"The Spirit Himself..."

By John Stallings



He was present on creation day. He is a person, a person we can get to know. But few understand how He can change their lives.

Without him none of us could live one day as a Christian. Jesus was conceived by Him & later did all His miracles by His power. He is in charge of carrying out the directives of God. He was present on the Day of Pentecost, gave the apostles boldness to preach in the face of persecution & is responsible for bringing unity to the early church causing it to grow in spite of fierce opposition.

He’s the unseen hand moving through history to accomplish heaven’s purposes on earth. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness & judgment. He prays for us when we don’t know how to pray for ourselves & makes spiritual things real to us. He unifies believers, gives us power to walk through this life & can take us safely from earth to heaven.

Because of His mysterious operations there’s a temptation to think of Him as a mist or a fog, not a person. He is referred to in the New Testament with masculine gender pronouns. Since He’s a person, He doesn’t like to be ignored, so we must be careful to welcome Him.

He will speak in a very still small voice but if you’ve walked with Him long you will know He can & will knock you flat on your face with conviction.

Who is he? He’s a third of all God is. He’s the Holy Spirit.

Sadly millions today couldn’t pass a mid-term exam on the person & work of the Holy Spirit. Unless they are scripturally illiterate, they know the Holy Spirit is real, because He’s on almost every page of scripture from Genesis to Revelations. But many are like the people of Ephesus who told the disciples when they asked them if they’d received the Holy Spirit;

No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. Acts 19:2

The Holy Spirit came to take Jesus’ place & in so doing He fulfills the mission of Jesus on the earth. John 16:7.

He is God in action. He is often called “the third person of the Trinity” as if He’s a lesser being than Father & Son.

Having the Holy Spirit living inside you is somewhat like having a friend who is very sensitive, easily hurt or offended. You think twice before you tell a joke, though it’s a clean joke, because your friend seems to have little or no sense of humor, at least the humor you enjoy.

Sometimes you get together with other friends leaving the friend in question out because you just want to relax & not have the pressure of this friend. If you were doing something sinful or questionable that would be different but that’s not the case. People like your friend are what we often call “eccentric” or “peculiar” or “different.

This admittedly is a crude illustration but in a small way parallels the experience of having a guest like The Holy Spirit who’s embedded inside you, listening to every word you say, & reading every thought. He has no qualms about reading you the “riot act” when you slip up & He will lovingly but faithfully jolt you & make you feel absolutely awful when you sin.

The Holy Spirit is a friend who comes in with love, grace & power to help us do the right thing & keep us out of trouble. If the Holy Spirit has found a home in you He will give you power to keep your sensitivity chip in place & operational.

The flesh is a great gift God has given us, but in its fallen condition, it’s just a bundle of impulses, most of them at odds with God. When we follow these fleshly impulses, the result is sexual immorality, impure thoughts, sensuality, rivalry, factions, hatred, quarreling, jealousy, resentment, bad temper, envy, drunkenness, orgies etc. Turn on the TV and you’ll see this in action.

Throughout the Old Testament there’s a deep conviction that no one can do the work of God without the Spirit of God & no one can lead others to God or for God without the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives Joseph skill to rule, Joshua military prowess, skill to craftsmen & words to the prophets.

The Holy Spirit has very unique roles in the Godhead. The following is a list of some of them.

1. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A WOOING AGENT TO BRING THE LOST TO CHRIST.

He tugs at a sinner’s heart convicting him of sin & imploring him to repent. As a matter of fact, it isn’t possible for a person to come to Christ without the Holy Spirit’s call.

John 6:65 says, …..Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me except it were given to him of my father.

2. AFTER HIS ASCENSION INTO HEAVEN JESUS SENT THE HOLY SPIRIT AS ANOTHER COMFORTER.

Jesus said in John 16:7 …it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send Him unto you.

