The
Spirit of God
By
Shelby G. Floyd
Many
people do not have a clear idea of the biblical teaching concerning the Holy
Spirit. This is the case because we have
not done a very good job of teaching on this subject. This lesson is designed to remedy that defect
to some degree. What do you believe
about the Holy Spirit? Do you understand
who he is, what his work is, and the nature of his influence? Are you sure that what you believe about the
Holy Spirit is the truth? I hope that
the evidence presented in this lesson will strengthen your faith in the
biblical doctrine of the Holy Spirit.
In
his commentary on Acts of Apostles, Alexander Campbell had this summary
statement on the Holy Spirit:
“There are five distinct conception of the Holy
Spirit in the holy Scriptures. The first
is his name, all divine; the second his person, distinct from that of the
Father and the Son; the third his office of illuminator and sanctifier; the
fourth, his influence; the fifth, his work as peculiarly developed in creation,
providence, and redemption.”
Who Is The Holy Spirit?
The first question we ask is: who is the Holy
Spirit? Notice these interesting facts
concerning the Holy Spirit. In the Old
Testament the Holy Spirit is mentioned 88 times. But in the New Testament he is mentioned 264
times. Therefore the doctrine of the
Holy Spirit predominates in the New Testament.
The
Holy Spirit is referred to by several different names and phrases. He is called the Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth, the Holy Ghost, Comforter, Advocate,
and Helper. All these are synonyms that
refer to this person we call the Holy Spirit.
The Godhead
God
the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit all compose what we call the
godhead. The Holy Spirit is a person
just like the Father and the Son.
Another name for the godhead is the divine nature or the deity. Paul in his letter to the Romans describes
how we may know that the godhead exists:
Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible
qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being
understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
NIV
Therefore the eternal power and godhead are the
invisible things of God. But we
understand that the godhead exists because of what we can see, that is the
things that are made—the universe.
The Holy Spirit Is a Divine Being
Just as the Father and Son are spiritual divine
beings, so is the Holy Spirit. For
instance, the divine nature of the Holy Spirit is clearly revealed in the
account of the first public sin revealed in the New Testament church. Ananias and Sapphira had a piece of property,
which they sold and kept back part of the price and gave part of the price to
the church. But they left the impression
that they were giving the entire amount.
This is what Peter said when he exposed their deceit and hypocrisy:
Acts 5:1-4
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife
Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept
back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the
apostles’ feet.
Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so
filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself
some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it
was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made
you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”
NIV
Now
what we wish to draw from this account in connection with our lesson is that
Ananias and Sapphira had lied to the Holy Spirit. But they are informed that they had not lied
to men, but to God. The obvious
conclusion is that in lying to the Holy Spirit they had lied to God. The Holy Spirit is therefore God and shares
the divine nature with the Father and the Son.
There is one God but three persons who share that divine nature. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the
godhead.
In the
gospel according to John, a statement of Christ teaches that the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit all compose the deity:
John 14:15-17
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I
will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you
forever-the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither
sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in
you.
NIV
Notice Christ said “I” will pray “the Father” and “he”
will send you “another comforter.” The
comforter is the third person or the Holy Spirit. From the Scriptures we learn
that the Holy Spirit is a divine being just like the Father and the Son and he
is God.
The Holy Spirit Is the Third Person of the
Godhead
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the
deity. There are several Scriptures
where God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are mentioned
together in such connection as to show that they all three share the same
nature—the divine nature of being God.
1. Matthew 28:18-19
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit,
NIV
2. 2 Corinthians 13:14
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
NIV
3. Ephesians 4:4-6
There is one body and one Spirit- just as you
were called to one hope when you were called-one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
NIV
All of these Scriptures and many more bear out
the divine nature of the Holy Spirit.
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit make up the one God.
Three Measures of the Holy
Spirit
Next, let us notice that there are three
measures of the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. The Bible affirms that Christ had the spirit
without measure.
John 3:34
For the one whom God has sent speaks the words
of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
NIV
John 3:34
For He whom God has sent speaks the words of
God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
NKJV
This simply means that Christ possessed the
power of the Holy Spirit to the fullest extent possible. This also implies that others had the power
of the Holy Spirit with measure or limits.
The
Baptismal Measure
First, the Scriptures speak of the baptismal
measure of the Holy Spirit. Literally
the word baptism means to immerse, but figuratively it means to be overwhelmed
in something. For instance, Jesus said
to his disciples, “are you able to be baptized with the baptism I’m going to be
baptized with?” This referred to his
baptism of suffering and death. He would
be so overwhelmed in sorrows, suffering and death that it would be like a
baptism. The Holy Spirit was given to
certain individuals in a baptismal measure.
