The Holy Spirit

Introduction

Today’s subject is the Holy Spirit. As has been true with the last two lessons, a lesson on the Holy Spirit cannot be exhaustive in a short period of time; however, we can state some of the fundamental truths about the nature and work of the Spirit as a way of reinforcing our faith. As we did last week with our overview of the nature and work of Jesus, this lesson will include a lot of scripture references. I would encourage you to write these down and study them.

Here are three questions we are going to briefly answer today: What is the nature of the Spirit? How does one receive the Spirit? What is the purpose of the Spirit in the life of the Christian?

Nature

The Bible clearly teaches that there is only one God. Such texts as Deuteronomy 6:4, Mark 12:29, James 2:19, and Romans 3:30 establish the biblical claim that there is only one God. However, there are other texts which demonstrate that there are three persons within this one God. According to Matthew 28:19, at our baptism a relationship is established between us and God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This text says that there is diversity within the unity of God. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. If this is not the case then we have God and two creatures operating together in baptism. Either the Son and the Spirit are God or they are creatures.

In 2 Corinthians 13:14, Paul ends his second letter to the church at Corinth with these words: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Again, there is either diversity within the unity of God or there is God working in concert with two other creatures.

John 1:1 establishes that God and Jesus are one. Both God and Jesus are affirmed to be different persons yet both are said to be God. Then in John 14:6, Jesus says something which further affirms this truth. Pay attention to the word “another”—one like him but different from him will be sent. And the fact that Jesus prays to the Father expresses a difference in person as well. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are not the same person; yet, they are all God.

This is seen at the baptism of Jesus in which three distinct persons are present and interacting with each other. Notice Matthew 3:16-17 that God speaks, Jesus, of course, is baptized, and the Spirit descends as a dove as further witness of God’s care and presence. God in three distinct persons.

In Ephesians 4:30 we are told not to “grieve” the Holy Spirit of God. We are not to make the Spirit sad or cause sorrow to the Holy Spirit by an improper Christian walk. According to 1 Corinthians 2:10, the Spirit has exhaustive knowledge even into the “depths” of God. And according to 1 Corinthians 12:11, the Spirit himself has purposes which he carries out. The Holy Spirit is personal. He can think, reason, feel, and know. While there is one God there are three persons. All three work together to accomplish the divine will. There is harmony and unity between the three and yet each one is distinct in function.

Receiving the Spirit

The very question “How does one receive the Holy Spirit?” suggests that he is a gift from God. Paul concerns himself with such a question in Galatians 3. Paul was concerned that the Galatians were leaving behind the true gospel for some non-gospel. He proposes that someone may have put a spell on them to make them think in such unchristlike ways. So Paul asks one question to clarify: “Did they receive the Spirit by works of law or by hearing of faith?”

Some in the religious world would have us believe that there is no uniformity in the giving of the Spirit. The Spirit comes to different ones in different ways and times. Paul dispenses with that idea. There are only two ways to receive the Spirit—heroic deeds or faith. One receives the Spirit by his or her own strength or by believing the gospel. For Paul “hearing” means to hear, believe, and live differently because of that belief. “Did you receive the Spirit by working for him or by hearing the gospel and believing it?” Notice verse 3. The Galatians began with the Spirit. When did this beginning start?

Paul has in mind when they become Christians. The Spirit comes at the beginning of the Christian life. He isn’t given before one becomes a Christian. One doesn’t become a Christian and then begin asking for the Spirit to come. One doesn’t as a Christian ask for the Spirit to come more fully. According to Paul the Spirit comes at the beginning of one’s Christian life. We need the Spirit to help us from the beginning, not after we have everything together. Receiving the Spirit then is really very simple. This gift requires nothing heroic on our part. The gift does not require us to purge ourselves of all that is evil and then to plead for the Spirit to come upon us. According to Paul, God freely gives his Spirit to all who become Christians.