We, as well as others will know He is present because we will manifest love, Joy, patience, generosity, fidelity, adaptability, & self control. When we have the Spirit’s fruit swinging from our branches, we find it easier to say “no” to the impulses of the flesh. The Holy Spirit stirs our conscience’s, corrects us, Woo’s us & generally works in us to produce God’s character, something we can’t do by ourselves.

David said in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
The Holy Spirit produces in us a strong hunger and desire for the things of God, & opens our minds to the majesty & power of God. Most of all, He loves us; He loves everyone. This may seem a bit conflicting to us but the Holy Spirit, a third of the God-head, loves our enemies as much as He loves us.

He can be in a room where an abortion is taking place and love the aborted baby, the doctor performing the awful act, the attending nurse as well as the mother; & without condoning the procedure, love them all the same. But again, what’s most important isn’t how much head knowledge we have about the Holy Spirit, but how completely our lives are under the Holy Spirit’s gentle authority.

3. THE HOLY SPIRIT SUFFERS PERSONAL SLIGHTS AND INJURIES AND IS EASILY GRIEVED.

Paul uses the word Grieve, [Eph. 4:30] & it’s a word of deep emotion. You can only grieve someone who is close to you. You may irritate a stranger or in a casual way offend an acquaintance, but you can only grieve someone close to you. Because He loves us so much, you & I can make the Holy Spirit weep with our unthoughtfulness and insensitivity.

It’s not that the Spirit will abandon us, (unless we blaspheme against Him, (Mark 3:29) but He will suspend His operation is us, pull away and let us see how weak we are without Him. That’s what can happen when the Holy Spirit chastises an individual. To be frank, the Holy Spirit can & has left people, churches, & whole church denominations throughout history. It’s my personal belief that the closest a person will ever come to being a demon in this world is when the Holy Spirit closes the books & ceases to strive with them.

4. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS AS GENTLE AS A DOVE.

Aren’t you glad the Bible doesn’t tell us to, “Be sure we don’t make the Holy Spirit mad?” No! As already stated, it says not to grieve Him. What’s the difference? Grief is a combination of anger & love. It’s anger without gall and mean-spiritedness. Love tempers the edges of anger & lets it vent, not against the person but the offense. We might ask why anyone as powerful as the Spirit is called a dove & not an eagle. We know that Jesus is also all powerful but one of the things He’s called is a Lamb. The reasons for these seeming discrepancies are that God doesn’t see power as we do. God sees power in a more long- term way with long- term strategies.

5. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS OUR COMFORTER.

In John 14:16-18 Jesus said, And I will pray the father, & He shall give you another, that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him for he dwelleth with you & shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you.

The Holy Spirit binds up our broken hearts & helps our infirmities. He’s our strength & also our teacher. He quickens our memory & brings things to our remembrance. If we read the Bible & try to understand it in our own human wisdom, He will not pursue us. He will be silent & allow us to study the Book alone. But if we invite Him to, He will take what would be dull information & make it come alive with new illumination. How foolish it would be not to invite Him to open His Word to us when the He wrote it & is desirous to teach us.

Many years ago a man was stuck on the side of the road trying to repair his broken down car. Henry Ford pulled his car behind the broken down one, got out & asked if he could help the man. The driver, in anger, said something like; “Old man, there’s not anything you can do here that I can’t do. You go your way & I’ll take care of this, you’ll only be in my way.” Very quietly, graciously and gently, Henry Ford got in his car & drove away. Little did the driver realize that he’d turned away the maker of the car, & certainly the maker of the car could have repaired it. The Holy Spirit comes to me & says, “I notice you’ve been having trouble with your life.” If I say to Him, “I can handle it by myself thank you,” what do you think He’ll do? He, quietly and unobtrusively takes His flight, & I will have refused to let my maker help me. Certainly He is the only one truly qualified to do the repairs my life so desperately needs.

When I seek to manufacture synthetic joy myself, I deprive myself of His joy. This same principle works when teaching, preaching, singing, rearing a child & in every endeavor of life pursued by the child of God. The Holy Spirit must be invited to help us. He must be invited & welcomed every day for every task. He must have free course to do His work alone. He will not force His way into anything. We must be careful not to offend or insult Him. Invite Him in and depend on Him to do that which He’s been ordained to do for you. Be friendly to Him, love Him, talk to Him or he’ll slip away & leave you to work on your own.

