THE HOLY SPIRIT

PART 1

 

The Holy Spirit is a topic that has caused many debates and interesting discussions. Although there are differing views on what the gift of the Holy Spirit is and how the Holy Spirit indwells us, it should not become a test of fellowship. While some disagree on this topic, each side agrees that the Holy Spirit leads, convicts, edifies, and directs us through the sword of the Spirit that is Word of God. Personally, I have studied this topic in great detail in the past and it has been refreshing to examine it once again.

 

WHO OR WHAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

In the religious world there are many ideas of who or what the Holy Spirit is. Some groups think the Spirit is nothing more than an influence or power like electricity. Others proclaim the Spirit to be some sort of mysterious force that directly influences a person’s heart so they will become saved. These concepts come from a misunderstanding of what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit.

 

The Word of God teaches that the Holy Spirit is a divine person having the characteristics of Deity. For example:

 

He was there at the beginning of Creation:

 

Genesis 1:2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 

 

He had a part in the creation because Job declares:

 

Job 26:13 By His Spirit He adorned the heavens

Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

 

Just like the Father and Jesus, He is eternal:

 

Hebrews 9:14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

 

He is omniscient, which means all knowing because He even knows the deep things of God:

 

1 Corinthians 2:10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.  11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

 

He is omnipresent, which means He is present in every place. David declares:

 

Psalm 139:7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?  8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

 

He is also omnipotent, which means all-powerful. Both Micah and Paul talk about the power they received from the Holy Spirit:

 

Micah 3:8  But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD

Romans 15:19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

 

We can also clearly see that the Holy Spirit posses the characteristics of being a person not some mystical force of God. For example:

 

He guides, speaks, and hears:

 

John 16:13 "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.

 

He teaches:

 

John 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

 

He forbids:

 

Acts 16:6   … they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.  7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.

 

He can be grieved:

 

Ephesians 4:30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God …

 

He has a will of His own:

 

1 Corinthians 12:11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

 

The Holy Spirit declares himself a person when he said:

 

"Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul” (Acts 13:2).

 

The Holy Spirit is a person and He is God. If there is any doubt of this Luke makes it clear that the Holy Spirit is God when he tells us how Ananias and his wife tried to lie about how much money they sold their land for:

 

Acts 5:3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?  4 "While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."

 

Notice how the Holy Spirit and God are used synonymously in these two passages. The Holy Spirit is one of the persons that makes up the Godhead or Divine Nature as mentioned in (Acts17:29; Rom 1:20; Col. 2:9).

 

We can see all three persons of the Godhead mentioned at the baptism of Jesus:

 

Matthew 3:16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

 

Here we have all three members of the Godhead present. Jesus was being baptized, the Holy Spirit was descending on Jesus, and the Father was speaking from heaven. Also notice what Jesus says in:

 

John 14:25 " These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

 

We see this fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost:

 

Acts 2:32 "This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.  33 "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

 

Again, we can see that Jesus was not at the right hand of the Father and the Holy Spirit was given just as Jesus promised, which shows these three persons of the Godhead. We also clearly see these three persons of the Godhead in the command that Jesus gave to His disciples in The Great Commission:

 

Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

 

The definite article “the” identifies the word after it as a specific thing or individual. Notice each member of the Godhead has the definite article “the” before them, which means the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are individuals that make up the Godhead.

 

I want to mention one more passages that shows this truth which comes at end of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians:

 

2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

 

Putting this all together, the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons that makes up the Godhead or Divine Nature. However, some get confused on how can there be one God, yet three persons. We must understand that the term God is not referring to an individual, but to Deity, which is equaled shared by these the persons of the Godhead. To show this truth, we simply need to note the book of Genesis:

 

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;

 

The Word “God” is plural in the Hebrew language, and we can see that God said, “Let Us” which shows that there is more than one person that makes up the Godhead. More examples could be given, but let us continue to learn more about the Holy Spirit.

 

HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM

 

Is Holy Spirit baptism available for everyone? To answer this question lets examine what John says,

 

 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt. 3:11).

 

 John is proclaiming this message in a mixed audience (Mat. 3:7-10) and he spoke of three different baptisms: water baptism, Holy Spirit baptism, baptism of fire. John was saying some would be baptized with the Spirit and some would be baptized with fire. However, he in no way indicates that everyone will be baptized with the Holy Spirit or with fire. 

 

However, we do learn that Jesus is the one that will baptize with the Holy Spirit. This fact was revealed to John because God told him that the one he saw the Spirit descend on and remain, would be the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit (Jn. 1:33). This is exactly what happed to Jesus when He came to John to be water baptized (Mt. 3:13-17; Mk 1:9-11; Lk. 3:21-22; Jn. 1:32).

