THE HOLY SPIRIT
written by Joy Conte
THE Spirit of God is a member of the Tri-Une Godhead that fills and seals whoever gives their life to Christ. He helps you to be closer to God.
The Holy Spirit was present in the Old Testament, moving similarly to the New Testament. Usually, some think that the Spirit of God in the Old Testament chose few people for His work; however, His work was significantly broader.
To begin with, we notice that the Spirit of God is represented in all Creation (Gen. 1:2; Ps. 33:6; 104:30).
“The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:2 NKJV
“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” Psalms 33:6 NKJV
“You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.”Psalms 104:30 NKJV
Second, the Holy Spirit is the person in the working of God, and the actual working of the Holy Spirit is God’s connection with Man. The Holy Spirit is the force by which the sovereign God connects with the intricacies of life on earth (Ezek. 1:20, Isa. 4:4; 30:1; 63:14). Once we know who God is, we do not want to be separated from Him. We realize that our transgression outrages the Holy One, and we fear separation from God (Ps. 51:11).
“Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.” Ezekiel 1:20 NKJV
“When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning,” Isaiah 4:4 NKJV
“Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin;” Isaiah 30:1 NKJV
“As a beast goes down into the valley, And the Spirit of the Lord causes him to rest, So You lead Your people, To make Yourself a glorious name.”Isaiah 63:14 NKJV
“Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” Psalms 51:11 NKJV
Third, the Spirit is referred to in the Old Testament as an individual blessing. He inhabits those who belong to Him, as it says in (Hag. 2:4-5),
“Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’” Haggai 2:4-5 NKJV
Fourth, the Spirit moves the prophets to speak the Word of God and destroy the devil’s works.
HOLY SPIRIT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Holy Spirit was revealed more in the New Testament:
“And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”Luke 3:22 NKJV
“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:4-5 NKJV
On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit appeared to the disciples:
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:1-4 NKJV
The Holy Spirit is simply the actual presence of God that moves on the earth connecting the Heavenly Father to His people, to those who accept Him. The Holy Spirit helps us to be ONE with God. The more you give up yourself and submit to Him, the more He will fill all aspects of your life.
“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” I Corinthians 6:17 NKJV
Through Faith in God, you receive the Holy Spirit, and you believe that He guides you and brings revelation to his Word. The believers of the New Testament, moving in the Holy Spirit, should be our pattern today; we propose that we look at the Apostles to see how they flow in getting people filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is your companion and counselor. God does not give you a task that is too big for you; Jesus was our example of how to overcome with the leading of the Holy Spirit; he only did what the Father told him to do. God gave us his Holy Spirit to teach and bring to the remembrance of his Word. Nothing is impossible with His help. At the time of salvation, the start of our new life, the Holy Spirit is a seal on us, the bible says.
THE HOLY SPIRIT TEACHES
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” II Timothy 3:16 NKJV
Know the things of God:
“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.” I Corinthians 2:11 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 said to you.” John 14:26 NKJV
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—” John 14:16 NKJV
THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS
The Spirit will convict our hearts of the importance of forgiving that person and how God has forgiven us. The HolySpirit in our lives reminds us not to do things God does not want us to do.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” II Timothy 3:16 NKJV
THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS
If you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you, you walk in God’s will for your life. If we resist the Holy Spirit and do not do God’s will, we are self-willed, which will delay God’s blessing. We must allow God to control our life; turning it over to the Holy Spirit will lead to living the victorious life God has for us.
ROLE OF THE SPIRIT
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—” John 14:16 NKJV
HOW POWERFUL IS THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Power to raise the dead, The Spirit has all the power of God because He is God.
“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
POWER TO FORGIVE SINS
“And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” John 20:22-23 NKJV
POWER TO LOVE AND WITNESS
What variety of energy does the Holy Spirit give? Paul tells us two essential things. First, the Spirit offers us the Power to love and to be witnesses for Jesus.
“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
ASK AND RECEIVE
Where do we start to get the right of entry to this Power? We begin by asking God to fill us with His Spirit and confessing areas we have not given to God. Jesus said,
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:13 NKJV
Ask the Holy Spirit to assist you in loving others as God does and being a witness for Jesus in the world. Then, you can live in Christ, doing all God has for you.
PREACHING THE WORD WITH BOLDNESS
“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4:31 NKJV
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
Romans 1:16 NKJV
