In the church that I attended with my family, at the end of every service, we would sing a closing song – we called the closing song the doxology. The word doxology simply means a short song that expresses our praise to God. 

The words to the doxology I sang are:

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

The last statement of the doxology says, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. I remember singing that closing song for many years, yet not understanding what I was singing. 

Even though I was raised in a bible believing church,  I knew very little about the Heavenly Father and even less about the Holy Spirit.

I did know something about Jesus – I was taught about Jesus in Sunday School – every year, we held a Christmas program – we dramatized the birth of Jesus.

On Easter Sunday, we celebrated the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus. Since my pastor taught primarily from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, most of what I heard in the church were stories about Jesus, the miracles He performed, and the people that He healed.

I was taught us the importance of having a relationship with Jesus through the new birth or what we called being born again. However, I cannot remember hearing many messages about the third person of the trinity – the Holy Spirit.

Who is this third person of the trinity? Who is the Holy Spirit that we sang about?

My lack of knowledge of who He is and what He came to do in and through my life limited my spiritual growth and development.

Yes, the Holy Spirit is God – yes, He is just as important as God the Father and Jesus Christ – but, from my perspective, He stayed behind the scene spiritually speaking. He was not the visible part of God, so even though his name is mentioned in the Bible, my understanding of Him and His purpose was simply to be a silent partner in life.

He works behind the scenes, He is like the wind, we cannot see him, but we can see his power working through our lives.

However, once I began reading the Bible, I discovered I was missing out on many aspects of the Holy Spirit's ministry. I realized I was not taking advantage of the Holy Spirit's work and ministry in my life. 

I also discovered the Holy Spirit was sent by the Heavenly Father to do a special work in my life –  first, to regenerate or to completely change my Spirit, we call this work of the Holy Spirit the New Birth or being born again.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit came to empower me with supernatural power and equip me with the supernatural ability to help me discover my purpose in carrying out God's will for my life.

When I began reading the New Testament – I discovered that Jesus talked a great deal about the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel of John, chapters 14, 15, and 16, Jesus set aside special time with his disciples to talk about the coming ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s look at some of those verses:

John 14:16-18 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

John 14:25-26 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

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.

John 15:26-27  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:

And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

John 16:7-15 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Of sin, because they believe not on me;

Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Why did Jesus take the time to teach his disciples about the Holy Spirit? We understand from reading the Gospels, Jesus was about to leave this world – in a short while, he would be crucified, die, and on the third day rise from the dead.

After being raised from the dead, the Bible teaches us that Jesus ascended to Heaven to be seated at the right hand of God.

Mark 16:19 - So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into Heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

Jesus knew that after his departure, the disciples would need another helper or another comforter.

In John 14:16 – Jesus said to his disciples, “And I will pray or ask the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever…..Notice what Jesus said…..I will ask the Father to send another Comforter – the word “another” in this verse means a different person…in other words, Jesus is letting his disciples know that he would not be living physically with them on this earth – He was about to leave this world and ascend to Heaven.

However, Jesus was informing his disciples that he would not leave them alone; without help – he would send them another person, who will be identical in every way to himself.

Notice the words of Jesus; I will send another Comforter or Helper, someone who is identical in every way to Jesus – the only difference will be – this Helper, who is the Holy Spirit, will live in you – He will not only be with you – He will live inside you.

If Jesus, during his last and most precious moments with his disciples, thought it so important to talk about the person of the Holy Spirit, we must ask ourselves this question – do I as a believer understand who the Holy Spirit is, and more importantly,  what He has come to do in and through my life?

Let's begin our study of the Holy Spirit by looking at what the Bible says concerning His ministry or His work in and through the life of the Christian.

As Christians, we should know the Holy Spirit as much as we know the Father and Jesus. We understand the work or the role of the Heavenly Father and Jesus, but what is the work or the role of the Holy Spirit?

In his book Holy Spirit, Revelation and Revolution, Reinhard Bonnke says,

“The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity at work on earth. Everything that God does here, outside of Heaven, is by the Spirit. All the experience of believers, forgiveness, answers to prayer, assurance, joy, healings, and signs are the works of God performed by the Holy Spirit. (Bonnke, Reinhard. Holy Spirit - Revelation and Revolution. E-R Productions, LLC. Kindle Edition.)

He is the essence of the Christian faith, brought to us by the Gospel. There is no Christianity without him. He is not an accessory, but the very substance of what we believe. He is God on earth, actively indwelling and saturating every particle of what we experience. This means that Christianity is a supernatural faith. A non-supernatural gospel is only a shell. Bonnke, Reinhard. Holy Spirit - Revelation and Revolution. E-R Productions, LLC. Kindle Edition.

No wonder Jesus said in John 16:7 – Let me assure you, it is better for you that I go away. I say this because when I go away, I will send the Helper to you. But if I did not go, the Helper would not come. (Easy to Read Version)

The Holy Spirit is God’s Divine agent on this earth. He has come to take what Jesus did and said and made it real to us. He has come to do the work of the New Birth in our lives. He has come to help us understand the words of Jesus. He has come to help us pray. He has come to comfort us, to strengthen us. He has come to empower us and to fulfil the will of God through our lives.

As Reinhard Bonnke says, "The Holy Spirit is not an accessory – He is the extension of God the Father and Jesus Christ to this earth. The Holy Spirit makes our Christianity work – the Holy Spirit makes our Christianity supernatural. Without the Holy Spirit, Christianity is reduced to rituals and a form of God without any life-changing power.

In these lessons, we will not focus only on the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We will not focus only on the work of the Holy Spirit in the New Birth. We will not focus only on the purpose of the Holy Spirit living in us.

In these next few lessons, I want to talk about what the Bible says in connection with the work of the Holy Spirit through the life of the Christian. In other words, what does the Holy Spirit want to do through you? 

Theology has no purpose at all unless it touches human needs. That is why God did not send a doctrine to be your Comforter or Helper. God sent a Divine person who desires to manifest His power and life through you.

It is one thing to know about God, it is another thing to experience God for yourself. The Holy Spirit has come so that you can experience God in a supernatural and tangible way.

Then God wants to manifest himself through you to accomplish His will on this earth. That means God wants to use you to touch the lives of people. What better way to touch other people than to touch them with the power and the ability that God gives.

God is a supernatural God. The work of salvation through the New Birth is supernatural. God living in us through the person of the Holy Spirit is supernatural. God desires to work through us supernaturally. It stands to reason that we need to be equipped with supernatural power.

Let me encourage you to listen to our next broadcast and the lessons that follow. As we continue to share with you about the power of the Holy Spirit and the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in you and desires in and through your life.