 

So, who would Jesus baptize with the Holy Spirit? To answer this lets examine the following verses:

 

 John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- 17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

 

John 14:25 " These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

John 16:13 "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.

 

In all the above verses, Jesus was speaking specifically to His apostles, and He did not speak to anyone else about this. We find out latter after Jesus death, burial, and resurrection that He narrows it down to who will receive Holy Spirit Baptism:

 

Luke 24:49 "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."

 

Acts 4: 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; 5 "for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

 

8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

 

The Bible clearly states that only the apostles would be Holy Spirit baptized and would receive the power from on high. Jesus tells us that the prophecy made by John was going to be fulfilled by baptizing the apostles with the Holy Spirit. That is exactly what happened on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. It was the twelve apostles that were filled with the Holy Spirit. They spoke in different languages to the multitude of different nationalities that had gathered because of the great noise from heaven.

 

The only other time we see the baptism of the Holy Spirit mentioned was several years later at the House of Cornelius (Acts 10). In both instances, Holy Spirit baptism served a specific purpose. On the day of Pentecost, it was a sign to show that the kingdom had begun and that Jesus truly was the Son of God. At Cornelius house, it was a sign to show the Jews that the Gentiles were acceptable by God and could become children of God (Acts 10:44-46; 11:15-17; 15:7-9). While these select group of Gentiles received Holy Spirit baptism directly from heaven just like the apostles received it on the Day of Pentecost and the spoke in a different language, I do not believe these Gentiles received the same power as the apostles. Only the apostles had the ability to lay hands on someone and give the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit. We learn in Acts 8 that Philip who was full of the Holy Spirit converted the Christians at Samaria, but Peter and John had to go to Samaria so that people could receive the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of their hands.

 

Acts 8:14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them,  15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.  16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

 

Since this power was limited only to the apostles, and we never read of any of these Gentiles having this power, it tells me that Gentiles did not receive that power or I could say that measure of the HS. However, these two examples of Holy Spirit Baptism fulfilled the prophecy of Joel:

 

Joel 2:28 " And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

 

Notice that the Spirit would be poured out on “all flesh”. This would not include birds or other animals but is referring to the Jews and the Gentiles. It was poured out on the Jews (specifically the apostles) on the day of Pentecost and was poured out on the Gentiles at the household of Cornelius.

 

Holy Spirit baptism was limited to the first century and was only recorded twice, which I have already pointed was for a specific purpose, so it is no longer available today. The only way someone could receive the miraculous spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit today would be if an apostle laid their hands on us, but all the apostles died in first century. Therefore, Holy Spirit baptism was not available for everyone and the miraculous spiritual gifts were limited to the first century as well. Besides Paul makes it clear that miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit would cease to exist after the Word of God was fully revealed (1 Cor. 13:8-13; Eph. 4:11-13).

 

Contrary to what some in the religious world teach, Holy Spirit baptism is not necessary for salvation. Salvation is obtained by an obedience to the gospel (Rom. 6:17-18; Heb. 5:9). Holy Spirit baptism was a promise and not a command, which means cannot be obeyed. There is only one baptism that saves (Eph. 4:5) and that is water baptism. Peter says:

 

1 Peter 3:20 when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.  21 There is also an antitype which now saves us -- baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

 

Just as Noah and his family were saved from a corrupt world through water as they were transported away in the ark, we are saved from this corrupt world when our sins are washed away, and we are put into Christ at the point of our water baptism.

 

Also in the Great commission we looked at earlier in Matthew 28:19, we learned that Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize people. This is important because the baptism being spoken of could be carried out by us, which points to water baptism because none of us could baptize anyone with the Holy Spirit except for Jesus, which shows that water baptism and not Holy Spirit baptism is what washes away our sins.

 

To prove this further consider the conversion I mentioned earlier in Acts 8 when Philip taught the Word of God to Samaria when he water baptized them in the name of Jesus (Acts 8:12, 15-17). If one has to be Holy Spirit baptized to be saved, then Philip, who was being guided by the Holy Spirit, only water baptized these people and then ran of leaving them in a lost condition. This means that the apostles Peter and John had to come and lay hands on them so they could be saved. Does this make sense? Absolutely not! The reason Philip left them was because they had obeyed the gospel and were saved when they were water baptized into the name of Jesus. The apostles had to come and lay hands on these people so that they could receive the spiritual gifts of  Holy Spirit because only the apostles had the ability to do this. Again, once the apostle died out there was no way for anyone to receive miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit.

 

You will never find a verse that says that Holy Spirit baptism saves. In fact, consider the conversion of Cornelius’ household as recorded in Acts 10 and 11. Acts 11 gives us a record of the order in which the events transpired in Acts 10:

 

Acts 11:4 But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning, saying:

 

Once Peter gets to the part where he is speaking to Cornelius’ household he says:

 

Acts 11:15 "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning.