Just before Jesus left the earth to go back to heaven he promised the
baptism of the Holy Spirit to the apostles:
Luke 24:46-49
He told them, “This is what is written: The
Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and
forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at
NIV
On
this occasion what were the apostles commanded to do? They were commanded to go to
Acts 1:4-8
On one occasion, while he was eating with them,
he gave them this command: “Do not leave
So when they met together, they asked him,
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the
times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in
NIV
Christ
was assembled with the apostles when he made this statement and promised that
they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit in a baptism measure in just a
few days. The events that happened on
the day of Pentecost began with the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the apostles.
Acts 2:1-4
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together
in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven
and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be
tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them
were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the
Spirit enabled them.
NIV
This
is the fulfillment of the promise to the apostles that they would be baptized
in the power of the Holy Spirit. This
was also in fulfillment of a prophecy in Joel, which is quoted by Peter in
explanation of the phenomenon the audience was witnessing. Peter and the 11 apostles are all standing up
and preaching the gospel in different languages to all of the nations there
assembled on this grand occasion. Only
the speech of Peter is recorded.
Acts 2:14-18
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice
and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in
“`In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
NIV
In
further explanation of what was going on Peter addresses his audience and
states that all of this is a fulfillment of the resurrection of Christ and his sending
back the Holy Spirit as he promised.
Acts 2:32-33
God has raised this Jesus to life,
and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has
received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you
now see and hear.
NIV
To
whom was the baptism of the Holy Spirit promised? The apostles!
What kind of promise was made?
The baptism of the Holy Spirit!
No one today can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Christ promised that to the apostles. Some consider the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit on the house of Cornelius to also be a baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 10: 46-48.) No one else has or ever will receive this
promise.
The
Miracle Working Measure
Let us look at the miracle working measure of the
Holy Spirit. The apostles after being
baptized in the power of the Holy Spirit could transfer that miracle working
power by laying their hands on certain people in the New Testament church. Unless the apostles had laid their hands on
people they could not work miracles.
There are several examples of this miracle working power of the Holy
Spirit but we will look at only one:
Acts 8:4-17
Therefore those who were scattered went
everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of
But there was a certain man called Simon, who
previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria,
claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least
to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” And they heeded
him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But when
they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the
Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to
them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the
Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they
received the Holy Spirit.
NKJV
Who
could work miracles? The apostles! Could anyone else work miracles? Only those on whom the apostles had laid
their hands as the key verse in Acts
The
Ordinary Measure
That brings us to what we call the ordinary
measure of the Holy Spirit. On the day
of Pentecost in answer to the question, “men and brethren, what shall we
do,” Peter replied, “repent and be baptized, everyone of you in the name
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit” (Acts 2: 37-38). The gift of the Holy Spirit is therefore
promised to all who have obeyed the gospel by repenting of their sins and being
baptized into Christ. Isn’t that a
wonderful promise?
The Indwelling Of the Holy
Spirit
This brings us to the topic of the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit
dwells in us just like God the Father and Christ the Son dwell in our hearts.
The
Father Dwells in Us by Faith
How does the Father dwell in our hearts? The Bible teaches plainly that God the Father
dwells in his people:
2 Corinthians
6:16
What
agreement is there between the
NIV
This simple
statement affirms that God will live in his people when his people separate
themselves from the world and become a temple of the living God. Notice also
the statement from the apostle John that affirms the same proposition. According to the scripture God lives in us
and we live in God.
1 John 4:15
If anyone
acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.
NIV
Now let us notice the method or
“modus operandi” by which God dwells in his people.
2 Corinthians
5:6-7
Therefore we
are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are
away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight.
NIV
How then does God the Father live in us? He lives in our hearts by our faith in him
and his word: “For we walk by faith and
not by sight.”
Christ Dwells in Us by Faith
God the Father lives in us by faith, but how
does Christ the Son dwell in us? It is a
fact that Christ dwells in us.
Colossians 1:27
To them God has
chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
NIV
According to the scripture the hope of our glory is Christ in us. But how does Christ dwell in us? He lives in us by our faith in him and his word as Paul states in his letter to the Ephesians.
Ephesians 3:16-17
I pray that out of
his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your
inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray
that you, being rooted and established in love,
NIV
How does Christ dwell in us? Christ dwells in us by faith. When we believe Christ and obey his word he dwells in us by our faith in him and his word.
