Class 2/
THE HOLY SPIRIT
Theme Scriptures: John 14: 16 -20 and Acts 1:8
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
To provide a firm understanding into the absolute, essential, active and required Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of every Christian.
SOME IMPORTANT FUNDAMENTALS
1. The Ministry of the Holy Spirit is not optional. It is not possible to live a successful Christian life without the Holy Spirit. In Luke 24:49, our Lord Jesus instructed the Disciples to “tarry” ie wait until they were endued with power from on high referring to the Holy Spirit. And this happened on the Day of Pentecost as shown us in Acts 2:1. And the term “Pentecost” was the Greek name of a Jewish celebration (Leviticus 23:9-17) and marked annually 50 days from the feast of first fruits. It's not a New Testament or Christian feast. So the common convention of using “Pentecostal” to describe Christians and the Holy Spirit is a misnomer and has no scriptural basis. Infact on that day, in Acts 2, it was the disciples of Christ who weren’t celebrating Pentecost that received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit: the Pentecostal outside didn’t.
2. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs when a person is born again. It is the Holy Spirit that baptizes you into the Body of Christ, 1 Cor 12:13.
3. A Christian is then required to receive the Holy Spirit to live in him which is a separate experience from the above, but can occur at the same moment. We will discuss how to receive the Holy Spirit later in this class.
4. When He takes up His abode in you, you have access to the full advantage of His personality and ministry. What is commonly referred to as the anointing is actually the
power of the Holy Spirit. And because He lives in you wholly, you don’t need nor can you receive a “double-anointing” or more anointing, because you have the whole! What you require is to know how to activate what you have received and be full of Him, from inside you not and from outside. This will also be discussed further in this class.
1) WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?
• • The Holy Spirit is himself God, He is co-equal with God. He is the one who proceeds from the Father. Our Lord Jesus gives us the best description and character of the Holy Spirit. In Jn 15:26 He said “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:”
• • We see the first reference to the Holy Spirit in Gen 1:2 “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”. He is the doer of the Father’s intentions. It was the Holy Spirit in action in the creation account of Gen 1 & 2.
• • He is the one who communicates the presence of God. He is the one who brings us the presence of God and makes it real to us. In the Old Testament in Isa 63;9-10 he was referred to as the Angel of His presence. He is the conveyor of God’s presence.
• • The Father dwells in us through the Holy Spirit, as we see in Eph 2:22 “In whom ye also are budded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
• • Being a Spirit, we cannot see Him with the optical eyes, but we can experience His manifestation. He is as real as the person sitting next to you (John 14:17). He has personality and emotions. He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30), and can talk (Acts 13:2).
• • He is the Comforter that our Lord Jesus introduced in Jn 14:16 “and I will pray the Father; and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever”; and confirmed in Jn 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost..
• He is the one who reproves the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgement
• as stated in Jn 16:8.
• • He is the one that makes salvation possible for any man as we see in Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh:” and the one who baptizes a believing one into the Body of Christ, as we see in 1 Cor 12:13 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body,...”
2) THE PRIMARY MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE LIFE OF A
CHRISTIAN
Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”
When a man receives the Holy Spirit, he received the dynamic ability to live the Christian life successfully and be a witness for Jesus.
3) SEVEN SYNONYMS OF THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN US
When our Lord Jesus introduced the Holy Spirit in Jn 14:16, He referred to Him as the “Comforter”. The Greek word ‘paracletos' meaning one called along side has the following synonyms. Understanding them will enhance your fellowship with the Holy Spirit. They are:
- Comforter
- Counsellor
- Helper
- Intercessor
- Advocate
- Strengthener
- Standby
• From here, the Teacher is to read directly from pages 27-31 of the Book, 7 Things the Holy Spirit will do in You
4) 4 HOW TO RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT - Acts 2:17, Acts 5:32, Gal 3:14, Rhapsody of Realities, Feb 4, 2021
Every Christian can and should receive the Holy Spirit. This is the Father’s blessing, and has been poured out upon all flesh as we see in Acts 2:17! He is one of the cardinal gifts of God to all men. By simply obeying His call to believe the Gospel, anyone can receive Him. And since you have believed the Gospel, all you need to do is receive Him by faith (Gal 3:14).
