God, the Holy Spirit

 

God, The Holy Spirit
Part 1 - The Holy Spirit

By Pastor Dan Kennedy
© February 3, 2013b
www.pastorkennedy.com

You and I are very privileged people if we are believers in Jesus Christ and have been born again into the Kingdom of God.  Our sins are judicially and eternally cleansed – we are justified, made right, before the Throne of a Holy God (Acts 13:39; Rom. 3:23-28; 5:1; 8:30-33; 1 Cor. 6:11; Titus 3:7); our bodies become the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19–20); we are led, encouraged, taught and empowered by His Spirit in this life (Rom. 8:14; John 14:26; Acts 1:8) and, we become part of the eternal Bride of Christ to be in His Kingdom, forever (Rev. 19:6-9).

We are taking a few weeks, at the beginning of the year, to once again study some vital doctrines of the Scripture:  The Living Word of God; Jesus Christ, God the Son; and now, what the Scripture teaches about the Holy Spirit. 

Before we look at what the Scripture teaches about the Holy Spirit, let’s take a moment to look at what the Bible says about the Godhead – the Trinity:  
The One True God.

Of God, the Father, it is written:

John 4:24 
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

John 1:17–18 
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. 

Genesis 1:26 
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."   

Gen 3:22
And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."   

Gen 11:5-9
5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building.  6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.  7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” 
8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.  9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.  

[Look the above verses up in your own Bible; the plural “us” is used in all reputable translations of Scripture, from the earliest manuscripts.]

Deuteronomy 6:4 
Hear, O Israel: The LORD (Yeh-ho-vaw' – singular) our God ('Elohiym - plural), is one LORD (Yeh-ho-vaw' – singular).
 
Genesis 2:7 	
…the LORD (Yeh-ho-vaw' – singular) God ('Elohiym - plural) formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Isaiah 6:3
And they [the angelic Cherubim] were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."   

1 Corinthians 8:6   
…yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.   

Of God, the Son – Jesus Christ, it is written:

Colossians 1:15-19 
15 He [Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Hebrews 1:1-3 
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.  3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.        

John 14:9 
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?  Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 

John 12:44–45 
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 

John 10:27–30 
27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” 

Of God, the Holy Spirit, it is written:

John 14:16–17 
16 And I will ask the Father, [Jesus said] and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 

Acts 1:8 
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 

1 Corinthians 6:19 
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own….

1 John 4:11–12 
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 

If we are believers in Jesus Christ, we are not alone.  
We have the Presence of The Holy Spirit in our lives.

Let me say again…we are very privileged people if we are believers in Jesus Christ and have been born again into the Kingdom of God.  Our sins are judicially and eternally cleansed – we are justified, made right, before the Throne of a Holy God (Acts 13:39; Rom. 3:23-28; 5:1; 8:30-33; 1 Cor. 6:11; Titus 3:7); our bodies become the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19–20); we are led, encouraged, taught and empowered by His Spirit in this life (Rom. 8:14; John 14:26; Acts 1:8) and, we become part of the eternal Bride of Christ to be in His Kingdom, forever (Rev. 19:6-9).

Let’s spend some time learning more from the Bible, about God, the Holy Spirit:

The Resident Presence of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament world was different than in the New Testament – following Pentecost.

•	The Holy Spirit is first seen as participating in Creation

Genesis 1:2 
2 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. 

•	In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit was poured out on selected Individuals in comparison to the New Testament when, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on all people – all who came to Christ (Acts 2:38), not just selected ones for God’s service, Joel 2:28-29.

The following verses reveal the anointing of the Holy Spirit on specific ones for service for God, in the Old Testament.

Genesis 41:38
So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man (Joseph), one in whom is the spirit of God?" 

Numbers 27:18
So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand on him.”

Exodus 31:2–3 
2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts” — 

Judges 3:10
The Spirit of the LORD came upon him (Othniel), so that he became Israel's judge and went to war. The LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him.

Judges 6:34
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. 

Judges 11:29
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. 

Judges 14:6, 19
The Spirit of the LORD came upon him (Sampson) in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done.  …..Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power.

Ezekiel 11:24  
The Spirit lifted me (Ezekiel) up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia in the vision given by the Spirit of God.  Then the vision I had seen went up from me, 

Daniel 4:8  
Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.) 

Micah 3:8  
But as for me (Micah), I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin.

•	The Inspiration of the Bible:  The Holy Spirit Empowered those who should speak God’s Word to His people – God’s Word, which would become part of the Scriptures for us today.

2 Peter 1:19–21 
19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 

•	In the Old Testament The Holy Spirit Indwelt those who were obedient to the ministry given by God, and could depart from those who became disobedient to God.  Sampson & Saul

Judges 16:20
20 Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”
He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

Isaiah 63:10 
10  Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he (God) turned 
and became their enemy and he himself fought against them. 

1 Samuel 16:14 
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. 

1 Samuel 18:12 
12 Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul. 

King David cried to God to not take His Holy Spirit from him, after David had sinned against God regarding Bathsheba and Uriah, her husband.

Psalm 51:11 
11 Do not cast me from your presence 
or take your Holy Spirit from me. 

∗	We still sing this essence of this verse in the worship chorus Create in Me a Clean Heart: “Cast me not away from Your Presence, Oh God, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me!” 

In the New Testament, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on all people – all who came to Christ (Acts 2:38), not just selected ones for God’s service, Joel 2:28-29.

Joel 2:28, 29
28 `And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.  29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.’

