Who is the Holy Spirit?
Our God is a Triune God, one true God revealed in three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each has individual characteristics, responsibilities, and operations, yet are equal and work in total unity and harmony. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity or Godhead (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). He was present at Creation as part of the Godhead- Spirit (Genesis 1:2); Father (Genesis 1:1); Son/the Word (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17). All plans come from the Father (He initiates), through Jesus (He proclaims because He is the Word and reveals the Father; (John 1:14; 14:10-11) and are carried out by the Holy Spirit. He is the Sevenfold Spirit of God (Revelation 1:4; Isaiah 11:2).
Holy Spirit possesses all the attributes that God has, i.e., omnipresent; omniscient; omnipotent; eternal (Hebrews 9:14; 1 Corinthians 2:11; Psalm 139). He is God, and He is a person who has the mind of God; knows the will of God; knows what God is feeling, and displays emotions.
How do we know He is a person? He has a soul that consists of a mind, will, and emotions (1 Corinthians 12:11; Ephesians 4:30).
For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 1 Corinthians 2:11-12 (NKJV)
He has intellect, and He speaks through the inward witness, the Word, His gifts, dreams, visions, etc. (John 10:1-5, 27; 16:13-14; Hebrews 3:7; Revelation 2:7; Acts 2:17; Job 33:14-18).
When He speaks to us through the inward witness, it is to our born-again human spirit and from there to our mind. It becomes a thought. It is not likely that you will hear an audible voice, but that can happen as well. We can distinguish our thoughts from His voice by getting familiar with His voice as we read the Word. He will never contradict the Word of God.
Roles and Functions of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit brings us the love of God and makes it possible for us to walk in love towards others.
Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5 (NKJV)
Intercessor
An intercessor is a person who intervenes on behalf of another, especially by prayer.
Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26 – 27 (NKJV)
Author of Scripture
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV)
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:20-21 (NKJV)
Every book of the Bible reveals the work of the Holy Spirit.
Helper and Teacher
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17 (NKJV)
“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 have said to you.” John 14:26 (NKJV)
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” John 15:26 (NKJV)
Spirit of Truth
“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” John 16:7 – 11 (NKJV)
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:13-14 (NKJV)
This is He who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ, not only by water but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: The Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: The Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. 1 John 5:6 – 8 (NKJV)
He Gives Us Power
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11 (NKJV)
“Behold I send the promise of My Father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on High.” Luke 24:49 (NKJV)
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
I’ll discuss this in more detail later this month (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Romans 12:6-8).
The Anointing of the Holy Spirit
The Anointing is the presence, goodness, and power of God made manifest that lives within you, comes upon you, and flows through you. It is tangible, evident, and observable.
Jesus had the Holy Spirit living within Him from the moment of conception (Luke 1:35). Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit after His water baptism before starting His earthly ministry (Luke 3:21- 22). Jesus didn’t work one miracle until His baptism with the Holy Spirit. Only after He received the Anointing did He preach, heal the sick, and do the mighty works of God. The sevenfold Spirit of God was upon Him.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. Isaiah 11:2 (NKJV)
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Luke 4:18-19 (NKJV)
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Acts 10:38 (NKJV)
Jesus had the Spirit without measure (John 3:27-36), and He lives in us individually as well as His body, the church. We have been given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. (Ephesians 4:7). The Anointing is the person of Jesus Christ manifesting Himself by grace in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. In Hebrew – “the anointing” and “Messiah” come from the same root word; in the Greek-the name for Christ, Cristos means “the anointed one.” Christ in English means anointed – “to pour over, to smear or rub into.” Therefore, Jesus Christ means the Anointed One and His Anointing.
As a believer, you have the Holy Spirit living within you ever since you were born again. His abiding presence teaches you (1 John 2:20, 27). When the Holy Spirit comes upon you through the baptism with the Holy Spirit, you are anointed for supernatural ministry just like Jesus was to do the Father’s works. His in-filling gives you the power to be witnesses for the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8). We will go into more depth on this in the upcoming blogs.
Symbols of the Holy Spirit in the Bible
The Bible is full of allegories, metaphors, and parables.
Wind – (Genesis 1:2)
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Acts 2:2 (NKJV)
Breath – (Genesis 2:7; Ezekiel 37:9-10)
Fire, Flame – (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16)
Dove – (Mark 1:10; Matthew 3:16-17; Luke 3:22; John 1:32-33)
Oil – (Exodus 30:25; Isaiah 61:1 – 3)
First fruit/down payment
Who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 1:22 (NKJV)
Fruitfulness/Fruit Bearer
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law. Galatians 5:22- 23 (NKJV)
If you don’t see the Holy Spirit as a person, you won’t develop a personal relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit wants to be our everpresent and trusted friend. He wants to have an intimate relationship with us. He wants to show us many things, i.e., what is in the Father’s heart, who Jesus is, what God has freely given to us, to understand the mysteries of God, how to walk in victory, etc. You can ask Him to show you how to be His friend and learn to hear His voice.
Join me next week as we look at the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
Living the Abundant Life 