 

We need to remember that Peter was sent to Cornelius to tell him and family the words that would save them (Acts 11:14), yet Peter had just barely began to speak with the Cornelius household was baptized with the Holy Spirit. Think about this. How could they be saved before they heard the words they needed to hear to be saved? They could not. As I said earlier, the baptism of the Holy Spirit was a sign to the Peter and these other Jewish Christians that the Gentiles could also become children of God. Peter understood this sign completely. Notice his response:

 

Acts 10:44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.  45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.  46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered,  47 "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"  48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.  

 

If these Gentiles had been saved by the Holy Spirit baptism, why was Peter commanding them to  be water baptized? The answer is easy, it is because water baptism is that one baptism that saves and it is a command that we can carry out. So, it should clear that water baptism in the name of Jesus is what saves and not Holy Spirit baptism, which was done only by Jesus and is not available today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE HOLY SPIRIT

PART 2

 

This morning we began learning about the Holy Spirit. We learned that the Holy Spirit is a person, and that He is one of the three members of the Godhead or Divine Nature. We also looked at Holy Spirit baptism and showed why Holy Spirit baptism is not available to us today. Tonight we are going to begin by looking at:

 

THE INDWELLING AND EMPOWERING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

The empowering of the Holy Spirit was of a miraculous nature. In the Old Testament, He empowered Moses and He caused the seventy elders to prophecy:

 

Numbers 11:25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again.

 

 In the New Testament, He empowered the apostles to speak the Word of God:

 

1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.  13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

 

They proved the words they spoke came from God by working miracles and signs (Mk. 16:20), which could only be accomplished by the empowering of the Holy Spirit. This is why the Bible does not contradict itself. The Words in the Bible are God breathed (2 Tim 3:16) and were spoken by those who were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21). 

 

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is another challenging topic of the Bible that some have disagreed on. There are basically two views. Some believe that the Holy Spirit indwells the Christian literally, while others think He indwells them figuratively. While there are good arguments for both views, both sides would agree that the Holy Spirit does indeed indwell the Christian, but He does not work on the Christian directly but indirectly through sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

 

This another area in which people can disagree, but it should never be a reason that causes division because whether the Holy Spirit indwells us literally or figuratively, does not change the fact that He still indwells us. The Holy Spirit is not the only member of the Godhead said to be in us. For example notice the following verses:

 

Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me

 

2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people."

 

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

 

How do we know that the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and Father are in us? Paul gives us the answer:

 

Ephesians 3:17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;

 

When we became children of God, we put our faith in the operation of God knowing when we were water baptized that we were being united with Christ in his death and that our past sins were being removed (Col. 2:12-13; Rom. 6:1ff). In the same manner, we put our faith in the working of God knowing we have the Holy Spirit, the Father, and Jesus in us.

 

Galatians 3:14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

 

Whether this is literal or figurative indwelling is of little of importance to me because in either case, we still have the all three members of the Godhead in us or I could say with us.

 

Now let us take a look at the following verses:

 

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

 

On the day of Pentecost after the apostles delivered a heart-piercing message to the Jews about Jesus. The Jews wanted to know what to do and Peter tells them in the verses we just read. He tells them they must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins and they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

It is important to note that there are two promises made here. First, there is the remission of sins and second, is the gift of the Holy Spirit.  What is the gift of the Holy Spirit? Some would contend that this is referring to the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit and that it refers to what Jesus said in:

 

Mark 16:17 "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;  18 "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

 

However, I find it difficult to make this application because we don’t read about anyone having miraculous gifts except for the apostles until Acts 6. This is when the apostles laid hands on the seven men that were to deal with widows being neglected. It was the apostles who worked many wonders and signs (Acts 2:43). Peter miraculous healed a cripple man (Acts 3:1ff). Again, it was by the hands of the apostles that many miracles occurred (Acts 5:12). For this reason, I believe that the gift of the Spirit being spoken of is referring to a gift that was available to everyone and is still available to every Christian that obeys the Gospel. I believe it is referring to the non-miraculous indwelling of the Holy Spirit when He marks us. I will explain this marking in more detail in just a minute.

 

There are many other Scriptures that show that Christians have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and that it’s for every Christian. Acts 2:39 teaches who the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit would be for. The promise is for “you”, referring to the Jews and to their children. This would include all the future generations of the Jews. The promise is also to those that are afar off. This is an allusion to the Gentiles (Eph. 2:13-17).

