"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and your fruit should remain, in order that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you...
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....When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father—that one will testify about me. And you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning...
...I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and concerning righteousness and concerning judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me, and concerning righteousness, because I am going away to the Father and you will see me no more, and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
I still have many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them now. But when He—the Spirit of truth—comes, He will guide you into all the truth.
For he will not speak from himself, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will proclaim to you the things to come. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and will proclaim it* to you. Everything that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he takes from what is mine and will proclaim it to you.
I have said these things to you so that you will not fall away." -
John 15:16-16:1(LEB)
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BIBLICAL LIVING 101 - The Holy Spirit - Part 1
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Our study on Immorality last week showed us that we are, each of us, "Tabernacles of the Holy Spirit" - our body is the temple, and we are indwelt by God Himself!
That alone should give us great joy, and make our worldly walk avoid the paths of immorality, & commandment/covenant breaking!
Yet, the difficulties of the Christian experience (Our indwelling sin problem, the worldliness around us, and the onslaughts of the enemy like depression, oppression, disease etc.), the struggle to earn a livelihood, raising a family - in short - doing Life!.... cause us to think that these Words of Christ to His disciples(our text this week) - have no --practical-- value whatsoever!
What Holy Spirit? What Fruit? What Truth? What Gifts? Are we talking about weird people babbling gibberish and rolling in church aisles, steadfastly refusing medical treatment because they are waiting for God to cure their terminally ill loved one, having crazy visions and dreams every other weekend?
No - all of that is a result of confusion that has been -intentionally - sown by the enemy, to derail the work of God.
The bottom line: - the Spirit is a PRACTICAL NECESSITY for Christians. Therefore, we are going to devote some time looking deeper into how exactly to work with Him as the resource we have been given to DO life.
We have said earlier, that Knowing God, means coming to know 3 persons. The Father from whom everything comes, the Son (the Logos, the Word incarnate, the written Word ) who is the True Light that shines to reveal Him (practically - through writing!) to us, and the Spirit, who takes what belongs to the Son, and makes it available to Man.
We have walked with you through the Law, the Parables, & Prophecy - and now in our series on practical living, we proudly introduce you to the 3rd Person of the Trinity - THE PERSON who enables us to do practical life!
We hope it helps you leverage the power of God to rule your life and bless those around you! .... let's get started...-----------
In Christ's words to the Disciples in our text above, it is absolutely crystal clear that...
1. Christ is talking about a REAL Person He is going to send. The -reality- of this Person's coming is --as real-- as Christs crucifixion and resurrection/ascension!
2. Christ is talking about a REAL benefit to the disciples. "it is -better- for you that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. " - How can this be? What can beat seeing, hanging out with, and talking to God incarnate on the planet? The answer, having Him Live inside of you!
3. The work of witnessing to the world IS the work of the Spirit! " ..... that one will testify about me. And you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning...". The Disciples would ALSO testify, but it is very clear, who it is that is -REALLY- testifying about Christ!
This is why Christ warns the disciples not to undertake ministry on their own steam, but to wait for the power that would come from on High, and enable them to be effective ministers of the Gospel! ("Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for what was promised by the Father, which you heard about from me." - Acts 1:4)
So let's take a closer look at this Person. He is an individual just like you, me in many ways...
1. He has a Name : Spirit of God (1 Cor 3:16), Spirit of Christ(Rom 8:9, Phil 1:19), Spirit of Truth : (John 14:17), Spirit of the LORD (Isaiah 11:2) In the Greek His Name, Paraclete, can mean Comforter,Helper, Intercessor,Advocate, Counselor.
2. He is shown/represented to us in, many ways :
a. Hovering over the waters at Creation,
b. Fire- (Acts 2:3 ..."tongues of fire"..)
c. Wind- (John 3:8) & Breath of God, the work of being born again compared to the wind.
d. Water- (John 7:37-39) Jesus speaking of Living Water to the Samaritan Woman, and quoting Isaiah on the last day of the Feast.
e. Oil- (Holy Oil and Incense in the Jewish Tabernacle, Figurative of anointing & intercession Acts 10:38)
f. A Dove- ( Matt 2:16-17 Baptism of Jesus - Father, Son, Spirit are all in view)
We could spend days on each of these representations, but hopefully you can see the common theme of formlessness, fluidity and flow, gentleness and POWER (fire heats but can destroy, breath gives life, a tornado can take it away, the life giving and destructive powers of water are well known etc....).
Powerful Images of a Powerful God!
3. Like Us (or more correctly, like Him) - He possesses the human attributes of Will, Emotion and Intellect.
a. In dividing gifts- "But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as ---he will." (1 Cor 12:11)
b. He Can be grieved- "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Eph 4:30)
c. He Can be quenched/stifled- "Quench not the Spirit" (1 Thess 5:19)
d. Can be resisted- "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye." (Acts 7:51)
e. Is intentional in mission- "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness." (Luke 4:1-18)
f. Is Humble- "...for he shall not speak of himself." (Jn 16:13) - its why He is so ignored!
4. His Nature is 7 fold.....
a. ... "and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." (Re 4:5}
b. " And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; (Is 11:2)
7 things! Spirit of the Lord = 1, wisdom = 2 etc. What a revelation as to what Power He brings!
.... also see Ex 31:2-3 ("See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: 3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.")
5. His Operations in the World are 7 fold (consistent with His Nature)
1. Convicts of Sin -
"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:" (Jn 16:8).
2. Reveals Christ -
"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 (Jn 15:2) He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." (Jn 16:14)
3. Gives us our New Birth and Seals us.
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (Jn 3:5) "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Eph 4:30)
4. Sanctifies/Regenerates
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: (1 Pe 1:2)
5. Edifies/Teaches.
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 14:26) Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. (1 Co 2:9-11)
6. Comforts/Encourages.
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; (Jn 14:16)
7. Intercedes. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Ro 8:27
We are just getting started, but we hope that you are able to see how VITALLY IMPORTANT and REAL, GENUINELY working with the Holy Spirit is, to be able to do Christian life, and how without Him, all ministry/work is meaningless!!!
In the weeks to come, we will be talking more about how exactly to do that, and how to daily and moment-by-moment ask God for a fresh anointing of oil, and bread - to enable us to deal with the assaults on our spirit and to do His work! Take some time to really meditate on Him this week.
We did not choose Christ of our own free will ... look at our text.. ? ... He chose us in Him before the world was created, He is the one who has ORDAINED us, and it is His will, that every son and daughter of His, be an instrument of His grace to bring fruit and light to the world, and that this fruit (souls of men) should eternally remain!
We hope that you are able to see Him, Christ the Word, and the Father clearly through these pages, as He opens the scriptures for us, and enables us to share them with you!
Hallelujah!!!