Who is the Holy Spirit?
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· 13 viewsMany Christians neglected the Holy Spirit. Most likely it is unintentional, or simply because they don't know since nobody told them about the Spirit of God. We talk a lot about the Father and the Son while the Holy Spirit is ignored by many despite of the fact that the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity being the third Person. A three-legged stool will not stand without one of its legs. Like a bulb, it won't light unless it is connected to a power source using some sort of conduits that allows the electricity to flow to light up the bulb. The source of power is God the Father, the conduit is God the Son, the electricity is God the Holy Spirit while the bulb represents us. The Holy Spirit makes the Word of God personal. He gives us the GRIT of a true Christian. He Guides us, He Reminds us, He Intercedes for us and He Teaches us.
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Opening
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Today we will wrap up our series for November entitled “Knowing God”
In our quest to know more about God we looked into the life of Moses
Moses sought the glory of God
But, there are limits regarding how much humans can withstand the Lord’s earthly visible presence
For He is holy and we are not holy enough
BREATHE!
Do you remember Uzzah? The guy who who reached to hold the ark when the oxen stumbled, he died instantly ()
Show the illustration of the temple of Solomon and Herod and the Holy of Holies
No one can come to the Holy of Holies, even the high priest may only come once a year on the day of atonement after offering the blood of sacrifice and incense before the mercy seat
Until Jesus came, and when He died on the cross as our ultimate and eternal sacrifice, the veil was thorn apart
Through Jesus we were given access to God
BREATHE!
John said, no one has ever seen God other than Jesus, who Himself is God, and made God known to us
On the conclusion of that first part of this series, we learned that...
For us to truly know God, we must be REBORN
Receive Jesus
Edify the Lord
Believe in Him
Obey His commands
Reconcile with God
Nurture His Love
BREATHE!
And then we fast forward in history in the Bible
We investigated the encounter of Nicodemus when He came to Jesus in the middle of the night
Nicodemus, is a very prominent, powerful, popular, prosperous and highly educated member of the ruling Jewish council (called the Sanhedrin)
BREATHE!
From this second part of this series, we learned that, no amount of human intelligence will suffice to give us complete, or better knowing of God
Because matters about God may only be understood through the help of the Holy Spirit says in ()
We concluded that to know God, we must be in the realm of the Spirit
BREATHE!
And again, to be in the realm of the Spirit, we must be REBORN
Receive the Holy Spirit
Body shall be used to honor God
Renewal our thoughts and attitude
BREATHE!
In the middle of this series, we got caught up with the celebration of Thanksgiving
And the conversation brought us to essential questions leading to giving thanks to God
Questions like:
How can we thank someone we do not know?
How can we thank God in the midst of negative things happening around us?
How can we thank someone we do not know?
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
“Wisdom begins with respect for the Lord, and understanding begins with knowing the Holy One.
And so our discussion brought us back to the need to “Know God” the Holy One
BREATHE!
Apparently, God reveals His glory “progressively”
Essentially on Part of 1 of this Series, we talked about God the Father
And on Part 2, we talked about the divinity of Jesus the Son
And on the last part today, let’s talk about the Holy Spirit
Go ahead and turn to your neighbor and ask...
Who is the Holy Spirit?
BREATHE!
To a lot of christians, the Holy Spirit is commonly neglected (most likely, it is unintentional)
We talk a lot about God and focus more on Jesus and it seems that the Holy Spirit is ignored by many
It make sense, because the Holy Spirit is imagined like an abstract, a wind (pneuma), and His perceived characteristics made it difficult for believers to visualize Him
Specially to those who grew in a religion surrounded with handcrafted idols to help their parishioners visualize the image of God
If you’ve been there, you’ll notice that they have no statue that represents the Holy Spirit
BREATHE!
In some, they use the image of a dove as an icon of the Holy Spirit, taking it from that instance recorded in the Bible when the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus after John baptized Him in the River Jordan
So with all these visuals, it kinda put the Holy Spirit behind the scene with respect to the Trinity
Despite of the fact that the Holy Spirit is Himself God, and co-equal with the other two Entities which is the Father and the Son
BREATHE!
