GETTING TO KNOW THE HOLY SPIRIT

TEXT: Romans 8:11

INTRO.:

A. HE is closer to us than our parents, our spouse, our children & our very breath - 🔥He lives within us! Yet we seem to know so little about Him and often seem even to know Him to a very limited degree.

B. The vitality, power & fruitfulness of the individual believer & the church is dependent upon Him. 🔥He is not just a power (i.e., powerful), nor an energy source (though He energizes our spiritual life), but He is a Person - thus it is important that we spend time “GETTING TO KNOW THE HOLY SPIRIT”...

TRANS.: Because the Spirit doesn’t possess a visible body we assume He is not a Person. But my body is not what makes me a person. My body only gives visible testimony of my existence.
When I die it is only my body that dies, my person continues to live on. In fact, the Spirit does possess a body...my body & your body!

ILLUS.: The ministry of the Lord Jesus was confined to an area about 75 miles long by about 40 miles wide & w/in a time span of 33 years with only a 3 1/2 yr. period of service. By sending His "Ghost” or 🔥Spirit, he can multiply His ministry & expose everyone to His Person! Every believer is to be His representative, through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

I. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON:

A. He Is Called A Person:

Jn.14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he
shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
you.
Jn.15:26 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:

ILLUS.: In 2 places in a KJ Bible the Holy Spirit is referred to “itself” instead of “Himself”. The
translators were simply being linguistically correct & biblically proper. The word “pneuma” is neuter & means “air,” “breath,” “wind,” “spirit.” We get our words “pneumatic” & “pneumonia” from this Greek word.

Jn.3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell
whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

   1. Because He is a Person He is able to understand & minister to me & you as persons.
   2. It is comforting to know that when we are led by the Spirit, we are not directed by some cold & impersonal force, but by a warm, compassionate & all-wise heavenly Friend.

B. He Has the Attributes Of A Person:

   1. A person is usually defined as a being possessing the powers of intellect, emotion & will.
   2. The Holy Spirit likewise possesses these attributes.
     a. In Rom.8:27 Paul speaks of the “mind of the Spirit” teaching that He has intellect & is capable of knowing & processing information.
     b. When our mind is linked w/His mind we are given the ability to know the will of God.
     c. He is also capable of emotion & is not some cold, computer-like intelligence, but a warm, personal, sensitive Being who may be “grieved,” lied to & quenched; in fact,
matters that don’t disturb us (because of our sinfulness) do disturb Him (due to His holiness)!
     d. A person can also make decisions or exercise his will; Paul said that the Holy Spirit distributes His gifts “as He will” (I Cor.12:11), i.e., by His sovereign decision.

C. He Works as A Person:

   1. He prays & prayer involves knowledge, orderly thought processes & purpose; when we don’t know what to say in prayer - He does!

Rom.8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for
as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered.

   2. He teaches & only a person can instruct others & this ability requires knowledge, logic & the ability to communicate intelligently.

Jn.14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he
shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
you.

II. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A DIVINE PERSON:

A. He Is Called God:

Acts 5:3-4 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

B. He Has the Attributes Of God:

   1. We know He has the attributes or characteristics of a person, but He is more than a mere person, He is Deity, since the Scriptures reveal that He has the same characteristics of God Himself.
   2. His Name reveals His holiness; He is the Holy Spirit!

ILLUS.: This attribute of holiness means that when a person is truly indwelt by the Holy Spirit that he/she begins to not His influence in his/her life. Things once done w/out guilt or uneasiness, will bring guilt & shame & a desire to confess them as sinful.
                                                               💨HOLY MOTIVES
THE HOLY SPIRIT PRODUCES    💨HOLY THOUGHTS
                                                               💨HOLY WORDS
                                                               💨HOLY DEEDS

   3. He is omnipresent.

Ps.139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Ps.139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

ILLUS.: This attribute means that like God the Spirit is everywhere & not only that but He goes everywhere we go, because He indwells us. We need never be lonely, needy, suffering, tempted or troubled knowing that the Comforter is with us - because He is God!

   4. He is omnipotent.

Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

C. He Works as God:

   1. He creates.

Gen.1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Ps. 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
(This passage speaks of all of God’s creative activity in creating the earth, vegetation, animals, & man.)

ILLUS.: I was saddened to hear that there was a fire at the Phila. Zoo recently which destroyed many primates. ✅An even greater tragedy is that people are more upset over the death of a few apes than over a few million babies (via abortion)!
✅Not only that, they are planning autopsies
(they obviously died by smoke inhalation - your tax dollars at work!), memorial services (!), & vigils.
✅People were shown crying over these apes. Every night people die in fires, gun fights, etc. & I rarely see anyone shed a tear. (I guess when you believe that apes are your relatives it affects you that way!)
✅Apes die & that is the end. Man dies & he continues to live forever! No ape was ever indwelt by the Holy Spirit! No ape ever prays! No ape ever gets saved! (And people never turn into apes!!!)

ILLUS.: The Holy Ghost of God also created or produced a human embryo w/out human fertilization in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Only God can do this!

B. He Regenerates:

​Jn.3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

   1. This is the crowning achievement of the Holy Spirit.
   2. It is God Who brings us out of our death in sin & gives us new life in Christ.

CONCL.: It is not our desire in this study on the Blessed Holy Spirit of God to simply impart information, but also to give inspiration to live clean for Him Who indwells us. We must know about Him, but more importantly we need to “GET TO KNOW THE HOLY SPIRIT”!! We need to take Him out of the “proof text” stage of our understanding & get to know Him so personally that we will live clean & not offend (“grieve”) Him or diminish His influence in our lives. (“quench”).