· The Holy
Spirit is often described as light. He shines into the dark places of the heart
and convicts us of sin (John 16:7-11). He is a lamp to illumine God’s word,
teaching what is true and showing the truth to be precious (1Cor. 2:6-16). And
the Spirit throws a spotlight on Christ so that we can see his glory and be
changed (John 16:14).
That’s why 2 Cor. 3:18 speaks of becoming more like Christ by beholding the
glory of Christ. Just as Moses had his face transfigured when he saw the Lord’s
glory on Mount Sinai (Ex. 34:29; 2 Cor. 37), so will we be transformed when, by
the Spirit, we behold God’s glory in the face of Christ.
·
The Holy
Spirit is a real person who came to reside within the disciples of Christ after
Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven.
·
When the
Holy Spirit enters the life of a repentant believer, He literally breathes new
life into the dead! Just as the prophet Ezekiel watched dry skeletons stand up,
grow new flesh, and breathe again (Ezek. 37), people who are dead in sin are
resurrected to a new life when they believe in Jesus Christ for the first time.
·
Once
we are saved, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our hearts sealing us with
the assurance of our soul’s eternal state.
·
The
Holy Spirit is not an option in the life of the Believer.
Romans 8:9 “But you are not
in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now
if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”
·
The
Holy Spirit is Comforter, Revealer of Truth, teacher, gift-giver, harvester of
fruits … The Holy Spirit has many roles in the Life of a Believer, we will
consider few of them as God gives us grace.
1.
The
Holy Spirit works in our hearts:
The
Holy Spirit speaks to the hearts and minds of people to show them that they are
sinners and are in need of God’s Righteousness and that there will be a day of
judgment.
Ø
In
John 16:8-9, Jesus tells the disciples that he will send a comforter to convict
“the world of sin, and of righteousness,
and of judgment: Of sin because they believe not in me.”
Ø
The
Holy Spirit convinces unbelievers of sin, righteousness and judgment.
Sin in this context shows that they
have fallen short of God’s standard.
Righteousness in this context showings
that they do not have righteousness of their
own and are in need of God’s perfect righteousness and,
Judgment in this context shows that
they will have to answer for how they lived their
life and that there is more than just physical life but eternal life.
2.
The
Holy Spirit is Comforter:
In
John 14:16 Jesus says “And I will pray
the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you
forever;” KJV but in the Amplified Bible this same verse reads “And I will ask the Father, and He will give
you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener,
and Standby), that He may remain with you forever.” This Comforter that
Jesus speaks of, is the Holy Spirit.
3.
The
Holy Spirit is a revealer of Truth:
John
16:13 says “However, when He, the Spirit
of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on
His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you
things to come.”
The
Holy Spirit is our spiritual guide revealing to our minds and hearts the truth
as it relates to scripture, to worship, to doctrine and to Christian living. As
our Spiritual guide, the Holy Spirit goes before us to remove spiritual
obstructions, spiritual roadblocks, while at the same time stays beside us to
reveal the truth and to make all things plain and clear.
4.
The
Holy Spirit teaches the believer:
John
14:26 Jesus says, “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.” The Holy Spirit opens the believer’s heart enabling us to
digest and comprehend the Word of God. When we are ministering to someone, or
even ourselves, and we find ourselves recalling a scriptural reference that we
did not even remember that we knew, that’s the Holy Spirit bringing it to our
remembrance. On a greater scale are the writings of the Gospels.
5.
The
Holy Spirit is a gift-giver:
The
Holy Spirit gifts the believer spiritual gifts to work for the good of the body
of Christ. This is explained in 1 Corinthians 12: 4-7 4 AND Vs 11: There are diversities of gifts, but the same
Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are
diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
“And continued in verse 11 “But one and
the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually
as He wills.”
Every
believer has been given at least one spiritual gift. Spiritual Gifts are
individual and given by the Holy Spirit. These gifts, some are big and some are
small, but all are given to believers by the Holy Spirit so that we can be
Christ’s soldiers in the world.
GRIEVING THE HOLY SPIRIT
1.
Using
Him to excuse our sinfulness:
The Spirit
is meant to be the source of conviction in the human hearts. How sad it
is, therefore, when Christians try to use the Spirit to support ungodly
behavior. We see it when people—whether genuinely deceived or purposeful fakes—claim
the leading of the Spirit as the reason for their unbiblical actions like: divorce,
financial impropriety, sexual liberation.
The Holy Spirit
is always the Spirit of holiness. He means to show us our sin not to excuse it
through subjective feelings, spontaneous impressions, and wish fulfillment
disguised as enlightened spirituality. If the Holy Spirit is grieved when we
turn from righteous into sin, how doubly grieved he must be when we claim the
Spirit’s authority for such deliberate rebellion.
2.
Putting
Him against the Scriptures:
The Spirit
works to reveal the truth of the word of God, not to lead us away from it.
There is no place in the Christian life for supposing or suggesting that
careful attention to the Bible is somehow opposing to earnest devotion to the
Holy Spirit. Anyone wishing to honor the Spirit would do well to honor the
Scriptures he inspired and means to illuminate.
The Bible is
the Spirit’s book. To insist on exegetical precision, theological rigor, and
careful attention to the word of God should never be denigrated as stuffing our
heads full of knowledge, let alone as somehow opposed to the real work
of the Spirit.
3.
When
we suggest he is jealous of our focus on Christ:
The Holy
Spirit’s work is to serve. He speaks only what he hears (John 16:13). He
declares what he is given; his mission is to glorify another (John 16:14). All
three persons of the Trinity are fully God, yet in the divine economy the Son
makes known the Father and the Spirit glorifies the Son. Yes, it is a terrible
thing to be ignorant about the Spirit and unwise to overlook the indispensable
role he plays in our lives. But we must not think we can focus on Christ too
much, or that when we exalt Christ to the glory of God the Father that somehow
the Spirit is sulking off in the corner. The Spirit means to shine a light on
Christ; he is not envious to stand in the light himself.