Spirit Food - October 2018

The Holy Spirit

Session Seventy-One

He is a person! If you don't see (believe in Him as) a being, how can you develop a personal relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit is really not His name, it's his description; it's His function in the Trinity. God - The Father - - His function in the Trinity is to be the Father

John 5:19 says “Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.”

John 8:28 says “So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me.”

John 12:49 says “for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak.” God - The Son - - “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being…” (John 1:1-3) God The Holy Spirit - - His name is God - His function is to be the Spirit that lives within us, that empowers us, that leads us and guilds us, into all truth. So, He is a person. A person is distinguished by the identity or feature of a personality. A person has a soul, which consists of a mind, a will, and emotions. We are spirit beings, created in the image of God. We have a soul and live in a three dimensional body. We think with our mind, we desire with our wills, and we feel with our emotions. The Holy Spirit is trying to help us to think like God thinks, desire what God desires, and feel what God feels. Romans 8:9 says: “But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” He (The Holy Spirit) can tell you what God thinks about an issue because He is living on the inside of you. 1. The Holy Spirit has a mind. John 16:3 – “And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me.” John 16:13 – “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”

How could He guide you into all truth unless He knows all truth. He knows all truth because He has knowledge. He is omniscient. Omniscient comes from two words - Omni means all - - science means knowledge. God has all knowledge; therefore the Holy Spirit knows everything. You have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of you who knows everything about everything, and He's committed to instruct you! (Hebrews 8:9-13) Let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:5) That's the Holy Spirit's mind. 2. He has a will. Acts 16:6 – “They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.” They were forbidden - the Holy Spirit exercised His Will. Forbidden means to not allow, indicating an exercise of your will. If you would like to know what God's will is for your life, get to know Him. There are two ways to get to know Him; the general will of God, and the specific Will of God. The general Will of God is written in the Bible. The specific Will of God, we know by His voice. Examples: If you desire to know about marriage and how to treat your husband or wife, it's in the Bible. If you desire to know who to marry, it's not in there. If you desire to know what job to take, where to live, or what house or car to buy, it's not in there; but how to operate your finances in a scriptural way, be a godly husband and father, and a good neighbor, those principles are in there. However, the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. (John 16:13) If you desire to know how to pray, it's in the Bible. (Matthew 6:9-13) If you desire to know what to pray, you need to know the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:26-27 says: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” You don't know what to pray until He prompts you, and He makes intercession for you. God desires to have a personal relationship with you. 3. The Holy Spirit has emotions. Galatians 5:22-23 – “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.” A person loves, inanimate objects don't love. A person expresses joy, etc. Ephesians 4:30 – “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.” Grief is an emotion. The Holy Spirit has feelings. What grieves the Holy Spirit? Look at Ephesians 4:25-32 - - Lying grieves the Holy Spirit. Giving into temptation and sin grieves the Holy Spirit. Stealing grieves the Holy Spirit. Not giving when He directs you to give, grieves the Holy Spirit. A corrupt word would grieve the Holy Spirit. When a believer walks in sin, it grieves the Holy Spirit. Why? Because God loves you and He knows when you walk in sin, it's going to hurt you; so He's sad. Grief is an emotion (sadness) you feel when you've lost intimacy with a person. That's the way the Holy Spirit feels when believers sin. You haven't lost your salvation when you sin, but you lose intimacy. Bondage is path or road - Freedom is a different path or road. Choose wisely which path or road you take. Proverbs 12:28 says: “In the path of righteousness there is life, in walking its path there is no death.” Wisdom is the principal thing: “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever else you get, get insight.” (Proverbs 4:7), let him who lacks wisdom, ask. “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.” (James 1:5) Freedom is when you have a change of mind (repent) and turn back to God.