We’re back this week with the next blog series in our overall series, CREED: What You Believe + Why It Matters. As a reminder, here is the CREED big idea:
What you believe influences everything about you — the way you think, feel, speak and act. Right beliefs lead to right attitudes and actions. Right beliefs are the foundation of a life of connection with God, character when nobody’s watching and confidence in life.
Some of you grew up in a “liturgical church” and you’re familiar with Catechism Class. That’s a class where kids learn the fundamentals and doctrine of the Christian faith through a series of questions and answers.
One day, a children’s catechism class was reciting the Apostles Creed. Each child had been assigned a particular sentence in the creed to repeat. The first kid stood and said, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” The teacher nodded in approval. Parents smiled. The second child stood and said, “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord…” Once again the teacher nodded, “Job well done.”
The teacher waited for the next line in the creed. Nothing happened… There was a long and embarrassing period of silence. Finally, one of the kids in the class piped up and said, “Teacher, the kid who believes in the Holy Spirit isn’t here.”
Well, “the kid” who believes in the Holy Spirit is here and writing this blog where we’re going to talk about, GHOST: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. A2 Church, the church I pastor, is a church that believes in the Holy Spirit!
Here’s a question for you… How clear are you on the person and work of the Holy Spirit? I mean, “Who is the Holy Spirit and what does He do?”
It’s my guess that a lot of people are more than just a little bit fuzzy about the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Some of us are like a group of believers Paul met in Ephesus. He looked at these believers and asked…
[Paul] asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
— Acts 19:2 NIV
While a lot of us have majored on God the Father and minored on God the Son or vice-a-versa, some of us haven’t even taken an elective when it comes to the Holy Spirit.
For some of us the Holy Spirit is like the “weird uncle” who occasionally shows up at a family event and makes everyone around uncomfortable.
If that’s your view of the Holy Spirit — maybe because of your background, or some kind of church experience, or someone who just sort of creeped you out — if that’s your view of the Spirit, today that can begin to change…
Because while we may be vague and fuzzy about the person of the Holy Spirit, I’ll tell you who isn’t vague or fuzzy about the Holy Spirit. And, that’s JESUS! He talked a lot about the person and power of the Holy Spirit, especially in the days leading up to His death and just before His ascension.
We’re going to look at some of what He had to say about the person, power and work of the Holy Spirit this week. This is the Big Idea we’ll drill down on for the rest of this blog series:
The Holy Spirit is a PERSON. He is GOD. When the Spirit is present He brings LIFE where there is death, CREATIVITY and INSIGHT where there is chaos, and POWER where there is weakness. He wants a RELATIONSHIP with you.
Here are two important truths:
- The Holy Spirit is A PERSON.
Sometimes people refer to the Holy Spirit as an “it.” But the Spirit isn’t a cosmic “it.” He’s not an ethereal or impersonal force we can use or control. He isn’t divine energy, influence or a supernatural or explosive power. He has power, but He’s more than power. The Holy Spirit is a person.
The Holy Spirit is mentioned 261 times in the New Testament and always in personal terms like “He” and “Him.”
In John 14:17, Jesus speaking of the Holy Spirit made this statement:
“…you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
—JOHN 14:17 NIV
I love the way the great devotional writer, A. W. Tozer described the Holy Spirit in his book, The Counselor.
“Spell this out in capital letters: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON. He is not enthusiasm. He is not courage. He is not energy. He is not the personification of all good qualities, like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather. Actually, the Holy Spirit is not the personification of anything…
“He has individuality… He has will and intelligence. He has hearing. He has knowledge and sympathy and the ability to love and see and think. He can hear, speak, desire, grieve and rejoice. He is a Person.” —A.W. Tozer, The Counselor
The Holy Spirit bears all the attributes of personality. He has a mind or intellect — He can think (Rom 8:27). He has emotions — He can feel (Eph 4:30). He even has a will — He can and does act decisively and intentionally (1 Cor 12:11). Because He is a person, the Holy Spirit can be known, understood and related to.
Here’s why that is critically important. It’s important because I can experience a force, influence or power, but I can’t have a relationship with a force, influence or power. I can only have a relationship with a PERSON. And because the Holy Spirit is a person, I can have a RELATIONSHIP with the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit wants a RELATIONSHIP with you.
2. The Holy Spirit is GOD.
The Holy Spirit isn’t an addendum to the Christian faith. He’s at the HEART and CORE of it. He’s the third member of the Trinity. He’s co-equal, co-existent and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Son. He possesses all the characteristics, qualities and attributes of God. He does the works of God. The words Spirit and God are often used interchangeably in the NT.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
—2 CORINTHIANS 3:17 NIV
A really strange story appears in Acts 5. The church is starting to grow and thrive. Generosity is breaking out as people liquidate their assets and give generous gifts to the poor. One couple comes up with the idea to use their apparent generosity as a way of building their street cred in the church. They decide to sell a piece of property and give part of the money to the church, but act as if they’re giving it all. Their names are Ananias and Sapphira.
It’s interesting that in Acts 5 :3-4, when Peter challenged the deceit and cover up of Ananias and his wife, Peter made this statement:
“…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?
4…What made you think of doing such a thing?
You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
—ACTS 5:3-4 NIV
Notice that in Verse 3, Peter said to Ananias, “You have lied to the Holy Spirit.” But in Verse 4, Peter said, “You haven’t lied to men, but to God,” making the Holy Spirit equal to and synonymous with GOD Himself.
The Holy Spirit is God!
He is the third person of the Trinity:
God the Father. God the Son. And, God the Holy Spirit!