Studies during this modern day shows that people, rely more on visuals
As a matter of fact, one study shows that, people remembers what they saw, 3 times of what they read and almost twice of what they heard
So let me try to help you visualize who the Holy Spirit is, and what is His role in the Trinity
Illustration using Battery - Conduit - Electricity: The Battery represents the Father, the Conduit (receptacles) represents the Son, the Electricity represents the Holy Spirit, and the Bulb represents us. The bulb doesn’t have life, doesn’t have light, unless it is connected to the conduit that connects it to the battery. But, without the electricity running from the battery through the conduits, still there will be no light, no life. That’s why to produce light, we need the battery, the conduits and the electricity.
But faith doesn’t work like that
Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.
You may say, “I believe God can do it!” But that’s not faith; that’s just a fact. God can do it whether you believe it or not.
Or maybe you go.. “I believe God might do it”, is not faith either. That’s hope!
But when you say… “I believe God will do it” — that’s faith
BREATHE!
Let’s go back to our question for the day
Who is the Holy Spirit?
Paracletos
So let me try to help you visualize who the Holy Spirit is, and what is His role in the Trinity
Illustration using Battery - Conduit - Electricity: The Battery represents the Father, the Conduit (receptacles) represents the Son, the Electricity represents the Holy Spirit, and the Bulb represents us. The bulb doesn’t have life, doesn’t have light, unless it is connected to the conduit that connects it to the battery. But, without the electricity running from the battery through the conduits, still there will be no light, no life. That’s why to produce light, we need the battery, the conduits and the electricity.
Like a 3-legged stool, it won’t hold without one of the legs
Text: Paul in Ephesus
Text: Paul in Ephesus
So let me try to help you visualize who the Holy Spirit is, and what is His role in the Trinity
Illustration using Battery - Conduit - Electricity: The Battery represents the Father, the Conduit (receptacles) represents the Son, the Electricity represents the Holy Spirit, and the Bulb represents us. The bulb doesn’t have life, doesn’t have light, it has to be connected to the conduit that connects it to the battery. But, without the electricity running from the battery through the conduits, still there will be no light, no life. That’s why to produce light, we need the battery, the conduit and the electricity.
Like a 3-legged stool, it won’t hold without one of the legs
It won’t work without the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete (Greek - Parakletos)
Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Paraclete
Transliteration of a Greek word meaning “one who is called to someone’s aid” or “one who advocates another.” Thus the term may be used technically for a lawyer. More generally the word denotes one who acts in another’s behalf as a mediator, an intercessor, or a comforter
Transliteration of a Greek word meaning “one who is called to someone’s aid” or “one who advocates another.”
Thus the term may be used technically for a lawyer.
More generally, the word denotes one who acts in another’s behalf as a mediator, an intercessor, or a comforter
And those who believed in Jesus, are dwelt in by the Holy Spirit
And those who received the Holy Spirit, are filled with the Holy Spirit
Let’s go to the Bible, take a listen
BREATHE!
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul was visiting some places on the way to Ephesus. There he found some followers and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They said, “We have never even heard of a Holy Spirit.” So he asked, “What kind of baptism did you have?” They said, “It was the baptism that John taught.” Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of changed hearts and lives. He told people to believe in the one who would come after him, and that one is Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Paul laid his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them. They began speaking different languages and prophesying. There were about twelve people in this group.
BREATHE!
The word “Spirit” is mentioned 536 times in 481 verses in the NIV translation of the Bible
It will be impossible for me to tackle them all in my 25 minutes
I will discuss some of the most essential facts about the Holy Spirit
But, I encourage you keep on knowing the Holy Spirit by reading your Bible and spending quiet time with Him
BREATHE!
From the very Beginning was the Holy Spirit
From the very Beginning was the Holy Spirit
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
The Holy Spirit is the third Person in the Trinity and not simply a power or some sort of energy
The Holy Spirit is the third Person in the Trinity and not simply a power or some sort of energy
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The Holy Spirit lives in every believer who received Him
The Holy Spirit lives in every believer who received Him
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
Every believer are Reborn and Renewed by the Holy Spirit
Every believer are Reborn and Renewed by the Holy Spirit
he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
The Holy Spirit gives us Power to Witness for Jesus
The Holy Spirit gives us Power to Witness for Jesus
ACts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The Holy Spirit Produces Fruits and Distributes Gifts among Believers
The Holy Spirit Produces Fruits and Distributes Gifts among Believers
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
The Holy Spirit has Emotions
The Holy Spirit has Emotions
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
The Holy Spirit is the Author of the Scriptures
The Holy Spirit is the Author of the Scriptures
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
BREATHE!