In 2 Corinthians 3: 6, note these words; Who also hath made us to be able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.Notice the words, “for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life,” in verse 6. The word “letter” means “something traced.” Paul is comparing two ways of doing the same thing; first, with the Spirit; second, to trace or copy it without the Spirit. If we try to “trace it off” & copy something, there’s no power & we are working for the Lord under our own power. But when we allow the Holy Spirit to use us as conduits, we see wonderful results.

When the Gospel singer sings & the Holy Spirit sings with him & through him, how heartwarming and life changing it is. But what is more formal, dry & dead than to hear a singer just perform in his/her own flesh for their own glory without the Holy Spirit? There is no better example of the letter killing.

6. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ALL WISE OR OMNISCIENT.

We are all DIRECTIONALLY CHALLENGED & in serious need of a guide to help us make right choices in life. That’s why we need the Holy Spirit’s help, & that’s one of His offices. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says,

“But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God.
The Holy Spirit, for lack of a stronger word, is a Genius. When we work with Him, for instance in raising our children, the children feel our love, our care & concern. When rules are enforced by the Spirit, they are challenged by them & want to obey us. But when the same rules are enforced by the letter & not by the spirit, they become harsh cruel and hard.

There’s nothing as wonderful as serving the lord when the Holy Spirit is allowed to do His job. And there is nothing more laborious & difficult than to serve in our own strength. We must all be very sensitive & very careful to invite this loving, sensitive Holy Spirit into every endeavor of our lives. We should also take every precaution to prevent His quiet departure, leaving us the serve in the letter, which kills.

7. LOOK AT THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE WORD. HE IS CALLED THE SPIRIT OF;

-- LOVE, THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM, THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE, THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, THE SPIRIT OF GRACE, THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS, THE SPIRIT OF GLORY, & THE SPIRIT OF LIFE.

. There are some 264 references to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, three times the number in the Old Testament.

• The Holy Spirit is mentioned in 24 of the New Testament books.

• There are eight writers of the New Testament. All eight make mention of The Holy Spirit.

• The Holy Spirit was a close working companion of Christ & the Apostles & those who the Apostles laid hands on to receive the miraculous gifts of the Spirit.

• There are four Gospels. They contain a total of 89 chapters. The Holy Spirit has in mind to produce an airtight case for the deity of Christ. Matt. 1:18-20

• There are 60 references to the Holy Spirit in the Gospel accounts. John has the most with two dozen & Mark with the least-six.

• The Holy Spirit is linked to the birth of Christ. Matt.1:18-20.

• He is linked to Elizabeth & John the Baptizer. John was filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. Luke 1:15

• The Spirit came in a dove-like form at the baptism of Jesus. Matt. 3:13-17.

.Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit as He was led into the wilderness of temptation Luke 4:1.

• John said that the Holy Spirit would come without measure. John 3:34.

• The Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit enjoyed an eternal companionship. In Gen.1:1. -The word for God is Elohim; a uni-plural noun, denoting plurality/ the trinity.

• Jesus took offense when the Pharisees blasphemed the Holy Spirit. Matt.12:31.

• The Holy Spirit played a role in the resurrection of Jesus. Romans 8:11.

• The apostles were promised the inspiration of the Holy Spirit & also promised the Spirit as a comforter. ---John 14:26.

• In Acts the second chapter the Holy Spirit fell on those waiting in the upper room & “they were filled with the Holy Spirit.” They spoke in tongues they had never learned and were given power to take the gospel to the world.

• There were 3,000 converts that day because of the powerful work of the Spirit.

• All through the book of Acts churches were established & mighty exploits were done because of the Holy Spirit’s power.

• The Holy Spirit issued the directive for Barnabas & Paul to begin the first missionary journey.

