gift.

1. Acts 2:  38 

2. Acts 5: 32

3. Rom. 5: 5

4. Gal. 3: 2

B. The Holy Spirit indwells in the Christian. This is the gift.

1. Rom. 8: 9-11

2. 1 Cor. 6:19

C. What does the Holy Spirit do?

1. He sanctifies us.  2 Thess. 2: 13-14; 1 Pet. 1: 2

2. He “seals” us.  Eph. 1:13-14; 4: 30;  2 Cor. 1: 22

3. He is our “earnest” or guarantee.  Eph. 1: 14;  2 Cor: 5:5

4. He helps us.  Rom. 8: 26

5. He intercedes for us.  Rom 8: 26

D.  Some deny that the Holy Spirit actually and literally dwells in the body of a Christian. Their       position is that the Holy Spirit indwells only in the sense that the word of God indwells; that       the Holy Spirit indwells “representatively” through the word. Reception of the word is said to   be the equivalent to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  I believe this is incorrect.

1. Those statements that say that the Holy Spirit dwells in us should be understood literally unless there is a compelling reason not to. There is no compelling reason:

• a. It is claimed that since the Holy Spirit is a person, it is not possible for Him to literally inhabit the body of another person.  Response: Who says?  Demons are persons who literally inhabited the bodies of humans.  It is not impossible for the Holy Spirit to indwell in our bodies literally.

• b. The Scriptures nowhere deny a literal indwelling or state that the Spirit dwells “representatively” through the word.

2.  The Holy Spirit is not the word of God. Reception of the word of God is not the same as       reception of the Holy Spirit.  Acts 2:38, 41.  Peter’s audience first received the word of  God and later, when they were baptized, received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 3.  The “no literal indwelling” position seems to be an extreme reaction to the charismatic/ pentecostal movement. It is thought that if one actually has the Holy Spirit indwelling in a person, that person must be empowered to work miracles. That simply does not follow.