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Key verse: John 14:26 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
Biblical truth: The Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit) is also called the Comforter and was sent to us from God to teach us about Jesus and to bring His Words to our remembrance. The Holy Spirit is a person and not a thing. He is not just a bundle of spiritual energy, He is God. The Holy Spirit speaks about Jesus and not of Himself. He also does some very special things in the life of the believer and is, as the verse above says, our Comforter. The word comforter signifies one who comes along side of us to help us in our Christian life.
The Holy Spirit and our Salvation
The Holy Spirit is involved in our lives before and after we get saved. It is His job to convict us of our sin, seal us in Christ after we believe, then teach us about Jesus and help us live for Him daily.
The Holy Spirit is God. Jesus promised that even after He left, He would be with us always. (Matthew 18:20) Jesus would do that by indwelling us through His Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9)
a. The Holy Spirit was in heaven before the Father sent Him to this earth.
i. The Father gave Him. (John 14:26)
ii. Jesus sent Him. (John 16:7)
iii. The Holy Spirit came. (John 16:7)
iv. This is how the trinity acts in unison with each member doing what they do but all members being in agreement. The Holy Spirit is a member of that trinity which makes Him God. (John 4:24)
b. The Holy Spirit was present in the creation. (Genesis 1:1-2)
c. It was the Holy Spirit that birthed Jesus in the womb of Mary and thus it was the manner in which in Jesus body was the blood of God. (Luke 1:35, Hebrews 9:14)
d. The Holy Spirit is the breath of God that gave us the Holy Scriptures. (II Timothy 3:16)
e. When people accept Jesus Christ, they are to be baptized in the name (singular) of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
f. The Holy Spirit lives inside every believer that accepts Christ. That makes Him omnipresent, an attribute of God. (John 14:17, Romans 8:9)
The Holy Spirit strives with (brings conviction upon) men. (Genesis 6:3-7) speaking to them and heaping on their conscience the understanding of the weight of their guiltiness and the punishment that must occur because of their sin. This is called conviction. (Romans 2:15)
a. Conviction is a legal term that means to prove a person's guilt then hang the responsibility on them. This is pictured by the story of the woman taken in adultery. (John 8:7-9)
b. It is under this pressure for the Holy Spirit that a person reaches for the Savior for a rescue from the wrath of God. (John 16:8-11)
i. He reproves (scold or disapprove) men of their sin. Points out how it is wrong and the punishment it carries. (John 16:9 Romans 6:23)
ii. He reproves men of righteousness in place of Jesus. He does this through the Word of God. (John 16:10)
iii. Of the fate and final judgment of the devil. John 16:11
The Holy Spirit enters us in salvation and revives us (quickens, or brings to new life). We change from being dead in trespasses and sins to being alive in Jesus. (Ephesians 2:1)
a. We are renewed by the Holy Ghost, or made a new creature. (Titus 3:5, II Corinthians 5:17)
b. We make a profession of faith under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 12:3)
c. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30) This means that we cannot lose or undo our salvation but we are sealed into everlasting life by the Holy Spirit.
d. The Holy Spirit becomes the earnest of our inheritance. (Ephesians 1:14) He is the down payment, not against the redemption of our soul, but against the promise of the future return of Jesus. He has placed His Holy Spirit in us as the evidence that He must return for us.
e. We are comforted and helped by Him. (John 14:16)
In what way can you see the work of the Holy Spirit in your life now or in the past?
The Holy Spirit and our Christian Life
The Holy Spirit was not just given to us to comfort and seal us, but is the divine power of God alive in us. He wants to guide us into righteousness and godliness and to yield our lives as instruments of the same to bring glory and honor to Jesus.
The Holy Spirit immediately begins working in us after salvation to bring about fruit in our lives. (Galatians 5:22-26) He continues to convict us of sin in our lives as we should not practice the ways of the old man that is now perished. (II Corinthians 5:17)
a. These verses in Galatians instruct us that we should walk in the Spirit so that the fruits of the Spirit may be in abundance in our lives.
b. We should not walk in the works of darkness or as the children of disobedience (which we were) but as children of the light (which we now are) showing the fruit of the Spirit.
c. Walking in the Spirit should be the natural thing for us now. (Romans 8:1)
d. The indwelling Holy Spirit wants to fill us up (as we make room for Him to do so) with His power. (Ephesians 5:18)
The Holy Spirit gives us the power to be witnesses of Jesus and testify of the resurrection of Christ. (Acts 1:8)
a. Jesus sent them out as witnesses in the power of the Holy Spirit. (John 20:21-22)
b. The evidence of a Spirit filled life is a person who walks in the Spirit, doing the things that the Spirit wants to do. Not fulfilling the lust of the flesh, but the will of God. (Galatians 5:16)
c. Peter was bold because of the power of the Holy Spirit in him. (Acts 4:8)
d. The Holy Spirit gave them all boldness in Acts 4:31 after they had prayed.
e. The Holy Ghost guides men into the different ministries. (Acts 13:2-4)
The Holy Spirit gives us the power to understand the Scriptures
a. The Bible is a spiritual book and is spiritually discerned. (I Corinthians 2:14)
b. The Holy Spirit teaches us the Bible by letting us see things in the verses that He compares with other verses as He brings them to our remembrance. (I Corinthians 2:10-13) We don't even need to be taught by someone else if we have the Holy Spirit. (I John 2:27)
c. The Holy Spirit truth, as He is called, will guide us in the truth, interpret the truth for us and teach us of the things to come. (John 16:13)
We can grieve Him (Ephesians 4:30) and quench Him (I Thessalonians 5:19) which speak to the fact that He is a person and has feelings.
a. Grieving the Holy Spirit happens when we walk in the flesh and not after Him.
b. Quenching the Spirit happens when we smother His voice in our life. It is not a loud voice as the prophet found out, so we must be listening. (I Kings 19:11-12)
c. We can hear His voice in the Scriptures primarily but also in our conscience.
How do you respond to the voice of the Holy Spirit?
Personal study time:
Reading: Galatians 5:22-26 presents the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. It makes sense that these things should be present in our lives if we are truly born again. If they are not its either because we are not saved or because the Holy Spirit is grieved or quenched in our life. Study these fruits of the Spirit and consider how they are present or lacking in your life. Record any thoughts you have about them below.