8/24/1975
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God, and is equal to the Father and the Son. He is set forth in the Bible as being distinct from the Father and the Son. In the Old Testament he came upon people to empower them for service or revelation. But when they were disobedient, the Spirit departed from them. David sinned against the Lord and rightly prayed ‘take not your Holy Spirit from me’. In the New Testament after Pentecost we see the Holy Spirit indwelling the believer, never to leave him, filling and empowering him for service.
The study of the person and work of the Spirit is of utmost importance. A Scriptural understanding of God the Holy Spirit will make you a better Christian and servant of God. In dealing with Ananias, Peter revealed the deity of the Spirit when he said ‘Ananias why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit. You have not lied to mere humans, but to God.’ In this Scripture it is very clear that the Holy Spirit is God and is co-equal, co-eternal, and co-existent with the Father and the Son, and that he possesses divine attributes. The Godhead is three in one, everywhere present in the universe. The Spirit has all power and all knowledge. The Spirit is eternal with the Father and the Son. In the baptism of the believer and in the apostolic benediction his deity was seen in relation to the life of and ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit for service. He was led by the Holy Spirit. He was crucified in the power of the Holy Spirit. He was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit. Jesus also gave commandments to the apostles and the church through the Holy Spirit. Jesus needed to depend solely upon the Holy Spirit during his life and ministry here on earth. Can we afford to do less?
The writers of the New Testament used certain emblems when unfolding the mysteries of the Holy Spirit because they illustrate more about him than volumes can contain. Fire, wind, water,seal, oil,dove. You find all these in the Bible relating to his power and service to and for humankind. The Bible tells us we can sin against any one of the three persons of God, but in doing so we have sinned against all of them. Jesus said to his disciples, ‘if I go away, I will send the Comforter/Counselor and he will act in my stead and will work closely with the believer. The Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost to remain with the church until the coming of the Lord Jesus. So Jesus finished the work he came to do in the flesh.
The fruit of the Spirit is love. Only as we live in love can we fulfill the will of God in our lives. The spirit of love is manifested in joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith meekness, temperance. Joy is love’s strength, peace is love’s security, suffering is love’s patience, gentleness is love’s conduct, goodness is love’s character, faith is love’s confidence, meekness is love’s humility, temperance is love’s victory. There is no law against such things. The Holy Spirit controlled human being needs no law to cause him to live a righteous life. We are urged to live the abundant life in Christ who became our example even on the cross until death. Therefore, we must present our bodies as living sacrifices, transformed by the power of God, conforming to his will.
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