Who Is The Holy Spirit? 5 June 2011
17 06 11 Filed in: Sermons | The Holy Spirit
Big Idea: The Holy Spirit is a vital Person that is willing and able to transform us. He is not a “ghost” or a force. Jesus said it is better for us to have the Spirit than for Him to remain on the earth, which is quite a statement.
Have you ever felt that something was missing in your life? No, I don’t mean that $5 bill you lost or even that loyal friend you’ve spent your entire life seeking. I mean in your spiritual life, have you ever felt like something was missing—or someone?
Shortly after John Wimber became a Christian, he became a voracious Bible reader. The Scriptures excited him. Finally, after weeks of reading about life-transforming miracles in the Bible and attending boring church services, John asked one of the church leaders, "When do we get to do the stuff?"
"What stuff?" asked the leader.
"You know, the stuff here in the Bible," said John. "You know, like the stuff Jesus did—raising people from the dead, healing the blind and the paralyzed. You know, that stuff."
"Well, we don’t do that anymore," the man said.
"You don’t?"
"No."
"Well what do you do?" asked John.
"What we did this morning."
In frustration, John responded: "For that I gave up drugs?"
Like so many of us, John was taught by example that the contemporary Christian life was radically disconnected from the power and awesomeness of the Scriptures.
Have you ever read the Bible and wished you were an eyewitness to the events? People write books that are turned into movies in order for us to experience the story, but there’s nothing like being there.
Perhaps this is no more true than with Jesus. How many of you would like to spend the day with Jesus? If He walked into this room and said, “Who wants to hang out with Me tomorrow?” would you respond? Of course!
This leads me to one of the most provocative passages of the entire Bible, in my humble opinion.
But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. - NIV (1984)
Look what Jesus told His disciples. “It is for your good that I am going away,” He said. This is before He died, so we can understand His point being that He needs to go away and die to save us. Without His death, burial and resurrection He would be merely a good teacher, not a forgiving, grace-filled God who atoned for our sins, reconciling us to God.
The latest scholarship in the recent NIV translation makes a few clarifying changes.
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. - NIV (2011)
The word “Advocate” is used rather than the more passive “Counselor.”
Note, too, that Jesus’ return to Heaven is proof that righteousness is possible. It validated all that Jesus proclaimed. His acceptance into heaven proved that sin had been defeated and that one day we also will be accepted, not because of our righteousness, but His.
Today is known on the Church calendar as Ascension Sunday to commemorate the day Jesus left our planet to prepare a place for us.
Although the disciples experienced the tremendous grief and sadness when Jesus left them to die, they were not done with their goodbyes. Forty days after Jesus’ resurrection, He left them again, saying that He would return soon.
Just for the record, my first thought when Jesus said He was going to the Father would be, “Come back!” yet Jesus said it’s good that He leaves to allow the Counselor or the Advocate to come. Who is the Advocate?
The Holy Spirit is a Person—one of three Persons in the Trinity that includes the Father and Jesus. Because of that, we can say that the Holy Spirit is God.
The Holy Spirit is not a force or a ghost, though some old translations called Him the Holy Ghost. You don’t have to be afraid of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit has been around for a while—like forever!
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. - Genesis 1:1-2
The Spirit was present at Creation and appeared to particular people at particular times prior to Jesus.
Everything Jesus did was because of the Holy Spirit. He was continually filled with the Spirit and although Jesus was God, He became one of us—a human with limitations.
The unleashing of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 after Jesus left earth changed everything, however, and the Spirit became available to all believers 24/7. If you think about it, although we can’t see, hear, and touch the Spirit like we can Jesus, the 24/7 access is quite remarkable. The Spirit of the Living God is living within those of us who have received Jesus.
Listen to this account from the day of Christ’s ascension:
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. - Acts 1:4-9
Jesus left to allow the gift of the Holy Spirit to come.
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” - Luke 11:11-13
The Greek word para¿klhtoß or parakletos means “one who encourages and comforts, intercessor, helper.” This word in the NT exclusively refers to the Holy Spirit and Jesus, which makes sense because in John 14:15-17 Jesus said
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Jesus said that the Father would send another comforter—one like Jesus.
What does the Holy Spirit do?
Indwell, guide, teach, empower believers, John 16:13; Acts 1:8
Convinces the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, John 16:7-11
Helps us to pray, Romans 8:26
Enables us to understand God’s Word, Ephesians 1:17-18
Regeneration, John 3:5; Titus 3:5
Assurance, Rom. 8:16
Justification, I Cor. 6:11
Adoption, Gal. 4:4-6; Rom. 8:15
Sanctification, II Thess. 2:13; Rom. 15:16; I Peter 1:2
Conversion
Repentance, Acts 11:15, 18
Faith, I Cor. 2:9, 12; 12:3
Good works, Gal. 5:22-23
Perseverance, Eph. 4:30; 1:13-14; II Cor. 1:22; 5:5
Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? How is that possible? We’ll examine that next Sunday. In the meantime,
It is my prayer that you will encounter the Holy Spirit in a way that truly transforms your life, whether you’ve been going to church your entire life or just investigating what it means to be a Christ-follower.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Have you ever felt that something was missing in your life? No, I don’t mean that $5 bill you lost or even that loyal friend you’ve spent your entire life seeking. I mean in your spiritual life, have you ever felt like something was missing—or someone?