 

 Finally, the promise was made to “as many as the Lord our God shall call”. This call is not a direct calling by God, but those that are called by the gospel:

 

2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,  14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Luke tells us when we obey God, He gives us the Holy Spirit:

 

Acts 5:32 "And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him."

 

Paul says if we do not have the Spirit of Christ we are not His:

 

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.  10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

 

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit:

 

1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

 

Without a doubt, ever Christian has the promise of the remission of sins and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.   

           

What is the purpose of this indwelling?

 

One purpose is to seal us:

Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,  14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

 

This seal is a mark or a stamp that shows that we are genuine children of God and that we belong to Him. This is similar to the concept of a bank note or an official document. There will always be a seal placed on them to show their authenticity.  The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is our pledge and our guarantee of our inheritance of our home in heaven as verse 14 points out. This same guarantee is given in the following verses:

 

2 Corinthians 1:21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God,  22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

 

2 Corinthians 5:5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

 

So, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit shows we are true children of God. For the last part of lesson, let take a look at:

 

 THE HOLY SPIRIT’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WORLD AND TO CHRISTIANS

 

As Christians, we should be encouraged by knowing that the Holy Spirit is in us and bears witness of our spirit that we are children of God:

 

Romans 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

 

When we are not certain how or what we should pray for, the Holy Spirit takes the groaning of our spirit and presents them to the Father. Some would disagree with this because they confuse an intercessor with a mediator. Jesus is both a mediator (1 Tim 2:5) and an intercessor (Rom. 8:34).

 

Without a doubt, He is the only mediator, but He is not the only intercessor. A mediator is a person who works between two people so they might reach a certain goal. However, an intercessor will plead a person’s case to another. Man is to be an intercessor for all men. He is to pray for the leaders of the country that we might lead peaceable lives and pray for all men in general that they will come to the knowledge of the truth:

 

1 Timothy 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,  2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.  3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,  4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

 

One example that shows this idea is when Abraham pleaded with God about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He asked God if he would destroy the righteous with the wicked (Gen. 18:23ff)?

 

He continued his plea and asked God if he would destroy the city if he found fifty righteous people there? He kept asking God the same question except he kept lowering the number of righteous people until he reached ten. God told Abraham that He would not destroy the city if He found ten righteous people there. Other examples could be given but this should be sufficient enough to show that there can be more than one intercessor. However, I want to point out that the Holy Spirit only intercedes for Christians:

 

Romans 8:27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God

 

The Holy Spirit does not indwell or make intercession for those who are in the world because He is not in fellowship with the world. He is only given and seals those who obey the Word of God;

 

Acts 5:32 "And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him."

 

How does the Holy Spirit work today in the life of a Christian and to those in the world?

 

It is my conviction that He works through the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. He no longer works directly as He did in the first century during the miraculous age. To clarify this, let me give you an example. Let’s say that I want to cut down a tree. Now if I did it directly, I would have to use my hand. That of course would be very painful. Instead, I would use an axe to cut it down. Now I am still doing the work and I am cutting down the tree, but I am using the axe as my tool to accomplish this feat.

 

In the same manner, the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God. The Word of God gives us everything we need to be complete (2 Tim. 3:16-17). It gives us everything we need that pertains to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3).

 

Please notice some of the things that the Holy Spirit offers through the Word of God:

 

Faith:

 

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

 

Purification through a new birth:

 

1 Peter 1:22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,  23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,

 

Edification:

 

Acts 20:32 "So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Convicts:

 

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

 

Comforts:

 

1 Thessalonians 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

 

Spiritual cleansing:

 

John 15:3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

 

Wisdom:

 

2 Timothy 3:14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,  15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

 

Salvation:

 

James 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 

 

Of course this is just a partial list, but it shows how the Holy Spirit use the sword of the Spirit to accomplish these things as Paul said:

 

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

 

As the writer of Hebrews says:

 

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

 

CONCLUSION

 

The Holy Spirit is a person and has all the attributes of Deity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit make up the one divine nature we call God. They are in perfect unity with one another. As Christian, we are to strive to be unified with one another as well (Phi. 1:27). Holy Spirit baptism was miraculous in nature and was only recorded twice in the New Testament. It occurred once on the day of Pentecost on the Apostles and then on the household of Cornelius. The miraculous gifts were given by the will of Holy Spirit through the laying on hands by the apostles (1 Cor. 12:11; Acts 8:18). The purpose of the miracles and signs in the first century was to show that this newly revealed Word was from God (Mk. 16:20). When the Word of God was fully revealed the miracles ceased because they had served their purpose (1 Cor. 13:8-13; Eph. 4:11-13; Jude 1:3). Under the new covenant, if we obey the Word of God, we have been promised the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as seal, which marks us as children of God. The Holy Spirit works through Word today and does not work directly on the heart of man.