What The Bible Says About The Holy Spirit

(Text: John 14:15-17)
By: Barry L. Cameron


“If the Holy Spirit were taken away from the New Testament Church, 90 percent of what they did would come to a halt. But, if the Holy Spirit were taken away from the church of today, 10 percent of what we do would come to a halt.” (A.W. Tozer)

ILL. Dr. Jerry Vines (Spirit Life)
“Like wind or breath, the Holy Spirit cannot be seen. Jesus declared, ‘God is Spirit, and His worshippers must worship Him in Spirit and in truth’ (John 4:24) Some people don’t believe there is a Holy Spirit because they cannot see the Holy Spirit. I heard about a cynic who was talking to a Christian one time about this. He said, ‘I don’t believe there is a Holy Spirit. I can’t see any Holy Spirit.’ He then said to the Christian, ‘Have you ever seen the Holy Spirit?’ The Christian said, ‘No.’
‘Have you ever tasted the Holy Spirit?’
‘No.’
‘Have you ever smelled the Holy Spirit?’
‘No.’
‘Then, how do you know there’s a Holy Spirit?’
The Christian said to the skeptic, ‘Well, have you ever seen your brain?’
The Skeptic said, ‘No.’
‘Have you ever tasted your brain?’
‘No.’
‘Have you ever smelled your brain?’
‘No.’
‘Then, how do you know you have a brain?’

* Jesus made a promise to His disciples that He wouldn’t leave them alone in the world.
- Four times in three chapters (John 14, 15 and 16) He promised them that He would send another Counselor.

Gk. word for Counselor is “paracletos” (from two Gk. words:kaleo /“to call” and para/“alongside of”)
* We actually have two Counselors:
1. The Lord, Jesus Christ, who is our divine attorney who is pleading our cause before the Father.
2. The Holy Spirit, who is pleading the Father’s cause in our hearts.
* The Holy Spirit is our Counselor, Comforter, Helper and Friend.

(1) THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
- John 14:15-17 Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as a Person.

(a) The Holy Spirit can think, feel and act.
(1) Thinking.
* Romans 8:27 refers to the “mind of the Spirit.”
* I Cor. 2:10. The Bible says the Spirit searches the deep things of God.

(2) Feeling.
* Romans 15:30 tells us about the love of the Holy Spirit.
* Ephesians 4:30 exhorts us not to grieve the Holy Spirit.

(3) Doing.
* I Cor. 12:11. “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”

(b) The Holy Spirit is a vital part of the Trinity.
- II Corinthians 13:14. Here we have the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Matthew 3:16-17. Here we have the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Genesis 1:26. God handled all of creation until it came to man.
* Then, God said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness.”
* This creation was going to be so special God wanted Jesus and the Holy Spirit to have a part.

* The doctrine of the Trinity shouldn’t bother us, just because we can’t fully understand how God reveals Himself in three distinct persons.
- I don’t understand how a brown cow can eat green grass and produce white milk, which can be churned into yellow butter. But I still drink milk and use butter.

(c) The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father.
- Matthew 28:19. Baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

(d) The Holy Spirit is God.
- Hebrews 9:14 refers to Him as the “eternal Spirit.”
- Genesis 1:2. The Spirit of God is omnipotent (all-powerful)
- I Cor. 2:10-11. The Spirit of God is omniscient (all-knowing)
- Psalm 139:7. The Spirit of God is omnipresent (everywhere)

(2) THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
(a) The Spirit’s Work For Us.
* This is called salvation.
* The Holy Spirit is the Initiator in our salvation.
* He confronts, convicts, converts, and completes.

(b) The Spirit’s Work In Us.
* We call this sanctification.
* He reshapes, renews, restrains, and revives.

(c) The Spirit’s Work Through Us.
* We call this Christian service.
* He equips, empowers, and encourages.

Quote: Chuck Swindoll (David, 1997)
“Before the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost (Acts 2), the Spirit of God never permanently rested on any believer except David and John the Baptizer. Those are the only two. It was not uncommon for the Spirit of God to come for a temporary period of strengthening or insight or whatever was the need of the moment and then to depart, only to return again for another surge of the need of the moment, then to depart, once again.

However, at Pentecost and from that time all the way through our present era, when the Spirit of God comes into the believing sinner at salvation, He never leaves. He comes and baptizes us into the body of Christ. That happens at salvation. We remain sealed by the Spirit from that time on. We’re never exhorted to be baptized by the Spirit. We are baptized into the body of Christ, placed there by the Spirit, sealed until the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30). That’s the day we die. So He’s there, and He never leaves. Furthermore, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit in which the Spirit of God dwells. He permanently resides within us and will never, ever depart.”

