UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
I have been seeking to understand the Mystery of the Holy Spirit for 63 years. I was known among my Baptist brethren in North Carolina as “The Holy Spirit Preacher.” Indeed, I was and still am, because if you don’t know the Holy Spirit you don’t know God through Jesus Christ and you cannot live the Christian life one day without the help of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, in our classes this Friday and Saturday, I shall seek to clear up some of the mysteries and gross misconceptions concerning the Holy Spirit.
Finally, please read all the material in your textbook, pp. 15-39 on the Holy Spirit.
In addition to the information in our text, I will clear up additional mysteries, some of which have been revealed to me since I wrote the text book three years ago.
1. Why do we have more trouble in understanding the Holy Spirit than we do of the Father and Son? It is because we see the Father at work in both the Old Testament and the New Testament in many ways. We tend to see His face because we have earthly fathers. Also concerning Jesus, He came in the flesh and we see Him as a Baby, a young Man, moving across the earth, living out His earthly life. And had you ever thought we have many pictures of the Father and Jesus, but not of the Holy Spirit.
2. Should we ever refer to the Holy Spirit as an “It?” Remember that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus. We would never call Jesus an “It,” because we know He is a Person, and the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of Jesus and as much a person as Jesus or the Father.
3. Note that two prepositions are used in reference to the Holy Spirit:
a. “In” Christ – this is the spiritual location, our position, who we are. Our baptism into Christ (1 Cor. 12:13).
b. “By” – is our appropriation or surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
So “In” refers to who we are, “By” refers to what He does as we submit to Him Paul brings the two prepositions together in Gal. 5:25, “Since we live In the Spirit, let us also walk in the Holy Spirit.”
4. How does the Holy Spirit speak to us?
a. Through the written Word of God and especially the words of Jesus (John 6:63; John 6:68).
b. Also by the “still small voice.” (1 Kings 19:12)
c. Circumstances
d. Wise men of the past and present
e. Simple souls
5. Does the Holy Spirit ever speak in the English language? Rarely, but He can and did in one of the most important episodes of my life. Tell the story of the Holy Spirit speaking in English to Brother Hankins which sent me to First Baptist Church, Fort Smith.
6. What is the “GIFT” of the Holy Spirit? The “Gift” with a Big “G” is the Person of the Holy Spirit – Acts 2:38. You receive “The Gift” when you are born again.
7. What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit? The abilities the Holy Spirit bestows upon every believer whereby he can serve Jesus Christ and others as no one else on earth (1 Cor. 12:7; 1 Peter 4:10). The gifts in operation make the “Body of Christ” at work in the world.
8. What is the fruit of the Holy Spirit? The fruit is the character of the born again believer, of which there are 9 expressions (Gal. 5:22-23).
9. What is the “Feeling” of the Holy Spirit? The feeling is an overwhelming consciousness of the Holy Spirit working in you. The feeling is really an overflow of His love which often produces tears, shouting, etc. “The love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us.” (Romans 5:5).
10. Is this “Feeling” only experienced in the church building? Absolutely not. Those who believe this are going back to Judaism when the presence of God could only be experienced in the tabernacle and temple and confined to the Holy of Holies. But since Pentecost every believer is the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19) and no longer do we worship Him in Jerusalem and Mt. Gerizim but “in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24). Note: many people get happy and on a spiritual high on Sunday but Monday they look like the Book of Lamentations. Beware of this kind of religion.
11. What is the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit comes into the body of every born again person to indwell his body until the day of redemption. “If any man have not the indwelling, He does not belong to Christ.” (Romans 8:9b).
12. What is the Infilling? The infilling is when the born again person surrenders totally to the Holy Spirit by obeying all the commands of Jesus and then the Holy Spirit becomes “President” as well as Present (Ephesians 5:18).
13. What does it mean to be led by the Holy Spirit? This describes the true child of God. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Romans 8:14). All others are led by the flesh.
14. Are the Sign Gifts for Us today? Please turn to pp. 39-41 of our text, where the 5 positions on the sign gifts are set forth.
15. What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? “When a person deliberately, disrespectfully and knowingly slanders the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit in pointing to the lordship and redemption of Jesus Christ he forfeits his possibility of forgiveness of his sins because he has rejected the only basis of God’s salvation.”[1] Note: the work of Jesus is redemption – He has finished it. The work of the Holy Spirit is the revelation of that redemption and when that revelation is rejected there is no further means of revelation of the true salvation in Jesus Christ.
a. Who in the Bible blasphemed to this degree? (Rev. 13:5; Heb. 12:16-17; Matthew 12:31)
b. If a person has committed the unpardonable sin, will he worry over his spiritual condition?
c. Did you ever meet a person whom you thought had committed the unpardonable sin?
d. Is blasphemy of the Spirit and hardening of the heart the same? (Prov. 29:1)
16. Is a mere act of not believing in Christ the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Absolutely not. Many do not believe, bur who at the same time accept in their head Jesus is the only Savior but just won’t surrender to Him but sometimes later may. Illus: My brother Jack did not accept Jesus until 1995 but believed in his head all the time that Jesus was the real Savior.
17. What are the two positive commands concerning the Holy Spirit in the Bible?
a. Be born again.
b. Be continually Filled.
c. Why not baptism? It occurs at regeneration
18. What are the two negative commands concerning the Holy Spirit?
a. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit – Ephesians 4:30
b. Do not quench the Holy Spirit – 1 Thess. 5:19.
c. What happens when you grieve or quench?
19. What will happen in this old world when the Holy Spirit ceases to restrain evil? The Great Tribulation where the demons rule the world (2 Thess. 2; Rev. 16)
20. What great chapter in the Bible depicts the absolute necessity of the Spirit in the Christian’s life?
a. What great evil force does the Holy Spirit crucify?
21. Does the Bible teach of two kinds of Christians:
a. Spiritual and
b. Carnal
22. What term did Jesus use to describe the very practical ministry of the Holy Spirit? John 14:16.
23. Can you and I be closer to Jesus than the Apostles because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit? (John 16:11).