The Holy Spirit makes God’s Word Personal
The Holy Spirit makes God’s Word Personal
How does God speak to us personally?
It is very easy to say “the Holy Spirit said...”
Very often we quickly jumped to concluding that it is from the Holy Spirit
But, in order to know how communication with God works, we need to understand that God speaks two ways:
He speaks generally - the Word of God to everyone, and that is called Logos
He speaks personally to individual - and that is called Rhema
While logos and rhema are translated into English as “word”, they have very significant distinctions
Logos is the Word of God for eveybody
While Rhema, is the Word of God for a specific individual
It is also very important to understand and remember that when God gave you a Rhema, He gives it in 3 parts
He will say what He is going to do
How He is going to do it
And when He is actually going to do it
The biggest mistake people make is getting the first part, but forgetting the other two. So, watch out & be careful!
BREATHE!
There’s nothing magical to what I am trying to describe
In fact it happens all the time! It happens to you!
Have you ever been in a church service where the pastor is speaking, and all of a sudden you feel like he’s speaking directly to you?
You wonder, “How does that guy know I’ve got this problem?
How does he know that’s exactly what I need right now?”
God took a general word for everybody and made it specifically apply to you. He gave you a Rhema.
BREATHE!
Scripture says it’s the Holy Spirit’s duty to take the Bible and show us how it applies to us personally:
Scripture says it’s the Holy Spirit’s duty to take the Bible and show us how it applies to us personally:
The Holy Spirit gives us the “GRIT” of a true Christian
The Holy Spirit gives us the “GRIT” of a true Christian
Grit means
Strength of Character
Firmness of Mind
Courage & Resolve
BREATHE!
Guides us
Guides us
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Reminds us
Reminds us
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Intercedes for us
Intercedes for us
Romans 8:
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
Teaches us
Teaches us
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
The Holy Spirit Reminds us
The Holy Spirit Reminds us
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
In these 2 verses, Jesus says the Holy Spirit does 3 things in our lives:
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
In these 2 verses, Jesus says the Holy Spirit does 3 things in our lives:
He teaches us
He reminds us
He guides us
To understand how communication with God works,
In other words He takes the logos and turns it into a rhema
Have you ever been talking with a friend or neighbor about a personal problem and thought, “I wonder what I should say right now,” and all of a sudden, a Scripture verse pops into your mind — at just the right time and exactly what you needed to say? How did it happen? God gave you a rhema. The Holy Spirit gave you a specific word, for a specific time, in a specific situation.
Have you ever been talking with a friend or neighbor about a personal problem and thought, “I wonder what I should say right now,” and all of a sudden, a Scripture verse pops into your mind — at just the right time and exactly what you needed to say?
How did it happen? God gave you a rhema.
In fact it happens all the time! It happens to you!
Have you ever been in a church service where the pastor is speaking, and all of a sudden you feel like he’s speaking directly to you?
Have you ever been in a church service where the pastor is speaking, and all of a sudden you feel like he’s speaking directly to you?
You wonder, “How does that guy know I’ve got this problem? How does he know that’s exactly what I need right now?”
You wonder, “How does that guy know I’ve got this problem? How does he know that’s exactly what I need right now?” God took a general word for everybody and made it specifically apply to you. He gave you a rhema.
God took a general word for everybody and made it specifically apply to you. He gave you a rhema.
How do we hear the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit gave you a specific word, for a specific time, in a specific situation.
The Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and shows us how it applies to us. You could say he makes God’s Word real in our lives.
The Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and shows us how it applies to us.
You could say He makes God’s Word real in our lives.
Prayer
Prayer
It will be impossible for me to tackle them all in my 25 minutes, so I encourage you keep on knowing the Holy Spirit
Help us to learn how to receive Guidance and Reminders from the Holy Spirit
Let us allow the Holy Spirit to freely Intercede for us
Help us to submit completely to the Teaching of the Holy Spirit
Help us to know You better and better