Acts 2:38 says basically the same thing. Peter’s promise is that at baptism one receives the Spirit as God’s gift. 1 Corinthians 12:13 says that when one became a Christian or were baptized by the one Spirit then each one was given the one Spirit to drink. There is a direct connection between becoming a Christian and receiving the Holy Spirit. Finally, look at Titus 3:4-7. According to this text there are two elements in the new birth—water and the Spirit. This salvation came about at the “bath” of regeneration and at the renewal by the Spirit. The washing and the renewal occur simultaneously. Our salvation was given at our spiritual birth and with that birth the Spirit was generously poured out on us.

Purpose of the Spirit

The Spirit has four significant purposes in the life of the Christian. First, he helps us in our weakness. Romans 8:26-27 tells us that we don’t know what to pray, but the Spirit helps us. The word “help” suggests the image of the Spirit placing himself on one end of the heavy load to help us pick it up and carry it. With prayer we know we need something but we don’t exactly what. At such times the Spirit intercedes for us. He does not take away our weakness but he groans or sighs with us because he feels our problems so deeply.

Second, the Spirit helps to bring about holiness in our lives (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20). It is God’s will that we be holy. But we are not left to ourselves to figure out how to be holy. According to Paul in verse 8, God has given to us his Holy Spirit. To reject God’s teaching about holiness—and in particular sexual purity in this context—is to reject God’s Holy Spirit. There is a little nuance of language which is worth noting. Paul says to reject this teaching is not to reject man but God who gives us His Spirit who is holy. The word “holy” being placed after Spirit means the word is to receive some emphasis. God gives to us his Spirit who is holy. In other words, at the core of God’s character is holiness and to ensure that his people understand and practice holiness, he gives us his Spirit of Holiness.

Third, the Spirit helps in the fight against evil. In Romans 8:12-13, Paul continues a thought he began in Romans 6:1, responding to the question “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” In other words, can we thank God for grace and do whatever we want? Paul’s first answer is that such conduct is contrary to the meaning of our baptism in which we die to sin and are raised again to live a new kind of life. In Romans 8:12-13, he continues that thought. We have an obligation to live not by the fleshly nature, but by the Spirit. In our struggle against evil, the Spirit is there to help us. The phrase “put to death” is in the present tense. This means that our desire to not sin is a continual struggle. It is a lifelong struggle to fight against evil and to live by the Spirit. As we live by the Spirit, as we allow the Spirit to help us in that struggle, we come to realize more and more that we are God’s children. The emphasis in this text is on our struggle and the Spirit’s presence. The Spirit will not force us to live for God. Our minds are involved. We must decide to live by the Spirit and such a choice brings help from the Spirit.

Fourth, the Spirit helps to bring confidence in our standing with God. Ephesians 1:13-14 speaks of this purpose through two key words: “seal” and “deposit.” The seal of the Old Testament was circumcision. Circumcision was the way God demonstrated who belonged to him. It was the mark of identification and authentication. Cattle are sealed or branded to show who their owner is. Such is the case with the Holy Spirit. He is the mark of identification for those who belong to God. The Holy Spirit shows that we belong to God.

The other word is deposit. It is a term which was used in commerce and the courts. It meant a guarantee or pledge. A buyer gave the seller earnest money—a down payment or first installment which served to bind the agreement and pledged that the rest of the payments would follow. The Spirit then serves as God’s pledge to us that God will grant us the rest of our promised inheritance.

The Spirit serves a two-fold purpose. His presence assures us that we are his sons and daughters and his presence guarantees our complete inheritance.

Application

This is not exhaustive but there is one important point that I want us to see. In Romans 8:15-16, Paul tells us that the Spirit has been given to us. The presence of the Spirit allows us to cry out “Abba, Father.” Abba is such a beautiful term. It is the term used by a child learning to talk and it is akin to our word “Dada.” But Paul doesn’t stop there. In verse 16 he says that the Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. I don’t know how this testimony takes place but the result from these two verses is clear. God wants us to be confident about our relationship with him—confident enough to know him as Father and confident to know that our relationship with him is not in jeopardy. This confidence comes from the Spirit.

Do you have the Spirit of God in you?

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