Tag Archives: Christianity

The Holy Spirit—A Purposeful Person

Posted on by under Sanctification

I love the changes fall brings. Farmers’ Markets boast fresh produce. Traces of winter wheat peek their green blades through fertile fields. Bright pumpkins adorn porches. Sweet plum jam, pear cobbler, and wafts of cinnamon spiced cider linger in the kitchen. The extra hour of sleep is also nice. 🙂

K.D. Manes

(K.D. Manes)

But perhaps fall’s crowning splendor is the glowing foliage. It seems an oxymoron that these color-dyed leaves peak in beauty while simultaneously dying (fading away).

Likewise, when the believer dies by saying “no” to sin and instead follows God’s leading, the Holy Spirit’s beauty is released in that person’s life.

The Holy Spirit—A Unique Person

Like the wind, the Holy Spirit—the third Person of the Trinity—is invisible and intangible. Spirit in the Hebrew and Greek means “wind, breath.” He is the very wind, breath of God who exerts incredible power (Ephesians 3:16-20). But, unlike the wind, He is more than a powerful force just to be used. He is the invisible presence of the perfect loving God—whom we can know and relate to—residing in the believer. (Source: The Promise and Scripture)

The Holy Spirit’s Attributes

  • Intellect: He knows things with His mind (Romans 8:27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11)
  • Emotions: He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30); we are not to sin against Him (Matthew 12:31; Acts 5:3)
  • Will: He acts with purpose (1 Corinthians 12:11)

The Holy Spirit’s Primary Goal

The Holy Spirit isn’t here to bring attention to Himself, or to ourselves, but to glorify Christ (John 14:16). He desires to glorify God through our words and actions.

The Holy Spirit’s Method  

One role of the Spirit is to progressively conform the believer into Christ’s character (sanctification) from the inside-out. He’s in the business of disciplining, refining, and removing sin’s impurities. He prepares us for service here and for living eternally with Him. How does He do this? Tony Evans writes: “God will deal with us in a way that cracks open the hard shell of our sin-scarred soul to release our spirits to live under the control of His Holy Spirit.”
Ouch! But it’s for our own good. And, we have access to . . .

The Holy Spirit’s Limitless Reservoir

Trials are exhausting, but we can be encouraged because He is working all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). But if we want the Spirit’s help maneuvering through life’s obstacle courses, we need to prioritize glorifying Christ since this is the Spirit’s main objective. The Spirit’s presence in the believer is ongoing. He is the source of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:23). He is in the business of change—changing our sin hardened hearts into an oasis of abundant life and freedom in Christ. Verses 23b-24 state: “Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”  – vs. 25

Is anything holding you back from experiencing the Holy Spirit’s release in your life?

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The Holy Spirit–Third Person of the Trinity

Posted on by under God's Call

The truth of the Spirit transcends, but does not contradict reason. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one and only one God.”  – Herbert Lockyer

My finite mind certainly can’t grasp everything about the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—three distinct Persons, yet one in essence. But the following analogy helps me better understand the Godhead relationship.

WATER

Water (H2O) is a compound composed of three common states: solid, liquid, and gas. According to Wikipedia, water may take many different forms on Earth: water vapor and clouds in the sky, seawater in the oceans, icebergs in the polar oceans, glaciers and rivers in the mountains, and liquid in aquifers in the ground.

Each property of water plays a unique and vital role not only in our lives, but also in our ecosystem. Without water, life would cease to exist.

THE TRINITY

The Bible clearly states there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4). The term Trinity signifies the “threefoldness” of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Spirit (Genesis 1:26; 11:7; Matthew 28:19). In reference to these three members, the Greek term homoousious means: “of the same essence or substance [God].” All three are coequal and coeternal.

Of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Lockyer writes, “Each has some characteristics which the other does not. Neither is God without the others, and each with the others is God . . . . The Father loves the Son—the Son honors the Father—the Spirit testifies of the Son.”

  • God the Father is the original Source of everything (Genesis 1:1).
  • God the Son follows in the order of revelation (John 5:24-27).
  • God the Spirit is the Channel through which the blessings of heaven reach us (Ephesians 2:18). (Source: All the Doctrines of the Bible)

How important is the Holy Spirit’s Work?

I like what Tony Evans says about the centrality of the Holy Spirit:

Without the Holy Spirit, humankind wouldn’t be here. There would be no creation or principle of life. There would be no Virgin birth, or victory over Satan in the wilderness (since the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted). There would be no Bible, no Christians, no one to restrain sin in our world, and no hope of Christ returning.”

Without the Holy Spirit, there would be nothing.

The following music video features the song “How Great Thou Art” sung by nine year-old Rhema Marvanne. Enjoy!

Coming next week: The Holy Spirit’s Uniqueness.

Five Reasons to Study the Holy Spirit

Posted on by under God's Call

Although I have experienced the Holy Spirit’s goodness, power and witness in my life, I can’t fully grasp and explain everything about Him. Honestly, I’m not sure I’d want a fully explainable and predictable God. There’s adventure, curiosity, and beauty in His mystery, especially when realizing God’s character is steeped in truth and love.  a0a02b4f6a9ba17d5fcfcd6983b11064

I can imagine the character Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story saying of God’s Spirit: “He’s to infinity and BEYOND!”