The Holy Spirit
Dwells in Us by Faith
How does the Holy Spirit dwell in the children of God? Does it not follow that the Holy Spirit would dwell in us in the same manner as the Father and the Son? Let us see.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Do you not know that
you are the
NKJV
This scripture affirms that
the Holy Spirit dwells in the church, which is the
But the Holy Spirit not only lives in the spiritual body of the church, but also in the body of each individual Christian:
1 Corinthians
6:19-20
Do
you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom
you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your body.
NIV
Since our body is the temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells, we should respect the body and not do anything to destroy the body, for it is the vehicle we have to do our work on earth. Also we respect the Spirit of God when we honor our body in such a way that it becomes a proper temple in which the Holy Spirit may dwell. We should therefore not defile our body through intentional sin and bad habits.
The scriptures explicitly teach that the Holy Spirit indwells the faithful child of God. But how is this accomplished? Does the Holy Spirit dwell us in directly or indirectly?
Ephesians 5:18-20
Do not get drunk on
wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to
one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your
heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
NIV
Paul commands the Ephesians to not be filled with wine, but to be filled with the Spirit. When people are filled with the Spirit they will sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. But when people are filled with wine they will sing the songs of the drunkard! When we fill ourselves with the Spirit of God in our hearts the songs of God must come bursting forth out of our hearts in worship, praise, and thanksgiving.
But again the question is how do we fill our hearts with the Holy Spirit? In what manner does the Spirit indwell our hearts? The answer is given in a parallel passage in the book of Colossians:
Colossians 3:16-17
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as
you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms,
hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever
you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
NIV
We conclude that by filling ourselves with the
word of Christ we also fill ourselves with the Holy Spirit that dwells in us by
faith in Christ and his word.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit works in the creation of the universe,
the providence of God, and the plan of human redemption.
The Holy
Spirit in Creation
The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit had a
part in producing the universe, including the earth and all its tenants.
Gen 1:1-2
In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface
of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
NIV
The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit all
cooperated in the creation of the universe. How did they bring this about? By
the power of God’s word the world was created.
God spoke and it was done. The
first recorded word God ever said was: “let there be light.” God created the universe by the spoken
word. Oh! What tremendous power. And in the dawn of time we notice the Holy
Spirit exercising this power by hovering over the face of the waters and
impressing his laws into the universe.
The Holy
Spirit in
In
providence the Holy Spirit operates through the ordinary channels of natural law. The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit all work
through natural law to bless the children of God.
Psalms 104:30
When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
NIV
The Holy Spirit is involved in renewing the
face of the earth with all of its glory through each of the four seasons.
The Holy
Spirit in Human Redemption
In the plan of human redemption from sin, the
Holy Spirit operates through the word of God and not apart from the word. The following chart will illustrate that
everything the Holy Spirit is said to do to bring about the salvation of our
souls, the word of God is said to do the same thing. Therefore the Holy Spirit works in tandem with
the word to save us and strengthen us as the people of God. *Notice in the
chart the work that the Holy Spirit and the word do is the same.
|
The Holy Spirit and The Word
of God |
||
|
The Holy Spirit |
The Work |
The Word of God |
|
Nehemiah 9:30 For
many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you warned them through
your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you gave them into the hands of
the neighboring peoples. |
Instructs |
2 Timothy
3:16-17 All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting
and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good
work. |
|
John 16:8 When
he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and
righteousness and judgment: |
Convicts |
Titus 1:9 He
must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he
can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. |
|
Romans 8:16 The
Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. |
Witnesses |
John 5:39 You study the Scriptures
diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are
the very Scriptures that testify about me, |
|
2 Corinthians 3:6 He has made us competent
as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the
letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. |
Birth |
James 1:18 He
chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. |
|
John 3: 5, 8 5Jesus
answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the |
Born Again |
1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born
again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and
enduring word of God. |
|
1 Corinthians 6:11 And that is what some of you
were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. |
Cleansed |
John 15:2-3 He cuts off every branch in
me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so
that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word
I have spoken to you. |
|
Titus 3:5 he
saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his
mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy
Spirit, |
Saved |
James 1:21 Therefore,
get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly
accept the word planted in you, which can save you. |
|
Ephesians 3:16 I
pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through
his Spirit in your inner being, |
Strengthen |
Acts Now I commit you to God
and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance
among all those who are sanctified. |
|
Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of him
who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from
the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who
lives in you. |
Indwells |
Colossians 3:16 Let the message of Christ
dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom
through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with
gratitude in your hearts. |
We
trust this study will help us to more fully understand the person, nature and
work of the Holy Spirit in the scheme of redemption. *
*Shelby G. Floyd delivered this sermon