• The Holy Spirit commanded Phillip to go teach the Eunuch. Acts 8:29

• The Holy Spirit gave Peter instructions to teach Cornelius. Acts 10.

• The Holy Spirit guided the decisions made in the Jerusalem Conference. Acts 15:28

• The Holy Spirit once overruled Paul’s travel plans. Acts 16:6-7

• There are 132 references to the Holy Spirit in the Epistles & Revelation.

• The Spirit is our helper & instructor. Romans 8:26-27

• We are to be led by the Spirit & walk in the Spirit. Gal.5:16

• We are not to quench the Spirit, grieve the Spirit, nor do despite to the Spirit. 1 Thess. 5:19

• Great detail is given to the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12-14.

• Seven times John tells the churches of Asia to listen to the Spirit. Rev.2-3.

• The Spirit has a message relative to the dead saints. Rev.14:13.
. The spirit is present when the earth was born and actually.. hatched it out. …..The spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2

• The Holy Spirit gives the last invitation for men to come to Christ in Revelation 22:17. The Spirit & the Bride issue the last invitation to man in the Bible. And the Spirit & the bride say come, & let him that is athirst say, come & whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely.8. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS OMNIPRESENT, THERE’S NO PLACE HE IS NOT.

David said in Psalm 139: 7-9--- Whither shall I go from they spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy right hand hold me.
If all at once this whole earth was vaporized & ceased to exist, God the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit would still be present. They are eternally existent & omnipresent.

9. WE ARE SEALED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE. Eph.1:13.

This is a comforting promise. To be sealed by the Spirit means that the Spirit comes in & puts Gods mark of ownership on us. This means that we are Gods purchased possession & belong to Him. A seal is a legal process showing that things have been handled in a business like way & is proper & official. We are no longer serving self but we are now serving God. The Spirit lets us know we are saved.

Romans 8:16 says; The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
A seal is a pledge, a deposit & a guarantee that we now God’s property. The Spirit assures that;

We are a new creation. We are sealed until the Day of Judgment. We are no longer condemned.

We are a part of the family of God.

10. THE HOLY SPIRIT BRINGS US POWER TO WITNESS FOR CHRIST AND LIVE VICTORIOUSLY.

Acts 1:8 says, “And ye shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost has come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

• He brings us routine PROTECTION from all dangers.
• He brings us a CAPACITY TO GRASP THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD.
• He brings us ABILITY TO REMAIN POSITIVE & HUMBLE.
• He brings us DISCERNMENT & INTUITION to sense evil.
• He brings us the ABILITY TO LOVE & BE LOVED.
• He brings us OPENNESS & VULNERABILITY.
• He brings us INTERVENTION IN PRAYER when we are at a loss.
• He brings us FREEDOM FROM FEAR OF DEMONIC ATTACKS.
• He brings us the ability to STAND ALONE WITH CONFIDENCE.
• He brings us the ability to MAKE QUALITY DECISIONS.
• He brings us a life that is WORRY FREE.
• He brings us the ABILITY TO MINISTER TO OTHERS THROUGH OUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS.

Charles Spurgeon, a great pastor of another generation, is a man whose life I have enjoyed studying over the years. Once, Spurgeon was crossing a wide thoroughfare in London. He got right out in the middle of the street & stopped. In what seemed like eternity to onlookers, he stood like a deer in the headlights. In a flash, the great preacher collected himself & continued his walk to the other side of the busy street. Once he got to the other side, someone asked him why he had stopped in the middle of that busy boulevard & risked getting run down;(by a horse and buggy I presume.) Mr. Spurgeon replied; "as I crossed the street I realized there was a cloud between me & the Holy Spirit & I had to get it right."

Here was a man with an “ABBA FATHER” relationship with the living God. Listen to Joel 2:28;--And it will come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.

Listen to Peter in Acts 2;16-17.....this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel...in the last days saith God I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh....

We are living in the Last Day Outpouring!


Blessings,


John