Sermon Central
-
God The Holy Spirit Series
Contributed by Abimbola Salu on May 6, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: A LOOK AT GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, HIS MANIFESTATIONS, HIS POWERS AND HIS WORKS.
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
BY
ABIMBOLA SALU.
God the Holy Spirit is the third person in the blessed Holy Trinity. Even though He is a spirit, he is alive and is a person. He exists in unity with God the Father and God the Son and as God the Holy Spirit, He completes the triumvirate.
Our first contact with the Holy Spirit is in the book of Genesis 1 v. 2
“ Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
Thus like God the Son, He also existed with God the Father from the beginning of time and he is also a creator [see psalm 104 v.30]
The divinity of the Holy Spirit is established through the names of God he bears. He is called “ Lord”[see 2 Corinthians 3 v. 18], “God” [see Acts 5 v. 3-4],”Spirit” [see 1 Corinthians 2 v. 10- 16], “Spirit of God” [see 1 Corinthians 12 v. 11],“Spirit of the Lord”[see Acts 5 v.9] and “the spirit of Truth” [see John 15 v. 26].
The Holy Spirit is alive, active and has a will [see 1 Corinthians 12 v. 11] He speaks [see for example Acts 8 v. 29] where the Bible records
“The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” See also Acts 13 v. 2 where it is recorded that “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,’ Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them”.
His divinity is also established by the divine attributes ascribed to him. The Holy Spirit is omniscient, that is, he knows everything. [See 1 Corinthians 2 v.10 - 11]
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. “
He is infinitely wise. He is also omnipresent, that is, he is present everywhere at once. [See Psalm 139 v.7- 10]
“ Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
Even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”]
The Holy Spirit is the only person or power that has the ability to be present everywhere at once. It used to be that people thought that the devil could be presents everywhere at once. However, Job 2 v. 1-3 debunks this idea. The Bible records in these verses that
“On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
If, as Satan said that he had been roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it, then it shows how limited his powers are. He cannot be everywhere at the same time.
The Holy Spirit is Omnipotent, that is he has unlimited and universal powers. He is all- powerful [see Luke 1 v.35], which says
“The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God”.
The Holy Spirit can manifest itself in many ways. He came down on the Apostles on the day of Pentecost as tongues of fire [see Acts 2 v. 3] He came down with force and power and the sound were likened to the “blowing of a violent wind”. This is a confirmation of what John the Baptist foretold about Jesus Christ. In Mathew 3 v. 11, John the Baptist said
"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire”.
Compare this with the same Holy Spirit that descended from heaven on the day that Jesus was baptized. The Bible records that “ as soon as he was baptized, he went out of the water .At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
