The Person of the Holy Spirit
- Sermon By: Rev. Jothson J.
- Categories: Bible Study
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
John 14:16–17 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever—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.The Holy Spirit is not simply a force or an energy, as some people may believe. He is a Person, just as the Father and the Son are Persons. He possesses the characteristics of a person: He thinks, speaks, teaches, leads, makes decisions, and acts.
As Christians, we should therefore give Him the honor and respect He deserves. However, His ministry is never centered on Himself. The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus Christ and leads believers to Him.
1 John 4:2
“By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.”
This passage teaches us to be careful about any teaching or spirit that does not acknowledge that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. The Holy Spirit always leads us into the truth concerning Jesus Christ.
It is therefore important to understand His work. The Holy Spirit confirms what Jesus Christ has accomplished and works in the hearts of believers so that the kingdom of God may take root in them and so that the Church may fulfill its mission.
The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ through the Scriptures. He gives us understanding so that we can comprehend the Word of God and helps us put it into practice in our daily lives.
Therefore, if we truly want to walk according to the Spirit, we must also be willing to obey the Word of God.
Today, some people seem to be more attracted to spiritual gifts than to the Person of the Holy Spirit Himself. Yet, the gift is not the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who distributes the gifts according to His will.
His presence in the Church is essential because He works in the lives of believers for their spiritual growth and enables them to accomplish the work God has entrusted to them.
This study will be divided into four main sections:
1-The Person of the Holy Spirit
2-The Holy Spirit and the Believer
3-The Holy Spirit and the Church
4-The Holy Spirit and the Word of God
Subject 1: The Person of the Holy Spirit
The Bible presents the Holy Spirit as the third Person of the Trinity. He is not merely a symbol represented by the wind, fire, or other elements. These images may illustrate certain aspects of His work, but they do not define His Person.
The Holy Spirit is not simply a power either. He is the One who gives power and anointing.
To better understand His Person and His work, we will begin by looking at what the Old Testament reveals about Him.
1. The Spirit of God in the Old Testament
The Old Testament clearly affirms that there is only one God, in contrast to the many gods worshiped by the surrounding nations.
God progressively revealed Himself to His people. He revealed Himself to the patriarchs as God Almighty. To Moses, He revealed Himself as Yahweh, the “I AM,” the one true God.
This revelation of God does not prevent us from distinguishing between different Persons and different roles within the divine work.
We can understand God’s work in the following way:
– In creation, the Father is presented as the Creator.
– In redemption, the Son comes as the Redeemer.
– In comfort and in the guidance of believers, the Holy Spirit comes as the Comforter.
What the Old Testament announces finds its fulfillment and full revelation in the New Testament.
2. The Spirit of God in Creation
From the very first pages of the Bible, the Spirit of God is present in the work of creation.
Genesis 1:2
“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
The Spirit of God is therefore present from the very beginning. His moving or hovering over the waters can be understood as a manifestation of His presence and His sovereign activity in creation.
Genesis 2:7
“Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
This passage shows us that God is the One who gives life to human beings. Humanity does not possess life independently from God; God is the One who gives the breath of life.
Human beings are therefore unique creatures, created in the image of God.
This image of God can be understood, among other things, through the abilities God has given human beings: the ability to think, to know, to love, to understand, to discern, and to exercise wisdom.
3. The Spirit of God Gives People the Ability to Fulfill a Mission
In the Old Testament, the Spirit of God also gave certain people special abilities to accomplish specific missions.
For example, God gave of His Spirit to the seventy elders who were to assist Moses in carrying his responsibility.
Numbers 11:24–25
“So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. And he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.”
Here we see that the Spirit of God enabled certain people to accomplish a particular task.
In the Old Testament, the work of the Spirit is often presented as being specific and connected to a particular mission. God would come upon a person and empower that person to accomplish what He had commanded.
4. The Spirit of God Can Use Different People
Another example can be found in the story of King Jehoshaphat.
When the people of Judah were under threat, the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel, who delivered a word from God to the people.
This shows us that God can use different people to communicate His message and accomplish His purposes.
We find the same principle in the book of Jonah.
Jonah 3:4 “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
God used Jonah to deliver a message to an entire city.
The important thing, therefore, is not the person in themselves, but God who calls, leads, and uses that person to accomplish His will.
5. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit Call and Send
Throughout the Bible, we see that the calling to ministry is connected to God’s work as a whole.
A. The Father Calls and Sends
God called Isaiah:
Isaiah 6:8 “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
God also called Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 1:7 “But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a youth”; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.’”
The Father therefore calls people and sends them to accomplish a mission.
B. The Son Calls and Sends
Jesus called His disciples:
Matthew 4:19 “And He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”
After His resurrection, Jesus also gave His disciples a mission:
Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus therefore calls His disciples to follow Him and sends them to proclaim the Gospel.
C. The Holy Spirit Calls and Sends
We also see the Holy Spirit directly involved in calling and sending God’s servants.
Acts 13:2 “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Here, the Holy Spirit speaks to the Church and sets apart Barnabas and Saul for a specific work.
Once again, this shows us that the Holy Spirit is not merely an impersonal force. He speaks, He calls, He chooses, and He sends.
6. From the Father to the Son, from the Son to the Holy Spirit, and from the Holy Spirit to Spiritual Gifts
In God’s work, we can observe a continuity:
– The Father gives the Son.
– The Son gives the Holy Spirit.
– The Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to the Church.
Spiritual gifts are abilities given by the Holy Spirit to serve God, proclaim the Gospel, build up the Church, and contribute to the salvation of people.
It is therefore important not to confuse the gift with the One who gives the gift.
The gift is a means; the Holy Spirit is the Person who distributes the gifts according to His will.
We should therefore not seek only spiritual manifestations or spiritual gifts. Above all, we should seek God Himself and an authentic relationship with Him.
7. Prayer, Fasting, and Consecration
The story of King Jehoshaphat also teaches us about the importance of prayer and fasting when we face difficult circumstances.
When Judah was threatened, Jehoshaphat chose to seek God.
Fasting is a way of consecrating ourselves to God and setting certain things aside for a time in order to seek His presence with greater focus.
Fasting does not necessarily require a specific place. We can fast in different places because God is omnipresent.
The idea of the “wilderness” can also remind us of a time of withdrawal, silence, and consecration—a time when we step away from distractions in order to focus more fully on God.
The most important thing, therefore, is not the place but the attitude of the heart before God.
Conclusion: The Work of the Spirit in the Old Testament
In summary, in the Old Testament, the Spirit of God is revealed in particular ways as:
–a creative force, present in the work of creation;
–a life-giving force, because God gives human beings the breath of life;
–an empowering presence, enabling certain people to accomplish specific missions for God.
The Spirit of God empowered prophets and other servants to carry out their ministries.
In the New Testament, this empowering work is seen, among other things, through the spiritual gifts given to believers for service and the building up of the Church.
Finally, when we speak about God’s life-giving power, we should remember that human beings have received the breath of life from God. Humanity was created in the image of God and possesses particular abilities that reflect that image: intelligence, knowledge, love, wisdom, the ability to think, and the ability to make choices.
Therefore, from the Old Testament onward, we discover that the Spirit of God is not an abstract reality. He acts, He gives life, He empowers, He leads, and He accomplishes God’s will.
This understanding will help us, in the next parts of our study, to better understand the Person and work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, in the Church, and through the Word of God.
