A Study on the Holy Spirit

I actually have never heard a sermon on the topic of the Holy Spirit. For some reason no pastor of any church I have been to has ever devoted a sermon just to Him. And why not? I always wondered. I went to a private Christian college, Biola. We never had a chapel talk on the Holy Spirit.

I think because charismatic churches can get a bit crazy sometimes, the more conservative churches just avoid the subject altogether of the Holy Spirit. So I will write about what I wish I would have heard a sermon on lol.

Who is the Holy Spirit? What does the Bible say about Him? Why does he exist?

There is the trinity, God the father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. I have always seen them in a kind of hierarchy. God the father is the head of the trinity. The Son is in subjection to Him just as a son on earth is in subjection to his father. And then the Holy Spirit acts on their behalf and carries out the will of the Father. He is like the messenger between us and God. He helps us understand God better. He is the person of the trinity that lives inside of us. He gives us eyes to see and ears to hear God and understand the Bible better.

The disciples did miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God in us! How amazing is that if you really think about it! He is like our secret super power that enables us to do things that seem simple but can be so hard; like love others, forgive, serve selflessly. None of this would be possible without the indwelling Holy Spirit in us. I believe people cannot truly love others unless God empowers them to do so, because our natural bent or disposition is to be selfish. Love is the opposite of being selfish.

Praise God for the gift of His Holy Spirit that enables us to live out the Christian life!

The Holy Spirit is always with us, therefore God is always with us. Most people are not conscious of this fact and they rush about their day. I am always aware that God is right here with me. This is why Paul says to "pray without ceasing" because God is always there. He always wants to talk to us.

The two instances of the Holy Spirit appearing physically in Scripture are at creation, where He was hovering over the waters. Also he was at Jesus' baptism. When Jesus came up out of the water the Holy Spirit descended on him as a dove. This is a moment where all three members of the trinity, the Godhead, are present.

Mark 1: 9-11 says, "In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; ¹¹ and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

I never thought in detail about this picture before but the Spirit descended on Him like a dove. What can this symbolize except that when we are baptised with a water baptism, the Holy Spirit descends from heaven and enters us. What a beautiful mystery!

I have always loved Romans 8:11, " If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." This is saying that the SAME SPIRIT that raised Jesus to life lives in us! The same Spirit that has the power to raise the dead is inside of us! Most of us never really think of how awesome that is! In a sense we have a super hero living inside of us then. It is like we have Superman on the inside of us enabling us to.....fly? "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" right? Amen. We can do anything through the POWER of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. Amen! Praise God for HE IS GOOD! :)

Numbers 11:29 says, "Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” This means that the Spirit was upon the prophets in the Old Testament. The Spirit did not just come into existence after Jesus. He has always been here. The Holy Spirit enables the prophets of the Old Testament to prophesy, just as he does with those who have the gift of prophecy today. Many believe that David and Abraham and Joseph had the Holy Spirit already living inside of them.

Psalm 143: 10 says, "Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground."

So David was led by God's Spirit, just as Paul was when he was a missionary in Acts being led by the Holy Spirit on where to go next.

Proverbs 1:20-23 says,
"Wisdom shouts in the street,
She lifts her voice in the square;
²¹ At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:
²² “How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded?
And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing
And fools hate knowledge?
²³ “Turn to my reproof,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you."

Wisdom in Proverbs is a personification of God. God is the greatest wisdom of course. This says that when He pours out his Spirit on us, that will make His words known to us. What does this mean? When we read the Bible in the Spirit, things become clear as day to us. The Spirit takes away the confusion. He shows us what things means plainly. He gives us eyes to see. Paul says, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened...." Who enlightens our eyes? The Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 42:1 is God talking through the prophet Isaiah about Jesus, who is yet to come,
"Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations."

Ezekiel 2:2 says, "As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me."

Ezekiel 36:22-27 says, "Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God.....I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. ²⁵ Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances."

This is God speaking through the prophet Ezekiel about his promised Holy Spirit.

Joel 2:28-29 says, "

The Promise of the Spirit

²⁸ “It will come about after this
That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
²⁹ “Even on the male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days."

The effects of the Holy Spirit can be prophecy, dreams and visions. I believe healings do still happen today, but they don't always happen of course.

Mainly the Holy Spirit enables us to grow in the fruit of the Spirit by living inside of us: He increases our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.

Praise God for the aid of his Holy Spirit in us! May you learn to walk in the Spirit more and more and "put to death the misdeeds of the flesh." Amen! :)