Mini-Lecture: Who Is the Holy Spirit & What Does He Do?

He use to be called the “Holy Ghost,” which was a little eerie, but now he goes by the “Holy Spirit,” which isn’t much better. He is the third person of the Godhead. He is a “He” not an “It.” He lives inside every believer. He transforms, gifts, empowers, fills, and that is just the beginning. Tell all that to a new believer and she might run for the hills. And who could blame her.

So, let’s try it this way. 

Do you know the difference between a glider and jet? Right. Power! A glider needs someone to get it started, to throw it, to carry it to a high place and let it go, to drag it behind a speedy truck and launch it, or something like that. A jet carries its own juice. It goes when it unleashes the power that is packed inside of it. A person without the Holy Spirit is like a glider.  A person with the Holy Spirit is a jet.

God intended us to live like jets. Many non-Christians don’t understand the difference between a life without power and one with power. Without the Holy Spirit to explain it, it is incomprehensible. A tremendous perk of Christianity is to have jet-like juice inside of you, to overcome fear, to gain courage, to whoop old character flaws, to love and experience love. Many Christians have the engine, but they don’t turn it on. They spend their lives climbing to the top of high places to launch themselves. It is a waste, really.

We did a mini-lecture to explain who the Holy Spirit is and what he does. You can listen to it and take notes and then, if you want, you can comment below, and then, if you want, you can comment below

 

Comments

[Kyle Underwood]

Rodney, great exposition on the Holy Spirit. Very thorough like normal. One question. Many people believe there are tangible evidences that demonstrate that you are in possession of the Holy Spirit. They refer to these evidences as the gifts of the Spirit that come to you upon the "baptism" of the Spirit. People have formed whole demonations based on these evidences. These people claim this as doctrine because they see it mentioned in scripture. Personally I believe that the evidence of salvation in our lives is the presence of the Holy Spirit. What I do not believe is that the exegesis of this or any doctrine can be based on a historical account of an event, such as what is called in this discussion the "baptism" of the Spirt. The presence of the Spirit in the lives of believers is witnessed to by the fruit of the Spirit and our empowerment to obey God's commands, not whether the gifts (especially tounges) are manifested. Is my understanding consistent with your hermeneutics? If so this truth can free people to pursue more prevelant callings than trying to manifest giftings.

[Rodney Combs]

Kyle, great question, and I think you already answered it. So, I affirm your interpretation, and I will state what I mean and why.

I believe the Bible teaches that every person who receives salvation simultaneously receives the Holy Spirit and all that He brings with Him, gifts, empowerment, grace, etc. Paul clearly states that if a person doesn’t have the Holy Spirit then he or she is not a Christian (Romans 8:9) and that the Holy Spirit is who brings our assurance of salvation (Romans 8:16). Peter even promised the Holy Spirit to everyone who repented and believed (Acts 2:38). So, every believer has the Holy Spirit, and they receive him along with forgiveness and salvation. The rest of the New Testament supports this by showing it to be the norm and what was expected (i.e., 1 Cor. 6:19; 12:13; Gal. 3:2, 14; 4:6).

There are, however, passages in Acts (especially) that can confuse. For example, in Acts 8:14-17, the Samaritans received the gospel for the first time. Peter and John were sent to investigate. When they arrived, they found that the Samaritans had received both the gospel and Christian baptism, but they had not received the Holy Spirit. Peter and John then prayed for them and placed their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit for the first time. We are not told how they knew they didn’t have the Holy Spirit or how they knew when they received Him. This was a two-stage experience (salvation/baptism and then later reception of the Holy Spirit). Some large groups of believers use this as a proof text to teach that Christian initiation is a two-stage process. I believe, however, that is contrary to the intention of the text for several reasons.

The Samaritans did experience a two-stage process, but the Bible teaches that a one-stage process is the norm. According to the New Testament, we repent, believe, are baptized, and receive both the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit at the same time, after which by the indwelling power and grace of the Spirit we grow into Christian maturity. Acts 8, in my understanding, is presented as an exception, and it was so for a reason. The gospel was going to the Samaritans, an unprecedented situation that required exceptional methods to insure the unity and expansion of the Christian mission.

There are textual clues in Acts 8 that this was an exception:

1) The apostles expected all believers to have received the Holy Spirit and so they were surprised when the Samaritans hadn’t. In Acts 8:16, Luke says they had “simply” (NIV) been baptized, indicating that they expected baptism/salvation and reception of the Holy Spirit.
2) The lead apostles sent their two most important leaders to see what was going on in Samaria, and this was unusual due to the unusual method of God. In the accounts of the spread of the Gospel previous to this (8:4) and following this (8:26-40), they did not go investigate.
3) Luke uses a somewhat technical expression to indicate that the Samaritans had become Christians, one that he uses at critical moments in the historical spread of the gospel. In 8:14 he says, Samaria had “accepted the word of God.” He used the same expression at Pentecost for the first influx of Jews (2:41, “accepted his message”) and later with Cornelius, the first move of the gospel to Gentiles (11:1, “received the word of God”). This phrase indicated three big phases of the mission, to Jews, Samaritans and Gentiles, all phases that Peter helped initiate, and that God wanted marked.

These points indicate that what was going on in Acts 8 with the Samaritans was an exception. God was bringing the gospel to a group of people who had been outcasts, and He withheld the Holy Spirit until the apostles both brought their blessing and were able to witness it to assure the Samaritans and reveal to the Jews that God was truly saving everyone. Therefore, since this is an exception, the norm, what the apostles taught and usually practiced throughout the New Testament, was a one-stage process. The Samaritan story provides no warrant for anyone to expect a two-stage process today. We should expect to receive forgiveness and the Spirit the moment we believe.

Here are two last thoughts.

One, “baptism of the Holy Spirit” seems to be used in the New Testament for when we initially receive the Holy Spirit (i.e., Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5; 11:16; 1 Cor. 12:13). And while there were some exceptions in the initial phases of the Christian mission (i.e., the Samaritans, as above; the apostles in Acts 1-2), there is no indication that “baptism” meant a second blessing or reception of the Holy Spirit some time after salvation. The Bible never instructs a believer to seek the “baptism of the Spirit.”

Two, some believers have the Holy Spirit and do not speak in tongues. The Bible clearly reveals that speaking in tongues is a gift, but it is not a gift that every believer has or should seek to have (i.e., 1 Cor. 12:29-30, where Paul uses the Greek word me, which indicates that the implied answer to each question is “no”). So, it cannot be a sign of evidence of the Holy Spirit. To insist that a person seek to receive the Holy Spirit sometime after salvation and to expect that speaking in tongues would be the evidence of such an event is unbiblical and often hurtful to a genuine, non-tongue-speaking believer. The visible evidence of the Holy Spirit is transformation and ministry fruit (i.e., Romans 12:1-8; Gal. 5:16-25), which can take time to develop. The confidence for any believer that he or she has the Holy Spirit comes from faith and the internal witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16).