After all, He is Co-Creator of the world and of people.

As a student who is dependent upon the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I approach this subject carefully and in awe.

Why study the Holy Spirit?

Herbert Lockyer writes, “It is imperative to grasp the truth of the Spirit for many reasons,” [mainly]:

  1. Because it is a neglected doctrinef05477f27e516a79df01596db16d8e6a
  2. Because it is a misunderstood doctrine
  3. Because it is a perverted doctrine
  4. Because it is a Scriptural doctrine
  5. Because it is a practical doctrine

Realizing that God’s Spirit can never be contained, or placed in a neatly labeled box, my next few posts will be a simple summary of the Holy Spirit’s characteristics and ministry from a biblical view. For a more in depth study, I recommend Herbert Lockyer’s excerpt “The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit” from All the Doctrines of the Bible.

Tony Evans book, The Promise, is also enlightening. Tony writes:

To talk about a relationship with the Holy Spirit is at the same time to talk about a relationship with the Father and the Son. Yet, because the Spirit is a distinct Person in the Godhead with a distinct ministry, we also benefit from His unique ministry . . . . The vast resources of the Spirit are for every individual within the church.”

What is your understanding and relationship concerning the Holy Spirit?

Have a wonderful week!

Bible Study–The Holy Spirit’s Role

Posted on by under God's Call

The Holy Spirit is not merely a nice addendum to the Christian faith. He is at the heart and core of it. He is not merely a force or an influence. He is the third Person of the Trinity, God Himself.”  – Tony Evans, The Promise

One of the Holy Spirit’s role is to illuminate Scripture—guiding believers to understand the meaning of the words that the Spirit Himself already inspired           (2 Peter 1:20-2:1). This ministry of enlightenment is the process by which the Spirit enables believers to grasp and apply God’s truth in daily life.

1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (NIV) states: . . . . These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Abide in Christ

When we abide in Christ, the Holy Spirit translates God’s very thoughts to us!         (1 Corinthians 2:16; 1 John 2:20-27) He acts as a transmitter to and through our human spirit (Proverbs 20:27). Although my mind can’t fully grasp all the workings of the Holy Spirit and the Trinity, I stand amazed by this mysterious truth.

The Holy Spirit Sheds Light 

(Source: touchn2btouched)

(Source: touchn2btouched)

The Holy Spirit, part of the Godhead, knows the deepest thoughts of God. We can trace His role of Illuminator back to Creation—hovering over the earth, dispelling darkness when God said: “Let there be light.”

Our natural minds don’t speak God’s language. Without the illumination of the Holy Spirit, our understanding is muddled. He desires to help us by clarifying spiritual truth.

Results of the Holy Spirit’s Illumination

Clarity, order, peace, faith, and hope dispel confusion, chaos, turmoil, fear, and despair when we communicate with the Holy Spirit.

Recall

Another aspect of the Holy Spirit’s illuminating work is the power of spiritual recall (John 14:26). This usually doesn’t mean remembering word for word passages (at least not in my case), but rather remembrance of a point or paraphrase of Scripture previously read. Countless times the Holy Spirit has counseled me–opening my “spiritual eyes” to His objective truth–helping me in various situations.

Qualifications to Receive Spirit’s Benefits

The promise of the Holy Spirit’s teaching and recall ministry is for all believers. What is Jesus’ condition for receiving the Spirit’s indwelling presence and His benefits?

 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”  – John 14:21

Honestly, I struggle sometimes hearing the Holy Spirit speak through His Word. Sometimes He is quiet. But most often, there are  competing signals—busy thoughts, worldly attractions, sin, Satan’s distractions, etc. So I have to ask: How is my spiritual antenna? Does God have my undivided attention? What signals might be jamming up the communication lines with God?

How’s your communication going with God? . . . . More to come: The Holy Spirit.

Back to the Basics

Posted on by under God's Call

401_1 My chicks have flown the coop, temporarily anyway. 393_1

It’s that time of year—back to school.

Whether you have school children or not, I hope you’ve had a great summer!  We have, despite my Jonny breaking his arm  from a rollerblading fall on the second day of vacation. 😦 But it could have been worse.

Yes, it’s back to the basics of learning and applying fundamental academic skills: Phonics, spelling, vocabulary, comprehension, arithmetic, science, history . . . . All these foundational building blocks got me thinking of the following.

CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALS

Have you ever come across teaching that contained biblical truths, but contradicted another part of the Bible?

I remember being part of a women’s small group. The leader shared some great biblical truths. She was a beautiful, gifted, charismatic teacher who often recited Scripture from memory. If I hadn’t consistently read my Bible, I probably would have believed every word she said. She spoke with conviction.

But the more I listened to her teachings, the more uncomfortable I grew.

One time I asked her for Bible references to verify some of her statements. Instead of giving me a reference, she scolded me. “I’m older than you, and know more. I’ve grown beyond the basics of the Bible. I don’t need to keep studying it because the Holy Spirit is my teacher.”

Hmmm . . . .

Hmmm . . .

Have you had a similar experience?

The working title for my next post is Why the Bible? I thought I would experiment with a poll. I’d appreciate your feedback. Please click on one of the following bubbles and then click vote. Thanks!