Shortly after John Wimber became a Christian, he became a voracious Bible reader. The Scriptures excited him. Finally, after weeks of reading about life-transforming miracles in the Bible and attending boring church services, John asked one of the church leaders, "When do we get to do the stuff?"
"What stuff?" asked the leader.
"You know, the stuff here in the Bible," said John. "You know, like the stuff Jesus did—raising people from the dead, healing the blind and the paralyzed. You know, that stuff."
"Well, we don’t do that anymore," the man said.
"You don’t?"
"No."
"Well what do you do?" asked John.
"What we did this morning."
In frustration, John responded: "For that I gave up drugs?"
Like so many of us, John was taught by example that the contemporary Christian life was radically disconnected from the power and awesomeness of the Scriptures.
Have you ever read the Bible and wished you were an eyewitness to the events? People write books that are turned into movies in order for us to experience the story, but there’s nothing like being there.
Perhaps this is no more true than with Jesus. How many of you would like to spend the day with Jesus? If He walked into this room and said, “Who wants to hang out with Me tomorrow?” would you respond? Of course!
This leads me to one of the most provocative passages of the entire Bible, in my humble opinion.
But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. - NIV (1984)
Look what Jesus told His disciples. “It is for your good that I am going away,” He said. This is before He died, so we can understand His point being that He needs to go away and die to save us. Without His death, burial and resurrection He would be merely a good teacher, not a forgiving, grace-filled God who atoned for our sins, reconciling us to God.
The latest scholarship in the recent NIV translation makes a few clarifying changes.
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. - NIV (2011)
The word “Advocate” is used rather than the more passive “Counselor.”
Note, too, that Jesus’ return to Heaven is proof that righteousness is possible. It validated all that Jesus proclaimed. His acceptance into heaven proved that sin had been defeated and that one day we also will be accepted, not because of our righteousness, but His.
Today is known on the Church calendar as Ascension Sunday to commemorate the day Jesus left our planet to prepare a place for us.
Although the disciples experienced the tremendous grief and sadness when Jesus left them to die, they were not done with their goodbyes. Forty days after Jesus’ resurrection, He left them again, saying that He would return soon.
Just for the record, my first thought when Jesus said He was going to the Father would be, “Come back!” yet Jesus said it’s good that He leaves to allow the Counselor or the Advocate to come. Who is the Advocate?
The Holy Spirit is a Person—one of three Persons in the Trinity that includes the Father and Jesus. Because of that, we can say that the Holy Spirit is God.
The Holy Spirit is not a force or a ghost, though some old translations called Him the Holy Ghost. You don’t have to be afraid of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit has been around for a while—like forever!
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. - Genesis 1:1-2
The Spirit was present at Creation and appeared to particular people at particular times prior to Jesus.
Everything Jesus did was because of the Holy Spirit. He was continually filled with the Spirit and although Jesus was God, He became one of us—a human with limitations.
The unleashing of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 after Jesus left earth changed everything, however, and the Spirit became available to all believers 24/7. If you think about it, although we can’t see, hear, and touch the Spirit like we can Jesus, the 24/7 access is quite remarkable. The Spirit of the Living God is living within those of us who have received Jesus.
Listen to this account from the day of Christ’s ascension:
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. - Acts 1:4-9
Jesus left to allow the gift of the Holy Spirit to come.
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” - Luke 11:11-13
The Greek word para¿klhtoß or parakletos means “one who encourages and comforts, intercessor, helper.” This word in the NT exclusively refers to the Holy Spirit and Jesus, which makes sense because in John 14:15-17 Jesus said
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Jesus said that the Father would send another comforter—one like Jesus.
What does the Holy Spirit do?
Indwell, guide, teach, empower believers, John 16:13; Acts 1:8
Convinces the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, John 16:7-11
Helps us to pray, Romans 8:26
Enables us to understand God’s Word, Ephesians 1:17-18
Regeneration, John 3:5; Titus 3:5
Assurance, Rom. 8:16
Justification, I Cor. 6:11
Adoption, Gal. 4:4-6; Rom. 8:15
Sanctification, II Thess. 2:13; Rom. 15:16; I Peter 1:2
Conversion
Repentance, Acts 11:15, 18
Faith, I Cor. 2:9, 12; 12:3
Good works, Gal. 5:22-23
Perseverance, Eph. 4:30; 1:13-14; II Cor. 1:22; 5:5
Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? How is that possible? We’ll examine that next Sunday. In the meantime,
It is my prayer that you will encounter the Holy Spirit in a way that truly transforms your life, whether you’ve been going to church your entire life or just investigating what it means to be a Christ-follower.
You can listen to the podcast here.