The Holy Spirit

Pete: Before I became a believer I related to everything from a physical perspective, things I could see and touch. On becoming a believer I had to consider a whole new realm of reality – a reality called the ‘spirit realm’. I began to understand that the Holy Spirit desires to give direction in all areas of living. This is one reason he comes to live in those who believe. The truth is that it has taken me a long time to not only understand the spirit realm from the bible, but also to learn how to have a relationship with God who is spirit. I still have a long way to go but I am on the journey.

This is what I have discovered so far. This relationship with God does not develop through natural reasoning. It develops through revelation. It is a totally new dimension that only the Holy Spirit himself can teach me. The bible makes this clear as we see in the following verse.

John 14:26
‘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.’

The Holy Spirit is our teacher. He is the one who imparts revelation. As I began to grasp this it became clear that a life faithful to God requires a new mind-set, a new way of thinking for a new dimension of living that was to be spiritually revealed.

Through general education we are taught a mind-set that focuses completely on being successful in life without God. The education of the Holy Spirit does the opposite. The Holy Spirit teaches us that a successful life is one that is lived with God. If I was to be faithful to God I needed to learn from the Holy Spirit. If I ignored the mind of the Holy Spirit then I am ignoring reality. Christianity is all about reality so how can I ignore him? I also discovered that the Holy Spirit inspired a book to inform us of all these things. It is called the bible.

Who is the Holy Spirit and what does he do?
The Holy Spirit is a part of the Godhead – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In this next verse all three are mentioned.
Isaiah 42:1
‘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.’
God the Father is speaking; Jesus is the servant and the Holy Spirit is ‘My Spirit’ and together they will bring justice to the nations. The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, he is not an ‘it’. He is a personality just as Jesus and the Father are personalities with a mind and will and emotion.

What does the Holy Spirit do?

1. He reveals Jesus to us.
   The Holy Spirit does not bring focus upon himself – his work is to point us to Jesus as this next verse outlines.
   John 16:14
   ‘He (referring to the Holy Spirit) will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.’

2. He empowers us
   Ephesians 3:16
   ‘…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man’.

In the life of the believer the Holy Spirit never plays the role of the dictator. When Jesus promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to his disciples he described him as the ‘Comforter, Guide, or Teacher’. The Holy Spirit never overrules the will or the personality of the believer. In Hebrews 10:29 the Holy Spirit is called the ‘Spirit of Grace’. He is too gracious to impose himself. When he is received as a welcome guest then he is free to empower.

3. He brings freedom
   2 Corinthians 3:17
   ‘Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is LIBERTY’.

4. He delivers from fear
   Romans 8:15
   ‘For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry out Abba Father’.

5. He imparts power, love and clear thinking
   2 Timothy 1:7
   ‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind’.

The Fruits of the Spirit
God’s ultimate aim for all of us is to become like him. There are 9 specific divine qualities and attributes of the Holy Spirit that enable that change. Note that these are called fruit. Fruit does not automatically appear, they grow and develop. These fruits are outlined in Galatians 5:22; Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit
There are three main sets of gifting. This next passage gives an outline of one set of 9 gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 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. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”

Not only does the bible tell us that these 9 gifts are available to all believers, but it also exhorts us not to reject them but desire them and stir up the use of them in our lives as we see in the following verses.

1. 1 Corinthians 14:39 - “Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy.”
2. 1 Corinthians 14:1 - “… and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.”
3. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 - ‘Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophecies.’
4. 1 Timothy 4:14 - “Do not neglect the gift that is in you … Meditate on these things, give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.”
5. 2 Timothy 1:6 - “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”

Another set of gifts are sometimes referred to as motivational gifts. In other words they can determine how you will respond to differing situations.

Motivational Gifts – Read through Romans 12

1. Ministering, Serving, Helps
   Those with the motivational gift of serving are the "hands" of the body. They are concerned with meeting needs; they are highly motivated, doers. They may tend to over-commit, but find joy in serving and meeting short-term goals.

2. Teaching - Those with the motivational gift of teaching are the "mind" of the body. They realise their gift is foundational; they emphasize accuracy of words and love to study; they delight in research to validate truth.

3. Giving - Those with the motivational gift of giving are the "arms" of the body. They truly enjoy reaching out in giving. They are excited by the prospect of blessing others; they desire to give quietly, in secret, but will also motivate others to give. They are alert to people's needs; they give cheerfully and always give the best that they can.

4. Exhortation/Encouragement - Those with the motivational gift of encouragement are the "mouth" of the body. Like cheerleaders, they encourage other believers and are motivated by a desire to see people grow and mature in the Lord. They are practical and positive and they seek positive responses.

5. Administration/Leadership - Those with the motivational gift of leadership are the "head" of the body. They have the ability to see the overall picture and set long-term goals; they are good organizers and find efficient ways of getting work done. Although they may not seek leadership, they will assume it when no leader is available. They receive fulfilment when others come together to complete a task.

6. Mercy - Those with the motivational gift of mercy are the "heart" of the body. They easily sense the joy or distress in other people and are sensitive to feelings and needs. They are attracted to and patient with people in need, motivated by a desire to see people healed of hurts. They are truly meek in nature and avoid firmness.

The last set of Gifts are sometimes called ‘Specific Building Gifts’
Ephesians 4:11-13
‘And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ'

The ministry gifts serve to reveal, bring explanation, lead and develop the people of God and the work they do. They are gifts given to specific individuals for specific purposes.

1. Apostle - An apostle establishes and builds works of God. An apostle may function in many or all of the ministry gifts. The word means ‘one who is sent’.
2. Prophet - Prophet in the Greek means to "forth-tell" in the sense of speaking for another. A prophet functions as God's mouthpiece, speaking forth God's Word. He points to the future and points out sin.
3. Evangelist - An evangelist is called to be a witness for Jesus Christ. He works to bring people into the body of Christ where they can be discipled.
4. Pastor - The pastor is the shepherd of the people. He is called to nurture, protect and guide.
5. Teacher - The teacher and the pastor are often a shared office, but not always. The teacher lays the foundation and is concerned with detail and accuracy. He delights in research to validate truth.

As we have seen from the above, the Holy Spirit not only teaches and empowers us to live a supernatural life but also equips us with gifts to do his will. We gain this understanding from the bible. This leads us to our next session, the Word of God.

Suggested Further Study
Baptism in the Holy Spirit

⏩ The Word of God