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The Holy Spirit Table of content: 1. Introduction
"God is Spirit" (John 4:24). The Holy Spirit is God's Spirit, or God himself. Therefore the Holy Spirit is usually referred in the Bible as the pronoun "he" instead of "it". The Holy Spirit is like an everlasting fountain of living water that lives in your heart. He can quench the thirst in your heart, nourish your soul and give you true hope and purpose in life. The Holy Spirit carries out his work in different ways. Through the Holy Spirit, God created the universe, anointed his servants and spoke through the prophets. Nearly two thousand years ago, Lord Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit also came upon Jesus during his baptism to show that He indeed was the saviour and filled him with great power. Until today, the Holy Spirit continues to move people to believe and confess the Lord Jesus Christ. So if you believe him and ask him to give you the "living water", he will surely grant you this precious gift. Many times through the prophets, God had promised that he would pour out the Holy Spirit on the believers to live in their hearts (Ezekiel 36:27). Moreover, Lord Jesus himself promised his believers that the Holy Spirit would come and live in them permanently (John 14:16 -18). So what is the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit? God gives a sign to show that the Holy Spirit is present in the person when he or she receives him. This particular sign is the speaking in tongue, a language that none other can understand but God (1 Corinthians 14:2). The speaking of tongues is a profound communion with God, for prayer and for praising God. This unique evidence of speaking in tongue had always been consistent since the first time God poured out his promised Holy Spirit for the believers on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Aside from the audible speaking of tongues upon receiving the Holy Spirit, a visible evidence also was present through the receiver. When a person receives the Holy Spirit, his or her body may display movements. Although body movements are not necessary a sign, the disciples of Lord Jesus and the observers said that they could "see and hear" the pouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33). The speaking of tongues is not only an one time experience. Because the Holy Spirit lives in us, we can speak in tongues whenever we pray. Through praying in tongues, "the Holy spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words" (Romans 8:26). Speaking in tongues is beyond human expression, hence it makes our prayers more effective since it is a direct, spiritual language with God. As human beings, sometimes we cannot describe our expression verbally whether in joy, sadness, fear or deep pain. Sometimes 'thank you' hardly expresses our heartfelt appreciation enough to God. We may have the drive to say something, but to say it clearly and concisely is often beyond our oral abilities. With the Holy Spirit praying for us, he replaces our earthly words with a spiritual language. Our hearts became satisfied. Not only do we need to acknowledge Jesus as our saviour, we also need to have the Holy Spirit to receive Christ's salvation. For "anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him" (Romans 8:9). The Holy Spirit washes our sins away with the blood of Christ, so we can stand before God justified and sanctified as mention in 1 Corinthians 6:11. God chose you from the beginning to be saved, through sanctification by the spirit and belief in the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:13). With the continuing guidance and strengthening of the Holy Spirit, we will finally enter God's heavenly kingdom. We once had lost our identity as God's children because we had sinned against him. But through Christ's salvation, our identity was restored. God now gives us the Holy Spirit as a witness to tell us that we are once truly His children (Romans 8:16). The Holy Spirit also acts as a 'seal' that guarantees God's promise of a heavenly home for believers (Ephesians 1:13-14 & 2 Corinthians 5:1-5). We know that Christ is alive and heaven is definitely real because the fact that God's promise of the Holy Spirit descending on His believers has been fulfilled. Knowing that Holy Spirit along with the acceptance of Lord Jesus Christ is necessary for us to be saved, we must ask ourselves whether we've yet to receive the Holy Spirit. If God hasn't gave you the sign of speaking in tongue, then you have not received the Holy Spirit. In order to receive the Holy Spirit, one must be baptized, obey in the truth, and pray. Baptism and the Holy Spirit is closely related. Salvation cannot be obtained without one or the other. To be baptized, we must believe in the Lord Jesus as our saviour and humbly repent of our sins (Act 2:38). If you have been baptized in a way different than what the Bible teaches, or have not received the full gospel of salvation, you will need to receive baptism and the gospel in the True Jesus Church. In addition to baptism, God also bestow the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him (Acts 5:32). Since the Holy Spirit is also known as the Spirit of truth, everyone who wishes to receive the Holy Spirit must humble study and obey the true gospel taught by the true church. Finally after being baptized and on going submission to the words of God, we must ask for the descending of Holy spirit through prayer. For the Heavenly Father gives the Holy Spirit "to those who ask him" (Luke 11:13). Only by the name of Jesus Christ that we have the privilege to make a request to God, hence we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We then continue to praise the Lord with our lips. With a humble attitude, we come before God, asking for forgiveness and mercy (Luke 18:13). We must also thirst for the Holy Spirit as if thirsting for water. With faith in God's promise, and through persistent prayer and earnest longing, you will receive the Holy Spirit as the Lord has promised. When you receive the Holy Spirit, you will be moved to speak in unknown tongues as mention in the Holy Scripture. You may also experience warmth and power from above along with joy that cannot be described by words. Since Holy Spirit is from God, the experience should not be frightening, or one where people lose control or consciousness. You will remain conscious and may end your prayer anytime. The Lord Jesus called the Holy Spirit the 'Counselor'. The Holy Spirit is like a close friend or a teacher that can guide us anytime ad anywhere. He lives in our hearts forever as long as we live by His words. The Counselor teaches us to understand the truth, for he is the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit opens our limited understanding, so we can comprehend God's will and ways, for "no one comprehends the thoughts of God except for the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 2:11). With the Holy Spirit aiding us to understand God's will and the truth, we are able to pray more effectively to God. The Holy Spirit also gives us God's power. The power to change and transform our lives. The power over temptations and our sinful nature of desires. Also the power to witness for Christ. 6. The Fullness and the Fruits of the Holy Spirit Aside from receiving the Holy Spirit, the Bible also teaches us to be filled with Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Those who are full of the Holy Spirit are able to manifest God's nature, such as love, purity, power, and wisdom. As Lord Jesus had promised, the Holy Spirit will fill those who believe in him and humbly ask him through constant and earnest prayer. The fullness of Holy Spirit is like and endless flowing of living water. Lord Jesus said, "but who ever drinks of the water that I shall give him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14). When we're full of the Holy Spirit, we will never thirst again, for God dwells within our hearts providing our souls with peace, comfort and joy. The fullness of the Holy Spirit allows our hearts to be ruled by the Spirit. So rather giving our minds and bodies to the control of sinful desires, we are guided by the Holy Spirit to live a life pleasing to God (Galatians 5:16 & Romans 8:16). God gibes spiritual life to hose who submit to the Holy Spirit. Through the fullness of Holy Spirit, we can overcome sin and manifest the beautiful image of Christ to the people glorifying God. Just like a good healthy tree bears much fruit, those who are filled with the Holy Spirit bear spiritual fruit called the fruit of the spirit. Bearing fruit is a figurative term for exhibiting behaviour that builds others up to the glory of God. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). Such edifying characteristics flow out naturally from us when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. And Lord Jesus said to the disciples, "by this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples" (John 15:8). When others see the image of Christ through us, our Father in Heaven receives glory. That is our heart's wish and the purpose of our lives.
Andrew@tjc.ca |
John 4
Ezekiel 36 John 14
1 Corinthians 6 2 Thessalonians 2
Also see section:
Also see section:
John 16
Ephesians 5 Galatians 5
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