This prophecy was fulfilled at Pentecost – when the Coming of the Holy Spirit was for “all” (Acts 2:17-21).  [The “all” is qualified by Peter as he preached at Pentecost, in Acts 2:38.]

Acts 2:17–21 
	17 “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, 
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, 
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 
and your young men shall see visions, 
and your old men shall dream dreams; 
	18 even on my male servants and female servants 
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 
	19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above 
and signs on the earth below, 
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 
	20 the sun shall be turned to darkness 
and the moon to blood, ...

(This happened in a foreshadowing, at Christ’s crucifixion – darkness, a serious earthquake [fire/smoke] and a “blood moon” lunar eclipse [April 3, A.D. 33?].  See Matt. 27:45 [Darkness]; Matt 27:51-54  [Earthquake/fire/smoke]; and the sun blotted out, Luke 16:44-45.  This will also happen in profound fullness at the “end of days” before the 2nd Coming of Christ in Power and Glory – Matt. 24:29-31; Rev. 6:12-17)

...before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 
	21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ 

Peter then qualified the Holy Spirit’s coming on “all”, in the message at Pentecost, rather than on the select few individuals as seen in the Old Testament.

Acts 2:38 
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit would be given to all “who repent and are baptized (baptism was a symbol of repentance even from John’s baptism) and believe in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins”.  The gift of the Holy Spirit was a natural outcome (bringing New Birth) for those who believe on Jesus Christ as their Sacrificial Redeemer for sin.

Titus 3:5–7 
5 he (God) saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 

This Coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, of necessity, followed the Redemptive Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross, where Jesus, as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), offered Himself for the sins of the world (John 3:16; “all” 2 Peter 3:9).  The Holy Spirit’s Coming at Pentecost, gave all Believers in Christ (not just the Jewish “firstborn”), transformation through “New Birth” by the work of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3; 7:39; 16:7-11).  There was no “New Birth” prior to Christ’s Redemptive Sacrifice on the Cross, and the Coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  

The “all” included those on whom the Holy Spirit came in Acts, who were not at Pentecost, but who were later confirmed through the sign of tongues, the same as the Jews at Pentecost, that the Holy Spirit had also come upon them (as Peter shared with the other leaders in Jerusalem – Acts 11:1-18).
 
•	Cornelius, the “unclean” Gentile in Acts 10, whose faith and New Birth was confirmed by Peter.

•	The “unacceptable” Samaritans who were baptized by Jesus after Jesus had spoken to the woman at the well (Acts 8:14-22; John 3:22; 4:1-2)
•	Those disciples baptized by John the Baptist, in the Greek city of Ephesus who were unaware of that there was even a Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2-6).

•	Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit’s purpose, who was to follow Him (at Pentecost).

o	To bring “New Birth” and “Living Water” – without which a person cannot enter into the Kingdom of God (John 3:3-5; Romans 8:9).

John 3:3 
3 …Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” 

Born Again by the Spirit of God!

John 3:5–7 
5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 

John 3:16 (New Birth originates in those who believe in Jesus Christ)
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

Born Again by the Spirit of God!

Romans 8:8–9 
8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 
9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 

o	To bring the enlivenment of New Birth by the “water of life” within believers in Christ – the living and indwelling power of the Holy Spirit (John 4:10-14; 7:37-39).

John 4:10–14 
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said
to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

John 7:37–39  
Rivers of Living Water – Feast of the Booths - Sukkot
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 

Note the two necessary events in verse 39 that preceded the final realization of New Birth and Living Water:  

1.	 Jesus’ glorification 
This included Christ’s Sacrificial, Redemptive Death, and Resurrection – plus the 40 days Jesus revealed Himself following His resurrection, and then His Glorification – Christ’s going back to His Father.  Pentecost then, was only 10 days later… 50 days following Christ’s Resurrection – 

2.  The Coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.


•	New Birth allows Believers in Christ to become Children of the Most High God

The Outcome of New Birth is a transformed Spirit and our Bodies becoming the Temple of the Holy Spirit…and, if Christ is in us, we have the Hope of Glory!

1 Corinthians 6:19–20  (see also 1 Cor. 3:16)
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 

Colossians 1:26–27 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 

•	If we are Born Again and the Holy Spirit is within us, we are led, encouraged, taught and empowered by His Spirit in this life.

Romans 8:14 
14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 

John 14:26 
26 But the Counselor, 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. 

Acts 1:8 
8 “…But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 

One more time, let me say that we are very privileged people if we are believers in Jesus Christ and have been born again into the Kingdom of God.  

•	Our sins are judicially and eternally cleansed – we are justified, made right, before the Throne of a Holy God (Acts 13:39; Rom. 3:23-28; 5:1; 8:30-33; 1 Cor. 6:11; Titus 3:7); 
•	Our bodies become the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19–20); 
•	We are led, encouraged, taught and empowered by His Spirit in this life (Rom. 8:14; John 14:26; Acts 1:8) and, 
•	We become part of the eternal Bride of Christ to be in His Kingdom, forever (Rev. 19:6-9).

Final Questions:

1.	 Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, and are you “born again” by the Holy Spirit?
2.	 Is God’s Holy Spirit guiding your life?
3.	 Are you empowered by God’s Spirit in your walk with God?
4.	 Do you have the Hope of Eternal Life?

The Final Invitation – given just a few verses from the very end of Revelation at the closing of the whole Bible:

Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
http://www.pastorkennedy.comshapeimage_1_link_0