The Person of the Holy Spirit and His Work (Part 4A)
The Holy Spirit in the N.T. was unique by his indwelling the believer and guiding the believer’s actions. The scripture that supports this is Romans 8:9. In the KJV it reads: But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. This verse makes two points: 1) if you are a believer, the Spirit of God lives in you, 2) If you do not believe in Christ, you do not have the Holy Spirit (Spirit of God) dwelling in you. Therefore, if you are a believer, he lives in you.
As a consequence of the indwelling Spirit of God, you are sealed. We find this in 2 Corinthians 1:22 which says: Who [Christ] hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. The Holy Spirit is your seal that you belong to God. As another part of your believing in Christ, the Holy Spirit has given you at least one spiritual gift if not two or more. We are charged to use these gifts to edify the church. (1 Co. 14: 12) Even so, there are more blessings from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
You have an anointing because of the indwelling Holy Spirit. He will teach you all things and is of the truth. (1 John 2: 20) This comes as a direct result of reading scripture and prayer. What the Holy Spirit teaches you is truth. It can only be that way because four times in the N.T. the Holy Spirit is called the “Spirit of truth.” (See John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13 and 1 John 5:6) As a believer, we are to focus on truth because God is the source of all truth. If we are obedient to read God’s Word and pray, the Holy Spirit is our guide to understand the truth in God’s Word. In our next post, we will see other ways in which we are blessed by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
The Person of the Holy Spirit and His Work (Part 4B)
In our last post, we said that we will see other ways in which we are blessed by the indwelling Holy Spirit. We will see at least five more things that the indwelling Holy Spirit helps or acts on our behalf: 1) Through him, we are given access to the father, 2) through him, we are affirmed as children of God, 3) through him he intercedes for us, 4) by him, we are able to produce spiritual fruit, and 5) we are given power over sin. Let’s look at the verses that tell us this.
Do you know that as a believer, you have access to God the Father? In Ephesians, Paul tells us this “For through him (Holy Spirit) we both (Paul and you) have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” (Ephesians 2:18 see also Hebrews 4:16) By the Holy Spirit, we are affirmed to be children of God. (Romans 8:16) Remember that you belong to God the Father! Not only that, but the Holy Spirit also intercedes for believers before the Father. (Romans 8: 26, 27)
Because we belong to God we are given gifts and a responsibility. That responsibility is to produce fruit. The verses in Galatians 5:22 and 23 gives us a list of the spiritual fruit that we are to produce. Paul lists for us these spiritual fruit that we are to produce: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, faith, meekness, and temperance. As we mature, we learn to depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us into producing this kind of fruitfulness in our lives. And when we fail, the Holy Spirit will help us overcome sinful misdeeds. Failure comes when we live in the flesh, but the Holy Spirit pricks our hearts and convicts us of any wrongdoing. (Romans 8:12-13) Read more for what the Holy Spirit does for us in our next post, we will see more ways in which we are blessed by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
The Person of the Holy Spirit and His Work (Part 4C)
In our last post, we said that we will see other ways in which we are blessed by the indwelling Holy Spirit. We will see at least four more things in this last post that the indwelling Holy Spirit helps or acts on our behalf: 1) Through him, we are set apart for the father, 2) through him, we are empowered to evangelism, 3) through him he assures us we will be resurrected, 4) by him, we are comforted and he is our advocate in time of troubles. Let’s look at the verses that tell us this.
If we read 1 Corinthians 6:11, we will see the following phrase “but ye are sanctified.” What this means is that the Holy Spirit has set us apart for God’s purposes. Because we are “in Christ” we are free from sin and to be used for the work that God has for us. Part of that work that we are “set apart” to do is evangelism. Acts 1:8 tells us that we are to be witnesses for Jesus locally, nationally, and around the world. Paul and Barnabas were two of the first missionaries sent forth to spread the Gospel to the gentiles. (Acts 13.4) Our modern missionaries are empowered by the Holy Spirit to go forth and spread the “Good News.”
Do you know that the Holy Spirit will see that you are resurrected? In Romans 8:11 we read “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” That is a fact for the believer and should be most comforting. There is a reason that the Holy Spirit is called “The Comforter” by Jesus. The Holy Spirit lives within us and is our constant guide and companion. He teaches us, he helps us to navigate through dangerous paths, and he consoles us when we face trauma and sorrow. Jesus went to Heaven so that He could send the Comforter (Holy Spirit) to us and abide with us. The Holy Spirit is in constant communication with God the Father and God the Son. Rest assured that as a believer, you are never alone! (John 14:16; 14:26; 15:26)