(3) THE PURPOSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
- There are at least “Ten Ministries” of The Holy Spirit:
“God didn’t pour out the power of the Holy Spirit to make us feel something but to help us accomplish something.”
Greg Laurie (“On Fire”)

Quote: Tony Evans (“The Promise”)
“Without the assistance of this third member of the Trinity, trying to solve problems is like rubbing Ben-Gay on a broken leg. It may feel good, but it doesn’t help the problem at all. Many believers to go church Sunday after Sunday for a Ben-Gay rub. Going to church by itself can only make a wound feel good. It can’t fix the bone or the broken spirit.”

- We need the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

(a) Glorifies JESUS CHRIST (John 15:26; 16:14)
(b) Convicts of sin (John 16:8-11)
(c) Regenerates the unsaved (John 3:5-8)
(d) Indwells the believer (John 14:16-18; I Corinthians 6:19-20)
(e) Comforts the afflicted (John 14:16, 26-27)
(f) Equips the saints with gifts (I Corinthians 12:7-8, 11; Romans 12, Ephesians 4; I Peter 4)
(g) Sanctifies (Romans 15:16)
(h) Unifies the body (Ephesians 4:3)
(i) Assures us of our salvation (I John 3:24)
(j) Teaches us the Word of God (John 16:12-15

(4) THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
- God has given the Holy Spirit a specific role in the life of every Christian.
- But He doesn’t go to work until we let Him.

Quote: James H. McConkey
“I used to believe that a few men had a monopoly on the Holy Spirit. Now I know that the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on a few men.”

How can we have the power of the Holy Spirit in our life?

(a) Our Filling (Eph. 5:18)
* We are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit. (“Be being filled.”)
* Each day we are to yield ourselves to the control of the Holy Spirit.
* Daily surrender.

(b) Our Praying (Romans 8:26-27)
* The Holy Spirit helps us pray and empowers us when we pray.
* Acts 4:31

(c) Our Walking (Gal. 5:16-25)
* We have to make a daily choice to walk with the Spirit.
* It’s an act of our will.

Quote: Jerry Vines (“Spirit Life”)
“Soon after we become Christians and begin to discover the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we make a startling discovery. We find that we have all kinds of opposition. A number of enemies will try to keep us from walking in the Spirit. These enemies will hinder our attempts to live the victorious Christian life. There is an infernal enemy - Satan. He works to hinder us in every way possible. There is also the external enemy - the world around us. This includes everything about our culture which is antagonistic to the things of God. The third enemy is perhaps the most formidable and threatening of all. It is the internal enemy. The Bible refers to this internal enemy as ‘the flesh’ or worldly desires.”

* That’s why we need to daily be being filled with the Spirit and choose to walk with the Spirit.

(d) Our Anointing (I John 2:20-27)
* There is an anointing to be taught and there is an anointing to teach and preach to others.
* Luke 4:18-19 (quote of Isaiah 61:1-2)

* The intangible unction of the Holy Spirit. (“Unction to function”)

* We need the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our ministries.
- Without Him, we are nothing. Powerless, pointless, purposeless, prayerless.

Quote: Ken Hutcherson (“The Church: What We Are Meant To Be”)
“We’ve got to get back in the Word and understand what it means to be filled and empowered--even intoxicated--with God’s Spirit. Listen, we cannot accomplish anything of eternal significance apart from His day-by-day, moment-by-moment filling. Don’t talk to me about how we’ve got it together in this program or that program! The church will not move forward by education…or marketing…or gimmicks…or committees…or conferences…or cultural sensitivity…or political action…or clever programs…or high-tech communication. If God’s Spirit does not move us, then we do not move! We need to fall on our knees and cry out for His filling.”

Quote: J. Oswald Sanders (“Spiritual Maturity”)
“The Holy Spirit is the Executor of the Great Commission and Administrator of the missionary enterprise. In the great missionary manual of the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles, we meet His name on almost every page. The history related is one sustained narrative of His activity through the church.”

(5) THE PRODUCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. (Galatians 5:22-26)
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Patience
- Kindness
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self-Control

Hymn: B.B. McKinney (1937)
"Holy Spirit, breathe on me
Until my heart is clean;
Let sunshine fill its inmost part
With not a cloud between.

Holy Spirit, breathe on me,
My stubborn will subdue;
Teach me in words of living flame
What Christ would have me do.

Holy Spirit, breathe on me,
Fill me with power divine;
Kindle a flame of love and zeal
Within this heart of mine.

Holy Spirit, breathe on me
Till I am all Thine own;
Until my will is lost in Thine
To live for Thee alone.

Breathe on me, breathe on me,
Holy Spirit, breathe on me;
That Thou my heart, cleanse every part,
Holy Spirit, breathe on me.”