The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. The Holy
Spirit has a personality so we use the personal pronoun “he” when referring to
the Holy Spirit. He is not merely a force, so we do not refer to the Holy
Spirit as “it.” The Holy Spirit thinks and guides (see Acts 15:28), and grieves
(see Ephesians 4:30). The Holy Spirit is God, so he is omnipotent (see Genesis
1:2), and omnipresent (see Psalm 139:7-10). The Holy Spirit participated in the
creation of life (see Genesis 1:26,27; Psalm 104:24,30).
From the time of the Feast of Pentecost described in Acts 2, the
Holy Spirit has indwelled believers. Prior to that time, he came upon people
and left them at will (see Numbers 11:17,25,26; Proverbs 1:23) .
When Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice, he gave life to all
those who believe in God—those who lived in the past, those living in the
present, and those who will live in the future. The Holy Spirit regenerates or
gives new life to man’s spirit. Apart from the Holy Spirit,believers are
spiritually dead. Those who do not have the Holy Spirit do not have eternal life
(see John 3:5-6).
The Holy Spirit gives power to believers so they can serve Christ
(Acts 1:4,8). After his resurrection, Jesus told his disciples to wait for the
promise of the Father (the promised Holy Spirit). So the disciples gathered
together in Jerusalem, and waited. On the Day of
Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon them—they were baptized in
the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:5; 2:4). As evidence of this miracle, the believers
began to speak in tongues. Jews from various parts of the world were at
Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. As the believers spoke in tongues, the
Jews understood them in their various languages. So the Pentecostal tongues
were intelligible by all those listening. In contrast, the tongues spoken later
by the Corinthian Church were not intelligible to everyone, but only to those
with the spiritual gift of interpretation of tongues (see 1 Corinthians
14:27,28).
The Church was formed when the disciples received the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2:1-4). From this point on, believers formed the body of Christ—having
the communion of the Spirit (see Ephesians 1:22,23; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2
Corinthians 13:14). From that time onward, believers have experienced fellowship
with one another by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. By the power of
the Holy Spirit, believers now have the ability to build the Kingdom of God—to
evangelize (Acts 1:8).
Believers have power to remain faithful to God. Christians want to
do what is right, and the Holy Spirit gives Christians the power to do what is
right. Consider an example of the change that the Holy Spirit brings. Prior to
receiving the Holy Spirit, three times the Apostle Peter denied knowing Christ
(see Matthew 26:69-75). After receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter preached boldly,
and immediately about 3,000 people received Christ (Acts 2:14-41). Prior to
receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter was ineffective due to fear of crucifixion.
After receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter risked his life to spread the Gospel
(see Acts 4:8,13,18-20) . In the same way, if we are to be effective in serving
Christ, we must do so in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit inspired
prophets to write Scripture (see 2 Peter 1:21). Today, he inspires preachers to
proclaim the Gospel. The Holy Spirit helps Christians in various ways. He
comforts us (see John 14:16-18). He guides us to do what is morally right (see
Galatians 5:16-18). He gives us words to defend our faith in Christ (see Mark
13:11). He convicts us of our sin, Christ’s righteousness, and of God’s
judgment (see John 16:7-11). So we are led by the Holy Spirit to receive
Christ, and then we are continually led to refrain from sin. The Holy Spirit
helps Christians to mature and produce spiritual fruit such as love and joy (see
Galatians 5:22,23). When we believe in Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit, and
the Holy Spirit gives us one or more gifts. Spiritual gifts are not the same as
spiritual fruit .Spiritual gifts are listed in Romans 12:3-9, 1 Corinthians
12:4-11,27-31, and Ephesians 4:11-16.
The Holy Spirit is symbolized by a dove (see Luke 3:22), by oil
like that used in anointing priests (see Exodus 29:21; 1 John 2:20), and by
fire (see Acts 2:3).When we believe in Christ and receive the Holy Spirit, we
have a guarantee of eternal life. And you also were included in Christ when you
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you
were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing
our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the
praise of his glory.(Ephesians 1:13,14 NIV) (For details and for free course visit <www.missionstraining.org>)
