THEOLOGICAL STUDIES
THE HOLY SPIRIT
INTRODUCTION
Earlier we saw that the Holy Spirit would one day usher in a new age, a glorious age in which God Himself will dwell among His people. According to Joel 2:28-32 what will God do in those last days for His people?
According to Peter has this prophecy been fulfilled (Acts 2:16-18)?
Whereas Peter has claimed that this prophecy has been fulfilled, he would also admit that there is a deeper fulfillment to this prophecy. Right now we are experiencing this glorious new age because God has poured out His Holy Spirit upon His followers. Yet this new age has not been consummated. We are not experiencing the full blessings of this new age. Rather we are at the dawn of this new age waiting for the noon day when Jesus comes for the second time. John confirms this when he calls Jesus "the bright _______________ ___________" (Rev. 22:16).
THE NECESSARY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE BELIEVER
According to Paul what is true of the person who has the Holy Spirit living in him/her (Rom. 8:9)? What is true of the person who does NOT have the Holy Spirit living in him/her (Rom. 8:9)?
How did the Jewish Christians who came with Peter to Cornelius' house know for certain that Cornelius and his household had all been saved (Acts 10:44-48; also Acts 11:17)?
There are 2 proofs that the HS lives in me: the spiritual gift given by the Holy Spirit and the character of the HS. In 1 Cor. 12:7 the spiritual gift is called "the __________________ of the Spirit"; while in Gal. 5:22-23 the 9 attributes of the HS are called the _______________ of the Spirit. These 2 words imply that the HS lives in that person.
THE IMAGE BEHIND JESUS GIVING BELIEVERS THE HOLY SPIRIT
It is difficult to say that what follows is the reason Jesus gives us the HS; however, Eph. 4:8 provides for us at least the situation behind Jesus giving us the HS: "Therefore it says, 'When He ascended on _____________, He led captive a host of _________________, and He gave ______________ to __________.'"
The image behind this verse is that of the Roman victory parade. After a Roman general had gained a great victory with his Roman legions over enemy forces, the city of Rome would turn out en masse to give him a victory parade. There is some dispute about the actual order in the procession; however, in some cases it appears that the legions would march first in line, followed by the victorious Roman general riding in a chariot. Behind the general would march the captives of war. As this procession wound its way through the Roman forum, the general would have servants walking beside the troops and slaves, throwing out gold and silver coins to the excited spectators. The gifts, that is, the silver and gold coins, were evidence that the Roman general had been victorious. In the same way Christ has achieved a tremendous victory over Satan and his forces on the cross. In His ascension to heaven Christ has participated in His triumphal procession throwing out gifts to us His spectators. The gifts He has thrown out to us? The gifts of the HS. The gifts we have received from Christ, that is, the presence of the HS in our lives is evidence Christ has triumphed over Satan and has assumed His seat at the right hand of the Father in heaven.
PENTECOST AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE CHURCH
Probably one of the most dramatic events in the history of the church is the experience of Pentecost. Up until this time a believer's relationship with God had been limited. For example, until Christ came, God spoke to His people through the prophets. When Christ came, God actually came and lived among us. Jesus though said that we were limited in our relationship with God until He left earth. According to Jesus why was His presence here on earth limiting our relationship with God (John 16:7)?
Pentecost though marks a new and more developed stage in our relationship with God. At this point God actually comes to live within us. He no longer simply speaks to us, and/or lives among us; He actually now comes to live within us.
According to Acts 1:14. what were the disciples doing before the Holy Spirit came upon the church at Pentecost?
This act is not merely a good thing or a helpful thing; it is a necessary thing. If the church wants to experience the power of the Holy Spirit, then it needs to engage in this activity to a greater degree than it does now.
According to Jesus what would happen to the disciples whenever the Holy Spirit came upon them (Acts 1:8)?
According to Acts 4:33 what were the disciples able to do after the HS came upon them?
Who were they able to witness to (Acts 2:8-11)?
Pentecost served as a taste of and guarantee that the church would one day fulfill its mission. By the end of his life, what was Paul able to claim for himself and the rest of the church (2 Tim. 4:16, 17, esp. verse 17)?
Pentecost was a unique and unrepeatable event in the life of the church. It differs from God giving the prophets the HS in the OT in that the HS would come and go upon the prophets and messiahs, whereas in the NT we are sealed with the HS (Eph. 1:13). As a result of this there can be only one Pentecost because there can only be one FIRST giving of the Holy Spirit to dwell permanently in the lives of believers.
Some well-meaning conservative Christians--like us--claim that modern charismatics do not practice the biblical gift of speaking in tongues because they do not speak in foreign languages when they claim they speak in tongues. There are 2 problems with this. The gift of tongues needs to have an interpreter, not a translator present. Second, the gift of interpretation is a gift only given by the Holy Spirit, whereas anybody can have the talent of translation. For example, many of the Jews who heard the apostles understood what the apostles were saying even though they were NOT Christians and did NOT have the HS living in them, a necessary condition for a person to have the spiritual gift of interpretation. The Pentecostal experience of Acts 2 appears to differ from the spiritual gift of tongues in 1 Cor. 12-14.
PURPOSES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Presence of Christ in the Believer
During His farewell discourse Jesus acknowledges that His disciples are sorrowful because He has told them that He is going away. According to John 14:16 who was Jesus going to send to them AFTER He left them?
This title is another title for the Holy Spirit. Who else is given this title in 1 John 2:1 (the word translated "advocate" is the exact same word translated "helper" in John 14:16)?
Right after Jesus tells His disciples that He is going to send them the Helper, what else does He promise them (John 14:18)?
The implication of these verses is that the coming of the Spirit into the lives of the believers is nothing less than the coming of Christ into the hearts of the believers. In light of the fact that the HS obeys Jesus perfectly, it only makes sense that the presence of the HS in our lives is for all practical purposes the same thing as having Jesus in our lives.
In John 16:13-14 Jesus explains why the coming of the Spirit into our lives is the same as Jesus coming into our lives. According to these 2 verses what is the relationship between the HS and Jesus?
Prayer
According to Rom. 8:26-27 what else does the Holy Spirit help us do?
This passage seems to point to the Spirit praying in addition to us praying to God. He searches our hearts and then prays to God on the basis of what He finds in our hearts. On the other hand, we need to be open to the leadership of the Spirit in prayer. If while praying I feel led to pray something, I need to go with it.
[It is interesting to note that this passage comes right after Paul claims that the Spirit of God's Son has made us God's sons. When we approach the Father in prayer, we need to approach Him as His sons. This means that although we are to approach Him with great dignity and respect, we can now approach Him also with boldness and confidence (Heb. 4:16).
When my dad was Vice President of Safeway, people who worked for him were afraid of him. They had to make appointments to get to him at his office. On the other hand, as his son I was able to walk up to his office and, if he wasn't busy, I could go right in and see him. That was my right as the son of Carey Ford, Jr. In the same token since I am God's son, I can walk right into His throne room and confidently offer my prayers to Him, always remembering that it was the death of His Greatest Son Jesus who has made this possible.]
Approaching God with boldness also means that I should utter BIG prayers worthy of the God I am praying to. I don't pray these prayers for my glory but for His. How do I know if I am concerned about my glory or His? How do I respond whenever my prayers are not answered affirmatively or whenever I don't get my way? If I get angry, my prayer was all about me. If I sense peace and experience patience, my prayer was most likely about God. The last thing that God is going to do is to answer my prayers so that I can be gloried.