You can simply and with reverence, say, “In the Name of Jesus Christ, I open my heart now, and I receive the Holy Spirit”. Then by faith, receive as simply as you received Christ.
And when you receive something valuable, what do you do next? You thank the giver! So even while you are thanking Him, you can be filled with the Spirit, speaking with tongues and prophesying.
In Acts 19:6 we also see an example of how a Christian can receive the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands of someone who had already received the Holy Spirit.
5) SPEAKING IN TONGUES AND ITS PURPOSES
When a Christian has received the Holy Spirit, one of the advantages is he receives the ability to speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues is one of the signs mentioned by our Lord Jesus Christ in Mk 16: 17.
The benefits of speaking in tongues are endless but let’s look at some that are revealed to us in scriptures:
• • To help us operate at our highest level of faith, Jude 1:20 ( ampc)
When we speak in tongues like this, we edify ourselves, we improve ourselves, we promote ourselves. This is an amazing “self-building” advantage available to you!
• • To utter mysteries, 1 Cor 14:2
Again, when you speak in tongues, things happen within you and for you, and all good. There is no disadvantage for speaking in tongues, only benefits. Every time you speak in tongues, you are improved.
• • To glorify God, Acts 10: 46
•
Speaking in Tongues gives us a language to express purest praise and worship to God. It is a language of the Spirit and not contaminated or restricted by the limitations of earthly languages. Without tongues, you will be limited in your prayer, praise and worship.
• • To speak unto God, 1 Cor 4:2
You are speaking directly with God, not man - not even yourself; you are speaking mysteries. That’s why praying in tongues first before praying in your understanding is so important (1 Cor 14:15). Because in your understanding, all you know is what you know, and may not be adequate. But when you speak in tongues, there are no limitations because you are speaking mysteries.
6) THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD
In Is 11:2, We are introduced to a remarkable revelation about the Holy Spirit, expressed in 7 unique characteristics or features of the self same Holy Spirit, to help us understand and function in the fullness of the Spirit.
It is to be noted that this does not mean there are 7 Spirits but refers to the many sided dimensions of the Holy Spirit, which are to our benefit.
When we receive the Holy Spirit, we have all of Him.
We will only list the 7 Spirits as revealed in Is 11:2, and then you will do a further study with the Book by our Man of God “The Seven Spirits of God”.
• A. The Spirit of the Lord
• B. The Spirit of Wisdom
• C. The Spirit of Understanding
• D. The Spirit of Counsel
• E. The Spirit of Might
• F. The Spirit of Knowledge
• G. The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord
7) THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE MINISTRY GIFTS
a. The gifts of the Holy Spirit listed are gifts given to Christians by the Holy Spirit as He wills for the common good, and the edification of the Church.
It has been taught in some places that there are 9 gifts of the Spirit, but it is better rendered that there are 9 listed in 1 Cor 12:8-10. There are several others in other portions of scripture.
The Fruit of the Spirit referred to in Gal 5:22 are the fruit of the recreated human spirit, and not the Holy Spirit.
When a man is born again, he receives a new spirit, and these fruits are intrinsic and expected to manifest as he grows and matures. They come with the nature of righteousness (which we will discuss further in Class 3 on Doctrines).
Gal 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance”.
These are expected attributes that a Christian should manifest because he has received the nature and ability to produce them.
b. Ministry Gift or Office is a call into an Office for the Body of Christ. Eph 4:11 lists 5 offices for us namely: Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher.
As revealed in Heb 5:4, these are by God”s calling.
Those called into these specific offices are given the responsibility to perfect ie equip the saints for the work of the Ministry. In other words, to prepare and build up the saints, so they can fulfil God's purpose for their lives on earth. The Ministry Offices are an advantage for the Body of Christ.
Assignment
1. Read the Book “The Seven Spirits of God”
2. Speak in Tongues for at least 10 Minutes each Day till the next class. Note observations or changes you notice about yourself, or specific thoughts or direction that you received as you prayed.
Reference Material for Further Study
1. Seven Things the Holy Spirit will do in You
2. Seven Things the Holy Spirit will do for You
3. The Holy Spirit and You
4. The Oil and the Mantle