This article has been prepared to organize the large number of Scripture
passages referring to the Spirit of God to show (1) that the Holy Spirit is
distinctly a Person, that is, that He has personality; (2) that He is God,
that is, that He shares all of God's eternal attributes; and (3) that He
has an objective, real ministry in the world during the Church Age,
particularly in the lives of Christians.
The Holy Spirit has personality because He possesses the essential characteristics of personality, namely, intellect, emotion, and will.
Matthew 3:16, And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the
water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending as a dove, and coming upon Him,
Luke 4:18, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ...
Isaiah 61:1
Romans 8:9, However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed
the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of
Christ, he does not belong to Him.
Philippians 1:19, For I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance through
your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
1 Corinthians 2:9-11, but just as it is written, " Things which eye has not seen
and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All
that God has prepared for those who love Him."
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all
things, even the depths of God.
For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man,
which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit
of God.
See also 2 Samuel 23:2; Micah 3:8; Acts 1:16; Hebrews 9:6-8; 2 Peter 1:15-21;
John 16:12-14.
After the Lord Jesus had ascended to Heaven, the Holy Spirit came to
indwell all believers during the Church Age.
John 7:38,39, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his
innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'
But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to
receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet
glorified.
The purpose of the indwelling Holy Spirit is not to glorify the Holy
spirit, but to glorify Christ while He is absent from the earth.
John 16:13,14, "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you
into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but
whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to
come.
"He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to
you.
The believer's body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and this
glorification occurs on the inside of the believer.
1 Corinthians 6:19,20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your
own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your
body.
When a Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit (walking in fellowship),
his life is written by the Holy Spirit. He is declared to be the epistles
of Christ written by the Holy spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:2-6 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by
all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us,
written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets
of stone, but on tablets of human hearts. And such confidence we have
through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to
consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,
who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter,
but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
When a Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit, Christ is at home in the
body.
Ephesians 3:16,17 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,
to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that
Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted
and grounded in love,
Zechariah 4:6, "... not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord
of hosts."
The following is a list of activities carried out by the Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit lives permanently in every Christian. Romans 8:9; Galatians 3:2;
4:6; 1 Corinthians 6:19,20.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is called the "unction" in 1 John 2:20,
and "anointing" in 1 John 2:27. These are synonyms for "indwelling."
The prophecy of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is found in John 7:37-39;
John 14:16,17.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit must be distinguished from the indwelling
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The sealing work of the Holy Spirit is the basis for our eternal security.
The three phases of salvation are given in Ephesians 1:13.
Ephesians 1:13,14 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the
gospel of your salvation-- having also believed, you were sealed in Him
with the Holy Spirit of promise,who is given as a pledge of our inheritance,
with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His
glory.
When a person accepts Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit comes into
(indwells) his life permanently. The Holy Spirit indwells for the purpose
of glorifying Christ, but indwelling alone does not guarantee that Christ
will be glorified by the believer's life. For this reason, Christians are
commanded to be habitually "filled" with the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18, And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be
filled with the Spirit,
The verb "be filled" means "to fill up a deficiency; to fully possess; to
fully influence; to fill with a certain quality." Here it is in the present
passive imperative, so the verb is a command meaning "keep on being filled"
with the believer receiving the action of the verb. The filling is by means
of the Holy Spirit.
The responsibility of the Christian is to confess his sins. At any point in
our lives we can take ourselves out of fellowship through personal sin.
When that happens, we become carnal, not spiritual. Sin grieves the Holy
Spirit and causes a breach in our relationship with God. But the Lord
promises that if we confess our sins, He will forgive us and cleanse us
from unrighteousness. That is, upon the condition of our confession, He
will heal the breach that sin has caused.
So, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, sin must be confessed. 1 John 1:9
Nothing good is produced in the Christian's life apart from the filling of
the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:8,9 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit
of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he
does not belong to Him.
Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being
perfected by the flesh?
Results of the Filling of the Holy Spirit
The book of Acts is the book of spiritual power - where it comes from, how
it is obtained, and how it is used. The promise of Jesus Christ to his
disciples was "He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with
you forever, even the Spirit of Truth... He dwells with you and shall be in
you."
The prophesy of John the Baptist in Matt. 3:11 regarding the coming
ministry of the Lord Jesus also announced the ministry of the Holy Spirit
for the Church Age.
Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that
comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he
shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire:"
Examples of believers receiving the Holy Spirit:
The fruit of the Holy Spirit is the character of Christ being formed in the
Christian who is filled with the Spirit. Galatians 5:22,23 has a listing of the
types of production which are the result of the fruit of the Spirit.
Love, Joy, and Peace are fruits of mental attitude, inward thinking that
reflects the lack of mental attitude sins and the relaxation which comes
from knowing Bible truth.
Long-suffering, Gentleness, and Goodness are outward, or directed toward
"neighbours."
Long-suffering, for example, is a relaxed attitude toward the human race
and is a result of having love, joy peace. This is Faith-Rest under
pressure which comes from people or Circumstances.
Faith, Meekness, and Temperance are fruits directed upward, or God-ward.
Humility, for example, is a grace attitude with regard to divine provision
that gives glory to God for all support and blessing in life, rather than
taking the attitude that one is self-made.
The following are required in order for a Christian to have spiritual
fruit:
The Bible speaks of five types of sin which can be committed against the
Holy Spirit. Two are committed by unbelievers only; the other three are
committed by Christians.
Resistance of the Holy Spirit: Acts 7:51. This is rejection of the Lord
Jesus Christ and a rejection of the pre-salvation ministry of the Holy
Spirit John 16:7-11 through the sin of unbelief
Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit: Matthew 12:31,32. This refers to rejection of
Jesus Christ during His ministry on earth "during the previous
dispensation, the Age of the Jews".
Lying to the Holy Spirit: Acts 5:3. Refers to false motivation, approbation
lust sin.
Grieving the Holy Spirit: Ephesians 4:30. Refers to producing sins from the area
of weakness in the sin nature. Any sin in the life of the believer which
involves a moral or ethical issue.
Quenching the Holy Spirit: 1 Thessalonians 5:19. Producing human good from the
areas of strength in the Sin Nature. Examples: giving, prayer, witnessing
for the purpose of gaining approbation. Human good soothes the conscience
and keeps the believer from confessing his sin.