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THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

I.                   Who is the Holy Spirit?

A.     The Holy Spirit is a separate and distinct part of the trinity:  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, all acting as one. (I John 5:7; Matt. 28:19)

B.     He is called both the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost in the New Testament.

C.     The Holy Spirit is a spirit being, who can assume a bodily likeness (Luke 3:22) and who has a mind of His own (Rom. 8:27).  However the Holy Spirit does not use His mind to glorify Himself.  He glorifies Christ and speaks to the believer those things which He hears from God and Jesus (John 16:13-15). 

II.                What is the role of the Holy Spirit in salvation?

A.     Romans 10:9-10; I Cor. 12:3 – Except it be by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, no man could confess that Jesus is Lord and no man could be saved.  However this does not say that the Holy Spirit is the blame for men not getting saved.  Many who are now saved can witness to the fact that they knew that Jesus was the Son of God some time before they accepted Him as their Savior.  This delay in accepting the truth is due to a hardening of the heart (Heb. 3:7-9).

B.     I Cor. 12:13 – Upon confession of Jesus as Lord and Savior of one’s life, the Holy Spirit then baptizes the believer into the Body of Christ, making him a candidate for all the gifts and promises of God as recorded in the Word.  This is a part of the rebirth process as recorded in John 3:5-8.

C.     II Cor. 3:18 – It is the Holy Spirit along with the Word of God that works in the believer to change him into the image of Christ. 

III.             What else does the Holy Spirit do?

A.     John 14:16-17 –  He comforts.  A comforter is one called to the side of another for help or counsel.  The Spirit is our helper on earth and Christ is our helper in Heaven.

B.     John 14:26 – He is our teacher and reminder.

C.     John 15:26 – He testifies of Christ.

D.     John 16:7-11 – He reproves (convicts) the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.

E.      John 16:13-15 – He guides the believer into all truth.

F.      Rom. 8: 9, 26-27 – He indwells the believer and helps him in prayer.

G.     Acts 1:8 – He provides power for the believer. 

IV.              Conclusion

The Holy Spirit had His role in the Old Testament times, during the time when Jesus walked on the earth in the flesh, and now in the time of the New Testament.  In the Old Testament, He came upon the prophet and chosen men of God, anointed them for a certain service and then returned to God when the service was over.  During the life of Jesus, He anointed Jesus and gave Him power to carry out  His ministry (Luke 4:18).  In the New Testament, He brings men to the realization of the finished acts of Jesus and empowers those who accept Jesus to be His witnesses and to conform to His image.