WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

            Christians are saved by the work of the Triune God. First Peter was addressed to those who were “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:1-2).  Christians are commanded to baptize into “the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19-20). 

            But who is the Holy Spirit? We are typically more familiar with Jesus and a bit more familiar with God the Father, but the Spirit is routinely left out of our focus. This negligence is dangerous and blasphemous. Should we ignore the Father, Son, or Spirit? 

1. Who is God? 
   1. One Divine Nature—Deuteronomy 6:4
   1. One Divine Nature Shared in Three Persons—Matthew 28:19
   1. “It belongs to God’s very essence to be triune.” (Bavinck, RD 2, 303). 
2. Blessed Trinity
   1. God exists as three distinct persons who share the divine nature. 
   1. The Father and Son are divine—John 1:1-2
   1. The Spirit is divine—Acts 5:3-4, 9
   1. There are three persons of who are divine. 
      1. They share the same essence. 
      1. This means that they three persons of the Trinity are identical in every way except for their distinctions as Father, Son, and Spirit. 
      1. Each member of the Trinity has the same power, authority, and will.
      1. Each member is a distinct person—Matthew 3:16-17. 
3. The Holy Spirit is Divine
   1. Acts 5:9=sinning against God (Ex 17:2, 7; Deut 6:16; Ps 78:18)
   1. Spirit is omnipresent—Ps 139:7-10
   1. Spirit is omniscient—Is 40:13-14
   1. Spirit is eternal—Heb 9:14
   1. Spirit was involved in creation—Gen 1:2
   1. Spirit is still involved in creating—Job 33:4
   1. Spirit leads providence—Ps 104:27-30
   1. Spirit knows deity fully—1 Cor 2:10-11
4. Holy Spirit is a Member of the Trinity
   1. Genesis 1:26—involved in making man
   1. Matthew 3:16-17-–involved in Jesus’ baptism
   1. Galatians 4:4-6—Spirit of the Son sent by the Father 
   1. Matthew 28:19—Shares the “name” of deity
   1. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6—Shares in the empowerment of the church
   1. 2 Corinthians 13:13—Blesses people with the Father and Son. 
   1. Matthew 12:22-32—Blasphemy against is an insult to God
5. Holy Spirit is a Person
   1. Spirit is not ”the force” or an “it”
   1. Spirit is “grieved”-–Is 63:10; Eph 4:30
   1. Spirit is insulted or “outraged”—Heb 10:29
   1. Spirit intercedes—Rom 8:26-27
6. The Holy Spirit in OT Scripture
   1. 100+ references to the Spirit of God in the OT
   1. Genesis 1:2—Spirit was active in creation
   1. Genesis 6:3–Encouraged repentance
   1. Genesis 41:38—Gives wisdom (Ex 31:3). 
   1. Judges 3:10, 13:25—Empowers the deliverers (judges)
   1. 2 Samuel 23:2—Enables prophecy
   1. Psalm 51:11—Present with God’s people
   1. Psalm 139:7–Omnipresent
7. The Holy Spirit and Jesus
   1. Matthew 1:18, 20—Causes the incarnation
   1. Matthew 3:16—Descends on Jesus at his baptism
   1. Matthew 4:1—Leads Jesus in the wilderness
   1. Matthew 22:43—Inspired OT Scriptures
   1. Matthew 28:19-20—Equal in nature with the Father and Son. 
8. The Holy Spirit in Acts—the church history book
   1. Acts 1:2—Jesus gave commands through the Spirit
   1. Acts 1:4, 2:4—Empowered Apostles
   1. Acts 2:33—Miraculous work proved the Messianic/Church Age
   1. Acts 2:38—Promised to baptized believers
   1. Acts 7:51—People resisted the Holy Spirit
   1. Acts 8:29—Involved in evangelistic work
   1. Acts 28:25—Spoke through Isaiah
9. The Holy Spirit and Paul—What is the relationship of the Spirit with Christians?
   1. Christian life begins with the reception of the Spirit
      1. Gal 3:2, 14; 
      1. Rom 8:15
   1. Christians are sealed by the Spirit
      1. Rom 8:9, 
      1. 1 Cor 3:16, 6:19
   1. Christians live by the Spirit
      1. Gal 5:25, 6:8; 
      1. Rom 8:2, 6, 10-11, 13
   1. Christians are led by the Spirit
      1. Gal 5:16, 25; 
      1. Rom 8:4, 14
   1. Christians will be raised by the Spirit
      1. Rom 6:5, 8:11

WHAT DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT DO TODAY?

We tend to ignore the work of the Spirit. Ignoring the work of the Spirit leads to ignorance, extremes, and suspicion. Ignoring the work of the Spirit leads to ignorance, heresies, and emotionalism. Instead of ignoring or misunderstanding the work of the Spirit, we should look to the Scriptures given to us by the Spirit so that we can understand better what God would have us to know about the work of the Spirit. When we better understand the work of the Spirit as taught in Scripture, then we can better appreciate God’s work in our lives, be led to better services to him, and be encouraged to worship for what God has done and continues to do. 

1. The Spirit empowered miracles in the first century
   1. The Spirit empowered the apostles to work miracles. 
      1. Acts 5:12-16
      1. Acts 2:43
      1. Heb 2:4
2. The Spirit miraculously revealed God’s message. 
   1. Luke 12:12
   1. Acts 2:4
   1. 2 Timothy 3:16
3. The Spirit is not empowering miracles today
   1. How do we know miracles are not being performed by Christians today?
      1. No access to gifts
         1. Miraculous gifts were given to people in the NT by baptism of the Holy Spirit and the “laying on of the apostles hands.” 
         1. Neither of these are available today. 
         1. Therefore, there are no miraculous gifts today. 
      1. No irrefutable miracle. 

2. No baptism of the Spirit today—Ephesians 4:5
3. No apostles to lay hands on people today—Acts 8:18
4. The Spirit gives us the Scriptures
   1. 2 Timothy 3:16
   2. 1 Peter 1:10-12
   3. 2 Peter 1:20-21
5. The Holy Spirit Works Through the Scriptures 
   1. 2 Tim 3:16
   2. Eph 6:17
   3. 1 Pet 1:12
6. The Spirit Gives Faith
   1. Romans 10:17 teaches us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ. 
   2. This “hearing” comes from the preaching of the Word. 
   3. Faith, then, is a gift of God that is created by the Spirit as individuals hear, accept, and submit to the Word. 
7. The Spirit gives life
   1. Christians live by the Spirit
      1. Gen 2:7
      1. 1 Pet 1:23
      1. Gal 5:25, 
      1. Gal 6:8; 
      1. Rom 8:2, 6,10-11, 13
8. Christians will be raised by the Spirit
   1. Rom 6:5, 
   1. Rom 8:11

7. The Spirit Makes Christians His Temple
   1. Eph 1:13
   2. 1 Cor 3:16
   3. 1 Cor 6:19
8. The Spirit Sanctifies Christians
   1. Heb 2:11
   2. Rom 15:16
   3. 1 Cor 6:11
   4. 1 Pet 1:2
9. The Spirit Intercedes for Christians. 
   1. Rom 8:26-27
   2. Rom 8:34
10. The Spirit Strengthens and Comforts Christians. 
    1. Eph 3:16 
    1. Jn 14:16