The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, is the third person of the Trinity. The Trinity, or Godhead, is God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Trinity is God. Simply put, the Holy Spirit is God.
John 14:15-17 (NKJV) says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Counselor), that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” During His earthly ministry, Jesus was the sole leader and teacher of His disciples. God’s Spirit had dwelt with the Disciples through Jesus. When it was time for Him to return to heaven, Jesus prayed to God the Father. He sent His Holy Spirit (Helper) in place of Jesus, and it dwelled in the Disciples. John 20:22 (NLT) says, Then He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit took the place of Jesus Who was no longer physically present with the Disciples, but He was with them through the Holy Spirit.
The world (or non-Christians) cannot receive the Holy Spirit because no one receives the Holy Spirit until he or she repents of his or her sins, believes Jesus died for his or her sins and was raised from the dead, and accepts Him as the Lord of his or her life (Romans 10:9).
SOME IMPORTANT TASKS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
In John 16:7-11 (NIV) Jesus is speaking and He says, But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor (Holy Spirit) 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.
One of the greatest tasks of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ. God loves you and He knows rejecting Christ leads to condemnation. He has sent the Holy Spirit to reveal your sin to you, to lead you to repentance, and to convince you of your need for a Savior. Romans 2:4 (NIV) says Do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to toward repentance?
The next task of the Holy Spirit is to reveal the standard of God’s righteousness. Jesus said I am going to the Father where you can see Me no longer. Jesus would no longer be present on earth as a living example of the righteousness of God. The Holy Spirit reveals the righteousness of Christ to you so that you are aware of your own sinfulness. Apart from the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, you will not see yourself as a sinner.
Another task of the Holy Spirit according the John 16:11 is in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world, Satan, was judged, condemned and defeated at the cross. The Holy Spirit demonstrates Christ’s victory at the cross. Hebrews 2:14-15 (NLT) says, Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—Jesus also became flesh and blood by being born in human form. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the Devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could He deliver those who have lived all their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND SALVATION
The Holy Spirit abides and resides in every Christian. It is received at the moment of salvation. The Bible says, And now you also have heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us everything He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God. We have all been baptized into Christ’s body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians at all.) (Ephesians 1:13-14, 1Corinthians 12:13, Romans 8:9 NLT).
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND TRANSFORMATION
God’s goal for every believer is that you are transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. The job of the Holy Spirit is to actually make that happen! 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 (NIV) says, God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our Gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible has an unquestionable, HUGE, impact on the life of every Christian. However, the Bible alone is not enough to help you transform into Christ. The only thing that will help you change is the Word and the Spirit. 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV) says His divine power has given us everything we need for life and Godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. His divine power is the Holy Spirit and our knowledge of Him comes from the Bible. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God in the life of the Christian to make him or her more like Jesus Christ.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE BIBLE
The Holy Spirit makes the Bible come alive in your life. It helps you understand God’s Word so you see Him and His ways more clearly. The Bible says, But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words (John 16:13, 1 Corinthians 2:13 NIV). The Holy Spirit helps you live the Bible as opposed to just reading it. Before you read the Bible, pray and ask God to fill you with His Spirit to help you understand His Word. The Spirit will make the words you are reading jump off the page, into your heart, and come alive as actions in your life. You will have a living experience through what is written, proclaimed and taught in the Word of God. 1 John 3:18-19 (NLT) says, Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND PRAYER
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV) says, And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. When you spend time with the Lord in prayer, you must come before Him with an unveiled face. A veil covers, conceals, and hides. You must humble yourself and pray uncovering everything, hiding nothing, and having no secrets. God is all knowing so He already knows everything you have done, are doing, and will ever do. You can’t blame others, make excuses or hide behind any other issues when it comes to your own disobedience and sins. You must come with unveiled faces, transparent and fully exposed. This is the only way the Holy Spirit can work in your life. You block the transformation work of the Holy Spirit when you aren’t transparent. It is the Spirit of truth and it only deals with reality, truth and full disclosure.
CONCLUSION
As a Christian, you have a gift of God dwelling in you, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God Himself, so you have God dwelling in you. 2 Corinthians 6:16 (NKJV) says …For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” The Holy Spirit keeps you in step with God by convicting you of your sins and making you want to change.
The Holy Spirit instructs you as you read the Bible and guides you into the truth of God’s Word. The Spirit uses the Word of God to give you the love, joy, and peace of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:4 (NLT) says …For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.
Go Live The Victory!
