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Furthermore, to introduce the Person of the Holy Spirit (correct biblical understanding because of the prevalence of wrong teaching) by taking you on a biblical and practical journey.
You will be given a guided tour concerning his work in the lives of believers in the Old and New Testament and in today’s world. I hope to make your journey worthwhile and meaningful. Along the way, some crucial but relevant questions will be asked and answered such as:
This then raises two important questions: One, who is the Holy Spirit? Two, why is knowing the Holy Spirit as a Person and God, his role and work so important for Christian living and ministry?
Before we come to know the Holy Spit’s work and power we need to know who the Holy Spirit is. In other words Being comes before Doing.
The Holy Spirit is sovereign and his movement is not subject to our timing or control. The Spirit is not bound by time and space like the incarnate Christ. We are commanded to be filled with Holy Spirit. We are to be people preacher/ leaders/ pastors/ preachers of the Spirit.
Empowerment of the Spirit is essential for Christian living and serving. Preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit produces results. The indwelling Spirit is also the infilling Spirit. Salvation repositions us in Christ, the infilling of the Spirit empowers us to live victoriously and serves vibrantly.
Without the Holy Spirit, you cannot be a Christian. Without the Holy Spirit there can be no power or victory over bondage from sin, over trails, and temptations. Without him, the task we do is draining and wearisome. Inevitably, the Church instead of “body” becomes a social club or a religious institution devoid of godliness and power
My sincere prayer for each of you who listens is that the Holy Spirt who is the third person of the Trinity will thirst/hunger for the Spirit’s renewing and cleansing power because there is More, Much More when we “keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25 ESV). Consequently, becoming Spirit-filled, Spirit-fuelled and Spirit-formed Believers.
There is a three-fold emphasis on God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in the Bible we call the Trinity. Every evangelical and catholic church would acknowledge that we worship a Triune God and subscribe to the doctrine of Trinity.
We hear sermons about the Father and the Son. However, the sad truth is that, God the Holy Spirit is often forgotten, neglected, or relegated in our worship, preaching, or writing. Consequently, we only pay lip service to his person, role, and work in our churches. To many, the Holy Spirit is like a stranger more than a heavenly companion. Therefore, in theory we believe in the Holy Spirit but in practice we pay lip service instead of life-service. To put it in another way, in practice we are more bi-natarian and uni-tarian rather than Trinitarian. Jack Taylor made a good point when he said that the doctrine of Trinity for Baptists is God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Bible.
Several months ago, I was having lunch in a restaurant with two other Baptist pastors. One of them made a statement, “Baptists are not afraid of the evil spirits but yet are afraid of the Holy Spirit!”
That statement made us guffaw in the midst of other people. Frankly, we embarrassed ourselves! Later we reflected on his statement and our demeanour grew serious. We began to ask why and thought out some possible answers that could be given to suggest that there is a real phobia when it comes to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity.[2]
We are afraid of the Holy Spirit because of wild fire (extremism) or past bad experiences. The name “Holy Ghost” (in older English Bible translations) sounds spooky and reminds you of Casper the Ghost in the movie Ghostbusters. We think of the Holy Spirit either as an impersonal force, power, or influence instead of as a Person. Moreover, the Holy Spirit is invisible, except for his effects, and we have a tendency to think of the Spirit as an “it”. Perhaps, we are not sure what the role and work of the Holy Spirit is because we hardly, if ever, hear sermons preached on the Holy Spirit from the pulpit or taught in cell groups or Sunday schools. Not forgetting that it is easier to picture the face of Jesus than the Holy Spirit.[3]
Let me introduce to you the Holy Spirit -- God, Person and Senior Partner in the Trinity whom I call the Transformer, Game-Changer and Connector (aka God’s Wi-Fi) who enables you to live victoriously and serve vibrantly.
I hope not only to explain his personality, role and work from Scripture, but to enable you to experience the Empowering Spirit’s presence and power. The goal is that you will be Spirit-Filled, Spirit-Formed and Spirit-Fueled Christian and Minister.
One of my favourite stories comes from the Old Testament in Gen. 21:9–21 about Abraham and his wife Sarah and the Egyptian slave girl Hagar. When Sarah saw Ishmael, the son of Hagar, playing with his son Isaac,
she was not too happy (no reason given and commentators have filled in the blanks). Sarah then told Abraham to drive Hagar and her son away because she didn’t want Hagar’s son to share his inheritance with her son Isaac. This distressed Abraham very much (no reason stated; your guess is as good as mine) because Ishmael was his son, too. I am sure Abraham loved Hagar, too. He was in a dilemma on what to do.
In his distress, God came to him and said, “Do what Sarah tells you to do.” So Abraham did what his wife told him to do and what God also told him to do. He packed some food and a canteen bottle of water and sent Hagar and the son away. She began to wander in the desert of Beersheba. When there was no more water in the canteen bottle, she put her son under a shrub, wandered off, and decided to search for water. About fifty yards or so, she spoke to herself, “I can’t let my son die,” and began to sob bitterly.
Interestingly, the narrator informs us that God heard the cry of the boy and not the mother. The angel of God came to Hagar and told her God had heard the cry of the boy and asked her to fetch her boy and reassured her that the boy would grow up to be a great nation.
The text tells us, “God opened her eyes” (v. 19) and when she looked she saw a well of water. She went and filled her canteen bottle and gave some water to Ishmael. The narrator informs us that God was with Ishmael as he grew up and became a skilled archer. He lived in the Desert of Paran and later married an Egyptian through matchmaking.
What is my punch line? The well of water was in sight but she cannot see it until God opened her eyes! Only then did she see the well she had not previously noticed. The well was already there and not put there all of a sudden miraculously by God.
Before we proceed further, would you pray with me, “Holy Spirit open my eyes to see your wondrous truths in this book and open my ears to listen to you.”
My sincere prayer for each of you is this:
Dear Holy Spirit,
I pray for those who read this book and are reached by social media.
Open their eyes to see and their ears to hear the wondrous truths concerning your personality, role, and work as revealed in Scripture in the past, present, and future.
May they encounter you as their Paraclete. May they draw near to you, cultivate daily fellowship with you, and experience personal renewal.
Holy Spirit, fill them with your fullness so that out of their innermost being will flow rivers of living water touching and transforming others.
Help them to keep in step with you. In the name of Jesus, whose Name is above all other names. Amen.
Friends, Get ready for an exciting adventure with the Holy Spirit as you acknowledge, honour, embrace, and encounter him and become a Spirit-Filled, Spirit-Formed, and Spirit-Full Christian.
The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you (2 Cor. 13:14 MSG; emphasis mine).
[1] For a detail study of the four views, see Wayne A. Grudem, Are Miraculous Gifts For Today ? Four Views ( Garand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996).
[2] When the Westminster Confession was drawn up in 1646 by Westminster Assembly (largely of the Church of England and influential in the Presbyterian churches worldwide), it had only 33 chapters but they left out the Holy Spirit! Later it was expanded to 34 chapters which included the Holy Spirit.
[3] “It is easier to think of the Father and Son as persons because we know persons who are fathers and sons. We do not know any person who is a spirit. It takes some mental effort to think of spirit as a person and even more the Holy Spirit.” See Bernard L. Ramm, Rapping About the Spirit (Waco, TX: Word Book, 1974), 33.